Page 113 of Wanted You More

His lips press against the top of my head as he tugs me into his side. “I’ve got you.”

Do you though?Kennedy’s words echo in my head, but I brush them away as Noah leads me hand in hand to his truck, opens the door, and helps me inside.

Feeling the tightness build in my chest again as I think about what this could mean for our friendship, I swallow down the anxiety and lift my phone to Marybelle.

Me:I miss you

Our conversations have been spotty at best the last few months, so it cuts deeper when I don’t get a response from her either.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

For the thirdnight in a row, since he picked me up from campus, I wake up to Noah’s fingers brushing through my hair. Eyes fluttering open, I give him a sleepy smile as his fingertips trail from my hair to my face.

“Good morning,” I say, careful not to abuse him with my breath. Wiggling closer to him, I settle my head on his chest and peck a kiss over his heart. “This is nice.”

I can feel the vibration in his chest as he hums and wraps an arm around me. “I’ve liked waking up next to you. How are you doing?”

I tip my head back to look at him. “I should be askingyouthat. You’re graduating today, Mr. Lawyer.”

Half of his lips curl in amusement. “But I’m not the one who got locked out of my room and isn’t on speaking terms with the friend who did it. I know when you’re upset, Austen. You’ve never hid it well.”

He has a point, but I shrug it off and snuggle up against his warmth. “I know Kennedy will reach out when she’s ready. Lincoln said he’d talk to her too.”

He told me thatafterI bitched him out. I understand why Kennedy is upset with me, but he should have been honest with her so she didn’t get her hopes up.

Noah doesn’t say anything right away. I close my eyes as he rubs my back and let out a content sigh. “Did you have anything else you need to get from your dorm?”

Dad and Wolfe helped me get my things yesterday when I knew Kennedy was already gone. I’m sad I didn’t see her or her parents off, but I believe everything will work out between us. When the boys were putting the last of my heavy stuff into Dad’s car, I’d popped a couple of my pills when I felt the oncoming panic settling into my limbs.

My arm hurt.

My head hurt.

My chest hurt.

But I’d forced a smile when Dad asked if I was okay, and I suggested we go out to lunch to celebrate the end of term. I told Dad we could ask Professor Kalama—Sue, as he’d told me to call her now that she wasn’t my teacher.

“No, I’ve got everything.” My nose nuzzles his chest, moving up to his shoulder and then burrowing into the crook of his neck. I can feel the slight shudder from him as I press my lips against his pulse. “Thank you for being my white knight and letting me stay here.”

His arm squeezes around me, pulling me closer until I can feel him growing and pressing against my pelvis. We both let out a similar noise as I roll my hips into him and pull his mouth down to mine.

He groans into my mouth, deepening the kiss and teasing my tongue with his. I slip my arms around his neck and curl one of my legs over his hip to get a better angle as I work the both of us over the clothes we slept in.

We haven’t had sex since that night in his truck, but we’ve gotten plenty of chances to kiss and explore each other in the days I’ve been here.

When we got to his apartment the first night, we cuddled in his bed until we fell asleep. Despite my protests about my rancid morning breath, he’d kissed me the next day before he had to get up for work and told me where the spare key to the front door was. That night, after he got home from a long day, I’d crawled onto his lap as we watched a movie and teased him as we kissed until he had to go to the bathroom and take care of the erection himself.

He’d returned the favor after we curled into bed, except he made sure to take care of me personally with his fingers and mouth until I’d all but passed out from the mind-blowing orgasm.

I shift my weight until he’s rolled onto his back with me straddling him, our mouths not breaking once. Energy courses through my body as I move over him, feeling him groan and twitch between my legs until I’m desperate to feel him there again with no clothing barrier.

Moving my lips to his ear, I nip the lobe and feel him jerk upward when I whisper, “I want you inside me.”

The veins in his neck pop as I grind down on him again. Before I know what’s happening, I’m on my back with Noah hovering over me.

Articles of clothing disappear quickly after that.

His shirt.

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