Fractured Trust by L. M. Dalgleish
Chapter 18
Noah couldn’t get enough of her, her scent, her taste, the feel of her satin skin under his fingers. The way she’d come for him, head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut, hips bucking against his hand.
Fuck, he could’ve come right then and there.
Watching her—seeing her shatter under his touch—had soothed the jagged edge of his soul. He’d needed that, had to get it out of his system, so he didn’t explode into a thousand pieces before he could even get inside her.
And she’d given him what he needed just the way she’d said she would. And now he was going to give her what she needed. And she was going to love every single second of it.
He moved her around, so she straddled him, kissing her full lips and using his hands on her hips to rock her against his cock. She pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it over her shoulder, then trailed her fingers slowly over his chest, her eyes following their path as she slid them down over his abs. The scrape of her nails over his skin sent hunger and need sparking and twisting through him, hot and sharp like a live wire. It was too much. What he needed was too close. He was hard as a rock; his desire for her burning him up.
Clutching her to him, he stood, then let her slide down until her feet touched the ground. He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the condoms he’d tucked in there before coming over. His cock was straining against his fly, and he held her gaze as he unbuttoned his jeans and stripped them off along with his boxer briefs. Summer’s eyes dropped, and she let out a little moan, her tongue darting out to wet her lips as she took him in.
His cock jerked in response. “Fuck,” he groaned, taking it in his fist and giving it a hard stroke to ease the ache. He wanted to feel her mouth on him, but he was done waiting to have her coming around him.
After ripping open the condom packet, he quickly rolled it down his length, then dropped back down on the couch. He pulled her with him, so she straddled him again, this time with nothing separating them but a thin barrier of latex.
He used his hand on her hip to guide her up, lifting her enough that he could slide two fingers into her, stroking in and out while this thumb pressed against her clit until she dug her fingernails into his skin and moaned, her head dropping onto his shoulder. Then, he reached down and positioned his cock at her entrance, his heart thumping as he worked her down onto him.
Noah’s eyes almost rolled back in his head as her body stretched to fit him; as her tight, wet heat took him in until he was buried deep. This right here? This was ecstasy. Being with her again wiped out every memory of every other woman he’d ever been with as if they’d never existed. This. This was all there was. All there had ever been, and all he’d ever wanted there to be. He didn’t know what their future held, but they’d figure it out somehow.
They had to.
Summer still had her forehead pressed to his shoulder, her panting breaths fluttering over his skin. Desperate to be moving inside her, Noah curled his hands around her ass and slid her slowly up and down his cock. He flexed his hips up into her on every languid downstroke, his head dropping back as he groaned low and deep in his throat. Summer whimpered at the tease and straightened, taking over the movement. Her eyes turned glassy, lips parting as she thrust herself down on him, riding him harder, faster.
“It’s so good. So good. I’d forgotten….” She trailed off on a moan, and he gritted his teeth in an effort to restrain himself, moving one hand from her hip to seek out her clit. He rubbed it in quick, light circles, using his other hand to pinch and tug on one of her tightly peaked nipples. She gasped and clenched around him. Noah swore; his control slipping. He gripped her hips again to still her, then snapped his up, fucking into her hard, a wave of heat prickling over his skin as pressure built deep inside him.
Twisting, he rolled so Summer was on her back and he was on top of her. He braced his hands next to her head and continued pumping into her. The sight of her sprawled out underneath him, her hips rocking up to meet his thrusts, fanned the hunger blazing inside him into a wildfire.
“Fuck Summer, look at you taking all of me so fucking deep,” he ground out. Leaning down, he crushed his mouth to hers, rough and demanding. Reclaiming her with every slide of his tongue, every stroke of his cock. He slid one hand down and worked his thumb over her clit until she cried out and tightened around him. Her nails raked over his ribs, and he growled, dropping to one elbow, so he could tangle his hand in her hair. His other hand pressed into her hip as he drove himself into her over and over again.
“Oh God, Noah!” she cried out and spasmed around him.
Noah pulled back, so he could watch her while she came. Her lips were parted as she gasped for air, her cheeks flushed, pupils flared wide as she writhed beneath him, clenching around him so hard that he lost it.
“Fuck. I’m coming,” he rasped. Heat and pleasure pulled tighter and tighter at the base of his spine until it exploded, his orgasm blasting through him. With one last hard thrust, he buried himself to the hilt as wave after wave of almost painful ecstasy tore through him.
When it finally began to ease, Noah fused his mouth to Summer’s, unable to stop himself from thrusting shallowly as he rode out the residual tremors. His tongue stroked into her mouth in a matching rhythm, until with one last hard press of his lips to hers, he pulled out of her.
He removed the condom, then, not wanting to be away from her any longer than he had to, quickly rolled off the couch and disposed of it. Sliding back in next to her, he wrapped her in his arms. He could see her pulse still throbbing violently in her throat, and he tucked her under his chin. “You’re incredible, Sunshine. That was incredible.”
She laughed softly. “It was. This whole night has been.”
He smiled and pressed his lips against the soft silk of her hair. With his arms wrapped around her, he just lay there, breathing her in, his heart rate slowing. Neither of them spoke, and he was okay with that. He was more than okay with the peace that flowed through him from where her soft skin was pressed against his.
Noah’s mind drifted as he lay there, thinking about Summer and what might be; remembering the past and what they’d had. Memories flooded him: introducing her to his family and seeing the knowing look in his mother’s eye; trying to teach her how to play the drums and their laughter at how uncoordinated she was; sitting in the cab of his pickup as they listened to music and made out; making love to her for the first time. And the first time he’d really understood exactly how much he felt for her…
It had been a tough day. He’d been holding tight to his composure; doing his best to be there for his parents and Eden. He’d kept a brave face in the church, his arm around his sister as her little body shook with tears. He’d held her hand at the gravesite as they stood next to their mom and dad and watched as their grandpa was laid to rest. And now, at the wake, he’d been making sure his mom had what she needed as she sat, with red-rimmed eyes, talking to guests about the amazing person her father had been.
Having Summer there with him had helped. They’d been dating for three months and seeing her had quickly become the best part of every day. She’d only met his grandpa twice, but she’d shed a tear during the service too, because that’s the kind of person she was.
Right now, she was sitting next to Eden at the kitchen table, doing some coloring with her to keep her distracted while people milled about the family room. The ache in Noah’s chest, the one he’d been suppressing for the last few hours—hell, the last few days since they’d gotten the call from the retirement home that his grandpa had suffered a heart attack—had been grown stronger. Finally, he excused himself and headed up to his bedroom, just for five minutes, just to give himself a chance to breathe and get control of himself.
He was sitting on his window seat gazing out over the back yard when there was a soft tap on the door. He knew it was her, even before he heard her soft voice. “It’s Summer. Is it all right if I come in?”
He’d thought he’d needed some time on his own, but now all he wanted was the warmth of Summer’s presence. “Come in, Sunshine.”
The door creaked open, and she came in, closing it behind her. “I thought you might want some company. But if you need to be alone, I can go back downstairs.”
He held his hand out to her, and she gave him a soft smile and crossed the floor. When she got close enough, he wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her down, settling her on his lap so she was curled up against his chest. “I’m sorry I left you down there on your own,” he said.
She shook her head. “Don’t be, I was fine. I just thought you might not want to be alone right now.”
She rested her head on his shoulder, her hand on his chest, fingers slowly stroking soothing circles over his t-shirt. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally, she spoke again. “I know I didn’t know your grandpa well, but I liked him. I wish I’d gotten to spend more time with him.”
Noah smiled, although his chest still ached with unshed tears. “He was the best.”
“Can you tell me about him?”
Noah swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Okay,” he said. He took a moment to compose himself, then told her about how when he started playing the drums, his grandpa had complained about the ‘dang noise’ whenever he came over. But Noah’s mom had told him how she’d overheard his grandpa bragging to his friends about his musician grandson. And one day Noah had spotted him loitering at the half-open garage door, a grin on his face as he listened to him playing. Noah had invited him in and given him a lesson, and from then on, it became their thing that whenever he visited, the two of them would head out to the garage and muck around on his kit.
He told her how his grandpa would recount the story of how he’d met the love of his life, Noah and Eden’s grandma Lily, just walking down the street one day. She’d caught his eye as she walked past him and his group of friends, and he’d turned and chased her, begging her for a date, not caring that his friends were laughing uproariously at him. He’d told Noah that he’d known as soon as he saw her that she was the girl for him.
Noah still remembered how hard his grandpa had taken it when his wife had passed away five years before. He remembered watching helplessly as the man cried. But he’d still patted Noah’s hand, and through his tears, told him that a love like he and his Lily had shared would never die, and she would be waiting for him when it was his turn to go.
“They’re back together now, then,” Summer said, and he could hear the smile in her voice.
Noah nodded, although the backs of his eyes were burning. He kept talking, recounting other memories. Like how without fail, whenever their grandpa visited, he would magically find a coin behind Noah’s and Eden’s ears, even after Noah had grown up enough to figure out the trick. Even when he was a teenager, and would roll his eyes and pretend to be bored with the whole thing. His grandpa would only laugh, flick him the coin and say, “You’re never too old for a bit of magic in your life.” And Noah would pocket the coin, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips.
The whole time Noah talked, Summer’s hand stroked his chest soothingly. She didn’t stop when his voice cracked; didn’t stop when his tears finally came. She just let him talk until the ache in his chest eased, his tears stopped flowing, and his words dried up.
Only then did she straighten and twist in his lap until she was straddling him. Normally, he would find that position far too arousing, but this time all he could think about was the warmth and compassion in her big green eyes as she looked at him.
She cupped his cheeks, smoothed the tears from them with her thumbs, then leaned forward and pressed her lips gently to his. When she settled back down, he tucked her hair behind her ears and said, “He liked you, you know.”
Something unreadable flittered across her features, but she just smiled and said, “He was such a charmer, I’m sure he liked all your girlfriends.”
“You’re the only one I’ve ever introduced to him. The first time I saw him again after, he told me he knew as soon as I said I was bringing you to meet him that you’d be special. And after he met you, he knew for sure he was right.”
Summer smiled and blushed prettily, but Noah didn’t tell her what else his grandpa had said, with a sly smile on his face. “I can tell you take after me. When you fall, you fall hard”.
And right at that moment, with Summer sitting on his lap, Noah knew that if his grandpa were somewhere up there looking down at him, it would be with a smug smile creasing his face, knowing that Noah had well and truly proven him right.
Without stopping to think too hard about it, he tipped her head back. “I love you, Summer.” Her eyes widened, lips parting in surprise. He smiled down at her. “It’s okay, you don’t have to say it back. I just wanted you to—”
Her mouth was on his again, her taste inflaming his senses as her hands fisted in his shirt. And when they were both gasping for breath, when their hearts were pounding in time with each other, she pulled back just enough to whisper against his lips. “I love you, too.”
As Noah lay there in the dark with Summer finally back in his arms, he thought about his grandpa’s words. Back then, after only a few short months with Summer, he’d fallen hard. In fact, that was understating it. He hadn’t just fallen. He’d flung himself off the edge of the cliff.
Summer sighed and nuzzled against his chest and Noah’s heartbeat quickened. Now that he had her back in his arms, he thought he might just be falling again.
He had the feeling he might never have stopped.