Midnight's Sweet Kiss (7 page)

“If we have to go buy some, that’s okay,” she offered.

“Well we might, nope, we’re in business.”

Sophie laughed at his choice of words but quickly forgot them as he rolled on the condom and climbed over top her. She pulled his shirt free from his body and tossed it aside, wanting to feel his bare body against hers.

“You still sure,” he asked.

She moaned. “Shut up and fuck me.”

Noah’s eyes went wide. Sophie knew hers did too. She couldn’t believe she’d blurted the words right out like that, but they were true. Too many questions would only make her think and at the moment she only wanted to
do
.

Sophie spread her legs further, doing her best to remember to breathe. His cock pressed firm against her pubic bone and toyed for a brief moment along her pussy. She was wet and more than ready for him.

He entered her slow, each inch releasing a sigh from her lips. Her hands roamed along the muscles of his arms, and smoothed to his back. Within a few strokes of his cock she lost herself in the feel of him, in his magnificent body above her. His eyes stayed trained on her to the point she thought she’d drown in his gaze. It was safe there. Gentle yet lustful, a combination she didn’t expect from a man.

“You feel good,” he groaned.

Sophie smiled. She loved how he looked at her with hunger.

He thrust deeper and she spread her legs wider, wanting nothing to come between them.

This wasn’t the sex she’d been accustomed to. It was tender and beautiful and unrushed.

Noah dipped his head and took a nipple into his mouth. He took his time, suckling one and then moved to the other, drawing them in until they were hard and sensitive. His breath against them made her shiver in pleasure.

When he raised his head she noticed his eyes smoldered. She believed that when he looked at her, he actually saw her. Or maybe she just needed to tell herself that to justify this desire building inside her. To justify why she was in a man’s bed she didn’t know but wanted so very much.

Sophie raised her hips off the mattress and met each powerful stroke. The scintillating friction had her aching for release. Low in her belly she knew that release was near and damn if this time she’d stall it.

“I’m close,” she whispered.

As if her words gave him a boost of adrenaline, he rushed his pace. She looked on at him, dazed, but very much aware of the orgasm building at lightning speed. Her gaze fell across his chest and shoulders, his muscles flexing and bunching. Everything about him excited her, his words, his eyes, his voice, his hands, everything. For one night she knew what it meant to be made love to and she’d cherish the memory forever. What a way to usher in the year.

“How close,” he asked, his voice taut.

“Very.”

Again he quickened his pace. Her vision blurred.

“Yes, oh yes now, right now,” she sobbed.

He kept thrusting, each move bringing her closer and closer until her body broke in a rush. Sophie gripped him tight as she shuddered and felt his muscles tense. He curled his lips and then bellowed. She watched his face as he came. So masculine. So handsome.

“You okay,” he asked.

She nodded. “Fantastic.”

He shifted his weight and withdrew his cock. “I’ll be just a second, I need to take care of something.”

Sophie caught an eyeful of his chiseled behind as he moved into the bathroom. Her pulse pounded, drum-like and primitive. She’d barely come down from the bliss when he returned and slid beside her.

“I’d like it if you stayed in here, but if you’d feel more comfortable in one of the other bedrooms, I’ll understand.”

The fact he’d said anything at all made her decision simple. “I think here is good.” She didn’t want to be alone and she didn’t want to leave his side.

Noah kissed her forehead and brought her in close. His body warm and skin moist. Content filled her every pore. Sophie felt her eyes grow heavy. The effects of the jet-lag and emotion-filled day finally caught up with her. It had been a day she’d looked forward to, dreaded, hated, and then treasured.

Chapter Five

At some point the warm something Sophie had pressed her body against disappeared. She opened her eyes and caught the bathroom door closing, followed by the sound of water running. She looked around. Where was she? Oh right, cab driver, great kisser, excellent lover. She moved to lie on her stomach and the sparkle of her engagement ring brought her back to the real world. Her entire body tensed and her eyes watered. What the hell was she doing lounging around in another man’s bed? How had things escalated to sleeping with a guy she just met not even six hours after getting off the plane to come live with her now ex fiancé?

She wiped at her eyes and cringed at the streaks of mascara across her hand. Sheet clutched around her body she stood and went for her purse. She made quick work of fixing her face and finger combed out her hair. Lastly she fumbled around for her gloss and went to apply it when she looked at her lips in the tiny mirror attached to the tube. They were swollen and lush. Despite the inner turmoil inside, her cheeks were rosy. She exuded the face of a woman who had been satisfied. Noah had kissed with a fiery passion she only dreamed about before. The kind of kiss no man had ever given her.

Her first kiss of the year.

The memory left her with goose bumps along her skin.

In the moments where Noah’s mouth sealed hers, she ached for more. For more of his touch that made her want to sob, because the pinpricks of pleasure were off the charts compared to what she’d ever experienced. He’d revealed a softer side to lovemaking. She hated to even think of Kyle in the same breath, but it made her think. There’d been little foreplay with him. Little passion, if any at all. And she’d catered to his speed sex because they never had much time together to begin with. Granted he said he was working hard for them, so he could give her a dream house and dream life, but those weren’t
her
dreams.

She’d had a taste of passion now, and she didn’t ever want to settle for less. Even if nothing more happened between her and Noah, she had a better understanding of what she wanted, at least in the bedroom.

Sophie shuffled around the house and made the mistake of looking at the clock. She realized with alarm she was expected to give her presentation in three hours and her speech wasn’t even close to complete. If she couldn’t impress them with her knowledge of Greece and its culture, they’d find someone who could. She grabbed her rough draft of the speech and read it over. Her mind refused to concentrate and she knew the real reason behind it. She took a deep breath, took her phone out from her purse, and phoned Kyle.

*****

She’d just hung up when Noah stepped out of the shower, droplets of water taking their sweet time gliding down his smooth chest and well-defined abs. Her body quivered. She wished the towel would glide right off too.

“Shower’s all yours,” he said and then did a double take. “Hey, where’s the rock?”

She looked behind her and then back to him. “What?”

“Your engagement ring. I’m used to seeing you with it on.”

Her cheeks burned. “Oh, I took it off after I called Kyle. I’m going to mail it to him tomorrow morning.”

Concern streaked his handsome features. “You
called
him?”

“Yeah, I needed to.”

“What did you say? What did he say?”

She turned her attention to her toes and wished she’d painted them. “I told him it was over and to never contact me again. He tried to turn things around on me like I’d done something wrong, but I didn’t let him finish. It felt good to hang up on him.”

“Good for you. You’re brave.”

“No, I’m stupid,” she rasped, and met his gaze. “In less than three hours I have a presentation to give or there won’t be the dream job.”

“Who schedules a presentation on New Year’s anyway?”

“People who don’t stay up all night partying. For the company there’s no such thing as a day off.” She waved the papers in the air. “I have a feeling I’m just going to waste their time.”

“You have to think positive.”

“Sure. I’m positive that I’ll blow this.” She’d spent months building up her courage to make this big move and now she felt like a scared little girl. Damn Kyle.

“Tell you what,” Noah started. “Why don’t you go and take a shower, to help wake you up. I’ll get some strong coffee going and you can practice your speech on me.”

She shook her head. “Thanks, but no. I think I’ll call and cancel.” Before the words were out of her mouth they tasted bitter. She should want to go back to Oregon, back to her safe life and back to Olivia. If it weren’t for Noah she’d be at the airport right now.

“Don’t give up. You’re going to be great, trust me. You’ll hate yourself if you don’t try. Now get in the shower or I’ll put you in there myself.”

Sophie believed he would.

“Fine,” she said, giving in with reluctance. “But it’s not going to work. They want someone confident and strong. I’ll be going there unprepared and they’ll see right through me. I don’t belong here.”

“You’re a lot stronger than you realize. And you belong wherever you want to be. Give it a chance. Okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

Sophie grabbed her bag, headed into the bathroom, and started the shower. Was he stroking her nonexistent ego, or did he want her to stay? If he wanted her to stay she could at least try, for him.

When the water turned warm she stepped in and slid the glass door shut behind her. How was this different than when Kyle asked her to live with him? He’d made a pretty good argument. Or maybe she’d just been too willing to follow him around like a puppy dog who couldn’t believe someone as rich and important as he was would have anything to do with her. Noah didn’t have an agenda far as she could tell. Ah hell, she didn’t know what to do anymore. Sophie closed her eyes. She wasn’t looking forward to standing in front of a room of judgmental people. And she sure as hell wasn’t looking forward to washing off the masculine scent of Noah from her body.

Noah hurried into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee and grabbed his phone along the way.

Tate answered in a rough sleepy voice.

“Man, did you unplug your clock or something?”

“Sorry,” Noah apologized. “I know it’s early but I’m calling in that favor you owe me.”

He explained the plan he’d concocted while in the shower. He could tell Tate hated the idea with all the groaning, but he let him say it all before making a comment.

Finally, when he’d finished spewing the plan, he paused. “Well, what do you think?”

“I think that you’re nuts.”

Good old Tate, he thought.

“I’m not nuts.”

“Man, walk away. You can’t be her hero. You already scored with her, so now’s the time to walk away.”

“I don’t want to walk away,” he argued.

“You slept together. It was a one-night stand. Don’t give me the girl moved mountains because the sex was so good spiel, it’s over used. It’s a radio song that plays every five minutes.”

“It’s not like that,” he retorted. “I don’t want to lose her because I sat back and did nothing. She’d have stayed up and worked on her presentation if I hadn’t talked her into going out. I feel responsible.”

“You’re not responsible for her or anything about her. Repeat that about ten times and then another hundred times.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know, that’s the problem. You’re doing exactly what I warned you about. Being too nice.”

Noah pulled down two mugs and set them on the counter. “I think you’re wrong about that. She’s had a jerk, I think nice is what she needs more than anything.”

“Man, you’re in deep. You’re the first guy she turned to after the big shock of seeing her fiancé in a lip lock. You have a short shelf life. You’re the rebound guy and it’s not a fun place to be.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’ve never met her and you’ve pegged her as some heartless bitch.”