Noah pulled his truck up in front of Angelica’s house, taking an extra moment before exiting to calm his nerves. He didn’t know why his heart was racing or his belly was in knots. This was a simple date, nothing more. He’d been on hundreds of them. Although, if Noah was being honest with himself, lately he hadn’t been dating so much as just periodically heading over to his friend Naomi’s place for dinner and a nice, uncomplicated fuck with someone who wouldn’t expect a ring on her finger afterward.

Over the years, he’d gotten tired of trying to weed out who was genuinely interested in him, versus who just wanted the Blackstone family name—not to mention access to its fortune. Naomi had rejected her own wealthy roots and didn’t have any interest in either. She was sweet, uncomplicated, and utterly uninterested in anything but friendship with a few side benefits. But he hadn’t even thought about Naomi since the second he’d started arguing with—and ogling—

Angelica. He didn’t think his friend would particularly care, though.

His proposed arrangement with Angelica was virtually the same as the one he’d had with Naomi—friendship with benefits—but something about Angelica herself made it feel completely different. He legitimately liked spending time with her outside the bedroom. She affected him like no one else ever had. When he wasn’t infuriated by her, he couldn’t stop thinking about her … wondering what she was doing, how she was getting on with her remodel, what she’d think about a story he wanted to relay to her. And ever since that kiss? Well, his thoughts had included a whole lot more than talking, too.

Before his mind—and his dick—could run away with those thoughts, Noah exited the truck’s cab, Molly trailing behind. When he reached Angelica’s ramshackle front porch, she stepped outside to greet him, her face split in a luminescent smile that took his breath away. He had to physically stop and marvel at how this woman seemed to be lit from within by something pure and good.

From behind her back, Angelica produced two plain brown paper bags—one held aloft in each hand. “One turkey, one ham,” she said, alternating which one she held higher.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Noah said, his feet propelling him forward. “I planned to feed you.”

Angelica chewed on her lip and dropped the bags back down to her sides. “Oh, well. I wasn’t sure. You didn’t say ...” She shrugged a freckled shoulder and looked away, almost as if she was embarrassed for having performed this thoughtful gesture.

Noah scowled, upset that his characteristically blunt speech had dimmed her smile. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, already mussed and sticking up in several directions, even though he’d tried to comb it into a semblance of something resembling a hairstyle. They were going to be spending a lot of time outdoors today, but he’d still wanted to look good for her. She was a stunningly beautiful woman, and his vanity required her to think he wasn’t a chore to look at either. Noah knew he wasn’t ugly, but he was a little rough around the edges and didn’t typically spend a lot of time worrying about his appearance. For Angelica, he’d tried to make an effort.

The thing about her though was that her beauty was natural and effortless. With her hair pulled through a baseball cap to sway down her back in a long ponytail, the filtered morning sun dappled the skin around her neck, chest, and shoulders with shadows and light, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen a more beautiful sight.

Unable to control himself, Noah took a few steps forward, eliminating the distance between them, and traced his fingers over a dancing leaf of light near her collarbone. “Hi,” he said once he’d completed his traversal of her petal soft skin.

Angelica swallowed, and her eyes flicked between his. “Hi,” she eventually breathed out.

“Thank you for the food. And before I forget, you look beautiful.” Noah’s gaze raked over her a second time in quiet appreciation.

She was dressed uber-casual today, in a plain white tank top and cutoff jean shorts that highlighted her toned, tanned thighs, but he wouldn’t have wanted her any other way. Despite her former occupation as an actress, Angelica Travis seemed real. He’d spent years surrounded by women pretending to be someone they weren’t, going under the knife to look like anyone but themselves. But with her slightly crooked front tooth and the fine laugh lines that fanned out from her eyes, Noah would guess Angelica had never once visited a plastic surgeon’s office—not the way so many of the socialites his mother forcefully put in his path had already done, even though they were younger than he was.

Angelica hiccupped a giggle and gripped her ponytail. “Thank you, but I’m calling bullshit. It turns out the plumber didn’t get my showers fixed yesterday like he was supposed to, so this morning’s ablutions were a bit on the perfunctory side.” She frowned, pulled her hair in front of her nose, and sniffed. “I still smell like last night’s steak.”

Noah’s lips hitched up in a small smile. “Ablutions?” Not the sort of vocabulary he’d expected a Hollywood princess to have. Or even a renovation queen. As usual, she was full of surprises.

Angelica pushed at his shoulder playfully. “Shut up. I read a lot of Regency romances and I love that word.”

Noah smiled down at Angelica, charmed to the bone by her, and then clicked his tongue to his dog. Obeying the unspoken command, Molly trotted over to the truck.

“Morning Molly!” Angelica called out as the dog stood at the tailgate, her wagging tail sending a cloud of dust into the air behind her.

With his hand on Angelica’s back, Noah ushered her toward the truck. “According to the Google machine, you had a part in a Jane Austen movie?” he asked. It made more sense now that he knew of her love of the Regency era.

Before she could answer, he opened the truck’s door and helped her inside. Then he did the same with his dog, before climbing in and starting the engine.

Angelica picked up where they’d left off. “Yeah, just a small part though. I played the bumbling sister.” She shrugged and grimaced. “I wasn’t really thrilled to take a role that made me look like such an idiot, but I’m a huge Austen fan and the chance to be in a movie based on one of her books was too good to pass up. A dream come true, really.”

Taking the bumpy country road slow so as not to kick up too much dirt, Noah glanced her way. “Then I’m glad you did it. I’ll have to watch it sometime.”

She laughed. “No, please don’t. Like I said, bumbling idiot.”

In one quick look, he took her in from head to toe, loving every inch on display for him. “Bumbling, gorgeous idiot, I’m sure.”

When Angelica’s cheeks turned pink, Noah dragged his eyes back to the road and forced himself not to imagine what her whole body would look like blushing under the weight of his … adoration. He could picture, in mouth-watering detail, the flush of her skin as it heated from his touch.

Angelica cleared her throat self-consciously, almost as if she could read his mind and see where his lustful thoughts had taken him. “So. What’s on the agenda for Friendship Day?”

Right. Friendship day, Noah thought as he turned the truck down a long avenue lined with coastal redwoods. He flicked his eyes from the road to meet Angelica’s. “I was thinking we’d start with a quick walk through Endor, and then we’d head out to the coast for some BBQ oysters.”

She clapped with delight and bounced in her seat. “You’re taking me to the Ewoks!”

Noah chuckled. “Yeah. I figured you’d like that.”

“Oh, I do.” Her palms dropped to her thighs, calling attention to her attire. “But I’m not really dressed for a tromp through the woods.”

Even though Noah was trying his damnedest not to ogle her, Angelica’s words felt like an open invitation. With a sideways glance, he traced a path from her ankles to her thighs, and then skimmed his gaze up the rest of her body until their eyes met. Angelica’s lips were split in a sly smile of her own.

Yeah, she knows exactly what she’s doing, he thought, bringing his eyes back to the road.

As they pulled up alongside the ranger station to pay the park entrance fee, Noah told her she’d be fine. “Normally I’d do a longer, more difficult hike in the morning, but I didn’t know what you’d be up for, so we’re sticking to a wide, well-tended path I’ve seen toddlers handle with ease.”

She laughed. “Are you calling me a toddler?”

“Far from it.”

Less than ten minutes later, they strolled together under the canopy of the redwoods, pine needles crunching beneath their feet. Technically, Molly was supposed to be on a leash, but at this early hour the path was nearly deserted, so Noah let her trot ahead, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she explored the forest floor with her nose.

“It really is beautiful here,” Angelica remarked, her head tipped back to take in the grandeur of the ancient trees. “Like a whole other world.”

She was right, of course, but right now Noah was having a hard time seeing past her beauty. “Maybe the most beautiful,” he murmured, chest panging with a longing he wasn’t used to feeling.

Angelica’s face dropped forward and their eyes locked. Silence hung between them, the only sound their breaths moving in and out of their lungs and a chirping bird far off in the distance.

At the same time, they each took a step forward, and then another.

“What are you doing to me?” Angelica whispered as she rested her hand on his forearm.

Burning to touch her, Noah placed his hand on her hip and tugged her against his body. With his other hand, he cradled the back of her neck and dropped his face forward. “I could ask you the same thing,” he murmured, close enough that their breaths mingled.

When their mouths met, Noah felt the power of their kiss deep in his gut. With a groan, he licked the seam of Angelica’s lips and she opened to him, their tongues tangling in a slow and steady mating. She whimpered into his mouth and her hands found their way around his neck as she arched forward, the tips of her toes digging into the dirt. Noah’s hand skated from her hip to her ass and he squeezed, relishing the feel of her soft flesh against his palm. As their kisses grew hungrier and more frenzied, Noah forget where they were, his only thought “mine” as he backed her up against a tree. Rolling his hips so she’d feel how badly he wanted her, he trailed his mouth down her jaw to her neck. Angelica panted, and her leg came up to wrap around him. Cradled against her, Noah pressed his erection into the vee of her thighs again with a slow thrust.

“Oh god,” Angelica moaned as her head fell back and her eyes dropped closed. “You feel so damn good.”

Before Noah could tell Angelica that she felt like nothing he’d ever experienced, Molly interrupted them with a high-pitched squeal and then a series of deep, shuddering barks. In his lust-filled stupor, at first Noah didn’t realize what was happening, but when his dog tore past hot on the tail of a rabbit, Noah snapped back to reality. He captured Angelica’s lips in one last searing kiss and then pushed away, quickly scanning the area for his dog. Spotting Molly galloping up the hillside after the frightened bunny, he took one last scorching look at the woman his brain was screaming belonged to him. “This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”

And then he took off at a sprint.

* * *

“Goddamn stupid dog,” Noah muttered with a shake of his head as they pulled onto the highway toward Tomales Bay. He loved Molly like nothing else in this world, but sometimes he wondered if his faithful canine companion legitimately had shit for brains.

You’re the genius who let her off her leash, so what does that say about you? his subconscious queried. Okay, so maybe he’d stupidly given Molly too much off-leash time lately, but when she looked up at him with those big sad eyes of hers, just begging to be allowed to roam free, who was he to deny her? Still, lesson learned. His dog was not to be trusted.

“You look like you want to murder something. Or more specifically, poor Molly back there.” Angelica chuckled and jerked her thumb over her shoulder to indicate the recalcitrant pooch lying flat on her stomach in the back of the truck, her head resting glumly between her front paws.

Noah relaxed his face, not realizing that he’d been scowling.

“That’s better,” Angelica remarked, as they passed over a rise and the glittering bay below came into view. “Oooh, that’s pretty.”

“It is,” Noah agreed. He’d traveled all over the globe, visiting some amazing places, but this part of California—with its rolling, vine-dotted hillsides, towering trees that reached hundreds of feet into the sky, and crystalline, nutrient-rich waters—was his favorite.

Pulling the truck to the side of the road, he threw it in park and turned the ignition. “We’re here.”

He let Molly out the back and took her leash in one hand and Angelica’s hand in the other. Crossing the road, Noah led them to a bluff overlooking a quiet, empty inlet. Dropping her hand, he pointed off to the distance. “See that shack down there?”

Angelica shielded her eyes from the high mid-afternoon sun and squinted. “The white one?”

Noah grinned. “Yup. That’s where we’re heading.”

Angelica’s eyes flashed with concern, and then she glanced down to her feet. “Are you sure?” She was wearing a pair of Converse that normally he wouldn’t recommend for hiking, but the trail down wasn’t too treacherous. Besides, he was there to help her.

“Absolutely,” he said, grabbing her hand again and tugging her forward. As they began their slow descent toward the water line, he explained, “It’s a little tricky the first part of the way, but after we get past that tree—” he jutted his chin in the direction of a lone oak “—it flattens out into a pretty meadow and then it’s a nice stroll along the water for a few hundred feet.”

When they reached another steep descent, Noah turned to watch Angelica’s climb down. She was chewing her lip and scrunching up her nose as she focused on putting one foot carefully in front of the other so as not to slip and fall. It was cute and endearing, and it reminded him that she was a city girl at heart.

Noah wrapped Molly’s leash around a small sapling and nudged the dog into laying down. When Molly’s nose met her paws in a sleepy droop, Noah gripped Angelica’s waist and hoisted her the remaining few feet. “I got you.”

But instead of setting her down, he held her tight against him, her feet dangling above the ground. Her eyes locked on his and she smiled down at him. “Well, hello. We meet again.”

“I can’t seem to keep my hands off you.” He lowered her a bit and then took her lips in a slow, savoring kiss. “Or my mouth.”

“Remind me why we’re here again,” she sighed, her tongue darting out to caress the bottom lip he’d just tugged on with his teeth.

“I’m supposed to be feeding you. Remember?”

He loosened his hold, and Angelica slid down the length of his body until her feet were firmly planted on the grass.

“What if I’m suddenly hungry for something else?” she asked, her voice bold, as her fingers danced to the waistband of his cargo shorts.

Noah sucked in a breath and held it, his heart thumping heavily in his chest as he waited to see what she would do next. When her fingers dipped between the fabric and his skin and then ventured south, Noah’s breath left him entirely.

“Angelica.”

“Shh,” she murmured, eliminating the distance between them. “Let me touch you, Noah. I’ve been dying to get my hands on you all day.”

With gritted teeth Noah nodded, giving her permission to explore his hard, throbbing cock. When she palmed the length of him and squeezed, he nearly saw stars. It took everything in his power not to thrust his hips forward and demand more.

“I want you so bad right now,” she continued, rubbing up against him like a cat.

Fuck. Angelica’s touch was magic. She knew exactly where to grip, how hard and how soft to stroke. He hadn’t exactly anticipated their afternoon turning out like this, but now that they were here, there was no way he would change a single, solitary thing.

Actually, that wasn’t entirely true.

Reaching between them to still her roving hand, Noah captured her lips in a quick kiss before asking, “Do you trust me?”

She studied him, no hesitation whatsoever in her eyes, and nodded. “Absolutely.”

“And you know I didn’t plan this?”

Angelica giggled, and the tinkling sound of her laughter had Noah’s balls drawing tight. God, what she did to him. “I’m pretty sure you couldn’t have planned for me to get handsy with your dick in the middle of a field.”

Noah’s lips hitched up. “No, I couldn’t have planned for that,” he agreed. “But you won’t ever hear me complain about your hands stroking my cock.”

Angelica shivered, her pupils dilated, and Noah knew she was right there with him.

Turning to Molly, Noah told her to lay down and stay and, for once, she thankfully complied. Then, he led Angelica down the path until they reached the grassy clearing beyond the oak he’d pointed out before. Without preamble, he pulled her into his arms, fisted her ponytail, and captured her lips in a fiery kiss meant to dominate and devour. Licking his way inside her mouth, he was desperate to have a part of him—any part—inside of her.

“Noah,” Angelica moaned when he pulled his lips away to lick a wet, hot path down her neck. “Yes,” she squeaked when his mouth moved south to suck her breast through her tank top, leaving a wet mark around her nipple.

Noah cupped Angelica through her shorts and pressed with his palm. She groaned, and her hips jutted forward.

“Are you with me?” he asked, his question sounding more like a demanding growl than he’d intended.

Her eyes whipped around, taking in their location, and he could see the hesitancy written on her face.

“Don’t worry, there’s no one here. We’re miles from anyone.”

“Are you sure?”

He kissed her, slow and sweet this time. “Yes, I own this land. Or, my family does. The only other person who ever uses it is a family friend and he’s not here.”

“How do you know?”

He chuckled. “Because I called him at dawn and told him to get lost.”

Angelica’s eyes went wide, and she tried to stifle a laugh, but failed. “I thought you said you didn’t plan this.”

Despite her twinkling eyes, Noah could hear the doubt in her voice.

Wanting to reassure her, he skated his fingertips along the slope of her shoulder and down her arm, until he reached her hand. Threading their fingers together he said, “I planned on bringing you out here for lunch. That’s all. We’ve got two bags of oysters waiting for us and the grill is ready to light. I was going to feed you, and then I was going to take you home, praying the entire drive back that you feel even half of what I feel for you.”

Noah swallowed deep. He hadn’t meant to reveal so much so soon, but if he wanted this woman in his bed, he knew he needed to be real with her. They’d talked about a friends-with-benefits arrangement, but right now, his heart was telling him there was more to their connection than that. He could have that with just about anyone. Suddenly, he knew he wanted more with Angelica.

“From the moment I laid eyes on you, I wanted you,” he continued. “You take my breath away.” He took Angelica’s other hand and wrapped them both around his neck. When he dropped his arms, hers remained locked tight around him. “And right now, I want—more than anything in the world—to return the favor.”

Angelica licked her lips and her gaze grew cloudy with desire. “You already do.”

“Not like this, I haven’t,” Noah promised as he slowly lowered them to their knees. And then he kissed her until he couldn’t remember his name and he was completely and utterly lost in the taste and feel of her, this maddening, exasperating, sexy, wonderful, delightful woman that he never saw coming.

Easing Angelica onto her back, the tall blades of swaying grass wrapping them in a feathery cocoon, Noah took his time removing her clothes, unwrapping her like the precious gift that she was. And then they took turns exploring one another—his hands learning every curve and valley of her body, while she mapped out every sharp dip and plane of his.

“I need you,” Angelica breathed, reaching for him after he’d coaxed a climax from her with fingers, lips, and tongue. “Please, Noah.”

Noah kissed the inside of her thigh and sat back on his haunches. Reaching into his wallet, he pulled out a condom and rolled it over his throbbing cock.

Angelica bit her lip and slid her thighs wider, giving Noah enough room to settle himself between them.

“Say it again,” he demanded.

The words themselves weren’t what mattered. They were simple things, uttered all the damn time in the heat of passion. But when Angelica said them, they called to something wild and primitive inside of Noah. When she begged, he lost all sense of himself so that the only thing that mattered was her pleasure. And that he was the one delivering it.

“I need you,” she repeated. “Please Noah, fuck me.”

With that entreaty, he thrust forward, burying himself deep inside of her.

Angelica’s back arched off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Oh my god! Oh shit. Oh god!”

With each driving thrust, Noah thought she had the right of it. Because if this wasn’t heaven, he didn’t know what was. And when they came together, her nails raking down his back and his name on her lips, Noah thought he could die a happy man.