Page 31 of Catching My Dreams

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“So am I.” She smiled. “And I’m on the pill.”

“You’re on the pill?” he asked, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.

“Yep.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so earlier, woman!” He threw his clothes to the floor and strode back to the bed. “Did you enjoy watching me make a fool of myself?” he asked when he reached her.

She nodded. “Very much so.”

Noah scowled, but his eyes were sparkling with amusement. “So cruel.”

“Merciless, really,” she agreed, her cheeks warm with pleasure. There was none of the usual anger in their taunts. Only humor. It was a welcome change for however long it might last.

He sighed and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “You have no idea.”

And then he was kissing her again, his lips and tongue claiming her with brutal fervor.

Ella had been kissed by other men, but none of them had ever kissed her like Noah did. None of them had ever earned that zap of electricity that shot down her spine when his tongue battled with hers, and none of them had ever made her feel like she could come undone with just a kiss.

It was entirely unfair that Noah was the one who held that power over her, but it had always been that way. Had always been him.

“I need you,” he whispered against her lips.

He was back on top of her, his body cradled between her legs, and Ella knew he could feel how much she needed him, too, how ready she was for him. But she still replied with a breathless, “Please.”

She waited for him to crush his mouth to hers again, to thrust into her with the reckless impatience that he’d kissed her with. But Noah always managed to surprise her. He held her gaze as he slowly eased into her, inch by inch and with a gentleness that was too much. Too personal. Too vulnerable.

“You feel so good, El,” Noah groaned when he’d pushed all the way into her.

Ella clenched around him, and his hand tightened on her waist in response. She felt so full, so perfectly stretched out for him. “Please, Noah.”

He withdrew, and his second thrust was just as gentle as the first. Ella’s fingers dug into his hips, drawing him closer, taking him deeper.

“Fuck.” Noah closed his eyes briefly, a look of such pleasure crossing over his face that Ella felt unreasonably proud to have been the one to put it there.

When he opened his eyes again, they were dark with hunger, and the next jerk of his hips was harder.

“Yes,” Ella gasped. The word had barely left her lips when Noah’s mouth was covering hers, his tongue stroking against hers.

Her nails dug into his skin, but if it hurt, Noah didn’t show it. His only response was another snap of his hips, and Ella felt herself tightening around him as he pounded into her over and over again. When she went over the edge, the most intense wave of pleasure rushing through her, he swallowed her moan and fucked her through it, his pace picking up and his fingers pressing deeper into the curve of her waist.

His mouth left hers when he came, and his groaned swear fell against the skin of her neck as he thrust deeply into her one last time. More of his weight pressed into Ella, but she didn’t try to escape from beneath him. Instead, she ran her fingers over his back, listening to their heavy breaths and the racing beat of her heart.

His fingers eventually loosened around her waist, and when he pulled out of her and rolled over onto his side, she felt oddly bereft.

“What do you think?” he asked, his eyelids drooping tiredly. He draped an arm over Ella, pulling her closer and setting off a fluttering feeling in her chest. “Did I make it up to you?”

Ella laughed, fighting to keep her own eyes open. “Yeah, I’d say so.”

He grinned sleepily, and Ella didn’t think he’d ever looked sexier. “Good. Now, what do you say I make it up to you again in the shower?”

She returned his smile. “I’m not entirely opposed to that idea.”

He took her again in the shower, warm water coating their skin and steam curling in the sliver of space between their bodies. It was perfect and frantic, and Ella fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows on her bed.

But when she woke up the next morning, feeling happy and more well-rested than she had in months, she was alone.

---