Chapter 14 #2
The kettle whistled, and Dahlia flinched, waking her from her daydream. Ribbons of steam rose from the vessel as she poured the water into the cup.
On her tippy toes in the pantry, she reached past the jar of lavender, fingers just grazing the bottle of honey she was looking for.
She pinched her nose and squinted as if doing so would give her more height.
That’s when she felt a firm hand slide around her waist and a warm body press against her.
A sound escaped her lips. It was something between a moan and a yelp.
She exhaled slowly, knowing it was Noah.
“What …” She could barely get the words out in between pants. “Are you doing here?” She wanted to turn around and see his gorgeous face, but she also didn’t want to break from his hold that had her breathless and tingly all over.
He whispered in her ear, “I couldn’t stay away.”
Dahlia’s heart raced, and her body grew feverish. It was as if he had read her mind and heart. She blinked to make sure it wasn’t a dream before turning around. “Noah, I—”
Before she could utter any word, he kissed her. He tasted like cinnamon, with hints of sage, likely from one of Gretchen’s test dishes.
With each glide of his tongue, her body felt more like Jell-O.
Noah held her hips and lifted her onto the pantry counter.
Every molecule in her body ached for him, and she couldn’t bear another near miss.
If he left her this time or changed his mind, she might combust. Without hesitation, she pulled back, met his eyes, and said, “Stay.”
He hesitated, looking serious, then a smile curved his lips.
His intense gaze screamed desire, longing, and lust. “Nothing could tear me away,” he said.
His thick brown hair looked windswept and messy.
He smelled like damp leather and soap. “You’re all I could think about today, D.
” He brushed the hair off her face. “I want you. I crave you. It’s maddening. ”
His words stole her ability to think and speak. She’d never known this kind of penetrating, raw need for a man. To know he felt the same, and he was willing to admit it, meant something had shifted. Dahlia’s body felt light and wispy, like dandelion seeds floating in the breeze.
She pressed her mouth to his and reciprocated the sentiment. Her hands slid around his thick neck, and his pulse wildly thumped beneath her fingertips. No words were needed. Their tongues danced, deepening their longing for what was to come.
But then he pulled back, searching her caramel eyes. “Do you want me? I need to hear you say it.”
“It isn’t obvious, Noah? I just asked you to stay.” Their eyes remained firmly connected while her body trembled.
“Say it,” he softly demanded, grazing her arm with his knuckles. It was a small gesture, but one that made her core ache.
“Yes, yes. I want this. I want you.”
The old Dahlia Newberry had never been forward with a guy. But this was Dahlia 2.0, and with this kind of newfound confidence, it was anyone’s guess what would happen next.
“Right here, in the pantry,” she said, clenching the edge of the counter. She didn’t know where this unbridled courage came from, but she wasn’t about to hit the brakes. It felt too good, too right.
He leaned into her, pushing her legs open, and she yanked him closer by his jean loops.
Her breath hitched as his bulge met her short shorts.
Her panties were slick. There was no hiding it; she was aroused.
Dahlia’s heart galloped like she was seventeen again.
But this time, the boy she was crazy about actually knew how to treat a woman.
“No,” he whispered. “I want to make love to you, D. I don’t want it to be just sex.”
“Noah,” she said, feeling his baby blues scan over every inch of her heated flesh. The truth was she wanted it all, to make love to him and have wild, earth-shattering sex.
His silky lips teased her ear, and his hips nudged her legs even wider. “But it doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun before we go up.”
He left her breathless, not knowing what would follow. Her head fell back against the shelves.
Without warning, he dropped to his knees and looked up at her with a wide grin that curled higher on one side. It was one that said he was about to take her to places she’d only dreamed of as he inched her shorts down.
Dahlia could see the rise and fall of her chest even through the sweatshirt.
Was this really happening? Oh, God. Panic started to set in that Noah was about to go down on her.
She wasn’t well-versed in this. Spence had only done it a few times, early on, and Tristan just the one time.
Noah peppered her inner thigh with tender kisses, and her fear of not being wanted in that way melted.
“Oh, baby,” he whispered, nestling his face into her warm, wet entrance, only separated by a thin under layer of cloth. “You smell like powdery heaven.”
Then he did something she wasn’t prepared for. He nipped, licked, and sucked through the fabric. Dahlia could hear her tiny moans, but she didn’t care. She white-knuckled the counter even harder. Why hadn’t she insisted on this sooner?
“You taste so fuckin’ good.”
All she could do was succumb to this earth-shattering feeling and let him continue working his magic. And oh God, was he a magician.
“Like sun-ripened nectar and honey,” he hummed. Who would have thought that Noah Sterling, with the boy-next-door charm, who wanted to wait, could do this? His tongue pressed harder into her seam, and she was going to combust if he didn’t stop.
“Noah …”
“Unravel for me, baby.”
“I don’t … know …” She panted. “If I can.”
She wanted more. She wanted him skin to skin.
She wanted to feel his whiskers graze her swollen, sensitive flesh.
Then he pushed the material to the side and sank a thick finger inside her, while he rubbed her throbbing bundle of nerves with his thumb.
Breathy moans fell from her mouth, sending her tumbling into a haze of pleasure unlike anything she’d ever known.
“Oh God, Noah.” She gripped his hair as her legs shuddered around his head.
“Good girl.” He crooned, and it sent her soaring over the edge.
Her body flooded with euphoria. Stars danced behind her eyes as she released the most incredible cosmic orgasm of her entire life.
She rode out her climax with her eyes clamped shut, not caring how she looked.
When she opened them, he was staring at her with the most sardonic grin.
It was as if he knew she had never crested like this for anyone else.
Dahlia felt her cheeks warm because it was true.
As far as she was concerned, this was her first time.
Sure, she had a vibrator that had come in very handy when her sex life with Spence was as dry as a desert, which was the norm.
And Tristan, he did try. But this. This was no comparison to a battery-operated machine stored in her nightstand or a man who didn’t know what he was doing.
Noah Sterling knew what he was doing. That much she was sure of.
Without warning, he lifted her onto him, and she let out a playful squeal.
There was zero time to be self-conscious of the wet spot now pressed against his stomach.
He carried her through the kitchen, passing Harry along the way.
Frank played in the background, and the house was eerily peaceful and still, as if time had paused just for them.
His bright blues, the color of the Caribbean, drew her in, and she knew if she wasn’t careful, she could quite possibly drown in them.
She wondered if she should break their tempo to turn the music off. But she was too distracted by the gorgeous man carrying her up to bed and the threat of impending naughtiness. The only decision was to let the music play.
“You’re not going to regret this,” he said with a softer, serious tone.
“After what just happened. I wholeheartedly agree,” she said, matching his tone. Their eyes locked in a moment she knew they both felt. A moment of intensity brought a sense of levity when he bumped them into the wall.
“Ouch.” She laughed. “Watch it, McHandy.”
“McHandy?”
“Yeah, that’s what Kara and I call you.”
“Is it now?” He started to walk them up the stairs.
“It was either that or Double H.”
He looked at her with a blank stare.
“Handy Hunk.”
“Sounds like a superhero gone wrong. McHandy it is. It has a nice ring to it,” he said. “Umm, I think someone wants to join us.”
Dahlia looked down and saw a furry black tail sail past them.
“Geez, he has no idea what’s about to happen.
Poor guy.” Suddenly, Dahlia got a pit in her stomach, realizing how long it had been since she’d actually had sex.
On the bright side, she still had an appetite for it, which was a major epiphany.
They reached the top of the stairs, and Dahlia nodded down the hall. “It’s the second door on the right.”
He walked in slow motion through the hallway. Every step on the creaky floor only made Dahlia’s heart pound faster.
They reached the door. “This is it,” she said, still straddling his waist. She could feel his chest rise and fall with hers. It was a moment she knew would change things.
He bit his lip. “You good?” She nodded, realizing he was probably nervous too.
It didn’t seem like he slept around, and he cared enough to want to take things slow.
But after what just happened in the pantry, she had a feeling they were on their way from zero to one hundred fast. Who needed brakes anyway?
“Harry, sit, boy. This is where we say goodbye.”
Noah laughed. “You sound so serious.”
“Do I?” She chuckled. Harry was like her child, and there was no way she was going to scare him with her newfound sexual awakening.