Hot and Bothered - Erika Wilde Page 0,77

broad expanse of his chest. His dark hair was tousled, and his striking blue eyes appraised her in turn.

“Hello, Natalie,” he drawled, his voice so deep and sexy that her body surged with instantaneous awareness. “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” she said, pasting on a semblance of a bright smile. He brushed past her into the small living area that encompassed her bed and a few necessary pieces of furniture.

Closing the door after him, she waved an apologetic hand at the open boxes scattered on the floor and the rumpled covers on her bed. “Sorry about the mess in here.”

His gaze took in everything before coming back to rest on her, the flexing muscle in his jaw the only indication of emotion. “I heard you were leaving,” he said gruffly.

She shoved her fingers into the back pockets of her shorts and affected a nonchalant attitude, though she craved his touch, his warmth. God, she’d missed him so much this past week! How had she believed that she could leave this man behind when he’d become her whole reason for living?

“I was thinking of moving to San Diego,” she said.

He tipped his head curiously. “You were going to leave without saying goodbye?”

He looked and sounded genuinely hurt, and she hated that she was the source. She couldn’t judge where they stood as a couple, or what the reason was for Noah’s surprise visit, but with her decision to remain in Oakland firm, she needed to be honest and up front with him. “Noah…”

As if he didn’t want to hear what she had to say, he started toward her, completely, overwhelmingly male, making her words stall in her throat as he approached her so determinedly. Stopping inches away, he tangled his fingers into her hair and tipped her head back so she had no choice but to look up at him and meet his hot blue gaze.

“Well, here’s a going-away present for you,” he said, and covered her mouth with his own.

He kissed her greedily, selfishly, deeply, and she didn’t hesitate to open up to him, taking whatever he was willing to give her. Their lips meshed, tongues mated, and he swallowed the moan that bubbled up from her throat. Just when she thought she’d go up in flames, he slowed the kiss, drawing out the lush sensations, branding her with the heat and taste of him, making her melt deep inside.

After what seemed like an eternity, he lifted his head, his expression both fierce and tender at the same time as he gauged her response to his parting gift.

Feeling thrown off balance, she pressed her hands against his chest to steady herself. “That certainly didn’t feel like a goodbye kiss,” she said, her voice husky with the desire he’d so easily stoked.

“You’re right. It wasn’t,” he admitted, and feathered his thumb along her bottom lip in a soft caress. “It was a kiss asking you to take a chance on me, on us.” He trailed his knuckles down her cheek, oh-so-gently. “All you have to do is say yes, Natalie,” he murmured.

As much as she longed to surrender to his tempting overture, her cautious nature couldn’t help but wonder if he was here out of some warped sense of obligation. Or were his actions motivated by guilt?

There was one way for her to find out. And if he gave her the answers she sought, she was all his in return.

“When you told me you loved me that last night we were together, did you mean it?” She held her breath as she waited for him to answer.

His gaze softened, glowing with the same emotion she’d seen in his eyes that night they’d bared their hearts to each other. “I never say anything I don’t mean.”

“Neither do I,” she said, her meaning clear. “Not even when I’m under the influence of amnesia.” She’d fallen in love with him then, and she still loved him now.

A slow, relieved smile spread across his gorgeous face. “I love you, Natalie,” he said, the words resonating as strongly as the beat of her heart.

Tears of joy filled her eyes. “Oh, Noah, I love you, too,” she whispered. And loving him gave her the strength to share her greatest fears. “And I’ve never been so afraid of wanting something as much as I want you.”

“Then we have something in common, because all of this is brand new to me, too. I’ve never let myself need anyone before you, because I’ve lost too much in the past. Being