Fractured Trust by L. M. Dalgleish
Chapter 14
The taste of Summer slammed through Noah’s senses, familiar, intoxicating, the way it always had been. The way she always had been.
The kiss wasn’t sweet, or gentle. There was anger in it, frustration, want and regret. Every emotion that had assaulted him tonight. He’d tried to walk away, to give them both time to make sense of what they’d found out, but his heart had pounded in his chest, out of rhythm, every discordant beat making his skin itch with need. He’d turned back, desperate for her touch, his mouth on hers—the way he always had been.
And even as his pulse continued to hammer in his throat, the emotions that cascaded through him were soothed by the silk of her hair between his fingers, the softness of her lips, the press of her breasts against his chest.
He groaned, raising his hands to her cheeks and tilting her head back, so he could deepen the kiss. Her hands were fisted in his shirt, her body arching up against him. If he didn’t get her back in her apartment soon, he was going to rip that flimsy little dress off her, reach down to unbutton his jeans, pull his cock out, and shove aside her panties, so he could push up into her. So he could reclaim everything that had once been his, right there in the hallway.
When she moaned and tugged on his shirt to pull him closer, he maneuvered her backward into her apartment. Not taking his mouth from hers, he kicked the door closed behind him and navigated them across the room to her couch.
“Noah,” she gasped. Her voice was breathy, the sound of her arousal so familiar it made his heart rate spike, even as his cock jerked with need for her. He wanted inside her, was fucking desperate to have her under him again. But he couldn’t. As much as he wanted to, this wasn’t the right time. They were both too hurt—too emotionally bruised.
He couldn’t fuck her tonight. The revelation of what Deacon had done infuriated him beyond measure, but how much worse for her. If he did what he wanted, she’d be all in. He could tell by the way she licked at his mouth, the way her nails dug into his side, the way she rubbed herself against him. But he knew her too well. Knew that while she needed the distraction right now, needed to not think just for a little while, after it was over, the memory of what she’d found out would come rushing back, and she’d pull away, retreat into herself, question what they’d done.
But he wasn’t going to leave without giving them both something they needed. He wasn’t going home without at least having a taste of her.
He picked her up and lay her down on the couch, settling himself over her. His fingers moved to the neckline of her dress, hooking into it, and pulling it down to expose her lace-covered breasts. He groaned at the sight of her nipples, tight and straining against the sheer material. After tugging both cups down as well, he lowered his lips and sucked a hardened peak into his mouth, using his tongue and teeth on first one, then the other, until she was gasping and arching up into him.
She’d always had sensitive breasts, and nothing had changed. As he continued lavishing attention on them, her hips started to grind up against his, and if he didn’t get what he wanted from her soon, he might just end up coming in his pants like a teenager. With one hand, he reached down and grabbed the hem of her dress, yanking it up.
He released her nipple with a pop, then sat back, so he could tug her panties down and off, cursing under his breath when her body was revealed to his hungry gaze for the first time in eleven years. Fuck, she was gorgeous. Just as gorgeous as he remembered. More so. The caveman in him wanted to fucking beat his chest, grunt out mine, and simply take what he needed from her. But that was going to have to wait. He had no doubt he was going to be inside her again soon. He just needed to control himself for a bit longer.
Summer was staring up at him, wide-eyed. “Noah,” she whimpered. “I need you. I need—”
“I know what you need, Sunshine.”
He ran his hands up her slender thighs until he reached her core, his thumbs brushing over her satin skin as he parted her. She was already slippery with arousal, and he wasn’t prepared to wait any longer to get a taste. With a possessive growl, he lowered his head and took one long swipe with his tongue, from her opening to her clit. Their groans echoed out at the same time.
Noah slid his tongue over her again and again, unable to get enough of the taste of her. Then he slipped a finger deep inside. Fuck, she was tight and needy, her internal muscles clenching at the intrusion. After a few thrusts, he eased another finger in while he continued to stroke her with his tongue. Summer’s hands clenched in his hair and her hips bucked up against his mouth.
Still driving his fingers in and out of her, he looked up, to see her eyes on him, her lips parted as she panted, the prettiest fucking flush he’d ever seen spreading over her cheekbones.
“You’re going to come for me now, Summer,” he said, his voice rough. “And when you do, I’m going to lick up every single drop. And I’m not going to stop, I’m going to keep fucking you with my fingers, and licking your sweet little clit until you come again. I think it’s only fair since I haven’t had a taste of you in so fucking long.”
She inhaled sharply and her inner walls fluttered around his fingers as he pressed them deep. She was close. He dropped his head back down and drew her clit between his lips, licking and sucking it over and over again until Summer cried out, her hips stuttering up against his mouth as she clamped down around him.
Fuck. Noah squeezed his eyes closed and ground his cock against the couch to try to get some relief. Eventually, she relaxed back onto the seat, but he’d told her what he was going to do, and he was nothing if not a man of his word. He kept going, gentling his hand and tongue, but not letting up.
“Noah.” Her voice was a sweet, husky rasp. “I can’t…”
He raised his mouth just above her clit. “You can, Sunshine. You will. Because I need more. I just need more of you.”
Summer moaned and threw her head back as she clenched around him again. He built her back up gradually, his tongue and lips playing over her skin, his fingers moving inside her, pressing against that sensitive spot that had always driven her wild.
Soon she was arching up under his hands again, her hips twisting into him. When he knew she was close, he curled his fingers against her front wall and pressed his tongue hard against her clit. Just like that she shattered, even more intensely this time—her cries loud enough for her neighbors to hear. And he fucking loved it. Loved hearing her pleasure, feeling her contract around his fingers, loved the way her hands clutched and tugged at his hair.
This. This was what had been missing from his life for so long. Her. The taste of her. Her touch. Her scent.
When she eventually came down, he withdrew his fingers, pressing a gentle kiss to her clit, then the soft skin of both thighs before sitting up and taking her in. She lay there, eyes closed, cheeks still flushed as her chest rose and fell with her rapid breaths. He was still as hard as a rock, and it was costing him everything he had to not just say fuck it, unzip, and thrust into her.
But he waited, and when she finally opened her eyes, the hazy, pleasure-drunk look on her face filled him with satisfaction. Then she blinked, her expression clearing, and those doubts, the ones he’d known were waiting to descend on her, trembled on her lips, ready to spill over.
He’d prepared himself for it. He didn’t like it, but he’d prepared himself. Because he knew they both needed time to process everything. He wasn’t sure what this meant yet—still had questions that required answers. He didn’t know what the future held. But he knew that tonight wasn’t the end of it. When the time was right, he was going to lose himself in her body. He was going to reclaim every inch of her, erase every memory of Deacon’s touch, and he was going to make her scream his name again.
He shook his head before she could voice her doubts aloud. “No, don’t,” he said. “Don’t question it, Summer. Just accept it for what it was from the minute we saw each other again—fucking inevitable.” He gave her a few seconds to absorb that. “Now, I’m going to go home. We’ve both got a lot to think about. A lot we still need to talk about. But this, what just happened? It needed to happen.”
She wet her lips and nodded, her eyes searching his.
Noah tugged her upright and helped her straighten her dress. When she looked at him again, there were a thousand questions burning in her gaze. He dragged his thumb across her bottom lip, then slid his hand to her chin and tilted it up, so her eyes locked on his. “I want you to be okay with this. I want you to know that what’s going to happen between us is unstoppable. So, take this time to get it straight in your head, all right?”
Amazingly, the faintest flicker of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I don’t remember you being so bossy.”
Her voice was still breathy, making his dick jerk with need. But he tamped it down, forcing out a laugh. “I don’t remember you being so difficult.”
He wanted to kiss her again, wanted to press his lips to the tiny crease between her brows. Instead, he let his thumb graze over her plump bottom lip one more time, skim along the smoothness of her cheek. Then, sucking in a sharp breath, he made himself stand. He had to go before he did something stupid and ruined it. But his drums were going to get a fucking workout tonight, that was for sure.
Forcing himself away from her was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. But it was the right thing to do. She was raw. He could see it in the glaze in her eyes, the renewed tension in her body.
And he—fuck, he felt abraded. This whole thing between them because of a stupid photo. No, not just a photo, a woman who thought she had a right to put her mouth on him without his permission, and a backstabbing, deceitful friend who’d just wanted what he’d had and had taken it by the lowest means possible.
As Noah stepped back, his hand trailing down her arm, she shivered. Her eyes raised to his and the small smile that had brightened her face died. “What are we doing, Noah?”
He grinned, her hesitation somehow making his conviction stronger. “I told you, Summer. No questioning it. I’ll see you soon. That’s a promise.”
After one last, long look at her sitting gorgeous and disheveled on the couch, he spun on his heel and left, feeling lighter than he had in months.
Maybe even years.