Her heart pounded so violently she could barely breathe, but she lifted her chin, eyes meeting his even as she trembled beneath him. "No," she whispered, trembling but resolute. "If you want me to say it… you'll have to try harder."
For a split second, Ren froze, the air between them taut as a bowstring. Then something in his eyes darkened, igniting. His growl vibrated against her skin as he crushed his mouth back to hers, the kiss rougher, deeper, needier. His free hand slid beneath her, pulling her flush against him, their bodies colliding in frantic heat.
Noelle arched instinctively, her legs tightening around his waist, her hands finally free to fist in his shirt. His groan tore into her mouth at the motion, raw and unrestrained.
"I'm already very hard, Noelle. You're going to regret teasing me," he breathed against her lips, each word laced with fire. He pressed his hard centre against her belly to show her what he meant. His kisses trailed down her jaw, along her throat, hot and relentless.
"Maybe I will," she whispered, her voice breaking into a sigh as his lips found the sensitive hollow beneath her ear. "But right now… I want to see how hard you'll try."
Ren moved his hips and gyrated against her stomach to prove his point. "Ren…" Her whisper was ragged, breathless.
He answered with another kiss, this time at the hollow of her neck, open-mouthed and searing, his tongue tasting the salt of her skin, his teeth grazing her just enough to make her arch against him. Her head tipped back, offering him more without thought, without hesitation.
He paused then, pulling back just far enough to look at her. Her lips were swollen, her eyes dark with something she couldn't name and Ren's breath shuddered in his chest.
Ren drew back just enough to search her face, his chest rising and falling against hers. The storm in his eyes was undeniable, filled with desire, jealousy, and something deeper she didn't know how to name.
"You think I won't?" he rasped, his lips grazing hers without sealing the kiss. "You think I can't make you say it?"
Noelle's pulse throbbed in her throat, but she refused to drop her gaze. Her voice trembled with a mix of fear and exhilaration. "I know you want me to… but I'm not going to make it that easy for you."
Ren's jaw tightened. His mouth curved into something between a smirk and a snarl before he suddenly shifted, lifting her with practiced ease. She gasped as her back met the wall, his hands firm against her thighs, holding her up as though she weighed nothing.
Her protest caught in her throat when his hips pressed forward, the hard line of him undeniable even through clothes. As he undid his belt, he kissed her again, fierce and claiming, breaking only long enough to growl, "You don't get to tease me like this and walk away untouched."
Noelle clung to his shoulders, her nails digging into him. "Then prove it," she shot back, her voice breathless, half a dare, half a plea.
He did. His lips trailed fire down her collarbone, his teeth scraping just enough to make her gasp. His hands slid higher, memorising every curve, every shiver he coaxed from her.
Her defiance faltered, softening into helpless sighs, but she still bit down on her lip when his mouth found hers again. "Not yet," she whispered against his kiss, stubborn to the very last.
Ren's laugh was dark, low, vibrating in his chest where she pressed against him. "You're going to break before I do," he murmured, kissing the corner of her mouth, then the hollow of her throat, then lower still.
Ren's mouth crashed against hers again, hungry, impatient. Noelle met him with equal force, her fingers curling in his shirt and tugging until the fabric bunched between them. He groaned into the kiss, pulling back only long enough to rip the shirt over his head and toss it carelessly aside.
"Not giving in," she panted, though her eyes betrayed her, drinking in the sight of him; the hard lines of his chest, the sheen of heat on his skin.
Ren smirked, pressing his forehead to hers. "Then I'll just have to strip the excuses out of you." His hands slid under her blouse, palms searing against her bare skin as he pushed the fabric upward.
Noelle gasped, clutching his wrists. For a heartbeat, she almost stopped him. Almost. But then his thumb brushed the underside of her ribs, coaxing a shiver she couldn't control and she raised her arms without a word, letting him pull the blouse off completely.
"Beautiful," he murmured, his voice rough but his gaze still burned with challenge. "But you're still not mine yet, huh?"
Her cheeks flamed. She arched against him defiantly, her hands fumbling at the waistband of his jeans. "I don't know. I haven't seen Daniel without his clothes," she shot back, slipping the button loose with a shaky kind of boldness.
Ren sucked in a breath, his control thinning with every second. He trapped her hands briefly against his stomach, leaning in close enough that his breath scorched her ear. "Careful, Noelle. Keep tempting me like this and you won't last long enough to taunt me."
Her only reply was a daring smile, shaky but unyielding. She slid her fingers lower anyway, brushing against him through the fabric. His sharp inhale made her pulse race, her own body betraying her vow to stay composed.
Bit by bit, layer by layer, their clothes fell away between kisses that grew hotter, touches that lingered too long, whispers that trembled between defiance and surrender. Every piece discarded felt like another inch closer to the inevitable yet Noelle clung to her last weapon: silence.
Ren hovered over her, eyes dark, lips swollen from their kisses. "Say it," he demanded softly, his voice both plea and command.
But Noelle only smirked through her laboured breaths, tilting her chin up. "Make me."
Ren's breath came ragged, his chest rising and falling against hers as their last layers of clothing tangled somewhere at their feet. His hands pinned hers above her head, fingers laced tight, holding her there as if daring her to keep fighting him.
"Noelle…" His voice was low, cracked with restraint. "Say it."
She shook her head, lips brushing his as she taunted him with another kiss, slow and maddening. "You want it too easy."
A growl escaped his throat and suddenly his mouth was on her throat, her collarbone, marking a path that left her trembling. She gasped, her back arching into him but still held on to her stubborn silence.
Ren pulled back just enough to look her in the eye, his expression fierce and desperate all at once. "I'll drive you crazy if I have to. I'm not stopping until I hear it."
Ren reached into her bedside drawer with familiarity as he took the protection pack out from the box and tore it with his teeth. His eyes bore into Noelle as he continued his relentless pursue of her skin against his.