"Is that how you felt growing up?" he asked, genuinely interested in her past, in anything that would give him better insight to her.
Natalie leaned her head back against the cushioned lounge chair and stared out at the landscaped backyard as she considered Noah's question, which stirred up a wealth of emotions and obscure memories that gradually became clearer in her mind.
She returned her gaze to his and tried her best to explain what her childhood had been like. "It wasn't easy being shuffled from one home to another. It seemed just when I'd finally feel secure, something would happen and I'd get sent to another home with another set of strangers as my foster family and I'd have to start all over again. After a while, you try not to get attached to the people you're living with, which makes the process less painful."
Compassion deepened the blue hue of his eyes. "I can imagine what you went through-I felt that way when my parents divorced, then passed away," he said. "What was the longest amount of time you spent with a foster family?"
She thought back, waiting while obscure recollections crystalized. "Two years, during the time I was sixteen to eighteen years old, and then from there I was on my own."
As she spoke, she caught a quick glimpse of a blond-haired teenager, and remembered him as the son of the couple she'd been living with during those last two years. More fragmented scenes projected in her mind, throwing her off kilter with recollections of fending off his advances and hating that she had such large breasts and a figure that attracted too much attention from the opposite sex.
Strangely, that memory contradicted the desire she felt so intensely with Noah. The need that was physical as much as it was emotional.
Another male face flashed in the dim recesses of her mind, but this obscure recollection came with an ominous, intimidating feeling that made her shiver. Unable to pinpoint the source of the threat, or place who the man was, she frowned and closed her eyes, trying to bring the mental image into better focus. Instead of a clearer vision, her head spun and her temples pounded with the effort of forcing memories to the surface.
"Natalie?"
Warm fingers touched her arm, startling her out of her trance. Blinking her eyes open, she glanced at Noah, who was watching her intently. Unable to put into words what her mind couldn't even process, she decided to keep the haunting memories to herself for the time being.
"I'm sorry. I got distracted." She sighed, not wanting to talk about her past with Noah anymore, not until she had a chance to dissect her unsettling thoughts and make sense of them. "I've had enough sunshine and fresh air for the day, and I think I could use a nap."
He nodded his agreement, as she knew he would. "Good idea."
She headed upstairs while Noah returned to his office, but instead of sleeping she tossed and turned in his big bed, trying to resolve those old insecurities about her appearance with the uninhibited way she felt with Noah. Just the thought of him aroused her, and she closed her eyes and buried her face in his pillow. She inhaled slowly and deeply, surrounding herself with the musky, male scent of him, which intensified the growing hunger to know him again in the most intimate sense.
After an hour of fitful rest, she finally got back up again. Feeling mentally and physically restless and unable to shake the sensation, she headed into the bathroom and brushed her disheveled hair before heading back downstairs. Catching sight of the small white bandage on her cheek, she decided to clean her cut and apply a fresh dose of antibiotic cream.
She carefully peeled the old bandage off with a wince and swabbed the small gash with peroxide, then opened the medicine cabinet to look for the tube of Neosporin. A bevy of male toiletries lined the shelves, and she sighed. Other than a few feminine items, nothing looked familiar-not the can of Edge shaving gel, men's deodorant and after-shave, or the box of condoms sitting on the bottom shelf.
Condoms? She jerked her gaze back to the latter item and frowned. Hadn't Noah told her just last night that he didn't have any protection, so they couldn't make love? Certain the box had to be empty, she picked it up and looked inside, only to find it filled with at least a half-dozen foil packets.
Confusion trickled through her, which was quickly replaced by a surge of anger. Dammit, why did Noah feel as though he had to shelter and protect her, even from sex, when the last thing she wanted was to be coddled and treated like a helpless, delicate female who couldn't handle intimate physical contact?
Noah thought he knew what was best for her, but he didn't have a clue. Her body and soul craved him in an overwhelming, compelling way that wouldn't go away until she had him. Maybe not even then.
Jumping on the opportunity that had just presented itself, she withdrew a sealed packet. She would confront him with the evidence she'd found and demand an explanation for his refusal to make love to her.
And this time, armed with a condom, she wasn't taking no for an answer.
Chapter Six
Noah was so engrossed in work that he didn't hear or see Natalie enter his office until a small square packet dropped right on top of the paperwork he was reviewing. It took him a few seconds to recognize what had landed on his desk, but once the knowledge sank in, his stomach gave a sharp twist of dread.
Reluctantly, he glanced up and found Natalie standing on the other side of his desk, hands on her slender hips, her eyes blazing accusation, and her expression pinched with impatience.
He inwardly cringed. Oh, man, was he ever in trouble.
"What happened to the bandage on your cheek?" he asked in a quick attempt to deflect the attention off of him.
Her narrowed gaze told him she wasn't about to fall for his switch in topic. "I don't give a damn about my cheek at the moment. I'd rather you explain that." She pointed a finger at the prophylactic so there would be no doubt in his mind about what she was referring to.
Very calmly, he picked up the incriminating evidence and turned it over in his fingers, taking a long, drawn-out moment to examine it and buy himself some extra time. "Well, I have to say that it looks like a condom to me."
"Don't be a smart-ass, Noah," she said irritably, and pinned him with a direct look. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I can see for myself that it's a condom. What I want to know is why you lied about having any in the house."
He leaned back in his chair and affected a casual shrug. Ignoring the hurt and confusion in her eyes was a tad more difficult. "Because I don't think you're ready to make love."
Soft, dry laughter escaped her. "Don't you think that's a decision I can make for myself?"
Feeling uneasy at the direction this conversation was taking, he stood and stuffed the client information he'd been reviewing back into its proper file and set it aside. "You have amnesia, sweetheart, so I'm trying to make the decision easier for you, and I think you need time to recuperate from the accident first." God, his excuse sounded thin and insubstantial even to his own ears.
"And how long do you think I need until I can handle making love with you? A week? A month? A year?" She rounded the desk and boldly maneuvered herself between him and his desk so that they were aligned from chests to thighs, forcing him to acknowledge her and their sizzling attraction.
As if he could ignore it.
That quick, he grew hard and stiff with wanting her, his erection fitting perfectly at the crux of her thighs. Her fiery mood and determination turned him on, and he knew he had to do something fast or he'd succumb to her seductive scheme. Just as he attempted to take a safe step away from her for much-needed space, she grabbed his shirt and held him in place.
She rose up on her toes, putting her mouth inches below his. "I want you so badly, Noah, I ache with it." She lowered her lashes and nipped lightly at his jaw, then used her soft tongue to soothe the love bite. "Stop treating me like a fragile piece of glass. I swear I won't break."
Bracing his hands on either side of her hips on the desk to keep from touching her, he shuddered and groaned, holding fast to his dwindling resolve. "Natalie-"
"Don't tell me no." The plea was heartfelt and brimmed with a wealth of emotion as her lips traveled up to his ear. "I need the closeness and intimacy of making love with you. I might have lost parts of my memory, but not my desire for you. That's stronger than ever."
Noah squeezed his eyes shut as he battled between right and wrong. The words she'd just spoken were so honest, saying so much about her feelings for him-that while she'd turned him down for nine months, her indifference had been a ruse. She'd wanted him, too, and without those memories of keeping her distance, she was allowing her emotions and passions to run wild and free.
Seemingly taking his silence as acquiescence, she pulled his shirt from the waistband of his jeans, shoved it up and over his head and tossed it to the floor at their feet. She flattened her palms on his bare chest, and her breathing deepened as she caressed his taut, heated flesh and strummed her fingers down to his hard abdomen.
Arousal surged through his bloodstream and arrowed straight to his groin. His erection pulsed against the fly of his snug jeans, making a mockery of the release he'd given himself that morning in the shower.
Bolder still, she dragged her tongue along the shell of his ear, then dipped inside. "I'm wet with the thought of having you deep inside of me, Noah," she said huskily, and lifted one of her legs high along his thigh so that she could rub herself against his erection. "Touch me and you'll see for yourself."
His fingers curled into tight fists against the hardwood desk as he fought the temptation to obey her request.
She gave him no choice. Grabbing his wrist, she slid his hand under the hem of her dress and up her smooth thigh, then pressed his fingers against the damp panel of cotton covering her mound. "Oh, yes," she breathed, a pleased, dreamy smile tipping the corner of her mouth.
He swallowed hard, which did nothing to calm the chaotic buzz of lust and need clamoring inside him. She was so damned brazen and sensual, her feminine confidence affecting him on a purely masculine level that made him want to drive into her, hard and fast and deep. She trusted him to take her body, to give her the physical intimacy she craved-he could see the certainty in her eyes, her expression beckoning him to fulfill every one of her sexual fantasies.
And he knew in that moment that he wouldn't be able to refuse her this time-wouldn't be able to refuse himself, no matter how wrong it might be to make love to her. Her memory might be skewed, but her desire for him was very real. And that's all he needed to know to assuage his own misgivings and set his hunger for her free.
Without warning, he lowered his head, crushed his lips to hers and swallowed her gasp of surprise. It took her only a handful of seconds to respond to his rapacious kiss, to welcome the thrust of his tongue into the silky, heated depths of her mouth. As they both indulged in the rough, delicious embrace, he knew there would be nothing slow, romantic or easy about this first joining.
Without breaking their kiss, he reached behind her and ruthlessly swept aside the items on his desk. Grasping her waist in his hands, he lifted her up onto the surface, heedless of the cramped space offered by the desk cluttered with his computer and other office paraphernalia. They wouldn't need much room for what he had in mind.
With his mouth, lips and tongue consuming hers, he shoved the skirt of her dress up to her hips and out of the way. He pushed her knees apart, spreading her legs so that he fit in between and his throbbing erection nestled at the heart of her femininity. She locked her feet against the back of his hardened thighs to hold him in place, and gyrated her hips in a slow, circular motion. He felt the heat and dewy moisture from her panties saturating through the denim of his jeans, and he growled at the raw, untamed sensation that ripped through him.
Abruptly, she ended the kiss and leaned back, bracing her hands on the desk behind her. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she panted for breath, and her eyes were heavy lidded with arousal, the irises a sultry shade of blue. "Open the front of my dress, Noah," she whispered invitingly. "I want your mouth on my breasts."
He didn't hesitate, and immediately tackled the buttons that kept her so modestly covered. Once the blouse portion of her dress was undone, he spread the sides open wide. Leaning forward, he lavished kisses over the soft swells of her breasts overflowing her bra and dipped his tongue along the deep cleavage in between.
She shivered and reverently whispered his name.
Wanting her upper body naked, he pulled the dress and straps of her bra off her shoulders and down her arms until her breasts were bared and the bunched material tightened at the crease of her elbow. She shifted, trying to lift her hands from the desk so that she could slip out of the sleeves, but he stopped her before she could follow through on her intent.
"Don't move," he ordered, liking the way her current position kept him in total control. "I want you to keep your hands right where they are."
Excitement glowed in her gaze and her skin flushed in anticipation. Burying a hand into her thick hair, he tangled his fingers through the soft strands and tugged her head back so that her slender throat was completely exposed to him. Driven by something primitive and possessive that overruled his common sense, he placed his open mouth on her arched neck and grazed his tongue across her delicate skin. He found a particular sensitive spot that made her shiver and drew that tender flesh between his teeth. He nipped and suckled, and did something he'd never, ever done to any other woman-he marked Natalie as his.
She gasped and arched into him as he bit her neck, and he felt her tight nipples stab against his chest, demanding their own fair share of attention. His free hand molded to one full, straining breast, and his thumb and forefinger closed over the pearled tip and tugged, hard enough to make her suck in a swift, startled breath of air.
He continued to nuzzle her throat, then trailed hot, damp kisses lower. Finding her breasts, he curled his tongue around a waiting nipple, licked at her slowly, then drew her deep into his mouth with a soft, wet, pulling suction that made her thighs clench his flanks and her hips rock rhythmically against his thickening penis.
"Noah, please," she urged on a long, drawn-out moan.
With the urgent plea in her smoky voice and the sexy, provocative gyration of her hips, she brought him to the brink of climax. Without preamble, he reached beneath the skirt of her dress and yanked her panties down and off her legs. One touch of his fingers against the slick folds of her sex told him she was beyond ready for him and any other foreplay was unnecessary.
He reached for his belt, his movements frenzied as he jerked at the buckle and pulled the strap free. The steel button and zipper followed, and he shoved his pants over his hips, just low enough to free his shaft. Grabbing the foil packet that had started this sexual encounter, he quickly rolled the rubber on. When he glanced back up he found Natalie watching him, taking in his size and length with an appreciative lick of her lips.
Her arms and hands were still propped behind her on the desk as he'd ordered, and she looked completely wanton with her top open and her naked breasts quivering. Her dress was hiked up around her splayed thighs, giving him an unobstructed view of the pink, pouty lips down there, glistening with her dewy essence-all his for the taking.
Cupping her luscious bottom in his hands, he pulled her hips to the very edge of the desk, positioning her for his possession and forcing her to press her knees against his waist for better leverage. Taking his cock in his hand, he rubbed the taut, swollen head through her petal-soft folds of flesh, bathing the tip in slick moisture before ending the torment and pushing into her with one long, hard stroke.
She sucked in a swift breath, and a raw sound of pleasure rumbled from deep inside his chest as he watched her body envelop him, surrounding him in wet heat, and felt the exquisite squeeze of her inner muscles.
The sheer bliss of finally being inside of her was so intense, so startling, he had to take a moment to savor the feeling because he knew it was only a matter of a few strokes before he'd come. His skin burned, his muscles ached, and his stomach constricted with
the need to thrust.
Holding back, he lifted his eyes to her face, finding her lips parted and her pupils dilated with heat and arousal. Wanting her on the edge, too, he pressed his thumb against the hard knot of nerves between her legs, just above where they were joined, teasing her with feather-light caresses that gradually deepened to long, rhythmic strokes. Her body trembled, and he could feel her fighting the orgasm building within her.
"Noah- move."
He shook his head, denying her for the moment, not until he extracted what he wanted from her. "I want to watch you when you come." And he wouldn't be far behind, he knew.
She groaned, closed her eyes and gave herself up to the sinful, erotic ministrations of his fingers. She clenched her legs around his hips, her breathing escaping in short pants. When he felt her body draw tight and contract around his hot, rigid flesh he finally did move, and took her where they both were desperate to go.
Yet he couldn't seem to get close enough, deep enough. He pumped his hips forward and back, again and again, his every thrust heavier, harder, than the one before. His heart thumped in his chest and his pulse surged, urging him on, taking him higher, but it was ultimately her soft, keening cry and the rippling of her second climax that milked him to completion, leaving him drained and light-headed from the incredible, shuddering release they'd shared.
Stunned by the intensity of their lovemaking, he gathered her close, and she buried her face against his neck and sighed contentedly.
"Oh, wow, is it always this hot between us?" she murmured, her teasing tone bringing levity to the moment.
"Mmm," he replied noncommitally, because he couldn't bring himself to tell her it was their first time. "If it gets any hotter I think we'll spontaneously combust."
Her soft, appreciative laughter wrapped around him. "That doesn't sound like such a bad way to go."
Oh, he most definitely agreed, knowing he'd found heaven in her arms. And now that he'd had a taste of how good it was between them, physically and emotionally, he knew letting her go when all this was over wasn't an option.
The Ultimate Seduction Page 9
