Contents 6 страница

She sucked in a breath and then her lips parted slightly, a soft moan spilling forth. Her eyes closed and her legs opened to me as if my words had commanded them to.

“So if you call that stalking, then yeah, I guess I’ll be stalking you. ” I moved my hand over her abdomen to the mound that resided below it, and she rolled her hips into my touch, another soft moan escaping her lips.

“I’m a strong believer in the three P’s: proclaim, protect, and provide. I will give you everything you need. Everything, ” I said, slipping my fingers inside her while my thumb applied pressure to her sweet spot. “You are mine to take care of. So if I find another guy sniffing around what belongs to me, I’m going to go after him, and I will inflict pain. Are you sure you’re ready for that level of commitment, Delaine? ”

“Oh, God. Yes, Noah. ” She moaned as I curled my fingers back and forth inside her.

“I am a god, ruler of my world, and you are my world, ” I told her, moving my other hand to her breast and manipulating one taut peak. “I can and will give you everything you need to feel good. But I’m a jealous, vengeful god, Lanie. ”

She moved a hand between her legs to cover mine as I finger-fucked her, and the other palmed the back of my neck. “I’m … shit … I’m yours, Noah. Just … oh, God … yours. ”

“Good. I’m glad we agree, ” I said, pushing my fingers in further and with more purpose. “Do you want to come? ”

She nodded.

“Hmm, I’m not so sure you do, ” I said, toying with her. “Beg for it. ”

“Please, ” she said breathlessly.

“Oh, come on. Surely you can do better than that, ” I said, rolling her nipple between my fingertips. “Convince me. ”

She arched her back while digging her nails into my neck and pushing down on the hand I had between her legs.

My fingers worked steadfastly, but when her walls began to tighten, I pulled back, halting my efforts. “I don’t think so, kitten. Not until you convince me. ”

She whimpered. “Please, Noah. Give it to me. Let me come on your fingers. ”

Goddamn, I wanted her. But I needed her release to fill me, sustain me until I could have her again.

“Oh, you will come, Lanie, but not on my fingers. ” I released her, only to pick her up and turn her so that her ass was perched on the edge of the stone-tiled wall surrounding the bathtub. A nice, fluffy towel was already there, so she wouldn’t be too uncomfortable, given what I’d just done to her a little while ago.

I was so anxious to give her what she wanted, to taste her, that I wasn’t quite as careful spreading her knees apart to allow me access to her pretty little kitty. But there were no cries of protest, only a cry of pleasure as I buried my face between her thighs and began to lap at her silken folds with the flattened part of my tongue. She fisted her hands in my hair—damn if I didn’t fucking love it when she did that—and then she hooked her legs over my shoulders with her knees falling to the side, giving me full access.

I looked up at her and she was watching me, so I made a big show of letting her see my long, thick tongue work her juicy little clit.

“Fuck, ” she whispered, and then bit down on her bottom lip. She lovingly pushed her fingers through the locks of hair on the side of my head. “That feels so unbelievably fantastic. Do you like the way I taste, Noah? ”

I closed my eyes and let out an “Mmm …” before giving her slit tender kisses.

I heard her suck in a breath of air, and I looked back up at her, making sure she was still watching me. She was. Reaching my arm around her thigh, I used my fingers to pull back the hood of skin at her apex to reveal the fleshy meat hidden beneath. She needed to have the full view to really appreciate what I was doing, and I gave it to her.

I leaned forward again and sucked her engorged bud into my mouth, pulling back my head and letting it go before doing it again and again.

“Jesus, ” she said in a hiss. “Come up here and fuck me, Noah. I need you inside me. ”

I ignored her, completely enthralled by the effect I was having on her not just physically but mentally and emotionally. My eyes were trained on her face, watching every little detailed expression of pleasure, because knowing I was making her feel good … it just fucking did things to me.

She was enthralled by what I was doing to her as well, her eyes following with rapt fascination every move I made. I bared my teeth, scraping her clit with them before the pointed end of my tongue slowly flicked back and forth over the delicious little nub. She sucked in a stuttered breath, her grip tightening in my hair as I encompassed the pert bud with my lips and gave her a wink.

I meant to drive her insane, and apparently I was on the right track.

“Oh, God. You have to stop, baby. You’re going to make me come, and I want your cock inside me. ”

No way—no fucking way was I going to deprive myself of the sweet nectar I knew awaited me as my reward. I didn’t stop. Instead, I drove her to the edge, flicking my tongue back and forth over her little pleasure bud with lightning speed, sucking it into my mouth and stroking it with my lips, coaxing her orgasm out.

“No. Don’t, ” she said, cursing under her breath while pulling on my hair in a vain attempt to make me stop. I ate that pussy like I’d never have a chance to again, although I knew damn well that I would. I’d make sure of it.

“You’re going to make me …” She pushed and pulled on my head, trying to get me to release her, but I didn’t give an inch. Her body was going to give me the result I was looking for, and I wasn’t going to stop until I got it.

“Damn it! No …, ” she half moaned, half growled, then she pushed on the back of my head so that my face was completely buried in her treasure trove. Her thighs slammed shut, putting my head in a viselike grip as her body stiffened and her juices gushed onto my awaiting tongue. I licked, I sucked, I swallowed. All of it. Mine, all mine.

As the orgasm I gave her subsided, the grip she had on my hair loosened and her thighs became lax. She cupped each side of my face in her hands and forced me to look up at her. “You are so infuriating, ” she said between labored breaths.

“I’m pretty sure we’ve gone over this before, Delaine. I’m insatiable. Don’t ever try to deny me what I want, because I’ll always get it in the end, ” I said with a smirk as her chest heaved and I pulled her back into the bath.

Lanie surprised me by pushing on my chest until I was flush with the opposite wall of the tub. “And don’t you ever try to deny me what I want, Noah Crawford. Because in the end, I’ll take it, ” she said, and then she climbed into my lap, grabbed my dick and …

“Lanie, don’t. You’re—”

Too late. She sank down on top of my cock, which was hardened to titanium strength, and took all of me in.

“Goddamn, ” I growled, my head falling back as I felt her tight walls envelop me.

Lanie giggled at my reaction, a cocky sort of sound, and I snapped my head up only to be met with a cocky grin to match. My cocky grin. It was almost like looking into a mirror, and I wasn’t sure how the fuck I felt about that, but I supposed I was to blame. Yeah, I had definitely created a monster. Tit for motherfucking tat, just like I had suspected from that very first time we had been together in that respect, the night I took her virginity. I knew then that I’d have my hands full, and she was proving me right. She was impossibly stubborn, always having to prove me wrong. I couldn’t fault her for that, because I was the same damn way, and she had been learning from watching me. So I let it go, let her do her thing, let her make me feel good, because in the end she would have her way anyway.

And that was just fine with me.

The smell of hyacinths surrounded me, a cool breeze twirling the fragrance around my body. I could hear the sounds of a string quartet and the buzzing laughter of friends and families as they gathered. The sun was warm on my face and hands. It would have been stifling had it not been for the light breeze.

I was happy. This was a momentous occasion, even if I couldn’t quite put my finger on what exactly was happening.

“Oh, Noah, she’s spectacular. Just the type of girl I’d always hoped you’d meet, ” a soft voice cooed from behind me. I knew that voice. I turned quickly, and there she stood: my mother, amid the tall grass, sprigs of purple, white, and yellow flowers blooming up around her red gown. Her arm was linked through my father’s, who was standing by her side with a proud grin on his face, his hair still black on top, white along the temples. My mother was right; it did make him look very distinguished indeed.

“Mom? Dad? What are you doing here? ” I asked, confused. While part of me felt it only natural for them to be, another part registered that they shouldn’t have been.

“She’s a sassy one, too. Kind of reminds me of your mother. ” My father looked at his wife adoringly.

My mother laughed, then kissed him on the cheek. “That’s a good thing. You Crawford men need a strong woman to keep you in line. ”

Suddenly they were right in front of me. I hadn’t even registered the movement. My mother turned to me and smiled gently as she cupped my face with one hand. “She’s one in a million, Noah. Don’t ever let her go. Remember: From mud and murk, the red flower blooms, overcoming all to stretch toward the moon. ”

I remembered her saying that all the time when I was younger, but back then I’d had no clue what it meant, and I still didn’t.

“The scarlet lotus, ” I whispered.

She nodded once and grinned widely, obviously happy that I remembered. “We love you, Noah. You’ve made us so proud. ”

My father cleared his throat beside her, and I turned to him.

“We have to go now, son. We can’t stay. ”

Go? Go where?

“We just wanted to give you our congratulations. ” He reached one arm around my shoulder and hugged me. “Oh, and thanks for the drink, ” he whispered into my ear.

My mother kissed my cheek and I closed my eyes, inhaling the familiar scent of her floral perfume. When I opened them again, they were gone. I turned back and forth, all around in a circle, looking for them, but they were nowhere to be found. I stopped dead in my tracks when off in the distance I saw a woman dressed in white, her back turned toward me. Her hair was swept up and a veil fell over her face as she turned her head to the side and fidgeted with her dress. A bouquet of red flowers was in one hand. The breeze picked up again, carrying her scent toward me, confirming what I already knew to be true. I could tell who she was by the way my heart swelled in my chest as if it were about to burst. A huge smile spread across my face in anticipation. It was her.

“Delaine? ” I called out, but she didn’t answer. She looked up at me, and although I couldn’t see her smile, I felt it warm my heart. But then she turned back around and ran away, her ghostly giggle tickling my ear.

“Lanie! ” I called out, and then started to run after her, confused. “Why are you running away from me? ”

I ran and ran, my legs heavy, my feet weighed down with what felt like cement bricks. When I thought I’d caught up to her, my hand reached out, but the fragile fabric of her dress slipped through my fingers and she was gone again.

She let out another ghostly giggle, playing with me, challenging me. “Come on, Noah. Catch me. ”

With all the strength I could muster, I leaped forward, catching Lanie around the waist and pulling her into my arms. Even through the filmy veil, I could see her eyes, alight with childlike joy when she looked up at me. Her head fell back and a joyous laughter bubbled up into the warm air around us. Her body was soft and supple as it melted against mine. “Just where do you think you’re going, kitten? ” I asked, holding her to me.

I could feel the warmth of her hand on my biceps and the delicate tickle of her fingers as she ran them through my hair. “Kiss me, Noah. Make me yours forever, ” she whispered.

I reached for her veil, lifting it to gaze upon her unadulterated beauty and seek out my prize. When my lips brushed against hers, she disappeared.

“Noah, wake up. Wake up, Noah, you’re dreaming. ”

I was jostled awake, still feeling the remnants of sleep in my partially paralyzed body. My eyes snapped open and she was there, her body pressed against mine, one hand on my arm while her fingertips gently massaged my scalp at the side of my head.

It was just a dream.

She looked down at me with a warm smile lighting up her flawless face. “Are you okay? ”

“Yeah, ” I croaked in a sleepy voice. I rubbed at my eyes. “I’m good. Did I wake you? ”

“You could say that, ” she said with a playful grin. “You were holding me so tight I was finding it a wee bit hard to breathe. Lack of oxygen kind of has a tendency to wake you up. I think it’s called survival instinct. ” She laughed.

I swept a stray lock of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear, then kissed the tip of her button nose. “I’m sorry. ”

“Hey, I’m not complaining. I kind of like your possessive side, ” she said, petting the scruff of my jaw. “Want to tell me about your dream? ”

It wasn’t that there was anything terrible about the dream; it hadn’t been a nightmare. But it felt real, and that freaked me out a little bit. I needed time to process it for myself before I shared it with her, if I ever shared it with her. No use in freaking her out, too. So however noncommunicative it might have been, I shook my head, choosing to hold on to the dream for myself a little while longer.

Just then the alarm clock on the bedside table went off, its deafening screech piercing through the silence of the room and effectively ending the moment. Lanie pressed her forehead to my chest and we both groaned in protest, knowing it was symbolic of our separation. I had to go to work, and she had to go be with her family. Neither of us was happy about it, but it was what we had to do until we could be together on a more permanent basis.

I smacked at the alarm clock, shutting it the fuck up as it fell to the floor with a thud. We didn’t need the reminder, but it was there, looming like a guillotine in front of a prisoner on death row. Because that was what it felt like. To be without her would be just like having my head severed from my body. Or maybe having my heart ripped out would be a more apt description, because she was definitely taking it with her.

“I love you, ” she mumbled into my chest as I rubbed the satin skin of her naked back.

“I know, ” I answered, kissing the crown of her head. “I love you, too. ”

She looked up at me, her eyes set on mine with a look of conviction. “I know, ” she said, and the weight of the world melted away as we sealed our declaration with a kiss.

It wasn’t a kiss to say goodbye, and it wasn’t a kiss meant to arouse each other, although I was most certainly sporting a hard-on of epic proportions. That kiss was a promise. It said we knew we’d be together, that we meant all the words we’d uttered, that we were in love, and that we would overcome any and every obstacle that stood in our way, no matter what life threw at us. Because however fucked up things between us might have started out, from mud and murk the red flower would bloom.

I finally got it.

Lanie

I did my best to hold the tears at bay as I finished packing up the last of my things. I knew I’d be back, but it was still hard. I had made yet another trip into the closet to get the last of my jeans when the white shirt I’d worn the night Noah decided to have me for dessert caught my eye. I let my fingers dance along the sleeve, remembering the look on his face when I’d walked in wearing nothing but that. I’d hated him at the time, but even I couldn’t deny the sexual attraction that hung thick in the air between us. The Cooch fully agreed and encouraged me to swipe the shirt off the hanger and pack it, too. I did. Noah would never miss it. He had a ton of clothes, and to him, that one shirt was like a single snowflake among an avalanche of others. To me, it was priceless.

Noah came out of the bathroom wearing a V-necked T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and sneakers. His hair was still wet from our morning shower, sticking up in every different direction. He’d obviously decided to forgo the shave, but I wasn’t complaining. I loved his scruffiness.

“A little underdressed for the office, don’t you think? ” I smiled at him as I stuffed his shirt and the last of my clothes inside my bag and zipped it.

He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and hugged me close. I could smell the light scent of cologne and body wash, and I inhaled deeply, committing every little nuance to memory. Like I’d ever forget.

“Yes, but it’s the perfect attire for taking my girl back to her folks’ house. ”

I covered his arms with mine and turned my head to look at him. “You’re playing hooky? ”

“Mmm-hmm. ” He kissed the tip of my nose. “I want to spend every last second I can with you. They can do without me for another day. ” Noah rested his chin on my shoulder and looked down at my bag. “How in the world did you manage to fit all of your clothes in there? ”

“I didn’t pack everything, ” I said with a shrug. “Fancy clothes aren’t exactly a necessity in Hillsboro. It’s just a little town. We don’t even have a mall. Can you see me walking around the grocery store in spike heels and a short skirt? ”

Noah hummed dreamily and pushed his hips into my backside. I took that as a yes, as did the little hoochie between my legs. The Cooch purred and tried like hell to get me to rub up against his cock like a kitten searching for attention. He would’ve given it, too, which would have been counterproductive to ever leaving the bedroom again. Not that I had any qualms about having yet another round with the Wonder Peen, but my mother needed someone at home to help out, and my dad deserved the break.

“We’re never going to make it out of here if you keep doing stuff like that, ” I warned.

The Cooch was all, Yeah that’s sort of the point, dumbass. Scrogg his ever-loving brains out for Christ’s sake!

Realizing that I really hadn’t packed much, and wanting to mess with Noah a bit, I exaggerated a sigh. “I will eventually have to go shopping, since you discarded all the things I brought with me originally. ”

Noah buried his face in my neck and groaned, which made me giggle. He clearly felt like a jerk for doing it, which I happened to find incredibly cute. I turned in his arms and cupped his face in my hands.

“I love you, ” I reminded him.

Noah looked at me adoringly. “And I’ll never get tired of hearing you say those words. Here, ” he said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. He plucked a little black metal card out and handed it to me. “I want you to have this for clothes or anything else you might need or want. ”

“A credit card, Noah? Don’t you think you’ve given me enough already? ”

“Hey, ” he said, taking my chin in his fingers. “I thought we already went over this. You’re my woman to take care of, and I intend to do so quite thoroughly. I don’t want to hear any complaints about it. ”

He gave me a chaste kiss and then grabbed the strap of my bag and hooked it over his shoulder. Holding his hand out for mine, he said, “Ready? ”

I took his offered hand because I always would. I had no idea what was ahead for us, but I knew that as long as he was holding my hand, I’d follow him through the darkest of nights, because somewhere at the end of our journey, there would be light.

Noah stopped dead in his tracks at the door and turned around. “What? ” I asked when he gave no indication of what he was up to.

He walked to the bedside table, opened the drawer and then reached inside. With a disapproving scowl he held up the vibrator he’d given me, which we’d nicknamed the “Crawford bullet. ” “Forgot something, didn’t you? ”

“Well, I didn’t think I’d need it, ” I answered, confused.

He smirked and stuffed it into my bag. “Oh, you’ll need it all right. ”

He was happy, and I was reminded that I did that for him. The Cooch reminded me she had a little something to do with that also, which was probably true, but I mentally reminded her that it wasn’t just about sex between Noah and me anymore. Not that I was demanding she hang up her hooker heels or donate the Super Cooch outfit to Goodwill or anything. They’d come in handy someday soon. Of that I was positive.

Once my bag was loaded in the trunk of the car and Noah and I were settled in the backseat, we were off. I watched the house disappear from sight. Sensing my sadness, Noah wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his side so that I could rest my head on his shoulder.

He kissed the top of my head. “It’ll be nothing but a vast waste of space until you return, and then it’ll feel like home again. ”

I felt the same way. Home was wherever Noah was, whether it was in an enormous mansion surrounded by Edward Scissorhands sculptures or a cardboard box in an alley. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was whether or not he was with me.

I fell asleep sometime during the long drive to Hillsboro. All I remembered was Noah petting my hair lovingly and then encouraging me to put my head in his lap. At first I thought it was his way of hinting for a blow job, and so did the Cooch, but it turned out he just wanted to get cuddly. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice, but I felt like he was holding back a part of him, the domineering, forceful side that made the Cooch go all fangirl for the bad boy. Maybe it was because he thought it was what he was supposed to do since we’d gotten all sticky sweet with our declarations and all. I would’ve protested against his insistence that I get some rest—or been a little more assertive with my offering of the blow job—but truth be known, he’d worn my ass out the night before and I really could have used a little more sleep. I guess my tired brain won the battle after the Cooch threw down the gauntlet, because before I knew it, I was out like a light.

Noah woke me up quite a while later. He complained that having my face in his lap had given him a major hard-on, and his balls just couldn’t take it anymore. Served him right. He adjusted himself in his jeans while I looked around to see where we were. We were on the outskirts of Hillsboro—I recognized the surroundings because I’d traveled that road with my folks so many times. When I was a kid, I used to stare out the window and make up all these different stories about the landscape. My favorite was pretending I was a poor maiden who had been locked up in a little cottage, forced to pass the days alone while waiting for my Prince Charming to ride up on his white stallion and sweep me off my feet.

I snorted at myself internally. What little girl didn’t have that fantasy?

That memory was so vivid in my mind that I still remembered most of the details. In fact, just around the bend there would be a …

“Stop the car! ” I yelled, and then started pounding on the glass divider that separated us from Samuel.

“Why? What’s wrong? ” Noah asked in a panic.

“We have to stop! Please, Noah, we have to! ” I said, a little louder than was necessary since he was sitting right beside me. Even though he winced at my shrieking, he got the urgency.

Noah pushed a button and the window rolled down. “Samuel, pull over. ” He was all business, and normally that would kind of turn me on while simultaneously pissing me off, but now was not the time.

Once the car rolled to a stop on the shoulder of the road, I fumbled with the door handle until I finally pushed it open and jumped out.

“Lanie! ” Noah called out from behind as he followed me out. “Why are you running away from me? ”

I couldn’t stop to answer him. It was there, the little country cottage that I’d always pretended was mine. It had a stone chimney, flower boxes filled with hyacinths under the arched windows, and a door of knotty wood, and it was sitting in the middle of a meadow to boot. The grass was tall and green, littered with little purple, white, and yellow flowers, and the air smelled crisp and clean. It was perfect—and, as I’d just noticed, it was for sale.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I had to touch it, to know that it was real and not merely a part of my imagination. The wind blew through my hair, and I suddenly felt like that little girl again, alight with childlike joy. Seriously, my cheeks hurt from smiling so hard.

I felt Noah’s fingertips when he reached out and barely skimmed the skin on my arm, but I kept running, giggling like a fool. I turned to look over my shoulder at him and with another giggle called out, “Come on, Noah. Catch me! ”

Just as I reached the porch of the cottage, his arms hooked around my waist and he pulled me to him. I laughed—oh God, I laughed. Everything was perfect. I was standing in front of the little cottage, and I was wrapped in the arms of my very own knight in shining armor.

My knight smiled down at me. “Just where do you think you’re going, kitten? ”

His head, with its fantastic sex hair, blocked out the sun in the sky behind him, creating a halo effect and casting a soft shadow across his face. He was beautiful. I reached up and softly ran my fingers through his hair, my heart swelling with everything that was good and right in the world. “Kiss me, Noah. ”

His eyes widened and his body stiffened. “Whoa … dé jà vu. ” His voice was barely a whisper, and the expression on his face was weird.

“What? ”

Noah shook his head slightly. “Nothing. ” He leaned down and brushed his lips across mine.

Usually our kisses were full of fire and passion, hungry. But this one? This one was sweet and delicate, controlled. And it made me horny as hell.

“Mmm, ” I sighed in perfect contentment, and then opened my eyes to see him staring down at me with this look I’d never seen before. I’d always heard the eyes were the doorway to the soul, and right then I believed it.

“What are you thinking? ” I asked him.

Noah smiled and shook his head. “About mud and blooming flowers. Let’s just leave it at that. ”

Well, that certainly was an odd thing to say, but Noah was quirky in his own little way, and I was bouncing like a little girl on the inside, so I didn’t question him any further.

“Come on, ” I said, taking his hand and pulling him behind me to peer into the windows.

“What are we doing here? What is this place? ”

“When I was a little girl, I used to pretend I lived here, ” I told him as I looked through the window and found the room on the other side empty. I tugged on his hand to drag him around to the side of the house so I could do the same thing there. “It’s magical, don’t you think? ”

“Magical? ” he asked.

“Yeah, like straight out of a fairy tale. ” I cupped my hands around my face to block the reflection of the sun on the window and gasped when I finally achieved a clear view. “Oh, the fireplace is breathtaking! ”

Nothing on the inside looked modern. It had more of a quaint, rustic appeal, like it belonged in the pages of Country Living rather than Modern Home: arched doorways, wooden floors, wavy glass windows. I could just imagine Noah and me snuggled up on the couch, or making love on a soft rug in the glow of the fireplace. Of course I was getting way ahead of myself, lost in my own world of make-believe once again. Such a dreamer you are, Lanie Talbot.

Noah surveyed the place with his brow furrowed. “It’s a little run-down, don’t you think? ”

“Noah Crawford! ” I smacked his arm. “How dare you talk like that about my dream home? Besides, it’s nothing a little love and elbow grease couldn’t fix. ”

He was right, but it wasn’t that bad. Some of the shingles on the roof were missing, everything was caked in dust and grime, and judging by the way the wind whistled through the panes of the windows, they’d probably need to be replaced as well. But all in all, it was still picture perfect.