“Well, here’s a going-away present for you,” he said, and covered her mouth with his own.
He kissed her greedily, selfishly, deeply, and she didn’t hesitate to open up to him, taking whatever he was willing to give her. Their lips meshed, tongues mated, and he swallowed the moan that bubbled up from her throat. Just when she thought she’d go up in flames, he slowed the kiss, drawing out the lush sensations, branding her with the heat and taste of him, making her melt deep inside.
After what seemed like an eternity, he lifted his head, his expression both fierce and tender at the same time as he gauged her response to his parting gift.
Feeling thrown off balance, she pressed her hands against his chest to steady herself. “That certainly didn’t feel like a goodbye kiss,” she said, her voice husky with the desire he’d so easily stoked.
“You’re right. It wasn’t,” he admitted, and feathered his thumb along her bottom lip in a soft caress. “It was a kiss asking you to take a chance on me, on us.” He trailed his knuckles down her cheek, oh-so-gently. “All you have to do is say yes, Natalie,” he murmured.
As much as she longed to surrender to his tempting overture, her cautious nature couldn’t help but wonder if he was here out of some warped sense of obligation. Or were his actions motivated by guilt?
There was one way for her to find out. And if he gave her the answers she sought, she was all his in return.
“When you told me you loved me that last night we were together, did you mean it?” She held her breath as she waited for him to answer.
His gaze softened, glowing with the same emotion she’d seen in his eyes that night they’d bared their hearts to each other. “I never say anything I don’t mean.”
“Neither do I,” she said, her meaning clear. “Not even when I’m under the influence of amnesia.” She’d fallen in love with him then, and she still loved him now.
A slow, relieved smile spread across his gorgeous face. “I love you, Natalie,” he said, the words resonating as strongly as the beat of her heart.
Tears of joy filled her eyes. “Oh, Noah, I love you, too,” she whispered. And loving him gave her the strength to share her greatest fears. “And I’ve never been so afraid of wanting something as much as I want you.”
“Then we have something in common, because all of this is brand new to me, too. I’ve never let myself need anyone before you, because I’ve lost too much in the past. Being a carefree bachelor was easier than risking rejection, in any form. But you… Ah, Natalie, you’re worth every bit of that risk.”
“So are you,” she assured him. She may have come to that conclusion only moments before he’d arrived, but she’d always known it in her heart. “After my parents died, I refused to form attachments to anything or anyone. Even with Chad, I might have lost myself in that relationship, but I never, ever risked anything emotional with him. I swear the very last thing I was looking for when I moved to Oakland was love. You made my heart race every time our eyes met across the bar, but I fought my attraction to you for months, as you know.”
“Yes, I do,” he said, and chuckled.
She smiled, too, then grew serious again, wanting him to understand everything that led to her loving him. “But with the amnesia I lost so many inhibitions—nothing held back my emotion and desires for you. No matter the circumstances, no matter the pretense of our engagement, everything I felt for you was, and is, real and true.”
He hugged her close and brushed his lips across her temple. His contented sigh sent warm breath rushing over her skin. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear that.”
She pulled back, just far enough to look into his eyes, needing that connection with him. “I also know if the accident never happened and I hadn’t lost part of my memory, then w
e wouldn’t be standing here like this, because I never would have allowed you close enough.”
A dark brow lifted with amusement. “Are you suggesting that fate brought us together?”
“Maybe I am.” She shrugged and smiled up at him. “Maybe we were meant to be together. I know I couldn’t go back to the emptiness and solitude that was my life before you.”
“Me, neither.” He kissed her. Lightly. Tenderly. “Come home with me, Natalie. Today. You’re all packed and ready to go and my house is too damned big and lonely and quiet without you in it. You belong there with me.”
“I love the way that sounds,” she told him. “I’ve never truly belonged anywhere before.”
“You’re part of my life and family now,” he said possessively. “So from now on, if you’re going to run anywhere, run to me.”
He was so calm, so steady and reliable. “I promise I will,” she said, knowing he had shoulders broad enough to carry her burdens, and arms secure enough to keep her safe, forever and always.
But right now, at this very moment, she needed his body for an entirely different reason. Brazenly, she pushed him back, until his knees hit the edge of her bed and he fell back with a grunt of surprise. With him sprawled on the mattress, she crawled on top of him, straddling his thighs, welcoming the press of his erection against her feminine mound.
She sighed, and grinned down at Noah, finally having him right where she wanted him. “I hope you don’t mind, but I have to have my way with you.” She whipped off her blouse and bra, tossing them to the floor. “Right here. Right now.” Skimming her hands beneath his shirt, she pulled it up and over his head, then bent to lick a nipple with her tongue, causing her heavy, aching breasts to graze his stomach.
He thrashed and groaned, the muscles along his abdomen rippling. “Natalie…wait.”
She wiggled out of her shorts and panties. “I’ve waited an entire week for you, and it’s felt like a lifetime. I need you, Noah.” She unbuckled the belt on his pants, dipping her tongue into his navel, and lower, as she pulled the zipper down and released his already erect shaft for her to touch and caress.
She squeezed him in her fist, and he hissed out a breath, his hips bucking upward for a firmer stroke. “God, you’re insatiable.”