He’d gotten angry because he cared about her. They would have to work on that, but in this one moment it gave her some peace. It let her know someone was willing to fight for her. Since she’d moved to Dallas, she’d had to fight for herself so often she was tired.
“I wanted to kill him,” Hutch admitted with a sigh and then his mouth hovered over hers.
How had she gone from the depths of despair to wanting his kiss more than her next breath? The rest of the night didn’t matter because she was done fooling herself. She wanted to be with Hutch. “Tell me you want me.”
The smile that came over his face lit up the night. “I want you, Noelle. I want you in a way I haven’t wanted anything in a long time. Not since I was a kid.”
“What did you want then?”
“Safety,” he replied simply.
He’d been a little boy with no power for much of his life. And then when he’d found his power had he wielded it simply to show he could? No. He’d saved his brothers, put his life on the line.
Why had she waited? “You’re safe with me.”
She brushed her lips over his, pouring everything she felt into that kiss. His hand moved along her thigh and up to her waist.
“You’re safe with me, too.” Hutch breathed the words against her lips.
She was. “Let’s go home.”
She knew she should say her place, but living with him for the past week had made that apartment feel more like a home.
“But then we’ll miss your class,” he said, and he picked her up again, making her feel petite and cared for. He stood up with her in his arms like she weighed nothing at all.
“My class? I told you I don’t want another training Dom.” She was sure David Hawthorne was a great guy, but she’d made her choice.
“And I told you I would make sure you have everything you want.” He started for the door. “So I’ll be your training Dom. I’ll go right back to Dom kindergarten and do it all over again, and baby, you should understand I’m going to take homework seriously.”
“But I thought it was against the rules.” She’d asked about it. She’d asked Kyle and he’d explained that the training class was for newbies only.
“Rules are made to be broken.” He pushed through the door and started for the stairs. “And like I said, Tag owes me and I’m calling it in.”
She settled against him and suddenly was perfectly content with how her night was going.
Chapter Eleven
Kyle pulled Noelle’s sedan into the parking space she’d been allotted and put the car in park. “Okay, we need to talk, you two.”
Hutch didn’t want to talk. He was way too busy kissing Noelle. He’d started the minute they’d gotten into the car and hadn’t stopped the whole way back to her building. He’d helped her into the back seat and followed right behind her.
She was his sub. He was her training Dom. They were doing what they were supposed to do. Exploring the lifestyle. One kiss at a time.
He was ready to explore her body again. It had been far too long.
“Did I mention how freaking hot you were tonight?” He probably had, but it should be said about a thousand more times because she’d taken his breath away. “We’re going to get you so much fet wear.”
She grinned at him. “I can’t wait to see you in a set of leathers, Sir.”
He kissed her again, letting their tongues tangle as arousal pulsed through his body in a pleasant fashion. He hadn’t changed into leathers, and Mistress Lea had allowed it for the evening, but she’d also used him as an example of how no one should be topping a sub while wearing a Spiderman T-shirt.
He could top Noelle in any number of geeky shirts. He had a never-ending supply of them.
He was not sleeping on the couch tonight.
She felt so fucking good in his arms. When he’d carried her back up to the dungeon and sat down in one of the trainee chairs, she’d sat on his lap and Lea had simply sighed and begun the class. He hadn’t even asked what they’d done with Jeffrey, though he’d been told he had a meeting with the lawyers in the morning. Erin would have taken care of that asshole, and now he could take care of Noelle. That was how his team worked. Even when they weren’t at McKay-Taggart.
He was oddly excited to go through it all again. With her. The first time he’d gone through training, he’d done it because his friends were all doing it and it seemed like a good way to fit in. Only later had he realized how much he’d needed it. Only after he’d gotten home from his enforced time with Dr. McDonald. Then he’d needed to be in control.