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Noah knew me now. He knew my body and what made it tick. Knew that when he curled his tongue under my clit just like that and stayed there he’d have me writhing in under a minute. Right now was no exception.

He had me reduced to nothing but moans and breath, unintelligible words. But it wasn’t enough. I was still focused on him and the fact that he was doing this for me when I had planned on making him this mindless.

“Kate,” he murmured into my skin. “Let go, beautiful.”

One finger slid into me, curling upward to brush me where he could make flames erupt. Then a second one.

Beautiful.

Something about the way he’d said it. With tenderness, with the words that we hadn’t said to each other, but I was starting to feel. It was more than just clinging to each other through trouble and fear. It unlocked the last bit of tension, and I let go.

The orgasm took me, racing up and through, lacing my nerves with light and pleasure, with deep, swirling happiness that couldn’t be replaced by anything.

I collapsed back into my body, breathing hard, barely able to see in the aftermath. Noah crawled back up my body, brushing kisses across my stomach. My arms. My neck. Finally, my lips.

The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I held them back. I wanted to say them. Desperately. But now wasn’t the time. Not after what happened at dinner. I didn’t want any part of that to be connected to his past and to fear. Not to any of his doubts.

Instead, I traced the lines of his face. Made sure that his eyes were clear. Tried to shout what I was feeling in the way I looked at him. Imagined that I saw it in his eyes too.

This cloud we were floating on felt too delicate for words. Even the sound of the condom wrapper was loud and harsh before Noah came back to me, fitting our bodies together.

The way it felt like coming home...

I wasn’t the most experienced with sex. But it had never felt like this with anyone else. We fit. More than just the way he filled me up physically.

“Wait,” I breathed, grabbing his shoulders. “Wait.”

Noah paused. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” I was more than okay. But I didn’t know how to tell him that. How did you tell someone that you were careening out of control because you wanted them so much that it stole your breath? “I just want to feel you. Like this.”

Noah’s forehead fell against mine. “You feel incredible.”

“Back at you.” I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. “I just—” I sucked in a breath. “Sometimes it feels overwhelming. In a good way. None of this was what I expected when I came here looking to yell at you.”

He smiled in the darkness. “No, I imagine not. You were beautiful even while you were angry.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“You were,” he insisted. “Never doubt it. You are beautiful every second, but few things are as beautiful as someone fighting for the people they love.”

My mind flashed to him dropping into that pit for me. He’d been beautiful then. Exquisite. I knew that wasn’t what he meant, but it was still true. And it made me wonder if there was something more to it than wanting to help me and get me out alive.

One slow movement of his hips had me gasping into his mouth. Not hard or fast. Fluid and gentle. A motion that could build as we moved together.

That’s what we did.

Noah captured my lips with his—there wasn’t any more need for words. We rolled our hips together, gathering momentum until the flower of pleasure bloomed under my skin all over again.

This felt different. Whether it was the fact that we were both emotional or that we’d just learned each other enough, everything was better. This was building to something bigger than before.

Noah moved his hips, changing his angle by fractions until light burst behind my eyes. Oh, fuck.

“There it is.” Pure, male satisfaction dripped through his voice. And he had every right. Every thrust of his cock sent a burst of sunlight through my body. Pleasure and fire and perfect, delicious sensation. I was drowning, and was happy to.

The slow and rolling rhythm that we’d started with disappeared. I couldn’t get enough of him, scraping my nails down his back and curling my legs around his waist just so I could have him closer.

We were trying to crawl inside each other. Nothing felt like enough, and at the same time, it was too much. Everything came together at once. Pleasure raced toward me too quickly to even think about holding it back, and Noah the same. Our breaths were uneven as we clung to each other with each movement and took what we needed before the world went white.