Crossing Lines
Chapter 49
Noah
“Noah.”
Just my name, spoken low and serious, was enough to make my chest tighten.
I looked up. He wasn’t even trying to hide the heaviness in his gaze. 11e ked exhausted. Worn: But not in the physical sense. Emotionally. Mentally. Like he’d been holding up too much for too long.
“I crossed my own boundary tonight,” he said. “I punished you in anger, Tit’s not who I am, and it should never be something you allow, You
deserve better.
“You were right to punish me,” I said, voice clipped, trying to sound composed, but my throat burned. “I knew what I was doing. I pushed. I
cursed. I wanted you to get angry.”
He didn’t argue. He just looked at me–like he wanted to reach for me but was forcing himself not to.
“Even so,” he said quietly, “I betrayed you
trust. And that’s something I can’t ignore.”
The explanation was there, his heartfelt reasons… but I registered none of that.
He’s leaving me.
That’s all I heard.
He didn’t have to say the words. They echoed anyway, loud and final.
I’m leaving you.
This is over.
You’re not safe with me… Or better yet. You are not a safe choice for me.
My heart kicked hard against my ribs. I shook my head, but it
“No…” I whispered before I could stop myself.
in disagreement–it was denial. Pure, panicked denial.
My chest hurt. Everything in me locked up like I couldn’t breathe properly. The thought of him walking away now–after everything–felt like being ripped open from the inside. And the worst part? I didn’t even know why it hurt so much. I just knew I couldn’t let him do it.
“You can’t just decide this for me,” I said, the words tumbling out raw. “This–this is one thing I get to decide too.”
His jaw clenched. “Noah, this has been hard on you. Maybe our timing wasn’t right. The pressure of the team, your new life… and this. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Fuck that!” I snapped, my voice cracking. I stepped closer, heart racing. “You can’t just get me into this, show me what you had to offer, make me want it more than anything until I think I’m going mad for wanting it, and then drop me cold. I need this. I need you.”
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Chapter 49
He exhaled, pained. “Noah, I’m not what you need right now.”
“Maybe not. But I don’t even know what I need. You said you’d tell me that too. So tell me! Tell me what I need?
My voice cracked, and my chest felt like it was about to cave in. My fists clenched at my sides.
‘Because I know what I want, and I don’t understand it, and it scares the shit out of me, but I want it anyway, and I don’t want to pretend i
don’t anymore.”
He stared at me like I’d just ripped open his chest. Then, like a storm finally breaking, he closed the distance between us.
His hands grabbed me, spun me around, and shoved me back against the wall. Not hard. But firm. Possessive. Hot.
I gasped, and his mouth was at my ear.
“Then say it, Noah, he breathed. “What do you want?”
I swallowed hard. My whole body trembled.
“You,” I said. “I want you. I want you to take me. To break me if you have to. I just want to be yours.”
And then he kissed me.
God, he kissed me like he was drowning and I was the last breath he had left in him. Like all the restraint he’d been holding onto all day finally snapped, and I was the only thing that could put him back together
I moaned into his mouth, clutching at his shirt, feeling everything we’d been holding back explode in a violent, aching, perfect kiss.
And just like that, we weren’t at war anymore.
We were fire. Heart–wrenching, consuming fire.
His fingers gripped my face, rough and sure, and then slid into my hair as he tilted my head, deepening the kiss until I whimpered. His tongue devoured mine–no hesitation, no tenderness–just raw, desperate possession. Like he needed to taste every part of me, like he had to prove I was his with his mouth alone.
I arched against him, naked skin brushing fabric, the friction making me gasp. Aiden growled–an actual low, guttural sound–and tore off his jacket, dropping it to the floor without ever breaking the kiss.
His hands found my chest, skimming down like he was rediscovering me by touch alone. Fingers traced over my ribs, my hips, my thighs- possessive, hungry. There was nothing hesitant now. Every touch branded me. Every motion screamed mine.
I dragged my hands down his chest, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt like my life depended on it. I needed to see him. Needed to feel all
of him.
As the fabric parted, I drank in the sight with a gasp.
God, he was beautiful.
Hard muscle and flawless strength. His broad chest rose and fell with every ragged breath, every emotion he couldn’t put into words but was writing into my skin.
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Chapter 49
He was power incarnate, barely holding himself together, and all of it–all it was for me.
371%
He kissed me again, rougher now, lips grazing mine only to shift to my jaw then down my neck. I groaned as his mouth worked lower, biting and kissing his way down my throat, making me tremble with every move
Without a word, he nudged me back, guiding us toward the bedroom–his and never leaving my skin, his kisses never stopping. Each step was a promise, each breath a warning.
By the bed, I dropped to my knees.
I traced my hands down his torso, slow and reverent, then leaned in and kissed the sharp cut of his V line. Just a whisper of my mouth. A tease. Then another, and another, trailing lower–but never where I wanted it most.
I looked up at him through my lashes, licking my lips deliberately.
His control shattered.
With a curse under his breath, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me up hard, forcing my mouth back to his.
“You’re insane,” he growled against my lips. “Do you even know what you do to me?”
I moaned into him, arms wrapping around his bare torso, melting into his hunger, the ache between us coiling tighter.
Then his hands were on my chest again, pushing–guiding–until I hit the bed and fell flat, breathless.
And Aiden…
Aiden climbed over me like he was about to ruin me.
Comments
Laura Franklin
hot!
7 days ago
24
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
