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My whole body shuddered, the words striking deep. Home. “Okay,” I said, though my voice was more of a rasp than anything else.

“Good. We’re going home, and straight to bed.” She took my hand and pulled me in the direction that we’d already been walking.

Home.

She’d said home.

First, she’d said she wanted to be a part of the family, and now we were going home together.

She’d never know what that meant to me.

Chapter 24

Kate

Noah still seemed distant as we entered the house, but he did follow me to the bedroom. I wanted him to know I was here for him. And if I couldn’t get through to his mind, then I would get through to his body.

The kittens were deep asleep on the couch, curled up together. They didn’t even stir as I tugged Noah up the stairs. At least we wouldn’t be interrupted, adorable as they were.

I pushed him to sit on the edge of the bed, and I got my first glimmer of life from his eyes. The corner of his mouth tipped up into a smile.

“Shoes off,” I ordered, and he obeyed. That was the last order I gave. I was the one that peeled off his shirt and touched him. Noah leaned into my touch, stealing a kiss against my cheek when he could, but otherwise stayed still.

He moved with me when I stripped off his pants and tossed them aside. Once he was naked, a sudden thought stopped me. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

I pulled one of my mall purchases out of my suitcase and scampered into the bathroom. Noah’s laugh followed me, which was a good sign. “I think we’re past you having to go into a different room.”

The blue lingerie was soft against my skin, and in the harsh light of the bathroom the color was almost too bright. But I liked it, and I thought he would too. “But if I didn’t go into a different room,” I said, “then I wouldn’t be able to make an entrance.”

Noah’s face slackened when I stepped back into the bedroom, eyes darkening and fire kindling in his gaze. There was the Noah I knew. He was coming back to me.

The look he was giving me right now made this lingerie worth every penny.

When I was within reach, he caught me by the arm and pulled me into his lap, then turned and spilled me onto the bed so he was over me. “If that’s the kind of entrance you make, you can do it any time you like,” he breathed against my skin.

“I had a plan. Sit you on the bed, get down on my knees, and make you feel good until all you could remember was me.” The hardness against my hip told me that at least part of my plan was working.

“I’d rather get to look at you like this,” he said, “in that, than have it hidden with you on your knees.”

Heat touched my cheeks. “So I’ll just stay naked for that next time.”

Noah laughed, low and dark. “Kate, you are full of surprises.”

“Good ones?”

“Always fucking good ones,” he murmured against my lips. “And this blue thing is going to drive me crazy.”

“That was the point. I bought a couple of things when we were at the mall.”

Curiosity lit his face even in the dim room. “There’s more?”

“Maybe. If I’d known you’d like it this much, I would have bought some earlier.”

“I like whatever you wear,” Noah said. “And I especially like whatever you don’t wear. I don’t want you thinking you need a million pieces of lingerie. Wear this every night and I’d still be ready to tear it off you.”

Hunger rolled through me. I’d brought him back here for him, but it was me who was crazy with need. I drew his face to mine, searching his eyes. “Are you okay?”

Noah grinned. “I am now.”