Later that afternoon, after Sasha and I had gone our separate ways, I returned to the house. I’d headed to a town nearby to buy a few more pots and pans for the kitchen. As I rolled to a stop in the circular driveway, I glanced over to see Sasha in the middle of shoveling the front porch and stairs.
Tall and rectangular, my family’s old colonial-style home was situated on a bluff looking out over the ocean. The front of the home had a porch that ran the length of the house. Other than a small arching overhang above the door, it was otherwise uncovered, including the stairs.
I climbed out of the car, calling over, “You don’t have to shovel.”
Sasha glanced up, casting me a quick smile. “It’s the least I can do. I don’t mind shoveling.”
Reaching the bottom step, she quickly scooped off the last bit of snow and then walked toward my car. “Do you need help?”
She stopped in front of me, and I glanced down. Her down jacket was unzipped, revealing a denim button-down shirt over her tank top. Her breasts rose and fell with every breath she took. My hands itched to touch her. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail with loose tendrils framing her face. Without thinking, I lifted a hand and brushed a few wayward locks out of the way, tucking them behind her ear. The pull to dip my head and kiss her was so strong that it took an act of sheer will not to do it.
Her eyes held mine under the bright winter sun. I thought I saw an answering flare of desire in her gaze. “What did you get?”
It took me a moment to gather my focus. “Some more stuff for the kitchen. I actually contemplated getting some furniture, but then I decided I didn’t want to take on that project today. I also got us more groceries.”
“I can reimburse you,” she said.
“No.”
She let out a huff of a laugh. “No?”
“That’s right. No.”
She pursed her lips. “I’ll reimburse Thea then.”
“My sister’s not going to take money from you.”
Sasha cuffed me lightly on the shoulder as she turned away and propped the shovel against the railing on the stairs. Of course, my eyes went right to her bottom. She was not short on curves. If I thought her jeans did her sweet body justice, her fleece leggings were even worse, outlining every inch of her generous hips.
Turning back, she asked, “What can I carry?”
We got everything unloaded, and then I found myself in the kitchen after we let Matilda outside to run around. I looked down into Sasha’s eyes.
The need to kiss her felt like a whip lashing at my back. She was standing right there, her hand resting on the kitchen counter as she drew her tongue along the spoon she’d just dipped in honey to stir into a cup of tea.
She set the spoon down, and I took one step, closing the distance between us. “You shouldn’t do that,” I murmured, my voice coming out low and gravelly.
“Do what?”
“Lick the spoon.”
Her puzzled eyes met mine. “What’s the problem with that?”
“I want to kiss you,” I practically growled.
Chapter Five
SASHA
I stared up at Noah, my mouth falling open. “Huh?”
His eyes narrowed as he took a step closer. “I. Want. To. Kiss. You.”
Each word out of his mouth came out slowly and deliberately. I heard the words and technically knew the meaning, but my mind just couldn’t comprehend them. I’d been a single mom busy raising my daughter for fifteen years, those years encompassing the entirety of my adulthood and the last years of my adolescence. Feeling sexy and the object of anyone’s desire was practically a foreign concept to me at this point.
“You do?” I finally squeaked.
“Didn’t I just say it twice?” He was starting to look almost annoyed.
“Oh.”
“Oh?” he countered. “All you have to do is tell me to back the fuck off. No need to be coy about it.”
I rested a hand on my hip. “I’m not being coy. I’m just a little rusty. I can’t believe you want to kiss me.”
“It’s not smart,” he said, almost as if to himself.
“What’s not smart about it?” I pressed, now almost offended about something I’d thought wasn’t possible seconds ago.
“You’re Thea’s friend.”
“And I’m an adult,” I sputtered. “For God’s sake, I have a fifteen-year-old daughter. Speaking of being coy, just be honest. I know the whole single mom thing is a huge turn-off.”
Noah erased the distance between us in a hot second, and I found myself with my hips pressing against the counter and his arms caging me in on either side. “I’m not being coy. I’m never coy. This has nothing to do with you being a single mom. I’m just trying to be sensible, and you’re not making it easy,” he muttered, his eyes flashing and his voice taut.
A thrill chased through me at his words. Well, that and the fact I could feel his muscled thighs pressing against mine. He carried a subtle, masculine scent, woodsy with a hint of the ocean and snow.
“I’ve spent my entire adult life being sensible.” I heard myself saying, almost startled at my boldness. “What if I don’t want to be sensible?”
Noah’s nostrils flared, and he took in a sharp breath. “Sasha,” he warned.
Determined not to get dismissed, I leaned up, sliding my hand around the back of his neck, and brought my lips to his. The moment we made contact, it felt as if an actual sizzle of electricity linked us. My lips almost burned from the heat of it.
Noah stilled for two electrifying beats of my heart. Then he groaned and angled his head to the side. One of his hands pressed between my shoulder blades, sliding up as his fingers tangled in my hair. He took control of our kiss in a searing second. His tongue slid across the seam of my lips, and I opened, letting out a moan at the feel of his tongue sweeping in and gliding against mine.
I didn’t know how long it lasted because I lost track of everything, including time, but our kiss went absolutely wild. I arched against him, savoring the feel of his swollen arousal pressing at the apex of my thighs. Our kiss almost felt like a fight. I was fighting to unleash a part of me that had lain dormant for years. Meanwhile, Noah’s tongue dueled with mine, his lips sensual and commanding.
Eventually, he drew back, and I felt myself following him, but he held my head still where his palm lightly gripped the nape of my neck. His forehead fell to mine as he pressed a kiss to one corner of my mouth and then the other. “Sasha,” he whispered gruffly, “slow down.”
“I don’t want to,” I said, almost pleadingly.
He held me close. The sound of our ragged breathing filled my ears as my heartbeat kicked hard and fast inside my chest. Eventually, a shuffling sound by the kitchen door nudged into my awareness. My thoughts were muddled until I heard Matilda’s distinct bark.
“I need to let Matilda in,” I murmured into Noah’s chest. And what a chest it was, all muscled and strong. I wanted to slide my hands under his T-shirt and map the planes of his body.
Noah stepped back, his eyes searching mine. I suddenly felt uncertain and abashed. Turning, I crossed quickly to the kitchen door, letting Matilda in. She greeted me with thumps of her tail against my calves before hurrying over to do the same with Noah. Her presence snapped some cold reality through that crazy moment, and I busied myself tidying the kitchen and putting away the things Noah had gotten at the store. He helped for a few minutes, but then his phone rang, and he stepped out of the kitchen.