Chapter 10

Noah pressed his forehead against the wall outside of Krista’s bathroom. He’d just seen more of her skin than he ever had with her in a bikini. Skin shimmering under a veil of lacelike bubbles. Soft, touchable skin. And the way her blue eyes had looked lazily at him with that unmistakable look of lust. He was so screwed.

The bathroom door opened and Krista poked her head out, straightening when she saw him standing there. Her chin lifted.

“Sorry,” he said, a little sheepishly.

“It’s okay. You were just coming to my rescue.” She hugged a towel over her chest and body. Her breasts refused to be hidden, though. Her cleavage pressed up and Good lord.

“You are a total knockout,” he said.

Her lips parted.

“I mean I always knew you were pretty. Any guy in their right mind can see that.”

Her gaze fell, a soft pink color flooding her cheeks. He turned toward her, his gaze running the course of her body for a moment. “You’re more than a pretty woman, though. I just never let myself go there until…”

Krista looked up. “Until when?”

“Until, uh…”

“Until I kissed you the other night?” she asked.

His brows lifted. “You remember that?”

She kicked one corner of her mouth up. “I’ve had flashes of it. I guess I drank too much.”

He nodded. “I figured it was a lapse of judgment.”

“Right. I guess we had another lapse out there on the porch.”

His gaze fell to her hand clinching the towel at her breasts. And he was having another lapse of judgment right now because all he wanted to do was step toward her and yank her towel down off her body. Let it fall to the floor. He might follow it down and work his way back up from her toes.

As if reading him, she tightened her hold on the covering. “So, uh, we agree? It was a lapse of judgment and it won’t happen again. We’re here to make this place into a honeymoon suite for my friend and your brother.”

Noah nodded. She was giving him an out. He should be thankful. “Yeah. So you get dressed and then you can eat the meal I’m preparing and tell me what an amazing chef I am.”

Krista cocked her head. “I’ve known you since we were kids. I know everything about you, which means I know the truth. You absolutely suck at cooking.”

He shrugged. “I’m sure you can turn my mess into something edible.”

Krista pointed out of her bedroom. “I’ll join you in the kitchen in just a minute.”

“Don’t you need me to go in there and get that monster bug first?”

A frown settled over her mouth. “It ran away. But if I see it again…”

“Then I’ll come to your rescue, assuming you’re clothed next time.”

“Next time, you knock.”

“I promise.” He left her room and exhaled as she closed the door behind him. Then he headed into the kitchen to pour them both a glass of wine. What the heck, their judgment already appeared to be impaired. What could a little fruit of the vine hurt?

A few minutes later, Krista reappeared wearing a pair of fitted jeans and an equally fitted cotton top. The tips of her hair were wet from where she’d sunk into the bubble bath. She held up a finger. “Don’t even think about apologizing again. We’re just going to forget that ever happened. Including the kiss.”

“Sounds good.” Not that he’d be able to forget either of those things. He’d be thinking about this last half hour, whether he wanted to or not, for a long time to come. Releasing a pent-up breath, he made a show of his stew. “If it tastes as good as it looks, you’ll be eating those comments you made about my cooking.”

Krista stepped toward his pot and took a whiff—giving him a chance to get a whiff of her. She smelled clean and fruity, and he absolutely wanted to eat her up.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. “You’re right. It smells and looks delicious. I guess you don’t need me.”

He handed her a glass of wine. “You’re cut off after one glass tonight.”

She took it and brought it to her lips. Before sipping, she said, “Why? You afraid I might do something crazy?”

More afraid that he might do something crazy. He’d walked away from her kisses twice now. Given a third chance, he wouldn’t be able to resist sweeping this woman off her feet and carrying her straight to that king-sized bed down the hall.

He cleared his throat and avoided the question. “It’ll be ready in about twenty minutes. I want to let the vegetables get a little softer.”

Krista nodded, taking another sip from her wine. “I could start cleaning.”

“Let’s save that for tomorrow. It’s been a long day. You should enjoy your first night in the Sawyer cabin.”

She leaned against the counter where he worked. “I guess I won’t argue with that.”

“So how’s that kid?” he asked, needing a neutral, non-sexual subject to latch onto.

“Adam? He’s doing well right now. I’m going to babysit him sometime soon for his mom. It’s gotta be tough being a single parent. And I don’t mind. I love that little guy. He’s been in and out of my floor since he was in diapers. I think his immune system just can’t take this world.”

Noah leaned against the counter beside her. “You know what I think?”

She lifted her brows in question. “Hmm?”

“I think the hospital would be crazy not to promote you to head nurse. You’d be a natural leader. I know you would.”

She blushed with the compliment. “Thanks for saying so. We’ll see what happens. If I don’t get it, well, I’ll be devastated, but I’ll still get a chance to work with the kids, which is all I’ve ever really wanted to do anyway.”

“Why kids?” he asked, realizing there were actually some things he still didn’t know about his lifelong best friend.

Krista set her half-empty wineglass on the counter beside her. Her hand absently wandered to the charm around her neck as she thought on her response. “I guess because the only thing they expect is love. I have that to offer in spades. They’re not as easily disappointed as adults. I like that.” She met his gaze. “Okay, your turn. Jack left the family fishing business last year. What makes you stay?”

“Hmm.” He tipped his glass back and finished off its contents. He was enjoying this game of twenty questions. “I like the thrill of not knowing what’s out there and when it’ll bite my line.”

She grinned. “I totally knew that would be your answer.”

“Yeah?” All he wanted was to lean in and take Krista into his arms again right now. What the heck was wrong with him?

“There’ll always be something bigger and better, and you’ll always keep looking for it,” she said.

That comment set uneasy with him. Mainly because it was true, and he didn’t like that about himself. Why couldn’t he be satisfied?

The timer beeped behind them. Noah turned to lift the lid off the pot and inspect his creation. Krista stepped up beside him and leaned in, too.

“Yum.” She tapped her belly, luring his eyes there. Her cotton shirt was slim-fit, showing off her narrow waist.

He wanted to anchor his hands there, one on each side, and tug her over. Forget the stew, it could keep on stewing. “Okay. I’ll grab the bowls and you get the silverware,” he instructed, pointing her to a drawer. “Then we’ll sample the goods.”

He mentally talked himself down all the way to his seat at the small wooden table. He’d been good not to sample the goods all these years. He’d kept his hands and his thoughts off the brunette seated across from him, and now suddenly each second that passed seemed like a small feat. The romance of the cabin and the way the woman in front of him looked and smelled and tasted was going straight to his head.

“Noah?” Krista tapped the table and he snapped his gaze up. “Did you hear me?”

He shook his head. “Did you say something?”

Humor twinkled in her eyes. “You’re either thinking about that kiss or me in the bathtub. Which is it?”

He cleared his throat again. He could deny it if he wanted to, but what was the point? “Both,” he answered honestly.

Her chest lifted as she sucked in a breath. He guessed she’d expected him to pretend that wasn’t the case. He was tired of pretending not to be attracted to each other, though. “Oh. Well.” She giggled nervously, casting her gaze down to the table in front of her.

“I’m also thinking about kissing you again and not stopping this time.”

Now the skin along her chest and neck bloomed a fleshy pink. “Oh,” she said again, stealing an upward glance at him.

“I’m thinking about tasting more than just your lips.” There was more he didn’t know about his best friend. He didn’t know what she liked in bed or what kind of noises she made when someone was making love to her. He didn’t know if she liked her lovers rough or gentle. He wanted to know these things, though. He needed to know these things. Screw ruining their friendship. It was going to be ruined if he kept having these persistent thoughts anyway. He couldn’t be around Krista and continue to feel this way. Hell, he had a hard-on sitting across from her at the dining room table right now.

She stared at him. Apparently speechless.

“Sorry,” he said, for lack of anything better, but he didn’t mean it. The only thing he was sorry about was not pulling Krista into the bedroom an hour earlier.

“I told you to stop apologizing.” Her voice was soft, nearly a whisper. There was a raspy edge to it that he’d rarely heard from her. Had she liked what he’d said? Was she as turned-on right now as he was?

“That’s why you’re cut off after one glass of wine tonight. I can’t promise to behave myself around you anymore.”

“Well, I can’t promise to behave myself tonight either, with or without the wine.”

His erection was painfully hard now. “So, uh, it’d probably be a bad idea if I got up and took you to that bed back there right now.”

The muscles in her throat constricted as she swallowed.

Say yes. Say no. Say something because he was about to explode.

“It’s a horrible idea,” she conceded.

Disappointment poured over him, starting from his head and working down his body.

“But—”

His gaze cut to hers. “But?”

“But if you don’t take me to bed right now, I’m taking you,” she said.

Oh, hell.

Noah stood, nearly knocking his chair back behind him. He walked around and pulled Krista to her feet. Her body came up flush against his, and by the little noise that caught in her throat, he could tell she felt his hardness. He wanted her to feel it, to know exactly where this was headed. So she could stop him right now if she didn’t want to go any further.

He crushed his mouth over hers, loving how she clung to him. Her lips parted, allowing his tongue to sweep against hers. And those little noises she made were about to drive him absolutely insane.

“I want you, Noah,” she said between kisses as her chest pressed into his.

“You sure?” he asked, holding her against him, wanting her to be even closer. The only way to be closer, though, was to be inside her. He needed to get those clothes off her ASAP.

“Positive,” she said, her breathing quick and shallow.

He didn’t hesitate. He was done hesitating. Hurried and hard as granite, he swept her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom.

This had to be a dream because Noah would never carry her to the bedroom like this. Only in her wildest fantasies.

And she’d had this fantasy quite a few times before.

Krista toppled over him on the bed in the master bedroom. She laughed as her hair spilled down over his cheek, then she kissed him with abandon. Because if they were going to do this, they were going to do it all the way. No stopping or starting this time. No apologizing. This had been a long time coming, too long, and she couldn’t wait to explore his body with her hands the way only her eyes had been able to in secret.

He grabbed the hem of her shirt and yanked it over her head.

Helping him, she lifted one arm, getting her elbow caught in the fabric. She hung there for a moment—so not sexy, Krista—before Noah peeled the shirt off her elbow and tossed it to the floor below.

He was quiet for a moment.

A wave of nervousness crashed over Krista. What if he rejected her? What if he looked at her and realized he could do better?

“You are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, Krista Nelson,” he finally said, laying to rest her fears. Before she could respond, he reached behind her and unclasped her bra. It fell to the floor below and suddenly she was topless, her breasts bare for him. His gaze lowered, sweeping over her along with an electric current of white hot desire to be touched. He palmed one breast in his hand, moving his thumb over her nipple. Then he bent and put his mouth on her. She moaned in satisfaction as his tongue flicked and swirled around her. She could easily feel his erection pressing into her as she straddled her legs around his waist. She wasn’t his best friend tonight. Tonight she was his lover.

“Your turn.” She opened her eyes and reached for the hem of his shirt, lifting it overhead. Unlike her, he didn’t get stuck in the fabric. Her hands traced the hard lines of his body, perfected by the sun and work on the boat. His body was absolutely perfect. He was perfect.

“Your turn. Take off those jeans,” he said in a rough voice, edged with sex. Not waiting, he reached for the button at her waist and effortlessly flicked it open.

Krista stood for a moment and pushed them off, leaving her in nothing but a pair of red lace panties.

“Those, too,” he said, watching, which both thrilled and made her nerves return in full force. If she got her foot stuck in her underwear while taking them off, she was going to slink out of this bedroom and cut her losses. She gave her panties a shove and they hit the floor. Then she stood there for a second longer, naked and shivering as his eyes seemed to soak her in. Her body trembled. Reaching for her hands, he pulled her back on his lap, straddling her legs around his waist, pressing his hard erection into her soft spots.

Noah groaned deep in his throat. His hands ran up her bare body, settling on her breasts again, squeezing, massaging until she tipped her head back and moved like a woman out of her mind. And she was. Her mind was gone, floating somewhere in the clouds, and her body was in control, fueled by pleasure. She rocked her hips, pressing her good parts with his very good ones. She ached to feel him inside her. Couldn’t wait. But foreplay had always been her favorite part of sex. It was the thrill before the deed, which in her very limited experience, never came close to being as good.

Noah’s hand ran down her body and slipped between her legs. His finger moved along her most sensitive areas with a rhythm that matched her hips. Digging her nails into the backs of his shoulders, she held on as his finger pushed deep inside her. “Yes.” She tipped her head back and emitted a soft moan. One finger wasn’t going to cut it, though. Not when she’d felt how hard and big the alternative was.

“Do you have a condom?” she asked in a breathless whisper.

Noah froze.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. “What? Why’d you stop?”

“I don’t have a condom.” His hand retreated from between her legs as regret cast shadows over his features in the dark. “Sorry.”

Her body went limp against his. “What do you mean you don’t have a condom?”

He ran both hands through his hair, tugging softly. “Why would I? I didn’t come here expecting this to happen.”

Krista rolled off him and onto the bed. She pulled her tossed shirt back to her. In the heat of the moment, she didn’t mind being naked, but now that the moment had come to a sudden cooling, she felt like she should cover up. He wasn’t rejecting her, but this wasn’t going to happen, tonight or probably ever again. This was their one chance and it was gone. “Shouldn’t you always have something on you? Just in case?”

“In case I meet some random chick and decide to hook up?” he asked. “That’s not how I work, Krista.”

“It’s not?” She had no idea.

“Not these days.”

A weight lifted off her chest. She’d just assumed that Noah took half the girls he dated to bed. She was pretty sure the women wouldn’t refuse. He was funny, charming, sexy. “Well, um, maybe we shouldn’t have been—”

“Whoa.” Noah leaned in and kissed her shoulder. The feeling sent a swarm of butterflies through her belly. “Don’t start backtracking on me now, sweetheart. I was enjoying what we were doing.”

She adored the word “sweetheart” on his lips. He’d never called her anything but Kris.

She tipped her mouth to his and kissed him, her body easily heating up again. She wanted Noah. Needed him and that orgasm his body had all but promised her. “Wait. What about the box of condoms we bought for Grace and Jack?”

Noah’s brown eyes darkened. “The spiked ones?” he asked in a low voice. The corner of his mouth drew up, and it was maybe the sexiest thing she’d ever seen combined with his naked body.

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “Well, they’re condoms. We can replace them later.” That was plural because maybe they’d need more than just the one.

Noah practically jogged to the drawer with all the Sugar and Spicy items. He yanked it open and pulled out the box, holding it up like a trophy. Ripping the top off, he pulled out a foil wrapper and returned to her at the bed. “But first…” He dropped to his knees in front of her as she sat on the bed’s edge. His hand curled around one of her feet, lifting it up to his mouth so he could press one kiss against the inside of her ankle. Electricity zipped through her at lightning speed. He continued to kiss along her inner leg, her calf, her thigh, higher, higher, urging her to lie back with the weight of his body. “First, I want to do other things.”

His deep voice and rough unshaven cheeks brushing against her sensitive skin set off an explosion of fireworks inside her. She wasn’t sure what other things Noah was talking about, but it didn’t matter. She trusted him with the night and her body.

With everything except her heart.