“Harper, baby, you’re so slick and ready for me,” he said as she moaned, thrusting her hips toward his questing fingers. He turned her around, swiftly removing her coat, pulling up her dress as he squatted down to his knees, too turned on to even notice the cold, hard tile of the foyer beneath them. He lifted one of her legs over his shoulder as his mouth found her pussy, and his tongue took long, slow passes along her seam before stroking around her clit.
“If you fucking stop now, I’ll kill you,” Harper said as she threaded her fingers through his hair, pressing his mouth to her core.
There was that dirty talk he was waiting for.
He looked up and her eyes were closed, her face etched with pleasure. He picked up the pace of his fingers pumping into her wet channel as his tongue stroked her clit while she thrust into his face. “That’s it, baby, rub your pussy on my face.” She moaned and screamed out his name as she came hard, her body trembling with the effort.
“You’d better put that fucking cock into me before I kill you,” she said, and he was perfectly happy to comply, quickly peeling his jeans down, then lifting Harper up and helping her wrap her legs around his hips as she settled herself onto his swollen cock.
“I hate you so much,” Harper said. Only it wasn’t her lips but her hips that were speaking the truth as they ground into Noah. He pressed his mouth to hers and they kissed like they had no choice, like the air would stop circulating and time would stand still and the earth would no longer rotate if they released their kiss. Harper pulled on his hair as her tongue dueled with his as if it was an epic battle she was determined to win. Noah gasped as he practically inhaled her mouth with his and then thrust his cock hard into her wet warmth, dismissing formalities, immediately quickening the pace, pumping faster and deeper. Finally he groaned and she moaned softly as he pressed deep inside of her and held her so hard to him he feared she’d end up with fingertip bruises on her hips. He came in hard jerks, and she quickly followed, her pussy clamping down on him as if it didn’t want to let go. Their breaths came in clipped measures, and they heaved as sweat dripped from their brows.
“Oh my God, Harper.” Noah paused to catch his breath. “That was intense.”
He held tightly to her, not wanting to let go of the moment, the moment he’d dreamed of for so long when the two of them were joined again as one. But was this a one-off, or could this be the start of a newer, better phase of Harper and Noah?
Chapter Eight
Harper wasn’t sure which of the many mistakes she’d made was the worst of them. Could it have been giving damned Noah what he wanted, like she was someone he could swoop in and sleep with as if nothing had happened? Ugh, she was not happy with herself about that. But then again, she needed to give herself a hall pass for it: what girl wouldn’t succumb, after not having any of that for so. damned. long?
Now, though, they’d done the deed. The man’s penis had been inside of her duplicitous body moments ago, and she was nearly paralyzed with remorse—not because it wasn’t incredible—it was as good as, if not better, than she remembered. But where on earth did she go from here? She was going to have to backpedal and let him know in no uncertain terms what just transpired was a big, fat, hairy mistake.
Which led her to the second problem: it was a big, fat, hairy mistake that could have quite negative consequences. She’d had unprotected sex with this guy. Granted the two of them had progressed past condoms long ago, but that was then, this was now. Lord knew where he’d had that thing since. Thank goodness she’d at least had the birth control component of things under control—she’d been on the pill for other reasons all along. But damn, when she thought earlier in the night about exchanging bodily fluids, she surely hadn’t thought it was going to be hers and Noah’s.
She hated the idea of having to have sex with Noah with a condom, though. Once you’d had skin on skin, it was no fun to deal with those unwanted barriers. And lordy, was it ever amazing. Talk about a long time coming. Literally.
Yet there were other flaws in her decision-making… For instance, the man lived here now. And she was likely going to run into him here and there, and now he would be that guy she had the one-nighter with, if you could call it that. More like impulse-control sex. And it was a hell of an impulse she couldn’t control, dammit. She’d always been susceptible to Noah’s charms, or pheromones or whatever it was that made her panties wet the minute she entered his sphere. But now she had to figure out how to get this man out of her home, her sanctuary, a place she didn’t want tainted by memories of what could have been with Noah Gunderson.
“Sweetie, let’s take this to the bedroom. My legs are about to give way,” Noah said as he buried his nose in her hair.
Sweetie? Was he serious?
Harper quickly lowered her feet to the floor, the very tiled floor of her foyer that she apparently was incapable of getting past before having impulsive wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am sex with her ex. What the hell had she been thinking?
Of course. She hadn’t been thinking. She’d been feeling. And that’s what happened when you felt—you did stupid things like sex with Noah, and even though it felt a-maz-ing, it was so not ever going to happen again. That man would never pass the threshold of her home if she had a say in it. She quickly tugged down her dress as she fumbled for her panties, which she found hooked on the doorknob. The doorknob. Oy.
“I’m sorry, but you need to leave.” She couldn’t even look him in the eyes.
He cocked his head and gave her a quizzical look.
“Leave? But—”
“But nothing, Noah. This was a huge mistake. I was gullible. It’s been a long time since I did that. I only did it to relieve pressure. Sometimes a girl needs to have a good orgasm. I was simply using you to end my dry spell. The garden needed watering since it was awfully parched. It has nothing to do with me wanting you. Just so you know.”
Noah nodded. “Ah. I see. So you didn’t sleep with that loser you were with tonight? That’s good to know.”
Harper’s eyes grew wide. “Loser? Loser? I’m sorry, you want to discuss losers? How about instead we can talk about Danny, who’s a good guy and sweet and thoughtful and has an awesome sense of humor and he shows up for dates and he’s respectful and I’m sure he’d never walk away from someone without even a word. Trust me, next time I am indeed going to sleep with Danny Greevy, not that it’s any of your business. But if you do anything to get in the way of my having the most amazing sex on the planet with him, well, well, well, you’ll have me to answer to.”
Noah pulled up his pants, placed his hands on either side of Harper’s face, then settled his lips over hers in a soft, gentle kiss that she had no choice but to go along with despite herself.
“Keep telling yourself that, Harper.” With that, he turned and opened the door, stepping into the cold rain. Only this time, he did turn around and looked right into her eyes as he walked backward to his car. “Keep telling yourself that.”
Chapter Nine
Noah sat in his car in front of Harper’s place for a good long while. Resting his forehead on the top rim of the steering wheel, he wrapped his arms around either side of it, lost in contemplation. He couldn’t believe what had actually happened. Never in a million years would he have expected to run into Harper, let alone have sex with her. But damn, thank goodness for tender mercies.
Sure, after the fact, Harper had demonstrated some buyer’s remorse. But that was to be expected, regardless of when and if they had ended up sleeping together. Inevitably she was going to have to reconcile with a lot of things concerning Noah’s actions if there was any chance of somehow getting back together. He understood that. But what he hadn’t expected was how powerful this experience would be. At that moment when he was deep inside her and they both came, it was downright spiritual. He wasn’t going to admit it to a soul, but a tear even trickled from the corner of his eye. And he couldn’t admit that he wasn’t as freaked out as he should have been when
he failed to think of using a condom.
Part of the intense feelings came from realizing how loaded it all was for the both of them emotionally. He couldn’t blame her one bit for hating him. He knew he’d been a coward to up and leave as he did. Being young and scared wasn’t an excuse, and he needed to own it.
But when he’d found out his brother Matthew got a girl pregnant, it had spooked the hell out of him. Sure, he and Harper had talked about a future together back then, but it was off in the distance still, and it was almost like make-believe, not real. Shit got totally real the minute Matthew had to face the reality of being a father at the age of twenty. He hadn’t even finished college yet, and suddenly he was forced to make lifelong plans when he didn’t even know what his plans would be in a year. This with a young woman he’d only been dating casually.
That was all it took. Noah counted up the money he’d been saving over the years, bought a backpack and some hiking boots, secured the cheapest overseas plane ticket he could find, threw his passport in his back pocket, and that was the start of his big adventure. In total, two glorious years roaming the world, picking up occasional odd jobs along the way to help keep afloat financially, bartering his time for room and board whenever possible. He’d traveled to six continents before returning to the States to attend the law school he’d deferred acceptance to. Until his mother got sick and he realized he hated law school and was only doing it because he felt as if he needed to do something legitimate in the world. So he returned to Verity Beach, held his mother’s hand as she fought the cancer that ravaged her body, and tearfully bid her a heartbroken farewell.
Now he found himself picking up the pieces of her financially mismanaged life, after having promised her that he’d ensure her quaint beachfront inn would not fall into the hands of creditors. That meant long hours poring through her books and tax returns trying to make sense of the fiscal mess she’d left behind, followed by late nights of driving Uber, because he needed a reliable source of income at least for the time being. And the income had been fantastic throughout the busy summer season and well into the autumn wedding season. Even now as cold weather was setting in, there were plenty of locals who relied on Uber for their social lives—it sure beat worrying about alcohol consumption while out at dinner or a party.
He’d been back for several months, biding his time before attempting to reach out to Harper. For one thing, he’d been tied up with his mother’s illness until recently. In addition, he expected he’d get a frosty reception at best, and who knew how bad at worst? Hell hath no fury and all that. He wanted to be prepared for every eventuality.
Besides, he still hadn’t figured out how to explain to Harper why he did what he did. Especially since there was no good reason. At least to her way of seeing things; he understood that. So instead he’d been spinning his wheels, waiting for the ideal moment. Who’d have known fate would drop her in his lap like that.
But now he had to focus on the best way to win back the woman he now realized had always been the love of his life. And what just happened between the two of them merely cemented the deal.
Operation Woo Harper Landry was on.
~*~
Harper lay in the dark, revisiting what had happened over and over in her mind. That Noah showed up out of nowhere blew her away to begin with. But then, she didn’t even confront him and instead answered the siren call of what were clearly overactive hormones on her part? After all she’d been through? Hell, it had taken her two years to finally let go of him. Two years with no calls, no messages. Not even a damned postcard.
She’d heard through the rumor mills that he was off wandering the world, or sowing his wild oats, or whatever it was that stupid males did when they disappeared. She tried to avoid any information or updates on Noah. Each time she’d heard of his escapades, it picked open the sore and caused more pain. Eventually people understood that Noah was a subject not to be raised. So perhaps even if people had heard, she’d never know.
Her best friend, Allie Ledbetter, would have been on the phone with her no matter if it was the middle of the night had she gotten wind of Noah’s presence. But Allie had been out of the country for months, living in Italy, so she didn’t hear of these things quickly enough. Shame, as this time, Harper would have loved some advance warning about Noah’s return. That way she could have at least locked down her damned chastity belt a little tighter. Instead she’d practically oiled up the lock and handed the man the damned key!
She’d seen the hint of a tear in his eyes when she couldn’t pull her gaze away from his while he was buried deep inside her. It almost made her feel sorry for him. Almost. But then it sucker punched her back to reality. Those were crocodile tears, as far as she was concerned. He did this to himself—not to mention to her—and he wasn’t entitled to cry. Even if it did make him seem vulnerable and loving.
Luckily she recovered quickly and let him know in no uncertain terms that what had transpired was merely sex. Nothing else. And the only reason she allowed him down her pants—or up her dress, more accurately—was that she had an itch that needed some serious scratching. And God, was he good at that sort of scratching.
She closed her eyes and pictured him. Perhaps it was for the better that she hadn’t even seen all of him naked. It was more than enough to look into those eyes of his and remember, despite his actions, the intense love she’d felt for him for so many years. The cocky smile he had, one side of his mouth a little more upturned than the other, with those irresistible dimples sealed the deal. He wasn’t a boy anymore—he’d filled out and become all man. Even his face, with that scruffy beard… the last time she’d pressed her face to his, he was only shaving every couple of days.
She could barely admit it to herself, but she wanted him again. Already. Despite everything. She’d gotten a taste of what she’d once had, and while it made her all the more angry that he’d taken it away from her, she couldn’t help fixating on some way—any way—she might have another chance to feel his body pressed to hers. As long as she made sure that this time her heart was not going to be in jeopardy. So maybe she’d give him a taste of his own medicine, reel him in while having her needs met a little bit. Servicing Harper was the least he could do after everything he’d done to her.
Chapter Ten
Harper woke up agitated. Thank goodness she didn’t have to work today. Or maybe that would have been better—keeping busy was preferable to staying home alone dwelling on the events of the night before, which still seemed like some weird dream. An incredibly sexy dream that left her body buzzing with need for more of where that came from.
She wanted to know more about how Noah got back here, but she didn’t want to ask just anyone. Heaven forbid it got back to him that she was asking around. No way. She had far too much pride for that. She picked up the phone and called her best friend.
Allie had gone to Italy for the wine harvest, with the intention of returning as soon as it was completed but in the meantime had fallen in love with some handsome Tuscan wine baron or something. She had decided to take a little sabbatical and see how her relationship unfolded, which meant that the two best friends were relegated to long-distance communications. It had been bad enough when Allie was working clear across the country in Calfornia. While Harper had been looking forward to her friend returning to their hometown, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing, since now Allie would now be forever preoccupied with her man first. Now she had one less girlfriend to occupy her time with even if she’d come back here with him.
The phone rang several times before her friend picked up.
“Ciao, bellissima.”
“Oooh, your accent sounds even better since the last time we spoke,” Harper said.
“I have the perfect teacher.” Her friend laughed.
“Yeah, I know all about the Italian your boyfriend is teaching you. Most of which is unprintable.”
“Oh, but trust me, it sounds amazing when you’re in the heat of pass
ion.”
“You’re going to rub this in that you’re having passion and I’m not?”
“I’m sorry, Harps. If you come visit me, I’ll see if Francesco can find another gorgeous Italian man for you. I swear to you, they are practically a dime a dozen around here.”
“Believe me, I’d love to take you up on your offer. But I’ve got some pressing concerns I need to talk to you about. Although you are sworn to secrecy. You hear me?”
“Whoa! Cryptic. You’ve got me so intrigued now.”
“You promise you won’t breathe a word to a soul?”
“Harper, even if I did, it would be translationally polluted—my Italian is not that good. The only ones I’d even be able to tell would be Francesco and his family. And it would probably come out all wrong anyhow. Suffice it to say my Italian needs a little work.”
“Except when it comes to discussions about what one does with body parts in Italian.”
“Yeah, that.”
“But I don’t want you going onto Facebook and telling any mutual friends. Don’t call your cousin Franny who we all know has the loudest mouth on the planet.”
“I haven’t talked to Franny in over a year.”
“I’m only saying, this is cone of silence stuff I’m about to divulge. You crossing your heart?”
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