Chapter Sixteen
Iris
Moonlight danced across the muscular planes of Noah’s chest. He was still as ripped as the photos I had found on the internet, from his well-sculpted chest, broad shoulders that turned into strong arms, and a flat stomach that dipped down to sharp hips protruding from the waist of his jeans. Faint black tendrils of hair teased my eyes as I followed the line down from his navel to where it disappeared below the hemline of his boxers.
My heart slammed into my ribcage – repeatedly. I stood in front of him, shirtless and trying desperately not to cower. I had asked for this. I kissed him, and now I would get exactly what I asked for. I had known that coming down the hallway to Noah’s room.
We were playing with fire. I could feel it burn my skin as I watched a variety of emotions dance across his face as he stood at the end of his bed. Neither one of us moved for a moment while I felt his eyes skim across every inch of exposed skin. They left fiery trails, and I could feel a delicious heat starting to flicker to life between my legs.
Noah licked his lips sensually. His eyes were no longer a light shade of blue, but a dark and stormy color that reminded me of rough seas. A shiver went up my spine while I clenched my hands into fists to contain my nervousness. I didn’t want him reading my nervous expression again and backing out as he had intended to do before I shoved him into the room.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, taking a step toward me. “More beautiful than I ever imagined you’d be.”
I laughed breathlessly, nervously. “You’ve imagined what I look like naked?”
“Every damn day since I met you,” he said. “You’re nervous again. I can see your pulse jumping in your neck.”
The distance between us was torture. I wanted his body pressed up against mine again. I wanted to feel strong muscles shifting beneath soft skin. I wanted every inch of this man while I could have him in my grasp.
“We don’t have to do this,” Noah said. He caught my eyes before I could look away. “I won’t force you to do anything you don’t feel ready for. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if we did this and-”
I took a bold step forward to gently place my fingertips on his lips. He immediately stopped talking, watching me raptly as I closed the distance between our bodies. Pleasure shot through me at the delicious feeling of his body, hard and strong, pressing up against mine. One of his hands came up to splay against my lower back, holding me closely.
Fuck the consequences. I didn’t care about any of that. I needed to release the tension coiled up in me in a painful spring. The only person who could release it was Noah. That much I knew as I pressed my lips up against his in a slow kiss that left us both panting for more when I drew back.
“I want this,” I whispered, resting my hand on his bare chest. “I want you. I don’t care about anything else.”
Noah’s forehead rested against mine. I nearly went cross-eyed looking up at him
“I want you, too,” he whispered back. “Just know that I’ve thought about this a great deal. Once I start, I won’t be able to stop. You have the chance now to back out before I go completely crazy on you.”
Nothing sounded better than that. I pecked at his lips and trailed my fingers down the side of his neck. Goosebumps erupted underneath my fingertips when I trailed them teasingly down the plane of his stomach. I stopped at the waistband of his boxers and jeans.
“I don’t want you to stop,” I said. “I don’t want to stop.”
“Fuck me,” he groaned out, and tugged me hard up against him. “I don’t know how long this will last, but I am going to make it good for you.”
I didn’t get a chance to reply. His lips pushed up against mine in a bruising kiss that left me squirming underneath him in pleasure. A gasp escaped my lips when his tongue swept into my mouth to stroke mine intimately.
Fingers crept up along my spine, teasing the bumps there before reaching up to unhook the clasp of my bra without missing a beat. I resisted the urge to cover up when I felt my bra straps slacken followed by Noah’s fingers tugging them down my arms. My breath caught in the back of my throat when his calloused fingertips brushed the underside of my breasts before cupping them firmly.
“Nice,” he whispered, working my flesh expertly with a tiny grin. “I’ve been dying to get a look at these for weeks now.”
“Have you?” I breathed out, a whimper escaping when his lips pressed up against my neck.
They stopped to nibble teasingly at my collarbone before he suddenly let go of my breasts. I groaned in disappointment, the cold air causing my nipples to harden painfully.
Noah chuckled deeply as he grabbed a hold of my hands to tug me toward the side of the bed. My disappointment quickly faded when his fingers unbuttoned the front of my jeans. My pulse skipped to a frantic pace when he coaxed the material down my thighs, calves, and then helped me step out of them.
He grinned up at me mischievously from where he was crouched at my feet. He pressed his lips against my knee before trailing his hands softly up the back of my calves. The heat between my legs throbbed painfully when his fingers trailed up the back of my thighs before they rested firmly on my ass cheeks. He gave them a firm squeeze, giving a pleasurable hum against my lips when I kissed him.
“You feel nice,” he sighed out, toying the with the lacy fabric of my underwear. “Iris, I have to tell you that I’m about to burst.”
“Me, too,” I gasped out. I smoothed my hands over his shoulders, relishing the softness and heat of his skin.
Noah’s arms slid around my waist as we kissed again, and he hugged me close to his body before my feet left the floor. He encouraged my legs to wrap around his trim waist. A jolt went through me when I felt something hard and hot through his jeans press against me. He let out a deep groan at the contact.
I tore my lips away from his to trail kisses down his neck, tasting the saltiness of his skin there. Nerves washed over me again when he set me in the center of the bed in a sea of pillows and a soft blanket. His mouth returned the earlier favor by pressing kisses to my neck and trailing down the front of my chest.
I sucked in a harsh breath as I stared up at the shadows dancing across the ceiling. The intensity growing between us was almost too much to handle.
Maybe I wasn’t ready just yet. No one had warned me that sex for the first time felt like a damn heart attack about to happen.
When hot lips closed in on a nipple, a cry escaped me. Those thoughts washed away instantly when Noah suckled on one breast while his other hand reached up to work the other. I squirmed in pleasure beneath him as the temperature in my body rose another couple of degrees. He leaned up to kiss me one more time while a hand crept down my stomach in a southerly direction.
Surely, he did not mean to touch down there… He was my professor! There had to be rules against it, but having him so close, I couldn’t think straight.
The first stroke of his fingers sent a wild fire spiraling throughout my veins. The coil in my stomach responded in earnest by tightening against the repeated strokes. My head flopped back in the pillows when an overwhelming heat seared through me. My body arched and twitched on its own accord while tears burned the back of my eyes, but his fingers never relented in their steady stroking. I was dashing across the platform toward something – a bright and searing light.
Noah’s hand lifted from between my legs. I let out a trembling breath as I looked up at him in desperation. “Why did you stop?”
“Because it’s better when you’re actually doing it,” he replied, winking down at me as he sat back on his knees. He unbuttoned the top of his jeans before working the zipper down. “Trust me when I say that.”
“I’ll trust you,” I said, sitting up on my elbows to look at him more closely.
He worked on shimming out of his jeans and boxers before tossing them on the side of the bed. My eyes landed on the rather impressive erection settled against his lower belly. Alarm skittered through me.
“This won’t work,” I said, panicked. “You’re too big, Noah. It won’t fit.”
He chuckled deeply as he settled between my legs. His fingers stroked against me again, and a trembling breath escaped my lips. I looked up to take in his hair, silky strands a mess from my fingers running through it repeatedly. He never looked more sexy than he did right there as he concentrated on the bundle of nerves between my legs.
“I promise that we will fit,” he said. “You’re more than ready for me. Feel for yourself.”
He coaxed my hand down between my legs. My eyes widened at the heat and moisture I felt on my fingertips. The mattress groaned as he shifted above me, elbows straddling my head and knees between my thighs.
My heart threatened to burst when nerves crashed over me again. The first nudge of hardness against me intimately stole the breath right out of my lungs. Pain shot through my hips.
“Relax,” he whispered against my temple, pressing his lips there for a kiss. “Just relax, and let yourself enjoy it.”
I sucked in a harsh breath and forced my muscles to relax down there. The sting of Noah sliding in fully to the hilt brought tears to my eyes, but the pain wasn’t what I’d feared it’d be for so long. He rocked his hips against mine gently, letting out little moans against my ear as he set a slow and even rhythm.
The pain dulled slightly. I dug my nails into Noah’s arms when he shifted slightly to thrust even more deeply. He groaned harshly before rising up to rest his weight on one hand and used his free hand to reach between our bodies while he continued to thrust hard.
Pleasure burst through the pain in my lower belly as he rubbed the pad of his thumb against me. I was back dashing along the platform again with Noah panting heavily above me.
I was so close to something beyond the horizon when the spring in my belly finally released. Pleasure barreled through me.
“Fuck,” Noah grunted out, grabbing a hold of my thigh and pushing it up on his shoulder. Sweat beaded across his forehead, dripping down onto me, but I didn’t care. I never wanted to forget the look of sheer and utter pleasure contorting his face in a grimace.
His hips twitched against me roughly before something hot and wet filled me. We collapsed against one another in a sweaty and panting mess. I blinked back against the onslaught of tears streaming from the corner of my eyes. I wiped them away from my eyes before Noah propped himself up to look at me in concern.
“Are you all right?” he asked, panting slightly. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
In truth, I ached horribly down there. I hissed slightly when he slid out from me.
“I hurt a little,” I admitted, and those damn emotions washed over me again. I tried to distract myself by gazing at Noah as he stretched out on the bed next to me with a contented sigh. He rested a hand on my back when I sat up with a grimace.
“Do you want to use the shower?” he asked. “Sometimes, hot water can help with the ache afterwards.”
Tears filled my eyes at those words. I tried to battle them away by looking away from him before he could catch sight of the tears. Of course, this wasn’t Noah’s first time. I had known that coming into his room. He obviously had plenty of experience in the bedroom to know what feels good for a woman with less experience.
“Towels are hanging up,” he continued. “I’ll join you in a minute.”
I nodded wordlessly before climbing off the bed to walk on wobbly legs to the bathroom. I waited for the shower to steam before slipping into the hot water with a relieved sigh. True to Noah’s word, the hot water trailing down my back and legs dulled the sting between my legs. I allowed the spray to soak my hair while I allowed the tears to flow. I had no idea why I was even crying, but I sat on the tiled floor and cried.
If anyone ever found out about us…
More tears filled my eyes at the thought. All my hard work for the past four years would drain like the hot water trailing off of me. Noah would be fine. He had talent. He was famous. He had everything underneath his feet.
I had nothing. I was only a few months away from having a degree and a way out of Utah.
Running my hand through my soaked hair, I listened to Noah walk around the bedroom. The bathroom door opened a moment later. I rubbed away the lingering tears from my eyes right as the shower door opened.
I looked up to find Noah standing there naked. Despite the pain and confusing array of emotions going through me, desire swirled in my stomach again. He closed the shower door without saying a word. To my surprise, he sat down on the shower floor with me, allowing the hot water to flow over the curve of his back.
We sat there with our knees brushing against one another. I didn’t have to look up to read the expression on Noah’s face to know he felt the same weight. Instead, I just stared at the water circling around the drain.