“Are you telling me this is a deal-breaker?”
“No, I’m just asking, to be clear.”
“To be honest, it’s never something I’ve strived for. I love children, but I never viewed family as something you have to physically give birth to. My father was adopted as was one of my brothers. The love of a family does not have to be defined by the pressure of society. We can equally love no matter who we choose to welcome to our family.”
“But if it happened, by accident?”
I laugh, wanting to strangle him. I can almost see my annoying best friend emerging with his ridiculous questions. “Find a different hole, buddy. I guess I’d have the child. I don’t know how to answer that.”
“Back to the hole thing…”
“Such an optimist, Mr. Mason.”
Our dessert is served, but Noah suggests we take it to the lounge chairs along with our champagne. As we sit with the stunning view of the Paris skyline in front of us, Noah places his arm around me and draws me closer. Planting a soft kiss on the top of my head, I bury my face into his chest, living for the moment of feeling safe in his arms, untouchable by the world surrounding us.
“I don’t want to leave,” he whispers, a strain in his voice. “But I have to.”
I raise my head, staring into his eyes. “We’ll make it work, I promise. But you’ve got to be patient. We both have such hectic lives. We’re never going to be like everyone else, so that comparison needs to stop right here. We have to make the best of our situation.”
His lips find mine, a kiss filled with a fiery passion. When he pulls away, I attempt to catch my breath as his mouth wanders to my neck, kissing my skin with urgency.
“Noah, we can’t here.”
“Why not?”
“Because of people.”
“There are no people.”
I look behind us. The place is vacant. The waiters have disappeared.
“But there were people?”
“They won’t be back,” he murmurs, still buried in my neck.
Noah retracts, his eyes wild and untamed. “I promise you. They won’t be back. I paid them not to be back.”
His fingers graze against my shoulder, pulling the strap of my dress down. He watches it fall past my shoulders, the bite of his lip holding my gaze. “I’ve been waiting for what feels like a lifetime for this moment. Once we…”
“We can never go back,” I finish for him.
I know exactly how he feels.
We’re finally in sync.
His kisses trail my skin, igniting every sense. My hands wrap around his head as I moan softly. We lay beside each other, lost in a sea of kisses. I never imagined how passionate foreplay could be by the simple act of kissing. It’s all so juvenile, and I love every second of it. There’s no rush, no pressure, just two people learning how to become one.
Noah’s hand slides down my arm, past the curve of my breast, and rests on my thigh. I wiggle beneath him until he’s lying on top with a penetrating gaze. No words need to be said, the silence speaking volumes as my hands wander toward the button of his pants. Noah groans in my mouth while he reaches below and slides my dress over my thighs.
My heart is beating like a loud drum, the anticipation too much for my aching body to handle. Our eyes can’t break the stare until he brushes against my entrance and enters me whole. My back arches, a delicious moan escaping me as his lips find their way back to the crook of my neck. I wither under his touch, the intensity of such an intimate moment is all so new to me.
We move in sync, our bodies crumble into this perfect mold of who we have become. And with a penetrating stare, I beg of him, “Together.”
We both finish as if our whole being depends on it. The ripples of delight spread through every inch of my body, the euphoria being a constant state of high I never want to come down from.
Noah falls softly on top of me, and all I can hear is the sound of his beating heart.