not_an_oreilly (not_an_oreilly) wrote in the_dome, @ 2013-08-26 00:32:00 |
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Entry tags: | 04-09-2017, darcy, darcy and noah, noah |
Hide and Seek
Who: Darcy and Noah
Where: Outside the orphanage
When: Late morning
Darcy hadn’t slept off that angry feeling. She was still pissed at her cousin. Still sure he was being pulled into something bad and dangerous by his dick. Idiot.
She couldn’t sit in her house, especially considering she’d barely slept and by morning she was out, looking for Noah. It was an odd thing to start so early with, but she wanted to think about something else and Noah was an easy thing to distract herself with. She’d wandered around the town hall, peeking in a window here and there, but it was mostly dead. Then she just set to wandering, smiling when she did spot him, sitting on a bench on the far side of the orphanage. She was only there by luck, having wandered towards the back of it, just to cut across the grass away from the church.
Moving closer she slinked along the wall of the building then snuck up behind him, hands out to cover his eyes. “Surprise.”
Noah wasn't particularly fond of reading but if he had to do it, like for a school assignment, he'd much rather do it outside and somewhere quiet. Which was how he found himself on the far side of the orphanage where, even if the kids did come outside to play, they'd be on the opposite of the building away from him. Which might not have mattered because he had actually lost himself in thought. Not about the book but about Darcy. If she found him here, she must have really wanted him.
And just like wish fulfillment, there were her soft hands on his eyes, her voice sparking a slight smile. "I'm surprised," he said, setting aside his book to cover her hands with his.
His hands on hers sparked more amusement. “How surprised?” she asked, leaning more, elbows on his shoulders. She was pleased he didn’t hear her coming, that was the fun part.
He liked her closeness, the entire reasoning behind not letting her hands go or turning around. She smelled good and her voice, so much closer to his ear made his smile broaden. "Quite a bit actually. Wouldn't have expected anyone to be over here. You're the first person I've seen today. Or rather, felt."
"Maybe I just got lucky," Darcy said with a smile, realizing that he hadn't let go of her hands yet. It was kind of nice actually.
"That you did. Very lucky." He did let go of her hands after another moment and glanced over his shoulder at her. Probably it was more accurate that he was the one who'd gotten lucky.
She sighed just a little bit when he let go of her, almost reaching for his hands again. Darcy only leaned back when he turned, so she wasn’t right in his face, but her smile was still there. “What are you doing over here besides hiding?”
His eyes lingered on her smile for a beat before he looked away to his book. "Catching up on my reading for English." He made a face that bespoke his disinterest in it. "Good thing you're here to distract me from it."
Darcy let go of Noah with one arm, shifting away to grab the book he’d given up on and inspect it. “I’d already read this one,” she said shaking her head and setting it aside. That was why she wasn’t doing the same thing as he was at the current moment. There’d been little to do between raids and attacks once they’d moved into the farmhouse and she’d found a few books to entertain herself with. Setting it aside she turned her attention back to Noah. “So what do I get for finding you?”
He watched her with his book, wondering what she'd thought of it but deciding not to come across as too much of a school nerd right off the bat. He shrugged at her question and ran a hand back through his hair. "I'm all yours, m'lady. Do with me what you will." he said, curious to see just what she did want with him.
Darcy climbed over the back of the bench, settling next to him, sitting sideways on the bench so she could see him. “That’s entirely not fair. What if I want something you do want?” She shifted forward more, hands on the bench near his leg. She was watching his face, eyes lingering on his mouth but not doing more than that.
Noah breathed a laugh. "You can have whatever you want and it's not fair?" He inclined his head toward her, looking into her eyes as though checking for some explanation within them. "You're a complex girl, Darcy."
"The goal was to find you. You should be offering up the reward. When you do that you're just asking what I want and not letting me know what you want to give." She smiled for him, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. "I never said I was simple. Plus you like the complexity."
"And here I was thinking I was the reward. Let me give it a thought." He gave her a cheeky wink and reached into his pocket for a carefully folded piece of paper which he opened and handed to her. "Here's something to sweeten the pot a little. Stole it from one of the offices for you." It was a change of last name form. Mostly a joke, it was a nod toward her dislike of her family name.
"Were you?" Darcy asked. That was quite the offer. She had to wonder if he would be okay with that. She took the paper, studying it before smirking. "How fitting," she said moving closer to him. "I'd have to pick something new..." She looked at him then leaned forward, reaching for his hands and sleeves. "I want to know what you're hiding."
He raised his brows at her. What else could he have meant when he said he was all hers? He nodded then though, his expression a bit playful. "Thought I'd let you know that you at least had the possibility. I'd even sneak it in past the filing fee for you." Ah, he'd had a feeling it would come back to his arms. He wasn't necessarily hiding them, but he didn't leave them out for display because he'd found they disturbed people. "Might not want a look if you just ate," he warned, idly playing with one of the cuffs.
"If we could come up with a good alternative, maybe I'll take you up on that." Darcy grinned at him, fingers pushing at the sleeves of his shirt. "I don't scare easy."
"I vote for 'Dark' personally," he affirmed. He glanced down at her fingers, watching them push the sleeves of his shirt up. He didn't stop her. The ribboned, pale flesh of his arms, criss-crossed with frankenstein-ish markings were plain to see. Sylvia had not been the best of surgeons. He didn't like showing her, held his breath for her reaction.
"And be Darcy Dark?" The alliteration wasn't her goal, though she did like Dark. Then her focus was on his scars, breath hitching in something close to a gasp, but not quite. Her fingers traced the lines, though, gentle touches along his skin, trying to understand. "What happened?" She asked finally, eyes ticking back up to his.
"No, definitely do not be Darcy Dark. You'd sound like a comic book character. Forget my suggestion." He breathed a laugh at himself through his nose and shook his head. He watched her react to his scars, analyzing without even meaning to but not seeing the disgust he'd anticipated. "I pulled a girl from a burning building. Through a broken window. And she was the one to fix my arms because there were no hospitals anymore." Not after the zombies.
Darcy kept tracing the lines with her fingers, nodding as he explained them. They were gruesome marks on his otherwise perfect skin, but their origin wasn’t something to be ignore. “Marks of a hero.” He had saved someone after all. She traced another line, but let her fingers trail further up his forearm, curious how he’d react.
Marks of an idiot. If he hadn't been at the party to begin with… but then Sylvia would've been dead. Noah struggled not to stiffen as her fingers traversed his arms, outlining the ugly reminder of his past stupidity. He wanted to shove his sleeves back down and fold his arms across his chest but he sat still, his eyes on her face.
She tilted her head, still taking in his arms before looking up at him.”Are there more?”
"The usual scars from zombie fights," he answered with a shrug. Her fingers were almost tickling now and goosebumps cover both arms between the raised, white scars. "Nothing else like this." He wanted to know what she was thinking but not knowing wasn't bothering him too much. The longer she kept him there, the less uncomfortable he was about this.
Darcy saw the goosebumps, smirking to herself at the sight. “Why do you hide them?” she asked him, glancing up at him finally, fingers still on his skin, but at the barer areas, the spaces free of the raised marks.
"Most people don't find them very attractive. Babies tend to cry," he deadpanned. He pressed his lips together, his eyes on her fingers for a moment before returning to her face. To her smirk. His mouth twitched upward at one corner.
“I think you’re fibbing a little Noah,” she chastised gently. “Why hide them from me after offering yourself up? Was I supposed to have all of you with long-sleeves on?”
He shook his head, his expression overly serious. "Once a man had a heart attack on the spot. Ever since I've always covered them." He snickered under his breath. "Long sleeves is as good as anything, isn't it? Or did you expect me to be naked?" He lifted a brow.
She swatted at him gently. “What a fibber!” Shaking her head with a smile she inched closer, watching his eyes, seeing how he’d react to her. “Maybe. Possibly shirtless. I’m always curious what people are hiding.”
He chuckled at her swat and nodded. "Guilty as charged. I guess I keep them hidden because most people cringe or act sympathetic. I don't need that shit." He shrugged then watched her move closer. Teased her by moving just a hair away. "I can do the shirt," he replied though he made no move to prove that. "But I plan to run for office here one day. Can't have public nudity on the record." He paused, then added playfully challengingly, "Not even for you."
“Just own them. You are who you are and they’re a part of you,” Darcy pointed out, making a face when he pulled back. In turn she did one better, letting go of his arms, which she still hadn’t done. “Running for office? Really?” That seemed silly and a waste of time, but Darcy didn’t have much in the way of aspirations. “Not even for me...Does that apply to less public nudity or has all lack of clothing been ruled out?”
"That's good advice. Now, if only other people thought the same way." Noah was amused by the dance of facial expressions they were doing. His brow arching as he slid just a bit closer to her again. She was a lot of fun. He couldn't believe he'd spent as long as he had just memorizing her freckles instead of talking to her. "Yes, I'd like to run this place one day." He pretended to think for a moment. "I make a point of trying to be in some sort of pants most of the time. As for all lack of clothing? I guess that's something you'll just have to find out."
She watched him move closer, but didn’t even bother to shift her body or react. “This place? Seems like that’d be a little dull, but to each their own.” She pushed her hair off her face shaking her head enough for it to fall back in her eye again. “You’re missing out. There’s not quite as liberating as being pantsless. You’ll have to work on it.” She smirked at him again, reaching out with one finger to trail down his sternum. “It begs the question if it’s something you’d like to see.”
Noah glanced around. He had to agree with her, but what else did they have? Though he could see how it would be confining for a girl like Darcy. "Yeah, being top dog in this place is as good as it gets right now." He may have felt tentative but it didn't show as he reached one hand to gently brush her hair out of her eye and tuck it back behind her ear. "If you're trying to get me into a skirt, that's a big hell no." He knew what she was getting at though. He caught her hand against his chest. "And if I did?"
"That's really what it is then, being on top?" Darcy's eyes glittered with the double meaning of the statement, but she delivered it well otherwise. The touch was almost sweet, something daring in her eyes, but hadn't she done the same to him just the day before. "No skirts. Just no pants." While the first touches had been sweet, the hold he had on her hand made her breath hitch slightly at being caught. She didn't fumble with words though, shrugging one shoulder. "Maybe you'll get lucky again."
"It is exactly that." He re-implied the double meaning himself with a sideways glance at her. He was so going to be murdered by her family. Right now though he really didn't care. He almost smiled at her reaction to being caught, her hand against his chest now where his heart beat. He didn't figure she was one for romantic gestures so he kept the sentimentality out of it by lifting his hand a few moments later, leaving her hand there to be removed or not. "I'll hold my breath," he replied confidently.
There was a flash of what that would be like that flickered across her mind. His hair would definitely be in his eyes, but they’d still be watching her. He was taller and broader, which would definitely lend towards a sensation of being pinned. As short as the flash was, it was a good one and that much was obvious. When he pulled his hand away she kept hers there, but gripped his shirt more than held it flat against him. “You’re that sure?”
Noah watched her, finding himself fairly memorizing her features. Especially when whatever positive thought she'd had was now registering on her face. He leaned slightly toward her as she held his shirt. "If that look is any indication, yes. What were you just thinking about?" he asked lightly.
She hadn’t expected to be caught or him asking. Who really asked? It made her like him and hate him all at once and made her lose any real reason to lie to him. Her cheeks pinked unwillingly, but she held her ground. “You on top.”
She'd had him on the spot a couple times. Noah felt turnabout was fair play and it was worth asking to hear her say it. Her blush was unexpected though. Was it really so strange for her to say something like that out loud? He canted his head, studying her face a moment. "It's a good place for me. I'd make a good leader," he said to diffuse the moment.
While her cheeks stayed pink, Darcy let out a soft laugh, fingers gripping his shirt a little more. “The other on top Noah,” she breathed, leaning so she was closer to his ear when she said it.
He smiled to himself. It was also worth it to have her think him a dork for a moment if she was laughing. "Oh? That's also a good place for me," he said, quietly taking in a breath as he felt hers brush across his ear. He turned his face more toward hers, his eyes on her fingers as they curled around his shirt for a moment before they found her eyes again by way of her lips.
“Why’s that?” Darcy asked, but she caught the way his eyes lingered else where before her finally met her eyes. This was probably dangerous considering her date with Liam and their flirtations, but it wasn’t like Noah was doing anything beyond just talking. And maybe touching her. But even that was mostly tame.
A thousand smartass answers came to mind. The honest one actually came out, surprising him but he didn't blush. "It's easier to see all of you from there." And all of her also came to mind, each freckle that he'd only half seen disappearing into her clothing suddenly complete. Turnabout was fair play and he almost grinned before coughing and looking serious again.
He had her for a second. That he’d say that, something almost sweet or romantic or something, instead of something crass left Darcy stunned for a moment before she let go of him and turned away, moving more so she was sitting next to him, shoulder to shoulder. “Not true. I happen to think there’s plenty of other ways to do that where you could see just as much if not more. You wouldn’t be getting the way of yourself.” What she needed to do was stop visualizing all of them.
Noah's expression faltered between surprise and confusion, though possibly she couldn't see it now that she'd changed positions. She had caught him off guard rejecting his answer as a untrue. He wasn't used to not being believed when he was actually telling the truth. Recovering some he looked straight ahead rather than at her. "Eh. Probably you're right about the other ways." He shrugged, his shoulder brushing hers.
She cut her eyes at him just in time to see that look, something different for him, like he wasn’t so sure. Good. “Maybe we’ll have to find out,” she said liking the way he touched her when he moved, even if he didn’t mean to. “If you want to of course.”
He felt mean for a moment but caught himself before asking, What about Liam? as the name from her notebook suddenly un-filed itself from his memory. But so what if she'd embarrassed him? He'd have to learn to take a lot more than that if he wanted a public office. "I think we may have to find out eventually. Because it's going to just be the elephant in the room until we do," he said as though it were a foregone conclusion though he was really just teasing her again.
Her hand went for his arm again, turning towards him and pulling her leg back up on the bench to face him. “So that is what you were going for with your offers…”
Noah was tempted toward honesty again and decided to give it a try with a more direct look. "No, actually I just wanted to get to know you. You're a beautiful fascination." He shrugged off how straight forward and silly that sounded when voiced out loud. “The rest has just been bonus.”
Darcy was surprised by the answer, but also enthralled. Pulling her knees up towards her chest she watched him, chin on her arms. “Beautiful fascination? What does that mean?” she wasn’t sure, but it sounded nice whatever it was. “Bonus…”
He watched her appear to curl up into herself and wondered what about what he'd said made her want to close in somewhat. Was there a soft side to Darcy or was it just more comfortable to sit that way? "It means you're beautiful and you're enigmatic. Complex. I like trying to figure you out and that you don't make it easy."
That sounded like quite the compliment, even if it wasn’t a normal one. Beautiful yes, though she didn’t believe him completely, but the rest was different. “And you...like that?”
Maybe this honesty thing was leading him down a path toward entire vulnerability in the face of a person he hardly knew. He couldn't seem to help it, but he wasn't going to give her more so easily. He shrugged, his left sleeve rolling down again from the movement. "Maybe. The beautiful part, of course."
“Of course, except it’s inaccurate,” Darcy said reaching for his sleeve as it fell, pushing it back up again. He had nice arms despite the scars. “I think I can work with maybe. Or at least maybe tied in with you definitely thinking about kissing me earlier.”
He gave her a knowing look. "You can't be unaware of how you look," he said and bit his lip thoughtfully. The skin of his arms covered with goosebumps again as she pushed his sleeve. "Was I thinking about that?" he asked, sidestepping admitting to that with a wily expression.
“Redheaded and freckled surrounded by blonde haired, blue eyed pretty girls who aren’t abnormally tall.” Though Darcy did like how tall she was, it wasn’t like she was proportional. “You were,” she told him leaning forward more, pushing at his sleeve again when his skin reacted. “It was right before you were thinking about me naked.”
"I think back in the real world, that was considered model-esque. Why do you compare yourself to the girls around you?" he asked, wonderment registering across his features. Could she really be unaware? She was apparently very aware of how she affected him, though half of the reason he got goosebumps was that nobody ever touched his arms. "That was only because you were thinking about me the same way. It was only fair."
“Because that’s what I see. Eily, Avery,” Darcy ticked them off and shook her head. “Pretty maybe, cute yeah, but not beautiful.” She smirked a little, fingers curling around his arm a little. “Fair yes, but I am surprised you didn’t do something about it.”
No wonder she wasn't all that impressed with her family. Other than them being overbearing, she didn't seem to measure up with how they looked. "They're cute, sure," he said though he had yet to meet Eily. He could imagine she was just an older version of Avery. "But for you I say beautiful." He was firm on that. "You didn't offer yourself to me. Last thing I want is to get slapped."
She felt her cheeks warm at the compliment, not completely buying it, but willing to smile through it. Maybe he did see that. “You have not to be afraid to take what you want,” she told him. “But if that was the offer you were looking for, I wouldn’t say no.”
"I'm less afraid than I am not so good with sudden, intense pain." He glanced at his arms. Usually Noah wasn't averse to taking what he wanted. Yet he knew from interacting with Sylvia that girls were more complicated than he realized. And having spent the majority of the time he would have been experimenting with girls fighting zombies instead, he was still not real fluent in "girl." His eyes went to her lips, the pretty dimple in her chin. "You'd say maybe, right?"
“I wouldn’t hurt you too bad. Plus it’s cruel to hit someone until after they’ve kissed you. You could save yourself in the kiss.” She smirked at him, shrugging one shoulder. “Maybe’s a good answer.” Especially with the way he was looking at her.
"That's weirdly chivalrous," he said, impressed. His eyes flicked to hers. He pushed his hair behind his ears before turning in a mirror of her sitting position, putting them closer together. He let a finger touch her jaw lightly. "You really think it's possible to redeem oneself by doing a good job of kissing someone who didn't first want to be kissed?"
When he touched her like that she shivered without meaning to. “Definitely. You can be completely against something, only to find out it’s wonderful. And that you might want to do it again.”
His face moved forward an increment. His finger drew a whisper of a line toward the corner of her lips, his eyes still on hers. "Is that a fact or is it something that bears experimenting?"
For an instant Darcy’s eyes fell shut as he touched her, shocked at how it sent more shivers through her. “I think it’s fact, but you can test my theory,” she told him, eyes opening again to look at him almost sleepily, lulled into what he was doing.
A ghost of a smile crossed his features as her eyes fell shut and when they opened again he leaned forward, his face beside hers and his breath warm against her cheek. His finger slid away along the side of her throat. "Maybe," he said and pressed his lips to her cheek.
Darcy wasn’t afraid of things like kissing or sex, but that touch had her letting out a little noise something soft and sweet, followed by that kiss to her cheek. Her eyes were closed again, head moving more towards his touch than normal. “Doesn’t feel like maybe.”
Noah nodded and sat back slowly, though not as far back as he'd been before. "You're right, it doesn't," he said, indicating the sound she'd made with an arch of his brow. His fingers rested on her shoulder now, lightly moving her hair.
What a tease. Darcy opened one eye, looking at him sideways, not able to help the fact that her heart was pounding and her breath was little shorter than she would like. “You should take it as a compliment.”
"Thank you," he replied and he brushed his thumb against the side of her neck where the blood pulsed a bit faster than usual. He leaned forward and kissed her other cheek, his lips closer to the corner of her mouth than they had been before.
Darcy had been with boys. She’d been with men. But no one drew it out like this, teasing to see if they could get her blood burning hotter, her heart pounding, or her breath shorter. At the second kiss her breath properly hitched in her throat, and her fingers reached for him, curling around his arm as if to hold herself up.
Noah was simply enjoying seeing her react. He had no plans beyond the next few seconds. Finding out how far she'd let him go. He didn't pull back when she seemed to steady herself on his arms. Rather, he let his lower lip graze hers, feeling his own breath catch slightly at what he was daring here. There was an element of danger implied here that he was dancing along the edge of.
Darcy was fine with teasing. She was really, really, enjoying what he was doing, but that tease, his mouth so close to hers was almost too much. What was too much was that hitch in his breath, like he might just as caught up in things as she was. Darcy wasn’t one to wait for what she wanted, especially when it was so close. Hand on his arm she pushed through that last little bit, capturing his lips with hers.
And Noah was fine with her taking what she wanted from him. Especially this. His eyes closed and he leaned closer, playing her capture of his lips into a full kiss. He let his fingers slip further into her hair, his other hand turning over in her grip to slide down and circle her wrist.
That was it. Darcy made a soft noise into the kiss, letting him play with her hair, moving closer. His hand on her wrist was shocking, something more dominating and honestly something she wanted. Her thoughts should have gone to Liam, to how this was probably wrong, kissing one boy so soon after kissing another, but Noah had captured so many of her senses that she wasn’t thinking of anything beyond deepening the kiss every so slightly, opening her mouth as an invitation she hoped he took.
Noah wasn't considering anyone or anything at this point other than Darcy. He hadn't realized he'd wanted to kiss her but now that he was, he couldn't imagine a time when he wasn't actively pursuing the possibility. When she didn't pull away, his thumb pressed into her palm in a slow circle that ended with his fingers entwined with hers. He felt her mouth part and his followed, the very tip of his tongue darting lightly against her lower lip as he took in a breath through his nose. She smelled so good, tasted better. It occurred in the back of his mind that at least partial public nudity might just become a thing.
His touches to her hand were oddly grounding, the only thing keeping her from floating away completely. When he twined his fingers with hers she gripped his hand, pulling him closer. She made a soft noise into the kiss, something eager, and answered it with her own tongue, pushing things further.
This time the goosebumps weren't just on his arms. He fairly shivered at the sounds she made, wanting to pull her closer but any closer and she'd be on his lap. And the maneuvering of that seemed awkward just now. He satisfied himself with the gentlest nip of her upper lip between his teeth. Wondering if he shouldn't stop this or see how far she'd let it go.
There was no coming back from that. In that moment, he probably could have done whatever he wanted. She answered his nip with one of her own, biting his lower lip gently. Her hand he wasn’t holding, wound its way around his neck, drifting through the hairs at the base of his neck.
Noah gave a soft, slightly surprised exhale of breath through his nose, her teeth sparking something new and intense down along his backbone. He parted his lips further, deepening the kiss, the tip of his tongue questing teasingly out for hers. His fingers left her hair to curl gently around her neck, his thumb caressing between her throat and her jaw.
Darcy was puddy in his hands with that, letting him deepen the kiss wherever he wanted to go with it. The deeper the kiss went, the more her fingers twisted in his hair, another noise slipping out into the kiss. Her neck arched where he touched her, as if he was coaxing her.
He really liked the way she moved along with the touch of his fingers, the way she seemed to be lost in the moment. He'd been right that seeing her out of control would be good. His lips trailed away from her lips, pressing three slow, warm kisses along her jaw before he pulled back slightly to take a breath. His were eyes half-open watching her face.
It was probably embarrassing, but she whimpered when he pulled away even if she was gasping for air by then. When he kissed along her jaw, Darcy tilted her head giving him more room until he stopped. It was a long moment, as if she was waiting for something else before she looked down at him, eyes sparkling, small smile on her lips.
He didn't attempt to disguise the fact he was out of breath himself other than ensuring his mouth was closed. His fingers slid away from her throat to her shoulder and down her arm to the inside of her elbow where they held, not willing to let go just yet. "Redemption earned?" he asked, his own faint smile a bit crooked.
“Mmhmm,” she said, not quite a word, but more a sound. He could definitely keep doing whatever it was he’d been doing or was angled to do again. “Pleased with yourself?” She kept her fingers in his hair, still sifting it between them, grazing the back of his neck.
Her fingers kept moving and this kept feeling good. He briefly closed his eyes, taking another breath before looking at her again. "Mmmhm, " he hummed in reply. "My job here is done," he murmured then. He could certainly have continued but he wondered if she got everything she wanted at one time if she'd want to see him again. "You?"
“Done?” Darcy was surprised at that, feeling like it was just the tip of the iceberg. There was something warm between them, something that bubbled up in at his soft hum. “I was thinking we were just getting started…”
"For now," he answered, realizing he'd just teased himself as much as he'd teased her. And he didn't care. "We are. Now it's my turn to find you. And see what you have to offer as reward." His expression shifted to challenging though it retained much of the breathless quality of having enjoyed that kiss.
She liked that look, the little challenge. Leaning in more she brought her mouth just against his. “That depends on where I am when you find me and how much it won’t tarnish your reputation.” She brushed her lips against his again, teasing his mouth gently.
His first impulse was to say he'd better figure out her address so he could find her in her bed but that seemed too prosaic. Instead he said nothing, opting to catch her lower lip lightly between his as she teased him. He sucked softly before pulling away. "I'm sure it would be worth my reputation," he answered.
If he’d said it, she would have told him which room was hers, just to get him to show up. She wouldn’t be upset that was for sure. “That’s what I like to hear,” she murmured against his mouth, then tried to kiss him again.
If she'd told him which room was hers he would have shown up just to prove to her - and himself - that he would do it. He played at kissing her, lightly here and there at the corners of her lips but nothing like they'd been doing. "Guess I'm aiming for finding you somewhere other than the pub then."
He was still teasing her, which just earned him a frustrated whimper. She wanted him to kiss her properly. Touch her properly. “Probably,” she said, opening her eyes to look at him. “It all depends on how daring you are.” Her words were teasing, to see what he would do.
He'd only wanted to tease, not frustrate her so he gave her a seconds long proper kiss and then sat back a bit. "I'm fairly daring, but I don't knowingly attempt suicide." His lips curved upward on one side though imagining doing this with the more real possibility of her family finding them.
The proper kiss was better, sating her for the moment while she watched him. “Which is healthy,” she agreed. “But most of the time, I just live with Avery.” Lochlan crashed sometimes, when he needed somewhere different to sleep, but he was hardly reliable. Plus the chance of him sleeping off whatever at the house made things all the more interesting.
The ante had been upped and he liked it. "Definitely be worth my reputation," he confirmed, not realizing yet that he had formed an addiction to her already. Noah's mind wandered to the idea of finding her in her bed again. Though this time with the possibility of running into Avery and her lumberjack while wearing less than pants. He almost laughed. "But do you think Avery would keep her lips zipped?"
Darcy chuckled to herself, leaning in closer to him, hands cupping his cheeks. “That’s the challenge. Avoiding her.” Because Avery wasn’t someone Darcy would trust. She’d tell Liam. Which was probably just as bad as telling Lochlan or Patrick.
Noah's brows lifted and he nodded within her cupping hands. He could do that - avoid Avery's detection - and it would be fun too. "Challenge accepted. The question now is when do I begin?"
She let go of him, sitting back more and shrugging her shoulders. “I think that’s your decision.” It was his challenge to accept. “You can surprise me. I think I’d like that.” Already she was anticipating him sneaking in her window and what might come next.
He hadn't been quite ready for this to end but that was what gave him all the more incentive to find her. She seemed to have settled back into her skin again too and he looked forward to drawing her out again. Making her sigh. He slowly stood, tucking his book into the back pocket of his jeans. Then he bent to kiss her once more, a lingering of his lips on hers as his hair fell into their faces. "I won't make you wait long," he promised.
Darcy didn’t want him to get up, but she understood when he did. The new challenge had been issued. There was no point in lingering in the accomplished one. The last kiss was nice, something she leaned up to, fingers twisting in his shirt to try and keep him close. “I know you won’t.”
Noah straightened, his sleeves falling to his wrists again but he hiked them back to his elbows. With a slight smile and that same challenge in his eye, he turned and rounded the building away from her. He hadn't known he'd had that side of him but now that it was awake, it wanted to play.