by Nicole Snow
I take them between my teeth. Sucking till her rosy nipples turn to hard pebbles and my dick is raw steel, volcanic pressure building in my spine.
“Noah,” she groans. “I can’t take much more. I need you in me. Need you now.”
“I need you, too, Lucky,” I admit.
She twists to climb off me, but then pauses. A smile crosses her face as she shakes her head. “Lucky. It's almost ironic.”
I grasp her arm, kissing the inside of her wrist. “Nah. That’s the name I gave you before I knew.”
“At the casino?”
“Yeah.”
She laughs and then jumps off me. “I was calling you Hercules,” she says, unzipping her shorts.
There's no tease in how they fall to the floor. Just raw need in her, which makes my balls churn magma.
Then I see them. That tiny pair of green silk panties she's wearing. Emerald green, like her eyes.
Merciful fuck. Every sappy line ever written about greener pastures comes to mind, except all I want to do is tear them off and bury myself in everything hiding underneath.
I sit up, pull my billfold out of my back pocket, and fish out a condom. My teeth rip the foil, freeing what's inside.
Within seconds, we're both completely naked, the latex rolled over my cock, back on the sofa again.
She's hanging over me, but I'm in full control. Flat on my back, I grasp her hips, snarling as she once again straddles me. I guide her down, down, down to every seething inch of me.
We're both nearing our limits. I see it in her. Feel it in me, and tell myself, next time we’ll take this good and slow.
The instant the swollen head of my dick touches her pussy, she moans, hips rolling lower and deeper against mine.
My excitement peaks, and I pull away. “That how bad you want it, darlin'? Or do I need to hear it twice?”
She arches, presses her hips downward. “You know I do. Stop teasing. Noah...”
Her face crunches. She's grabbing my cock, ready to sink down fully, but I hold her hips, preventing them from dropping all the way.
No mistake, it’s fucking killing me to not thrust up into her, but I love the look on her face. It reminds me of how she looked outside, watching the storm roll in.
It's perfect lust. Perfect hope. Perfectly Mindy.
Perfectly ready for me to show her the perfect screaming, clawing release I want to fuck through her perfection again and again.
My blood becomes lightning as the rain beats on the windows, perched in anticipation for another second. No woman in my life has ever made me want like this.
“Noah...” She whispers my name, so much raw, maddening need in her throat.
“What happened, Ms. Playful? Suddenly, you're not into teasing? Why?”
Her hair, tangled and wet, forms a curtain around my face as she leans down, bringing her lips close to mine. “Because I’m about to come all over you, Hercules.”
Goddamn.
I couldn't resist her cunt another second if I tried. My dick jolts and I tug her down, sucking in my breath as the heat of her silk envelopes my cock, all the way to my balls.
My hips dive-bomb hers, loving how she gasps, filling her completely.
She lets out the most gloriously full groan I’ve ever heard as I settle deep inside her, enjoying the hell out of how she arches to fully adjust to my cock filling her. To take it even deeper.
“Oh. Hell. Yeah.” She pronounces each harsh word, one at a time, says it with her eyes closed, pressing her legs tight against me.
The delight, the pleasure on her face, is beyond amazing. Same with the way her pussy clenches against my cock, lifting up and down, jerking me off as I slam into her body.
Fuck!
I’ve never had a woman bring me this close to the brink, this fast. Except, nothing about us has been quick.
It’s been days.
Entire days I’ve walked around rock hard, her imprinted on my skull. It's torture, yeah, but worth it. So damn worth it.
I fist her hair next time she goes low, locking my lips on hers at the same time I thrust up, again and again. Faster every time.
Powerful and hot, adrenaline surges through me as I take the lead, forging a rhythm that propels us both on a wild ride straight to the sun.
As much as I’d like it to last forever, I know it can’t. We're too far gone. I go for the perfect finish.
“Lucky, come for me. Come!” The words are so rough, so animal, leaving my throat. More like the thunder booming outside than human speech.
She lets go, her entire soft body seizing.
She comes beautiful.
I fuck her straight through her first O and then keep going. I move her body, shifting her into me, holding her legs apart as one breathless tremor becomes another, sweat mingling with rain and pouring down her back.
My balls tighten, watching how her sweet tits bounce. They go like mad, her whole body shaking as I claim her, loving this hell in my balls, this scalding need to own her, tonight and forever.
Thrusts become lunges. Every new upward stroke, I jerk her hips down, savagely filling her, gritting my teeth at how fucking good she feels.
Her pussy tightens, a hint that she's about to go off again, one more O I can't outlast to save my life.
“Oh, God. Noah!”
Fuck. Still squeezing me with every rise and fall, sweetness folding around my dick, I drive on, fucking faster and harder, ready to throw us both over the edge.
Our movements become almost manic, enticing and powerful. A surge.
Higher. Then higher still. Racing toward pure ecstasy.
She’s gasping for breath, her thighs rock hard. Knowing how close she is, I speed up, threatening to break the whole sofa.
It’s like a dream come true when it hits, fire licking up my balls, my whole damn spine turning into a lightning rod. The way we hit the finish line together. Finally one.
Finally gone.
She lets out a moan as her body goes rigid. I do, too.
The next instant, it feels like I come a part of my soul into her, electric heaven engulfing me as her pussy wrings the seed from my balls.
This powerful, all consuming release. A perfectly timed explosion between the two of us. She shudders and lets out a muffled scream as her O quickens, chewing straight through her. I give a couple more hard thrusts, rutting through my spasms, emptying myself fully as the euphoric aftermath washes over me.
She slumps forward, falling onto my chest. I wrap my arms around her as we both slowly come down from being suspended somewhere in a secret universe of pleasure.
“Holy hell,” she half-gasps. “I never imagined...” She kisses my chest. “God. That was amazing. Like nothing –”
I sit up, pushing my hand over her mouth, smiling. Her eyes search mine. “No, darlin'. Don't say it. You tell me I just fucked you better than Charlie boy, I'm gonna do it again. Right this second.”
I’ve never felt a smile so deeply before under my palm, before I let go.
“You got your storm-watching in,” I whisper.
“Oh, yeah.” She lifts her head, kissing my lips. “Better than the storm.”
The aftermath still makes my heart drum, my cock throbbing new want as it slowly relaxes.
Still inside her, I have no desire to move, and wrap my arms around her waist, hugging her tight till our breathing returns to normal, and then a bit longer.
When we uncouple, it’s together, reading each other without realizing it. I help her climb off me and then plant a quick kiss on her cheek before I head for the bathroom to take care of the condom.
On the way out of the bathroom, I grab a pair of boxer shorts from the dresser drawer and slip them on while returning to the living room. She’s at the sliding glass door. Wearing just her panties and bra. Staring outside.
Coming up behind her, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her back against my chest.
“Look!” she whispers. “There’s a rainbow. A double rai
nbow for you, Noah.”
There were two rainbows. One over the top of the other, both arching over the city as the sun fills the sky.
“It’s a sign,” she says, shaking her head. “A symbol. A double rainbow means there'll be a transformation in your life. An alignment.”
The symbolism isn't lost on me. Anybody named Noah had damn well better know a thing or two about rainbows.
There's also nothing that seems capable of destroying the darkness in my life – not even this soul-searing fuck with Lucky – but a strange relief washes through me. It's not just hormones after an incredible fuck.
Tiny chills tease my spine. There's no mistaking it.
Something deep inside me has shifted, re-aligned, making me wonder about the repercussions of what I’ve just done.
11
Prayers Answered (Mindy)
By the time I’ve dried my hair for the second time this morning, my heart has slowed to a normal pace. The rest of me, however, is still butterflies.
I’ll just have to get used to it. Every miniscule memory is so perfect, so fragile, so incredible.
Sure, I knew having sex with him would be amazing, but wow.
Wow.
I didn’t even know a climax could feel anything like what just happened on the couch.
After holding my breath to a count of ten, I take a final look in the mirror. I’m glowing. I can see it.
Seriously, how? How did any of this happen?
One minute, I was watching a storm roll in, and the next I was a having the best sex of my life. With a guy I barely know. Almost Hercules, and technically, my husband. Sort of.
But he’s also a badass bounty hunter with a bag of strange money and more secrets than the FBI.
I thought my life was screwed up before.
It was so screwed up I can't go back to it.
This, on the other hand, if it was a mistake...it didn't hurt like anything I left behind.
Didn't leave me hollowed out, full of regrets, wishing I had a man who did real emotions instead of just going through the motions.
What am I so worried about? Why should I be scared? Or disappointed?
This new life is different. Refreshing. I’m going to make the most of it. That double rainbow was a sign, for us both. It said we're on the right path.
He doesn’t realize it, but Noah needs my help. That has to be why this happened. Why I’ve been so drawn to him from the start.
He believes his cousin is dead. I saw that last night. The way he tensed up and refused to answer my questions.
That man, Lucient, drugged us for a reason, and I’m going to find out why. Not just for myself, but for Noah.
That rainbow was ours.
All things happen for a reason.
If there's one thing worth holding onto from Old Mindy, it's her belief in that. Fate. God. Synchronicity. Whatever you want to call it.
I carry my things back into the bedroom and put them in my suitcase. While dropping the brush in my purse, I see the message light flashing on my phone.
Of course it’s flashing.
Who knows how many more messages Charlie sent after I put the phone on silent.
I can't even count how many new text messages are from him.
Plus one from mother.
Cringing, I finally open it and read.
Mom: Honey, please PLEASE call me. Carol and I are meeting for lunch and we have a couple questions about the wedding.
Pissed, I drop the phone back in my purse. Maybe I’m more disappointed than pissed over the fact that no one believes it’s over between Charlie and me.
No one except for me. Truth is, it doesn’t matter who thinks it. I know it’s over and I’m glad about it. So glad.
I’m also glad to be here, helping Noah, and helping myself. No therapy on Earth could ever match what he just did to me.
I just have to figure out a way for him to see that I can help him, too. Show him we're in this together.
He’s in the living room, still shirtless, sitting on the couch, staring at the laptop on the coffee table.
The steady tick-tick-tick of the clock on the wall is the only sound in the room. It’s late afternoon. Time flies when you’re having fun. Trying not to smile, I sit down in the leather chair that matches the couch.
Detecting movement, he glances up.
Butterflies take flight in my stomach. My mouth goes dry, too, and my mind blank. I can’t muster up a single intelligent thought. Or question. Or comment.
I want to broach the subject of his cousin, tell him I’m here to help him solve the mystery. After all, I’m as deep in it as he is, if her disappearance had anything to do with the drugging, but I don’t know where to begin.
“Are you hungry? Thirsty?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No, I’m fine, thanks.”
He leans back and grins. “Good, because there’s not much in the fridge or cupboards right now.”
“I noticed that earlier while I went looking for a coffee cup.” I’d found one of four. There are also four plates, four bowls, four spoons, knives and forks, and four glasses. Although decent quality, everything obviously came in a small boxed set. To say he doesn't have company often would be a glaring understatement.
“Sorry, darlin'. Don’t eat much more than breakfast here. I'm on the go too much.”
I nod and glance around, while twisting the ring on my finger. If Noah has noticed it, he hasn’t said anything. I figure it’s safer on my finger than in my purse or suitcase, and wonder how I can use it to start the conversation.
My thoughts become irrelevant when a knock sounds on the door.
Apprehension flashes across his face as he stands. He’s glancing around the room, and I instantly sense why.
“Your gun is still under the pillow,” I tell him. “Do you want me to get it?”
The knock comes again. Louder.
“No. Probably nothing. Stay right there.” He grabs his shirt off the ground and quickly rolls it on. I'm thankful I'm dressed again, too.
He walks to the door and looks through the peephole. Then quickly reaches down to unlock the door and open it.
“You're here? Aunt Judy, what’s happened?” While questioning her, he steps back for the woman to enter, and then gives her an earth shattering hug.
I’d stood, but stay in the living room, watching awkwardly.
Whatever I expected, it wasn't this.
His stand-in mother looks like an older version of the woman by the lake in the picture. Regal and pretty. Her short gray hair is very stylish. So are her light-blue long shirt and white capri pants.
“Nothing's happened, Noah!” she says, then notices me. Her eyes grow wide. “Oh. I certainly didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You aren’t interrupting,” Noah says briskly. “But what are you doing in Reno? You always call first.”
She sighs and flashes a sweet, yet strained smile. “I felt cooped up. Since I hadn’t heard from you in over a week, maybe a little worried.” She holds up a cloth reusable shopping bag. “I brought your mail from the old place, the stuff you had forwarded. Thought some of it might be important.”
I see the tension in his face, in his movements, as Noah takes the bag from her hand.
“There’s nothing for you to worry about,” he says. “I'm sorry. Big job out here, as you know. Late nights. I really meant to call.”
“Sure, sure. I know how it is, but I can’t help it. Call it a mother's instinct, Noah.” She straightens her shoulders as she once again looks my way. “But that conversation can wait. Are you going to introduce me to your lady?”
His. Lady.
Oh my God.
I can’t read the expression that momentarily crosses Noah's face, but I get the impression the last thing he wants to do is introduce me to his aunt.
“Aunt Judy, Mindy,” he says, carrying the mail to the kitchen and setting it on the counter. “Mindy, this is my Aunt Judy.”
I step forwa
rd and hold out a hand.
She does the same.
We meet in the center of the living room.
“Hello,” I say. “It’s nice to meet you. Noah told me about you.” That’s probably more than I should let slip, but my heart goes out to her.
Her daughter is missing, possibly dead. A hint of guilt strikes me. My mother would be out of her mind. I really need to call her, Charlie crap aside, if only to let her know I’m okay.
That's what moms do. They worry for us.
“Hello, Mindy!” Judy says, squeezing my hand with both of hers enthusiastically. “I truly didn’t mean to barge in like this and ruin anything.”
“Oh, no, totally fine. You didn’t,” I say. “Come sit down. Would you like a glass of water, or a cup of coffee?”
“I’d love a coffee,” she answers, walking to the sofa and chair. My eyes dart around nervously, suddenly grateful there was nothing left behind from our little romp to clean up. “It’s not that far of a drive, but I don’t know Reno all that well, and driving in the city makes me jittery. Then tired.” She flops down in the chair, collecting herself a moment later.
I consider asking if she’d like cream or sugar, but then remember, Noah probably doesn’t have either.
“I’ll get it,” Noah calls over me, before he meets my eyes. “You want some, too?”
For a brief moment I wonder if he’s avoiding his aunt. This big tough man, panicked by a drop-in? The idea makes me smile. “No, thanks.”
I sit down on the sofa and place both hands on my knees, trying not to look as uncomfortable as I suddenly feel. “How far of a drive is it?”
“About four hours, but it’s a nice route. The storm was way ahead of me and traffic was light.” She gestures at my hands. “That’s a beautiful ring. I love emeralds.”
Then Aunt Judy's twinkling eyes do a double take.
Uh-oh.
My attention instantly snaps to Noah, and the crash that sounds in the kitchen. Using the excuse, I jump to my feet. “Pardon me! He doesn’t have enough cups to be breaking one.” I go running.
Judy stands, too, looking toward Noah and then back at me. “I have interrupted something, haven't I? Noah, it's really fine, I’ll just –”
