Page 168 of Even Exchange

“What are you doing here?” I ask, pulling away and taking in his attire of a fitted black suit and bow tie already perfectly in place.I like where this is heading.

“I got out of practice early,” he tells me. “Thought you could use a little backup tonight, of the handsome date variety.”

“How did you know exactly what I needed?” I ask, smiling softly.

He presses his lips together. “Elijah called.”

“Of course he did,” I say, uncurling from his hold and returning to the mirror.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Noah asks as I pat down the satin material of my dress.

“Can we wait till later?”

“Sure.” His eyes find mine in our reflection, sparkling with adoration. “You are breathtakingly beautiful.”

“I appreciate that, but I can’t breathe,” I grumble.

“Well, that’s a problem,” he says, leaving me to scoop up the bag he abandoned when he arrived.

“What’s that?”

Noah smiles weakly. “Sophia may have mentioned you’d ripped through half your closet by the time they left.” He unzips a garment bag and pulls out a black strappy maxi dress with a flowing skirt that has a slit up the leg, and spins it around, showing me the corset details on the back. “So you can make it as loose or tight as you need to for baby girl,” he says, and my heart squeezes. “The flare of the skirt should hide your bump until you’re ready to tell your parents.”

I rub the material between my fingers. “After the gala.”

“Do you want help?” Noah asks, eyes dropping down my body, and I certainly will never deny this saint of a man the opportunity to undress me. Especially since he hasn’t done it in months.

“I wouldlovehelp.”

In front of the mirror, I pull my hair to one side, exposing the zipper on the back of my dress. Noah places his hand on my bare shoulder, finding my eyes in the mirror, and takes the metal fastener between his fingers with the other.

My breathing shudders as he slowly drags the zipper down, holding the material, and tugs it all the way open.

The dress falls to my ankles, and I stand naked but for a pair of black panties. Instinct has me itching to cover myself, but I don’t want to hide. Not when Noah looks at me like a man starved.And I suppose he has been.

“You’re perfect,” Noah whispers, snaking an arm around my waist and splaying his fingers on my stomach.I wish she was yours too.He slides his other hand around my neck, tilting it to the side, and brings his mouth to the exposed skin. “You should go like this,” he mumbles against me, tone low and gravely, planting soft kisses towards my collar bone, and I shiver.

“My mother definitely would not approve,” I say, leaning against him, savoring his touch. His warmth. His arousal.

“True.” Noah nips at my neck, eliciting a giggle. “And this beautiful body is for my eyes only.” His gaze holds mine as he bends, palm dragging slowly down my leg to my ankle.His hands feel so good on me. Where they’re meant to be.He grabs the dress off the floor, tosses it on my bed, and returns with the new one.

Holding his shoulder for balance, I step into it and pull it up to my chest. I situate the corset top, trying not to be disappointed he didn’t cop a true feel or throw me on the bed and ravish me before I redressed.Damn him for being such a gentleman.

He brushes my hair to the side, leaning down to drag his lips against my bare skin. I tilt my head back, and he continues peppering my neck with kisses, his fingers fumbling with the laces of the dress, pulling slowly. My heart rate skyrockets.I’ve missed this.He tugs the corset, and a heavy breath is expelled from my lungs.

“Too tight?” he asks.

“Just a bit.”

He loosens it. “Better?”

I release a shaky breath. “Yes.”

A few more quick movements, and he’s running his hand down the material on my back. “You’re stunning.”

Spinning back to the mirror, I take in the beautiful dress he put the extra effort in to bring me, on top of the fact he showed up here when he didn’t have to. I’m sure he’s exhausted from a long week of practice, but instead of doing a Lego build to calm his nerves, eating an exorbitant amount of protein, and ensuring he gets exactly nine hours of sleep, he’s here. With me. For me. Tears burst free.

“Baby?” he says, turning me to face him. “Why are you crying?”

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