By the time the game was coming to a close and she was ready to sink the eight ball, Noah had had more than enough of seeing her bent over the table wearing those little shorts and his shirt. In the two weeks she’d been at his house, he never got tired of seeing her wearing his shirt. He loved the way it hung on her, occasionally giving him a glimpse of a swell of her breast or the curve of her slender shoulder.
Before she could sink that last ball and totally embarrass him, he snagged an arm around her waist and pulled the stick from her hands. “I think you’ve shown off enough.”
Her gasp of surprise quickly turned into a wide grin. “Sore loser, Noah? I’m not surprised. You’re very competitive, but I hate to break it to you. I own this game.”
He laid the stick across the end of the table and used both hands to span her narrow waist. “Yeah, well, there’s something else I’d rather own right now.”
That smile of hers faltered as she bit her lower lip a second before licking them. Her hand came up to his shoulder, slid around his neck and toyed with the ends of his hair on the nape of his neck.
“I’d swear you planned this, but you had no idea I was getting this table.”
Her brows drew together. “Planned what?”
“Those shorts,” he told her. “Bending over the edge of the table to take your shots and throwing your rear in my face at every opportunity.”
“I certainly had no clue you’d be getting this,” she defended. “Besides, it was you who practically dragged me out of bed.”
Noah inched closer, pulling her lower body taut against his. “I should’ve kept you there.”
His mouth slammed down onto hers and she responded in an instant. Her body arched against his and he palmed her lower back while his other hand slid up to thread his fingers through her hair.
Her tongue invaded his mouth and Noah nearly sank to his knees. This woman knew how to take as much as he was willing to give. With one arm banded around her waist, he hoisted her up onto the edge of the pool table and stood between her legs. He pulled her forward a tad to stay as close to him as possible. He wasn’t about to let her get away, not when he’d been denying himself for so long.
Keeping his mouth locked on hers, he reached between them and slowly unbuttoned each of the buttons, one agonizing hole at a time.
She pulled her mouth from his. “Pull the darn thing.”
Noah laughed. “It’s my shirt.”
“Buy a new one.”
“As you wish.”
He gave a yank and the last of the buttons scattered across the hardwood floor. Easing the shirt off her shoulders, Noah kept his gaze on her chest. He was a guy—where else was he supposed to look?
“You’re magnificent,” he whispered. “Don’t look away, Callie.”
She shook her head. “I’m not. I just… It’s hard to have you look at me like this. I mean, you create beauty for a living and I’m just…me. Flawed, but even before nothing special.”
He took her face in his hands and kissed her softly before pulling back. “Listen to me. I’m sure as hell not comparing you to anyone. I want you, Callie. You. Because I’m attracted to you. It’s that simple.”
She reached with her left hand and palmed his cheek. “Then don’t let me complicate things with talking, because I’m about to explode.”
As if he needed any more of an invitation. He peeled his shirt off and flung it to the side and quickly pulled off his jeans and boxers—but not before grabbing a condom from his pocket and tossing it onto the table.
Callie’s eyes widened and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m optimistic,” he defended with a grin.
“I’m glad, but I’m more shocked at you,” she told him, her face turning a cute shade of pink. “It’s just…wow. If I were you I’d totally walk around naked and stare at myself.”
Noah kissed her. “Shut up, Callie. Let me show you what else we can be doing.”
He unfastened her shorts, and with her help of rocking from side to side, he eased them along with her panties down her toned legs before dropping them to the floor.
Noah stepped back to look at her, and even though he knew she was uncomfortable, he wanted her to get comfortable with the fact he enjoyed looking at her.
* * *