Chapter 0452

Hannah, Noah, and I resurfaced from the bubbling hot tub, out of breath and soaked through our robes. I grabbed the edge of the tub and hauled myself forward, laughing.

“That was entirely my fault,” I breathed, pushing strands of wet hair out of my eyes. “Sorry about that.”

Noah snorted, still spitting up mouthfuls of hot tub water. As he rose to his feet, his robe clung to his body, thoroughly soaked.

“Maybe warn me next time before you tackle me into a body of water,” he teased, then vigorously shook himself like a dog.

I laughed, holding my arm above my head to shield myself from the spray. “No promises.” I paused, watching as he climbed out of the tub and peeled off his sopping robe. “Should we shower, do you think?”

Noah nodded and held out his hand with an impish grin. “I think I’d like to do a bit more than just shower with you.”

My cheeks flushed pink at the implication, but I took his hand and let him lead me out of the hot tub. We discarded our soaked robes on the deck as we went inside. The cool breeze blowing through the window immediately had me shivering.

Noah quickly moved to the shower and turned on the hot water. Soon, steam filled the bathroom. We both jumped in, our cold bodies appreciating the warmth.

“I was worried you wouldn’t say yes, you know,” he said, holding me close beneath the stream of hot water. “That you’d be upset that I’ve been doing this behind your back all these months.”

I looked up at him curiously. “I’m not upset. But I would like to know why you didn’t tell me when you first started.”

Noah considered my question for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know. I wanted to surprise you—didn’t want to see you stress over it when you have so much else going on.”

“Not more than you have going on,” I replied.

He shook his head. “You’re a mother. That’s a full-time job in and of itself.” He paused, then added softly, “I wish I could help more. With Melody, I mean.”

His words gave me pause. It was true; since I hadn’t moved back in with him yet, and Nightcrest and Silvermoon were so far apart, I’d been taking on most of the parenting duties. Not that I minded, of course. But it wasn’t easy. I was glad to have my family to help, but it just wasn’t the same as having my mate nearby.

I bit my lip and murmured, “Do you want me to move back in with you?”

Noah looked down at me with surprise. “You want to go back to that house? After everything?”

I shrugged. “It’s a nice house.”

“There are a lot of negative memories there. For both of us.”

“If you want to look for a new house, then that’s fine with me,” I offered, reaching up to run my finger across the line of his shoulder, watching as tiny droplets of water trickled down his skin. “But we can always create newer, better memories there, too.”

Noah was silent for some time, thinking. I looked up at him, and I could see the hard set of his jaw from below, the way his throat bobbed when he swallowed.

Finally, he said softly, “If you think we could give that house another chance, then I’m for it.”

I offered him a tiny smile and rested my head against his chest. “I guess we’ve got plenty of time now to decide,” I whispered, my fingers absentmindedly trailing down the peaks and valleys of his chiseled torso. “Maybe, in a few years, we’ll want a new place. And that’s okay.”

Noah shuddered, but not in a bad way, as my fingers trailed lower. I felt his chest move beneath my ear as he sucked in a sharp breath, just as my pinky nudged his warm member.

“We’ll want to fill our marriage bed with new memories, too, you know,” I mused.