Page 34 of Beauty
“I do not. I need?—”
My stomach growls loudly, proving him right.
He peers down at me, those eyes as blue as the ocean outside. “You were saying?”
As soon as we step out into the warm afternoon sun, my body hums to life. The light breeze coming off the water wakes me further, invigorating me. From here, we can see the ocean but not the populated beach area of the resort. It’s like this space is just for us.
And the neighbors, if they come out on their deck. With any luck, Noah’s request for condoms was the hint they needed to disappear for the day.
He sets me on my feet and helps me slip my arms into the second robe. Then he guides me into a chair at the table andpresses a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll give you everything you need, but first, I’m feeding you.”
“Feeding me, eh?” I tease. A sensation I’ve never experienced before swirls in my chest. It’s not butterflies; it’s warmer than that. It’s not lust, either. It’s familiarity and trust and longing for more of this every day. It’s foreign but absolutely welcome. Though it’s quickly followed by a niggle of worry in my brain. One that tells me I shouldn’t be this comfortable, that I shouldn’t have such strong feelings for or attachment to a man I’ve just met.
The hopeless romantic in me is louder, pushing to the forefront. This side of me—the one that loves old rom-coms, the girl who’s spent her life wondering if it’s possible to be both successful and in love—can’t help but hope that this is exactly what that feels like. That this weekend was fated. That I was meant to be here. I was meant to meet this man. That he could be my soulmate.
I look away from him and focus on the cloches before us, silently chiding myself for being such a hopeless study in silly girls.
Noah lifts several silver domes, revealing more food than the two of us could possibly eat. “Yes, for the next two days you’re mine to take care of.” He slides a knife through the cheeseburger and puts half on a plate, along with fries and a small portion of salad. Then he picks up one of those fries and guides it to my lips. “Open.”
I snort. “I figured you’d be trying to feed me something completely different while giving me such a command.” I blatantly stare at his hips. A spark of desire lights inside me. I may have rubbed myself against a certain appendage to get off already today, but I’ve yet to see it.
“You’re shameless,” he says, his eyes dancing, and brings the fry closer to my mouth. “Now,” he adds, the single word rough.That grating tone sends a shiver through me. It’s so at odds with the hot, quiet nerd thing he has going for him.
My insides go molten at the command. I open my mouth, peeking up at him from beneath my lashes, and slide my tongue out, giving him quite the visual. He hisses out afuckand drags the fry across it. Mouth watering in response to the salty flavor, I close around it and hum.
Noah licks his lips, his pupils blown out, his breaths coming so quickly I can make out the way his chest rises and falls beneath his robe.
I tug my plate closer and focus on my food. If I don’t, I’m liable to drop to my knees right here.
My first bite of the cheeseburger leaves me ravenous. Without looking up, I take another. When I pluck a napkin off the table and wipe at my mouth, Noah is watching me from his own seat, a smile on his face and his half of the burger held aloft.
“You mentioned wanting to try something with me,” I hedge. The words have been swirling in my head since he put them out there, but I’ve yet to decipher them. The potential is limitless, so it’s better to just be up-front and ask than to get ahead of myself and freak out.
Noah strikes me as the kind of person who knows precisely what he likes. I, on the other hand, haven’t had enough experience in the bedroom to have a clue where my interests lie.
It’s odd, really, how comfortable I am with this near stranger. It’s odder still that he doesn’t feel like one. There isn’t much he could toss my way that would make me hesitate.
He takes another bite of his burger, watching me thoughtfully. The silence is suddenly unnerving, and now the scenarios I was trying to avoid freaking out about run through my head. Though in a matter of seconds, I realize I don’t even know enough about sex to come up with more than one or two crazy ideas.
I’m picking at my salad, holding back from begging him to put me out of my misery and tell me, when he finishes the last bite of his burger, wipes his mouth with a napkin, and sets his hands flat on the table.
“I don’t fuck just anyone.”
The matter-of-fact way the crass word comes out of his deliciously polite mouth ignites heat in my core once more. I clench my thighs and press my lips together so I don’t whimper while I wait for him to continue.
“I’ve discovered several things that interest me. I’ve read about them…” He blows out a breath, suddenly looking a little nervous. “Because I like to read.” He dips his head, his cheeks going rosy at the admission.
My heart warms at his tone, at the shyness there. How is it possible for him to be so brazen one second and endearing the next?
He shrugs. “But I’ve never had the opportunity to try most of them, since I’ve never been in a relationship.”
The confession, said with such a straight face, and his openness, urge me to be honest as well. “I haven’t either.”
Noah’s eyes flash with what I think is delight.
“I like to please a woman. It’s my—” He wets his lips and angles a fraction closer. “It pleases me to please a woman. Simply playing with you could make me come.”
My breath escapes me in a quiet gasp. “Huh?”
