Page 58 of A Hard Habit to Break

Instead of answering with words, she pulled his head down to hers, capturing his lips in a kiss that tasted like promises and forever. This time, there was no hesitation, no holding back. This was Rachel, the woman he’d dreamed about for years, vulnerable in her surrender.

His hands found the hem of her tank top, and she lifted her arms, letting him pull it over her head. The morning light painted her skin golden, and for a moment, he could only stare at her beauty—the graceful curve of her neck, the delicate lineof her collarbone, the way freckles scattered across her chest like stars across a pale sky.

“You’re staring,” she said, but there was no shyness in her voice. Just confidence and desire and something that looked like love.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, meaning it. “You’re perfect. A gorgeous Black woman—who loves her pale skin when everyone else tells her she should hate herself. These freckles that are only yours.” His thumb traced a particularly dense cluster near her shoulder. “I could spend hours just counting them.”

“I’m far from perfect, Noah. It took me years to become comfortable in this skin… with this hair. I’m complicated. I’m stubborn. And I apparently can’t operate your prehistoric appliances.”

He chuckled against her lips. “Good thing I’m not dating you for your coffee-making skills.”

“Maybe you should,” she whispered, averting her eyes.

Noah captured her chin, turning her head until their eyes met once more.

“You’re safe with me,” he murmured against her mouth, his voice dropping to a tender whisper. “Whatever happened before, whatever we did to hurt each other—that’s over now. I won’t make the same mistakes again. I’m not letting you get away.”

The words seemed to unlock something in her, and she melted against him with a soft sigh that he felt in his bones. He silenced her with another kiss, deeper this time, letting his hands and his mouth show her exactly how uniquely perfect she was to him. She responded with equal fervor, her nails raking lightly down his back, marking him as hers. Her fingers were like an artist’s, finding every sensitive spot, every place that made him groan and press closer.

When they broke apart, both breathing hard, he lifted her onto the counter, stepping between her long legs, paler than her sun-blushed face and arms. The position brought them eyeto eye, and he could see everything in her gaze—years of longing, fear, hope, and finally, a future.

“I want you,” he said, the words falling from his lips like a prayer. “I’ve wanted you since we were stupid kids, and I’ll want you when we’re old and gray and complaining about our aching joints.”

Tears gathered in her eyes, but she smiled. “Noah Calvary, you always knew exactly what to say.”

“Say it back,” he demanded, his forehead pressed against hers. “Say you want me, too.”

“I do,” she whispered, the words carrying the weight of years of denial and fear. “I want you so much it terrifies me.”

“Don’t be scared,” he said, lifting her from the counter, her legs wrapping instinctively around his waist. The weight of her in his arms felt like coming home, like every empty space in his life had finally been filled. “I’ve got you. I’ve always got you. You belong here with me.”

They made it as far as the living room before need overtook them completely, and they sank onto the thick faux-fur rug before the cold fireplace, mapping each other’s bodies with reverent hands and hungry mouths.

He took his time with her, learning what made her gasp, what made her arch beneath him. He discovered that she loved when he nibbled her ear, the soft shell sensitive to his teeth and tongue. Her breath hitched when he traced the line of her neck with his lips, and she actually whimpered when he paid attention to her collarbone, that delicate ridge that he lavished with kisses until she was trembling beneath him.

“I want to learn everything,” he whispered against her skin. “Everything that makes you feel good. Everything that’s just for us.”

Her response was to pull him closer, her nimble fingers working magic along his spine, finding pressure points he didn’tknow existed, building his arousal with the precision of someone who understood exactly what she was doing to him.

“Oooh,” she cooed, reaching into his boxers to cup his sex. “I do like your size.”

He pressed her to the soft fibers, the rug cushioning them as he settled his weight atop hers, becoming her blanket, her shelter, her protection from the world.

“So, size does matter.” He grinned, settling his weight atop hers.

Beneath him, Rachel released an audible sigh, her body ripening in areas, and softening in others. This time, when their mouths joined, their need burned hot. The familiar contours of the first girl he’d explored had melted and reformed into the curves of the woman, bursting with uninhibited passion in his arms.

True to form, there was nothing shy about Rachel’s exploration of his body. With her fingertips, she touched, teased, and tested his restraint. God, she conducted a tactile study of his anatomy until she found his jewels. The pressure felt exquisite.

“Six… be careful,” he panted, not wanting to miss an opportunity to be inside her.

“I’ve been careful too long.” She rose up, sucking his nipple into the warm depths of her mouth.

“Oh sweet,” he hissed.

“It better be my name on your lips.”

The woman was trying to seduce him. And Noah admitted, she had mastered the art. Heat ran through his veins like lava.