All I Need, page 4
part #1 of Haven’s Bay Holiday Series Series
As we walked across the parking lot with the sound of our footsteps crunching on the gravel, I commented, “We might have to wait at the bar for a table.”
Sasha’s eyes slid sideways, her lips kicking up at one corner. Lust bolted through me. “I’ve never even gotten to sit at the bar here. That’s big stuff.”
Her reply caught me off guard, and I barked out a laugh as I held the door open for her. “I guess not, seeing as you moved away from town when you were sixteen.”
I turned out to be correct. When we stepped inside, every table was full. Even the bar was full, although I spied one barstool and quickly guided Sasha to it. Without thinking, I rested my hand on her lower back, coaxing her forward as we threaded our way through the tables.
I saw people turning as we passed by with some waving or calling out quick greetings. I hadn’t been back home too often, but I did know some locals. I honestly didn’t know who might recognize Sasha.
“Right here,” I murmured, leaning down to speak into her ear.
She slipped her hips onto the barstool, and I leaned my elbows on the bar beside her. She spun around, her eyes arcing about the room. “Wow, it looks pretty much the same.”
The restaurant was in a renovated cape-style home with the walls knocked down and supporting beams refinished to create open space. Tables were scattered in the center with a coffee bar on one side, a liquor bar on the other, and a deli counter and kitchen in the back. The place functioned as a coffee shop and deli in the morning into the afternoon. In the evenings, the coffee bar shut down, and alcohol flowed with the food. They served standard pub fare with the seafood twist of mid-coast Maine. In addition to burgers and sandwiches, they had fresh lobster rolls, fish and chips, crab cakes, and the like.
The restaurant was pretty basic as far as décor went. Over in one corner, there was a pool table. The bar had a glossy wooden surface, and the bartender, Rick, caught my eye, grinning when he recognized me.
“Well, hey there, Noah. Long time.” His eyes landed curiously on Sasha. “Do I know you?” he asked as he set two napkins on the bar in front of us.
“Maybe,” Sasha replied with a saucy grin. “I’m Sasha Hilts. I grew up here, but I moved away in high school.”
Rick nodded slowly, his brows hitching up. “Ah, I remember you. How’re things?”
“Pretty good.”
“What can I get you two?”
“I’m driving, so I’ll just take a water. You?” I glanced at Sasha, not missing Rick’s lingering gaze on her. A bolt of possessiveness jolted me.
“What kind of margaritas do you have?” she asked.
“Strawberry and regular.”
“I’ll take a strawberry one.”
“You two waiting for a table?” Rick asked as he quickly filled a glass with ice and water and handed it to me before making Sasha’s margarita.
I nodded. “We’d like to sit down to eat.”
“Got it.” He glanced over just as a server slipped through the swinging doors into the kitchen in the back. He handed Sasha her drink. “I’ll put that on your check for after you eat,” he said as he turned away to serve another customer. “Great to see you both.”
Minutes later, I decided coming out with Sasha was a bad idea. The guy on the other side of her was flirting with her, and she was flirting back. Grinding my teeth, I was feeling fucking insane. Jealousy wasn’t something I had any experience with. Sasha seemed uniquely able to bring a sense of possessiveness out in me. Hell, I wanted to punch the fucking guy and Rick too. Because he kept casting her appreciative looks.
When the server let us know a table was open, Sasha slid her empty margarita glass over toward Rick. “That was delicious. Thank you.” Turning to me, she added, “Be right there. I’m going to stop in the ladies’ room.”
As she walked away, Rick asked me, “You two a couple?”
Because I wasn’t thinking rationally, I lied, “Yes.”
He chuckled. “Better hold on tight.”
Sasha met me at the table minutes later, sitting down with a smile. “You know, I wouldn’t trade being a single mom, but it’s kind of nice to have a break. Nobody here knows how unglamorous my life is. It’s like actually being single instead of being a single mom.”
I stared at her across the table and almost growled. “Really?” I managed tightly.
“Why so grumpy?” she asked. She pulled the laminated menu tucked between the salt and pepper from the center of the table and began scanning it.
“I’m not grumpy,” I muttered in return.
Her gorgeous green eyes lifted to mine, searching my face. “If you say so.”
A minute later, she tucked the menu back between the salt and pepper. “I’m getting a lobster roll. I haven’t had one in a while.”
“When we’re back in Boston, I’ll take you to my favorite place for lobster rolls at the docks.”
“We?”
“Yes. We both live in Boston. No reason we can’t get together there.”
She stared back at me, and I didn’t know how to read what I saw flickering in her eyes. We had dinner, and it was delicious. My manners kicked in, and I learned more about her life at work. By the time we left, my body was twisted tight for her. Sitting across the table and watching her eat was its own form of torture, made worse by my irrational possessiveness. Every man who looked her way annoyed me. I supposed the worst part was I felt like I’d put myself in the situation.
As we crossed the parking lot toward my car after dinner, Sasha smiled in my direction. “Thanks for going with me. It’s nice just to get out.”
“Great to see you, Sasha,” a voice called. She turned back, waving at the guy who spoke.
“Nice to see you too, Aaron!” she called in return.
I didn’t even know Aaron, but they’d had a few classes together in high school. I rounded the car to open the door for her, trying to shackle my urge to kiss her.
But then, she looked up at me. “Remind me why you’re so grumpy.”
I answered her by leaning down, sliding my hand around the back of her neck, and fitting my mouth over hers. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, but I was done trying to ignore the flames that licked through my body every time she was in my proximity. Hell, I’d fallen asleep last night thinking about her, and she was all the way upstairs.
Sasha made a little sound at the back of her throat, and her mouth opened, her tongue darting out to slide sensually against mine. With a sigh, she arched into me.
The next thing I knew, I pressed her against my car and kissed her roughly, pouring days of pent-up desire into our kiss. A car door slammed somewhere in the vicinity, puncturing the haze of need clouding my thoughts. I forced myself to lift my head, but it was no easy feat.
Her eyes were dark, and her lips puffy as she stared up at me. “What was that about?”
Fuck me. Even the sound of her voice revved the need driving me.
Chapter Seven
Sasha
“A kiss,” Noah answered, his voice gruff and husked with an edge.
A shiver raced over the surface of my skin, goosebumps following in its wake and my nipples tightening to an ache. I was acutely aware of the slick need between my thighs. I shifted restlessly on my feet in a futile effort to relieve the pressure building there.
“I thought that wasn’t smart,” I said, my voice coming out all breathy.
I felt so foolish around Noah. Maybe I’d been a scandal in high school, but I was anything but since then. I knew he was far more experienced than me, most certainly with having casual fun.
“Maybe I don’t care if it’s smart or not.”
He was plastered against me. I felt the hot, hard press of his arousal in the cradle of my hips and wished we were already home. It was enough that I’d already decided I wanted to act on my desire, but I didn’t feel crazy enough to do something about it right here. A gust of wind blew through the parking lot, and I shivered slightly.
He stepped back, and I heard the door latch click when he reached around me. “Let’s go home.”
A few minutes later, I learned that the small space in a car could feel incredibly crowded. The air felt heavy, almost like a charge about to go off.
I was hot all over with my skin prickly. Need was racing through my body in a loop, and I needed a way to discharge the intense, unfamiliar feeling. I had vague memories of that old high school boyfriend who got me pregnant. When you were young, sex was kind of hit or miss. It wasn’t great, but I did remember the excitement before, feeling like maybe something good would happen. The few sexual encounters I’d had since then—dating relationships that went nowhere—had left a lot to be desired.
My endless to-do list was always hovering in the back of my thoughts. I just couldn’t relax enough to enjoy sex. Noah had this strange effect on me, leaving me more turned on than I’d ever been. And I knew him. I knew him well even though I hadn’t seen him in years. Maybe it was my younger self who thought he was so handsome and unattainable. Maybe it would turn out to be a disappointment, but I was going to grab this chance.
Because this week would end, and I would return to my life. The ticker of my to-do list would click on like a clock in the background of my life. Every minute counted.
This didn’t have to be anything but a suspended week in my life. Even if it was only one night. I didn’t care. I wanted it too much to let anything else get in the way.
“Just one night,” I whispered, my words landing like sparks on dry kindling.
“One night won’t be enough,” Noah said flatly, pouring fuel on that kindling.
“How do you know?” My eyes whipped to his as he rolled to a stop in the driveway in front of the house.
He pressed a button, and the engine went quiet. “I just know.”
Staring at him in the glimmer of light cast from the porch light, I felt my mouth go dry and my belly spin. As if I were falling from a great height and didn’t know how to slow my fall. Despite, or perhaps because of my internal turmoil, my need felt as if it were ramping up inside, suffusing me and spinning through my veins.
“Oh,” I finally said.
A moment later, Noah was walking beside me as we crested the top stair on the porch. I was reaching for the doorknob when Noah caught my free hand. Glancing over, I lifted my brows in question.
“If you don’t want this, all you have to do is say so.”
His gaze searched mine, and my heart kicked out a wild rhythm. “I do, though,” I finally said.
A whining sounded from the other side of the door. My cheeks got hot. “First, I have to let Matilda out.”
Noah’s chuckle sent heat racing through me.
“Of course.” He opened the door, and Matilda dashed out, circling us excitedly in greeting before leaping off the stairs and running to the side of the snow-covered lawn she’d identified as her preferred bathroom area.
Noah waited with me on the porch, and we watched together as she ran through the snow, yipping and snapping at the snow that flew up around her. A few minutes later, I watched as Noah tucked crumpled paper under the logs he’d just placed in the fireplace before tossing the match in. In another moment, the flames were crackling to life.
After we came in, Matilda had happily taken the chew toy Noah tossed her way and settled on her bed in the corner of the living room, focused on the task at hand. Meanwhile, I was a bundle of nerves. Anxiety was tangling up inside my desire, and I didn’t like the feeling. I felt a little rusty when it came to sex. My bold proclamation earlier was now feeling ridiculous.
I lifted my wineglass off the coffee table and took a big gulp. The single margarita I’d had at the bar hadn’t done anything to soothe my rattled nerves. But then, I didn’t want any of my senses muddled. Perhaps I was nervous, but I wasn’t about to back down.
Noah turned toward me. His eyes landed on mine immediately. It felt as if sparks were lighting the air between us, snapping and crackling from the taut tension.
I wanted to look away, but I didn’t. I stared right back, lifting my chin slightly. “How come I never noticed you before?” he mused, almost as if to himself.
“Because you were four years ahead of me in school. Way out of my league,” I said with a little laugh. “There’s also the fact we haven’t seen each other in years.”
“Is that it then?” he murmured as he crossed the room.
My pulse kicked up a notch. “I don’t know,” I whispered. “Maybe.”
He took another stride and then sat on the couch beside me. “This couch wasn’t here before,” I said incongruously.
It was a large U-shaped sectional, a perfect size for the expansive room and situated facing the fireplace. With plenty of cushions, it was very comfortable. I didn’t even feel bad about Noah sleeping down here.
“No, we didn’t have this before. We just got it last year.” His arm stretched across my shoulders, and we fell quiet. Desire curled around us like wisps of smoke. While almost nothing was happening, my breath felt short and my pulse skittered out of control.
Noah’s fingers began tracing along my collarbone, where his hand rested on the edge of my shoulder. All of my awareness narrowed to that strip of skin under his fingertips. Who knew my collarbone was an erogenous zone? I certainly didn’t.
Heat radiated like licks of fire from that one point, and I almost moaned when his thumb dragged in a lazy stroke along the base of my throat. This was seduction by increments, and I didn’t know if I could take it.
Restless, I turned to him. “Kiss me,” I whispered in a raspy command.
“As you wish.” He held my gaze when his lips brushed over mine, and it felt as if lightning sizzled through me, every nerve set alight.
And then, we tumbled into kiss upon kiss upon kiss. It was all sensation—bold strokes of his tongue, lazy nibbles on my bottom lip, hot kisses dropped at the corners of my mouth, and then his lips sliding over mine again and his tongue claiming my mouth.
I was lost, spinning in a riptide of need and fierce desire. I distantly heard little sounds coming from my throat, a broken moan, a ragged whimper. Somehow, I found myself straddling him on the couch. I felt the hard press of his arousal just under my core, and I wanted him inside me. Now.
“Noah,” I gasped, “I need…”
I was lost in another devouring kiss as he cupped my breasts with his palms, his thumbs brushing back and forth across the tight peaks of my nipples. I tried again. “I need…”
He dipped his head, his mouth closing on my nipple through my shirt. With a gasp, my fingers speared his hair. My hips were rocking restlessly, and I felt as if I were already standing on the precipice of a cataclysmic release, which I knew would shake me to my core.
Then he lifted his head, his lips stringing kisses along my sensitive collarbone before he nipped lightly at my ear. I shivered all over, restless and needy in his lap. “Noah, I need…”
Apparently, I was a broken record.
He lifted his head, and I felt his palm slide up to cup my cheek. “Look at me, Sasha.”
His gravelly command had my eyes dragging open with an effort. His gaze was hot and deliciously commanding. “We’re not rushing. I’m in charge.”
My mouth dropped open. “What if I want to be in charge?” I retorted.
He hummed. “Next time. Maybe.”
I was about to argue the point, but that was kind of difficult when he planted another one of his masterful kisses on me. I wondered if it was possible to climax just from a kiss. Well, a kiss and the pressure of his arousal against my clit.
I was feeling greedy and needy, and I wanted more. I broke free from our kiss, panting before I gasped, “Take your shirt off.”
His eyes held mine in the flickering firelight. He looked way too in control. “We’ll get to that.”
I let out an annoyed sigh, rocking restlessly over his arousal again and protesting, “You know you want to.”
“Oh, I do. Just as I didn’t fuck you against my car in the parking lot, I’m not going to rush this. We can rush another time.”
He distracted me by dragging his tongue in a slow lick along the side of my neck, then sliding his palms under my shirt and deftly undoing my bra. The feel of his palms, warm on my bare skin, elicited a ragged moan.
Restless though I was, Noah kept me entirely occupied. He teased my nipples, peeled off my blouse, and somewhere along the way, I tossed off my camisole and bra. He blessedly took off his shirt when I asked again. Begging was a better description of what I did.
He felt decadent, strong and muscled, just as I’d imagined but even better. He had a dusting of hair on his chest that narrowed down over his abdomen. My palms followed the trail, and when I started to unbutton his fly, he took charge yet again. Spinning us around, he stretched me out on the sofa.
I wasn’t sure how, but with a little assistance from him, I got my boots off, and he peeled my jeans down. When I moved to hook my thumbs over the elastic band of my panties, he stilled my hands. “Not yet.”
“You still have your jeans on,” I protested.
Once again, any argument with his methods was lost in a storm of sensation. His palms slid up my calves, pressing my knees apart as he dusted kisses over my belly. His touch was firm but light. He dropped kisses on the insanely sensitive skin on the inside of my thighs, and I was rolling my hips restlessly, desperate for release. I was wet, drenched with my own arousal. I could feel the dampness between my thighs when he dragged his fingers over the silk, teasing just over my swollen clit.
I thought I might die from need before he finally, finally, dragged my panties off and teased his fingers through my swollen sex. He sank one finger and then another in my channel, and I convulsed instantly, coming in a noisy rush.
“Oh my,” he said.
I lifted my head. “You were taking too long,” I explained with a sheepish shrug.
“I’d say I was taking it at exactly the right pace,” he murmured. His fingers were still in me, and he drew them out, sinking them in again, the stroke sending pleasure in scattered aftershocks throughout my body.
