This Just In... (Harlequin Superromance) (13 page)

Sabrina was tired of waiting. She grabbed his shoulders to anchor herself, then rounded her hips so he was fully sheathed. A small sigh escaped her lips.
Yes.

He hissed her name through his teeth. His jaw clenched, muscles rigid. He hung on by a thread. One thin thread that Sabrina relished snapping. She tilted her hips upward, cradling him more firmly while her body opened around him. She wanted him. All of him. Now.

But Noah remained above her, holding himself just slightly apart. His arms propping his weight off her, that control still firmly in place. She wriggled against him, rubbing her nipples against his chest. He shuddered at her touch, but didn’t break as he began to move. Slow and sweet. His body rocking gently into hers.

The friction created a lovely little buzz that Sabrina knew she could get off on. It would be gentle lovemaking full of polite orgasms and gasps that would never be heard outside this room. He’d make sure she came at least twice before letting himself do the same. She’d be sated afterward and they’d cuddle, murmuring soft words of gratitude. But this wasn’t about her. It was about them.

Delicate shivers began to radiate through her as Noah continued his slow, thoughtful strokes designed to give her maximum pleasure. Lovely as it was, she was looking for something else. And there would be nothing thoughtful or slow about it.

She wrapped her arms around him, grabbed his world-class butt and forced him to increase the tempo. He jerked and tried to bring things back to a careful, gradual pace. She bit his shoulder.

“Sabrina.” He sounded like he was being smothered. “I can’t hold on if you keep this up.”

“Good.” She raked her nails up his back and grabbed his face. “Let go.”

Noah’s eyes centered on hers, the pupils dilating until they obliterated the bright blue iris. Checking, even now when they were locked together, to make sure this was okay, this was what she wanted. Did the man never put himself and his own needs first?

Well, he would now. He’d gifted her with acceptance, giving her the interview she needed, taking her to the festival and allowing her to feel that she still had a home in Wheaton. She might not plan to stay, she might not visit often, but he’d shown her that it was possible.

Sabrina’s heart squeezed. She would give him the gift of freedom. The ability to be himself with her, the safety to know that she wanted to see him. All of him. Not just the naked parts. But the messy hurts and childhood scars that marked everyone in some way or another. She wanted to see those parts.

She placed her hands around the back of his neck, tugged him toward her so their lips could touch. A hot but gentle kiss. The kind he’d been pushing for all night. She felt the droop of disappointment in his shoulders before they returned to their stolid, stoic position. If this was what she offered, he would take it.

But she could tell it wasn’t what Noah wanted. Not deep down in the parts he kept hidden from everyone. Probably even from himself.

And Sabrina knew she had him. One tiny nudge and he would let go, free the bad boy that lived behind those protective walls.

It almost killed her to do it, but she placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed. He frowned as their mouths separated, followed by their bodies. The ache of loneliness surrounded her as he slipped half out of her. But she was wagering that it wouldn’t be for long.

Sabrina stopped him when only his tip remained within her. “Noah?”

His lips were pressed tight together. Yet another display on his well-developed control. He didn’t say anything, a growl the only thing that came from his throat. Right on the edge. Right where she wanted him.

“Do you want me?”

His scowl was her only answer. He nodded.

“Then you’re going to have to take me.” She nudged lightly at his shoulders again, making her meaning clear. If he wouldn’t take, then he’d get nothing.

Noah sucked in a strangled breath.

She lowered her hands to her breasts, pushed them together, offering him the juicy red tips. His eyes flared, so dark that the blue was almost invisible. “Take me, Noah. Now.”

He hesitated a moment. Long enough for her to worry that she’d guessed wrong, that his training to be the golden boy would override his innate desires and he’d slide out of her and apologize. And then contentment settled over his features, followed by a slow, wicked smile.

It was a secret bad-boy smile that announced he relished the idea of letting go, he’d just been afraid to do so before. Sabrina’s temperature rose and then spiked as he captured her wrists, braceleted them in his fingers and jerked her arms above her head.

Noah’s gaze was no longer appraising and thoughtful. It was predatory. A man who knew what he wanted and was going to take it.

Her nipples hardened under his hungry gaze and her entire body throbbed. When he sucked one hard bead into his mouth, tonguing the tip until it was a knot of pleasure that slammed waves through her body, she thought she might pass out. Now it was Sabrina who hissed his name.

He shifted, using one hand to hold her wrists captive, using the other to push her knees up, opening her more fully. He teased her, not going any deeper, leaving her with just the hint of what would come. When he was ready, when he wanted, and not a minute before. Her back bowed, offering everything and more to him.

Her mind flooded with desire when Noah drove home, all the way inside, leaving no question as to what he wanted. Her.

The bed thumped against the wall as his hips bucked into hers. An endless, delicious pounding. She ached to grab him, to feel those hard muscles as he worked in and out of her. To score him with her nails, so that everyone would see he was hers. But his hold on her wrists was firm and nothing she did loosened his grip. She was caught, bound completely, bared for him to do whatever he wanted.

She was drowning in him, in them. He pounded harder. The bed hitting the wall at a faster pace. Good thing there were no neighbors to complain. Sabrina raised her knees higher, welcoming him inside, needing more of this, more of him. She wanted whatever he had to give.

Bolts of pleasure began to shoot out from her core, making her gasp. She tried to tell him more. Or harder. Deeper. But the connection between her brain and mouth seemed to have been severed and all that came out was a throaty moan as he slid into her again and again until she was delirious with need and with the desire to come. She was so close, hovering on the verge between pleasure and pain. Her body tensed but didn’t release.

He moved faster, pumped harder, reading her body’s signals. Thank God. Release shimmered, so close yet so far. She could have cried. But even as she craved the liberation, she hungered for more. For Noah to stay with her until they were lost together.

Her fingers curled and flexed. She wanted to hold him. She wanted him to keep her just as she was. She felt feverish and cold. Starved and sated. She’d started out intent on forcing him to lose his infamous control and instead she was the one on her knees. Well, on her back.

Another moan eased from her throat. A secret call from a place hidden deep within her. Noah slipped a hand between their bodies, rubbed his thumb across her. He heard what she needed, what she didn’t even know.

Sabrina looked at him, stared deep into his dark eyes, and silently begged him to come with her as the edges of her vision began to flicker. Her body tightened around his, drawing him down to her. He reached up, lacing his fingers through hers. Together. United as one, they broke in a long, pulsing release.

And for a moment, there was nowhere else she wanted to be.

CHAPTER TWELVE

N
OAH
SUCKED
IN
A
BREATH
,
then another. Because when a man had just done what he had, a breath or two was in order.

“Hey.”

He looked down and saw Sabrina smiling up at him, her legs still hooked around his back. They fit just right. Like they’d been made for each other. Here, in her arms—and legs—he felt at home.

She stretched and her pretty rosebud nipples rubbed against him. He hardened again even though he was no longer sixteen. He wanted to suck on those nipples, tease them until they were hard and at attention, demanding he never stop. Given the chance, he might not.

But that couldn’t happen. Someone or something would intrude, calling on him and his time. As common sense returned, shattering the carnal bliss, he realized he was probably crushing her. He moved to shift off, but she wrapped her legs tighter.

“No, just stay.”

“I’m too heavy,” he pointed out, lowering himself onto his elbows.

She sighed and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him. “Don’t care.” Her voice was sleepy, slow. As though she’d be happy to stay like this, too.

Hope banged against his ribs. He ignored it. “Sabrina.”

She opened one eye and peered at him. “Seriously? You’re going to fight me on this?”

He blinked. She was right. What was he thinking? The choice between staying surrounded by Sabrina’s warmth and softness or rolling off and flying solo was not a difficult one. But Noah adjusted his weight so that he wouldn’t turn her into a pancake. Her curves matched the hard lines of his own body, soft where he was hard, forgiving where he was not. He lowered his face into the slope between her chin and shoulder and shut his eyes.

Just for a couple of minutes.
Two, three at the most, and then he would roll off her. It was the last thought he had before the morning sun woke him up.

For a fraction of a second, Noah wasn’t sure where he was. The sun didn’t come into his bedroom at this angle. His sheets were navy blue, not white. And there was very rarely a woman in his arms these days.

They’d shifted in the night, turning so they were on their sides. Sabrina had one leg thrown over his hips, her arm resting on his waist. His arms were wrapped securely around her as though he’d been trying to prevent her from going anywhere in the night. Not a bad plan.

But his back was stiff and his knee, the one he’d wrecked in college, burned. He needed to get up and stretch them out. Warm up so that he didn’t spend the day hobbling around like an old man. Although Sabrina did seem to get a kick out of George Cuthbert.

He studied her while she slept, her lips pursed as she exhaled. They looked sweet and innocent now, but he knew just what kinds of naughty things they were capable of. Very naughty, very wonderful things.

Suddenly, his stiff back and bad knee didn’t feel quite so pressing. Not when she was wrapped around him, all soft and warm. He brushed the hair off her face, but she didn’t wake up. Just rolled more firmly against him.

Her scent surrounded him, that spicy sweetness. He reveled in it, nuzzling the side of her neck, but she merely sighed and snuggled more securely in his arms. He was content for the moment.

Noah had been in women’s beds before, and had them in his, too. He was thirty-one and liked sex, so it was expected. He’d never kicked anyone out of his bed or rushed home once the sex was over. No, that would be rude. He’d stay, cuddle if that’s what she wanted, call the next day and set up another date. Even when he already knew it wasn’t going anywhere, he was a perfect gentleman.

Long, lingering kisses that were meant to calm and soothe. Careful caresses and polite sex.

He trailed a lazy finger up and down Sabrina’s back. There’d been nothing polite about what they’d done last night. A smug satisfaction joined the contentment running through him. This town had been good to him over the years. But Sabrina was better.

He flipped onto his back, carrying her with him. She mumbled something, then curled around him. He laid there for a while, letting the sun bathe his face and Sabrina bathe his hidden hurts. Hurts he would never admit to.

She wasn’t going anywhere for the time being, which was exactly what he needed.

* * *

W
HEN
N
OAH
WOKE
UP
for the second time that morning, the sun was no longer in his eyes but his knee was on fire.

He extricated himself from Sabrina’s warm curves even as he longed to crawl right back under the covers. However, it wasn’t just about his sore knee, but obligations for the day. He had more duties at the festival, including the closing ceremonies.

Their clothing lay scattered throughout the entry, causing Noah to smile as he strode through, slowly allowing his knee to loosen with the careful movement. The hot shower in his own bathroom eased the aches in his knee and lack of sleep from the night before. Not that he was complaining.

He tossed on a pair of blue jeans and started up his coffee machine. The coffee perked to readiness while he cleaned up the entryway then padded into Sabrina’s apartment.

She remained blissfully unaware of his presence while he folded her clothing and put her red boots in her closet. So much for those city instincts she’d claimed on the night of the porch vandalism. A thief could enter, clean the place out, and she’d probably just hug her pillow more tightly.

It wasn’t until he waved one of the freshly poured cups of coffee under her nose and kissed her on the neck that she finally surfaced to wakefulness.

“Hrmm?” Or semi-wakefulness. She stretched, the sheet outlining her body and then opened her eyes to look at him. She smiled and Noah felt his heart swell.

“Good morning.”

“Rugfen.” Sabrina sat up, the sheet slipping off her shoulders and revealing her body in all its glory. Noah stared, struck silent. His fingers aching to touch. She took the coffee from his hand and hitched the sheet up to her armpits.

Disappointment washed through him. There should be a law against covering up that kind of magnificence. As mayor, he should look into that. His plan lasted about two seconds, the amount of time it took for her to sip the coffee, place the cup on the nightstand and then reach out to wrap herself around him.

The sheet slipped to her waist again and her bare chest brushed against his as she pulled him back down onto the soft mattress. “Too early. Sleep now.”

Noah balanced himself on an arm above her, ran a finger down her velvety cheek. Oh, he loved that soft skin. Wanted to show his devotion to it again this morning. Was painfully tempted if the status of his straining jeans was any indication.

“I can’t,” he said. His festival duties were looking more and more like a bother. “I have to go and be mayor.” He wasn’t due at the site for a few hours, but he had other obligations to see to before then.

Sabrina pouted, those pretty lips looking eminently suckable as she turned them toward him. “I should have made you sound incompetent in my article.” Her arms twined around his back, stroking up and down. “Then you wouldn’t get re-elected and I wouldn’t have to share you.”

The idea wove through him, scary and exhilarating. He brushed it away. It would never happen. He would win the election and remain mayor. There was no other option. Not for him and this town.

“Of course, then I couldn’t call you Mr. Mayor.” Her lips grazed his ear. “And there’s something terribly sexy about that.” She stretched against him, all warm, supple womanliness, and he thought he might pop the button on his jeans.

“You’re doing that on purpose.”

“Guilty.” She rubbed again like a contented kitty.

Noah wondered what would happen if he didn’t turn up at the festival. If he stayed in bed all day with Sabrina and let someone else handle things for a change. His phone would start ringing off the hook, someone would come by looking for him and word would eventually get around about exactly what he was doing. He sighed and pushed himself off her though his body wept at the loss of contact.

Sabrina didn’t pull the sheet up to cover herself this time. His mouth went dry and he picked up her coffee.

“If you stay,” she said, drawing a hand up and over the curve of her hip, “we can share more than coffee.”

He’d love that, was more than halfway to saying yes when his sense of duty kicked in. “How about we do something later tonight?”

“Like what?” Sabrina plucked the coffee back out of his hand and sipped.

Noah tried not think about how that mouth had sipped on him last night. He ignored the bountiful feast for his eyes, kept his gaze on her face and the little smirk there. She knew exactly the effect she was having on him, the little minx. He’d pay her back later. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

Then he removed the cup from her hands and placed it carefully on the bedside table. The bed shifted under his weight as he lowered himself over her, only his blue jeans separating him from her heat. And then only until she helpfully peeled them off for him.

He was only a little behind schedule when he finally tore himself free.

* * *

“N
OAH
.” K
YLE
BLINKED
when he opened his front door. “I didn’t expect you until later.”

Although Noah was on duty at the festival today, the family still intended to meet for their weekly Sunday dinner. He hadn’t planned to make a pit stop at his brother’s this morning, but after last night he felt he needed to. He couldn’t just go off to the festival and then show up at dinner as though everything was the same as it had always been.

“You have a minute?” The sun beat down on the back of his neck and the starched collar of his shirt.

“Sure.” Kyle pushed the door wider. “You want to come in?”

Noah glanced around for the family. Being interrupted by the kids or Marissa was not part of the plan.

Kyle read his wariness and grinned. “They’re out. Marissa took them to the festival about an hour ago. They won’t be back for a while.”

Noah’s shoulders relaxed. “How did you get out of going with them?”

“I promised I’d be on morning kid duty for the next two weekends.” His grin widened. “Want to help?”

“Uh, no.” Noah stepped into the house and followed his brother to the kitchen. There was no warm coffee in the pot or any coffee at all. As he’d done many other times in this house, Noah opened the cupboard and dug out the grounds, setting up the machine and turning it on before facing his brother.

“So what’s up?” Kyle lounged in one of the kitchen chairs, completely at ease with himself and his life. Noah envied him. Kyle never worried about his place or how he fit. He just was.

Noah shook the feeling off. He’d made his place and it might not feel as comfortable as Kyle’s or have come as easily, but he’d worked hard for it. “It’s about Sabrina.”

Kyle’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t say anything. One of the many things Noah loved about his baby brother was that Kyle always waited to hear the full story before speaking and rarely passed judgment.

Noah took a calming breath and dove into the deep end. “Were you two serious?”

The question had been eating at him since he stood under the spray of the shower and realized it was something they’d never discussed. Something he should have asked weeks ago, right after he kissed Sabrina on the porch. Noah might have told himself that he could keep his distance from her, but it was obvious now he’d just been fooling himself. Actually, it was obvious that he’d held back, afraid of what Kyle might say. Because if Kyle had felt uncomfortable about Noah seeing Sabrina, then Noah would have felt duty-bound to stay away.

He swallowed. Kyle might still ask him to stop seeing her, but Noah was no longer sure that he could. Nothing Kyle had ever said or done gave him the impression that he had any lingering feelings or that he thought of Sabrina as anything more than an old friend. But that was before Noah had slept with her.

His fingers tingled and his stomach rolled. If this was a problem, he wasn’t sure what he would do. He’d never do anything to hurt his family, but the idea of walking away from Sabrina hurt, too.

“Me and Sabrina?” Kyle’s eyebrows assumed their standard position. He shook his head. “No. We were never serious.”

Noah hadn’t realized how much tension he’d been holding until it was released. “Good.”

A smile appeared on his brother’s face. “You like her?”

“I do.” Simple and straightforward, the way they always were with each other.

Kyle nodded and clapped his hand against the table as he pushed himself to a standing position. “Good. She’s a great girl. Is the coffee ready?”

“I think so.” As if there was nothing unusual about Noah walking into the house to talk about a relationship.

“You going to bring her to dinner tonight?” Despite his laid-back attitude and ability to go with the flow of those around him, Kyle had an unerring sense of discerning other people’s motives and wants.

“I was considering it.” Noah poured two cups then added a splash of cream to both. The thought had popped into his head about the same moment he realized Kyle wasn’t bothered by him dating Sabrina.

“You should.” Kyle nodded and took a hearty gulp of the coffee Noah handed him.

Noah took a gulp of his own coffee, then broached the next topic. “You think Marissa will be okay with it?”

Kyle put his coffee down. “If you’re serious about Sabrina, she will be. We were all close in high school. No reason we can’t be again.”

Like it was nothing, no big deal. Noah studied his brother. There was no guile in his eyes. Kyle wasn’t covering anything up or saying what he thought Noah wanted to hear. He just was.

Noah smiled. “Then we’ll see you tonight.”