Page 118 of Catching My Dreams

“Mhm,” he hummed, his lips trailing up so he could whisper into her ear. “We probably have time.”

Ella lifted a brow in challenge. “Then what are you waiting for?”

Noah grinned and lifted her into his arms. Ella wrapped her legs around him, letting him carry her up the stairs and to her bedroom. She loved that he didn’t even seem to struggle under her weight, the hard muscles in his arms more than capable of carrying her to her bed.

“Please can I take this hideous sweater off now?” he asked once he’d set her down.

Ella laughed. “Yes,” she replied because not even Noah could make Santa on a T-rex sexy.

“Great.” He pulled it off, taking his shirt with it.

Ella sat up and let her hands trail over his chest and stomach. When her fingers grazed the skin just above his jeans, Noah sucked in a sharp breath and leaned down to slam his mouth against hers.

Between kisses, he tugged her sweater and long-sleeved shirt over her head, leaving her in her dark green bra. Finally, she was left in only her matching lingerie, and Noah’s lips left hers to take in the festively colored set.

His eyes settled on the two scars on her abdomen—one made by Brett’s knife and the other by a surgeon’s—and he swallowed as his thumb stroked over the raised flesh. Eventually, the scars would grow lighter, looking more like the scar on Noah’s arm, but they were still a fresh reminder of what Ella had survived.

Noah leaned down to kiss each scar softly, the action showing her that he didn’t find the marks ugly. “Beautiful,” he whispered, his fingers gliding along the top edge of her underwear.

Ella smiled. “We need to be quick,” she reminded him.

Noah sighed. “Too bad. There’s a lot I want to do to you right now.”

His fingers moved lower, brushing over her through the thin material, and Ella bit back a gasp. He eased the underwear down her legs, his fingers leaving warm trails of pleasure in their wake. Ella watched as he removed the rest of his clothes next, swallowing when he finally stood bare in front of her.

Expecting him to cover her body with his own, she was surprised when he kneeled in front of her instead, grabbing her ankles and gently pulling her to the edge of the bed.

“This isn’t being quick,” she said but promptly shut up when he lowered his head between her thighs.

“I need to make sure you’re ready for me,” he replied, which was ridiculous because she was more than ready for him.

But Ella didn’t complain when the feather-light touch of his warm breaths was replaced by the more firm touch of his tongue. Her lips parted, and her back arched off the bed.

Noah had grown even more skilled at drawing pleasure from her body over the last month, and within minutes, he had her writhing beneath him, ready to come.

“I’m close,” she gasped out, her fingers tightening in his hair.

Noah groaned against her approvingly, sending her over the edge. He gripped her legs harder as she fell apart, keeping her in place as his tongue continued its tight circles. Ella gasped out his name as the final wave ripped through her. It took her at least a minute to recover.

“I think I’m ready,” she said breathlessly, releasing her grip on his hair.

Noah chuckled before standing up, his blue eyes darker than usual as they looked down at her. “Are you sure?” he asked. His hand lowered to her thigh and traced up her skin until it met her soaked core.

Ella groaned as he pushed two of his fingers inside her. “I’m pretty sure,” she replied.

“Good,” he said, drawing his fingers from her.

He grabbed her waist and shifted her higher up the bed, and Ella pulled him down on top of her. Noah braced himself on one arm so that he was bearing most of his weight, and before Ella could catch her breath, he was entering her in one hard thrust.

“Fuck, El,” Noah murmured, his words mixing with Ella’s gasp.

Her fingers dug into his back, urging him for more, and Noah gave it. He snapped his hips forward again, his free hand moving to grip her waist. Ella’s eyes fluttered closed, the feel of him filling her too good.

Noah pounded into her, his pace brutal and unrelenting as they raced against the clock. He lowered his mouth to hers, and Ella claimed his lips with the fervor and desperation only he had ever been able to bring out in her.

She got closer and closer as his movements became more erratic, and she came again before he did, tightening around him and gasping into his mouth as pleasure coursed through her body. Noah was quick to follow, his last three thrusts stilted as he swore breathlessly against her lips.

“That was…”

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