Nick grinned wickedly. “Not as much as I’ll enjoy what comes next.”

“And what do you think— Ahh!” Noel squealed when Nick came around the table and lunged for her. She took off running, but only made it halfway down the hall before he caught her around the waist, pulling her back against him. Her butt fit snug against the front of his boxers and she could feel his firm length nestled there, fully at attention.

“You like teasing me,” he whispered against the side of her neck. His hands cupped her naked breasts, squeezing them, caressing them.

“Yes.” The word came out breathless and harsh.

“Hmm…I liked watching you tease me. It was all I could do not to jump up, bend you over the table and make you squirm.”

Noel never would have guessed that kind, patient Nick would be assertive in the bedroom. When she did imagine it, it was always sweet. Lots of reassurances and gentleness. Not this dirty talking stranger whose hand slid down her body and into the top of her panties to…

She gasped, pressing her hand flat against the wall to steady her as Nick circled her clit with his finger. Noel arched into his hand, frustrated by the slow, even strokes he administered.

“Faster,” she whimpered.

“No teasing then?”

She shook her head vehemently.

“As you wish.”

Noel didn’t have time to catch her breath before he did exactly as she asked, his hand moving at the speed of light. Her nails dug into the wall plaster as she closed her good eye, her body shaking with every swift circle of her clit. Noel couldn’t stop her hips from bucking of their own volition, needing, wanting, craving his touch. Her release. God, so close. Coming.

Her body convulsed, her pussy pulsating as she came down from each delicious wave. Nick’s lips trailed across her shoulders, the back of her neck.

Noel slowly turned, her back against the wall. “Nick…”

She was delighted to find him breathing as hard as she was, his dick causing a massive tent in his boxers. “Yeah.”

“My turn.”

“Oh yeah?”

Noel took him by the tie and led him gently the rest of the way down the hallway to his bedroom. “Absolutely.”

When she backed him up to the bed and pushed him down onto his back, he grinned up at her, sliding his hands behind his head. “Do your worst.”

“Oh, I plan too.” People took for granted the difference two good eyes made versus one, but Noel managed to slip off his tie in record time, tossing it away.

Nick watched her intensely, his lips cocked up in the corners, a bemused smile on his face. She unbuttoned his shirt, sliding it open to expose his hard pecs and the ridges of his taut abs. Noel’s gaze caught his and she stilled for a moment, memorizing the wildness in his eyes and the soft parting of his mouth. How his breath came in swift bursts, his body tight with anticipation.

Mine. His reaction. His heart pounding against my palm. All of that is for me.

Her fingers traced all the planes and ridges, followed by her mouth, power and wonder coursing through her like electro-magnetic pulses. Trailing her tongue. Pressing light kisses along his skin. He whispered her name when she nipped at the spot just above his boxer band.

Noel pulled down the top of his boxers and smiled.

“You ready?”

“Fuck yeah I—”

He never finished the sentence.

Chapter 24

NOEL

Tuesday afternoon, Noel parked in front of Gabby’s house just after four, carrying two coffee cups in her hands. She wasn’t above ambushing and bribing Gabby with tasty beverages if it meant she’d hear her out.