He lowers one hand and squeezes my hip. The other cups my bottom, coaxing me to continue. His fingers tease right along the hem of my underwear, and a burst of warmth spirals through me.

The world becomes hazy. Thought no longer exists. Just his lips. Just the heat of his body. The feelings of pleasure and urges and this desperate need for faster flows in my veins. It’s like I’m roasting—clinging to a flame, and I long to be burned.

Noah runs his fingers along my spine, and instantly my bra loosens around my shoulders. It’s a tickling stroke as he eases one strap and then the other off my arm. He rolls us, and I gasp for air when Noah frees the last bit of material separating our chests.

His lips leave my mouth and begin their descent down. My fingers tangle in his hair, letting him know that I’m lost in his exploration. Lost in this moment. Lost in this love we share.

I could do this forever and never stop.

Noah nips my belly button, and I giggle and flinch with the sensation, but it doesn’t halt his barrage of kisses. He maneuvers his mouth to the side of my stomach and rubs the sensitive spot he just kissed, taking away the tickle, and transforms it into this massage that makes me suck in my breath and curl my toes.

“Noah,” I whisper as my hips rock without my consent. Our gazes lock. Lust and love darken his chocolate-brown eyes.

There are many places we can go. Many ways we can do this and over the past couple of months, we’ve explored, and reexplored, and developed new twists on old ways to bring ourselves to that glorious high. As my heart beats frantically, I know that this is the night that it’s new. This is the night I make love to Noah Hutchins.

“Can you...” I whisper, then trail off. My entire body seems to quiver with my pulse. I swallow and try again. “Can you...”

Read my mind. Oh, God, I’d give anything if he could read my mind. Noah tucks a curl behind my ear as his eyes desperately search for what I can’t communicate. “What, Echo?”

With the words stuck in my throat, my fingers trace down and undo the button of his jeans. Noah’s eyes snap to mine while I slowly pull on the zipper. My hands wander to the part of him that I hope will help him decipher my desires.

Noah shuts his eyes and shifts closer to me. Within seconds he reopens them, and it’s like looking upon a deep lake. His lips brush against mine in a tender way. In a way Noah’s never kissed me before, like he’s saying the words I love you over and over again, but there’s no sound. Just his heart. Just his soul.

My thumb hooks around his jeans and begins to edge them off. Noah caresses my face, and I lean into his touch.

“Are you sure?” he asks.

“Never been more sure of anything.” And I mean it. There’s this calm, this knowing, this understanding that was never present before. I said no for years hoping that I would know when I was ready, and I smile, satisfied that I truly did wait for the right moment.

Noah slowly takes my bottom lip between his then releases it. One kiss along my jawline. Another on my neck. Pleasing goose bumps spread across my skin. With one last glance at me, Noah rolls away while reaching for his pack.

My heart thunders with the crackle of a package ripping open. I’m doing this. I’m going to make love with Noah Hutchins.

He shrugs off his jeans, and I become aware of my underwear when I notice that today wasn’t a boxer shorts type of day for him.

With his bare butt to me, Noah pauses to do what he has to do so we don’t create other little Noahs and Echos. I’m on the pill, but we agreed to be overcautious.

Unfortunately, all the need, all the desire that had been building to an explosion is replaced by the coolness of the night air pricking at my skin and the millions of fears whispering in my mind. What if it hurts? What if I don’t like it? What if Noah doesn’t like doing it with me? What if I do it wrong? What if...

Then Noah finishes and eases his body next to mine. The cold fades away and so do the questions. He settles beside me. An arm and a leg drape over me as he kisses my shoulder. “Any time you want to stop, we can. Just say the word.”

“I want this.” So much that I ache.

His fingers begin this slow dance, lingering in areas, exploring. Noah skims under my breast, along my stomach, down my legs, to the inside of my thighs, then to a place that causes my back to arch. With kisses that make me drunk and touches that send me soaring, Noah eases off my underwear.

My breath comes out faster, and my hold on him tightens and right when the world is going to fracture into a million pieces, Noah covers my body with his, and I sense Noah in areas that he’s never been before. Like inside me, yet not. He’s warm and solid.

Noah brushes his mouth against mine and caresses my face as he distributes his weight to his elbows. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I whisper with the need to shout. I’m right on the verge of exploding, and I want this release.

He kisses a trail to my ear. “I love you, Echo Emerson.”

“I love you—” And Noah slips in. My breath catches in my throat, and my arms choke his neck, my fingers yank his hair. We both lie completely still, and my eyes squeeze shut with the burning pain.

Noah strokes my hair and presses his lips near my temple. “It’s all right, Echo. We’re all right.”

Moisture forms in my eyes, and Noah kisses a path up my cheek. I open them, and he stares down at me. His body shakes as if he’s trying desperately to stay motionless. “Are you with me, baby?”

I swallow then nod.

“We can stop.” He rests his forehead on mine, and his pulse visibly pumps in his neck.

I’m holding my breath, and I hesitantly suck air through my nose then release it through my mouth. The pain isn’t as sharp anymore, and I gather my courage to continue. “I’m okay.”

When I’m able to breathe normally, Noah moves. It’s slow, and it doesn’t hurt as much. He closes his eyes like he’s concentrating, and when he opens his eyes, he gives me a small grin. “Try to relax.”

“I am.” I’m not.

“You’re drawing blood.”

Oh, crap. My nails are embedded in his back, and my fingers strangle his hair. I loosen my grip, and the horror makes me anxious and a bit hysterical. For the love of all things holy, I honest to God giggle. My cheeks flush with the sound, but the shyness and embarrassment fade when Noah chuckles with me.

It’s like my entire body sighs with relief. All of the tension melts away, and having Noah inside me no longer aches.