dinner. Curiosity sparking, Noah popped the lid, his mouth going to an immediate water at the wedge of chocolate-drizzled cheesecake tucked inside. The fluffy top layer sat in a fat triangle on top of a thick, velvet-brown crust, and Noah broke into a grin as he turned to scoop up a fork.
“Hey.”
The softly spoken word went off like a cannon in the quiet kitchen, and he jumped back in a rush as he swung toward the sound. Violet stood, unmoving in the entryway, wearing his button-down shirt and a tentative, sleep-rumpled smile, and the sight of her sent unexpected relief spiraling all the way through him.
“Sorry.” She gestured to his obvious surprise, biting her lip in that maddeningly attractive way that broadcast her feelings right down to the equal mix of her sincerity and chagrin. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you, but I was hungry.” She took a deep breath, the curve of her breasts just barely visible beneath all that cotton, and yeah. He totally had a new favorite shirt.
“It’s okay. Did you make this?” Noah asked, holding up the container, and Violet’s bare feet skimmed the linoleum as she peered at the container in his hands.
“Oh, yeah.” Her smile grew brighter, and she slid a fork from the drawer at her hip. “One of my clients is on a baking binge, and the brownies you made the other day gave me the idea for the crust. I always do a test run or two on new recipes before sharing them with my clients, so I thought you might like to try it out.”
The ease of the story—and the wide-open kindness that went with it— made him hungry as hell, but not for anything in the cupboard or containers.
He wanted Violet. Plain and simple.
“Come here.” On nothing but instinct, Noah set the container aside and gathered her in, his body responding in an instant to her soft-in-all-the-right-places curves. He kissed her gently at first, but all too soon, he was starving for her. And while he might not know how to mold it into fine details or fancy words, it was time to put what he felt on the line.
“Stay with me, Violet. After the sun comes up, I want you to stay.”
Vulnerability and surprise colored her expression, but not enough to keep her words from sliding out over him. “And what about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow I’m going to want you too,” he said, and damn, the words tasted as daring and good as the certainty that backed them up. “We can figure it out when we get there. But for now, we have a couple hours until daybreak. And I want to spend them with you.”
#
Violet shifted her weight against her chair in the Brentsville Physical Therapy Center’s waiting room, staring at the glossy pages of the food magazine in front of her without seeing a thing. What had started out as a couple hours until daybreak had lasted for two weeks, and between the blissed-out happiness of Noah’s kitchen and the mind-blowing orgasms in his bedroom, Violet couldn’t deny the obvious.
She was falling for Noah Blackwell. And when she landed, it was going to hurt.
As if she’d conjured him from nothing more than longing and lusty thoughts, Noah appeared in the doorway, zipping up his dark gray hoodie with an even darker smile. “Getting ideas for your next great lesson?”
She raised an eyebrow in an approximation of a cool glance, despite her heart having gone from zero to yes-I-want-that in about four seconds flat. “Haven’t we already had this conversation? If I tell you all my secrets, it won’t turn out well for you.” Violet gave in to the smile pulling at the edges of her lips, nodding to the door behind him as she stood. “How’d you do?”
“Great.” The woman behind the reception desk passed Noah a sheaf of papers, and he tucked them under his arm with a polite thank you before ushering Violet to the hallway. “Except…” He notched his voice to a sexy rumble, carefully hidden from anyone in the lobby of the busy medical
“Hey.”
The softly spoken word went off like a cannon in the quiet kitchen, and he jumped back in a rush as he swung toward the sound. Violet stood, unmoving in the entryway, wearing his button-down shirt and a tentative, sleep-rumpled smile, and the sight of her sent unexpected relief spiraling all the way through him.
“Sorry.” She gestured to his obvious surprise, biting her lip in that maddeningly attractive way that broadcast her feelings right down to the equal mix of her sincerity and chagrin. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you, but I was hungry.” She took a deep breath, the curve of her breasts just barely visible beneath all that cotton, and yeah. He totally had a new favorite shirt.
“It’s okay. Did you make this?” Noah asked, holding up the container, and Violet’s bare feet skimmed the linoleum as she peered at the container in his hands.
“Oh, yeah.” Her smile grew brighter, and she slid a fork from the drawer at her hip. “One of my clients is on a baking binge, and the brownies you made the other day gave me the idea for the crust. I always do a test run or two on new recipes before sharing them with my clients, so I thought you might like to try it out.”
The ease of the story—and the wide-open kindness that went with it— made him hungry as hell, but not for anything in the cupboard or containers.
He wanted Violet. Plain and simple.
“Come here.” On nothing but instinct, Noah set the container aside and gathered her in, his body responding in an instant to her soft-in-all-the-right-places curves. He kissed her gently at first, but all too soon, he was starving for her. And while he might not know how to mold it into fine details or fancy words, it was time to put what he felt on the line.
“Stay with me, Violet. After the sun comes up, I want you to stay.”
Vulnerability and surprise colored her expression, but not enough to keep her words from sliding out over him. “And what about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow I’m going to want you too,” he said, and damn, the words tasted as daring and good as the certainty that backed them up. “We can figure it out when we get there. But for now, we have a couple hours until daybreak. And I want to spend them with you.”
#
Violet shifted her weight against her chair in the Brentsville Physical Therapy Center’s waiting room, staring at the glossy pages of the food magazine in front of her without seeing a thing. What had started out as a couple hours until daybreak had lasted for two weeks, and between the blissed-out happiness of Noah’s kitchen and the mind-blowing orgasms in his bedroom, Violet couldn’t deny the obvious.
She was falling for Noah Blackwell. And when she landed, it was going to hurt.
As if she’d conjured him from nothing more than longing and lusty thoughts, Noah appeared in the doorway, zipping up his dark gray hoodie with an even darker smile. “Getting ideas for your next great lesson?”
She raised an eyebrow in an approximation of a cool glance, despite her heart having gone from zero to yes-I-want-that in about four seconds flat. “Haven’t we already had this conversation? If I tell you all my secrets, it won’t turn out well for you.” Violet gave in to the smile pulling at the edges of her lips, nodding to the door behind him as she stood. “How’d you do?”
“Great.” The woman behind the reception desk passed Noah a sheaf of papers, and he tucked them under his arm with a polite thank you before ushering Violet to the hallway. “Except…” He notched his voice to a sexy rumble, carefully hidden from anyone in the lobby of the busy medical
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