One Perfect Night(13)

When they finally drew back from one another, he asked, "Is that a yes?"

She’d never wanted to say yes to any question more. But hurt—and the fear of being hurt again—was a tricky thing, she was learning. Tricky enough that even Noah’s kisses couldn’t completely eradicate it.

"You’re so sure," she said, "so certain. But what if one night ends up being a mistake?"

Another man might have gotten frustrated, might have tried to rush her from the bar to his house so that they could get out of their clothes and get down to business. Noah simply stroked her gently with his hands still in her hair and asked, "Do you remember what I said to you up on the ski slopes?"

Of course she did. She hadn’t been able to forget any part of the wonderful day they’d shared in Lake Tahoe.

When she nodded, he said, "Tell me, sweetheart."

The endearment, so pure and sweet, warmed her in places that had been cold for so long. At the same time, his eyes were dark with desire.

It was a combination that turned her knees to mush and made her head spin. This was it. The moment of truth. Was she going to be brave or was she going to be tormented by sinfully sexy dreams that never went far enough? For the rest of her life was she going to regret leaving Noah here in this cocktail bar, just because there were no guarantees that everything would work out and that they’d end up together forever? Especially when the dangerously wicked look in Noah’s eyes made her feel more alive than anything else ever had?

"You told me all I needed to do was listen to my body. And that you were going to show me how." She licked her lips and his gaze followed the path of her tongue, making her lips tingle as if he’d kissed them instead. "And then you asked me to take your hands, to close my eyes...and to trust you."

He’d asked her for a night together in Lake Tahoe, but she’d been too afraid of what she was feeling to dare accept. Now, as he took a step back, then reached his hands out for her just as he had on the ski slope, she made her choice with her eyes wide open…and slipped her hands into his.



* * *



Colbie had no idea what parts of Seattle they passed on the way to Noah’s house. She couldn’t focus on anything but the hand he’d placed on her skirt across her upper thigh. Even though he wasn’t touching bare skin, wasn’t kissing her, wasn’t even saying any sinfully sweet things to her at the moment, her hormones were racing around as if he were doing all of those things at once.

While he carefully watched the wet and slippery road through the windshield wipers, she took the opportunity to drink him in. The faint stubble across his chin. The small scar above his right eyebrow. The dark hair that brushed just past his collar. Everything about him was pure male perfection. And she couldn’t believe she was going to get to kiss and touch every inch of him soon.

"Keep looking at me like that and we may not make it all the way to my house, after all."

Pleasure lit through her veins. She used to dream of someone wanting her like this…until she’d nearly stopped dreaming altogether.

But as he pulled into his garage, the weight in her stomach that had lifted when she was in his arms fell part of the way back into place. She turned her face from him, not wanting him to see her wavering again. Especially since she could guess that Noah was a man who made a decision and stuck by it, regardless of the risks.

"Colbie?"

Only a coward would continue to stare out the window. She’d been a coward in Lake Tahoe and where had it gotten her? Wracked with desperate dreams of the man she’d thought she would never find again.

She turned her face back to his just as he said, "I would never do anything to hurt you. Do you believe me?"

Just a few weeks ago, Colbie had vowed never to trust another man as long as she lived. Not with her body. And definitely not with her heart. Which was why she had to be honest with Noah, regardless of how much she wanted him...and even though she’d already promised him the night.

"I don’t know you. And since it turns out I shouldn’t have trusted a man I thought I knew so well, I have to ask myself—how can I trust you now?"

Noah responded to her honesty by picking up her hand and placing it over her heart, covering it with his. "Right here." Now he moved their hands to his chest, pressing her palm over his breastbone. "And here." He paused, letting her feel the strong, steady beat of his heart. "That’s what we’re going to listen to tonight."

She thought he would kiss her again to really make his point, but he didn’t. He simply brushed his other hand across her cheek and said, "Come inside so that we can get to know each other better—" His gaze darkened again, heating the car up at least ten degrees. "—before I strip your clothes off and make love to you."