Page 34 of Bond Strength

“Do you want to know what we’re going to do tonight?” he asked.

“I hope part of the plan is for you to stick your big cock in me again.” I squeezed his length, which tested the confines of his jeans.

“Declan, Jesus.”

“I’m certain I’m not interchangeable with Jesus.” I lifted a hand. “Missing the stigmata and all.”

A deep laugh barked out of him, and I rested my head against his chest to soak up the rumble.

“So, Reading Public Museum is doing a night at the stars over at their planetarium…” He licked his lips as if nervous. “I thought we’d do that and grab takeout, then head back to my place.”

I’d been to their planetarium before—it was excellent. Excitement burst through me that he’d take me there instead of forcing me into a typical date like a movie I didn’t care about or a bar that was too noisy. Maybe Noah did still know me.

“Does that work?” he asked. “If you don’t like the plan, I can come up with something else.”

I pushed up on my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. He relaxed against it, sliding his tongue into my mouth as we made out. After a few minutes, I separated for breath. “I love it. Let’s go.”

He broke into one of those broad Noah smiles that had once upon a time aggravated me. Mostly because I missed having them in my life, directed at me. God, I was already so gone on him.

I patted myself down for keys, wallet, and phone, then followed him out, pausing to lock up behind me.

Noah led us to his car and got the door for me.

“Really eager about getting me in your car,” I teased. “Is this a precursor to a kidnapping? Making sure I don’t have an escape vehicle?”

“You’ve caught onto my dastardly plan. Now get into the van.”

“Truck. And if you wanted to bind me up, you could just ask.”

“Ngh.” Noah thumped his head against the side of the truck. “I’m not going to survive this date.”

I’d never done bondage with any of my partners because we didn’t fuck with enough regularity to establish a baseline level of trust, but also because few of them were interested in taking a dominant role with me. However, Noah seemed to revel in it, and my mind reeled with the possibilities. I slipped into the passenger’s side, and he popped into the driver’s.

Noah started the ignition and hit the gas. His truck smelled like metal and wood, which made sense since he used it plenty for work. Something about how he was grounded in the world around us appealed to me. Maybe because I’d spent my life with my mind on the stars.

“What would your ideal date be?” I asked. When we were younger, our interests had aligned in terms of sci-fi and space, but Noah always had a keen interest in sports too. Me, not as much.

“Either a baseball game or a picnic surrounded by dogs.” Noah held his gaze on the road as he zoomed along the highway.

“Two very opposite things. Though both involve sunshine, I guess.” Which, truthfully, fit him. The man was sunshine incarnate, and I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed having a central force in my life until it had returned.

“How do you feel about pets?” Noah clutched the wheel in a way that highlighted the muscles of his forearms, and I couldn’t stop looking. My skin prickled again in what I recognized was now a more violent attraction than I’d experienced toward anyone else.

“Animals are great. Far better than people.” Truthfully, they were. I didn’t have to wonder if I’d said something wrong, and they had noproblem with my directness. Our currency of communication had an ease that was an instant relief. “I’d always planned on getting a dog or cat, but time slipped away from me.”

“Fuck, I want a dog so bad.” Noah furrowed his brows. “I’m always pulling overtime at work, though, or heading over to my folks’ place, and that wouldn’t be fair to my pet.”

“Do you need the overtime?” I asked. My mind whirred as what he was saying sounded like a similar refrain from him.

Noah heaved a sigh. “Rude. You’re going to point out that if I just said no to my bosses, I could have a dog.”

I shrugged. “I mean, you seem to already be aware. So why not make the change?”

“How about you?” he asked, a bit of emphasis in those words.

“Mmm, care to clarify the question?” I crossed my arms. Ever since the battery’s charger got ruined in the flood, I’d been mulling over my own path. I’d started dissembling it to see what was salvageable, but the process would take a long, long while.

Noah wrinkled his nose. Clearly, he wouldn’t be comfortable giving me a direct response.

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