“Here’s the truth of it.” He stops and faces me, his hands on his hips. He looks ashamed, his eyes frustrated. “I’ve never felt the need to claim someone before. I know it sounds barbaric, but there’s no other way to describe it. It was instinctual. And wrong.”
“You don’t have a reason to feel insecure,” I point out.
“No, I don’t,” he agrees. “And I should have taken a deep breath and thought about my question before I asked it.”
“Absolutely. I’ll clear the air right here about Sam, and anyone else in town. I’m not sleeping with them. I’m not dating. I do have acquaintances, both male and female, who I smile at when I see in public.”
“Point taken,” Noah replies.
“I’m not the kind of girl who sticks around when a man is a dick, just because he’s also nice to me sometimes. That’s not me. Now, or ever.”
“I’m damn happy to hear that,” he says, and I can see that he means it. “I’m not the man to tell you that you can’t be yourself. I like you. A lot. I’m attracted to you. Hell, I can barely keep my hands off you. But I also enjoy being with you, having a conversation. I’m embarrassed that I acted that way, and I’m telling you, I’m not that guy.”
I watch him for a moment, his eyes holding mine, and I believe him.
So I nod and take a long, deep breath.
“Thank you,” I say at last. Then I turn back toward the house. The walk back is so much different.
Comfortable.
“So,” he begins, “pistachio ice cream, green, pinot gris, tea, and no dick behavior.”
“That’s a good start.”
He takes my hand in his, pulls it to his lips, and kisses my knuckles.
Every time he touches me, it’s like electricity shooting through my nerves straight to my core. My gut tells me he’s telling the truth.
My instincts haven’t steered me wrong yet.
* * * *
When we return to the house, Noah gets a call from Roni, asking him to come over to the sanctuary to help with something. He hurries over there, and I stay at the house.
I’m used to having alone-time. A lot of it. And while I enjoy Noah and his company, having an hour or so alone sounds good.
So, I do some laundry and take a shower, and then sit on the back deck, eating pistachio ice cream and watching the mountains turn pink while the sun sets behind me.
I still can’t believe that it’s almost ten in the evening, and the sun is just now setting.
I think that’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed in Montana so long, the long days in the summer. It’s hot outside, but I can already feel the cool night creeping in, taking the edge off.
I glance to my right and see Noah walking back to the house down the road that connects it to his sanctuary. He’s walking at a fast pace, but with legs as long as his, that’s his normal gait.
He slows way down when he walks with me.
I take a bite of my ice cream, watching as he approaches. He sits on the steps next to me.
“Everything okay over there?” I ask.
“Oh, yeah,” he says with a nod and a glance at my spoon. “Can I have a bite?”
I cock a brow, but load the spoon and offer it to him. He smiles, nudges the ice cream aside, and lowers his lips to mine, kissing me deeply, sinking into me.
“Delicious,” he says when he pulls away.
I drop the spoon into the almost-empty tub, set it aside, and straddle him, ignoring the press of the wooden deck on my knees as I fuse my lips to his. His hands roam up and down my back and then move to my ass. With a firm grip, he lifts me easily, and I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me into the house and through the living area to his bedroom.
“If this isn’t where you want to take this,” he murmurs as he buries his face in my throat, “I need to know right now.”
“We’ve been heading here for a while.” I reply and laugh when he dumps me on the bed. I bounce twice and scoot back, watching him shuck his jeans and T-shirt, unabashedly checking out the view before me.
Tanned skin. Long, lean muscles. Abs for days, and a smirk on maybe the most handsome face I’ve ever seen.
Yeah. We’re doing this.
“You’re still dressed,” he says, leaning over to kiss his way up my leg. He reaches the hem of my shorts and nudges his way under it with his nose, sending shivers over my skin. “And so soft.”
I reach to unfasten my button, but he stops me, popping it open with his teeth and then peeling the shorts down my legs and tossing them over his shoulder.