Page 32 of Saving Noah

And so damned unfair to Noah.

He pushed the thoughts aside. To Noah, he said, “Well, I was leaning toward theother.”

“Oh…okay,” Noah murmured, eyes downcast as if taking a sudden interest in the mattress. When he raised those blue babies back up, they sparkled with mischief. “Did you say all fours in the middle of the bed?”

“I did.”

“Consider it done,” he replied with a naughty grin as he made a huge production of getting into position. Once there, he looked over his shoulder at Zach, and said, “I’ve never ever done this before.”

“Oh, Pink Cheeks, I suspect there’s a hell of a lot you haven’t ever done before,” Zach said. He pushed away from the headboard and got to his knees behind Noah, nudging his muscled thighs farther apart. “And I’m going to enjoy introducing you to each and every one of them.” He leaned over and scraped his teeth against Noah’s ass. He put his right hand in the center of Noah’s back and pushed downward, explaining, “All fours, in this case, means knees and elbows, ass up.”

Another two hours passed, and this time when Noah woke up, confusion didn’t enter his beautiful eyes. Zach was glad he remembered him; he’d made the cute fucker scream loud enough to wake the neighbors two floors below. And while it was safe to assume Noah might be on the fence about being spanked, he undoubtedly loved being rimmed. If Zach lived to be a hundred, he would never forget those sexy whimpers, moans, growls, and groans tumbling from Noah’s lips. When Noah enjoyed himself, he didn’t care if he let anyone within a one mile radius know it.

They were still on Noah’s bed, naked and reeking of sex. Zach figured a shower might not be a bad idea. Lots of fun could be had in the shower. Noah lay next to him, tracing one of Zach’s tattoos with the tip of his finger. He would normally cringe if anyone commented or was stupid enough to touch the ink he was so ashamed of, but Noah could do whatever the fuck he pleased and Zach liked it.

From the living room, his cell phone chirped again. It was undoubtedly Connor; he wasn’t on call with the hospital today and nobody else called him. His friend was probably convinced they’d killed each other. To keep Connor from calling 911 or shooting his way into Noah’s apartment, he whispered, “Let me go grab that. I’ll be right back.”

“Sure. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard your phone but then you’d distract me and I’d forget to say anything. I hope it isn’t a hospital emergency.”

“It’s not. I’ll be right back.”

He climbed out of the bed and walked naked toward the door. When Noah whistled, he gave him an ass shake before disappearing down the hall. As he dug into the pocket of his jeans, he shook his head in embarrassment.

He didn’t do ass shakes.

He guessed he did now.

Just as he’d expected, Connor had left him fifteen text messages—the last one threatening to jump from Zach’s balcony to Noah’s so he could look through the French doors and watch them fucking. Ha! Unless he held superpowers of seeing through thick black curtains, he would’ve wasted the life-threatening balcony acrobatics. He quickly texted him back, letting him know everything was good and promised to ask Noah to agree to talk with him about his security.

Shit, Zach didn’t look forward to the conversation. How was he supposed to convince a man he barely knew that he and Connor could keep him safer than the FBI?

Back in the bedroom, he said, “That was Connor. He wants to know if we’re going to have sex all day or whether he can come over for a visit.” He tossed his phone on Noah’s nightstand and climbed back into bed. He was unclear and uncomfortable about how he should present his plans to Noah…since he was pretty much suggesting Noah allow him and Connor to take over his entire life. Yeah, this conversation wasn’t going to go well.

Noah got up on his knees and straddled Zach’s lap. Grinning, he said, “Well, I hope you told him we were going to have sex all day. I’mwaybehind schedule in the sex department, so I have lots of catching up to do.” He shrugged and added, “Since he’s your friend and all, he can come over and watch if he wants to.”

“Uh…no, he can’t,” Zach answered. “I’d like for him to stay my best friend, and if I caught him looking at your ass, I’m afraid our friendship might slam into a brick wall.” Zach felt queasy, but swallowed and dove in. “Soooo, uh, I have somesuggestionsfor you to consider.”

Noah cocked an eyebrow. “Suggestions? Why am I getting the feeling I’m not going to like what you’re about to say?” He climbed right back off Zach’s lap and plopped down on the other side of the bed.

Since there was no easy way out of the mess he’d created, Zach plowed ahead. “First of all, Noah,” he began, “thisthingbetween you and me has absolutely nothing to do with my medical profession or opinion; it’s strictly a mutual attraction driving us both insane. I don’t want anything to interfere with what we’ve got going, okay?”

Noah nodded slowly, like he didn’t trust what was coming next. Zach didn’t blame him. If it were the other way around, he’d be pissed at Noah for breezing into his world and immediately trying to take over.

“It’s just…I don’t think you’re getting the best medical advice and I’d like you to consider seeing another doctor. And Connor would like to have a discussion with you about what the FBI is doing, if anything, to keep you safe from Donovan Moretti. And neither of us believes Cameron has your best interest or wellbeing anywhere in his top priorities in life.” There, he’d said it. When Noah didn’t respond, he quickly added, “I know you have absolutely no reason to trust either of us, Noah. I know it as well as I know it’s none of our business how you live your life. You have every right to tell us to back our shit down and we will. We…I…am just worried about you.”

After what seemed like a lifetime to Zach, Noah drew in a deep breath and finally answered, “Wow.”

“You want to punch me in the face, don’t you? Go ahead,” Zach urged. “I deserve it. Punch away.”

“So, uh, I have somesuggestionsfor you to consider,” Noah said, mimicking Zach’s words. “What’s going on between you and me isn’t an exploration or a thing. I think I’ve already mentioned this to you, and if I have to mention it again, someone other than me might have their ass punished,” he threatened. “I suggest if you don’t have the balls to call it what it is, just refer to it as fucking. Misusing words to avoid saying relationship makes you look like a fool. I also suggest you not get your hopes up you’ll be able to fix me. I see it in your eyes when you look at me. You want to rush in and save the damsel in distress. Newsflash—I’m not a damsel and trying to save me is a waste of time and energy. Finally, Idotrust you, Zach. I don’t know why, but I do. I hope you don’t make me regret it. Trust isn’t something I give away easily, even if you would believe differently by how I’ve acted with you. It’s been over four years since the trial, and I haven’t told another living soul my real name. Not until you came along. I rarely talk to anybody, but I let you into my apartment, into my body, as soon as you showed the first signs of interest. So, yeah, I trust you. I’ll talk to Connor and I’ll talk to another doctor, as long as he makes house calls, of course. As for Cameron, I depend on him for too much. He’s an egotistical ass, but he’s harmless, Zach. He stays.”

Zach wanted to argue. He didn’t trust Cameron any further than he could throw him. But he’d already pushed his luck with Noah. His new lover was being exceptionally lenient with him. Well, except for the lack of balls comment. He’d call him out on it…if it weren’t so damned true.

“Thank you, Noah,” he said. “Thank you for trusting me.” Zach had let somebody down before. He wouldn’t let it happen again.

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