Single Dads Collection. Lynne Marshall
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had issues with was solely on him.
“Just need to get home,” he replied.
He tried to get out the back door, and succeeded, but she was right on his heels. As he reached his truck, Lucy’s delicate hand settled on his arm.
“If I did something, I deserve to know,” she insisted. “Look at me.”
Noah spun around. “You didn’t do anything, all right? I’m pissed at myself for letting the rumor mill rule my life.”
“What?”
“The guy who asked you out…” Noah cursed himself once again. “Forget it. It’s none of my concern if you want to go out with someone. I have no claims and I have no right to ask you not to.”
Lucy stood there, her golden hair dancing around her shoulders in the wind. It almost hurt him to look at her. There was such innocence about her, but he knew she’d seen so much heartache. And he wasn’t helping either of their situations.
“Forget it,” he muttered. “Forget I said anything. Head on home, Lucy.”
Her hold on his arm tightened. “I said no.”
Noah closed his eyes and couldn’t suppress the relief that swept through him. “It’s not my business.”
“You sure about that?” she countered, releasing him. “Because you’re acting a little territorial when we haven’t agreed to anything. You can’t even admit you have feelings for me.”
Another officer pulled into the lot just as Noah was about to grab her and show her just how much he was feeling right now.
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” he gritted through his teeth.
“So you wouldn’t care if I went out on a date with another guy?” she threw back. When he remained silent, she shook her head. “Guess not. I thought this attraction went both ways and you might actually give up the friend notion and see where we could go.”
She got in her car and started the engine, not once looking his way as she pulled from the lot.
Fury bubbled within him at the way he’d handled things, not just this morning, but from the moment they’d met. It was a push-pull relationship and he was a jerk.
Damn it, he wanted her. So why was he torturing them both? The stakes weren’t the same as before he was married. Now he knew full well going in exactly what to expect. They were adults who couldn’t keep going on like this.
Noah turned onto Lucy’s road and pulled into her driveway right behind her. As soon as she stepped from the car, she turned to face him. Her eyes were wide with surprise, but a second later, she started heading toward her back door, still ignoring him.
He hopped from his truck and mounted her steps. He managed to reach the door just before she closed it in his face.
“Will you stop for one second?” he demanded, following her inside.
“I think we’ve said enough.” She jerked the scarf off and laid it on the kitchen island along with her purse before she turned to face him. “Unless you had something else to discuss, the topic of us is closed.”
Oh, that’s what she thought? Like hell. He crossed the narrow space between them and gripped her shoulders. Her body arched against his as a gasp escaped her.
“Consider the topic back open,” he growled as he crushed his lips to hers.
Lucy stilled and he worried he’d pushed too far, but then her fingers threaded through his hair as she opened for him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her as he headed toward her bedroom.
“Tell me to stop if you don’t want me to take you to bed,” he muttered against her lips. “But I need you, Lucy. I can’t keep going on like this.”
Her eyes met his as she licked her lips. The subtle nod she gave was all the green light he needed.
“I want you,” she murmured.
He backed her down the hall, but she put a hand on his chest as she stared up into his eyes. “Not my room.”
When he wasn’t in such a hurry later he’d realize just how fragile she was. The image of that picture on her nightstand mocked him, but Noah was here for physical reasons only. Nothing more would come from this because once they were out of each other’s systems, they could move on.
Noah threaded his hands through her hair and backed her against the wall just outside the spare bedroom. When his mouth captured hers once again, she opened for him, arching her body and sighing into him.
Lucy’s arms banded around his waist as she lined up her hips with his. Noah hadn’t felt a need like this in so long, he wasn’t sure how long he could hold on to his control here.
As if her thread snapped as well, Lucy reached for the front of his shirt and started frantically working his buttons loose. Pulling back from her lips, Noah pushed her hands aside and finished taking his shirt off. As soon as the uniform was on the floor, he toed off his shoes, unfastened his gun belt, and gently laid it on the floor.
Lucy immediately went for the button on his pants.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” he told her, his entire body heating from anticipation.
Lucy’s wide eyes met his as she bit on her lower lip. She didn’t make a move to take off anything.
“Having doubts?” he asked, smoothing her hair away from her face.
She shook her head. “Just nervous.”
“That makes two of us.”
Noah gripped the hem of her long-sleeved tee and pulled it slowly up her body, keeping his eyes locked on hers for any sign that he needed to stop. As much as he wanted her, he wasn’t about to make her more uncomfortable.
Lucy held her arms up and Noah pulled the shirt up the rest of the way. As he flung it to the side, she slipped out of her shoes and pulled her pants down, kicking them out of the way.
Standing in only her pale pink bra and panties, she set his heart beating even faster.
“You’re so damn sexy.”
Lucy’s flash of a smile had relief spiraling through him. He picked her up and her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her into the spare bedroom. The early-morning light cast a glow through the slit in the curtains. The beacon of sun projected directly onto the bed where he laid her and followed her down.
“I have no protection with me,” he murmured against her lips. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
Lucy reached up, framing her face with her hands. “I’m clean and I’m on birth control. But it’s your call.”
“I’m clean, too.” He’d had an in-depth physical before coming to SPD.
Lucy’s hands slid over his shoulders and over his back. Her delicate touch spawned an even deeper desire inside him. Noah took seconds to remove the rest of his clothes and her bra and panties. When he settled back between her legs, he braced his hands on either side of her head as he stared down into her eyes. Eyes that held so much desire, so much trust.
Keeping his gaze on hers, he joined their bodies. That instant connection had him glancing away. He couldn’t look into her eyes as he made love to her, couldn’t allow himself to connect emotionally with her. The physical was all he could afford right now.
Lucy locked her ankles behind his back and arched against him. He risked a look back her way and noted her eyes were closed, which meant she was either in the moment or she didn’t want to look too closely at him, either.
Noah pushed all speculation aside and ran his hands over the dip in her waist and up over the swell of her breasts. The slight groan that escaped her had him pumping his hips faster. Lucy gripped his biceps as she matched his pace. She felt too damn