Page 44 of Touchdowns and Temptations

Finally, I return the kiss.

It breaks down all the walls I have so carefully built.

Noah intensifies the kiss, I give in and let his tongue enter my mouth. His right hand moves to my cheek and pushes into my hair. He tilts my head and I let him, making the kiss even more intense. His face hovers over mine and I let him take control. Our tongues engage in a fierce battle to see who will gain the upper hand. Noah pulls my body closer to his, and I feel his hard member against my stomach. Fuck. I didn't think this kiss would turn him on so much. But, of course, it does, because it feels incredible.

I've been resisting the inevitable for so long, but there's no point anymore. With this kiss he tears down my last walls and I give myself to him.

“What?” he whispers, running his thumb over my cheek.

“Nothing,” I say, smiling at him. “Everything's fine.”

Our lips meet again. This time the kiss is more passionate. Noah's tongue penetrates deep into my mouth and elicits a moan from me.

Suddenly his hands are on my thighs and he lifts me up, forcing me to wrap my legs around his hips.

“Where are you going?” I ask between kisses as he carries me up the stairs.

“What does it look like?” is his simple reply.

Yes, what does it look like? His bedroom!

Before I can even think about whether we should really do this, he kisses me out of my head again. The top floor of his apartment passes me by like a movie until Noah opens a door and carries me to bed. The sun is setting and is so perfect in the sky that it shines a warm orange through the curtains of the large picture windows.

Noah sets me down in front of his huge bed and smiles at me.

We stare into each other's eyes for a moment. Finally, I reach out and stroke his cheek. Over the shadow of his beard, his beautiful lips that can kiss so sinfully, and a small scar on his left temple that I've never noticed before.

“What happened there?” I ask, touching the scar carefully with my fingers.

“A little fight,” he answers. “With Logan.”

“You had a fight with your big brother?” I ask and he laughs and kisses my neck.

“Yes. Now let's move on to more important things.”

Noah leans towards me again, but I shake my head.

“I think it's important,” I counter and push him away.

Noah furrows his eyebrows and doesn't seem to understand what I want from him. His mind is entirely fixated on sex.

“At the risk of you kicking me out,” I mutter, letting myself fall back onto the bed. “Tell me about it! Everything! The scar, other scars, your brothers.”

Noah opens his mouth and can't believe it at first. I know he wants nothing more than to sleep with me right now. But damn it! This interests me so much more than sex.

“Okay,” he admits. “You're killing me, Cara Catherine Corse. Wait a minute.”

I'm about to reply when he turns on his heel and disappears into an adjoining room. A few seconds later, he returns, clothes in hand.

“Here,” he offers me one of his jerseys. “The door on the right is my bathroom. Go in and change. It might be a little uncomfortable in your jeans.”

“You're going to tell me?” I ask in astonishment, crawling off the bed.

“Sure,” he says. “If you want to know.”

Chuckling, I jump out of bed and disappear into the adjoining bathroom. It's smaller than I expected. Gray tiles, dark gray furniture, and a huge round tub line it. The windows are floor-to-ceiling and covered with opaque pleated shades. I take off my jeans and shirt and place them on the edge of the tub. Then I slip into the jersey. It comes up to my knees. The Boston Foxes logo is emblazoned on my left chest. A big ‘B’ with the outline of a fox's head around it. Without thinking about what I'm doing, I lift the fabric and hold it up to my nose. To my disappointment, it doesn't smell like Noah, but like lavender detergent. But what do I expect from a fresh Jersey? I turn around once to look at my back. It says ‘N. McCarter – 10’ in big letters.

This day ended very differently than I had imagined. And now I'm lying in his bed, albeit in a completely vegetative state. Grinning, I look at myself again and tie up my hair on the way back to the bedroom.

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