Page 57 of Purchase Power
Chapter 16
Every time Noah moved, water splashed over the rim of the tub and landed on the bathroom floor. He couldn’t help it. Not when he was cramped in there like a sardine.
Who was the other sardine? Lucy, of course.
And every time he splashed, she laughed. Like clockwork, the water tidal waved onto the floor, flowed toward the drain, and brought with it the delightful laughter of a woman who hadwaytoo much bubbly that night.
“Why are you laughing so much?” Noah didn’t know whether to roll his eyes or readjust himself – yes,himself –yet again. How many times could a man reach between his chest and her back, all in the name of readjusting his manhood? The worst part?I keep getting half-erect.Or, as Lucy had shouted the first time his cock pressed into her back,“You’ve got a semi!”
He had never heard of it described like that before. While even more juvenile than something David would say –God, that says so much –he couldn’t help but think it perfectly fit Lucy’s personality. There was something utterly delightful about the way she hooted in surprise as soon as his third erection of the night pressed against her back.
Definitely not the third one today… more like the fifth… I’m sick, and I have a problem.
Yes. Noah Gabriel had a problem. Many problems, lest he forget everything happening in his personal life that still existed beyond Lucy’s peripheral. Except his main problem right now wasn’t the erection he got every time she rubbed against him, teased him, or laughed in jubilation because she finally got something done her way. No, his problem was Lucy.
Lucy. Lucy.Lucy.
Lucy Amelia Craig.
He knew her middle name, because she had told him as soon as they settled into the rose-petal bath. No bubbles, per his request. Sensitive skin and all.No bubblebaths unless I know for sure what soap we’re using.Lucy had asked for a bath bomb to be sent up to the room, which was something else new for Noah. Oh, he had heard of them before, but this was his first time seeing a flurry of gold glitter swirling around the knees poking out of the tub.That’s why I keep spilling water. I can barely move. I’m too tall for this tub.The only way he could stay in there with Lucy was if he spread his legs wide open and spread out like a snow angel.
Yup. This was definitely a problem.
I think… I think I like her.Which seemed utterly preposterous, considering who she was. Whohewas. This was nothing but a professional relationship. One they both benefitted generously from, not that it would stop him from wondering if he paid way too much money.At least I’m getting my money’s worth. Unlike David.Part of David’s problem, however, was that he was already falling for Kelsey. Noah could see it in his eyes all through dinner. Hell, he could see it inKelsey’seyes. They may have not done anything more than lightly kiss, but the courtship was in place. Kelsey seemed up for it, as long as David wasn’t an idiot in the bedroom. The man simply had to face reality and be a gentleman. Which, contrary to what many people thought, David Hayes was perfectly capable of being a gentleman in the bedroom.
Why did people think Noah was friends with the stupid bastard? There had to besomeredeeming quality to him.
“I’m gonna ask something that’s gonna make you roll your eyes again.” Lucy was snug against his chest, making herself right at home. And making his hips cramp. Noah didn’t care. He couldn’t care. Every time he slightly moved his head, his chin grazed atop her head and reminded him that he was capable of feeling. Sensations. Emotions. Anything.
Especially ifLucy Amelia Craigwas involved.
“Sure. Go ahead,” Noah said.
Lucy pointed her finger toward her mouth. “Why don’t you like kissing?”
“Why?” Noah threw back at her. “Are you one of those ladies who has to be kissed?”
“Hm. I didn’t think I was, until you asked me that now. By the way…” her shoulders hunched together. “You don’t get out of answering the question.”
“Kissing…” Noah was completely entranced by the golden glitter swirls in the bathwater. He was especially hypnotized by the way the water swirled atop Lucy’s breasts, bringing captivating attention to her soft nipples. For a woman who had been writhing and screaming in ecstasy only forty-five minutes ago, she was suredemurenow. In all ways but the questions she asked. “Kissing is a very intimate thing. Even with my real girlfriends, I don’t like to do it much. There’s something about the mouth that I don’t find very erotic.”
Only after he said those words did he realize they were perhaps not the best ones to share, given their relationship. Then again, Lucy didn’t seem bothered by the fact he implied she wasn’t a “real” girlfriend. Was that a boon? Or something that should concern Noah?
“You seem to love it when I put my mouth on your dick, though.”
Noah chuckled. “Everything is different when it comes to sex.”
“Except for actual kissing.” Lucy furrowed her dark brows, a stark reminder that her natural hair color was far from the blond on her head. “Are you like Richard Gere from Pretty Woman? No, wait. It was Julia Roberts who had the no kissing rule. Then they kissed. Wait, didn’t they take a bath together, too?”
“You’re only now making those parallels?”
“Are you telling me you remember Pretty Woman? Let alone that you’veseenit?”
“It was one of the biggest movies of the nineties. Why wouldn’t I have seen it?”
“I dunno. Because it’s a girly movie?”
“It’s 2020, Ms. Craig. Pretty sure movies don’t have genders now.”
