Page 87 of Play On

I laugh. “The peacock morning calls are the icing on his grumpy cake.”

We walk closer to the structures that house the hawks, and Luke puts Rex inside the mew, which is what his home is called. He tells Noah a bit about how he takes his hawks out to hunt for quarry, and it’s important that they are able to do so. We chat with Luke a bit longer, and then he excuses himself to take care of the birds in the aviary.

As he walks away, Noah stares at his retreating back for a moment, and as soon as Luke is out of earshot, he turns to me. “He’s a great guy,” Noah says, smiling down at me. “I like him.”

“I do, too.”

He moves his arms around me, and I slide my arms up his back.

“What do you think about heading back to my cottage?” he asks. “We can stop at the shop on the way—I need to get some things for the weekend—and maybe we could cook dinner together tonight.”

“I’d like that,” I say, smiling up at his handsome face.

Noah is quiet for a moment, then he raises one hand to my face. “Violet?”

“Yes?”

“Spend the night with me tonight,” he says, his voice low. “I want to spend the night with you.”

Chapter Twenty-One

The Scent and Sound of Rain

Noah wants me to spend the night with him.

My pulse quickens as all kinds of sexy images flood my mind—of Noah’s mouth burning against mine, of his inked arms wrapped around my body, of him pinning me to the mattress with that athletic body and then kissing me until I can’t take another bre—

“Violet, I want you to stay in any way you feel comfortable with,” Noah says firmly, his hands rubbing up and down my back in a reassuring manner. “I just want as much time with you as I can get before I report back for training.”

I stare up at him, seeing the sincerity shining in his beautiful brown eyes. Noah isn’t pushing anything onto me with this invitation. If we did nothing but kiss and talk, he would go back to Surrey content with how we spent our time together.

My breath catches in my throat. I know, without a doubt, we could do nothing sexual, and it wouldn’t matter in my developing relationship with this man. Noah would wait, I know that with every cell in my body.

And knowing that makes me want to move forward.

I’m starting to fall for this man. I’ve had sex in the past, of course, with men I’ve been attracted to. Men I’ve had fun with and guys I’ve dated.

But I can’t say love was involved with any of them.

Not that love would be involved with Noah—it’s far too early for that—but I already know sex with him would be different.

And I want to explore that.

“I think sexual chemistry is important in any relationship,” I say softly, one of my hands travelling up to the nape of Noah’s neck. I glide my fingertips up and down it, stroking him softly, and smile as I feel goosebumps prickle his skin.

The sincerity shining in his eyes now shows an undercurrent of desire.

“It is,” he says, his voice low. One of his hands moves up my back, and his fingertips trail suggestively over the back of my bra.

“I think,” I say, dropping my voice, “I would like to stay in your bed tonight, Saucy Shorts. And do all kinds of naughty things. Like eat fudge and stretchy snakes in bed.”

He bursts out laughing, and I laugh, too. Noah begins to flush pink with embarrassment, and I swear I want to kiss him just because he looks so cute.

“I love how you make me laugh, Butterfly.”

“It’s my mission to make you laugh,” I promise him. “Because you deserve to have lots and lots of laughter in your life.”

Something shifts in his eyes, and I can’t quite read what it is.

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