Her pink lips parted, holding back for a curious moment. "What are you talking about?"
He laughed, looking away then back. "I hit on you."
"No, you didn't. Not really."
"You wouldn't be half the woman. It wasn't meant to be a line, I swear, and I get how it might've come off like that. Sorry."
She balked. "I didn't think it was a line, and Noah?"
"What?"
"I hit on you."
There it was. The texture. That sound. The breathy anticipation of what might be. Her confession. Again, Teagan's cheeks pinked, but this time, Noah cared a lot less, because she had that thing between them back in her voice. It was decipherable only by him, and he liked the way it tightened his lungs and made the muscles in his back strain.
Noah drew in a slow breath, searching for the right words. But they didn't come. Who knew what those were supposed to be when they'd gone through the heartache that had pitched them together.
"Teagan." He pressed them forward until her back met the cedar wood wall. "I have no idea what I'm doing."
Her chin tilted up, her lips parting with tiny breaths he wanted to capture with a kiss.
"And that's foreign to me." He towered over her, but he gave her enough space that she could roll away, plenty of room so he could take in more than just her face. But she smelled like flowers. Not sweet but strong and wild. Noah ducked his cheek to hers, brushing his lips close to her ear.
Her palms smoothed the front of his Henley. Not pushing away, not grabbing for more.
Together they were back at the same line as in the kitchen earlier. The one they'd both eased away from. But this time they toed the line, savoring and wondering, testing whether the Do Not Cross was a figment of their imagination, a simple cautionary tale that they'd concocted for no good reason, or if hormones and arousal were calling the shots.
Teagan slid her cheek against his mouth, and he stifled a groan.
"Neither do I," she whispered. "No clue."
He chuckled quietly, leaning his weight against her. "It'd be easier if one of us knew."
Pressed between them, her fingernails scratched down his stomach, and he nuzzled his nose against her neck, breathing against her skin and memorizing how she smelled. Teagan's soft murmurs made the hairs on the back of his neck stand, and he let his lips drift to her cheek.
"I'm going to kiss you on one condition," he whispered.
"What's that?" Teagan's breathlessness made his heart pound harder.
He let the rush roll through him then teased her lips with his, not making contact, keeping them a breath apart. "That neither of us will be sorry."
"Promise." Teagan's fingers tightened against his chest. "I won't be."
CHAPTER NINE
Teagan pushed her hands up his Henley, teasing her fingernails along the unbuttoned top of his collar. "Do you promise too?"
She asked in a way that was less about reassurance and more about urging him on. They didn't know what they were doing, but he was positive that wherever he went with her would be intense. "I promise."
His hands swept into her hair, brushing the thick strands back, and his lips tickled against hers, hovering a kiss away, living for each of her needy breaths. He erased the minute space, and Teagan's full lips stole his thoughts. Her hands drifted up, locking around his neck as he deepened their kiss, tongues testing, teasing-sliding with a growing want that consumed him.
Her soft sweater rubbed against him, and the curves of her breasts called for his attention. Teagan melted around his chest. His fingers threaded her hair, grabbing for more, holding onto the woman whose hot mouth opened and purred with a fiery fury.
They were gasping. Breathless. Her roaming hands explored his chest, knotting in his shirt, pulling Noah for more.
"Teagan … " He nibbled her lip then kissed her jawline, and the vibrations of her mews as her head dropped back were unlike any aphrodisiac he could recall.
This was a kiss. Nothing more. He needed to remember. Remind himself. Her hips rubbed against his growing erection, and Noah stifled a groan against her skin, biting and licking her earlobe until she moaned as he did.
She clung to his sides, her chest heaving against him when he whispered in her ear. Every word, each reaction, did nothing but urge him on, promising her the sweetest, most sinful things he could. Giving her the truth between the work his tongue levied from her ear to neck to lips.
I like how you sound.
I like how your kiss tastes.
That, Teagan, right there.
He pushed her until he couldn't take it anymore then pried his hands from her body and stapled them to the wall, on either side of her face.
"Your promise still good?" he asked.
Teagan nodded with cheeks that he had pinked and lips that were swollen from kissing him. "Still good."
"Me too." Noah pressed forward and softened his kisses, staring into the amber eyes that had darkened to a rich hazel.
Their wild, groping need eased to a silent watchful pause, waiting to see if they could survive a first kiss with explosive firepower.
Thump. Thump.
Teagan startled. Her gaze sobered. "What was that?"
He had an idea what that noise might've been. The thuds came from directly behind the wall.
Straightening her clothes, Teagan ducked under his arm, her face panicked.
"They're on the floor," Noah said quietly as Teagan walked into the living room.
He followed, and bingo. Bella and Will lay side by side with their shared pillow in the middle. One of them had toppled, and having held each other, the other one fell.
"That could've been close," she mumbled, twisting toward him with wide eyes. "Maybe that was a bad idea."
His brow furrowed, and he had no idea what the hell to make of that. "Really?"
"I'm not sorry, but … " Teagan bit her lip. "What if they woke up? Or saw?"
He shrugged. "Then you explain."
"That I was making out with you in the hallway?" She rubbed her temples. "I just met you. What kind of example is that?"
Ouch. That was a first. Shot down and insulted. Was that twice in a row by the same woman in one night? Yeah, there was a record he wasn't thrilled to set.
She stared at the kids. "We didn't think that through."
"Right." He rolled his shoulders and stretched. "But we got it out of our system."
Teagan pivoted. "Maybe. Is that what we call that? Getting it out of our system?"
No. He'd call that a hot precursor to best-in-show sex. Nothing that happened in the hallway had gotten her out of his system. If anything, he'd had the taste he'd hoped for, and now he wanted more.
Teagan shook her head. "Can you imagine if Bella saw us?"
"She's a smart kid. Smarter than me half the time. I'd talk to her."
"If Bella got hurt again? I'd hate myself."
"Why would she get hurt?"
Teagan's hair fell to the side as her head tilted. "She thinks the world of you. Don't you know that?"
Flattery wasn't something he was comfortable with, and he brushed it aside. "Same could be said for you too."
"She's special to me too, and she's lost her dad, her mom. If she saw us kiss and romanticized the idea … " Teagan pressed her lips together and lifted her shoulders. "It could break her little heart if it didn't go however she imagined."
Hell. When Teagan put it that way … Noah cringed. "Hadn't thought about it like that."
She bit her lip. "Now that you have?"
That was a lot of pressure to put on a kiss or even a friendship, which was what he wanted more than anything else from Teagan, even if it killed him to choose between touching her or simply being able to chill or ask questions if they came up. "Maybe we shouldn't have."
"You understand." Teagan wrapped her arms around him and hugged.
His eyes sank shut, and this was a gut punch. Clearly, Teagan hadn't been on the same page that said just being friends meant they couldn't touch. Noah breathed deep to ignore how she fit in his arm but then had to ignore how sweet she smelled. He grunted his answer, focusing on his platonic response more than any coherent agreement.
With an extra squeeze and a quiet thank-you, Teagan broke apart and headed to the couch. He followed, wondering what more he could add as she sat and twisted her leg underneath her. Noah took an overstuffed chair facing her. In his world, he'd always known what to say and how to say it. But in this new world, he wasn't the focus any more. Hell, this was his world now. He had to listen.
"What's that look?" she asked.
He dropped his head, staring at the carpet as heavy seconds drifted by before looking back at Teagan. "You have very intense eyes."
She blinked, sitting back as though that might change how powerful her gaze was. "That's a good thing?"
"They're sweet and true and just like everything about you." He inhaled slowly. "You're beautiful, and you're also so damn right."