Page 52 of Marked

“I’ve got you.” Taking both her hands, Noah eased her to a stand, then waited until both women disappeared into the house before he crouched next to my chair. He ran a finger lightly down the side of my face and said, “You used your safe word.”

“Was I not supposed to?”

“You can use it whenever you feel like you’ve reached your limit.”

“But was I wrong to use it back there?” I looked toward the house, wondering if I’d somehow screwed up. I was new to all this submissive stuff.Shit.

“No, Darlin’.” He touched his lips to mine for a heartbeat. “We make our own rules.”

Noah stood long enough to lift my legs, then draped them across his thighs when he lowered himself onto the end of the chair. His short brown hair was standing up in places, like he’d run his fingers through it over and over again. The longer we stayed silent, the more noticeable his exhaustion became. He was wiped and I doubted it had anything to do with our flight. Sleep had been difficult for me since the shooting. I just assumed—wrongly it appeared—that it was just my dreams being interrupted.

“I’m so sorry, Lanie.” Sapphire eyes collided with my hazel ones. “There’s no rhyme or reason for what I did, nological excuse, except to say something inside me snapped when you were shot.”

Understanding dawned. The moment when I heard the rifle fire played on a never-ending loop in my mind. What if I’d moved a second too late? Dave may not have been aiming to kill, but from the way we were standing, the bullet would’ve hit Noah in the center of his chest. My restlessness at night had nothing to do with getting shot and everything to do with how close I came to losing him.

“I get it, Noah. Trust me, I get it.” My thumb traced a path underneath his lower lashes. “But you had to know I wasn’t going to roll over and let you dictate my life.”

“That wasn’t my intention. I let my own irrational fears take over. I’ll deal with them so they won’t cause any more issues. Just know, had I been thinking clearly, I never would’ve taken your choice away.”

“I have fears too, Noah. We can help each other get past them.”

“Does that mean I’m forgiven? You’ll stay?”

He looked so hopeful; however, I wasn’t giving in too easily.

“In the barn, you were trying to convince me why it wasn’t too soon to make this literal move. So, do it now.”

“Do what now?” He cocked his head to the side.

“Convince me to move in with you and maybe I’ll stay.”

He didn’t hesitate, lifting me to straddle his thighs. His hardness pressed up against my core, awakening the desire which was always close to the surface whenever he was near.

“If I recall correctly,” he licked across the seam of my lips, “this is where I left off.”

He did it again. This time though, I opened for him. Ourkiss wasn’t frenzied, but it heated me on the inside. A swipe of his tongue, a twirl of mine; it was maddening how easily consumed I was by Noah. Even though the man was model gorgeous, it wasn’t just his outward appearance which attracted me to him. He was as genuine as they came. There weren’t any pretenses, no hiding of his true nature. The Noah you saw was the only one you’d get.

“Is it working?” he spoke against my mouth.

“I’m not sure. Why don’t you ask and find out.”

“Move in with me.”

“That wasn’t a question, Cowboy.” Instead of responding, he grasped my hips, moving me back and forth over his hard length. I moaned, “You aren’t playing fair, Agent Anderson.”

“Who said anything about fair? I’m playing to win, Agent Biggs.”

He was done talking and finished fucking around, apparently. Spearing his hands through my hair, he tilted my head and crashed his mouth to mine. I held on to his forearms as the kiss turned demanding and unyielding, much like the man delivering it. We were starved for each other; hungry in a way I never thought we’d be satisfied. Then a giggle and a deep throat clearing snapped us out of our lust-filled haze.

“Dinner will be here soon,” Jade announced, smothering another laugh with her hand.

Koen didn’t even try to hide his amusement. “I’m pretty sure we interrupted dinner, Angel.”

“Rude.” She backhanded him in the stomach, then pushed him back inside the house, closing the door behind them.

“How’d I do with the convincing?” Noah asked when I swung my head back around.

“I’ll need to hear a question first.”

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