Page 61 of Tangled In Tinsel & Knots
The kiss deepens. His tongue sweeps against mine, tasting of promises I shouldn’t believe but want to. Something cold hits my chest. I gasp, pulling back, and there’s melted ice cream sliding down into my cleavage, leaving a sticky trail.
“Oh, no,” I start to say.
“I got it,” Noel says, and his voice dips. He sets the tub on the side table then his mouth is on my chest, licking up the trail of melted ice cream, moving lower and lower toward the edge of my dress. His tongue is hot against the top of my breasts, and I’m so turned on I can barely breathe.
My panties are soaking wet. My body is on fire. Every nerve ending is screaming for more, and I know exactly where this is heading.
Which is why I panic. I wriggle out from under him, breathing hard, my hands shaking as I push against his shoulders.
He lets me go immediately, sitting back, giving me space.
He’s sprawled on the couch now, still clutching his spoon. He licks his lips slowly, deliberately.
“You should probably show me my room,” I blurt out, grabbing my wallet and keys from the side table. “I’m exhausted. Long day. Need sleep.”
He blinks, and I watch him process the abrupt shift. “Oh. Already?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Thanks for the ice cream. It was amazing.”
He doesn’t push. Just nods, sets the container on the coffee table, and stands. “Sure. Come on.”
I follow him upstairs. The second floor is quiet.
Noel leads me to a room at the end of the hall and opens the door. Moonlight streams through large windows, bathing everything in silvery blue light. The bed is enormous, easily big enough for five people, with gauzy netting draped overhead, mounds of pillows and cushions in every shade of blue and gray and cream.
It’s a sanctuary. A nest.
“This is your room,” Noel says quietly from the doorway. “No one enters without your explicit consent. Ever. It’s yours if you want it.”
I step inside, and the urge to dive into that bed is almost overwhelming. Noel stands in the doorway, hands gripping the frame so tightly his knuckles are white. His chest is pressed forward slightly, and he looks like a wolf watching prey—patient but hungry.
I can still taste him. Ice cream and bourbon and skin. It takes everything I have not to drag him inside and lose myself completely in whatever this is between us.
“Good night, then,” I manage, my voice barely steady.
He stares at me for a long moment, and I watch the war play out in his expression, want versus respect, desire versus restraint.
“I’m just down the hall.” He points left. “If you need anything at all, and I mean anything, you come find me. Understand?”
I nod, not trusting my voice.
“Good night, Hannah.” He pulls back into the hallway.
“Good night, Noel. Thank you for everything tonight.” I push the door shut before I do something reckless. The latch clicks, and suddenly I’m alone.
The room spins with how hot I feel. My skin is too tight. My nipples are hard and sensitive, pressing against my bra. My entire body feels like it’s vibrating at a frequency only I can hear. So, I jump onto the bed, sinking into ridiculous softness. Pillows and cushions cradle me from every side, and under different circumstances, this would be heaven.
But I can’t stop thinking about Noel. About his kiss. His hands. His mouth on my chest. His cock, God, his cock, so big and thick and perfect in my mouth earlier. How much better it would feel between my thighs, filling me, stretching me, sating this impossible ache building in my core.
My pulse is racing everywhere, but especially between my legs.
The heat consuming me intensifies with every passing second. I lift my dress, shimmy out of my stockings and panties, kick them off the side of the bed onto the floor.
The cool air helps. For about thirty seconds. Then the ache returns, worse than before. I reach down between my thighs and find myself absolutely soaking. A single touch and I’m moaning in the quiet room. I have to bite my lip to keep from making more noise.
This is more than arousal. This is deeper, an ache in my core that I recognize from pre-heat. That desperate, clawing need that’s almost impossible to satisfy without heat suppressants or an Alpha’s touch.
Was I too quick to send Noel away? He was clearly ready. More than ready. I could’ve invited him in, let him take care of this, let him?—
