Stay With Me

by Alexa Powers

  He hissed in a breath as she closed the gap between them and swathed him in her embrace. Holding him tightly to her, she nestled her cheek against his neck and he felt the warmth of her breath against his skin. When she shifted her head and pressed her soft lips to his neck, he forgot his name. His world was reduced to the softness of her lips.

  Instinctively, he slid his arms around her, and before his mind could remind him to stop, he kissed her. His lips whispered over hers reverently, before tilting his head and sliding his tongue along her plump bottom lip. She tasted of mint and Emma. The added height from her heels brought her almost to eye-level with him, as he crushed his mouth to hers in a possessive kiss. She opened to him immediately and met the thrust of his tongue stroke for stroke.

  Breaking away, he allowed his eyes to rake over her from head to toe. “Hey, sweetheart. Dinner smells amazing, and you look good enough to eat.”

  Emma’s arms rested lazily around his waist, her hip cocked to one side. “Thanks.” Her knowing chuckle at his suggestive comment left him weak in the knees. “I wanted tonight to be special. And I found these shoes while I was out with Lily the other day and thought…why not get dressed up? Celebrate.” His tongue suddenly felt too big for his mouth as he watched her shift her leg out to the side, twisting her foot back and forth so he could get a squiz at her new shoes. The sexy high heels had a black leather strap that extended up the back of her heel before wrapping around her delicate ankle. The motion hiked the hem of her dress up several inches, exposing a pair of lean legs that went all the way to heaven, as she rested her hip against the counter.

  “Well, you won’t find me complaining about them. I may have you leave them on when I take you to bed tonight.” Forget dinner, he wanted to strip her down to her bra and panties…and those shoes, right now.

  Emma angled her head and gave him a seductive grin. “I was hoping you’d like them. I bought them with you in mind.”

  Noah ghosted the tips of his fingers from her bare shoulder, down the length of her arm, to her hand. The tender gesture left a trail of goose bumps on her soft skin. He loved how responsive she was to even the most innocent of touches. “Sweetheart, you could be standing here in a burlap sack and I’d still want you more than my next breath. But the way you look tonight…” He paused, as he let his eyes slowly take in the sight of her. “Well, I don’t even know how to express how I feel. It wouldn’t do you justice, you’re so beautiful.”

  He laced his fingers through hers and brought their joined hands to his lips.

  Emma’s soft giggle left him unable to breathe. “Mission accomplished.”

  “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

  “Uh…yeah,” she said playfully and he had to bite back a laugh at her sassy retort. “Because you do the same thing to me, just by walking into the room.”

  He was startled as she poked him in the stomach, but recovered quickly enough to get ahold of her wrist before she pulled it away. Snickering at her surprised gasp, he circled his arm around her back, her wrist still bound in his hand. The stretch of fabric across her breasts distracted him for a moment as his eyes lingered on the swell of her cleavage. A hint of black lace was visible as she took a shaky breath, the motion lifting her breasts and making his mouth water.

  Reaching behind her with his free hand, he picked up a grape and placed it to her lips. Without taking her eyes from his, she opened her mouth and sucked it in along with the tip of his finger. Her lips closed around it and he felt the sting of her teeth biting playfully, mixed with the flood of juices from the grape.

  The platter was slowly emptied of its contents as they fed each other in a game of seductive one-upmanship that only served to leave him hard as a rock and so turned-on that he almost bent her over the bench and had his way with her right there in the kitchen. It wouldn’t have been the first time they’d made love in the kitchen, but it would have been one of the most memorable. They’d already licked and sucked each other to near climax without shedding a single piece of their clothing or touching any of their naughty bits.

  The ding of the timer had Emma turning her attention to their dinner. She looked at the oven with a hint of regret in her eyes before turning back to him. “Dinner’s ready,” she uttered unenthusiastically.

  He bit back his disappointment at the end of their seductive game. He was hungry for more than the food she’d prepared for them, but he knew the effort she’d put in, so his raging libido would have to wait. Releasing her, he took the few steps to the oven and removed the tray of homemade lasagna. It had quickly become one of his favorite meals and was pleased she’d made it for him.

  Emma opened the refrigerator door and removed a large bowl of salad, placing it next to the lasagna on the counter. He smiled as she waved her hand through the air as if she’d just conjured the dinner up from nothing. “Dig in.”

  Noah raked his fingers through her silken hair as she slept in his arms, unable to find sleep himself. His restless mind focused on visions of Emma in nothing but black lace and the sexiest pair of high heels he’d ever seen, as he’d brought her to an explosive climax. He’d taken her seven different ways to Sunday before stripping off the shoes, and he still wanted more. He was sure he had heel marks along his back and would probably catch stick for it in the sheds, but it was worth it. Her breathy moans and exclamations echoed in his head and the feel of her naked body pressed against his left him ready to go again.

  He wondered if he’d ever tire of having her, because he couldn’t imagine a day when he wouldn’t look at her in awe. And that thought inevitably brought his mind back to his conversation with Evan.

  He hated that he let Evan have such a negative influence on him and his relationship with Emma, but he just couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling his words had left behind. He would survive if she left, Noah knew that, but he didn’t want her to leave. It was that simple. In his heart, he’d already found his mate, his lifelong companion, and couldn’t envision ever wanting to be with anyone else.

  He’d once heard that God created Eve from Adam’s rib, so that when he found his Eve, she completed him. He was whole again. Noah now understood that without his Emma, he would be forever missing the part of him that only she possessed…that only she could satisfy.

  Wanting to shout out to the heavens at the unfairness of it all and giving up on sleep, he gently slid from her arms, trying his level-best not to wake her. Quietly donning his running shorts and trainers, he slipped out the back door for a moonlit run on the beach.

  An hour later, he was no closer to resolving his problems, but he was bone tired, so he gave thanks for that and quietly slipped into the shower. The feel of the warm water relaxed him as he rinsed the sand and sweat from his tired limbs.

  Noah wasn’t surprised to find Emma sitting on the counter when he stepped out of the shower, dressed in the shirt he’d worn that day. Her confused expression mingled with sleepy eyes as she stifled a yawn. “Where’d you go?”

  “Couldn’t sleep, so I went for a run. I didn’t mean to wake you.” He really didn’t and felt the sting of guilt that he’d worried her as he wrapped a towel around his hips.

  “Oh…Is everything alright?” Her confused expression turned to concern as she scrutinized him, a frown marring her pretty face.

  “Everything’s fine. I’m fine. Just couldn’t sleep, is all. Worried about the match tomorrow, I guess,” he lied, but hoped she didn’t catch the nervous twitch in his voice.

  She gave him a sad look and slid from the counter. “Well, go lie down and I’ll make you some warm milk. It always helps me sleep when I have trouble.”

  He was helpless to resist the pull of her and enveloped her in his arms. “Thanks, baby. You’re too good to me.” It was true, he thought, as he patted her bottom before giving it a gentle squeeze.

  Between the warm milk, the moonlit run, and Emma’s warm breath against his chest, he finally found the sleep his weary mind craved.

  Sitting cross-legge
d in Albert Park with Isabella in her lap, Emma finished off the remnants of her turkey sandwich. She’d met Suzanne for a picnic lunch in the park so Bella could run around without drawing the ire of the other patrons that frequented the busy cafes that encircled the university campus. Bella was a whirling dervish while she was awake, and Suzanne had to practically tie her to the chair to keep her out of trouble. With her pregnant belly getting larger by the minute, it wasn’t an easy task to chase an energetic two-year-old through a crowded restaurant.

  Emma and Suzanne had struck up an easy friendship and had managed to fit in a few lunches since they’d met in the airport while waiting for their significant others to deplane. As she gazed at the puffy woman, whose pregnant belly had grown significantly since they’d first met, reclining on the quilt next to her, she envied her. Suzanne was living the life that Emma had always dreamed of, a husband who adored her and about to give birth to her second little girl. They’d already picked out a name and excitedly decorated the nursery. Little Sarah Elizabeth O’Neill was coming into this world surrounded by a loving family that could hardly wait for her arrival.

  Emma was enjoying the few minutes of rest between classes and soaking up the sun as it peeked through the clouds. The spirited two-year-old was just the distraction she needed to take her mind off her troubles and the stress of her exams. The rare sighting of the sun as it broke through the clouds had lifted her dragging spirits, slightly. The weather that had descended upon Auckland for the last few weeks was a perfect reflection of her mood…gloomy.

  Things had been strained between her and Noah and it was wearing on her last nerve. For the first time, she was questioning their relationship. When they were together, everything was…fine…at least on the surface. They’d gone about their normal routine, but there was a growing distance between them, and their comfortable connection felt tense and awkward at times.

  On more than one occasion, she’d woken up in the middle of the night to find Noah sitting alone in the lounge, watching TV in the dark, or missing altogether. She’d panicked the first few times she’d woken to an empty house, searching every room for him, only to hear him sneak in the back door some time later and head straight for the shower.

  Noah had been traveling for most of the last week, first with The Blues to Australia, for their final game of the season, and then with the All Blacks to Christchurch, so she’d had plenty of time to obsess over what could be upsetting him.

  Had she done something to cause him to pull away from her? Had he met someone else? Just the thought of Noah with another woman, or even wanting another woman, left her seeing red…and wanting to throw up. Every time the crushing image of Noah with someone else came to the forefront, she tried her best to mentally shake it off. It was always in the back of her mind, eating away bit by bit, but when she looked into her heart of hearts, she knew Noah would never be unfaithful.

  Deciding that infidelity was unlikely, she still knew something was terribly wrong and she’d resolved herself to take the bull by the horns and insist he talk to her. She wasn’t all that comfortable with confrontation, but things couldn’t go on the way they were. One of the things that formed the foundation of a healthy relationship was trust. And if he didn’t trust her enough to confide in her, to tell her whatever was bothering him, then they had a problem. A fixable problem, but a problem nonetheless, and she was determined to figure it out. She wasn’t ready to cut her losses yet, but she wouldn’t force him to stay with her either, if it wasn’t what he wanted any longer.

  Every time he didn’t quite look at her, but through her, her heart broke a little more. The faraway look in his eyes betrayed him, and as much as he insisted that everything was alright…it wasn’t. Nothing was alright, and if he wanted out, then she’d let him go, even though it would kill her to walk away from him.

  She couldn’t help but wonder if he stayed with her out of some misguided sense of obligation because of his friendship with Josh and Lily. She was no one’s pity date, so if that was the case then she’d set him straight and move out, with a shattered heart that would probably never be right again. Trying to prepare for the inevitable, she’d even thought about bringing a few of her things back to Lily’s to make it less awkward if she had to leave. She hadn’t let her growing insecurities drive her to such drastic actions yet, but she didn’t want to be caught off-guard and left scrambling to pack everything she’d accumulated at Noah’s either.

  He’d gone quiet on her and that was never a good sign. She’d been there before in relationships past and it never ended well…it just ended. Just the thought of losing Noah left her with a herd of stampeding elephants wreaking havoc on her insides, and, alternately, on the verge of hysterics or an ulcer.

  As much as she tried to prepare herself, she wasn’t ready to let him go, so she hung on with every ounce of grit she could muster and pasted a smile on her face that didn’t feel quite as genuine as it once did. Her mother always told her she was as stubborn as a mule, and she was relying on that tenacity. Like a good southern girl, she’d get through it with her chin held high and a smile plastered on her face.

  After chasing Bella around the fountain until the little tornado was exhausted, Emma carried her back to the waiting arms of her mum.

  Emma bit back a laugh as Suzanne struggled to raise herself to a standing position. She was in the final stages of pregnancy, making even the most routine tasks difficult. “Is everything alright, Emma? You seem quiet today. Not your normally-cheerful self.” Emma wanted to confess her deepest worries to her friend, but she needed to get to class and didn’t want to burden her with her troubles.

  “I’m fine.” She was really beginning to hate that word. “Just stressed with exams and everything.” It wasn’t a complete lie, she told herself. Her exams were causing her stress and her issues with Noah could fall under ‘everything’.

  Suzanne paused and looked closely at Emma, causing her to fidget under the scrutiny. “Well, if you need anything, just let me know. I remember living off of junk food and coffee during exams, so if you want to pop in for tea, just give me a call. I’d love the company.”

  “Thanks. I may just take you up on that.”

  “Well, try to get some rest. You look…tired.”

  Ouch. “I didn’t think I looked that bad,” Emma laughed, but it rang hollow in her ears.

  “You’re still gorgeous and you know it, but you just look…weary. Maybe that’s a better word.” Her concern was sincere, so Emma knew not to take offense.

  Emma let out a small chuckle. “I think weary or tired would both work. Just look around campus, everyone looks like a bunch of zombies. And I’m both weary and tired of school. I’m so ready to graduate I can’t stand it anymore. I just want to be done.”

  Suzanne’s firm grip encircled Emma’s biceps, holding her tightly at arm’s length. “Well, give me a call and I’ll have a nice meal and some tea waiting for you. And in case of the zombie apocalypse, remember to ‘Keep calm and head to the Winchester’.”

  Emma’s sudden burst of genuine laughter caught her by surprise. “Thanks, I needed that. Best zombie movie ever.” She suspected Suzanne knew there was more to her weariness, but thankfully, she didn’t push the issue. “I just need to get though another week, and then I’m off for the next three weeks. It’s what’s keeping me going at this point, I’m so exhausted. But I really do need to get to class. Thanks for lunch and for letting me chase the little munchkin around for a little while.” Emma leaned back on her haunches, lowering herself to eye level with Bella, and gave her a hug. Her heart swelled when the little girl hugged her tightly before smacking a wet kiss on her cheek.

  With the impending conversation she needed to have with Noah still weighing heavily on her mind, she crossed the street and made her way across campus to her next class. Lingering outside the building, she pulled her phone from her back pocket and called Lily. Her cousin knew Noah better than most, and maybe Noah had talked to Josh. If that was the case
, then Lily knew what was upsetting him, because they shared everything.

  “Hey, Emma,” Lily’s cheery voice greeted her. “What’s up?”

  “Oh, well let’s see, where should I start?” Emma chuckled into the phone. Just the sound of Lily’s voice lightened her heavy load. “I’m exhausted, hungry for a good meal, and lonely. I need my Lily.”

  Lily’s laughter rang through the phone. “Well…I don’t know…it’s a pretty big ask, Emma,” she teased. “Of course I can help. Come over after class and I’ll take care of you. I know just the thing.”

  Lily’s enthusiastic giggle left Emma slightly afraid of what her cousin had in mind, but she was happy for the distraction and the company. “I get out of class at three, and I’ll come over then. I’m so tired, Lily, I just want to pull the blankets over my head and forget about the real world for a while.”

  “Well, come on over when you’re done. Why don’t you spend the night here tonight, since Noah’s out of town? That way you can just collapse in your bed instead of driving home after dinner.”

  “I think I might just do that. But I have to go. I’ll see you later. Love you.” Emma ended the call and rolled her shoulders, feeling better already.

  Lily opened the door and immediately handed Emma a cold beer. “I’ve booked us for massages at the spa at four. You’re getting the Aromatherapy massage, and I’m going to try the hot stones. The Aromatherapy massage is supposed to help reduce stress and promote relaxation. It sounds delightful. And then we’re going to have dinner, just the two of us. Make it a ladies night.” Lily was so excited, she forgot to breathe, finally sucking in a deep breath when she finished speaking.

  Emma wanted to cry at Lily’s thoughtful surprise. It was just what she needed. “Oh, my God…that sounds perfect. Thanks Lily.”

  “Well, I think we deserve a little treat, don’t you?”