Crashing Down Read online

  “Yeah, that’s right,” he said. He dropped his roller and, because he was bigger and stronger, easily took hers away.

  She planted her hands on her hips. “Well that was kind of anti-climactic,” she said.

  His cock thickened as he pulled her close. “You want climactic?”

  “I mean…I didn’t mean...”

  Jesus, she was just so sweet, so amazing. As she struggled for words, he pitched his voice low and asked, “Why don’t you have a boyfriend, Kat?”

  She went quiet for a long time, her eyes moving over his face before locking on his. “Who says I don’t?”

  He smiled, loving her smart mouth. A mouth that he would really, really love to kiss again. As she angled her head, her pupils dilating, it suddenly occurred to him what she meant. “Wait…are you saying…?”

  She poked him in the chest and her voice was low, almost unsure. “Well, you are a boy, and you are my friend.”

  He swallowed the lump in his throat. Okay, there was no denying that he wanted her again. The last month had been pure fucking torture not being able to touch her, kiss her, bury himself inside her. But after the rough way he took her virginity, he knew he was a total fuck up who didn’t deserve anything more from her.

  She nibbled her bottom lip, like she was waiting for him to say something.

  “Kat,” he croaked out.

  “Yeah?”

  Going for broke he blurted out, “I want you. I want to be with you so fucking bad.” He gripped a handful of his hair, and tugged on it. “Please, let me be with you again. I’ll do it right this time…I promise.” She opened her mouth but no words came. His insides twisted into knots. “Kat, please, tell me you want this, tell me you want me, and I’ll make this right between us.”

  Both confusion and excitement moved over her face at the same time. “I didn’t think you wanted me anymore,” she said, her voice shaky.

  “I’ve never stopped wanting you. Please tell me you want me too.”

  “I want you,” she whispered.

  Noah let loose a breath and brushed her hair from her face, then gently rubbed his thumb over her plump lips. He leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers. Desire stirred inside him as she opened her mouth to him, granting him access. Their tongues tangled and he explored softly as he deepened the kiss, savoring the sweet flavor of her. He put one palm on her hip and gently ran it up her side, reacquainting himself with her body. His touch was slow, purposeful, because he was determined to take his time with her, to understand her needs and to make up for the last time.

  After a moment, he pulled back and looked around the maintenance shed. “Not here and not like this.”

  “Noah?” she asked, her eyes confused.

  “Let’s go back to the lodge, somewhere comfortable.”

  She blinked. “Okay.”

  Noah helped her onto the bike, and her warmth wrapped around him as he dodged low hanging trees and sped back to the lodge. They rushed up the stair and a few minutes later they stood in her room. He touched her paint-soaked hair, and looked at his blue arm.

  “Come with me.”

  He led her into her small bathroom and turned on the spray. He sat on the edge of the tub and crooked his finger. She stepped up to him, and her dark lashes flicked rapidly over those bewitching green, cat eyes of hers.

  “Don’t be afraid, Kat. Don’t ever be afraid of me.”

  “I’m not. I just…I never showered with anyone before.”

  “I know.” He peeled her shirt from her shoulders, and reached around to unhook her bra. A growl caught in his throat when her nipples tightened before his eyes. “But we’ve got paint all over us, and I don’t want to make a mess of your bed.” He grinned, and said, “Well I do want to make a mess of your bed. Just not like this.”

  She gave a nervous laugh. “I think you just like seeing me wet.”

  He groaned. “Jesus, I love it when you talk dirty.”

  Her cheeks turned pink. “Oh, I didn’t mean…”

  He looked at her near naked body and a tremble raced through him. “You are so beautiful.”

  “So are you,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper.

  Holding her hands at her sides, he leaned in and gently swiped his tongue over one hard bud. She arched into him as his hands went to her shorts. The scent of her skin curled around him as he released the button, and then the zipper. Breathing in the tang of her arousal, he pushed her shorts and panties to her feet.

  She kicked them off and he stood up, making quick work of his own clothes. Once they were both naked, he pulled her into the shower. With his cock throbbing, he looked at all bottles on the ledge, and squirted what he hoped was soap into his palm. He lathered his hands, and began washing the paint from her body.

  He turned her so her back was pressed to his chest, and ran his hands all over her taking his time to cleanse every inch of her skin. His cock throbbed and pressed against the small of her back, letting her know how much he wanted her. She quivered under his touch, and once he had her all sudsy, he put her under the spray.

  “Can I wash you?” she asked, her voice a bit hesitant.

  “I’m okay.” He lathered up again and quickly scrubbed the paint from his own skin.

  Once they were clean, he climbed out and grabbed two towels off her shelf. He tied one around his waist and wrapped her in the other.

  When he looked into her eyes and saw desire, his mouth found hers again and it was all he could do to slow himself down before he backed her up against that wall and pounded into her. She pressed against him, and his cock strained against the towel. A moment later the knot came undone and it slipped to the floor.

  He was about to grab it when he felt Kat’s hand on his cock.

  “Oh, Jesus,” he murmured.

  She stroked him gently, like she was familiarizing herself with his length, texture. “So soft.”

  “Ah, not soft, Kat.”

  She chuckled. “No I mean the skin,” she said once again reminding him of her innocence. “It’s soft.”

  The warmth of her hands stroking him sent fire licking over his flesh. He clenched his jaw, the muscles rippling as moisture broke out on his body. As tension grew, he pushed her hair from her face and she looked up at him. Oh, fuck, how he needed her.

  With pre-come pearling on his crown, he backed up, and her hand fell from his cock. She gave him a questioning look.

  He briefly closed his eyes to get his shit together. “You have no idea what that’s doing to me.”

  She rolled one shoulder and looked at his cock again. “I have some idea.”

  “Jesus…”

  He grabbed his pants off the floor, yanked a couple condoms from his pocket, and pulled her into the room. Standing before her bed he kissed her, and when she unknotted her towel and let it fall to the floor, offering herself up so nicely, he took a shuddering breath. Determined to make this sweet for her, so fucking sweet that she’d forget about the last time, he cupped her ass, and lifted her, forcing her legs around his back.

  Her mouth opened, and her eyes lit as he kneeled on the bed. He could feel the wetness of her pussy on his stomach as he shuffled to the middle. He fell on top of her, and her wet hair spilled across the pillow.

  “Baby, I want you so much.” He traced her face, her jaw, and leaned back to run his hand between her breasts.

  “I want you too,” she whispered, her breathing uneven.

  He looked at her and when he caught the longing in her eyes it touched something deep inside him. He gripped her hands and held them over her head as he buried his face in her neck. He filled his lungs with her scent, drowning in the taste of her. His heart pounded madly against his ribcage as his mouth traveled lower. He found one nipple with his tongue while his finger traced the other. He sucked and pulled and flicked until she was writhing like mad beneath him.

  “So good,” she murmured.

  Heat curled through him when he left her breasts and kissed a path to her pussy
, his palms sliding over her hot bare skin. His movements were slow, deliberate, testing her responses. The sound of her shuffling reached his ears. He glanced up to see her go up on her elbows, her face flushed, her eyes big.

  Understanding she wanted to watch him, he pulled open her wet lips to find her dripping with desire. He ran the pad of his thumb over her clit, and her hips came off the bed. “Oh, God.”

  Christ, she was so responsive. His chest swelled, loving that he could make her feel good. “You like that?”

  “Yes,” she cried out and gripped the sheet. He eased a finger inside her, giving her time to get used to the fullness. He damn near shot off when her wet pussy swelled around him. He licked her clit, then circled it with his thumb. She began trembling, panting, growing slicker with each stroke.

  She threw herself back down on the pillow and widened her legs even more. “Noah…I….oh, God, Noah.”

  He pumped a little harder, stretching her while he applied a bit more pressure to her clit. She thrust her pelvis forward and he knew she was close, so close. “That’s it, Kat.”

  He swirled his finger through her slick heat, and applied more pressure to her clit. Her aroused scent swirled around him, and insane with the need to fuck her, he damn near lost it then and there. A cry lodged in her throat and lust exploded inside him as she came on his fingers, her wet heat dripping all over him.

  “Noah,” she whimpered.

  “Yeah, I know, baby.” He stayed between her legs, until she stopped trembling, and then he climbed up her body and flattened himself over her. His cock throbbed, and his muscles trembled, his control hanging on by a thread. Christ he needed her. Now.

  “Kat, I really need to be inside you again.”

  She nodded and he grabbed the condom from her nightstand. He quickly rolled it on, and wound his fingers in hers, holding them over her head as he positioned his cock at her entrance. Her wet heat wrapped around his crown, and he took a deep breath, working to leash his control.

  She closed her eyes, pinching them tight.

  Blood pounded through his veins and his hunger for her made him quake. “Look at me.”

  Her lashes fluttered open.

  “If I do anything that hurts, you tell me, and I’ll stop, okay?”

  She gave a tight nod. “Okay.”

  “I mean it, Kat.”

  “I will.”

  He pushed into her, offering her an inch at a time, letting her get used to his girth before he went deeper. She whimpered, and moved her hips, her body beckoning more.

  With agonizing slowness he slipped inside, and once he was balls deep and could feel her heat scorch him, he let loose a growl. “Christ you are so hot and tight.”

  He began moving, slowly at first until she started to buck against him. He bit the inside of his cheek and powered into her. He gauged her reactions, and when a moan escaped her throat, her pleasure resonating through him, he pumped a little quicker, knowing he wasn’t going to last long. His hips jerked as he moved in and out of her, escalating the tension inside him.

  He drove a hand between their bodies, and rubbed her clit as flames surged through him. “I’m right there,” he moaned, feeling the hot pressure of relief.

  She gave a broken gasp, and the sound pushed him over the edge. His skin grew tight and his balls constricted, the pressure inside him coming to a peak. Her muscles tightened around his cock, and he drove deep and stilled. He threw his head back and released, drawing out the pleasure and savoring every last pulse as he came inside her.

  Breath rushed from his lungs and contentment swamped him. Exhausted, he collapsed on top of her. “Jesus,” he cried out, their shaking wet bodies melting together as one.

  He rolled beside her and disposed of the condom. A warm, comfortable silence fell over them as they held each other close. He listened to her soft mewling sounds, and loved the way she purred for him, the way she felt in his arms. Stroking her hair, he drew deep breaths until his breathing returned to normal.

  After a while, he shifted onto his side and looked at her, tenderness moving through him. “Hey,” he whispered, his hand going to her stomach.

  “Hey yourself.”

  He drew small circles with his fingers, and she trembled. “You okay?”

  “I’m okay.”

  As he looked at her, his body grew needy. Christ it was insane how much he wanted her again. “Sore?” he questioned in a soft tone.

  She crinkled her nose. “A little.”

  He lightly stroked her pussy, soothing it as he inched back slightly and worked to leash his cock. “Okay.”

  She grinned and drew his mouth to hers. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to feel you inside me again.”

  The rest of the week went by in a blur. Kathryn spent her workdays miserable at her desk, but her nights were filled with Noah. Noah kissing her, touching her, falling into bed with her where he would make gentle love to her all night long. The anniversary party went off without a hitch, except for when Alyssa, who was taking pictures for the Carmichaels, stormed out after talking to her father. The Carmichaels never seemed to notice and were thrilled with the photos.

  Here it was Saturday night again, and she told Noah she’d meet him at the Cave because she had plans with Amy. Little did she tell him what those plans were. Sitting on the shuttle next to her friend, she patted her big beach bag.

  Amy grinned. “Do you think he’ll notice it missing?”

  “I guess I’ll just have to keep him distracted,” Kathryn said.

  Amy laughed. “My God, that boy has corrupted you.” She wagged her brows. “But I like it. This is your summer break, and you should be having fun.”

  They hopped off the shuttle on Main Street and walked to the art district. When they came upon Sam’s shop, which was nothing more than a little hole in the wall, they pulled open the door.

  Sam glanced up from the metal artwork he’d been working on and smiled. “Hey Kat, Amy, nice to see you.”

  Kat looked at the piece, which was an artistic and delicate model of an old fashioned car. “This is beautiful, Sam.”

  “Thanks.”

  She looked at all his brass pieces and knew she’d be back to get something for herself. But right now she needed to talk to him about the real reason she was standing in his shop.

  She pulled Noah’s broken gearbox from her purse and held it out. “Any chance you can fix this?”

  He looked it over. “Is this for Noah?”

  “Yeah, I want to surprise him. Apparently the bike shop he went to told him this one was useless, and he’s been unable to get a replacement. I thought that maybe since you’re a machinist you might be able to rebuild it.”

  He grinned. “And what makes you think that?”

  “I knew a machinist back home, and he used to manufacture custom parts for race cars. I know the shop told Noah this was no good without new gears, but what they failed to realize is that a good machinist could manufacture those gears.”

  He smiled at her. “Beautiful and smart,” he said. “And it’s not that they fail to realize it, it’s just that they make money from ordering parts in and installing them.”

  She blushed at the beautiful and smart comment. “So do you think you can do it?”

  He took it to his workbench, and opened it up. He looked at it for a few minutes and then nodded. “It’s going to be a lot of work, but I think I can make new gears for it.”

  Kathryn heart jumped. “Really?”

  “Yeah. Leave it with me for a bit, and I’ll see what I can do.”

  “One more thing.” She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him. Amy sucked in a breath when she saw the drawing Kathryn had done. “Do you know anyone who does engraving?”

  Sam nodded. “You bet I do.” Then he grinned at her. “Does Noah how lucky he is? Cause if he doesn’t…”

  She blushed again when she realized he was actually flirting with her. “How much for all this?” she asked.


  “A lot. But I don’t want your money.”

  She gave him a confused look, but before she could ask what he meant a customer walked in.

  Sam greeted the man. “Hey there, Jack. I’m just finishing up with your piece.” He shot Kat a look. “Are you going to the Cave?”

  She nodded.

  “I just need to finish up here, then I’ll be heading over. I’ll catch up with you then, and we’ll go over payment.”

  As she speculated on what Sam could possibly want besides money, she and Amy went to Grizzly’s for a bite. They ordered up their usual and talked quietly over burgers and beer.

  Amy exhaled slowly. “I can’t believe how fast the summer is flying by.”

  Kathryn swallowed a mouthful of tomato and nodded. “I know.”

  “In a couple of months we’ll all go our separate ways again.”

  A knot settled in Kathryn’s stomach as she thought about never seeing Noah again. She was getting kind of used to falling to sleep with him every night, not to mention waking up with him.

  “You won’t see Jared after the summer?” Kathryn asked.

  “No, and this will probably be my last year here. I graduate next year so I’ll be looking for something in my field.”

  As she mulled that over, and thought about her own future, and Noah’s, they finished their food and walked to the Cave.

  She looked around for Noah, everything inside her aching to be held by him again, but he wasn’t there yet. When she saw Sam, she made her way over to him.

  “Hey, Kat,” he said, talking over the loud music.

  “I really appreciate you fixing the gearbox for me,” she said.

  “No problem. I don’t mind doing favors for friends.” He grinned. “I’m wondering if you can do me a favor in return.”

  She eyed him, having no idea what kind of favor he could want from her. “Okay,” she said hesitantly.

  “My niece is turning two next month and she loves Winnie the Pooh.”

  Kat nodded, confused and wondering where this was going.

  “Everyone’s talking about the mural you’re doing and I was wondering, in exchange for me fixing the gearbox, if you could do a mural on her bedroom wall. She’d love it.”