Noah removed her light blazer once she set her purse down and hung it up on the hook on the door. "I feel like a movie. Not a home video, but an actual movie."
Seeing as Faith was officially staying and felt overwhelmed enough for one evening, she didn't mind skipping a video that night. "Do you have any actual movies?"
The only thing Noah appeared to do to relax was read.
"A few in the basement. I'll bring them up and you can pick one out."
"Sounds good," Faith agreed. "Let me just change in my pajamas first."
She went back to her bedroom, closing the door all the way this time, and slipped out of her cashmere dress. After Faith brushed it off and hung the garment up, faith changed into her boxers and a tank top, then grabbed her hairbrush and ties and brought them back to the living room with her.
It was still embarrassing knowing she'd wanted to marry Noah just so he could brush her hair whenever she wanted, and was more embarrassing that she'd flat out declared as much to him, but it'd become their tradition since that night.
As he brushed her hair before braiding it, Faith glanced at his minuscule movie collection. "I've never heard of a single one of these."
"That's because I like older movies," Noah told her as he braided.
She read the backs of each of them and chose the one that sounded slightly familiar. He tied off the end of the braid and then put the movie in the DVD player before going back to the couch and placing the pillow on his lap so she could lay her head down.
As the movie began, she saw it was in black and white; the title being presented with an orchestra.
"Dennis' wife-"
"Carole," Noah reminded her.
"Carole said something at dinner tonight. About how you and I acted like no time had passed."
"Yeah?"
Faith sat up, still unsure of where she was going with this. "Is that how you feel? Like no time has passed?"
Noah took a moment and rubbed at his forehead before resting his temple against his palm. "Time for me has moved slow these last fourteen years. As far as you and I are concerned..." He became quiet, looking as if he were trying to think up the right words. "When I recognized you at the airport, it was because I recognized my little snowflake. I would have recognized her anywhere, anytime. But this last week I've spent with Faith. I'll always have the memories of the little girl who I would have done absolutely anything, and I'll always cherish them.
"But that's all they are, Faith. They're just memories of the past that helped me survive my present. The person I took home from the airport was Faith, a woman I would also do absolutely anything for and one I'm making new memories with."
She'd found him handsome so many times before, but being so close to him and hearing that calm and hidden intensity in his voice took the man to new heights. Even if she gave it all her strength, there was no breaking away from that stare. There was a fire within it, causing her skin to flush and mind to fill with smoke.
"You said you'd do anything for me," Faith whispered, barely recognizing her own voice.
"I would."
What she wanted more than anything in that moment was the one thing that had always terrified her the most. Not so much that, but where it could lead to. Yet with Noah Scott, those fears evaporated like water.
Faith's eyes fell to his plump lips she'd placed a chaste kiss upon only a few hours earlier. They were so tempting then that it took all of her strength not to allow her hidden emotions to take over and expose her. She pried her eyes away from them, looking downward in shame.
"Faith," he began, tipping her chin back up to force her to look at him. But it was the only word he spoke before his finger traced her bottom lip, causing Faith's body to tremble and breath to hitch. Her eyes closed, only to feel his lips brush against hers with the lightest touch.
"If you let me kiss you you, I will keep kissing you. If you let me touch you, I'm going to lose all damn self-control. And if we end in my bedroom, it won't be a one-night stand."
Faith opened her eyes and looked at that fire within his own, ready and willing to allow flames to engulf her. There were so many fractions of moments where she thought there was a flicker of something within his eyes; something more than relief or sadness or joy. Something that wasn't about the little girl he'd lost all those years ago.
And there were also lingering moments of possibility. The way his fingers brushed through her hair, the curve of his lips when she spoke, the way his hands drifted across the fabric of her dress earlier that day.
"I know," were the only two words she could think to speak, and the only ones needed to be said aloud. They were both in uncharted waters. They'd avoided connection in intimate affairs, not allowing anyone through their walls. That wasn't an option here, and Faith knew that.
When she closed her eyes again, silently pleading with him to give in, he gave her exactly that. His hand moved to the back of her neck and pulled her into the waters, holding her tight to keep her from drowning.
His lips moved against hers, soft and timid, but with each passing second, she felt Noah give in. They became firm and controlling. Possessive and greedy. Noah was kissing her hard and with every ounce of passion and desire he had to give.
Faith moved without breaking their lips apart, placing a leg on the other side of him so she was straddling him. She released him from his shirt and tossed in on the ground. Already she could feel his erection, adding fuel to a fire that was already burning out of control. His tongue moved into her mouth and devoured her. A moan built in her throat and escaped, causing him to release one of his own.
"I need you," Faith spoke between kisses, never having needed anyone in her entire life.
Noah pushed his body upwards with one hand, his legs wobbly at the strenuous task as he held her against him with the other. He walked them out of the living room, down the hallway, and into his bedroom, dropping her on the bed, then crawled above her.
"Touch me," Faith demanded, before he could kiss her back into silence.
She'd never felt so desperate for another person. With sex, it'd always just had a single purpose for her. There was so much more to the act Faith had been too afraid to explore. A man's touch had always been just a touch; useless foreplay. Now her body was begging for it.
"Where?" The single word that escaped his mouth came out husky, a far cry from the subdued tone he normally had.
"Everywhere."
Noah tugged her shirt upwards until it lay above her bare breasts and his tongue circled around her nipple while his fingers lightly pinched the other, causing her moan to fill the room. Then when his mouth moved up to her neck, his hand traveled down beneath the elastic of her shorts.
When his fingers hit the sensitive area, her body arched and hips bucked as a finger slid into her, then a second, working their way in and out of her as he came up to ravage her mouth once more. The harder Faith kissed back, the more frantic his fingers became until they slid out, pulled her shorts down and worked the nub of her clit. Faith's hips became uncontrollable as his four fingers rubbed against her at a feverish pace until she came harder than she ever had in her life.
Faith body felt like liquid by the time she came down from her climax. The feel of his breath against her ear nearly caused a second orgasm. "I need you to promise me you won't break my heart, Faith. I can't take losing you again."
The world seemed to pause for a moment, and Faith opened her eyes to look at him. There was already a light glisten of sweat on his temples and she wiped it away with her thumb.
There was no doubt in Faith's mind that she was incapable of leaving him. She'd belonged to him as a child, and she belonged to him now as an adult, all the years in between leaving her lost. It wasn't because Faith couldn't remember her past, like she thought. All this time, it was because she didn't have him.
Because of the realization, Faith felt confident in her response. "I promise."
As soon as she spoke the words, Noah moved her body to its side, took off his pants, and lifted her leg so it draped over his own. Faith turned her head so he could kiss her and he accepted the invitation without a moment's hesitation, taking her mouth with urgency.
Faith felt him at her entrance and the loud moan was muffled by his mouth when he thrust into her, slid himself out almost completely, then thrust in again. With her legs spread, his fingers found their way back just above her entrance, and worked at the same pace as his thrusts.
In the four years Faith had been sexually active, she'd never had sex like this and didn't even know it could be anything like this. Sounds of pleasure she'd never made before were escaping her lips with every thrust. She was tightening around him as if to force him to stay inside her forever. Her fingers entwined with his own as he rubbed her sensitive area. Everything about it was raw desire and untainted trust and dare she think, love.
As his hips worked faster, so did his fingers, bringing her closer to her second climax. Her fingers tightened against his and he seemed to know she was on the brink. His hips stopped moving while his fingers added pressure, rubbing hard and fast until Faith shuddered and bucked from her second orgasm. Noah slid his erection out and when it returned, there was no mercy. His hand was now on her hip, keeping her in place as he pounded into her with everything he had, until she felt his last thrust.
Noah's mouth was on the damp skin of her neck, kissing her softly as he remained in her.
"Noah?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't shut me out either, okay?"
Noah squeezed her body and placed a light kiss on her shoulder. "You're the only one I've ever let in, little snowflake. I couldn't shut you out even if I wanted to."