Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
He takes the final step into me, and I press my hand to his chest as if I could somehow force the distance between us, but we both know I’m not about to do that. I feel the rapid beat of his heart beneath my palm, and a thrill shoots through me, realizing he’s just as affected as I am. He swallows hard, his gaze shifting over my face before finally dropping to my lips.
My stomach swirls with butterflies as the tension in the small walk-in closet becomes unbearable, and I can’t help but wonder if he feels it too.
Of course he feels it. How could he not?
His hand lifts to my bare shoulder, his fingers gently caressing the skin as he trails them right down to my wrist, leaving goosebumps spreading across my body, my skin burning from his electric touch.
Noah’s hand falls away, and just when I think this heated moment is going to slip out of my grasp, I feel his fingers slipping beneath the fold of my towel before brushing against my bare waist. His fingers tighten, holding me there, and despite being completely naked beneath this towel, I trust him with everything I am, knowing he would never push me past my limits.
Noah’s thumb brushes against my waist as shivers trail over my skin, and feeling brave, I allow my hand at his chest to slowly trail down his body, feeling the tight ridges of his muscles below. His chest heaves, mirroring my own heavy breathing, and as my shaking hand finds the hem of his shirt, I slip it beneath the fabric and feel his warm skin under my fingers.
I almost whimper, having imagined this very moment for years.
I’ve seen him without a shirt so many times, hugged him, held him, even kissed him, but it never felt like this. He’s different now. He’s not a boy. He’s filled out with stacks of defined, strong muscle from hours of intense training. He’s a man now, and for the first time in our lives, he’s looking at me like I’m more than just the girl he used to know. He’s looking at me as though I’m the most desirable woman he’s ever seen.
My hand trails right up his body, moving beneath his shirt and exploring every inch before me. His skin is so warm, and a part of me wonders if that has something to do with his proximity to me, but then every train of thought slips from my mind when he moves impossibly closer, inching into me as his fingers tighten on my waist.
I know I should push him away, tell him to leave, and I know the second I do, he’ll obey it like gospel. He’s waiting for me to be the voice of reason, to be the smart one and stop this before we cross a line neither of us can come back from. Because we both know that when he eventually walks away, it’s going to destroy us both. Yet, there’s not a single part of me willing to tell him no.
“Zozo,” he whispers, and then before I even get a chance to bask in the bittersweetness of hearing my old nickname on his lips, he dips his head down to mine and kisses me.
My eyes close as I melt into him, his lips effortlessly moving against mine as though that’s where they’ve always belonged. I open up, allowing him to kiss me deeper, and when his tongue sweeps into my mouth, those damn butterflies cause havoc in the pit of my stomach.
He kissed me so many times when we were kids, but it’s never been like this, never been so full of intense passion, desire, and need. It’s everything I always knew it would be and more. Everything I’d always hoped for, and damn it, I kiss him back with everything I have, not knowing when I might ever get to do this again.
My pulse beats so heavily in my ears that I don’t hear anything apart from the soft, needy groan rumbling through his strong chest. My hand roams up over his shoulder and hooks around the back of his neck as my fingers glide up into his hair, desperately wishing this moment never has to end.
I feel like I’m home. Like the other half of my soul has finally returned to set me free, and it’s the most phenomenal feeling in the world.
It’s enchanting, magical, and undeniably breathtaking.
Noah’s hand at my waist slides right around my back and pulls me right in until my chest is pressed firmly against his. Then just when I thought it couldn’t get better, he steps us right into the overcrowded rack of clothes, parting them to make space, but he doesn’t stop until my back is up against the drywall. My clothes fall back into place, crowding around us like a heavy curtain, dimming the light until it’s nothing but just me and him.