It turned out that furniture shopping with Noah took less time than I would normally spend picking a birthday card.

In the very first shop we went in he spotted a plain, black wooden king size frame with mattress included, and called a sales assistant over to ask about same-day delivery. Seeming unsure of the correct answer and relatively intimidated by Noah's no-nonsense attitude, I gave the young sales guy a sympathetic smile then wandered off to browse around the rest of the shop.

I returned back to the counter just in time to see Noah paying for his new purchase. With cash. I then saw him slip a note into the guy's hand separately and couldn't help laughing to myself about what a wheeler-dealer he was. I'd have bet any money that bed would be at Noah's house before we even made it back ourselves.

After grabbing some lunch at a cute, family-run sandwich bar rather than in the sterile canteen of the furniture shop, we got back into Noah's car and he began programming his own address into his phone.

"Can we swing by my place?" I asked, "I need to check in on Charlotte."

"Sure," Noah replied, smiling. "You'll probably need to pick up another change of clothes for tomorrow as well."

Rolling my eyes at him, I couldn't pretend his comment offended me all that much. Falling asleep in just the same room as him last night had been so intimate, that the thought of falling asleep in the same bed made my stomach flip.

As we pulled up outside my flat, the living room curtains were still drawn. I quietly turned my key in the flat door and peered down the hallway into the living room, where Charlotte and Alex were curled up on the sofa under the white fur blanket, holding each other tightly as they slept.

Pulling the door to, I turned to Noah and whispered. "You go back to the car, I'll be out in two minutes."

Doing as I said, he headed back down the stairs as I crept silently into my room. I quickly grabbed a few more clothes and spare knickers, then stalked back out on tiptoes, making sure to scrawl a quick note to Charlotte on the heart-shaped chalkboard that hung by the front door.

"They must have been up all night talking," I informed Noah as I climbed back into the car next to him.

"I told you, they'll sort it out between them eventually," he replied nonchalantly, flicking through his phone to find the music he wanted to play.

Eventually, he settled on John Mayer's Edge of Desire. One of my favourites, although he couldn't possibly have known that. As Noah absent-mindedly sang along quietly, I realised the similarities in both their voices. Raw, rough and downright sexy, but with pain and regret from past experiences adding sadness and humanity to their tone.

As I sat in the passenger seat, watching him from the corner of my eye, I couldn't resist joining in with a harmony when the chorus began. Glancing over with a surprised smile on his face, Noah's voice grew louder, as did mine. After a couple of lines, we were both singing at the top of our lungs, our voices blending perfectly in harmony.

If anyone had seen us, I'm pretty sure it would have been the cheesiest thing since Stilton was invented. But, with music being the one passion I knew we shared for certain, it felt natural to be creating such a beautiful sound together.

As the song reached its solo, Noah turned down the volume with a huge grin across his face.

"Check you out!" he laughed. "It's been so long since I heard your voice, I forgot you had chops like that."

Laughing back, I reached over to place my hand across his on the gearstick.

"We should write together," he suddenly exclaimed. "I want to hear more of your stuff. You could teach me how to write lyrics like yours. You know, deep stuff."

Shaking my head slightly, I sighed. "I haven't written anything since before the crash," I replied. "I'm not sure what would come out now."

"Let's try it tonight," Noah continued, brushing over my comment.

"I can't use my arm Noah," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm hardly going to be able to play piano am I?"

"I'll play, you sing," he shrugged matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you're Mister 'I play everything'," I teased. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure there's a shitload of broken bed we need to clear up in your room first."

"Nope," Noah responded, looking pleased with himself. "I called the cleaners from yesterday while you were showering. It should be spotless by now."

Dropping my mouth open in disbelief, I tried to figure out if he was telling the truth or not, but his smile was impossible to decipher. When we pulled up onto his driveway, the sight of a cleaning van leaving just as a furniture delivery truck arrived confirmed it.

"You really don't mess about, do you?" I laughed, turning to face him.

"If I want something, I get it," he shrugged, a smirk creeping up at the corner of his lips.

Shaking my head at him, I stepped out of the car and headed towards the door. As we entered the house, it was surprisingly empty. I'd only ever seen this place crawling with people, and I couldn't help the fleeting thought of it being mine and Noah's own home from crossing my mind.

While Noah stopped to deal with the delivery guys, he suggested I wait in the kitchen. "Get the kettle on if you like?" he called after me, making my heart swell a little at how natural things seemed between us again.

When the furniture truck had left, we headed upstairs to check out their handiwork. Noah had also ordered a brand new set of bedding in the shop without me noticing. Plain white cotton, unsurprisingly, still showing the lines from where it had been packaged.

Gesturing an arm into the room, Noah looked down at me with a glint in his eye.

"Would Madam care to test zee new addition?" he asked, with the worst attempt at a French accent I've ever heard.

As I lay down on the fresh sheets, on a fresh mattress, on a fresh bed frame, I almost felt like a princess. Especially when my very own Prince Charming lay down next to me and kissed my cheek.

Rolling onto his back and crossing his arms behind his head, Noah stared up at the ceiling. "Yep," he said, "I can see this bed suiting us very well indeed."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shifting over to lean up on one elbow above my head, Noah's messy hair flopped down in front of his eyes.

"I think you know what it means," he whispered with a smirk, before leaning in to trail his tongue gently across my bottom lip.

Moving my mouth softly against his, I started to pull his T-shirt up against his back. I wanted to see his body again, to feel the same pure longing for every inch of his skin, as I'd felt when looking at him that morning.

As Noah grabbed the back of his shirt with one hand and pulled it over his head, I snatched the opportunity to roll us both over so that he was lying underneath me straddled over him.

Tracing my fingertips gently across every tattoo on his now-naked torso, Noah's breath hitched and I could feel his erection start to grow underneath me.

Leaning down towards him, I nuzzled my face into his neck and began to tease the skin with my lips and tongue. Hearing him let out a slight groan, I moved my mouth further down his body, the same way he had done to me just hours before.

Lightly running my tongue across the bird tattoo above his pelvis, I glanced up through my eyelashes to see his head propped up on a pillow, watching me.

"Fuck, Abi," he whispered, "Don't look at me like that. You're making me want to do things I shouldn't."

Ignoring his protest, I kept my eyes firmly fixed on his as I ran my tongue even further down his toned abdomen, following the faint line of hair all the way until I reached the waistband of his jeans.

Groaning, he closed his eyes. "You need to stop now, or I swear I'm going to come without even being touched," he breathed, his chest rising and falling quicker than before.

"Let me touch you then," I whispered without taking my eyes from his face, enjoying the way he looked with his head tipped back and his eyes closed.

"No," he said firmly, "You deserve it more than I do. I'm not going to let you do anything to me until I've pleasured you."

"Pleasured me?" I replied, almost laughing.

Smiling down at me, Noah gently wrapped his hands under my armpits and pulled me back up the bed towards him.

"Yes, pleasured you," he laughed gently.

"The things I want to do to you, Abi..." he whispered, pulling me onto his chest and easing his tongue back into my mouth.

Being on top of him like that, with his hardness pressed into my groin and his hands trailing over every inch of my body, I could have sworn if I wasn't on my period I'd have given myself up to him there and then. As our bodies rubbed together and our breathing grew more intense, Noah suddenly stopped, rolling me onto my back before resting up on his arms above me.

"Seriously, I have to stop," he muttered. "This is embarrassing but I've just got no control around you. It's like I'm a fucking teenager again."

Letting out a deep sigh, he pulled me into his arms; a good job, too, as the smug smile on my face was obvious. He may have slept with an unknown amount of women, but I was capable of almost bringing him to a climax without even undressing.

Laying next to each other in silence, his fingers lightly playing with my hair as my head rested on his chest, I couldn't stop smiling to myself as my mind replayed what Noah had just said.

I had no idea what all those things he wanted to do to me would feel like. But, with the way things were going, I was pretty sure I wouldn't have to wait much longer to find out.