Under His Billionaire Roof novel Chapter 25

Noah couldn't sleep.

One week. Seven days until Leighton left his house. Left the city. Left him.

He'd tried to let her go. Tried to tell himself it was for the best. That she deserved better than a man who couldn't figure out his own feelings.

But every time he closed his eyes, he saw her. Heard her voice asking him to give her a reason to stay.

And he'd failed. Couldn't say the words. Couldn't make the promise.

Coward.

At 2 AM, he gave up pretending to sleep. Pulled on sweatpants and headed downstairs for water.

He found her in the kitchen. Standing at the sink in sleep shorts and a tank top. Staring out the window at nothing.

She turned when she heard him. Their eyes met.

Neither spoke.

The silence stretched. Heavy with everything unsaid.

"Can't sleep?" he finally asked.

"No."

"Me neither."

She turned back to the window. "One week left, then I'm gone."

"I know."

More silence. He should leave. Should go back to his room. Should stop torturing himself.

Instead, he moved closer. Stopped beside her at the sink.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "For not being able to give you what you wanted."

"It's fine."

"I wish I could."

"But you can't."

"No."

She looked at him. Her eyes were red. Like she'd been crying. The sight made something crack open in his chest.

"So what do we do?" she asked. "For the next week. Do we just avoid each other? Pretend nothing happened?"

"I don't know."

"I don't want to spend my last week here pretending."

"What do you want?"

She was quiet for a long moment. Then she said, "I want to make the most of the time we have left."

His breath caught. "What does that mean?"

"It means I'm leaving in seven days. And I don't want to regret wasting them." She stepped closer. "So if this is all we get, I want all of it. Every moment. Every touch. Everything."

"Leighton..."

"Unless you don't want that."

Want it? He wanted it so badly he could barely breathe.

"We said it was over," he managed.

"I'm aware."

"This will only make it harder."

"I know that too."

"So why?"

"Because I'd rather have seven days with you than seven days of nothing." Her hand found his chest. Palm flat over his heart. "Because I'm already going to hurt when I leave. Might as well make it worth it."

He covered her hand with his. "This is a terrible idea."

"Probably."

"We're going to regret this."

"Maybe."

"Leighton..."

She kissed him. Cut off whatever he was going to say. And god, he'd missed this. Missed her.

He pulled her against him. Kissed her back like he was drowning and she was air.

When they broke apart, both breathing hard, she looked up at him.

"One week," she said. "That's all I'm asking. Then I leave and we go back to being strangers."

"I don't want to be strangers."

"But you don't want to be together either."

He couldn't argue with that. Couldn't give her what she deserved.

So he kissed her again. Poured everything he couldn't say into it. All the feelings he didn't know how to name.

She responded with equal desperation. Her hands in his hair. Her body pressed against his.

"Upstairs," he muttered against her mouth. "Now."

"Chloe..."

"Is asleep. And I don't care. I need you. Right now."

He lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her up the stairs to his room, kissing her the entire way.

Inside, he kicked the door closed. Didn't bother locking it. Didn't care about anything except getting her naked.

Clothes hit the floor. Hands everywhere. Mouths desperate and hungry.

They fell onto his bed in a tangle of limbs. No foreplay. No patience. Just need.

Noah pinned her wrists above her head with one hand, his mouth crashing against hers in a bruising kiss. She arched up into him, her legs parting instinctively as he settled between them. His free hand roamed roughly over her body, squeezing her breast hard enough to make her gasp into his mouth, thumb flicking over her hardened nipple until she whimpered.

He released her wrists only to grip her hips, flipping her onto her stomach in one swift motion. She pushed back against him eagerly, ass raised, inviting. He groaned at the sight, his cock throbbing painfully as he positioned himself behind her. One hand tangled in her hair, pulling her head back just enough to expose her neck, where he bit down possessively.

With no warning, he thrust into her in one deep, punishing stroke. She cried out, her walls clenching around him tightly, slick and ready from the desperation that had built between them all week. He didn't give her time to adjust, pulled out almost completely, and slammed back in, setting a brutal rhythm that had the headboard knocking against the wall.

"Fuck, Leighton," he growled against her ear, his chest pressed to her back as he pounded into her. Each thrust drove deeper, hitting that spot inside her that made her see stars. She clawed at the sheets, moaning shamelessly, her body rocking forward with every impact.

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