(Indigo Lounge #3) Spiral (11 page)

He needed to occupy himself with something before he gave in to the hot images flooding his mind.

“Are you hungry?” he threw over his shoulder.

“Umm...yes. I could eat.”

He groaned under his breath and entered the large kitchen. He was sure shiny, expensive gadgets lined the countertops and every conceivable luxury had been provided for them. But Noah didn’t see a thing beyond his lust haze as he blindly pulled open the fridge and eyed the neatly arranged silverware and plates of food. More than enough to sustain them for the next eighteen hours.

He picked up the nearest tray containing exquisite, handmade finger food and set it on the countertop.

“Oh, smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels. Love those.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Great. Would you mind grabbing—?”

She’d shed her puffer jacket and the bottom half of her ski pants while his back was turned. The long sleeve thermal shirt molded her small breasts so perfectly saliva flooded his mouth. His gaze dropped to the black leggings clinging to her taut, shapely thighs and legs and he groaned again under his breath.

He gripped the edge of the counter so hard his bones screamed in agony.

She stopped in the process of grabbing the plates from where they’d been stacked on the counter. “Noah, are you okay?”

He speared a hand through his hair. Thought about cracking a joke to avoid the stark truth. Then decided against it. She needed to know who she was dealing with.

“Hell, no. I can’t look at a surface in this place without imagining you spread across or over it and me fucking you into oblivion on it. So, no, I’m not okay. But I’m trying to take it slow for you.”

Her eyes widened. “For me? Why?”

He laughed. “You’re nervous. I thought doing something mundane like eating a meal and...talking might set you a little at ease.”

“At ease. Before you devour me?” Her breath hitched at the end, like she was having a hard time breathing.

He laughed. The sound came out rough and alien. “Shit, am I being that obvious?”

“A little. Okay...a lot.”

“Fuck.” He grimaced and shut his eyes.

“But...that’s not why I’m nervous.”

He raised his head. “Then what is it?”

She traced a finger absently over the hard top. He wanted that finger tracing his skin so badly he locked his knees to stop from launching himself over the aisle and grabbing her.

“That thing I promised on top of the mountain?”

“Yes,” he croaked, his gaze dropping to the mouth she’d worried until they were now plump and pink. “I remember.”

“I don’t think I can do it...”

Crap
. He barely stopped himself from cursing as a healthy percentage of his fantasies evaporated into thin air. “You don’t have to do it if it’s not your thing.”

“No, I didn’t mean that. I meant I’ve never actually...done it before.” The odd inflection in her tone made him pause.

Noah understood nuance. Hell he’d had to learn very quickly when he set up his business and realized dealing with billions of dollars meant catering to egos and personalities that could test even the saintliest temperament. And after fifteen years at the top of his game, he could read the trickiest opponents who thought he could test how far they could push his resolve a mile away.

But he couldn’t grasp the nuance slapping him in the face.

He’d played his fingers thoroughly between her thighs last night, explored her sweet pussy so expertly he could close his eyes and recall exactly how she felt.

Except he’d pulled back before enjoying her as fully as he’d wanted to.
“Jesus, sweetheart, please don’t tell me you’re a
virgin
?” Another soul-destroying dose of erotic images vanished. He clutched the counter harder, the pain of knowing he’d have to walk away almost debilitating.

“No, I’m not.”

His breath rushed out in thankful relief as elation flooded his system. He swallowed down his roar of joy. “Are you sure?”

She frowned. “Is that a serious question?”

“No, I meant are you sure you can’t do it?”
Please God, let her be willing to try. He needed at the back of her throat like he needed to breathe
.

“I don’t want to mess it up.”

His bark of laughter slammed around the room, a harsh noise that made her flinch. He rounded the counter and grasped her arms. “Sweetheart, I’ve seen you move your body like a siren while I pleasured you. I’ve seen you ski with an innate rhythm that’s almost a part of your DNA. I’m willing to bet you’d be a natural.”

“And if I’m not?”

“Then I’ll teach you.” He kissed her plump mouth and moved away before he gave into the urge to start her lesson straight away. “Let’s eat.”

How he managed to calmly dish out the food and take a seat across from her on the center aisle and actually chew and swallow would forever remain a mystery to him.

Watching her long black nails rip her bagel in chunks before popping them piece by piece into her mouth, was pure fucking torture.

He cleared his throat loudly. “Right. Small talk. You joined the IL trip in Miami so am I right to assume you live there?”

She nodded. “I’ve lived in Florida all my life. But we...I’ve moved around a bit.”

“So where’s home now?”

“Palm Beach.”

She named the exclusive area and he nodded, not even a little surprised. Old Money.

He’d toyed with buying a place there when he relocated from New York two years ago. In the end, he’d resisted Gabriel’s strong arm tactics to buy the mansion next to his and bought a condo on West Palm Beach instead. Noah loved the view of ocean from his penthouse apartment...when he bothered to leave his office long enough to appreciate it.

“You?”

“Condo. West Palm Beach.”

Her wide eyes drifted down his torso. “Fitting.”

“You trying to peg me, sweetheart?”

“I suppose you
could
fit the surfer profile. If you grew your hair out a little and invested in a bead necklace.

His mouth twitched. “Sorry, I’ve never surfed in my life. Where did you learn to ski so well?”

Her eyes darkened a touch and he sensed he’d lit on a delicate subject. “My dad taught me. He took me skiing from when I was three until he...he died.” Her mouth quivered for a second, then she pressed her lips together and forced a smile. “You?”

“My cousin and I bought a resort in Aspen ten years ago. He runs it. I go whenever I can during the season.”

“You own a resort?”

He nodded. “So you didn’t stop skiing after your dad died?”

“I did for a year. It was too painful. But I got my mom to take me the next year.”

Something in her voice tweaked his radar. “Your mom didn’t like skiing?”

The faintest hint of a smile whispered across her lips before her eyes shadowed. “There was a reason we lived in Florida. She hated the cold. It was a choice between Florida or California. My dad was born in New Jersey. Florida was as far as he wanted to go from his childhood home.”

Again he noted the affection in her voice when she spoke about her father and the distinct lack when she touched on her mother.

“What happened to him?”

Pain shrouded her eyes and he kicked himself for letting curiosity get the better of him. She swallowed a mouthful of bagel then answered. “He drowned while he was diving off the Florida Keys. His equipment got entangled in fishing gear and he ran out of oxygen.”

“Hell.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind talking about him. I had twelve unforgettable years with him.”

“Sounds like he was a great dad.”

She nodded. “The best. He made living with my mom bearable. I miss him every day.”

Noah popped a square cold cut into his mouth and chewed. “What’s it like living with your mom now?”

She dropped the last bite of her bagel and brushed her fingers in a no-nonsense way. But he wasn’t fooled. The very air vibrated with her pain and sadness.

When she looked up and the shadows and ghosts she’d promised wouldn’t come between them loomed large in her eyes. “My mom’s dead too. She shot my stepfather when I was seventeen. Then she shot herself.”

––––––––

S
eeing the slack-jawed shock on his face rammed home to her unequivocally that she’d said the words. Invited the ghosts to lunch. A shiver slammed through her, followed closely by several more.

She pushed away from the remains of their lunch and strode quickly from the kitchen.

What the hell was wrong with her? She’d ruined what had promised to be a weeklong relief from remembering everything that was wrong in her life. Instead she’d dragged her past kicking and screaming into the present.

Seeing the crackling fire, the rug and the champagne just waiting to launch the scenes she’d been dreaming of since she met Noah King, she froze in the middle of the room.

“Leia.” His voice was steady, strong, betraying none of the repulsion and shock he must surely feel. “Hell, I’m sorry.”

Enough time had passed and the world had longed moved from the horrific events that occurred the summer of her seventeenth birthday but she still recalled the whispers and the looks of horror on peoples’ faces like the images were branded in her brain.

“I’m guessing you want to call the driver?”

Firm hands gripped her arm and turned her around. His gorgeous, heart-stopping face held irritated surprise. “Why the hell would I want to do that?”

“I promised you I wouldn’t let the ghosts in. I’m sorry, I’ve don’t...I’ve never told anyone voluntarily about this.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what came over me. I’ll understand if you want to end this before it gets too—”

“So your past isn’t a goddamn fairy tale. Trust me, sweetheart, mine isn’t a bundle of laughs either. But I’m damned if I’ll let you walk away because you assume I can’t handle what you just said.”

“But I didn’t...I didn’t want you to know.”

“I got that impression when you ran from the room. Why did you run?”

The sound that left her throat couldn’t have been deemed as laughter. “Are you serious?”

His mouth twisted. “Sure, I guess as small talk goes that was a hell of a doozy but I need to remind you again that I’m not very good at doing light.”

She looked up into his face and realized he meant it. “So
this
is what you wanted to know about me?”

“I want to know as much of you as you’re willing to share, sweetheart. Nothing you say to me will make me walk away.”

“Don’t to be too sure about that.”

His intense gaze probed in a way that made her skin tingle. The hands on her arms moved up, cupping her shoulders firmly before they caressed higher to her neck. Both hands circled her neck in a bold and possessive hold that fractured her breathing. One thumb tilted her chin up and he stepped closer until his nose almost touched hers.

“
Nothing
,” he breathed. “Do you hear me?”

This close, the blue of his eyes were so mesmerizing, she couldn’t look away. And she didn’t want to despite the real fear that Noah King could unravel her with the minimum effort. “Yes.”

“Good.” He didn’t move away or release his hold. “So, now we’ve dealt with the small talk, and thrown in a dash of heavy. Tell me what you want to do.”

The heat from his body was warming her, burning away the cold that had invaded her body when she blurted out words she needed to keep locked away.

“I...I don’t want to talk anymore.”

He stilled, then his fingers tightened a touch. “No, baby. We can change the subject but you
will
talk. I’ll need to hear everything you’re feeling, everything you’re thinking. That the only way this works. Understand?”

Could she do it? She’d spilled enough in the less than twenty-four hours she’d known this man than to anyone else besides Warren. The police who’d investigated the incident at the time didn’t count. Even the psychiatrist Warren initially hired hadn’t been able to coax more than monosyllables from her in the three months she’d seen him. In the end Warren had agreed with her that therapy was a waste of time.

They’d found their own way to heal.

Now, suddenly, the idea of vocalizing her every thought to Noah frightened her. It didn’t take a genius to recognize Noah possessed an innate skill at uncovering things she wanted to remain hidden.

“Leia?” His voice was a sharp blade cutting into her jumbled words. But the arms that came around her, pulled her back into his body were surprisingly gentle.

“Will you return the favor?” she asked before she lost her confidence.

A slow smile spread across his face. “Are you sure you’re ready to hear everything I think of you and your incredible body?”

She raised one eyebrow. “
Quid pro quo
.”

He laughed and she could’ve sworn she tasted his need on her lips. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, sweetheart.”

Closing the tiny gap between them, he kissed her. It was hard and unapologetically demanding in a way that promised that there would be no going easy. She reveled in it, desperately in need of anything that would wipe way the memories that washed through her mind as fresh as if they’d happened moments ago.

“Hey, I’m losing you.” He bit her lower lip, pulled it into his mouth.

“I’m here,” she groaned. “Do that again,” she pleaded.

He bit her again. Harder. The shudder of pleasure rocked her to her toes. She leaned into him, eager to feel more of his hot body against hers. Hands gripping a taut bicep, she raised up on her toes and threw herself into the kiss.

His hand tightened harder around her throat, restricting her breathing in a way that made her treasure each breath. Stunned she realized her senses were heightened, her pulse hammering in her head as her world grew hazy with need and desire.

Her fingers tunneled into his hair, holding on to him as pleasure screeched across her senses.

One arm circled her waist and he lifted her high. “Put your legs around me,” he instructed.

Complying brought her heated center flush with his rigid cock. Unable to resist, she rubbed herself against him. He stumbled after a single step and dragged his mouth from hers.