All To Myself by Annemarie Hartnett Read Free Book Online Page A

spit over the side and washed her mouth out with cola.
    She was pleased with herself. Something about being there with Noah made what he had done to her, what she had just done to him, didn’t seem half as sordid as those times when she had been with previous boyfriends. Perhaps it was because Noah wasn’t some wheedling boy. She felt more womanly. She wanted more of him. She wanted to be stripped down with him, to take and be taken.
    And yet when he opened his eyes, shyness came over her. She crossed her arms over her bare chest and went for her bikini top.
    Noah grabbed her with a low laugh and pulled her back into the seat, back into his arms. “Where do you think you’re going?”
    He buried his face against her neck, and she squealed as he delivered a series of smacking kisses across the sensitive flesh, evading her attempts to cover herself to get his hands on her.
    “Stay the night with me?”
    Oh God, it was so tempting. As he toyed with her nipples, still tender from his teeth earlier, her whole body thrilled with the idea of disappearing from the world with him and casting off all her obligations.
    “I can’t,” she said with a slight whine to her voice. “I have to be at work for the breakfast rush.”
    “Call in sick?”
    She wriggled until he let her sit up straight. “No, I can’t lose the shift, and I don’t like leaving the owner hanging unless I’m dying.”
    “Tomorrow night?”
    “Maybe.”
    Once more, she chased her worries away as he helped her put the top back on. She felt far too buoyant to be weighed down by anything as his fingers brushed against her spine while he tied the strings.
    As soon as he redressed her and zipped himself back up, Noah wrapped his arms around her in a fierce hug and pulled her onto his lap once more. Chin propped on her shoulder, he murmured against her. “What time are you supposed to work at the hotel tomorrow?”
    “The same time every day. Three o’clock.”
    “Can I pick you up?”
    “ You have to work, too,” she reminded him.
    “Oh come on, I can get away for a half an hour to pick you up.”
    Rory cuddled into him with a laugh. “It’s so cute how you say that, like you actually think you’re going to be cruising out of there after eight hours and won’t be stuck in rush hour traffic when you have to take the shuttle into town.”
    “Are you serious? This place is tiny. How much traffic could there be?”
    “Enough, with road construction and stupid tourists getting in your way.”
    He pressed his forehead to her shoulder and groaned. “Just make sure you have a cold beer waiting for me when I drop by the bar.”
    It seemed to take forever to get from the porch to the car. With every step he pulled her back against him, hands everywhere and fingers plucking at what little clothes she had, but somehow she managed to get to the passenger seat and park her wet bum on top of a fresh towel from the chalet. They picked up her bike at the end of the driveway, and though she had been the one to insist the night end, she found the drive far too short. In minutes they had stopped in front of her cottage.
    Noah left the engine running as he pulled her bike out of the backseat and gave her a sheepish look. “I’d get out and walk you up, but if I did that you might have to fend me off.”
    “It’s fine.” She wondered if she ought to kiss him goodnight, but decided against it. She had only rinsed her mouth out after he came, and besides, a kiss would only make the longing in her belly stronger. She got out of the car and smiled back at him. “See you tomorrow?”
    “You bet that bouncy little ass of yours.”
    Rory giggled. “Shut up--and thanks for the ride.”
    He waited until she was inside before driving off, and she immediately went to the window to watch. At the last sight of his brake lights as he turned onto the main road, Rory whimpered and threw herself onto the sofa.
    God, I’m a piece of work.
    In the span of a couple of days,