76. Willow
WILLOW
“So are you really okay, Willow?” Jenna asks as we walk along the water.
“It was definitely a shock, but I’m okay now. I feel like there’s a weight lifted off my chest. I’m sorry that I kept so much from you for so long.”
“Hey. I completely get why you felt you had to. Your dad’s a horrible fucking human. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
We walk in silence for a few more minutes as we head back up to the house. Jeremy has been silently trailing behind us. Noah said his head was hurting, so I told him to go lie down.
“You seem happier,” Jenna says as she grabs my hand to hold it while we walk.
“I am. It’s weird. I told you I felt a connection with him that first day.”
“And now you know why.”
Jenna squeezes my hand gently before glancing back at Jeremy. He’s been texting someone for the last couple of minutes and Jenna seems annoyed.
“So, you like him?” I whisper.
“Noah? Yeah, he’s all right. He seems like a good guy,” she teases.
“I mean him,” I say as I nod my head back to Jeremy.
“Oh…I mean yeah but…”
“But what?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Don’t you think it’s all too perfect?” she asks hesitantly.
We both glance back at Jeremy to see that he’s blissfully unaware of what we’re saying. Whatever he’s texting about clearly has his full attention.
“You are literally obsessed with true love and all that shit. Why the hell are you questioning it?” I laugh.
“I don’t know.”
She looks away from me and lets go of my hand as she starts to walk toward the house. I stop and watch her leave as Jeremy quickly comes up beside me.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
His eyes stay locked on Jenna until she disappears inside the house.
“Yeah.”
“What’s up with her?”
“Nothing. She’s just cold. So Noah told you everything before, huh?”
“Willow, I’ve heard about you since we were kids. You were always the one he was searching for. I’m not going to lie, I tried to convince him to let you go probably over a hundred times. I’m sorry. I was just worried about him because of how obsessed he was. Well…is.”
He nervously laughs as he rubs the back of his neck.
“I’m glad you guys found your way back to each other. Can I ask you a favor though?” he asks quietly.
He glances up at the house then back to me. His joking demeanor is suddenly serious and it’s making my heart race.
“Sure.”
“Noah can be a bit…intense. Don’t judge him too harshly. He truly does love you, I should know. I’ve only had to hear about it for fifteen years straight,” he laughs, but his laughter is cut short when his eyes land on someone in the doorway.
Noah.
“Hey. I thought you were going to lie down?” I ask as I take a few steps closer to the house with Jeremy following behind me.
I don’t miss the subtle nod Noah gives Jeremy as he walks up to me and wraps me in his arms.
“You’re freezing, Willow.”
“No. I feel fine. I’m only a little cold.”
“Your lips are literally turning blue. Come on. I think we should get some sleep anyway.”
He kisses my lips, and it’s then that I realize he isn’t wrong. I am freezing. Especially compared to his warm touch.
“Sounds good. Oh, Jenna went to pack up her stuff. I think she’s in your room,” Noah says to Jeremy.
“Thanks. I’ll probably take her home then head home myself. You guys have fun.”
He gives Noah a hug before jogging the rest of the way into the house.
“Come on. I want to show you something,” Noah says as he slowly pulls me toward the house.
“What is it?”
He looks me up and down like he wants to devour my soul.
“Now where’s the fun in telling you when I could just show you?”
“Ugh, fine,” I huff, causing him to laugh.
I let him pull me through the house and up the steps. I quickly shout goodbye to Jenna even though all the doors are shut, and I’m not sure which room is Jeremy’s.
“Bye, Willow. I’ll text you later. Love ya,” her voice calls back from near the end of the hall.
“Love ya, too,” I quickly shout back before Noah pulls me up the steps to his bedroom then shuts and locks his door.
It’s a lot warmer up here now. The sweet scent of vanilla and brown sugar fills the air.
The bed has rose petals on it, and the lights are dim letting only the setting sun illuminate the room through the skylights.
He steps up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist before resting his head on my shoulder.
“Noah, I thought you were supposed to be sleeping because of your headache?”
“I lied. I just wanted some time to set this up for you.”
“It’s beautiful, but you didn’t have to do this.”
“I know. But I wanted to,” he says as he kisses the side of my neck.
My eyes fall closed as I lean into his embrace and his kisses. Goosebumps spread down my arms sending chills across my body. I can feel my nipples hardening as they brush against the fabric of his shirt I’m wearing. I threw one of his hoodies on before we went outside, but I’m still cold.
“Noah,” I whimper as he sucks on the sensitive spot on my neck just below my ear.
“Fuck, I love hearing you say my name, Willow.”
I can feel him pull off his shirt and sweatpants. He presses his body against me, and I can feel how hard he is already. I move my hand between us and wrap it around his cock. The growl he lets out as he bites down on my neck has a wave of pleasure running right between my legs.
“Come on. This was only part of the surprise.”
He grips my hips and leads me toward the bathroom door before gently kicking it the rest of the way open. The setting sun is even lower now, causing the room to look like it has a reddish-purple hue. There are candles lit on the counter, and the bath is filled with hot water and bubbles.
“You really outdid yourself, Noah. This is amazing.”
“Little Rabbit, if you think this is outdoing myself, you’re in for a treat. This is the bare fucking minimum. Hasn’t anyone ever truly taken care of you?” he asks with genuine concern in his voice.
“I guess I’ve never let anyone before.”
“Why?”
“I’ve never trusted someone to stay long enough to let myself be relaxed around them. I haven’t been with many people, but the couple I have been with were very temporary,” I say honestly.
“Well, I can’t say that I’m not ecstatic from the fact that you haven’t fully given yourself to anyone before,” he says as he spins me in his arms.
He cups my cheek and angles my face up to his to kiss me. It’s slow and passionate as he gently caresses the side of my face with his thumb. His tongue touches my lips, and I immediately open for him. He’s the only man I’ve ever wanted to give myself to.
He lifts the hoodie slowly over my head before letting it fall to the floor. The air is warm and damp in here from the steam, and it clings to my chilled skin. His hands run down both of my arms before he grabs the hem of the shirt and lifts it off as well, leaving me in just my leggings.
He takes his time kissing my lips, my jaw, down my neck and collar bone to my chest. Each kiss seems to leave a trail of fire down my body.
As he gets lower, he starts to kneel. He presses a kiss to the center of my stomach then my left hip as he starts to pull my leggings and thong down.
Every inch of skin he reveals gets another kiss, and I swear my mind is not going to be able to handle what this man is doing to me.
He said this is the bare minimum to him, and honestly, that terrifies me.
The nagging voice in the back of my head keeps telling me I don’t deserve this… I don’t deserve someone like him.
“Hey,” Noah says, snapping my attention back to him.
My fingers are firmly pressed into his shoulders stabilizing myself. My leggings were around my ankles and he was about to lift my foot to remove them, but stopped.
“What’s on your mind, Willow? Talk to me.”
“It’s nothing. This is just…It’s amazing. I…”
What the hell do I even say?
“Is it too much?”
“Yes. No. I mean…Shit,” I stammer embarrassingly.
I release his shoulders and bury my face in my hands. I can feel him stand before his hands pull mine from in front of my face.
“What is it?”
“I’m still just having a hard time accepting it, you know?”
He looks at me slightly confused.
“Accepting what?”
“This. Us. You. I don’t get it. I don’t know why you would’ve held onto hope for this long. Jeremy said…” My voice cuts off when I see the look in his eyes change to something darker.
“What did Jeremy say?” he asks flatly.
“He said that he tried to convince you a hundred times to let me go.”
“Obviously a hundred times didn’t work, so what’s wrong? Do you think I’d listen on the one hundred and tenth time? Maybe the one hundred and twentieth? No. I told you, Willow. It’s always been you. You’re the other half of my soul. I’d die for you. I’d kill for you. So what’s wrong?”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“Little Rabbit, it’s me who doesn’t deserve you. I didn’t protect you. I didn’t find you soon enough. If either of us doesn’t deserve the other, it’s me. Now stop with all the self-sabotage. Your bath is getting cold.”
He smiles and kisses me on the tip of the nose when he says this. I still don’t know what I did in my past life to deserve a man like him.
He kneels back in front of me to pull my leggings the rest of the way off before tossing them in the hamper with the shirt. He kisses along my hip to just above my clit. His eyes stay locked on mine as he lifts my leg slightly to part my legs.
When his tongue teases my clit, my back arches. My nipples are hard, and I can already feel a warmth running down my spine. A sinful moan escapes me as he runs his tongue all the way up before sucking on my clit. My fingers instantly latch onto his hair as I hold myself up and balance.
“Fuck, Noah,” I moan.
“That’s it. Such a good girl, aren’t you, Willow?”
He gives my clit one last tease with his tongue before he stands and quickly lifts me up not letting me regain my balance. He steps into the tub and lowers me into the water with him setting me between his thighs and then rests my back against his chest.
As much as I want more, he’s calm and silent. He’s letting me just enjoy the hot water. I can feel the chill from the air outside finally leaving my body. I guess I was freezing.
“Can I ask you something?” I finally ask, breaking the silence.
“Of course.”
“What if you had met someone while you were searching for me? Someone that you fell in love with?”
He sits quietly for a moment before I feel his head shaking no.
“Not possible,” he says, finite.
I snap my head around to quickly look at him astounded.
“What? Of course it’s possible, Noah.”
“I don’t think you’re fully understanding just how in love with you I am, Willow. No one could ever take your place in my heart. It’s just how it is.”
“You’re crazy,” I tease as I snuggle back into his embrace.
“Yes. But only for you.”