Exposure - Kelly Moran Page 0,24

his mouth.

Seeing the soft light skin over the hard muscles of his back and shoulders made her ache to touch him. Run her hands down his sinfully yummy body. Watch him come undone beneath her like he'd done last night.

His forearms flexed as he took a sip of coffee and set it down. "I'm sorry," he said into the phone, his voice low. "I can't make it for a few weeks. I know. I miss you, too."

The hairs on her arms stood erect. Dread coiled in her gut.

He had someone else.

She placed a palm to her forehead. Of course he did. They never said anything about exclusivity and neither of them did commitment. This temporary thing between them was no different. So why did her stomach clench at the thought of him doing these things with someone else? She wasn't the jealous type.

He turned suddenly on the stool, eyes widening a fraction. His gaze leveled on her, devoid of any recognizable expression. "I have to go," he said into the phone, still watching her.

Making her feet move, she walked deeper into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. Turning, she forced herself to face him and leaned her butt on the counter.

With his jaw tight, his gaze traveled the length of her. "Damn, Raven. The only thing better than the sight of you naked is you in nothing but my shirt." His voice, sleep-roughened and low, caused heat to replace the anxiety in her belly.

She took a sip of coffee, staring at him over the rim. "If you need to go, I understand."

"What are you talking about?"

Pushing off the counter, she rounded the island. "We never said anything about not seeing other people in this arrangement." Shame filled her knowing she probably hadn't satisfied him last night, hadn't allowed him to do half the things he'd wanted.

He grabbed her arm when she went to pass him. "I'm not seeing anyone else. That call was…regarding something else."

She'd never known him to lie, not up until last week anyway when she'd found out the past ten years had been false. According to him, it was one lie, just about his alter ego, but how could she be sure? "You don't need to make excuses. I won't break. If you need to get it somewhere else--"

He took the coffee from her hand, set it down, grabbed her hips and pinned her to the counter in one swift blur. Her breasts and hands trapped between their bodies. He shoved his face close, breath heavy across her cheek. His gaze bore into hers--a searing arctic blue seething with anger.

"I'm not seeing anyone else and I don't share. I may not be the forever guy, but I have never cheated when I'm with a woman. Not until it's run its course and I've ended it do I move on. Understand? There is no one else."

Remembering to breathe, she nodded. Her heart jack-hammered in her chest, but not in fear. In desire. This fierce, intense side of him, almost brutal in the animalistic stance, had her damp. Needy.

He flinched as if shocked by his actions. He swiped a hand down his face and expelled a breath. Shoving off the counter, he backed away.

She grabbed the ties of his pajama bottoms and hauled him back. "That was hot. You going all alpha and angry? Really hot, Noah."

His gaze was disbelieving.

Reaching between them, she palmed his shaft, satisfaction rising when he thickened in her hand.

His hands dropped to her hips, fingers flexing. "Raven, baby…"

"Have I also mentioned how much I like you calling me baby? Surprising, that. But I like it." Normally, she hated pet names. Her mother used them constantly. But coming from Noah, in that voice of his speaking through a haze of lust and skirting the edge of control, her knees weakened.

Sucking in a breath, he fisted the hem of her shirt, shoving it up to her waist. His gaze dropped. A groan rumbled from his chest. "You're not wearing anything under my shirt." His voice was breathless. Awed.

As if he needed confirmation, she shook her head.

Suddenly, they spun and her back was against the wall, him on his knees in front of her. Showing her his hands, he pressed one and then the other on the wall on either side of her hips, silently telling her he wouldn't move them. "Open your legs, baby."

The breath caught in her lungs, but she did as he asked, bracing her feet farther apart and using the