She wished she was more like that. Not so scared of the repercussions.
A dozen shots later, she lowered the camera. “I can’t wait to develop these. I bet your body looks amazing on film.”
“When you look at that photograph…” His soft voice pulled her in, and she found his eyes even softer now. “…what do you think you’ll see?”
“Strength,” she said softly.
The end table’s light couldn’t have been better lighting for the perfect shot. But the moment she looked through the viewfinder again, she noticed that what she’d said had brought emotion into his expression. She moved even closer now, catching the perfect angle showing depth in his eyes. She began clicking and didn’t stop until she knew one of those shots captured this moment of how he looked at her.
She lowered the camera in the same second Noah slid out of bed. Unabashedly, he strode toward her, naked and hard. Oh, so hard. He moved with grace and power until he stood behind her. The air seemed to evaporate as he swiped her hair away and pressed a soft kiss to her neck. “Tell me what else you think you’ll see,” he whispered huskily in her ear.
She shivered as he licked the curve of her earlobe. “I’ll see a man who sometimes forgets to look at the world around him.” The truth flowed easily as his tongue trailed along the side of her neck, making her damp. “I’ll see a man who is so focused on everyone else that he never asks for anything for himself.” He turned her in his arms then, and as she stared into his heated eyes, a larger truth spilled free. “I’ll see kindness and tenderness. I’ll see what the real meaning of a dominant male is. He’s not the guy with the biggest muscles. The toughest attitude. The loudest voice. He’s the guy who lifts up the people around him. The silent guy who doesn’t ask for anything but gives the world everything he’s got.”
Emotion raged through his eyes. He stared at her now in a way she hadn’t seen before. Her breath grew raspy under his intensity. He held out his hand. “The camera please.” She offered it to him, and he took her hand and slid her palm over his erection. “Look at what you started.”
Her nipples puckered beneath his shirt. “I like what I started.”
With his free hand, he slid his fingers over her cheek and through her hair slowly, taking his time, reminding her of the last time he’d touched her like this. She knew by now this was his tell, indicating that playtime had begun. When she moaned and wiggled against him, so hot, so ready for all he had to offer her and more, he sealed his mouth across hers. His kiss was passion, sin, and heaven all wrapped up in one. His tongue danced with hers as he cupped the back of her head, deepening the kiss as she molded herself against him. “This mouth, Olivia, it’s perfect. These lips…I crave them.” He brushed his mouth across hers then murmured, “Treat me to them, angel.”
She kept her attention on his steady, albeit simmering gaze, and slowly lowered to her knees. She liked how he looked down at her. Desperate. Aroused. And hungry for her to taste him.
To hold the power now was titillating, causing her to dampen further and her clit to throb. His eyes burned with lust as he dragged his thumb across her mouth and she sucked on it, making him groan. Desperate to taste him, she reached for his thick cock, its veins protruding along the sides.
“Don’t move.”
His voice was low and rumbly and made her need him badly. On her knees, his thick cock in her hand, she stared up at him while he lifted the camera and took the shot.
He lowered the camera and gestured at his cock. “Go on, angel.”
She did as she was told and took him into her mouth, sliding her lips up and down his shaft, and he hissed. He smelled like Noah, all musk and man. He tasted salty and perfect. Her inner muscles pulsed in need as she began stroking him with her hand and swirled her mouth over him, wanting him to feel pleasure like she had felt pleasure. And he began capturing it all with the camera, the clicking of the lens echoing his masculine groans.
She began bobbing her head on the tip, feeling how much he liked that by the quiver of his body. She vaguely felt him bend to the right a little before he backed away. When she sat back on her feet, her sex tightened with need as Noah stroked his thick cock with her salvia glistening in the light. He had placed the camera on the table next to them and now applied the condom. Then in one swift movement he placed the camera in her hand again and spun her around, his chest pressing tightly against her back.
“Now it’s my turn,” he said, sliding one arm across her chest until she was locked in his hold. “When I look at you, I see beauty.” His cock was right there between her butt cheeks, then he was deep inside her, and she moaned against how he filled her so perfectly. He pumped his cock slowly in and out, and my God…She reveled in every spectacular inch of him. “I see a woman put here to change the world only by being herself. A woman who is unique, aware, and present in ways that are undeniably special.”
Suddenly his cock was gone, and she was spun around, her back pressing against the wall. Without a hitch to his movement, he reentered her, and she rose up on her tiptoes, immersed in the pleasure. His honest words brought hot emotion and even hotter arousal. She held the camera tight with one hand and held him even tighter with the other.
“Tell me what I told you,” he growled, pumping his hips hard and fast.
“I’m beautiful.” She gasped, her inner walls clamping down against the rising pleasure. “I’m unique…aware…special.”
“Don’t. Ever. Forget. It.” His growl vibrated in the air around her.
And then there was no talking anymore. There was only pleasure. Hot raw and dirty pleasure.
* * *
—
Late into the night, the bright half-moon glowed in the dark sky as Noah stared through the skylight above the two-person clawfoot bathtub. Candles were lit on every surface of the renovated bathroom, illuminating the white wainscoting on the walls and sage-colored paint above them. The warm water soothed muscles he hadn’t known were tired. Eucalyptus infused the humid air in the bathroom, steaming up the oval mirrors above the double vanity. Noah didn’t particularly enjoy the aroma but figured Olivia might like it. A quick look down revealed Olivia lying across from him. Her eyes were shut, and her neck rested against the edge of the tub.
Some time ago, he’d begun massaging her foot while it rested on his chest. She moaned when he pressed his thumb against the arch of her foot. He smiled, liking this particular look on her. Peaceful. Content. Satisfied. In fact, she made him feel all those things too.
For as long as Noah could remember, his father had instilled the importance of a strong work ethic into him, while his grandfather always spoke of the importance of family.
“A man is nothing without laughter and love in his life.”
That statement made by his grandfather around the dinner table on Thanksgiving one year had stayed with Noah. His father and grandfather were arguing about something, likely politics, but that single line had made an impact at the time. Noah remembered agreeing with his grandfather then. He wondered when he changed so much, gravitating toward his father’s line of thinking: career always came first. As Noah massaged each of her toes, he wondered what his grandfather would have thought of Noah being unmarried at thirty-five years old.
Likely disappointed.
With his knees poking through the warm water, he stared at the end of the tub to the reason drawing all these thoughts.
He hadn’t spent a day like today—not working, not planning, not preparing for the next day—in at least ten years. He had not thought he was missing out. Until now.
Determined to stop thinking about the what-ifs, he focused on her and broke the silence. “Tell me, Olivia…what is it exactly that you want out of life?”
She smiled then her eyes slowly opened. “That’s a deep question.”
He nodded. “It is.”
“Oh, just to the lef
t there.” She sighed. “Ah, yeah, that’s the spot.” She moaned a couple more times then finally answered him, “I want what everyone wants. To be happy.”
“Just happy—that’s it?” Everyone wanted something, but he thought it said a lot that she kept it all simple.
She slid her hands through the water, drawing his gaze to her breasts peeking out from beneath the bubbles. “I mean, of course I’d love for all my dreams to come true and to be a professional photographer. There’s nothing I wouldn’t want more than to be mentored by Harry Stem.”
“I’ve met him before at a fundraiser,” Noah said. “Seemed like a good man.”
Olivia nodded. “Yeah, he’s incredible.”
Noah hesitated and searched her eyes. “Did you contact him at all to see if he was taking anyone on?”
“God no,” Olivia said with a loud laugh. “Reaching that particular dream is not that easy.”
“I’m going to have to disagree with you there.” He used both hands now, working them over her foot. “Dream big then work for it. That’s what makes dreams happen.”
The knowing look she gave him put him firmly in his place. “Of course you would think that. But in the land of us people who don’t have connections to important people, things can be a lot harder.”
He inclined his head in agreement. “It’s a sad reality that much in this world happens because of who you know.” He gently placed her foot back into the water next to his hip and reached for the other one. When he worked her arch, she moaned softly, her eyes fluttering shut. Growing more curious about her, he asked, “So that’s what would make Olivia Watts happy then—a photography career?”
“Well, a fulfilling career first then maybe a family.” She opened her eyes again and shrugged, the water splashing around her shoulders. “To be honest, I don’t really know anymore. At this point in my life, I suck at both those things.”
He froze. “Explain that.”
“There’s not really much to explain.” She placed her hands on his thighs, resting them there and making him fully aware of how close she was to his groin. “I hate my job and work for this ego-driven prick who won’t hear any of my ideas.”
She didn’t seem the type to stick around and put up with that. “Why don’t you quit?”
“Because Isaac Bridge is the best in the business and his name on my resume will take me places.”
At that, he arched a brow. “Do you even like being a graphic designer?”
“I might if my ideas were heard.” She gave a deep sigh and leaned her head back against the tub, neatly avoiding his gaze. “And you know what happened with Cameron. So, like I was saying, I have a job I hate and a relationship that failed. And it’s not even like I was pushing myself to go for my dreams. I failed at having a completely average life.”
He didn’t like what she’d said or the despondent tone of her voice. “Perhaps those things didn’t work out because the universe is trying to show you that you are meant for something better…something bigger.”
She opened her eyes, the candlelight glowing against her cheek. “That’s a pretty way to look at it.”
“I think perhaps it’s the only way to look at it,” he countered. “Life is all perception after all. I win because I refuse to lose. No matter how many hits I take, I get back up and forge on.” He paused, allowing the idea that she blamed herself over Cameron to fill him. “As for this ex of yours, sometimes an asshole is just an asshole. His cheating is his insecurity. It has nothing to do with you.”
Her eyes got shiny. “But it has everything to do with my heart.”
While he wished he could remove the pain crossing her features, Olivia’s openness was what he found most interesting about her. She hid nothing of what she felt, no matter how vulnerable that made her. She still wanted to find happiness and was openly searching to make that happen. “You’re a beautiful and rare gift to the world,” he told her before he could wonder if he shouldn’t. “Never change how real you are, Olivia. It’s a breath of fresh air to me.”
She held his stare for a long moment, her eyes searching his. He wished he could jump into her head to gauge her thoughts. But then she changed the subject, moving the conversation into what was likely a more comfortable area. “What would make Noah Grant happy?”
“This.” He squeezed her foot. “I like the quiet and the calm. I can’t remember the last time I had a bath.”
“What?” She gasped with fake horror. “Noah Grant doesn’t have a bubble bath every night? I don’t believe it.”
He laughed and winked. “I could do without the bubbles, but the woman in the tub with me is a nice touch.”
Her sweet laughter joined his for a moment before the sound faded away and her expression became serious again. “Do you ever think you’ll have it all? The job? The quiet life?”
“Yes.”
She raised her brows. “You’re that sure about that?”
He gathered her in his arms then, pulling her close, until she was straddling his waist, the water sloshing against the porcelain tub. “Yes, I’m that sure about that. When I want something, I assess that target, then I take what I want.” He paused, trying to soften the thought, hoping to help her relate. “Life is very short. I realized that at a young age, when my grandfather died. Because of that lesson, I work hard for what I want, to see that it happens. For me, failure isn’t an option.”
“Have you ever failed at anything?” The disbelief was strong in her eyes.
“Of course I have.”
She didn’t look convinced. “Name one.”
“Relationships. I’m not very good at those.”
“Yeah, but that’s because of your demanding job. That totally doesn’t count.”
Yeah, it did, but he would not argue that point with her. “I have failed at many things in my life, Olivia.” He brushed the hair dangling over her shoulders back, giving him the view of her breasts covered in bubbles he craved. “But the bigger point is, I go after what I want regardless of if I might fail.”
She studied him a moment then shook her head, laughing softly. “You know, you really do surprise the hell out of me.”
“In a good way, I hope.”
“It’s definitely good,” she answered, resting her hands on his shoulders. “You’re not at all what I thought you’d be like after our first meeting. You were all power and strength and seriousness.”
“And you liked that.” He grinned.
“You’re damn right I liked that.” Her heated eyes agreed. “But I never expected you to be so sweet. I feel like I’m going to come out of this week stronger than I came into it, and if I’m being honest here, I wasn’t expecting that.”
He cupped her cheek, still amazed when she so effortlessly leaned into his touch. “I am a dominant, Olivia. I am not only here to take and give pleasure to your body, but I am here to feed your soul, as you feed mine.”
She gave a small snort. “How do I feed yours? I feel like I’m doing nothing at all.”
Oh, how wrong she was. “You give me a taste of sweetness and softness and light in a world of lies, seriousness, and uniformity.”
Her brows rose. “I do?”
“You do.”
She averted her gaze.
Knowing exactly what she needed to hear because he could see her needs written all over her face, he sat up, sending the water sloshing over the sides of the tub. He might never have given a woman his heart fully, but he’d never taken away what Cameron had taken from Olivia. He could do with a few minutes alone with that man.
He gently tucked a finger under her chin, drawing her gaze to him. “Some men can’t stand a woman who shines. That’s their insecurity. They can never measure up, even though they want that sparkle for themselves. Don’t let Cameron’s failure make you believe for a second that your sparkle is not there.�
��
And because he didn’t need—or want—a reply he sealed his mouth on hers in a passionate kiss and hoped she believed him.
Chapter 8
The next morning, with her body still humming from the night before, a soft clicking sound jolted Olivia awake. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times until her vision decided to recognize the world around her. Slowly, a coffee cup appeared on the bedside table. Confused, she lifted her head from the pillow and spotted Noah walking away toward the bathroom. Smiling to herself, she snuggled back into the pillow as she heard the shower turn on. Coffee before anything…that was Olivia’s motto. Okay, so Noah was officially the sweetest man ever to have already figured that out about her. In fact, that’s what she liked most about Noah.
She’d never been with a man who was so attentive before. So far, he had been kind when he didn’t need to be, and he paid attention to all the little things others usually missed. The world needed more men like Noah. Though maybe it wasn’t so hard to be attentive for seven days. A year of that was probably impossible, which maybe explained why Noah couldn’t hold down a serious relationship.
With a sigh, she sat up against the pillows and reached for her coffee and took a long sip of the hot brew. The steam from the shower began to form on the mirror. Slowly, with each and every sip of coffee she took, her mind woke up a little bit more and she came to a solid conclusion.
It didn’t matter whether Noah could be this man all the time. All that mattered was that he was this guy right now, and she needed that guy. For a month, she’d lost the ability to trust people. Noah somehow brought that back so very easily. She’d laughed more with him than she had in weeks. She felt important and sexy and all things that Cameron and Lacie stripped away from her.
The bottom line was she felt more like herself now than she had in a month. Or even long before that. Because the tension inside her had calmed. The sadness had eased. All the negative things her mind told her had silenced. And Noah had returned that to her life in only days of knowing him. His touch, his compliments, his strength, his truth, his steadiness…she apparently needed all that to feel better, and she did feel better. She felt happy.
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