Teagan
"Why are you crying, Thorn?" Noah's voice penetrated the silence and I stilled.
My bedroom door creaked shut and I felt the mattress dip beside me seconds before his warm hand press against my cheek, wiping away my tears.
"Please stop crying," he whispered. Wrapping an arm around my waist, Noah pulled me flush against him. His thumb brushed over one of my eyelids and then the other.
Sniffling, I forced myself to stop crying and open my eyes. The moonlight pouring through my bedroom window highlighted Noah's beautiful face, his eyes were black as night, and I scrambled closer to him, the need to touch him almost unbearable.
"Happy tears?" he asked in a soft tone as he stroked my cheek.
"No," I replied. "I got into a fight with Max earlier and today is…my mom's anniversary." I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly. "New Year's Eve is the one day of every year that truly gets to me."
"On a brighter note," Noah husked and I sagged in relief. He got it. He got me… "There's something in the kitchen that needs naming."
"What?" I stared at Noah and tried to gauge his expression, but the guy had an excellent poker-face.
I tried to down play my burning curiously but that lasted all of five seconds before I leapt off the bed and scrambled out of my room. Rushing down the staircase, I skidded to a halt when I reached the kitchen door. When I saw what was in there my jaw dropped.
"Well?" Noah chuckled, wrapping his arms around me from behind. "It's not the same as your old one, but it was the best I could get. The guy in the shop said a Gibson was the next best thing – what do you think?"
"I think it's a guitar?" I gaped at six-string and then at Noah's beautiful face. "Noah, why did you buy this for me?"
"I bought it for you because I'm the reason Ellie smashed your…Martin," he told me, smirking on the last word. "Happy birthday, Thorn."
****
"I want to keep you," Noah whispered hours later as we lay on my bed, so quietly I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to hear.
I opened my eyes and stared into his.
"If I could wrap you up and lock you away – keep you someplace safe where nothing and no one could touch you then I would. I just want to have you, Teagan."
"I missed you these past few weeks," I choked out as I lay on my side clutching the front of his hoodie, gripping it tightly. "I mean I really, really missed you, Noah," I admitted, feeling better now that he was with me. "Like desperately missed you. I mean, how messed up is that – I've spent the last six months forcing myself to believe that I hate you and now…" I paused and let out a shaky breath. "And now that I've admitted the truth to myself – how I really feel about you – I feel like I'm…"
"Drowning?" he offered before pressing a kiss to my lips, causing my whole body to spark to life. "I know the feeling, Thorn," Noah husked. "There wasn’t a thing I could do to stop you from getting inside me," he added in a gruff tone. "You just were. You came. You…stayed."
There was something incredibly sexy about a man with strength – a man who could express himself. I could see the strength in Noah's brown eyes. I heard it often in his words, I felt it every time he touched me. I wanted to feel how that strength felt inside me again…
"I want to remember this moment forever," I breathed, feeling right for the first time in weeks. "Being here…how it feels…how it smells, the taste of you, the weather." I curled my toes up and sighed in contentment. "I think I'm quite possibly falling in love with you."
"Jesus, Teagan, don’t say it if you don’t mean it," Noah warned me in a hoarse tone as he clutched my body to his. "Not that…don't say it if you're not categorically sure."
"Categorically?" I rose my brows and smirked. "Swallow the dictionary before you called over, Noah?"
"I'm serious," he growled.
"So am I," I teased.
Rolling me onto my back, Noah leaned over me, eyes hard and locked on mine. "Don’t mess with me, Teagan," he husked. "Not about something like that."
"I wasn’t…" I whispered, feeling suddenly anxious. Raising my hand, I cupped his face. "I'm not messing with you, Noah," I heard myself saying. "I meant every word."
It was the truth.
I meant it.
Holy shit, it was the truth….
I closed my eyes and inhaled a slow calming breath before I spoke. "I shouldn’t have said that."
"Yes, you should," Noah countered, pressing a kiss to my nose. "If you meant it…"
"I meant it. Oh sweet Jesus, I meant it," I hissed, feeling incredibly vulnerable. "Shit, I love you."
Noah laughed and I opened my eyes and glared at him.
"Stop laughing at me, asshole," I growled. "I just told you I love you. This is serious."
"I know," he husked. "Can't you feel how happy you've made me?"
Noah pressed his bulging erection against my thigh and I clenched my eyes shut before letting out a whimper. "Oh dear god, it's too soon for that kind of talk…"
"Says who? The media, Dr Phil, your uncle?" Noah chuckled before dropping his mouth to my neck. "Love doesn’t have a specific time-frame, baby," he husked as he trailed kisses up and down my skin.
"Well, it should," I moaned as I writhed under him. The weight of Noah's body on mine was ecstasy and I was finding it harder and harder to concentrate. His lips had that effect on me. "And stop calling me…baby."
"You said in," Noah whispered as he held himself above me, smiling down at me. "You said you're in love with me."
My cheeks reddened. "Yeah, so?"
"That's the most important word," he told me gently.
"Wow," I teased. "You're sprouting more crap than usual."
Noah smirked and pressed a kiss to my lips. "You love your uncle, right?" he asked.
I nodded. Max was an ass but I loved him…
Noah's smile widened. "You've loved your pets, maybe a favorite teacher or a certain brand of candy." Frowning, Noah husked, "You've used those three words at some time or another to describe those objects and people?"
I nodded again as heat crept up my neck.
"Which of those have you loved?" he asked me as he brushed his nose against mine.
"All of them at some stage, I guess," I replied.
"Exactly," Noah said with a smile. "But which one of them are you in love with – or have you ever been in love with?"
"None," I admitted.
"That's because of the in, Thorn…"
The alarm on my phone went off, signaling the start of a brand new year and I smiled up at the boy next door. "Happy new year, Noah."
"Happy new year, Teagan." Noah bent his head and pressed his lips to mine. "And for what it's worth, my in belongs to you," he whispered.
"It does?" I asked, barely breathing as my heart hammered in my chest.
"Of course." Noah scorched me with a kiss that ignited a fire that burned a hole right through the center of my heart. "You're my thorn," he rasped between kisses. "If you leave me, I'll bleed out."
****