Page 72 of Negotiating Tactics

But I couldn’t do anything about that now. The words were out, and I wouldn’t dare try to take them back.

Because they were true.

I did need Noah.

Needed him in a way that I couldn’t ignore.

And as he stared into my eyes, I knew he saw the truth of that need.

He didn’t run, didn’t push me away, didn’t overlook the rawness of this moment.

His arms tightened as he leaned forward and kissed me.

The brush of his lips against mine was so tender that I trembled and then breathed out a breath I barely realized I had been holding. I cried out in protest when Noah broke the kiss, but he silenced me by pressing a hard kiss against my neck as he stared at me with those intense, focused eyes.

After another long moment, he lifted me off his lap and shifted until he was on his knees. Then, he hurriedly undressed me, taking no time at all to rid me of my T-shirt and pajama pants.

I scampered to my knees when he got off the bed and undressed himself, his masculine beauty so potent, I was compelled to touch him.

Hand shaky with need and emotion, I reached out to stroke his shaft, thrilling at the feel of his thickness against my fingers.

I leaned forward and snaked my tongue out to lick at his crown before sucking his bulbous head into my mouth. I swirled my tongue around his crown, then lapped at precum dribbling from him.

As I moved to take him deeper, Noah pushed me away.

“Not about me, Alex,” he said, his voice rough, his chest rising and falling with his heavy breaths.

My heart both clenched and melted at the tenderness in his words and the softness in the way he cupped my cheek. He kissed me softly and then nudged my shoulder.

I lay back, pulling Noah even closer as he stretched out atop me, the heavy weight of his cock against my thigh making me squirm with anticipation.

More than anything I wanted—needed—Noah inside me.

He reached for the nightstand, but I stopped his hand, locked eyes with his.

“I want it to be just us,” I said.

I’d wanted Noah skin against skin before, but common sense had always stilled my tongue. That was out of the window now.

Noah stared at me, so intense that I thought he would leave.

“Are you sure?” he finally asked, his voice a whisper somewhere between reserved, hopeful, and uncertain.

“I am,” I said, stroking his hair.

He looked down at me with reverence and passion that had my blood sizzling, and as he pushed inside of me, his thickness stretching me so deliciously it brought tears to my eyes, I held him tight, believing that if nothing else, Noah would be there for me.

Knowing that I could always trust him.

Seventeen

Noah

“I need you to look into someone for me,” I said.

I was whispering, though I was sure Alex couldn’t hear me.

She was a deep sleeper, I had discovered, and she hadn’t moved in a couple of hours.

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