by Anne, Melody
She felt him tensing more, felt him nearing his peak. But with a growl and a tug, he ripped her away from his flesh. She tried taking him back into her mouth, but he wasn’t allowing her to be in control anymore. When she opened her eyes and looked up at the heated gaze he was sending her way, she didn’t mind one bit.
Her core pulsed, and she nearly came right there in front of him from nothing more than the promise of what he was about to do to her shining in his eyes.
Suddenly Noah was lifting her up and moving again, this time sitting her on the desk as he ripped away the rest of her clothes. His eyes were wild, and his body was tense, and she was more than ready for him. She opened her legs and lay there bare, ready and waiting and more than willing.
Noah reached between her thighs and ran his finger along her wet folds. One finger slid inside, and her bottom came up from the desk as a cry was wrenched from her. She wanted so much more than his hands inside her.
His hand pulled away, and then finally he was positioned where she needed him. But he didn’t move. It felt like weights were on her eyes, but she managed to lift them halfway, and it was well worth it. He was standing over her, his solid flesh at her entrance, and his eyes were burning into hers. Her lips trembled as she tried to speak, but no words could escape.
“Now,” he said. And with that he surged forward in a hard thrust that sent her sliding backward and had her screaming in pleasure.
He didn’t give her time to recover before he slid backward and pushed forward again. He filled her so completely, so beautifully, that she couldn’t do anything more than hold on as her pleasure built and her body turned to molten lava.
She somehow kept her eyes open as he moved faster and faster in and out of her heated, aching flesh. And then the tingles began. She went from beautiful pleasure to exploding lights and flashes of color. Her body gripped him tightly as she squeezed his flesh over and over again, her head thrown back, her body on fire.
Somewhere in the back of her consciousness, she felt him tense, felt the heat of his release shooting deep within her, felt him collapse on top of her. She barely had the strength to wrap her arms around his damp flesh and hold him tightly to her, not wanting him to pull from her body, not wanting to break this connection the two of them had. She was always greedy with Noah, always wanted more. She was afraid this time it was too late for her to turn back. He’d opened a new door within her, and she wasn’t sure she’d be willing to try to close it again. She was barely recovering from the most beautiful orgasm she’d ever experienced, and the feel of his flesh pulsing inside her was waking her up again.
When he did finally pull back, she whimpered. But when her eyes opened, he was looking at her so intensely she wasn’t sure what to do next. He cupped her cheek.
“Nothing in my life has ever come close to what just happened between the two of us. This is only the beginning, Sarah. You can try to hide from me again, but this will happen over and over again, because we’re made for each other,” he said.
Her throat closed with the emotion she was feeling, and she didn’t know what she could possibly say to that, so she said nothing. He just gave her a knowing smile before he leaned down and gently kissed her.
Then he pressed against her, and she was thankful he wasn’t expecting her to come up with something to say. Maybe he did know her more than she realized. Maybe this was meant to be.
She wasn’t sure. All she was sure of was in this very moment right here and now, she didn’t ever want to let him go.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Sarah stood still while trying to comprehend what Noah was holding in his hands and saying. She was having a difficult time understanding his words. It had been three days since their out-of-this-world lovemaking in her office.
They’d spoken on the phone each day about work, but he hadn’t brought up anything personal. Then he’d called about an hour earlier and told her to pack an overnight bag and to include sweats and a hoodie and swimwear; then he’d hung up before she could tell him no.
Now he was standing in her doorway.
“What are you doing, Noah?” she asked.
“We’re going on a new adventure,” he said.
“We’re just going to pretend everything is normal?” she asked.
“Pretty much,” he said with the smile that drew her in.
She could keep on fighting him but decided she didn’t want to. It was that simple. What was the point? She was working with him, didn’t want to stop at this point, and besides all that, she actually did miss him when he wasn’t around. In other words, she was a mess.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“You’ll see.”
She laughed, surprising them both. But then she grabbed her bag and purse and followed him out the door. They didn’t speak as she climbed in his truck, and they drove for about an hour.
When they reached the water, she smiled. She followed him down to the docks and couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty of the boat he moved over to. This was looking to be like a very good day.
It had been many years since Sarah had been on the ocean. There was something almost miraculous about the smell of salt in the air while wind whipped through your hair and you flew across the water. Getting away from the rest of the world for a few hours was something everyone should do at least once a month just to refresh the mind and soul.
It didn’t take Noah long to get them both on the boat and to bring it out to sea. The surface was glassy and the wind mild. If Sarah could get her racing heart to calm down a little, she’d call this a pretty great day. But she couldn’t help but look at Noah and think about what they’d been doing only a few days earlier.
Noah was being secretive about their next adventure, but she didn’t mind. She had no doubt whatsoever that what they were about to do would inspire her. This entire adventure they were on was making her a better architect and taking her stress away.
Their ride took them about an hour, and then they were pulling up to a dock on one of the many Washington State islands. She had about a dozen questions for Noah, but they’d been silent all morning, and she was being stubborn and didn’t want to be the one to speak first. She seemed to give in first all too often.
“Grab the green pack. We won’t be back to the boat for a while, and I have some snacks,” he said.
The sound of his voice startled her after silence for so long. She smiled at how nervous she was, then laughed when she stepped off the boat and found her legs a little wobbly.
“Guess I don’t have sea legs,” she said, her voice slightly scratchy. She wasn’t normally a person who could remain silent for so long.
“You did amazing. I guess you don’t get seasick,” he said. “That’s good, as I love a long day on the water. Throwing a pole in the water when you need to let your mind relax is a necessity.”
“Maybe for you. I’ve never been a fan of fishing. It’s boring,” she told him.
He looked at her as if she was insane. “You’ve been fishing with the wrong people. I’ll take you out, and I guarantee your mind will be changed,” he said with confidence.
“I’ll take your word for it,” she said.
“Maybe we’ll just have to make a little bet on it,” he told her with a wink.
He definitely knew how to intrigue her. They were moving up the dock as they fell into an easy pace beside one another.
“What kind of bet?” she asked.
He laughed.
“Depends how confident you are,” he told her.
“I’m incredibly confident,” she assured him.
“Well, in that case, we have to come up with something good,” he insisted.
“I can do anything I want to do, so it would be a pleasure to outfish you,” she said.
He was definitely making her want to fish now, dang it. That’s what he’d wanted to accomplish, but she never had been able to turn down a bet.
“Okay, hmm . . .” He looked as if he was really t
hinking. She smiled as a thought came to mind.
“Ever had rocky mountain oysters before?” she asked.
His grin fell away. “No, and I don’t plan on it, either,” he assured her.
“Loser has to eat them,” she said, feeling quite proud of herself.
“Wait a minute,” he said as he stopped moving.
“Nope. You said you’d beat me, so you shouldn’t have a problem with the bet,” she told him. Now she was the one goading him.
His eyes narrowed. “Fine,” he said after several long moments. “It’s the size of the fish, not the quantity.”
“So when I catch the biggest fish, you’ll be eating rocky mountain oysters,” she told him. She was very proud of herself.
“You’ll literally be eating your words,” he said, smiling again. But she saw a bit of worry in his eyes.
They began walking again. She was already planning on her victory. Maybe she’d take a pic of him eating them and frame it for a Christmas present. It would be great. She was also wondering if the two of them actually did have a chance together. When she let her guard down with him, she really did enjoy her time in his company.
Thoughts like that were pretty scary, but life was about taking risks. If she always stayed in the safe zone, she wouldn’t truly be living, and that wasn’t a life she wanted to live. She just had to decide exactly how much risk she wanted to take.
They walked a trail on the island and passed through green forests and flowers that were blooming. The animals were chirping, and stress and artist’s block were being replaced by magic and a myriad of possibilities. She could look forward to the future or keep living in the past. She was starting to believe the future was a much better place to be.
They walked through Frog Holler Forest and moved around the island for a couple of hours. One of Sarah’s favorite sights was a tree that had a bicycle through the middle of it. She was fascinated by the sight of it.
“You see, there are strange things all over the world, but we live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where we can get inspired by everyday things. We can travel the world because it’s amazing to do, but we don’t have to,” Noah told her.
“It’s amazing how we live each day without taking time to look around,” she said. She was incredibly grateful for her day with Noah. “We search and search for more and more and more, when sometimes the best things in life are right in front of us.”
Her words stopped him in his tracks. The light was dimming, but she could clearly see his eyes, and he was obviously pleased by her words. She hadn’t thought about them, just blurted. Maybe it was the relaxing day, maybe how kind he’d been, or maybe she was just so tired of fighting what she was feeling, but all of it added up to her saying what was on her mind.
“I think we run and run and run, and it’s only when we slow down that we actually see that what we need has been there all along,” he told her.
“Sometimes I’m not sure what you want,” she admitted.
He cupped her cheek as he looked at her. His eyes were so intense she wanted to turn away, but there was no way she could do that right then. She was utterly mesmerized by this man. She had been from the very beginning.
“I don’t always know,” he admitted.
She smiled. “I can appreciate that.”
They both stood there smiling at each other like a couple of teenagers. But she didn’t mind. It was the best she’d felt in a long time.
“Our adventure for the day isn’t over yet,” he said.
“Oh, really?” she questioned.
“The best is yet to come,” he promised.
“I can’t wait.”
Noah took her hand, and she clung tightly to his fingers as he led her along another path, then took her to the Palouse Winery. The sun set in the sky as they were seated on a patio in the corner, where a table was lit with candlelight.
And she was a goner.
“Will you stay the night on the island with me?” he asked.
There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation.
“Yes.”
And just like that the relationship she’d been fighting so hard changed again. But a moment could go from extraordinary to one of the worst of your life in a matter of seconds. It wasn’t usual, but it could happen. Sarah and Noah had gone through many ups and downs over the course of a very short time period. Now that it had all happened, she wasn’t sure she’d change any of it.
If everything was good all the time, then how would you truly understand it or appreciate it? Maybe there had to be trials along the way, and maybe that was where you truly found the character of a person or yourself.
They made it back to the hotel room, and Sarah began feeling sick. Noah put his arm around her, and her head started spinning—and not in a good way.
“Sarah?” he questioned. His voice sounded as if it were coming to her through a tunnel. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t.
“Sarah!”
What was happening? Her body went limp.
“Noah . . .” She was able to breathe out his name on a sigh, and that took maximum effort.
The last thing she saw before blackness overtook her was total panic on Noah’s face.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Confusion filled Sarah as she drifted in and out of consciousness. At first she was only awake for seconds before blacking out again. Then she began staying conscious for longer periods, but she had no idea what was going on. Her entire body ached as if she’d just run a marathon.
The next time she was conscious, she tried focusing on what she could remember last. There’d been an amazing day on the island. A romantic dinner and a rush to a hotel room. Then all she could remember was dizziness and bewilderment.
And now she was here.
She opened her eyes and gazed up. The room was light, telling her it was daytime. She was alone and had to fight panic. She’d been with Noah when she’d passed out. There was no way he’d simply leave her. That meant he was somewhere nearby. But she wasn’t even sure where she was. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but nothing came out.
What was wrong with her? Tears formed in her eyes as she tried talking herself down from the ledge she felt she was about to go over. She shut off the panic and concentrated on breathing in and out while trying to calm her racing heart.
She opened her mouth again, and this time sound escaped. It wasn’t a word, but a squeak. The noise seemed like a booming shot in the quiet of the room. Her heart raced again.
There was noise in the doorway, and then the bed dipped and an arm wrapped around her, and just that quickly her panic eased. She took in another deep breath.
“I’m right here, Sarah. You’re not alone,” Noah said as his fingers rubbed along her stomach and side in a soothing motion.
It seemed to take maximum effort, but she managed to turn slightly to look at him. She had so many questions, but her throat hurt, and she wasn’t sure she could carry on a conversation.
“What happened?” she finally managed to ask. Her voice was weak, but at least she was finally able to speak. Sarah would never be described as a quiet person, so it was probably a treat for Noah that she could barely talk above a whisper.
“You’ve been asleep for about sixteen hours, so I’m going to help you sit up to have a drink to see how you’re feeling. You really need to have some food, too.”
He kept his movements slow as he sat up, then gently placed his arms under her and helped her sit. The movement made her head slightly spin, but he just held her as she took more breaths, and soon the dizziness went away.
“What happened?” she asked again.
“You got a severe case of food poisoning. The doctor thinks you were allergic to something. You were in the hospital overnight and in and out of consciousness. Do you remember any of it?”
“No,” she told him.
He smiled at her. “Then you insisted on leaving. He said as long as you take the meds, you were clear to go home but
couldn’t be alone.”
She believed 100 percent she would’ve insisted on leaving the hospital. She hated them. She just didn’t understand how she could’ve forgotten an entire day, especially when she’d been talking to people.
“I’m glad you took me away. I don’t like hospitals,” she said.
“I know. I remember the last time you were there,” he said. He was rubbing his fingers through her hair, and the best medicine she needed right then was his touch.
“I don’t get sick too often. Do they know what I might be allergic to?” she asked.
He shook his head, then grabbed the water next to him and handed it to her.
“You’ll have to go and take tests as soon as you’re feeling up to it,” he told her. “Now take a drink. If you keep this down, you get some nice delicious bland soup.”
“Ooh, sounds yummy,” she told him, starting to feel better.
She sipped on the water and waited to see if she was going to feel sick. She felt seriously thirsty, so she took long pulls. He handed her some pills. “Take these, too.”
She didn’t argue with him but didn’t like the shaking in her hands as she took the pills from him. Weakness wasn’t something she accepted easily. She didn’t like to rely on another person for her well-being, either. Trusting in other people was a scary thing. Besides her best friends, there weren’t a lot of people she could honestly say she’d trust to take care of her.
“I hope this goes away quickly. We have way too much work to get done for me to be lying around,” she told him. They were finally making great progress on their project, and she didn’t want that interrupted.
“I think everything will be just fine if we take a few days off,” Noah said with a chuckle.
“Are you using my sickness as an excuse to slack?” she asked. The water was really helping to perk her up. She was still tired, still achy, and definitely still sick, but she could at least smile again.
