Read Online Divine Solace: 8 by Joey W. Hill - Free Book Online Page B

to a wider
range of experiences because he didn’t try to control the path chosen for him. He
doesn’t think in terms of “I’m not interested in that”, unless it’s something
he’s already experienced and really disliked. He’ll try anything once, as long
as he knows it’s something that interests me or the people we’re with.
    Did Noah accommodate what she wanted for that reason? Though
she’d remained on high alert for any flicker of boredom from him, she’d come up
empty.
    At length, it was getting close to her bedtime. Noah agreed
they needed to be up early tomorrow to get a good start on the floor, if she
was going to maximize the time she had his labor at her disposal.
    “The good thing is we’re already going to save some time,”
he told her. “The floor beneath the linoleum is in good shape. I can lay the
plywood foundation right over it.”
    She’d noted him checking the kitchen floor earlier, and now
she knew he’d been testing for rot. She made an agreeable noise as he rose to
help her clean up. In the small space, they brushed against one another quite
often, his bare skin and male scent so close.
    When they were done, it seemed very natural for him to be
gazing down at her. Before she could think of what to do, he’d slid his arms
around her, drawing her against him for a light embrace. A hug. “Thanks for
dinner and the place to sleep.”
    “I feel like I should be thanking you. You made dinner, and
tomorrow you’re helping me tile.” She gave a nervous laugh as her palms slid
over his shoulders, down his back. He was roped muscle, as firm and resilient
as he looked, and his hug was a far stronger, more reassuring feeling than
she’d expected, such that she held on for an extra moment or two. He didn’t
pull away, waiting until she did. Her thighs brushed against his. She felt like
a teenager, her eyes lowering because she was embarrassed by her bright cheeks.
His lips brushed her temple.
    “Good night, Gen.”
    * * * * *
    She closed her door to change into her nightgown, but once
she turned off the light, she opened it again. She’d told him to do the same,
since the small house circulated air better with the doors open. When she slid
into bed, she was facing the hallway, and she saw he was lying in bed, under
the sheet. He was reading a book about landscaping. It looked like an older
book, the hardback cover worn, and she wondered if he’d borrowed it from Lyda.
    She didn’t really care what he was reading, all in all. It
was nice just to lie in the anonymous dark, beyond the thrown light of his
lamp, watching him. He’d taken the tie off his hair, so it spilled over his
shoulders, enhancing the chiseled features. His attractive mouth had a firm set
to it when at rest, his eyes focused. His long fingers stroked the pages as
they turned them. Her gaze slid down the creases of the sheet, how it outlined
his legs. His groin area was hidden behind the prop of the book on his upper
thighs.
    “Will the lamp bother you?” His voice was quiet, in case she
was already asleep. She could pretend she was.
    “No.” She could hear the thickness in her voice. He was so
close, right across the hall. It wasn’t sex she wanted. God, no. Just the
thought of him touching her like that made her quake. But he wasn’t a stuffed
animal. She wasn’t going to humiliate him or herself by treating him like one. Come
curl around me, make me feel like that hug did.
    Plus that hug had produced far more than cuddly feelings.
She’d wanted to keep sliding her hands down his back until she tucked her
fingers beneath the waistband of his jeans. She wanted to touch without being
touched. She wanted to have all the control, none of the obligations. She was
sure that wasn’t what being a Domme was, but the control issue was part of it,
wasn’t it?
    He spoke again. “May I ask…what you’re thinking?”
    She could be completely honest, without repercussions. And
she was here in the dark, where he