“Because she isn’t over you and I’m into you. Pretty much a guarantee every fight we have is going to end up coming back to you.”
Nick’s face broke out in a wide grin.
“So, on a scale of one to ten, how into me are you?”
Noel shook her head, fighting a smile. “If I answer this question, will you shut up?”
“Yep.”
“One hundred thousand billion trillion infinity can’t keep my hands to myself or even think about you without wanting to kiss you. Does that answer your question?”
He frowned up at her, but she caught the sparkle of amusement in his brown eyes. “Honestly, no. I asked for a number between one and ten. You need to follow directions.”
Noel burst out laughing, snapping her mouth closed when she realized how loud it was.
“I’m pretty sure he didn’t hear that,” Nick said.
“Will you shut up?”
“Rude and not the way you should talk to someone you like a hundred bil—”
Noel slanted her lips across his to keep him quiet, but the minute his hand came up to cradle the back of her head, she forgot why she was kissing him. Only how much she’d missed doing it. The heat of his skin burned through her long-sleeved shirt, arousing her nipples until they poked against the cups of her bra.
Nick flipped them over, coming out on top. Taking control. Incredibly hot and not something she usually let guys get away with, but she trusted Nick with every part of herself.
Her eyes nearly rolled up in her head when he kissed her neck, nibbling his way to the soft spot beneath her ear. Noel’s hands gripped his shoulders, moaning when he rolled her earlobe between his lips. For a guy with limited experience, he sure knew how to make a girl melt.
In the distance, she could vaguely hear the banging and angry shouts, another door opening and someone yelling about calling the police. But then Nick’s hand cradled her breast, squeezing it, chasing away the background noise. Kneading her until she panted, wrapping her legs around his waist. For weeks she’d fantasized about Nick touching her like this and she wanted to get closer, with nothing between them.
Nick’s mouth took hers again, his tongue diving in and exploring her, tasting. Lighting fires in her with every tempting brush. She rubbed herself against his front, dying to have him inside her. Her hand went between them, sliding below the elastic of his sweats and wrapping around his cock. Noel released a sigh as she stroked him, catching his moan in her mouth.
Suddenly, he wrenched away from her, hovering on his hands above her. Her legs still locking him to her, Noel’s hand clasped around his dick, staring up into his dark gaze. His rapid breathing didn’t slow and when she slipped her thumb over the head of him, he shuddered, catching her hand.
“You can stop. I think he’s gone.”
Ice water rushed over her as his words sank in. “You want to stop?”
Nick hesitated, studying her intently.
“Of course I don’t want to fucking stop.”
Noel’s body relaxed at his guttural response, until she realized he was removing her hand from his cock and sitting back. She ended up straddling his lap, her knees framing either side of his thighs. His hands rested on the small of her back, the position making them nearly the same height and she stared down into his face, features she knew by heart and she hated the strain at the corners of his mouth and eyes.
“I don’t want to stop, but I can’t have you telling me afterwards that you regret it. That we shouldn’t have done it.”
Her hands splayed on the tops of her legs, afraid to touch Nick even as they longed to explore every part of him. “And I’m afraid you’ll realize I’m not right for you. That Amber will somehow convince you that you should be together again.”
Nick threw back his head and laughed. “You actually think I want to get back with Amber?”
She lifted her chin. “You told her about your birthday dinner. Where you were moving. Maybe, subconsciously, you wanted her to be able to track you down because you aren’t as over her as you thought.”
“Noel, you know me. I’m the guy who shook hands with Grant Lassiter at graduation, and that guy spent all of middle school duct-taping my ass cheeks together. Do I invite him out with the guys? Hell no. But I don’t bear ill will towards him. Life is too short to hold grudges. Even if my entire family didn’t hate Amber’s guts, I still wouldn’t have any desire to be with her. I started dating her when I was a kid, but I’m a man now. I know what I want.” His hands came up and tangled in her hair. “I don’t want Amber. I don’t want to go out clubbing with Pike and Anthony. I want this, right here. In my arms. You. All of you. The last thing I want to do is hold back when all I can think about is diving into you. Taking you in my arms and tasting every part of your body. What don’t you get about that?”