Chapter 9

Okay, she believed him. He wanted her. Lucy could feel the evidence for herself and it was intoxicating. The knowledge that Noah found her attractive, wanted to be with her, was the boost to her self-esteem she really needed tonight.

“What about Derek?” she muttered, through her haze of desire. He was the one she was supposed to be with tonight, convincing him she was wife material. Not being brazen with Noah, acting like a wanton with only one thing on her mind.

Her body was aflame with need for him, a sensation she didn’t remember being so strong, so all-encompassing. Noah had awakened something inside her which was both exhilarating and frightening. This new passionate side of her was something she was willing to explore when she’d obviously been missing out on so much. The one thing that worried her was never feeling like this ever again.

Noah was offering her the night of her life, she knew that. All she had to do was say yes and she was sure he would take her all the way to heaven and back. This could be her only chance to experience the type of lust most people took for granted. For Lucy it had taken second place to the feeling of security and comfort, everything she thought she wanted. Now she was beginning to have her doubts when marriage was the last thing on her mind.

“Why are you even thinking about bloody Derek? He’s not your husband, your fiancé, or even your boyfriend. You’re not his. Tonight you’re mine.” His possessive growl at her ear was all the convincing it took for Lucy to capitulate to her desires. She didn’t remember Rupert, or any other man, displaying such raw passion for her. Perhaps that had been part of the problem. They’d been perfect on paper, but in the bedroom, ticking the boxes was not the same as setting the sheets on fire. Lucy knew she couldn’t have it all. Sacrifices had to be made, but marriage was still everything she wanted in her future.

Tonight, she had a very different agenda and if she was lucky, the memory of this one night with Noah would be enough to sustain her for the rest of her comfortable, married life.

“Good,” she purred back, already getting to work unbuttoning his shirt. This wasn’t going to be a quick fumble while still half-dressed. If she was going against her usual, lights off, get the job done, style, she did not want to miss anything Noah had to offer. She intended to take mental shots of the entire event. With Noah in charge, she knew that’s exactly what the sex would be—a once-in-a-lifetime, not-to-be-missed—event.

“We’re doing this here then?” he asked, with a grin.

“Why not?” Yes, she’d fantasised about making love in one of the castle bedrooms, preferably in a four-poster bed, but doing it here, acting spontaneously, gave Lucy an added thrill. Tonight she was breaking all the rules.

Noah unzipped her dress and every bit of skin he touched as he uncovered her, tingled with awareness. She tossed his shirt aside and stepped out of her dress, so they were both standing half-dressed and appreciating what they saw. At least, she assumed Noah liked the pretty white satin and lace lingerie she was wearing, judging by the hungry look in his eyes. He had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of either. That muscular torso with the small patch of dark hair was just begging her to run her fingers through it…

The second she closed the gap between them, laid her hand on the hard plains of his chest, Noah was kissing her again. He had his hand in her hair, tugging her head back and ravishing her mouth with his, completely taking her breath away and leaving her incapable of coherent thought.

When he continued his exploration of the rest of her body with his lips, kissing and licking the skin across her neck, she thought she was going to combust with need. She fumbled with the fly of his trousers, distracted by the large hand palming her breast. Thick fingers plucked her nipple under her bra, making her gasp at the sharp, pleasant pain. She was at his mercy now as he stripped away the last of her underwear and left her quivering with anticipation.

“So beautiful…” he murmured, before dipping his head and catching her nipple in his mouth.

Head thrown back in ecstasy, Lucy revelled in the sensation of his tongue flicking over the peak and the rasp of his stubble over the sensitive skin. Arousal was rushing through her like a tidal wave, obliterating all other thoughts other than how Noah was making her feel. Horny, sexy, needy.

That whirlwind of emotions was heightened when he lifted her up off the ground, hoisted her legs around his waist and carried her over to the couch. He laid her down as gently as though he was setting her down on a feather bed but was not as composed when it came to taking off the rest of his clothes. Noah practically ripped them off in his haste to get naked alongside her, with Lucy watching, greedily taking all of him in. Capturing this moment, this image of him hard and wanting her, forever.

His arousal was all it took for her to be wet and waiting for him, ready when he lowered himself upon her and thrust between her legs. A sharp intake of breath was soon followed by her moan of satisfaction at having him fill her so completely. In this moment Noah was her everything. The smell of his cologne was in every breath she took; his body was heavy upon hers and each time he moved, he claimed another piece of her.

She seemed so small beneath his bulk but that made his tenderness with her all the more special. Moving slowly inside her, he kissed her, keeping that personal contact which made this about more than sex. They liked each other, it was too late to say otherwise when the chemistry had propelled them here, naked in his front room.

Lucy curled her leg around his hip, urging him deeper, and he obliged. His breath was hot against her neck as he drove into her with extra gusto and she could tell he was holding back, trying not to hurt her. There was no need when she was willing to take everything he had to offer.

“I want you so badly,” Noah grunted into her ear, his pace increasing along with his breathing, but Lucy wasn’t ready for this to end just yet.

“Let me go on top,” she whispered into his ear and felt him quiver against her.

“There isn’t much room here,” he noted, trying to twist around to let her take the reins for a while.

“On the floor,” she commanded, and Noah did the gymnastics until they were on the carpet with her sitting astride him, totally unencumbered by the furniture.

“My Little Miss Prim is feisty in the sack,” Noah grinned up at her, clearly enjoying the change of position. She was surprising herself too with the confidence and assertiveness she was displaying tonight to get exactly what she wanted from him.

Lucy put it down to the fact she knew this could only be a one off, her last chance to act so recklessly before she gave herself to someone else forever. That thought suddenly didn’t fill her with the same joy it used to, so she used Noah’s body to make herself feel better.

Still impaled on his erection, she ground her hips to his, bearing down on that hard length with renewed vigour. She didn’t want to think about weddings or exes, she just wanted to feel.

Hands braced on his chest Lucy rocked back and forth, letting him slide in and out of her wetness and driving herself to the brink of madness. If this was how it felt not to care about love and marriage and settling down, Noah was tempting to her over to the dark side.

Noah was in heaven. In ecstasy, at least. How could he not be when his sweet wedding planner was riding him like a wild thing? It was exhilarating watching her come alive like this, free from her usual worries and hang ups, but she was seriously testing all of his restraint. Never mind the physical aspect of all she was doing to him, but Lucy was making him think twice about the idea of love. He knew he was falling for her long before tonight. Now, as well as knowing how caring and kind hearted she was, he knew the delectable figure she was hiding behind those modest dresses she wore.

His hands were resting on that indent at her waist, anchoring her onto his erection with every push and pull between their bodies. Her breast were bouncing as she chased her orgasm, enticing him with their ripe, rosy peaks until he had to taste, to lick, to suckle.

She came then. Loud and hard and coating him in her juices. Noah watched as she reached that peak and fell apart around him, finding some satisfaction in knowing he’d had that effect on her. As she fought to catch her breath, he rolled over so she was on her back and he was on top. It was his turn to take what he wanted and Lucy was there, smiling and urging him to do just that.

This time he held nothing back. He lifted her legs onto his shoulders, giving him complete access to her very core. With a grunt, he drove deep inside her, that silky warmth of her welcoming him in. He slid out so he could repeat the experience over and over, felt her tighten, her inner muscles clenching his shaft and working him towards that final release. It came fast, sapping everything out of Noah and pouring it into Lucy.

He collapsed beside her on the floor, his chest heaving and his lungs burning, trying to get oxygen back into his body.

“That wasn’t how I expected the evening to go.”

“No?” Lucy turned onto her side and eyed him coquettishly as she traced her finger around his nipple.

He laughed. “Well, maybe I hoped, but I definitely didn’t expect it.”

“I’m full of surprises,” she said, and flicked the flat of her tongue over the path her finger had taken moments earlier. The action enough to send another aftershock of Noah’s climax reverberating through his body.

“Apparently so.” He grabbed hold of her and pulled her further onto his chest so he could kiss her. A long, unhurried expression of his admiration and appreciation for her.

“This doesn’t change anything, you know.” It was Lucy who broke off first and brought them back down to earth.

“About what?” He was still trying to unscramble his brain after the mind-blowing sex and was having difficulty focusing on what she was saying.

“I still want to get married…not to you, obviously.”

“Obviously,” he replied, trying not to take offence.

“This was just a blip.”

“A blip? I thought it was a lot more than that. Maybe I need to refresh your memory…” He grabbed her backside with both hands and squeezed until she was squealing and wriggling against him. His exhausted body was very quickly coming back to life.

“Not a blip then. Just a one off. A one night stand. I’m sure you’ve had plenty of those in your time.”

Not like this, he wanted to tell her. He’d never brought a woman back here for a quick hook up, and certainly not one he’d known as long as he had Lucy. This was verging on a relationship already for him. Except he couldn’t tell her that and get her hopes up that he had any intention of being the one to meet her at the end of that aisle in a few months. Marriage was not in his future. Ever.

“Just sex. Got it.” Usually that wouldn’t bother him. It would be him making sure that point was hammered home, but with Lucy saying it, still naked in his arms, it was a hit to the ego.

“This was a last fling before I hopefully find the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.” She sat up and began gathering her clothes from around the room.

“Where are you going? What’s the rush?” As much as he was enjoying the view of her peachy backside, Noah wasn’t ready for this to be over.

“I told you, this was a one off. I’m not saying it shouldn’t have happened, it was…amazing—“

“I hope you’ll leave a suitable review to attest to that.”

Lucy tutted and faced him, clutching her clothes against her nakedness. “Ha ha. Look, I don’t know the protocol for this. I’m not in the habit of jumping into bed with anyone on a whim, but I can’t let you distract me from my plans.”

“To marry any man who will say, ‘I do,’ at the agreed time and place of your choosing.” He knew he sounded petulant and that’s because he was. Why should Dopey Derek or any other man get to have her simply because they were willing to put a ring on her finger? They wouldn’t know anything about her or vice versa. It was a farce and he was mad that their fun had to come to a premature end to enable it to go ahead.

“Don’t make fun of me. You know how important this is to me.”

He did. He also saw how hurt she was by his ill-thought out jibe. “Sorry. I guess I just want you to think it through properly.”

“I have. Despite what you may think of me, I’m not stupid.”

“I know you’re not.” He reached out and caught hold of her hand to pull her closer to him again. “You’re wonderful and sexy and I want to do this all over again.”

Noah pulled away the clothes she was clutching and threw them on the floor so he could see her in all of her naked glory. He began kissing his way across her collar bone and along her neck, feeling her tremble every time he pressed his lips against her skin.

“We can’t.” Her voice was shaking as much as her body, both giving away her true desire and Noah was quick to capitalise on it.

“Sure we can. One night, you said. We’ve got hours yet. Plenty of time to get this out of our system altogether.”

Lucy giggled. “That might be twisting my words, but I think I’ll let you away with it on this occasion.”

“You’re too kind.” He pulled her in for another lazy kiss and knew for sure he was going to stretch their time together until the last second. Hoping he might manage to convince her that marrying a stranger was not going to make her truly happy. For one night he wanted to prove to her he was the man capable of doing that.

“And you’re insatiable.” Lucy had a twinkle in her eye that said they were well matched on this occasion.

“That I am, but I’m also getting old. I don’t think I can take a whole night on this floor. Why don’t we take this somewhere more comfortable? Like my bedroom?”

“Won’t your father hear us?”

“He’s at the opposite end of the wing. If he does hear us it means we have had one hell of a bloody good night.” He slapped her bare backside playfully before getting to his feet. They gathered their clothes and tiptoed, giggling and naked, upstairs to his bedroom like two horny teenagers worrying about getting caught by their parents.

In this case it was more about spending as much quality time together before daylight broke through the erotic dream and woke them. It was all it would take for Lucy to remember he wasn’t her Prince Charming who would give her that happy-ever-after she sought. The most he could give her was satisfied-for-one-night.