92. Willow
WILLOW
TWO MONTHS LATER
“Noah, where are we going?” I ask as he rushes me out the front door and into the cool night air.
It’s February. We’ve been home for just over two months.
I’m fully moved in, and we’ve moved on with life, living as normally as we can.
I started working at Andersons’ and Sons, alongside Jeremy for a while, shadowing him and helping with his cases until my probation period ends.
Noah was only coming in and working part-time for the first month and a half due to him still recovering from the stab wound.
The case involving Noah and his mysterious stabber is still unsolved and will remain that way. The cops never found prints or any trace of the mystery man, but thanks to Jeremy, it’s basically been forgotten.
We’ve been taking things easy, despite Noah’s insistence that he’s perfectly fine.
There have been a few times we’ve been starting to get intimate, and I can tell the pain is too much.
The doctor said it could take up to a year for all the internal damage to be fully healed, so I’ve been forcing him to take it slow.
We haven’t talked much about that night, and he’s only had a handful of nightmares since then.
He says he doesn’t remember them, so I try not to pry.
I know what happened down there changed him.
He’s always been protective since the day I met him, but now it’s as if he’s worried that James Parker isn’t really gone.
He didn’t get to take care of the disposal, so in his mind, he never got the closure that the monster was really dead.
“Noah? Tell me where we’re going,” I demand as he races off out of our driveway and onto the open road.
“Here, put this on.”
He hands me a black blindfold with a smile on his lips. He seems genuinely happy right now and finally content with life. I’ll do whatever he needs me to do for this surprise of his to go perfectly.
“Fine. But for how long?” I ask as I wrap the blindfold around my eyes and tie it tight.
It’s already dark out, so the blindfold makes it nearly pitch black. I can’t even see the soft blue glow of the dashboard lights through it.
“Can you see anything?” he asks as his hand rests on my mid-thigh.
When I don’t answer, his hand shifts and his fingers curl into my inner thigh, making the butterflies in my stomach flutter.
“Nope.”
“You’re not lying to me, are you, Little Rabbit?”
His voice is low and dark as his fingers begin to slowly move upward between my parted thighs.
He told me to wear a dress tonight, but didn’t say how fancy.
So, I just went with a simple black skater dress that Jenna designed, paired with the black boots that I love.
I’m also wearing the new black leather jacket that Noah got me last week when we were out on a date.
“No,” I practically whimper as his finger teases along the edge of my thong.
“You better not be, or else you’ll ruin your surprise.”
His fingers retreat, causing my body to gasp at the lack of connection. I can hear his soft chuckle from beside me before he flips the center console up and has me unbuckle to scoot over to the middle seat.
I blindly fumble for the seatbelt before he thankfully helps me. I swear I’m not incompetent, just flustered from his teasing. It’s been three months since we’ve been able to really be intimate. Nothing but snuggling and kisses, keeping my body on edge for the last three months.
He told me he could help me take care of things, but without him being able to enjoy it too, I didn’t want to.
“Do I get a hint of where we’re going?” I ask as his arm wraps around my shoulders, and he pulls me protectively to his side.
“Not a single clue.”
“Rude,” I huff, only making him laugh more as he places a kiss against the side of my head.
“Yes, but you love me.”
“I plead the fifth,” I tease, and I can hear the low growl in his chest as he tightens his grip around my shoulder.
The sound is a primal one that I love, but haven’t heard from him in a while.
It travels down my spine, sending shivers all across my body, then straight to my clit.
I tighten my thighs together, clenching the muscles and trying to hold back the pathetic whimper that’s desperately wanting to come out.
“Are you turned on, Little Rabbit?”
His fingers move from my shoulder up to the side of my neck, teasing along the sensitive skin.
I can feel my nipples tightening against the fabric of this dress.
It’s designed with built-in support where I don’t have to wear a bra, so the feeling of the fabric against my bare nipples isn’t helping with my current situation.
“N…No,” I whimper as his hand curls around my neck.
“You shouldn’t lie, Willow. You’re not very good at it.”
He pulls me against his side as the truck picks up speed.
I can’t see a damn thing, but I can feel the way my body presses into the seat.
We must be on the freeway now. The mystery is killing me.
I don’t have any idea where he’s taking me because he didn’t mention anything until literally an hour ago, when he told me to get ready.
We drive in silence, not even the sound of the radio to keep my mind distracted.
My head is resting against his side, his arm still protectively wrapped around my shoulders as his fingers caress everywhere he can touch.
My neck, down my throat, and along my collarbone and shoulders.
Even down the front of my dress, barely skimming his fingertips against my nipples.
Every time I try to move my hand up his thigh to touch him, he gently swats my hand.
Asshole.
I don’t know how long we’ve been driving, but when the truck starts to slow down, I’m a soaked, panting mess. This is fucking torture.
“Are we almost there?”
“Not yet. You need to be more patient. Just relax and enjoy the ride.”
“How can I relax when you’re doing what you’re doing to me?”
“Did you want me to stop?” he asks, his fingers pausing against the hollow of my throat.
“No,” I rush out, making him laugh.
His fingers continue their path along my skin. My body feels like it’s on fire, and everything is too oversensitive right now. With my sight gone, all my other senses are on overdrive.
“How much longer?” I beg after a few more minutes of torturous silence.
“Not much longer.”
That’s all he gives me. I swear we’ve been driving for an hour, and I’m about to lose my mind. I tried to follow the turns at first, but once we were on the freeway, I lost track of distance and time. Especially with what he was doing to me.
The truck slows more before turning left.
I immediately know we’ve pulled onto a dirt road.
It’s been a warmer February in Michigan, so the snow that does fall melts within a day or so, making the ground soaked.
Dirt roads become riddled with potholes, turning the once smooth drive into a teeth-chattering, almost washboard experience.
My grandparents' ranch was off a dirt road, but down there, their roads are mostly just big mud bogs during the wet season.
The truck slows again before turning right and coming to a stop.
Noah puts the truck in park but leaves it running.
He removes his arm around me and hops out without a word.
The door closes, and I’m left in the uncomfortable, pitch-black silence.
I’m tempted to pull the blindfold off, but I resist. This had better be worth the torture he’s put me through because I swear to God, I’m not going to be able to resist him, regardless of him still needing time to heal.
He knows exactly what he’s been doing to me on this trip, and I’m not above begging to get the release I need right now.
The clanging of metal on metal startles me. It sounds like a heavy chain being dragged along a metal pole. Curiosity and a bit of fear start to take over before the truck door suddenly opens and Noah jumps back in.
He doesn’t say a word as he pulls the truck forward, then parks it again and jumps out. The same clanking noise follows, then he’s back in the truck, all without a single word.
“Noah…”
“Shh. Almost there, Little Rabbit.”
His hand moves between my thighs again, pressing his fingertips into my inner thigh as he begins to drive again. The road or whatever the fuck we’re on is smooth but definitely not straight. It’s a winding path that the truck smoothly follows. His hand moves a bit higher, and I part my thighs.
“So needy,” he chuckles as he teases along the thin lace fabric of my thong. “Fuck, Willow. You’re soaked,” he practically groans those words.
His fingers press against the soaked fabric, pushing it against my sensitive clit. My body arches into his touch as a shuddering moan slips from me. Fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever been this turned on in my life.
My legs part more, silently begging him to continue, but the truck stops. He quickly throws it in park, kills the engine, and removes his hand from between my thighs. The whimper at the loss of touch that comes from me has my cheeks blushing. He’s right, right now I am needy.
“Come on,” he says as he unbuckles my seatbelt and pulls me out of the driver’s side.
“Can I take off the blindfold?”
“Not yet.”
“Ugh!” I huff.
I roll my eyes, hidden behind the blindfold, and yet he still knows. He smacks my ass sharply before pulling my back against his chest. I can feel exactly how turned on he is. Good, he was affected by what he was doing just as badly as I was.
“What was that for?”
“You rolled your eyes,” he says with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“I’m blindfolded. How the fuck can you tell?”
“I’ve watched your body for months, Willow.”
His hand trails up my side, then my arm, and across my shoulder before grabbing my neck. His fingers are angled to cup my chin, turning my head the way he wants so he can kiss along the side of my neck.