Chapter 30
Noah dialed his assistant director in charge of overseas ventures.
“Gus, get me a list of all the clothes manufacturing ventures we’re involved in, primarily in Asia.
Yeah, KL is good. Email me the name of the point person, would you?
” Waiting for the email to come through, he kept a close eye on Leia as she paced the living room.
She spun the other way and her earpiece glinted. “Did we confirm that there were no casualties in the fire?” she asked.
Watching her take the news of her destroyed collection like a champ, Noah had never felt more proud of her. Or loved her more. Or been more furious on her behalf.
Whatever gods were supposed to be watching over her were doing a piss-poor job thus far. Which was why he intended to take over the job on a full-time basis.
He heard her audible sigh of relief. “Good. Make sure the compensation scheme La Carezza has in place is activated immediately.” She nodded to whatever response she got and executed another tight turn.
Her eyes caught his and she stopped .
He crooked a forefinger. She came toward him. Bending forward, he kissed her, quick and hard. She lifted her hand and traced his eyebrow with her fingers, then mouthed Thank you .
“Thank you, Celia. I’m about to contact our nano-tech people in Kyoto. Send me the list of other manufacturers as soon as you have it.” She hung up and massaged the back of her neck.
Stepping forward, Noah brushed her hand away and took over the massage. “I’ll go and rustle up some lunch while you call Japan, then we’ll hit the list of manufacturers, okay?”
She nodded, then moaned when he kneaded a particularly difficult knot. “Noah?” Her voice was hushed, small enough to make his insides twist.
“Yeah, baby?”
“You’re… you’re the reason I haven’t fallen apart over this…” Her breath caught and she sniffed loudly. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here,” she finished.
He curled his arm around her shoulders, pulled her back into his body and kissed her temple.
“You’re mine. I’ll go to hell and back for what’s mine.
But the reason you haven’t fallen apart is because you’re strong.
Much stronger than you know. It breaks my heart that you don’t recognize your own strength.
Until you do, lean on me all you want, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
Leia watched him stroll to the door. Unable to hold it in anymore, she took a deep breath. “Noah?”
He stopped. Turned. “Yeah?”
“I love you.”
Her words visibly rocked him. He stumbled against the door, caught himself. Gaped at her. In quick strides, he crossed the room to her and caught her nape. His eyes sparkled with a thousand raw emotions. His hand trembled. Hell, his whole body shook as his chest rose and fell in short pants.
“Only you would throw such a beautiful, life-changing earthquake into my world when we’re in the middle of a crisis,” he growled fiercely.
Her phone rang. She ignored it. “Do you want me to take it back?” she asked anxiously.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he asked hoarsely. He kissed her, plunged his tongue between her lips and ravaged her mouth. All the while, the phone rang.
“Dammit!” He sucked in an unsteady breath. “Answer the phone. I’ll go order our lunch. We’ll pick this up later.”
They didn’t get a chance to pick it up for twenty-four hours.
Noah flew in manufacturers from Kuala Lumpur to meet with Leia, and then they flew to Japan to consult with the nano-tech team on how quickly they could produce the spec for a new collection.
Luckily, with the template already in place from the previous production, a new batch was promised for the next week.
Between Leia’s team and Noah’s connections, they managed to find two manufacturers willing to combine their resources to reproduce the collection.
With the agreement of the US retailers, Leia pushed back the launch by a week.
Because they’d missed the return trip on the IL jet, Noah had his jet flown in. They were scheduled to fly back to Miami tonight.
“The world can hold on for one damn minute while I take you to dinner,” Noah had snarled earlier in the evening after they’d fielded yet another phone call.
Now she walked into the living room in a sleeveless burnt- orange dress with matching shoes and a black leather bolero, which she carried over her arm. She wore her hair up and completed the look with gold chandelier earrings and a long gold necklace.
Noah was waiting for her. He turned from the view and his breath visibly stalled. “Shit. Maybe we should stay in…” His voice was severely strained.
She gave a nervous laugh. “I look that bad?”
“You look like heaven, wrapped in sin, wrapped in a thousand dreams come true.”
She melted. “Oh, Noah.”
He laughed huskily and slid a hand through his hair. “Fuck, you’ve got me all sappy now. Let’s go before it gets worse.”
He held her hand in the car, kissing the back of it every few minutes.
The restaurant he’d chosen sat at the top of a stunning skyscraper in Kowloon, overlooking the harbor.
They were led past the lushly decorated main dining floor to a private room upstairs.
Their exclusive chef served freshly prepared Shanghai noodles with braised lamb for her and grouper fillet for Noah.
They fed each other bits of their food, his eyes burning hot each time he looked at her.
When their waiter delivered their coffee, Noah pulled out his wallet and slid him several hundred dollars, murmuring something Leia didn’t understand.
The waiter smiled widely, bowed and left.
“I didn’t know you spoke Mandarin.”
“I do a lot of business in China. Knowing the language cuts through a lot of bullshit.” He stood and held out his hand to her. The heat in his eyes had grown wilder, primal.
Heart pumping, she rose. “What did you say to him?”
“That we would look after ourselves and we’re not to be disturbed.”
The lights dimmed and soft strains of music filled the air. She gasped as she recognized Fused Realms’ slowest song. “Oh, Noah.”
He pulled her into his arms and swayed with her across the room. “Those two words, aside from ‘Yes, Noah,’ are my top three favorite phrases.”
“What’s your other favorite?”
He stopped at the door to their private room and locked it. “The ones you spoke this afternoon. The ones I’m terrified were a figment of my imagination.” Blue eyes blazed down at her, vulnerable, yet possessive. His eyes searched hers with an intensity that stopped her breath.
Her heart climbed into her throat as she put everything she had out there.
“They weren’t, Noah. I love you. More than I can find adequate words for.
I think I loved you from the moment I saw you.
I knew I loved you when you kicked my ass the first time I let the monsters win.
I’m sorry I let you down then and I can’t promise I won’t?—”
“Shhh, don’t ruin the moment, baby. You love me. You love me despite all my baggage.” He shook his head in wonder. “You know how fucking honored I feel to know that? You didn’t flinch when you were slapped around the face with what I did in New York?—”
“Because I know she drove you to it. We’ve both been victims of mind-fuck experts.”
He nodded. “But I choose to believe it’s made us stronger.
Strong enough to know what a beautiful thing we have going here.
I love you, Leia. You turn me inside out every time I look at you.
Every day I wake up with you in my arms promises to be the best day of my life.
I never want that to stop. It tore me apart when I thought I’d lost you.
I’ll protect you and that precious love with everything I’ve got, if you’ll let me. Please, sweetheart. Please say yes. ”
She blinked back gulping tears. “Yes, Noah.”
Their kiss was long, deep and heart melding. When he lifted his head, she swayed to a little more than the music. “Why did you lock the door?”
“I booked an all-night dining experience that ends at midnight. We’re done eating, our bags are packed and already at the airport, but we don’t need to be there for another”—he glanced at his watch—“two hours. So I thought I’d let you… enjoy the view.” He slanted her a crazy wicked grin.
“Enjoy the view, huh? And what will you be doing?”
“I’ll be enjoying the view too… of your naked body and how it feels with my cock in it.” He winked.
Laughing, she looked around the room. It was spacious and beautifully decorated. But it severely lacked anything remotely resembling comfort.
She also knew the man she loved was nothing if not inventive.
When he picked up a dining chair and placed it in front of the wide floor-to-ceiling window, she lifted her eyebrow. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
He stepped behind her and drew down her zipper. Her dress fell to the floor, revealing black panties. Removing his jacket, he sat down and patted his lap. She climbed aboard and leaned in for another kiss. Lifting his hips, he freed his cock and removed her panties.
“Place your hand on the window, baby.”
She obeyed, then groaned as he slid slowly inside her. “I love you, Noah.”
The fierce awe that washed over his face would be forever seared in her memory. “I love you too, my beautiful Leia,” he replied gruffly. His hands framed her hips and squeezed her ass. “ I’m going to make love to you long and slow. And you’re going to try and point out every landmark you see.”
Her breath hitched. “What’s my prize for right guesses?”
“For each one you get right, I’ll let you come.”
She got four right and Noah threw in a bonus just for laughs.
Which was part of the reason she wore a broad smile as they were driven to the airport. “Counting tonight, we’ve only had six highs, not seven.”
Noah kissed their linked hands. “You told me you love me. That’s the high to end all highs for me. But if you insist on being pedantic about it, I have a private jet fueled and waiting. And I’m not afraid to use it.”