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“Puuuuusssyyyy. ”

“Goddamnit, woman. If you were here right now, I’d have no mercy on you. I’d fuck you so hard you’d be seeing stars. ” And I meant every word of it, too.

“Now who’s the tease? Tell me what to do next, Noah. ”

Oh, right. She was holding a dildo in her hands. So many places my mind could’ve gone with that thought. It was about to hit on at least one of those.

“Turn it on, kitten. Feel me vibrating in your hands. I want you to run the head of my dick up and down those wet folds. Soak me in your wetness. ”

“Mmm, that feels so good. ”

I shouldered my phone and reached behind me to fumble around with my hand until I found the lubricant in the drawer of the nightstand. Then I squirted a generous amount into my palm before throwing the bottle to the side so I could watch my hand go to work on my cock.

“Feel me there, teasing your opening with my cock. I’m ready for you. I want to fuck you hard and fast. I want to make you scream my name. ”

“God, yes, Noah, ” she moaned, her breathing labored to match my own.

“Sit up on your knees, kitten. Can you do that for me? I want you to turn the speakerphone on, sit up on your knees and hold on to the headboard with your free hand. ”

I heard a shuffling noise from the other end of the line, and then her voice again, a little more distant than before. “Okay, what now? ”

“You’re going to ride my cock, Lanie. Put a pillow between your legs and prop that thing on it. Now spread your knees until you’re low enough that you can feel it at your opening. ”

“I want you so bad, ” she whined.

“Then take me. Lower yourself onto my cock and ride me hard, just the way you like it. ” Wanting to feel the sensation with her, I squeezed the head of my dick between my thumb and forefinger before bucking my hips to push the rest of my cock through the grip of my hand.

My eyes shut as the mental picture of entering her mixed with the memory of how I knew it felt. “Oh, fuck, Lanie. You feel so good. Do you like that? ”

“You’re so thick, ” she enunciated the last word.

“Kitten, you gotta stop saying stuff like that before I get in the fucking car and drive my ass to Hillsboro to kidnap you. ” And I was a ball’s hair away from doing it, too.

“Will you bring your thick cock? ”

Her words sent me into a frenzied state. My hands tightened on my dick as I stroked it faster, the lubricant warming with the friction from my palm. I closed my eyes and imagined it was her pussy wrapped around me, constricting and releasing as she rocked her hips above me.

I wanted to see her looking down at me, her mouth slightly agape while her fingernails dug into the muscles on my chest. Her hair creating a curtain around us. Her hips undulating against mine as she stroked that little nub against my groin.

She moaned and groaned on the other end of the line, quietly so as not to disturb the rest of the household, but she was reeling and I could tell she needed more.

“Ride me, Lanie. Harder. ” I imagined her ass slapping against my thighs as her tits bounced with her movements. My hand quickened and I bit into my lip so hard I thought for sure I had split it.

“Feels so good, ” she moaned quietly. I could hear her breaths and the soft tap of her headboard as she rode the dildo beneath her.

“Hold on, kitten. Just hold on, ” I urged her, almost there myself.

“Noah, I need you. Please? ” she begged, seeking her release. “Give me more. ”

“I promised to give you everything you need. Remember? Didn’t I promise you that? Let go of the headboard, Lanie. Use your fingers. Find the spot, the one that needs that little something more. Work it with your fingers and when I tell you to, I want you to pinch it. ”

Her breathing was heavy, a keening sound building on the other end of the line until it went throaty.

“Now, kitten. Pinch it now. ”

“Oh, fuck! ” she called out, her voice a husky whisper as she tried to be quiet. I could practically see her head fall back and her body go rigid under the power of her orgasm.

And that vision took me exactly where I needed to go as well. “Right there. Right … fucking … there. ” I growled out my release, my hips bucking into my fisted hand. Squeezing my cock tight and pressing the pad of my thumb to the tip, semen shot out like thick, molten lava from a spewing eruption and landed on my stomach. I milked my cock, my hips pumping in uneven intervals until the job was done.

“Noah, are you still there? ” Lanie said, picking up the phone and turning off the speaker. She was still panting, but her voice was rich and smooth.

I threw my arm over my face and fought to regain my composure. “Yeah, kitten. I’m here. ”

“I miss you. ”

Yeah, I fucking missed her, too.

It took about four hours to get to Hillsboro, eight hours round trip. Which meant I had enough time to get there and be back in time for work. I’d gone over the calculation at least a dozen times in my head as I lay there watching the minutes on the clock count down to midnight. Despite the release I’d had two hours prior, I found it impossible to sleep … yet again. There was a thin line between love and obsession, and I was afraid I was dangerously close to stepping over it (although it could’ve been a pesky little thing called sleep deprivation that made me think like that). I needed a cure, soon, and I knew I had two more days to wait for it. The problem was that I had absolutely no intention of wasting any of the couple of days I had with her on sleep, so the cycle was just going to keep repeating itself until we figured out some way to be together. Or I went crazy, whichever came first.

I climbed out of bed and slipped on a pair of jeans before I went downstairs to grab a glass of milk or a shot of Patró n—whatever the hell was going to work best to get me to fall asleep. Only I was distracted when I reached the bottom floor, because everywhere my eyes fell, I saw a vision of her. Lanie on her knees in front of the door; Lanie storming through said door after torching the lingerie she clearly didn’t want; Lanie descending the stairs looking like Cinderella on her way to the ball; Lanie on the stairs, tears streaming down her face after I’d just fucked her there angrily. I closed my eyes to that image and was rewarded with one of Lanie in my shower immediately afterward, her beautiful body soaked and trembling as she held me under the spray.

I walked through the house until I reached the piano room, and she was there, too, splayed across my baby grand, cradled in my lap on the bench as we made love. In my office, there was Lanie wearing nothing but my silk tie as she stood in the doorway.

I missed her so much. My heart ached as my mind sifted through countless images of her, some innocent, some not so much: her beautiful smiles, the sexy little sneers from a time when she hated me, the erotic expression on her face as she came for me over and over again, the look of contentment when she told me she loved me—everything. Maybe I could survive without her by my side, but I sure as hell didn’t want to.

Distance be damned—I needed to see her.

With bare feet and no shirt, I rushed out to the foyer, grabbed my keys and wallet from the dish on the side table, and ran to my Lamborghini. A few sprinkles of rain dotted my windshield as I pulled out of the garage and made my way toward Hillsboro, toward her.

I sped like a maniac. Wet roads were not exactly prime driving conditions for a sleek sports car, but I didn’t care. I had to make it to her with time to spare to hold her in my arms before I had to turn back around and leave her again, and the Lamborghini was my fastest means of transportation at the time. I made a mental note to invest in a helicopter the very next day.

The rain started to fall harder along the drive, and with each slosh of water under my tires, with each swipe of the blade across the windshield, I lost myself further and further into thoughts of Lanie.

I was haunted by the dream of her, and by the reality that had unfolded the day I took her back to her parents’ house two weeks earlier. That cottage, the meadow, her laughter, the smile on her face—it was like the dream had come to life before my very eyes.

I could still hear the sound of her voice, sad and lonely as she said she missed me. It echoed through my mind and caused a tightening in my chest. I was sad and lonely for her, too. And I didn’t give a good goddamn if that meant I was pussy-whipped. I couldn’t think of any other pussy I’d rather be whipped by.

I stepped on the gas pedal, forcing the Lamborghini to speed even faster down the road toward my destination.

Night surrounded me as I sped along the empty roads, my headlights reflecting off the wet pavement before me. I was nearly there—just a few short miles and I’d have her in my arms.

By the time I pulled onto her street, the rain outside had already become a torrential downpour. I killed my headlights, not wanting to alert Lanie or her parents to my presence, and parked a bit down from her house. There was a dim, flickering light from Lanie’s bedroom window, casting shadows like dancing images across her wall—obviously a candle. The rest of the house was dark, and not a soul was stirring on the street.

I got out of the car and closed the door as quietly as I could, but apparently even that was too loud. First one dog and then another began to bark until it sounded like a whole pack of the fuckers surrounded me.

Cold rain pelted my bare skin, the merciless wind whipping it into sheets. Within seconds I was drenched from head to toe and freezing my balls off, but I gave not a flying fuck. My body began to shiver under the elements, but I only had one thing on my mind: my girl. Of course, if I’d used one ounce of that energy to think out my plan a little more thoroughly, I would’ve known what my next step was going to be. I couldn’t very well ring the doorbell because I’d be greeted by the barrel of Mack’s shotgun aimed at my boys.

I examined the tree that sprouted from the ground below Lanie’s window and calculated my odds of being able to scale it to make it to her room. There were a couple of low-lying branches, so I figured my chances were pretty good. That is, until I actually tried to climb it.

Thanks to bare feet and moss-covered bark, I couldn’t get a foothold on the damn thing. I grabbed the branch overhead and pulled myself up and was nearly close enough to straddle it when it broke under my weight, sending me thudding back to the ground. The wind was knocked out of me briefly, but I hadn’t driven four hours to give up that easily. Just as I stood to make another attempt, I saw the curtains shift behind Lanie’s window, and the sash rose to reveal her standing there.

“Noah? ” Lanie’s confused voice called down, having apparently been roused by the sound of the cracking limb. “Are you crazy? What are you doing here? ”

My face turned toward the darkened sky. Raindrops fell into my eyes and I blinked against them to keep her in my sights. I stared in awe, unable to take my eyes off the woman of my dreams. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, a few tendrils having fallen loose to cradle her face, and her eyes were slightly puffy with sleep. She looked perfectly imperfect, and I wanted to make her mine for all time. And then two little words tumbled from my lips, unplanned and unabated.

It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t an order. Hell, it was a plea.

“Marry me. ”

Lanie

I stood there at my window looking down at Noah. He was half naked. No shirt, no shoes, just a pair of soaked jeans that were molded to his scrumptious form. His hair was plastered to his forehead, his long lashes batting raindrops away, his tongue darting out to capture one of the perfect beads that hung from his bottom lip precariously. And he was looking up at me like I was the second coming, even though I knew I looked like death warmed over.

“Marry me. ”

His words drifted up to me, cutting through the unforgiving wind that threatened to pummel him until he was left beaten and battered.

My heart felt like someone had used defibrillation paddles on me. My knees went weak and the floor beneath my feet seemed to fall away, so I tightened my grip on the windowsill to try to keep my balance.

Tried and failed.

I teetered forward, nearly falling from the open window, but I caught myself on the branch before me just in time.

“Lanie! ” Noah called up to me, fear evident in his hoarse voice.

I had to get to him, jump into his arms, and wrap myself around him. Taking the stairs would’ve taken too long, and hell, it was just too damned traditional for us. Screw it, I figured—since I was already halfway hanging on to the branch before me, I crawled out onto the limb, icy raindrops pricking my bare skin and soaking through the white shirt I wore—Noah’s, the one I had taken with me.

“Get back in that fucking window, Lanie, before you break your goddamn neck! ” Noah ordered. But since when had I ever listened to him?

I’d made it off one branch and down to another with only one more to go before I could jump down to him. And that’s when the klutz in me decided to wake up. Yeah, there I was trying to make some sort of grand gesture, and that psycho bitch decided to rear her ugly, deformed head.

“Oh, shit! ” I lost my footing.

Imagine my surprise when my body met not the cold, hard ground but a wall of flesh instead. Noah had broken my fall with his body, but the impact sent us both tumbling.

I propped myself up and looked down at him, still amazed that he was there in the first place. A rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, but no words passed between us. We lay there in the mud looking at each other. His gaze was intent on mine, and I searched his eyes to see if I could find an ounce of regret about his unexpected proposal.

I saw none.

What I did see was a longing that matched mine, a certainty that dispelled any doubt, truth that mirrored my own. I loved that man, and he loved me, and it was right.

The muscles in his jaw tensed. He reached up and cupped my face in his hands. Then he exhaled a breath slowly and swept a wet lock of hair from my forehead. “I don’t ever want to be away from you again. I can’t do it. ” His voice was broken, shaken.

I felt the same way, but the words were lodged in my throat, engulfed by a myriad of fathomless emotions. So since my verbal communication skill was clearly broken, I did my best to convey my feelings through other means. I kissed him like I’d never kissed him before. I was lost in Noah Crawford. Everything else in the world ceased to exist: the unrelenting storm, the fact that it was four o’clock in the morning, the barking neighborhood dogs.

Noah rolled us over until I was writhing beneath him, doing everything I could to get closer. Sensing my desperation, he hitched my bare leg over his hip. The soaked denim of his jeans pressed against my center and I moaned into his mouth. He always knew what I needed, and he would always take care of me like he’d promised.

My hands roamed over his naked chest, his muscular shoulders, his thick biceps, every inch of him wet and slick under my touch. I wrapped my other leg around him, holding him captive, unwilling to ever let him go again.

Noah cupped my ass in one hand and rolled his hips, his kiss hot and demanding. When his lips finally left mine, his talented mouth trailed along the underside of my jaw until he reached the sensitive spot below my ear.

And then he stopped, pulling back abruptly as he looked down at me. His brows were furrowed, his lips parted, and he just stared at me with a confused expression. Rain hung like teardrops from the tips of his hair, and one fell onto my cheek only to slide down the side of my face. Funny how a gazillion other raindrops were pummeling us, but that was the one that caused me to shiver and my skin to pebble.

“What’s wrong? ” I asked, unsure why he had stopped.

“You didn’t answer my question. ”

I giggled and rolled my eyes. “Noah, I climbed out a window and fell out of a tree, nearly breaking my neck, just to get to you. Do you really need me to say it? ”

“Well, yeah, I kind of do. ” The expression on his face was so sincere. “I’m asking you to be my wife, to bear my children, to grow old with me by your side. I’m asking you to marry me, Delaine Marie Talbot, for better or worse, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, until death do we part. Does that sound like something you might want to do for the rest of your life? ”

I bit down on my lip to stop the goofy grin that spread across my face and shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe. ”

He smiled down at me, his teeth all perfect and white. I wanted to lick them. “Just maybe? ”

“I’m crazy about you, Noah Crawford. And I’m pretty sure that’s because I’m in love with you, and not because you actually do drive me crazy. So yeah, I think that sounds like something I might want to do for the rest of my life. ”

“Is that a yes? ”

I laughed at his persistence. “Yes, Noah. ”

He looked relieved, and his smile became celestial. “Okay, good. ”

I pushed my fingers through his wet hair. “Very good. ” My eyes drifted over the features of his face. His hazel eyes held so much love and adoration. He was happy, and I did that for him.

I traced his prominent jaw, feeling it tense beneath my touch until I moved on to feel the softness of his lips. Noah closed his eyes and kissed my fingertips, his neck arching as I continued down his chin, and further still, to lightly caress his Adam’s apple. His neck was thick and muscular, the artery that resided beneath the skin throbbing with the life essence that flowed through his perfect body. It almost wasn’t fair how beautiful the man was. But I wasn’t complaining, because he was going to be mine forever.

“Make love to me? ”

Noah opened his eyes, and with unquestionable certainty, said, “Always, but we need to get you out of the rain. ” He stood and pulled me up with him. “Mack’s probably going to have my nuts for this. ”

Despite my protests, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders so that I was huddled into his side, and he led me to the front door. And then it dawned on me as he tried the handle: I’d climbed out of the window and the front door was locked.

“Um, it’s locked, ” I told him, stating the obvious.

“Well, you’re not climbing back up the damn tree, that’s for sure. ” He looked around again to find another avenue. “Back door? ”

“Locked. ”

Noah looked back toward his car. “You’ll have to call them to let you in then. I’ll go get my phone …” His voice drifted off and he swore, running his hands through his wet hair. “Shit! I’m such an idiot. I left my phone at home. ”

“You drove all the way here without your phone? ”

“Without my phone, my shoes, my shirt, ” he said with a devilish glint in his eye. “If I hadn’t already had my pants on, I would’ve left those, too. See how crazy you make me? ”

I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed the tip of his nose. “Okay, so let’s survey the situation. We’re both half naked, it’s dark, it’s raining, we have no way to get inside, and I want you … now. Come with me. ”

I took his hand and pulled him down the porch steps and toward the small grove of trees next to my house.

“Where are we going? ”

“You’ll see, ” I said, giving him an impish grin.

Once we stepped through the threshold of the thick trees, I led him to a clearing in the center. I stopped and looked up, drawing his attention to the lush canopy of trees overhead that formed a barrier against the elements.

“What now? ” he asked as I stepped close to him.

“Now, ” I said, tugging at the button of his jeans, “we get you out of these wet pants before you catch your death of cold. ”

Noah sighed and reached for the top button on my shirt. “Well, we can’t have that, now can we? ”

I shook my head and then leaned up to suck on the skin over the throbbing vein in his neck as we both worked to rid each other of the remainder of our clothes. Once all barriers had been discarded, Noah picked me up so that I could wrap my legs around his waist while our lips found each other again. He slowly lowered us down to the ground until his back rested against the trunk of a tree and I sat comfortably in his lap.

As my tongue sought out his, my hand traveled down his chest and abdomen to find his cock wedged between our bodies. He hissed and threw his head back when I finally touched him, giving me ample access to his neck and shoulders. I didn’t waste a second of time, bathing his delicious skin with my tongue, my lips, my teeth. His cock was titanium smoothness in my palm, and I pressed him against myself, coating him in my wetness.

Then his hands cupped my ass, and he lifted me as I guided him to my opening. Noah filled me completely, just like he’d always done, just like he always would. We both moaned at the sensation of our bodies coming together like puzzle pieces perfectly matched to each other. For the first time in a couple of weeks I could ride the real him and not just some synthetic version that could never really compare.

Noah released my hair from the band holding it in place, and then he dipped his head to capture one of my nipples with his mouth. His teeth scraped the hardened peak as his lips sucked and his tongue flicked back and forth at a maddening pace. I arched my back and took him in fully, riding him. Slowly, tenderly, we made love as we each whispered words of forever.

It didn’t take long for either of us to reach our climax. Having spent so much time away from each other had both of us wound pretty tightly. Plus, the turn our relationship had taken—the promise of many years spent in the company of the one we loved, our soul mate—had driven us both to such a point that we only wanted to be consumed by the other.

Consummation had its perks.

Before long, I was cuddled in his arms, the heat of our bodies providing all the warmth we needed. We were completely spent, undeniably satiated.

“I have to go. ” Noah’s voice was a reluctant whisper. “I don’t want to, but Stone is up to something, and I can’t risk missing another day of work before the board meeting on Monday. ”

I straightened and gave him a soft kiss. “It’s okay. I understand. ”

His hands brushed my damp hair from my shoulders, and then he cupped my face to kiss me more deeply. I actually whimpered when he pulled away.

“How are we going to get you back inside? ”

I shrugged. “You leave, and I’ll bang the door down. ”

“And what, pray tell, are you going to tell Mack when he asks how you got locked out in nothing but my shirt? Which looks so very fucking good on you, by the way. ”

“Don’t worry about my dad. I can handle him, ” I said, having no clue whatsoever how I was going to explain it to him, but I’d come up with something. “Hey, I’m the future Mrs. Delaine Crawford. Some of your ingenuity has to have rubbed off on me, right? ”

Noah bit down on his lip, his eyes fixated on my mouth. “Jesus, that sounds good. ” He hugged me close and then stole my breath away with a hungry kiss.

Moments later, after much prodding to make Noah get his Ridonkabutt in gear so that he wouldn’t be late for work, I found myself standing on the front porch of my parents’ house, my fist banging on the door. As I expected, Mack sleepily wrenched the door open. His eyes widened when he saw me standing there.

“Lanie? What the hell are you doing outside in the rain in the middle of the night? ”

I pushed past him and he closed the door, turning toward me for an answer.

My mother appeared from the hallway, obviously having been roused from her sleep as well. “What’s going on out here? ” she asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Standing there against the door jamb, she looked the picture of perfect health.

“I was just about to find out the answer to that myself, ” Mack told her, his stare never leaving me. “Lanie? ”

So I told them the truth.

“Noah showed up, and asked me to marry him. ”

“He what? ” Faye’s eyes went wide with excitement, and a huge smile spread across her face.

“He what? ” my dad also asked, his voice not sounding near as pleased as my mother’s.

I turned toward him and set my chin in determination. “He asked me to marry him, and I said yes. ”

“That’s wonderful! ” my mother squealed as she came to hug me.

Mack raked his hands over his face in exasperation. “And how the hell did you end up locked outside in the rain? ”

“I climbed down the tree to get to him, ” I said matter-of-factly.

“Oh, that is so romantic. ” My mother had a dreamy tone in her voice.

“That is so stupid! ” Mack countered. “You could’ve broken your neck, young lady. Where is he? ”

“Oh, stow it, Mack, ” my mom said, coming to my rescue. “This is great news, and I’m not going to let you ruin it for us. ”

I knew that my mother had never really had what you’d call a romantic proposal. The way she told the story, Mack had picked her up for a date, turned to look at her, and said, “So you wanna get hitched? ” She told him sure, and he said, “Well, all right then, ” before turning back to start the car. She hadn’t been complaining; it was just the way they were. Exactly like how Noah’s proposal, and my acceptance, was the way we were.

“Let’s grab some coffee, ” my mother said, dragging me toward the kitchen. “You have to tell me everything. ”

My father sighed in resignation and rolled his eyes. “I’m going back to bed. ”

Faye and I were still sitting in the kitchen when the storm finally subsided and the sun peeked over the horizon. I told her the whole story, even the part where we made love under the canopy of trees next door. She hung on my every word like she was a kid and I was telling her the story of Santa Claus.

“Let me see the ring, ” she said, lifting my hand up to see none there.

I shrugged. “It was sort of spur-of-the-moment. Besides, I don’t really need a ring. ”

“Lanie, he’s Noah Crawford. He’s going to make sure you have one. ”

“Either way, it doesn’t matter. Just to know he loves me is enough. ” And it was. I’d never been the flashy type, but my mother was right: Noah was going to make certain I had a ring. I only hoped it wasn’t going to be something huge that cost way too much. Heck, he could give me a secret decoder ring out of a Cracker Jack box and it would suit me just fine. Polly and Lexi would probably go batshit over it, but I wouldn’t care.

“Baby, ” my mother said with sincerity as she took my hand in hers, “you have to go to him. You can’t stay here. ”

“Mom, he’s cool with it, ” I said, cutting her off. “When you’re better, that’s when I’ll go. ”

“Now you listen to me, Delaine Talbot, ” she said, her voice taking on that motherly tone. “I’m doing just fine. In fact, I’ve never felt better. It’s time you stop living your life around me and your father and go live your own. That man is crazy about you, and you’re just as crazy about him. Go. I insist. ”

“You’re kicking me out? ” I asked in mock outrage.

“Yes, I am, ” she said, playing along. “Get your shit and get the hell out of my house. ”

We had a good laugh and hugged. I was all kinds of giddy inside, knowing that Noah and I would finally be together without anything keeping us apart. The Cooch was mighty excited about that prospect as well. She and the Wonder Peen were going to be reunited, and the only thing that stood in the way of their happiness was the Cooch’s obsession with the Ridonkabutt. However, I didn’t doubt they’d somehow work things out so that she could enjoy the best of both worlds.

Noah had called to let me know he’d made it back okay and was on his way into work. I decided not to tell him I was coming home to him, or that I had told my folks about our upcoming nuptials. I wanted to see the look of surprise on his face when I showed up and made the announcement.