Page 56 of When the Stars Rise

“You think you can lead me around by the nose with a crook of your finger, don’t you?” I tease.

She runs her hands down my chest and looks up at me with big doe eyes, a smile tugging at her lips while her hips swivel to the beat. “Show me, show me, show me…” she says.

I hold her face in my hands and kiss the corner of her mouth. “Will you run away with me, Hales?”

“Yes,” she whispers. Her eyes drift shut as I brush my lips over hers so softly you wouldn’t even call it a kiss, and my hands coast down her sides, settling on the curve of her hips. “I’d go anywhere with you.”

She wraps her arms around my neck, her eyes at half-mast, and there’s a dreamy little smile on her lips when she looks up at me.

That’s all the permission I need to reclaim what’s mine.

With one hand, I release the knot on top of her head. Her hair tumbles around her shoulders and I thread my fingers through it and grab the back of her head. Angling her face up to mine, I don’t even give it a second thought. My mouth crashes down on hers, eliciting a gasp of surprise as her arms tighten around my neck.

My tongue traces the seam of her lips and delves inside when they part for me. She moans and I groan as my tongue strokes the roof of her mouth and explores the deepest recesses.

My eyes drift shut, and I savor the taste of her.

Just like heaven.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Noah

With both handson my chest, Hayley walks me backward until the backs of my legs hit the cushioned lounge chair. With a shove, she pushes me onto the chair and lifts her knee, placing it on the cushion next to me. When she straddles me, I get a flash of pink before she sinks onto my lap.

My hands grip her waist, and she grabs onto my shoulders, bracing herself as she starts rocking, grinding her body against my erection.

“What are you doing, Hales?” My voice comes out husky. She’s so wet that my sweatpants turn a darker shade of gray, and I’m so hard that there’s really no need to question this. But I want to make sure she really wants this and that she’s not doing it because she feels like she has something to prove.

I know Hayley so well. After that story she told me earlier, she needs to feel like she’s in control.

“Hales…”

Her lips ghost the shell of my ear. “Shhh. Just go with it.”

My fingers bite into her skin and I’m about to question her further when she slides her hand inside my waistband and wraps it around my cock then slides my dick between her folds, cradling me in the warmest, sweetest kind of heaven.

She’s so wet I could easily slip inside. I feel an urge to bury myself inside her right now, but I won’t. I grab her face in my hands and force her to meet my eyes. Her cheeks are flushed, hazel eyes bright. She’s so fucking beautiful. “You want this? You’re sure?” I press.

“I want it more than anything.” She holds my eyes. “Ineedthis.”

This. Notyou. But I’m not about to quibble over semantics. If this is what she needs, I’m going to be the man who gives it to her.

I push up her T-shirt and she raises her arms to help me. The T-shirt sails across the terrace and I take a moment to appreciate the sight of Hayley’s beautiful breasts, the rose-colored nipples hardened into peaks. I take one in my mouth, sucking and dragging it out and she whimpers, her hands wrapping around the back of my neck while she continues grinding on me. I switch to the other one, trailing my hand down her body over silky soft skin and it’s been so fucking long since I’ve had her like this that I want to savor every moment.

“Noah,” she breathes.

I love the sound of my name on her lips. It sounds like a prayer or a plea.

I pull her face down to mine and kiss her, and she does that thing with her tongue that drives me wild and makes my cock swell. I want to make this last but if she keeps grinding on me like that, it will be over too quickly.

“I want you to come first,” I say.

My hands settle on the curve of her hips, and I lift her up. Her knees land on either side of my head on the back of the cushionand my mouth latches onto her pussy. Hayley gasps in surprise but I don’t hold back. I feast on her like I’ve been starving for two years, and this is my first proper meal. Which is exactly how it feels.

I’ve wanted her for so long and I finally have her, her fingers digging into my hair, body writhing, begging me for more. I suck on her clit then swirl my tongue around the tight bundle of nerves until she’s squirming, desperate to come.

Jesus. I’m getting high on her scent and taste.