Page 83 of Rookie Season
“I like the sound of that.” I run my fingertips down his chest, relishing the way he shudders under my touch. “But…but there’s something I need to talk to you about first.”
“Of course.” Noah’s playful smirk suddenly turns serious. “I wasn’t implying anything by having you all to myself, I just meant I want to spend time with you tonight, whatever that does—or doesn’t—entail.”
“I want that, too.” I suck in a nervous breath then blow it out. “But before we go home, I want to dance with you.”
One corner of his mouth ticks up. “Dance with me?”
In a nervous rush, I hurriedly explain everything I just realized, about how I want to tap into my feelings for him to reignite something in me onstage. Feel that emotion again in my dancing.
When I’m done, he says nothing for a moment, and my cheeks immediately redden…until Noah steps forward, his hand reaching for mine.
“I’m all in.” His voice is low, sexy as all hell.
“Okay.” I swallow. Nod. And then I flip on some music—not my audition music, but a sultry R&B song with a great bassline. Something we can move to together.
“Just tell me what to do,” Noah says as the intro starts. We stand facing each other, a few inches apart.
“Just feel the music and let the rhythm lead you,” I reply. “Whatever that might look like.”
My breath is already shallow and staccato, and his eyes spark to life as the tension between our bodies grows, crackling almost viscerally in the small space between us. Neither of us move, but stillness is powerful, giving time to let everything I’m feeling flow to the surface. We’re two piecesof flint, anticipating the moment before we come together and ignite a fire.
The beat picks up, and I feel it pulsing through me as I extend a hand to Noah. He mirrors my action, gently bringing his palm up so I can press mine against his. The point of contact as my hand slides against his sends shockwaves through me.
He makes the next move, lifting his other hand. I immediately meet it, and his long fingers curl around mine.
I suck in a sharp breath, and his pupils dilate, his eyes becoming heavy-lidded and seductive. The beat continues to crescendo, building in me, and I step towards him, closing the distance between us.
Noah’s hands move down the sides of my body as we begin to dance together, my body swaying under his touch as his fingers trace my ribs, my waist, my hips.
“Is this okay?” he murmurs as my eyes flutter closed.
“It’s perfect,” I respond shakily, letting my hands explore their own path over his body, working over his pecs, his shoulders, the corded muscles of his upper back. When I gently scratch my fingernails along the back of his neck, sinking my hands into his hair, he groans, and it’s the sexiest sound I’ve ever heard. I could hear it a thousand—no,a million—more times, and it still wouldn’t be enough.
“Ally,” he rasps, moving his hips in time with mine as his hands slide to the small of my back, pulling me flush against him. He leans down, the stubble on his jaw scraping along my chin as he nuzzles into my neck. My head falls back as I let myself fully experience the delicious sensation of the scratch against my sensitive skin, and then I gasp aloud when he kisses my neck directly on my pulse, which leaps under the touch of his lips. In response, he loosens his touchon my back, gently using his hands to spin me around so my back’s against his chest, fingers splaying over my stomach as he holds me against him once again, and we continue to move to the beat together, lost in the moment, the music,each other.
“You’re so sexy. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he praises me, and I lean back against him, relishing the feel of his strong chest, torso, and thighs behind me. His heart slams in his ribcage, pulsing against my back. I raise my arms above my head as I dip my hips and continue to dance, letting my body take over, letting it feel again as it moves…and nothing has ever felt better. I’m on fire for him, in the best way, and I want to burn here forever.
By the time the song ends, we’re both sweaty and shaking. A shiver runs down my spine as he slides his hands off my stomach.
Slowly, I spin to face him, staring up at his coal-dark eyes as I whisper, “That was?—”
I don’t get to finish my sentence because his mouth is already on mine, kissing me so thoroughly it’s like he wants to devour me.
“Noah,” his name comes out like a prayer, like I’m begging the powers that be that this is real, that Noah is real. Because he almost seems too good to be true.
His tongue traces my bottom lip as he oh-so-tenderly cups my face and proceeds to kiss me absolutely senseless until my legs are shaking.
When we finally come up for air, we’re both breathless, and the look of pure adoration on his face as he pulls back and looks at me makes my heart want to burst.
“Was that what you had in mind?” he asks with a chuckle, the vibrations of the sound running through my body.
“Better,” I admit. Because whatever just happened between us as we danced has made something in me feel whole again. I’ve finally reclaimed my confidence in who I am in all areas of my life, and it feels amazing.
“Ready to go home now?” he asks with a smile.
I smile back. “Absolutely.”
CHAPTER 35
