Pushing the Limits - McGarry Katie. Страница 53

I wanted to believe him, but Noah was experienced and I … wasn’t. He could be trying to make me feel better, yet bored with my lack of knowledge.

His hand framed my face and his tone was edged with husky authority. “I want you, but only if you want me.”

“It hurts the first time. My friends, they all told me that.” And the second and the third, and eventually, sometimes, it didn’t hurt. “And I should tell you, I’m on birth control. So … you know … I’m protected from …” Babies. “Stuff. But you should use something too—because.”

The wicked smile I loved spread across his face. His lips touched mine, tenderly drawing a response. “Relax and I’ll take care of everything.”

I kissed him back, allowing my arms to wrap around him. His fingers gently massaged my neck, releasing the tension, erasing my unease. The kiss became a drug and I craved more with every touch. Our bodies twined so tightly to one another, I had no idea where I began and he ended.

Noah felt strong and warm and muscular and safe and he smelled, oh, God, delicious. I couldn’t stop kissing him if my life depended upon it: his lips, his neck, his chest, and Noah seemed as hungry as me. We rolled and we touched and we shed unwanted clothes. I moaned and he moaned and my mind and soul and body stood on the edge of pure ecstasy.

And I waited. I waited for that moment of pausing for protection and then the burning pain my friends described, but Noah never stopped and the pain never came, not even when I whispered his name and praised God several times in a row. Both of us gasped for air while kissing each other softly and I struggled to comprehend I was still a virgin.

He shifted off of me and tugged me close to him. My entire body became lazily warm, happy and sated. I listened to his heartbeat and closed my eyes, enjoying the relaxing pull of his hand through my hair. “Noah,” I whispered. “I thought …” we were going to make love.

He tipped up my chin, forcing me to look at him. “We have forever to work up to that, Echo. Let’s enjoy every step of the way.”

My mind drifted this way and that. Mostly between focusing on his heart, his touch and the sweetest word I had ever heard: forever.

One clear thought forced my eyes open again. “You’re putting me to sleep.”

“So?” he asked a little too innocently.

I swallowed. “I’ll have nightmares.”

“Then we’ll have an excuse to do this again.”

NOAH

The familiar ring tone jerked me awake. My arms and legs were wrapped like tentacles around Echo, my nymph who lay sleeping with her back pressed against me. I released my grasp of her stomach to reach for the cell in my jeans, which had been tossed during our earlier activities.

“Hello?” I cleared my throat.

“Noah?”

“Yeah?” I didn’t recognize the man on the other end. Echo remained blissfully asleep. I edged away from her, tucking the blanket tight around her slender form. Millions of thoughts raced in my exhausted mind. Had something happened to Isaiah or Beth? Were they hurt or in jail? Keesha or Mrs. Collins would have called if it were my brothers.

“It’s Owen Emerson. Echo’s dad.” He paused.

Rubbing my head to wake my brain, I kept my mouth shut as I walked to the other side of the basement. It wouldn’t be a good conversation starter to mention that his daughter lay in my bed, half naked.

“I’m sorry to wake you, but Echo left this morning rather upset with me and she hasn’t come home.” I craned my head to check out the clock radio on the floor next to the bed. Two in the morning. Her dad must be on the verge of a coronary. Oddly enough, he didn’t sound like a rabid pit bull. “She turned her phone off and I’ve called her friends. Lila gave me your number and said she could be with you.”

The blanket rose and fell with the steady rhythm of Echo’s breathing. She’d come to me tonight, trusting me. If I told him, he’d come and take her away, breaking my heart and possibly her trust in me. “Mr. Emerson …”

“Please, Noah, she’s my daughter. I need to know she’s okay.” I’d never heard a man sound so desperate in my life. Almost as desperate as my own need to know Jacob and Tyler were safe.

“She’s here.” My heart stopped beating, waiting for the patented father ass-chewing.

“Is she okay?” He sounded … relieved?

“Yeah. She’s asleep. Has been for a while. I’d hate to wake her.”

He paused again. “When did she fall asleep?”

Best guess? “Sometime near one.”

“And she’s slept through?”

Good thing I knew Echo’s sleep patterns, or lack thereof. Otherwise, I would have thought this an odd line of questioning. “Yes, sir. Not a peep.”

I waited in heavy silence as he debated his options: have me wake her to tell her to go home or let her sleep. “Do your foster parents mind her being there?”

“No.” They were at the lake, but even if they were here and paid enough attention to notice I’d brought a girl home, they’d only remind me that she couldn’t live here once she got knocked up.

“Can I speak to them?”

No. “They’re asleep.”

“Of course, of course. Echo mentioned that you have a foster sister. I’m assuming she’s sharing her living arrangements.”

Technically—”Yes.” When she was here, Beth did sleep on the bed.

“Have her call me the moment she wakes up in the morning.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And, Noah, thank you for telling me the truth.”

“You’re welcome.” I hung up and crawled back in bed, burrowing into Echo.

I WOKE TO EMPTY ARMS. ECHO had kept her warm body close to mine all night. A vise gripped my chest. Where was she?

My eyes opened to find the sexiest sight in the world. In black bikini underwear and a tank top, Echo stretched out next to me. Her sketch pad lay on the bed, pencil moving rapidly in her hand. A photo of my brothers was propped up on the pillow.

“Hey, baby.”

She gave me a quick glance and a shy smile. “Hey.”

I glanced at the clock. Ten-thirty in the morning. Isaiah and Beth would probably roll in soon, but it would be a sin to see her put clothes on. “How did you sleep?”

The smile fell, but she kept drawing. “Better than usual.”

My heart dropped. I wanted to be the answer to her problems. “You had nightmares?”

She nodded. “Not nearly as vivid, though. Plus I slept longer than I normally do.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Because you’re cute when you sleep. See?” She turned the page and showed me the drawing of me sleeping.

“What are you working on now?” I snatched the pad and took her hand in mine when she tried to grab it back.

“Don’t look. It’s a work in progress. Just messing around really. Noah …”

I flipped the page to her work in progress and quit breathing.

“Please don’t be mad. I wanted to give you something. Oh, God,” she moaned. “This was a bad idea.”

I tore my eyes away from the page, cupping her face with my hand. “No. It’s the best present anyone has ever given me.” I wanted to kiss her, but I couldn’t. I had to look at the picture again. “How did you do it?” Somehow, she’d drawn my parents.

She scooted next to me, resting her head on my shoulder. “You talk about them a lot. Not like long monologues or anything, but enough that I’ve been able to create a picture in my head. You told me that Jacob looks like your dad and that you and Tyler resemble your mom. You said Mrs. Marcos reminds you of your mom. I saw this picture of your brothers and, I don’t know … I put it all together.”

I love you. Every part of me ached to say it. I gazed into those beautiful eyes and knew I loved her more than I loved myself. I’d known for weeks, but I couldn’t say the words. Saying the words—it made Echo official. It made the attachment I already knew I had to her real.