The words echoed in his head. “Are you saying that this is a good thing?”
The sweetest, sexiest smile broke across her face. “You aren’t very good at following directions, are you? I told you I wanted you to kiss me. For real, Noah. Kiss me like you want me.”
“But I do want you.”
“So show me.”
Everything in his body went tight as he pulled her close, lifting her to her tiptoes. Her lips met his, soft and giving. It felt like a second try at their first kiss. It was all new between them now that he was no longer burdened with the secret he’d been carrying around so long. He had so much to say to her now, every word crammed into a kiss. I think about this every day. I wonder about you. Do you want me? Could you want me? Her lips parted and he hoped like hell that was the answer. She bowed into him. Their tongues met and tangled, a return to that moment of bliss at the wedding when she’d wanted him the way he wanted her.
But it meant more to him now, and he had to know that she felt the same way. He could’ve kept going, he could’ve made his move and unzipped her dress, but he wasn’t sure he deserved to have her if she didn’t feel the same way. As much as he didn’t want their kiss to end, he broke it and settled his forehead against hers. “See? Do you get it now?”
She nodded slightly, her eyes only part open. “I have my own confession to make.”
“Tell me.”
“I’ve wanted you from that first day, too. I have fantasized a million times about you backing me up against the filing cabinet and kissing me. When I’m standing there rubbing the back of my leg with my foot? I’m thinking about you.”
Noah’s heart was about to punch a hole through the center of his chest. “Tell me more.” Every muscle in his body flooded with white-hot need.
“When you sit on the edge of your desk? I want to walk up to you and stand between your knees and unbutton your shirt.” She popped one of his buttons. “Like this.”
Noah had never been more turned on. “That afternoon in the car, the day we went to buy your ring? I thought I was going to explode I wanted you so bad.”
“You can have me, Noah. Right now. For real. No more pretending.”
“There’s no going back if we say it’s for real.”
“I know.” She untucked his shirt and went to work on the rest of the buttons. He watched as she rolled the garment from his shoulders, spread her hands across his chest. “Your skin. It’s so warm.”
“It’s you, Lily. You make it like this.”
* * *
Lily had never had such a reversal of fortune in all her life. An hour ago, she’d been miserable. Now she was on cloud nine. Her fingers scrambled through the buttons on Noah’s shirt. She made quick work of his pants, too. He unzipped her dress and they let it drop to the floor right there in the living room. Of course, today, she was wearing stockings—black ones from France, with a seam up the back and a wide band of lace at the top. Noah groaned when he saw them, his eyes now half-closed with desire.
“Is it possible to keep those on?” He reached around with both hands and grabbed her bottom.
Lily laughed as her lips trailed over his cheek. “Anything is possible if you believe in yourself.”
“Good.”
He took her hand and tugged her over to the couch. He sat down, his legs spread, his glorious chest and shoulders on full display. She could also see exactly how ready he was for her and it made her absolutely ache for him. It had been only a few days since they’d made love, but even that had been far too long. There were also quite a few things they’d never gotten around to in Florida, and she was keenly focused on pleasing him right now. He’d been so sweet to her the last few days. Lily dropped to her knees and caressed his erection through his black boxer briefs. She smiled up at him and he returned the expression, but it was clearly hard for him to keep it together. His head was bobbing. He was floating between pleasure and paying attention.
“Touch me, Lily. Please.”
Noah raised his hips off the couch as she teased his boxers past his hips and down his legs. She wasted no time taking him in her hand and stroking firmly, then wrapping her lips around him gently, sucking and grazing his taut skin with her tongue. Noah dug both hands into her hair, softly massaging her head, gathering the strands in a handful at the nape of her neck. He piled her hair on top of her head, holding it in place as he moaned with every pass. She felt so damn sexy and wanted right now, she wasn’t sure which way was up.
“Come here, Lil. I need to kiss you.”
She released the grip of her lips and stood before him. He sat forward and wrapped his hands around her waist, kissing her belly, then slipping his fingers into the waistband of her panties and shimmying them past her hips.