Chapter Nine
The Alcove
His mouth is demanding, immediately parting my lips, his tongue hot and desperate in pursuit of mine. I give him access, my hands sinking into his thick hair as we kiss furiously in this alcove. Noah’s kiss is steamy and desperate, and I’ve never been kissed like this in my life.
I want more of it.
I crush his mouth with mine. A groan escapes his throat, causing me to shiver in response.
“Christ, Violet,” he moans into my mouth. “You taste so good.”
I suck in an excited breath. Then he kisses me again. And again.
I can’t explain everything I’m feeling. I can’t believe this is happening. Noah Darby not only wants to kiss me, but consume me. Right here, right now, in this darkened alcove of Wisteria House.
I move one of my hands down his back, skimming over the fabric of his T-shirt and feeling the muscles glide underneath my palm. I can feel the heat of his skin and all kinds of thoughts roll through my head. I want to feel more of him. See his beautiful inked skin again. Run my hands over his arms and feel every cut muscle of his athletic body.
Noah’s hand moves to my waist, pinning me to him. Suddenly I have a desire to lift my leg and hook it over his hip, so I can get even closer to him. I envision drawing his lower lip between my teeth and his hand on my bum—
He abruptly tears his mouth away from mine, leaving me bereft for a moment. My lips feel swollen, and I take a moment to catch my breath. I’m shaking, but in the best way possible.
I have never felt desired by a man like this in my entire life.
Just from a kiss.
Noah lifts his hands to my face and begins to gently caress it, which takes me by surprise. It’s such a shift from that intense kiss! But now his eyes are searching mine, and I see something different in them, something that makes my breath catch in my throat.
Reverence.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers, gliding his fingertips along my jawline. “So beautiful.”
Then his fingertips trail underneath my chin, and he tilts it up towards him. He dips his head and presses a gentle kiss upon my lips. “Thank you for letting me kiss you,” he murmurs.
Oh my.
“I’m glad you wanted to kiss me,” I say, rubbing my hands up and down his back. “And thank you for giving me a second chance.”
Noah drops his forehead to mine. “It’s all I wanted. Another chance at this.”
I smile as I link my hands around the back of his neck. “This is all I’ve thought about since I shoved you away.”
He lifts his head so he can look at me. “We can start that date now.”
“We can?” I ask, my heart jumping inside my chest.
“Why not? I’m here. You’re here. Why don’t we go back to the bar and have a drink?”
I can’t believe how happy I am right now. Just a few moments ago, I felt I had lost any chance to date Noah, and now he wants to spend more time with me.
“I would love that,” I say happily.
Noah steps back from me, but takes one of my hands in his, lacing his fingers through mine. My heart melts from that sweet gesture, and he leads me back down the hallway and into the bar, where we reclaim our seats on the sofa we were on before. But this time, we’re sitting right next to each other, our thighs touching, and Noah takes my hand and rests it on his thigh, our fingers still entwined.
“I’m so glad you told me the truth,” he says, lifting my hand to his lips and pressing a kiss upon my knuckles. “So glad.”
“Me too.”
A waiter appears, setting down two cocktail napkins on the coffee table in front of us.
“Good evening,” he says, smiling at both of us. “May I get you something to drink?”
“Please, go ahead,” Noah says, deferring to me.
“A Coke, please.” I’ve already had two cocktails. I want all my focus to be on this conversation with Noah, and I don’t want to be drunk or buzzed for that.
“Very good,” the waiter says. Then he shifts his attention to Noah. “And for you, sir?”
“A water for me. Thank you.”
“Excellent. I’ll be right back with those.” Then he disappears, leaving us alone.
“I have a question for you,” Noah says, dipping his head towards mine and nuzzling my hair.
Oh my God. Can this man be any more sensual in the way he touches me?
“What’s that?” I manage to ask.
I feel his lips brush near my ear, sending shivers running through my body.
“Whilst I’m thrilled to have this date tonight, I still want our original date back. This Friday night,” he murmurs in my ear. “May I have it, Violet? Will you go out with me on a proper date?”
Elation rushes through me, bubbling up and ready to burst forward, I’m so happy and excited.
Noah lifts his head to see what I will say. I can’t contain the smile that spreads across my face.
“Nothing would make me happier than to have our date back.”
He grins at me. “Good. Then we’ll both be very happy people on Friday night.”
“We will. What do you have planned?”
“I want to take you to the cinema,” Noah says. “So you can see me select my sweets from the pick and mix.”
My heart completely melts. He remembered my ideal date.
Then I’m caught off guard by the tears that sting the corners of my eyes. I almost lost this chance to get to know Noah because of my own insecurity. I pushed this thoughtful, sensual, caring man away.
“Violet? Why are you upset?”
I blink. His beautiful eyes are focused on mine, his brow creased with concern for me.
He’s so perceptive,I think. I can’t believe he picked up on my change in mood just like that.
“I was just thinking how amazing you are, and how I almost lost this chance to get to be with you because of my own insecurity. I need to work on myself,” I confess.
“I don’t want you to think about that anymore,” Noah says, gently brushing a lock of my hair behind my ear. “I understand why you did it. And you’re not the only one with things to figure out, Violet. I have my own shit to sort out.”
I shake my head. “I can’t imagine you having anything to sort out, Noah. You’re so together.”
A wry smile passes over his lips. “No, I promise I’m not.”
“Tell me something you’ve never shared with anyone else,” I prompt.
He blinks. “Now?”
“Is it too soon for that kind of question?” I ask. “If it is, please don’t feel like you have to answer it. There’s plenty of time for that later.”
Noah appears to consider this, and the expression on his face is like he’s wrestling with how much he feels like sharing right now.
“Sometimes I get jealous of Camden, but not for the reason you would think,” he says softly. “Do you know what I get jealous of? And then I feel like a shit because I’m envious of my best friend? Sometimes, when I see him looking up at the suite to see Bella, I get jealous.”
“You do?” I ask, curious to know more.
“It’s because he has someone there,” Noah confesses. “I’ve never had anyone come to a Stonebridge United game for me. Or any of my professional games. Even Camden’s parents come over from Canada several times a year to see him play. His brother, too, and he’s an NHL star with a crazy schedule.”
Confusion fills me. How is that possible? His mum lives in Kent, but surely she could make it to Surrey a couple of times a year for him, couldn’t she? I know he said he and his brother aren’t close, but wouldn’t he have gone to some games to support Noah when he began to play on a professional level? At least once?
But as I see the flicker of pain filter across his handsome face, I know he’s telling me the truth.
“You know my father passed away when I was sixteen,” Noah says. He pauses, and my heart catches inside my chest, as I can see wherever he’s gone in his head is painful for him. “It changed the family dynamic forever. My mum went into a grief spiral, and she refused to go get help. My brother and I were never close to begin with, and instead of a tragedy bringing us together, it pushed us further apart. I’ve been on my own since then, really.”
My heart aches as this story comes out of him. I instinctively lift his hand, and this time, I’m the one pressing a kiss across his knuckles, which brings a flicker of a smile to his lips. I want to ask him questions about what happened, but I know this isn’t the time. Whatever Noah wants to share tonight is hugely personal, and I’m honoured for any bits he decides to trust me with.
“When I see Bella there for Camden, it reminds me there’s never been anyone there for me,” he continues. “I push the feeling away, because believe me, I’m happy Camden has found someone as amazing as her. He deserves that happiness. But I can’t help but envy it, too, even though I know a lot of it is on me.”
I am about to ask what he means when the waiter returns with our drinks. As soon as they are placed in front of us, I follow up on that comment.
“What do you mean by ‘a lot of it is on me?’” I ask, picking up my Coke and taking a sip.
He smiles gently at me. “Camden is confident on and off the pitch. When he sees something he wants, like Bella? He goes after it. The first time I saw you here at Wisteria House, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. But I was too shy to make a move.”
I can’t help but giggle at this. “You certainly weren’t shy this evening in that alcove.”
“I’m not shy all the time,” he says, lifting a brow.
I laugh, and he does, too.
“When I got to Dorset, I knew I had to do something, or I’d really be pissed off at myself for letting another opportunity slip through my fingers. So when you began talking about pick and mix, it was a natural opening for me. And you’re so easy to talk to, it made it easier for me to open up.”
“I’m so glad I brought up pick and mix,” I say. “What if I hadn’t? What if we wouldn’t have had that conversation?”
Noah shakes his head. “No, there would have been something else. I was determined to talk to you.”
“I’m so glad you did.”
“Me, too.”
“Okay, we’ve both confessed flaws,” I say, wanting to make Noah smile. “Let’s talk about how amazing we are.”
He grins at that, and I grow warm upon seeing it.
“Well, that doesn’t make us sound like narcissists at all, does it?” he teases.
I laugh, and I can’t help but notice how his eyes light up knowing that he made me do it.
“Okay. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about how amazing we are, but let’s talk about the fun things so we can get to know each other,” I say. “First question. Do you have a pet?”
“I do,” he says, grinning. “My dog, Mila. Want to see a pic?”
“Of course.”
Noah lets go of my hand and shifts so he can retrieve his phone off the coffee table. He picks it up, unlocks it, and shows me his phone wallpaper.
His dog is his wallpaper. Swoon.
I see the cutest fawn-and-white dog. “She’s adorable. What breed is she?”
“Mila is a border collie mix. I got her from a rescue shortly after I came to play at Stonebridge United. I’d be lost without her.”
“You already know from being at my house that my family has dogs,” I say, suddenly recalling how Noah took an interest in them when he first arrived for the weekend.
“Setters,” he says.
“Yes,” I say, pleased that he remembered what breed of dogs they are. “I love dogs. We’ve always had them in the country.”
“The falcons on your estate are cool.”
“Oh yes! Those actually belong to Luke, our falconer. Aren’t they gorgeous?”
“I got up early one morning and took a walk around your aviary,” Noah confesses. “Those falcons are amazing. I talked to Luke about them.”
“He’s an interesting guy,” I say. “He knows so much about birds, and it’s fascinating how in tune he is with them.”
“I would love to do that thing where you let the falcons land on your arm. That would be sick.”
“Oh, I’ve done that! It’s so cool.”
“I’m so jealous.”
I smile at that. “I could make that happen for you, you know. Whenever you have a break.”
Noah sets his phone back down on the table. “That won’t be for a long time. We’re playing in the Champions League this season—which I love, of course—so I have two games a week at some points. Then training when there are no games, games on the weekends or Monday, and usually on international break, I’m playing for England.”
“Do you ever get time off?” I ask.
Noah gives me a wry smile. “If we do well, our season ends in June. And training starts again in July. You’ve hit me at the right time, Violet. I’ve got a couple of weeks free until we go to Australia for our summer tour. Then it’s full-on travel and friendlies, and before you know it, the season starts in August.”
I feel my eyes widen. “Wow, you really don’t get a break.”
“No. But I make time for things that are important to me,” he says, his fingertips trailing under my chin and tilting it up towards him again. “Like you.”
Then he drops a gentle kiss on my lips.
I’m buzzing from that mere touch of his warm lips against my own. He lifts his head, his dark eyes locked on mine. As I see the look of desire in them—and the pure interest in getting to know me—my heart thumps excitedly against my ribs.
The way he looks at me is like no other.
This time, instead of pushing it away, I’m going to do everything I can to follow this chemistry between us.
And I can’t wait to see where it goes.