Page 70 of The Brave and the Reckless

That wasn’t one of the questions I’d expected him to ask.

“Yes.”

He seemed to consider my answer while his fingers feathered over my right knee, finding the faint surgery scars from years ago. “Are you in pain right now?”

“Just the normal amount.”

“The normal amount should be zero.”

I shrugged. I didn’t want to turn this into an even bigger pity party by pointing out the chronic part of chronic illness.

He weighed his head from side to side. “Would you rather have bendy mind-blowing sex on the sofa or in bed?”

I grinned. Even though the sofa might have been more conducive to what he had in mind, I wasn’t going to turn down soft sheets and a blanket right now. “Bed.”

Noah stripped out of his own dirty clothes, granting me a look at all the sloped and hardened muscles I’d only ever felt through fabric. His was the kind of body earned through physical labor, not sharply defined, but sculpted to a width and strength you couldn’t get at the gym. God, I wanted to run my hands over every inch of him.

Instead, I watched him clean off quickly. He wasn’t as meticulous as he’d been with me, toweling off the mud with rough strokes, but that didn’t stop the water from pearling down his sun-kissed skin. And it certainly didn’t stop the burning heat from pooling at the base of my spine again. If anything, I wanted those rough hands on me.

Noah knew what he was doing to me. He pinned me in place with a cocky grin, not breaking eye contact once until he tossed the dishtowel in the sink. My toes were curled tight in anticipation when he finally whisked me off the counter and carried me to the large bedroom under the roof. The sloped ceilings and beams across the gable were made from a warm wood that gave the entire space a cozy feeling even if there wasn’t much more to it than a bed with white sheets and blankets. It was placed right under a large skylight almost the same size as the mattress itself,letting in plenty of light and offering a breathtaking view of the storm clouds still hanging low in the sky.

He set me down in front of him slowly, chest pressed against my back, his forearm still braced around my waist from behind.

“It’s not much,” he started to say.

“It’s perfect,” I cut him off and tilted my head back to get a look at him. He furrowed his brow as if he was trying to puzzle out whether I was teasing him, but for once, I wasn’t. “It’s perfect.”

Leaning down, Noah grazed his lips over mine. “I know this isn’t what you’re used to.”

Huh. Considering Noah’s closeness to my brother, it hadn’t crossed my mind that he’d feel awkward about our different backgrounds.Ididn’t. “In case you haven’t noticed, I ran away from everything I’m used to. I’m choosing what I like for myself. And I like this. I like your home. I like the way you make me feel, Noah, the way you touch me.”

Maybe I even likedhim.

I wanted to strangle him half the time for being rude and domineering and stiff, but he was also determined and selfless and always there to catch me. He was physically strong, and that was great, sure, but after everything he’d told me today, seeing this place, I also understood how much quiet strength he carried. He was resilient. And, god, he was beautiful.

I ran my hand into his hair, twirling his white streak around my finger, and pulled him to me. My lips bridged the last gap between us as Ichoseto kiss him.

Tension ebbing, Noah sighed against my mouth andthe sound weakened my knees. If his arm hadn’t still been wrapped around my waist, I would have melted to the floor.

His tongue nudged mine, finding all the ways he could kiss me and tease needy sounds from me. The kiss was passionate, but it was also patient. He wasn’t just consuming me; he was exploring me. I’d never been kissed like this. I wanted to savor it. The longer he kissed me, the harder I clenched my thighs, fighting the heat simmering in my core, just to prolong the moment.

He was holding himself back, too, if the growing erection pressing against my backside was any indication.

“Oh god,” I whimpered as his teeth cut a sharp crescent across my bottom lip.

“You’re intoxicating, Esra,” he rasped, a large hand brushing over my flushed cheek and tugging stray curls behind my ear. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of the way you taste.”

“Then don’t stop.” I pulled him back to me, but instead of kissing me, Noah lowered his mouth to my neck. Goosebumps raised in the wake of every kiss.

His hand brushed down to my chest. Fingertips feathered across my skin, tracing slow circles around and around my nipple until it peaked into the air without him even touching it. He kissed a searing path across my shoulder and repeated his slow play around the other nipple. I squirmed against him, needing more than what he was giving me.

I was suddenly way too aware of being completely naked, in the middle of an almost empty room. All I felt were cold floorboards against my soles, warm air tickling my skin, and Noah’s hands and lips, his body pressing intome, his heat mingling with mine. I couldn’t even push him against a wall or pull him into bed with me. Everything was so far away.

“Noah, please,” I breathed.

“I get more than seven minutes today. I’m taking my time.” His voice dropped to a low rumble. This wasn’t up for discussion, apparently, and that firmness just made my inner walls pulse with need for him.

I tried to turn, to at least align us face-to-face, but his arms kept me locked in place.

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