I'll Be Home for Christmas Read online

  “No,” she denied, and hiccupped.

  “Those hiccups say otherwise.”

  “You know how to cure them,” she said. “Do it.”

  “You sure?”

  “Stop asking me that.”

  “All right.” He kissed her. Tenderly. Easily. Briefly.

  She relaxed. It was okay. No one would ever know about this.

  He hooked two fingers under her jaw, lifted her chin up. Stared at her. Gentle, but serious. “Nothing to be nervous about, sweetheart. I’m gonna make sure you have a good time.”

  “That’s not what I’m nervous about.”

  “No?” An eyebrow went up on his forehead and a teasing smile lifted his mouth. “What are you nervous about?”

  “That you won’t have a good time. That I won’t be able to—”

  He cut her off with another kiss. Damn, she could get used to being interrupted this way. She melted into him, let his lips carry her away.

  The wind gusted.

  “Let’s get out of the cold,” he said, tucking her against his side and escorting her up the steps to the yurt.

  At the door, he paused.

  She pulled the key from her purse, stuck it into the lock. Her fingers were shaking so vigorously she couldn’t turn the key.

  “Let me,” he whispered, his hand closing over hers.

  Gabi stepped back, let him have at it.

  He unlocked the door, pushed it open for her to enter.

  On wobbly legs, she stepped inside.

  “I’ll stoke the fire,” he said, rubbing his palms together.

  What was she supposed to do? Slip into something more comfortable? Where? There were no bedroom walls. She wasn’t prepared to strip right in front of him. Gabi nibbled her bottom lip, the logistics of a seduction giving her second thoughts.

  “I’m just … um …” She pointed at the bathroom.

  He nodded, turned to the fireplace.

  Breathing heavily, she took refuge in the bathroom, closing the door behind her, sinking against it, spotted herself in the mirror.

  Her eyes were wide, but brightly alight as if she had a fever. Joe was in her house and they were going to have sex. No wonder she looked feverish. Who wouldn’t be feverish?

  “Go get him,” she told herself.

  When she came out of the bathroom he was standing in the middle of the yurt, the fire blazing brightly behind him.

  His stare touched her like a caress, long and hot and leisurely. She quivered, her entire body aching for him. Not wanting to look needy and uncool, she tried to quell the shaking through sheer effort of will, sinking her fingers into her palms, curling her hands into fists. She hoisted up a sly smile, hoping to convince him with a wink and a grin that she did this kind of thing all the time. No big hairy deal.

  But it was a big deal. A very big deal to her.

  She ran a finger around her collar, felt sweat bead at the center of her chest, gulped.

  His sultry gaze tracked her movements, and then drifted lower to linger on the swell of her breasts beneath her clothes. A faint smile tipped up those yummy lips, lighting a fire deep inside Gabi’s belly.

  She could back out. Send him packing. It wasn’t too late.

  Except she didn’t want to.

  She wanted this. Wanted him. More than she’d wanted anything in a very long time. It was time she got what she wanted for once.

  His eyes were still hooked on her mouth. He cocked his head and a lock of thick, curly, golden brown hair fell over his brow. He combed it back with thick, tanned fingers.

  Her body responded as hotly as if he’d touched her. Nerve endings tingled. Stomach clenched. Her sex instantly moistened.

  His tongue brushed against her lip and she relaxed her jaw, letting him slip his tongue between her parted teeth. She moaned softly and he chuckled, the deep sound vibrating from his chest out through his mouth and into her. He pulled back to peer down into her face and whisper, “Thatta girl.”

  She whimpered and tugged his head back down, entwined her arms around his neck. Kissed him. Hard. No monkeying around. She was serious.

  He kissed her right back—long and moist and demanding kisses. Excellent. He was a grade A, blue ribbon kisser. If kissing were an Olympic sport, he’d own the gold.

  By the time he was done she was nothing but a puddle of boneless girly goo in his arms. If those big, strong, burly He-Man arms weren’t wrapped around her, she’d slither right under his feet.

  “Well now,” he said. “That was nice.”

  Nice? Nice? He was calling a thermonuclear explosion nice?

  “Not bad,” she said breathlessly.

  “I think we can do better.”

  “Better?” Her knees were noodles.

  He lowered his head, pressed his mouth to her ear. “Sweetheart, I’m gonna make you squirm.”

  “Oh my,” she whispered.

  His big hand slid up underneath her shirt, palmed her bare skin while his lips swept over her jaw, to her collarbone, on down to the hollow of her throat. Her pulse quickened, fluttering wildly beneath the pressure of his masculine mouth.

  “You taste so damn good,” he murmured against her skin, then tilted his head up to catch her watching him. A self-satisfied smirk lit up his eyes. “I want to eat you up.”

  She startled. “What?”

  The smirk turned positively wicked. “I want to taste all of you. Everywhere. Would you like that?”

  Yes! Yes! She wanted to yell yes but her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth.

  “Do you want me to do that?” he repeated.

  Mutely, she nodded.

  “You sure that’s what you want? Because I’m not messing around here, Gabi, if you allow me, I’m going to fly you to the stars and make you forget all about what you’re running away from.”

  She gasped. “That’s a big promise.”

  “One I’m fully capable of backing up,” he assured her, his eyes laser beams on hers. “You in?”

  How many ways were there to say yes? Si. Oui. Ja. Sim. Hai. Haan. Uh-huh. Sure. Absolutely. Aye. Indeed. Get that rocket ship gassed up and spit-polished. We’ve got an orgasm to catch.

  She was trembling so hard she couldn’t get the words out, so she just showed him, pressing her body against his, wriggling her pelvic bone against his erection.

  He groaned. Loudly. “Say it, Gabi. Give me permission to go there.”

  “Please,” she whimpered. “Please take me.”

  “That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout.” His voice was pure glee, a treble clef of joy that vibrated up through her spine.

  His palm slid up the back of her neck, his broad fingers plowing through her hair like spears, until her head rested on the heel of his hand. He took her mouth again with another sizzling kiss and didn’t stop until he had her panting and whimpering.

  Slowly, he undressed her, peeling her shirt over her head, his calloused fingertips grazing her skin as he eased the straps of her camisole down her shoulders, unhooked her bra with breathtakingly adroit moves. He stopped breathing and stepped back, his eyes glazed with desire.

  “Wait right here,” he said, and disappeared into the bathroom.

  CHAPTER 13

  There is no greater gift at Christmas than to have everything you want before you open the gifts.

  —Flavia

  A minute later, Joe emerged from the bathroom with two fluffy, oversized bath towels. During that short moment, she had time to second and third guess herself as her good girl side started thrashing all the reasons this was a bad idea.

  But one look at his face and she was hooked all over again. “What are the towels for?”

  “Hot tub.”

  Gabi barely recalled seeing a small hot tub behind the yurt. Hadn’t even known it was ready for use. But it was the perfect night for a sensual soak. A fresh round of excited shivers exploded inside her.

  He grinned and wrapped the towel around her naked body and then did the same to himself. The to
wel was so big it covered her completely from her armpits to her calves, but the same sized towel on him hit him mid-thigh, showing off those amazing legs.

  “This way.” Joe took her hand and guided her out the back door to another deck. The December wind ripped the breath from her lungs, her bare toes curled involuntarily against the chilled wooden flooring. He let go of her hand to remove the hot tub cover, dropped his towel, and climbed in.

  Mesmerized, Gabi watched his magnificently naked butt flex as he settled into the water, turned toward her, his white teeth flashing a smile at her in the dark, and held out his hand. “Join me, Trouble.”

  Trembling more from the fact that she was about to slide into the hot tub naked with this delicious man than from the cold, Gabi dropped her towel, and took his hand.

  The shock of the hot water against her cooled skin had her gasping. What contrast. What sensation! She hadn’t been in a hot tub in years, and she’d never been in one naked before.

  He turned on the jets low at first, the tickly bubbles sending her floating in his direction. Joe grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, his eyelids half lowered in a sultry, you’re-mine-now stare that welded her tongue to the roof of her mouth.

  She hovered above his lap, the water keeping her buoyant. When he switched the jets to high, the force tossed her aside. His arms locked around her waist, and he dragged her back to him, his gaze her anchor. With deliberate slowness, he moved his hands up either side of her wet, heaving chest to cup the weight of her breasts in his palms.

  His thumbs found her nipples and he stroked lazy circles over those aching buds. A guttural sound rolled from the back of her throat, part pleasure, part plea. He lowered his mouth to tease one nipple between his teeth. Involuntarily, her head lolled back, her hair trailing behind her in the water, and she felt her body swell with a light storm of sensation.

  Her body quivered as his tongue gently suckled her.

  In her twenty-three years, she’d had a handful of lovers. While kissing and foreplay had been pleasant, it had never been like this, so intense, so certain. Their bodies fit together so well. As if they’d been created just for each other.

  That was romantic thinking, wasn’t it? Nothing factual. Nothing you could put in the bank and draw interest on. Nothing you could prove in a court of law. It was pure feeling and nothing else. Feelings were so transient. They could vanish as quickly as they arrived.

  But in this moment, being with him felt destined, magical, and she clung to the feeling like a cherished memento.

  The moon shone down on them, a celestial spotlight showcasing two lovers testing boundaries, checking out the landscape, throbbing with possibility.

  Lover.

  He was about to become her lover.

  With deliberate slowness, he explored her body, using his mouth and his hands. His tongue laving her wet skin, his hands slipping to stroke her ribs.

  “Joe,” she whispered, liking the short, declarative sound of his name, brusque and efficient in the cool night air. “Joe.”

  His hand slipped to her navel and then lower still, sliding his palm between her thighs, tickling her lightly.

  “Joe.” Her voice poured over her teeth, raw and husky.

  His touch turned firm, provocative, inching closer and closer to where she wanted him to go until … finally, oh holy affidavit, finally … his finger found its mark.

  Involuntarily, her body jerked.

  He stopped. “You okay?”

  “Fine,” she croaked. “Perfect. Don’t stop.”

  He flashed a devilish grin that lit her up inside and went back to what he was doing.

  Gabi groaned and he maneuvered her around so her head rested on the edge of the hot tub and the rest of her was floating free, connected only by that wicked hand of his. She closed her eyes and surrendered to the experience—the heat, the cold, the bubbles, the pressure.

  He did something really tricky with his hand that sent a jolt of stark pleasure pulsing through her. She gasped. He chuckled and reached up to cup her bottom with his other hand while the first one kept performing breath-stealing magic. He kneaded her, caressed her, stroked her, building the heat and tension.

  She parted her legs, letting him in, not caring that she was in over her head. He leaned up to take one of her nipples between his teeth again and she came unspooled. Liquefied right there in the hot tub. She rode the bubbles, rode the wave, rode the bliss of his tongue.

  That amazing, amazing, amazing tongue.

  He was meticulous. Leaving no body part untouched. Working her up until she was panting like a marathon runner at the twenty-sixth-mile marker.

  She wrapped her hands around his forearm. “Joe, Joe. I … I—”

  “Go right ahead, sweetheart. There’s no one here but you and me. Come.”

  As if it were that easy. She bit down on her bottom lip and tried to edge away from him, but he wasn’t letting her go. Holding her right against him. Stroking her hair. Kissing her forehead.

  “I need …”

  “Yes?” His finger traced over her cheek, gentle and kind. “What do you need, Gabi?”

  “I’m uncomfortable with this.”

  His eyes widened and his mouth pulled down. “Did I do something wrong?”

  She thought it was funny, this cocky Alpha He-Man looking so uncertain, and she let him stew for half a second before letting him off the hook. “I shouldn’t be the only one having fun.”

  “Is that right?” The self-assured smile was back, tinged with relief. He had been worried about his performance. Aw, that was so cute and she felt less embarrassed to have let go so completely with him.

  “That’s right.” Thrilled by her boldness, she flipped around and pushed him back, pinning his shoulders against the hot tub. “We should take turns.”

  Okay, yes, she was stalling, but she needed breathing room, and it was true, she wanted him to enjoy her as much as she was enjoying him.

  She ran a hand over the hard planes of his taut chest muscles. Lust darkened his eyes. His elbows were bent, his hands gripping the edge of the hot tub, his body floating on the boiling bubbles the way she’d done earlier. She slipped her hands underneath him, squeezed his granite ass.

  He groaned.

  Buoyed by the water, Gabi lifted his butt until his hips cleared the foamy bubbles and she could clearly see his proud arousal. She dipped her head.

  All the air left his body in a loud hiss.

  She pressed her lips to the tip of his erection and his entire body jerked. Feeling a little unsure of herself, she hesitated for a heartbeat as doubts filtered in. What did he like? Could she please him? What did he think of her?

  Slowly, she stroked the velvety head of his steely shaft with the tip of her tongue, drawing more gruff, masculine noises from him. He seemed to approve of what she was doing, so Gabi plunged full speed ahead and took as much of this big man into her mouth as would fit.

  He shuddered.

  Shyly, she peeked up at him through lowered lashes. His head was thrown back, his hair in the water, his hands maintaining a death grip on the side of the hot tub, and his eyes were squeezed closed.

  Satisfied that she was on the right track, Gabi swirled her tongue around him.

  He touched her head. Lightly. Tenderly. Not as if he were trying to guide her, but as if he simply needed to touch her. Gabi’s heart did a fluttery dance in her chest and she felt like a goddess. He made her feel like a goddess. Sexy. Wanted. Cherished.

  How did he do that with just one touch? How exquisite. This feeling. How dangerous.

  She was hot and dizzy and delighted and in control. So much of her life she’d spent trying to make others happy. First Derrick, because he was sick, and then later her parents, because they’d lost him and they threw all their attention onto her. How could she rebel when she was all they had left?

  She didn’t blame her parents for the path she’d taken. She’d chosen it to please them, but now she knew it was not a path she could
keep walking. Not and be true to who she was.

  Why had it taken her so long to get here?

  Never mind. She was here now. That was the important part.

  Here in a hot tub with a gorgeous He-Man who didn’t seem to have an issue with letting her be in charge once in a while. She grabbed life with both hands.

  Sweet freedom.

  But with freedom came risk, and she felt like her fingers were too close to a hot fire. Flames. She was stirring flames with her bare hands.

  “Beautiful. So damn beautiful,” he mumbled, his body taut as a wire stretched to the breaking point. A moment later, his hands slipped between her armpits and he pulled her up.

  “Did I do something wrong?” she asked. “Did my teeth nip you? I—”

  “Nothing’s wrong, babe. Quite the opposite. It’s all too right.”

  “How can something be too right?” she asked, hearing her pulse thumping in her ears.

  “ ’Cause you’re gonna make me come too soon.”

  “What’s wrong with that?” She peered into his eyes, trying to read the deeper meaning that lurked behind his eyes. But instead of seeing a hidden message, she saw that she was done for. This man had already started dismantling her and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  A sudden rush of fear gripped her so strongly that she lost her breath and splashed away from him, landing on the opposite side of the hot tub, a cauldron of water churning between them.

  “Gabi.” His voice jabbed through her, a piercing needle of sharp need. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  Nothing. Everything. He wanted too much from her. She wanted even more from him. Not a safe place to be.

  She cast a glance toward the house.

  “Don’t …” he said, and rested a heavy hand on her shoulder. “Don’t run away.”

  But that’s exactly what she was doing, wasn’t it? Running away.

  He held his hand out to her. Helplessly, she sank her palm into his and he reeled her back toward him. He kissed her hard, nuzzled her neck, and whispered, “I want to be inside you. I want to come with you.”

  Oh dear, she wanted that too.

  He leaned over, searching for something on the ledge of the pergola, and for the first time she saw he’d brought a condom with him. He was prepared.