“Do I need to remind you about your shaky record with climbing up things?” he asked, looking amused. “Let me.” He reached up over her head to get them, and for a moment, Evie was encircled in the arc of his arms, pressed against his body, close enough to feel the heat radiating from him.
Close enough to kiss.
Her breath caught, her blood rising fast. And maybe her desire was written all over her face, because when Noah glanced down at her, their gazes caught. His eyes seemed to darken with a new intensity. Evie looked away—but not quickly enough to hide the way her body was aching for him.
Noah stepped forward, took her face between both hands, and kissed her.
Just like that.
Evie melted against him, tumbling headlong into the rush of pure sensation.
Finally.
She’d spent the afternoon wound tight, simmering, burning for him, and now, God, there was nothing but pure, sweet relief: the press of his mouth against hers, the scent of him, clouding everything, the taut planes of his body, his arms, pulling her closer, until there was no space between them. No space to think, or breathe, or do anything but drown in the thrill of it.
In him.
She wound her arms around his neck, reveling in every sensation. If their kiss the other night had been impulsive and reckless, this was something far more dangerous: a slow, sensual brush of his mouth, his tongue sliding deep between her lips as his hands caressed her face, making every nerve in her body spark to life in a shimmering, technicolor rush. He took his time, kissing her like he was discovering a foreign territory, laying claim to every inch.
Evie gasped for air. She wanted all of him, now. Their sensual exploration turned hotter. Urgent. Her fingers tangled in his hair, roving over his shoulders as Noah crushed her closer, his hands just as wild—
“Wait—” He dragged himself away, breathing hard. “Is this OK?” he asked, searching her face. “I don’t want to rush you.”
Evie’s head was still spinning from his touch. “Is that why you didn’t kiss me at dinner?” she asked, feeling breathless.
“Dinner … the inn … the moment I picked you up today,” he said with a wry grin. “I’ve been wanting you all day.”
“Oh, thank God,” Evie exclaimed in relief. “I thought I was the only one losing my mind here.”
“No,” Noah replied, closing the distance between them again. “I’m right there with you, sweetheart.”
This time, when he kissed her, there was no holding back. It was all fire and hot, sweet passion, and Evie couldn’t get enough. He wrapped his hands around her waist, lifting her up onto the desk, and Evie let out a moan. She wrapped her legs around him, arching closer as she hungrily kissed along his jaw … the curve of his neck … the small dip of his collarbone … until Noah pulled her back to meet his lips, kissing her so deeply she saw stars. He peeled her dress away, his hands skimming her body until every inch of her felt like a live wire, crackling with electricity. He teased her breasts through the thin lace of her bra, bringing her nipples to stiff, aching peaks before bending his head and licking them so softly she had to bite her lip from crying out in frustration.
And then he moved lower.
Evie gasped as Noah dropped to his knees in front of her, easing her dress higher inch by tantalizing inch as he kissed his way up the inside of her thighs. She leaned back, bracing herself against the desk as he slipped her panties down, his tongue roving higher … higher—
There.
Evie cried out as he licked against her. Noah paused, shooting her a look so smoldering it just about melted what was left of her brain. It was all she could do just to squeeze her eyes shut and hang on for dear life, lost in the exquisite torment as he teased and lapped and probed, driving her to heaven and back until, at last, she couldn’t keep control any longer.
It was too much. It was too good.
Evie came apart with a cry, clutching at his shoulders to keep her balance, even as her whole world tilted off its axis with the rush of pure pleasure that crashed through her.
Oh. My. God.
When she could function enough to open her eyes again, Evie found Noah leaning against a bookcase, watching her. She gulped for air, giddy and breathless with what they’d just done. What she’d done. In a dusty closet.
Evie couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Noah arched an eyebrow, quizzical. “That’s not exactly the reaction I was hoping for,” he said, looking amused.
Evie grinned. It was too late to be self-conscious now, what with her dress pushed up around her waist and her panties in a lacy heap on the floor. “I think I made my reaction pretty clear,” she said, beaming at him. She felt alive, adrenaline coursing through her entire body.
She felt spectacular.
“I was just thinking,” she continued, “that I have seven empty bedrooms in this place, and we wound up in here.”
Noah gave a wicked grin. “Well, let’s go test out those new mattresses of yours.”
He reached for the linens she’d abandoned on the floor, but Evie stopped him. “You won’t be needing that,” she said, taking his hand. “My room is all set up.”
Evie had never felt like a temptress before. Other women could seduce and smolder with a single look, but she just wasn’t a sex bomb kind of girl. Men never seemed to look at her that way, and it always felt too embarrassing to try and dress herself up in lingerie or put on a show to change their minds.
But as she led Noah up the stairs, Evie felt a rush of power—of freedom—like nothing she had known before. The way he was looking at her …
It was like she was the center of the universe. The only thing that mattered in his world.
The feeling was intoxicating, and it filled her with a new kind of confidence. She let her hips sway and glanced back over her shoulder to send him a flirty look from beneath her lashes as she made her way to her bedroom. And despite the fact that she didn’t have a bed frame or furniture—that there was a flimsy sheet in place of curtains over the window—none of it seemed to matter.
Not when Noah was there, reaching for another kiss.
Evie melted into his arms. The rest of their clothes fell away, and they tumbled back onto the bed in a tangle of hot mouths and searching hands. She was swept up in the heat and raw, physical need. It felt like her body had been asleep until now—she hadn’t known what it could be like to want someone like this, savoring every hot slide of his body, reaching hungrily to touch and feast on every inch.
It had never been like this before.
Evie blinked. Even in the rush of desire, she felt a flicker of disloyalty. Glen had been the one man whose body she’d learned by heart. The one man who’d known her every gasp and moan.
The one she’d thought would be her last.
But now, there was someone else in his place. Another man kissing hotly down her spine. New hands teasing her body into a wildfire, unfamiliar groans echoing out into the night. A different kind of desire taking her over.
Hotter. Wilder.
Better.
The guilt struck hard, but Evie pushed it down, losing herself in Noah and another blazing kiss. She kissed him hard enough to blot out the past, deep enough to forget her secret shame, and soon, there was nothing but the solid weight of his body surging against her and the sharp ache of pleasure, demanding more. She trailed her lips down his torso, teasing and licking, until finally she closed her mouth around him, every ragged gasp she drew from his lips feeling like a prize to be savored.