Page 52 of Seven Night Stopover

He kissed her parted mouth and lingered far longer than was wise. “Then I’m honored to trigger such feelings within you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Could you sound any more smug?”

“What can I say, sweetheart? I have a special touch.”

She snorted. “God help me.”

He laughed and kissed her again. “The car service will be here in a few hours. Do you want to try and get some sleep?”

She shook her head. “I’m not sleepy.” Her foot rubbed on the back of his thigh and he shuddered.

“Sweetheart, I know I said I’m greedy, but if we keep going like this, you’ll be out of commission soon.”

“I told you, I’m stronger than I look. But I’ll let you recuperate if you’re feeling worn out?” she said cheekily.

He snorted and adjusted his hips so the blatant evidence of his readiness was in no doubt. “I won’t rise to the challenge. Much as I want to. I want the pleasure-pain in perfect balance when we fuck.”

She made a pouty face but wrapped her arms around his neck. “What shall we do then?”

He slid his hands beneath her shoulders and cradled the base of her neck, awed by the fragile bones of her scalp. She was strong in some ways, yet so easily breakable in others. Someone had taken advantage of that fragility.

Broken her…

Red-hot fury rolled through him. It took several beats before he could speak. When he did, his voice emerged strained. “You said you couldn’t get pregnant. You want to tell me why?”

He would’ve been blind to miss the wave of harrowing pain that darkened her eyes before she took control of it. When a small shiver wracked her frame, he leaned down and kissed her. Her eyes were less haunted when he lifted his head.

“I spent time in the hospital when I was seventeen… I was hurt. The doctors couldn’t fix me completely. The specialist I saw afterward confirmed it would take a miracle to get me pregnant.”

Noah sensed there was a lot she was leaving out, but he decided not to push. The past twenty-four hours had been intense in ways he never saw coming. Hell,he’dcracked opena can of worms he never dreamed he would touch without full body armor.

“Hell, I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

Her eyes shimmered bright for a few seconds before she shrugged. Swallowing, she speared her fingers into his hair in a rough caress that tore at his heart.

“I haven’t given up hope completely. In my darkest moments, I choose to believe miracles still can happen.”

He didn’t answer because he had no evidence to prove her theory. There had been a time long ago when he foolishly believed he could replicate what his parents had. He’d believed he’d found his soulmate. Having that belief turned to ash had hammered home the rarity of his parents’ relationship.

“My turn.”

He refocused on her. “Shoot.”

“Vocalize. Why?”

He pressed his lips together and told himself he only needed to tell her what he was comfortable with, as per their agreement. “I need to know what you’re thinking. That’s all.”

“No. That’s not all,” she countered.

He didn’t realize how tightly his jaw was clenched until her fingers touched his face. He forced himself to relax. “My ex?—”

Her fingers clenched in his hair. “Use her name, Noah.”

Surprise arrowed through him. “Why?”

“I don’t know why, but every time you sayex, I get a little dart of jealousy that makes me want to claw at something.”

The unexpectedly blunt admission stunned a laugh out of him. “What?”

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