Page 66 of Until Then

I stare down at the place our hands are connected. “You don’t need to feel obligated?—”

“I don’t.” He doesn’t blink, doesn’t look away. “I want to do things that matter in my life, Wildfire. I’m proud of my job, of what I do to help people escape reality sometimes, but . . . I’ve been feeling like there’s something else, another direction I should go.”

“Like teaching the kids?”

He nods. “The community programs have been more for my benefit than theirs, I assure you. Watching you down there, I don’t know, I was completely captivated. Like I was exactly where I should be. So, please, don’t feel like I’m only saying this because of . . . whatever this is. I really believe in it.”

A half a breath passes before I realize I’m leaning forward.

Another heartbeat thuds in my chest before I recognize my palms are against his face.

Then, another second before I know I’m going to kiss him.

My lips are crushed to his before I understand I don’t even care.

I don’t have time to think before his palm overtakes the side of my face. Noah tugs me closer until I leverage over his lap, straddling his hips.

I melt against him. The clean hint of pine and spice on his skin draws me closer. My fingers drag through his wavy hair as I part my lips. His tongue is warm and minty.

I want him closer,needhim closer. Truth be told, I’m not sure it would even be enough. Walls I’ve carefully placed around my heart bend. They crack. Caution and unknowns have dictated my moves with Noah Hayden since the morning I realized my dream man wore a famous face.

In this moment, caution fades and the truth shoves through.

I allowed fear to cloud what my heart felt around this man.

I pretended our meeting didn’t matter.

I told myself he would break me like others have done.

My fingers tug on the ends of his hair. His hands claim me like I’ve always been his.

None of those untruths I’ve repeated these last nine months matter anymore. I want Noah. Should he break me in the end, at least my heart had a moment to learn what true desire, true want, true heat and happiness feels like.

After a moment, Noah pulls back, keeping his lips hovering over mine. I’m breathless, dazed. A dark simmer in his eyes gives up Noah might be thinking the same thing.

My stomach backflips. Perhaps we have an arrangement, but this is real. There’s no façade with the way he’s looking at me.

Noah is sweet, gentle, and devoted to those he loves.

But there’s a darker side, one riddled in passion and desire. The simmering heat in his gaze draws out the beautiful blaze of a man who’s found what he wants, a man who’ll do whatever he can to keep it.

A shudder shoots down my spine. No one has ever looked at me this way, and I think I’ve unlocked a new obsession.

“No one’s watching, Wildfire.” His fingers brush a bit of wild hair out of my face.

There’s hesitation in the words. Like Noah believes I might be ready to recoil from him all over again.

I press my forehead to his, eyes closed. My fingertips trace the stubble on his jaw, the curve of his lips. “I’m glad no one’s watching.”

A curl of a smile twitches in the corner of his mouth. He leans his face into my palm. “Why’s that?”

Am I bold enough to finally say what I want?

Heartache burns through me like a disease I can’t heal. A constant nagging in my skull, trying to get me to tread with timid steps, to accept a man like Noah wouldn’t ever truly want me.

But stronger is a new voice, a new steadiness that draws me closer to him, that trusts him.

More than anything, these arms feel like home.

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