Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
The whole thing was fucking intense.
Easily the most erotic thing I’d ever done, and for a single heartbeat, I was mad at him for hiding this version of him the last time we’d hooked up. But how could I be upset with him now?
The orgasm rushed at me, surging like an electric current. My moan swelled to a gasp as the pleasure built, and built, and built . . .
“Oh, fuck,” I groaned. Heat burst inside my center, traveling through my body in waves of ecstasy as I came. This time when I bucked against the counter, I couldn’t control myself. I pulled my arms down, stretching the bra between my elbows and letting the fabric cover my face.
Not that I could see, anyway. The power of the orgasm had my eyes screwed shut.
Noah’s fingers halted, both the ones inside and out, but the connection remained. My body clenched down, squeezing against his fingers and giving me aftershocks of pleasure.
He pushed out a loud, heavy breath that was laced with satisfaction.
When my twitching body lowered back to the granite countertop, and the orgasm’s grip on me receded, he finally withdrew. His hands rested gently against my heated skin, one on the flat of my stomach, and the other across my thigh.
As soon as the blood stopped rushing in my ears, I worked to free myself from the bra, letting it fall to the floor. I moved as fast as my post-orgasm body would let me, sitting up and swiveling to face him.
I’d caught him off guard and his eyes went wide, and this time when I reached for him, he wasn’t fast enough to stop me. I threaded my hands through his soft hair and yanked his face to mine.
“Wait,” he said, and turned at the last second so I missed my target, my lips crashing against his cheek.
I caught my breath and pulled back to look at him. “What’s wrong?”
He grasped my wrists, freeing his head from my hold, and stepped back from the island. His breathing and voice were uneven. “Friends don’t kiss each other.”
Um . . . was he serious?
I narrowed my eyes. “They don’t finger fuck each other either.”
“That was a one-time thing.” His expression was stricken, full of confusion and doubt. Even he didn’t believe what he’d just said.
I struggled with the whiplash he’d given me and gaped up at him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Fuck. I don’t know.” Once again, he combed a hand through his unruly hair, which only made him look more unsettled. “I wanted to help you.”
His statement hung awkwardly, like he’d left off the part he’d meant to say. I wanted to help you, friend-to-friend. Thirty seconds ago, he’d been confident and in control, and now he was acting like I’d shattered that by trying to kiss him.
Which was a normal response to what we’d just done. The warmth in my system disappeared in the blink of an eye, and I was painfully aware of the imbalance between us. He had all his clothes on, and I was stark fucking naked. The chill of it clung everywhere.
I slid down off the counter to stand on my shaky legs. “You didn’t have a problem kissing me last time.”
“I know,” he said softly. “And it’s not that I don’t want to. Believe me, I do.”
He’d said it before, but I still bristled, because saying that he wanted it and wouldn’t do it made me feel worse.
He sighed. “But things are different now. I shouldn’t have done that.”
That was what this was? Guilt?
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to tell my dad about it, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
He frowned, but I didn’t want to see it.
Instead, I picked up my discarded clothes, dropped them on the counter, and then got to work pulling my pants back on. I hated this pattern emerging with him, how he’d give me a mind-numbing orgasm, which was quickly followed by me getting dressed in frustration.
He sighed again, only this one was louder and filled with surrender. “I’m not allowed to kiss Shannon.”
My hands slowed as I tugged my bra down over my breasts, and anger grew a lump in my throat. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because when Patrick said I couldn’t kiss her, I didn’t care. I like kissing and all, but I wasn’t bothered by this rule. I don’t need to kiss her.” His eyes turned stormy. “But when I found out you’re Ardy’s daughter and I can’t kiss you anymore? I was fucking pissed, Charlotte.”
I turned to stare at the spot where I’d just lain naked on the counter for him. “I . . . I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either.” He said it begrudgingly, annoyed with himself. “I can compartmentalize a lot of things and keep my feelings out of it, but if I kiss you again? I don’t think we can stay friends.”