Her lips were parted, tiny quick gaps falling quickly, and never had he so wanted to lose control and stay in a moment forever.
Teagan rocked, and Noah didn't care anymore. His possessive hold took over, and her cries for more drove him to thrust. Their skin slapped together, their needs intertwining as she fell forward, her lips locking with his, and he folded his arms over her back and drove into her until she prayed to come again, then again.
He flipped her over, slowing as she pulsed around him, and embraced the racing need to be with her again. In bed. Out of bed. Then her eyes opened, and her sweet smile drifted to her lips, and Noah collapsed forward, nearly crushing her with his weight.
Their foreheads kissed. Their stomachs touched. He flexed in and out of her body as her mouth gaped out, another climax climbing through her, and this time, he'd go with her.
Sweat dampened his chest. He found her fingers, locking their hands together and straining. "Teagan."
She came with him, milking his release into eternity until he rolled them to their sides and gathered her in his arms.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Wrapped in a security blanket of warm arms and heavy legs, Teagan stretched her naked body against Noah before silencing her cell phone alarm. She nestled back and didn't know if he woke with eyes that bright or if he'd been awake before her, but what a way to wake up.
"Good morning." His whiskery chin dipped to her cheek, and his chaste kiss was a shade quieter than his words had been.
His hands were sinfully slow as they slid over her, hugging her close, and her throat tightened as his lips tickled her with a delicious good morning kiss.
"Good morning to you too."
Noah shifted, tucking her close to his side, and Teagan snuggled her back to his chest as his broad body spooned her under the covers. He pulled her close one more time then let his hand rest on her bare hip, his fingers tracing patterns as she lulled in a dreamy happiness.
"What do you think our odds are?" he asked.
She tilted her head to see him better. "For?"
"Breakfast without a major malfunction."
"Ha!" She twisted to face him. "Maybe you're a kitchen jinx!"
"Nah." He kissed her. "Don't believe in jinx."
Her eyes rolled, and she kissed him back. "You better start, my friend. You are now living in the land of kids and dreams. That's magic."
"It'll be magic if we get out of bed before they wake up-"
Pfssh. "We're already up. No way are either of them going to see this hour."
"Teagan."
"What?"
"I said nothing about awake, beautiful."
She closed an eye and made a funny face, not deciphering his meaning.
"Out. Of. Bed." Noah rolled over her, teasing his lips across hers. "There's a distinct difference."
He proved his point with a kiss hot enough to make her dizzy. "I … get it."
His hands made fast work of moving everywhere, then he lumbered out of bed. "Having kids ain't easy."
She cracked up. "Says you with less than a month of time clocked."
He stopped cold then pivoted on his heel.
"I'm sorry." She sat up, sensing the immediate change in his mood. "I was just playing."
"This isn't a game to me, Teagan. I'm not going anywhere. I wouldn't do that to Bella."
The instant sting of what she'd implied sliced through her chest. "I know. Gosh, I didn't mean that-"
"And I wouldn't do that to you and Will. I'm not your ex-husband."
That pain flooded her eyes. They started to water. "I know."
He strode forward and pulled her to the edge of the bed. "Shit. Teagan."
"I'm sorry. I didn't-"
"I didn't mean to make you cry. Damn it."
"No, you didn't."
"You're crying. I was talking." He sat on the edge of the bed, and she crawled into his arms. "I overreacted."
"No. You didn't. Maybe I did. Or not." She wiped at her face.
"Hang on a sec." He moved to a drawer then tossed her a pair of boxers and an oversized shirt, then he pulled on a pair of sweatpants. "Try again. That whole thing about talking to a crowd when they're naked? It's bullshit. No one can think clearly like that."
Teagan laughed. "I think everyone has huge loads to carry. The older we get, the heavier our basket."
He nodded.
"And when couples do … coupley things, and their baskets are similar-"
"Are you sure you're a guidance counselor?"
She play-hit his arm. "Yes, to six-year-olds! I'm out of practice with grown-up issues."
"I could find a couple of dolls if you want them to have this conversation for us." He winked.
She smiled, disarmed, and he'd done what he'd intended-as always. "You're good, I'll give you that."
"What?" Noah asked, pretending he hadn't just used some SEAL psych-ops tactic to put her at ease.
"I know enough to know you can disarm me."
He raised his eyebrows. "Maybe I just want to know what's on your mind. And maybe it hit me hard in the chest that I thought you compared me to your ex-husband who walked out on you. Both because I liked the idea of being your man and because I hated that you thought I could leave."
Teagan's lips parted. He'd stunned her. There was no coming back from admissions like that. But she didn't want to. Her heart soared with possibilities and certainty that he was so much different than Spencer had ever been.
"I'm not saying rush anything," he continued. "But what I am saying is however this works out, it works out for the long term. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
God, she had no idea and too many ideas at once. Her stomach jumped into her throat. And just yesterday, she'd been wishing for one more kiss from him. "I think so."
"SEALs taught me not to predict the future, but they showed me something from very young."
"What's that?" she asked quietly.
"I always knew I was destined to be part of that team. I had no doubt. Just like Lainey had no doubt that I'd come home when it was time for me to re-up. She didn't waiver. She knew. Maybe it's in our genes. But that's the same as right now. I know."
"You know what, Noah?"
"That I'm supposed to be with you and Bella and Will, and that I'm falling in love with you."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The garage bays at Nuts and Bolts were lined with black silhouette cutouts of witches stirring cauldrons and of zombies with outstretched arms who were walking toward tilted graves. Noah's fingers were scrubbed clean, but pumpkin-orange acrylic paint had stained his close-cut fingernails. Maybe that would be his Halloween costume. Single dad, auto mechanic, artiste.
An old pickup rolled up and pulled Noah's attention from what had to be his greatest artistic feat. The door opened, and his old friend Ford Garrison jumped out.
"If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I would've called BS." He strode forward and stuck out his hand. "You're in town."
Noah did the same, shaking hands and embracing him with slaps on the back. "Good to see you, man."
"Not for long, and it's good to see you too."
They turned to survey all that Noah had put together for Nuts and Bolts.
"The witches' legs hanging out of that old charger"-Noah nodded toward the spot-"I think it's a nice touch. But not too much."
Ford cackled. "You've put a lot of thought into this. I'm really impressed."
Pride filled his chest in a much more distinct way than it had when serving his country. Both kinds brought him satisfaction, yet they met different needs. "What can I do for you? Something wrong with the pickup?"
Ford headed toward the stacked pumpkin-orange-painted tractor tires that overflowed with straw and decorations. Noah would use them as candy towers later, and he held out his hands, showing off fingernails stained the same colors as the tractor tires. "I'm not sure how long I'll have this orange reminder. But at least it's a good story."
Ford shook his head. "Did you forget how to use a paintbrush?"
Noah looked at the freshly healed scratches and Band-Aid – wrapped cuts. "Turns out there's only so much paper I can shred with an X-Acto knife before I get frustrated and start slicing."
"Do I even want to know?"
Noah chuckled, motioning for his buddy to follow. "Bella had a very specific person she is dressing up as for Halloween. Margaret Hamilton."
"Never heard of her."
"Yeah, me, either. That's a whole other conversation, but now I have, and the costume involves a nondescript dress, basic glasses, and … " They rounded the corner into Noah's office, and he held his arm out. "A couple of dozen reams of paper, hollowed out to reduce the weight and made to look like 1960s coding journals."
Noah gave his creation a tap, and the stacked books taller than Bella eased from his fingertips on the well-greased wheels attached to a base.