Page 69

MILLIE

Good girl

Several hours later, after the speeches and toasts, the entire room is a buzz with chatter, a band busting out songs as people carve up the dance floor.

Noah keeps me by his side as he makes his way around the room. He strokes my lower back, leans in to kiss my neck, and holds my hand. No matter who stops to talk to him, he’s always touching me. I could faint from how good it feels.

I meet Toby and Sam from Salt Skin, who are not only ecstatic Noah won the first competition, but that he captured hearts everywhere with our very public reunion on the shoreline.

They keep hugging both of us, screaming that their customised ‘King’ hats, which are only available for pre-order, have already sold out.

I meet several other surfers, including Zachary Ryan, who Noah beat to win hours ago. He’s a good sport about losing, but by the way he and Noah speak, with niggling jokes and quiet determination, I can tell the competition between the two of them will be fierce.

As we excuse ourselves from speaking with two members of the World Surfing Association, who are very happy to see this version of Noah, we walk side by side past a closed door. Noah opens it abruptly and yanks my arm, pulling us both in and closing us in.

It’s dark inside, but from the light seeping in under the door, I can tell it’s a catering cupboard, with shelves filled with napkins and polished crockery.

“Noah,” I hiss. “What are you?—”

His palm covering my mouth cuts my words off as he steers us to the wall behind me. Something clatters to the floor. As my eyes adjust, I can make out most of Noah’s face. His clenched jawline and his parted lips stare down at me.

“Don’t speak,” he orders.

Even in the semi-darkness, I can see Noah’s eyes blaze with heat, the rise and fall of his chest grazing against my own.

I try to peel his palm away from my face, but he presses harder. “Did you think you could show up wearing this dress tonight and get away with it?”

“I didn’t?—”

“I said, no talking.” My legs tremble. “Not a sound, Maelstrom.”

Oh, Lord. This is a new side of Noah. Dark, brooding, possessive . The energy radiating off his skin is thrumming, and my heartbeat responds accordingly. It’s racing, thumping beneath my ribcage painfully.

Keeping his hand over my mouth, Noah tilts his head and trails kisses behind my ear and down my neck.

A desperate moan sounds from beneath his palm.

Yep. That came out of my mouth. Noah’s teeth sink into the side of my neck and the pain mixed with how fucking turned on I am has me reaching for his shirt to pull him closer.

I bite at his hand, and he hisses, reaching his other hand up to encase the back of my head. He grips my ponytail and tilts my head back, allowing him greater access to my neck, which is probably red and covered in teeth marks by now.

He presses his hips into me, his hard length against my stomach.

A whimper escapes my mouth, and he grunts in response, pushing against me again.

His hand leaves my hair and slides down my back, curving around my ass.

He squeezes it firmly before sliding his hand up the split at the front of my dress.

When a finger slides across my panty line, my entire body convulses.

He pins me in place, one hand still on my mouth, his other hand between my legs. He stares at me with hooded eyes, the sound of my desperate breaths through my nostrils filling the cramped space.

“Take off your panties,” he orders, sliding his finger slowly up and down the front of my underwear.

I want to tell him to do it because his hand is right there , but I keep my mouth shut. With my fingers trembling, I push my dress out of the way and find the edges of my thong. Noah lifts his hand away from the area as I shimmy them down my hips. They fall to the floor around my ankles.

“Good girl,” he rasps.

My eyes roll back into my head as his hand returns, the heat under his fingers building to the point of combustion. A few months ago, I never even considered praise and dirty talk as things I liked. But the more he talks, the way his husky voice sails over my skin, it lights up my entire body.

His hand changes direction, swirling gentle, consistent circles. The gasps from my throat take on a life of their own, out of my control as the pleasure builds. When Noah shifts my underwear to the side and slides a finger inside me, I cry out.

His hand stills. “Remember what I said. No noise, Millie.”

The sound of my name in his gravelly voice has my body writhing against the wall. Noah bites his lip as he watches my face, smirking as he moves his finger again. I drive my hips up into his hand, hungry for more. “You’re already soaking. You like being ordered around, don’t you?”

I can barely see straight, and it takes all my control not to reply with a desperate yes.

He continues to watch me. “I bet you like being ordered around as much as I love telling you what to do.” He presses his hard dick into me again. “This is what you do to me. All the fucking time.”

I grip his biceps to steady myself, my legs almost giving out.

“Do you want me to fuck you?” Noah’s voice is dangerously low.

I nod frantically, forcing breath out of my nose.

“Even though someone might hear? Even though someone might walk in?” He pushes another finger inside and I shudder, nodding again.

With lightning speed, he removes his hand from my mouth and spins me to face the wall. My cheek hits the stone, and I cough with the relief of oxygen filling my lungs. I hear his clothing rustle and the sound of a condom packet opening.

“Bend over,” he demands. I obey him, convinced I’m already dripping down my thighs. He presses his front to my back and leans in, breathing in my ear. “Same rules, Maelstrom. Not a sound.”

My fingertips grip the wall and Noah slides himself into me in one swift movement. I choke out a silent scream, my legs almost giving out. Noah’s movements are quick and deliberate, the urgency of getting caught clearly on both our minds as he thrusts into me.

He fills me to the point I almost break, in the best possible way. The slap of our skin meeting echoes in the space, Noah’s primal grunts and groans the most erotic thing I’ve ever heard. I want to bottle it up and save it for when I’ll undoubtedly need it one day when I’m alone.

My orgasm creeps up on me and my body tightens as hot pleasure ripples from my centre to the ends of my limbs. Noah must feel it, because he increases his tempo for a few seconds before going rigid, thrusting into me deeply one last time. “Fucking hell,” he chokes out.

He stays in me for a few beats, before steering me upright. He pulls himself out and ties off the condom while I turn around, leaning against the wall to catch my breath. Noah stands in front of me and cups my face, kissing my mouth and both of my cheeks, before kissing my mouth again.

“That was so hot,” he says, his breath skating across my mouth.

He coaxes my mouth open with his lips and sweeps his tongue inside.

My stomach bottoms out and I thread my fingers through his hair, welcoming the kiss.

I love the hard, dirty and rough with Noah as much as the tender and slow.

I could lie in bed or stand in cupboards with this man for weeks on end.

When we finally pull apart, I laugh. “Noah, we look a state.”

Noah grins, my red lipstick smudged across his lips. “You look perfect.”

We eventually find a light and tidy ourselves as best we can, although there’s no restoring my makeup to how Sofia perfected it. I give myself a final once-over in my compact mirror and snap it shut in resignation. “That’ll have to do,” I sigh.

Noah’s gaze fixates on me. “Like I said before, you look perfect.”

I wiggle my eyebrows at him. “I meant to ask you earlier, how does it feel to be a winner again?”

“I’ve been a winner ever since I met you.”

I roll my eyes. “Too cliché, King.”

“It’s true,” he insists. “I met you in school and started kicking ass in the surf at sixteen. Maybe you’ve always been my good luck charm.”

I step closer and wrap my arms around his waist. “I can’t wait to see the luck I bring on the tour.”

He nudges my nose with his. “Me either.”