Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The birds were in a playful flight as they disappeared under the eaves of Lil’s bedroom porch.
Dahlia slowly sipped her coffee, watching the first sailing group already out on the water.
The sunfish sails formed bright clusters along the glimmering surface.
The colors had a likeness to a bag of Starburst or Skittles.
Her smile widened as she leaned against the door frame, letting her honey locks sway in the breeze.
It was hard not to be blissfully happy with a view like that.
It was the telltale sign that summer had begun.
The smell of sea salt flooded the air, and she was content to be a voyeur for this Saturday morning ritual.
Dahlia ran her fingers through her knotty, humid hair, wondering if Noah would ask her to his birthday party tonight.
But if he wanted her to come, wouldn’t he have asked her by now?
She looked out over the grass that led to the bay, realizing maybe he wasn’t ready for her to meet his friends.
And who were they, anyway? Friends from the city?
Or “friends” as in castmates from Hamptons House?
She couldn’t blame him; they’d only known one another for two weeks.
And they’d only know each other for another two weeks after today.
Going public with their relationship might change things, and Dahlia didn’t want anything to change.
Not even the speed of light pace at which they, as a couple, were evolving.
Perhaps it was better they kept their lives separate for now.
“Morning, baby,” Noah whispered, wrapping his burly arms around her waist. His toned body was on display, wearing only his tight black Calvin’s. “What a way to wake up, huh?”
“I’ll say.” Dahlia sank into his hold, resting her head against his chest. She still felt torn.
On the one hand, she had Noah. If she were honest with herself, he undid her, stitch by aching stitch.
His hands, his lips, and his smell, but mostly how he made her feel when their bodies touched.
And a part of her wondered if it could be more and what that would look like after the summer.
But she was also torn by time, the job she had accepted, and weighted by the discovery of her grandmother’s secret.
“What’s the plan for the day? Are you going to work me to the bone again?
” He laughed, tickling her ear with his whiskered mouth.
Her body shuddered with pleasure. Even that sounded sexy to Dahlia.
All she wanted was to be locked away with him in this bedroom all day long.
She was turning into a lovemaking ninja.
She didn’t feel thirty-eight; she felt thirsty-eight.
“I need a shower.” She turned around to face him, sliding her hands up his bare back.
“Then I’ll start going through those boxes in the basement.
” Her lips tickled his neck, then his chin, then his mouth.
“And get back out to the garden at some point,” Dahlia said with a soft, sultry tone.
“I’m going to work you really freaking hard, Mr. Sterling.
” Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, liking the sound of that.
Just saying those words made her hungry for him.
And by the feel of him pressing against her stomach, he felt the same.
He pressed his mouth to hers, and their tongues collided in the most erotic and sensual way. It was profound and far-reaching. He felt like hot silk in her mouth. She could kiss this man for hours, and it still wouldn’t be enough. It was that good. Her body hummed with unbridled desire.
“I want to taste you,” he said, his voice laced with bravado. “For real this time.”
The sound of those four words sent zings of electricity right to her core. She couldn’t believe they were going to do this here, out in the open, but something about this man begged her to be someone else. Maybe it’s who she always was all along, but she’d just needed to find the right person.
He dropped to his knees and lifted her shirt like a man addicted. The idea that a man would prioritize a woman’s need over his own was so foreign to her, but if he insisted.
He peppered kisses along her hip, then her pelvis.
He inched down her panties, and they slipped to her ankles.
She was breathless. People scurried along the beach, completely unaware of what was about to happen.
His tongue gently teased her seam, and instantly her legs felt boneless.
She anchored herself against the frame of the door for fear of collapsing.
“I can’t get enough of you,” he crooned. “You are the best thing I’ve ever tasted.” He anchored his wide, capable hands on her hips and blew on her swollen flesh. That, along with the breeze, made her a swooning puddle of bliss.
He licked and sucked until he had to hold her up.
“Oh, God, Noah.” Her head tilted back, feeling like she would shatter at any minute.
He hummed, glancing up at her, possessed.
She held onto his thick locks as he undid her will with his mouth and then fingers. The seconds eased into minutes. A heightened sense of euphoria ricocheted through her body. “Noah …” She breathed heavy, fast breaths. “I can’t wait any longer.”
“Go, baby,” he demanded. “I want to taste you unravel.” And that was all she needed to become undone.
She saw the stars, the moon, and the whole galaxy all in one burst of pleasure that altered something inside her.
Moans and groans and other unintelligible sounds escaped her lips and carried with the breeze.
Part of her hoped no one heard, but the other part that just had the best orgasm of her life didn’t care.
“I want you. Now.” Dahlia lured him up.
He lifted off her shirt, exposing her naked body to the world. “God, you’re beautiful.”
Her breath mixed with his, and she whispered, “You’re not too shabby yourself, McHandy.”
She stood taller, ready for what was to come. Her breasts begged to be touched by his calloused hands. He took them in his palms as if he read her mind. Then he brought his mouth to one nipple and sucked and flicked while he rolled the other between his fingers. Heat pooled low in her belly.
With hungry eyes, he lifted her onto him.
His neck veins bulged, only intensifying her need.
He carried her aching body past the dresser.
Dahlia heard her phone vibrate, but she ignored it.
She wasn’t concerned with who it was, even if it was Spence again.
Absolutely nothing could keep her body from his.
Noah turned the shower on with one hand while she still straddled him, mesmerized by his gaze. She was jolted back to reality when the glass door whacked her head.
“Sorry!”
“This is becoming a habit.” Dahlia’s laugh turned into a sigh. She fell back into his eyes and wondered if he could see how hard she was falling.
He lowered her into the steam. Dahlia smiled mischievously as she watched him drop his underwear.
It almost felt illegal. She felt like a horny teenager, only this time, she was smarter and more confident than she was back then.
Noah made her feel like a woman in a way Spence hadn’t and never could.
The biggest difference was that it wasn’t just about him having an orgasm.
Noah was in tune with her wants and her needs and made them a priority.
And that made their age difference insignificant, at least to her.
He lifted her naked body onto his and pressed her bare back against the cold tile wall.
The stark contrast on her humid skin only made her ache more intense.
One hand was propped against the wall behind her, and the other firmly held her body to his groin.
With a smooth-as-silk thrust, he was inside of her.
“Is that what you wanted?” He was breathless.
“Yes.” Dahlia gripped his wet back, feeling her nails pierce his skin.
With every piston of his hips, she craved him more, harder, deeper.
She wiped the droplets from her face, feeling like her body would implode at any moment.
If she could manipulate time and feel this intoxicating rush ’til the end of time, she would.
That was, until she heard a bang on the door.
Noah looked at her with a hooded gaze. Water fell from his eyelashes. “Do you want to get that?”
Still linked with him in a slippery dance, she whispered. “Don’t stop, don’t ever stop.”
The bang became louder and now seemed angry.
“D, I think you should get it. It seems important. Maybe Harry got out; maybe something happened to him.”
“Ugh, what a buzzkill.” She rested her wet forehead on his. “But you’re right. It could be about Harry. I’m not sure I latched the screen door.”
“I’ll be here waiting when you get back.” He gently ripped himself from her.
“This is torture.” She kissed him again, still tasting herself on his lips. “I won’t be long.”
Dahlia threw on her light robe and ran her wet body down the stairs. She spotted Harry, who was now bouncing by the door and barking. “You’re here?” she murmured in confusion. If it wasn’t about him, then why was someone at her door?
Dahlia heard the bang again, and this time, the thunder went right through her. “Open up, Dahlia. I know you’re in there.”
“Shit.” She slapped her hand over her mouth. It was Spence. Dahlia’s heart wildly beat under the cotton, like there was still something to fear from this man.
“Yeah, one minute.” She wrapped her robe tighter and took a deep breath. She slowly turned the bolt and opened the door. “What on earth are you doing here?” she asked quietly, inching out of the door.
“I’m dropping off the papers you asked for,” he said, looking clean-shaven and proper in his golf shirt.
Her eyes felt wider than the ocean. “I thought you were going to email them.” This was so inappropriate, but it was also Spence’s style.