Mirabelle’s POV:
I swallowed, my throat dry. “But what if you do?” I asked quietly. “What if you keep working with her? And then you end up getting close to her in a way that I can’t handle? What happens to us then?” I finally voiced my insecurity and didn’t act as strong as I did before.
Noah shifted, sitting up fully now, and his expression softened. “Mirabelle, you have to trust me. I’ve never given you a reason to doubt me, have I?” I stared at him for a long moment. I didn’t want to admit it, but I felt like everything had changed.
“I want to trust you,” I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper. “But how can I? I know it’s silly, but seeing you with Natasha-it just feels like you’re slipping away from me.”
Noah’s jaw tightened, and he reached out, placing a hand on my knee. “Mirabelle, you need to trust me. Especially after everything we’ve been through.” I felt my chest tighten.
“I know,” I said, forcing out a smile. “I know you’ve always had my back, and I’m grateful for that. But it’s not just about trust, is it? It’s about something deeper-about feeling secure, feeling like I’m about to become an option in your life. I’ve spent so long trying to build a new life after losing Ken, Noah. And I can’t just throw that away.”
He looked at me, his fingers still gently resting on my knee. “I’m not asking you to throw it away. I’m asking you to trust me the way I’ve trusted you.” His words stung, but in a way that made me feel guilty for being the one to question him.
“You trusted me when you told me to work with Ken.” I said, my voice trembling slightly. “I trusted you when you said that you’d support me, even though I knew how much you hated the idea. You’ve always been the one who believed in me.”
He sighed. “You agreed to that because you knew I wasn’t going to hold it against you. And I don’t want to hold this against you either. This isn’t about me working with Natasha. It’s about you feeling insecure because of how you lost Ken to another woman.”
“I know,” I whispered, feeling the weight of the moment. “But it’s hard, Noah. Seeing you with her, it makes me feel like she’s always going to be here.” He turned to face me fully, his body inches from mine.
“You are enough, Mirabelle. You always have been. I love you. And that’s why I’m asking you to trust me. Not because of Natasha. Not because of anything else. But because I’ve proven to you that I’ll never do anything to hurt you.”
“I don’t want to lose you,” I said softly, my voice breaking as I sniffed. “But if we keep letting these things build up wedges between us, I don’t know if we’ll be able to fix it. I can’t just pretend that everything is fine when it feels like we’re drifting apart.”
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I don’t want that either, Mirabelle. I don’t want to lose you either.” I nodded, my hand reaching out to rest on his. The silence felt like the kind of moment where everything could go either way.
I could feel Noah’s warmth, and for the first time in days, I felt horny. “Okay,” I said after a long pause, my voice calmer now. “Go ahead with your work with Natasha. But I need you to understand that I’m doing this because I believe in us, okay? So you better not disappoint me.”
He looked at me. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I promise I won’t disappoint you.” Noah’s eyes held mine.
“Noah,” I began, though I wasn’t sure what I intended to say. He didn’t answer, not with words. His fingers skimmed up my arm, leaving a trail of warmth, until they found their way to my face.
“You don’t have to-” I started, but his thumb traced my cheek, silencing me.
“I know.” he murmured. “But I want to.” I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. It was just him, his hand on my face, his breath mingling with mine. When his lips finally met mine, it wasn’t the rush I’d expected. It was soft as if he were giving me the chance to pull away. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. Instead, I leaned into him, my fingers curling into his shirt.
His other hand slid to the small of my back, pulling me closer, and the kiss deepened. It wasn’t hurried; it was slow.
When we finally broke apart, my chest heaved with the effort to catch my breath. “Noah,” I whispered, and this time, I knew exactly what I wanted to say.
He smiled, his thumb grazing my lower lip. “Mira.” He said. Was it just my imagination or did his eyes flicker down to my cleavage, proudly on display in the tiny singlet?
Fuck. Yep, those were my nipples, now standing at attention at the very thought.
Down, girls. “Fuck me?” Then Noah grinned.
“Thought you’d never ask.” I had barely had the chance to breath before he started undressing me.
Noah pulled my T-shirt over my head to reveal a turquoise lace bra, I bit my lip and looked at him in the eye. “In fact, I’d prefer if you did.”
“Well, if you insist,” I heard him say, He was stripping slowly as if he wanted to savor every moment.
Throwing the T-shirt over the side of the room, Noah moved closer, wearing only his inner shorts. I gave a gentle tug on the corner of his towel. “You can lose this, you know.” I muttered.
Smiling, he pushed my hair behind my neck. His fingers brushed my tender skin and made me shiver, before touching his mouth to my neck. He began to suck at the tender spot.
I slid my hands down his ripped tummy to pull his shorts as our kiss deepened.
He pulled me closer, running a hand down my smooth back, as he tangled his fingers in my hair, tugging slightly at the roots then I moaned in his mouth.
“Bad girl, huh?” he murmured in my ear wearing a sexy grin.