Pawliday Love

Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

PIERCE

I should have called the cops.

I knew I should have called the cops.

Any sane person would have.

But clearly, either I was insane, or having someone want me as badly as Cal seemed to make me stupid. I’d been alone for so long, and knowing someone had… latched on to me made me eager to keep it, no matter how toxic and unhealthy it was. Or how dangerous.

I’d lost both my parents years ago. Mom died of cancer, and Dad followed her shortly after from broken heart syndrome. I never even knew that was a real thing, but apparently, it was. The loss of her had overwhelmed his heart. The doctor had told me most patients recovered, so I’d been hopeful the day I rushed him to the hospital.

He passed that night to go be with her. And I’d been alone ever since.

“You might very well have lost your mind,” I whispered to myself as I snatched my first aid kit from under the sink. Standing, I kicked the bathroom cabinet door shut before rushing back out of my bathroom and jogging back down the stairs. I tripped on the last step but thankfully caught myself and didn’t fall flat on my face.

That would have been so embarrassing.

Cal looked up when I stepped outside, and I almost swallowed my tongue when he reached up to grab the first aid kit from me and all the muscles in his arm flexed and moved. Seriously, he had no business being so big and thick. Was he thick everywhere else, too?

My cheeks flamed, burning hot.

I needed to get my shit together, and most importantly, I needed to stop admiring the man who broke into my fucking house .

“See something you like?” Cal rumbled as he set the first aid kit on his lap and opened it up. He glanced up at me. “You got a beer?”

I scowled at him. I hadn’t gotten him a beer because he needed to bandage his arm. That was just stupid.

“You’re not playing doctor on yourself while you drink .”

He huffed a laugh, and the sound was pure sex. Warmth pooled in my gut, and I prayed he didn’t notice my cock slightly thickening in my sweatpants. Because that would be even more embarrassing than if I’d face-planted at the bottom of my staircase.

He leaned back in the chair he was occupying, resting his injured arm on his red pants leg. Millie grunted from her position by his feet and rolled so she was on her side. Traitor . She was just lying there at his feet as if he hadn’t scared both of us half to death just to leave me presents.

Presents I was so not excited to open… right?

“Fine, sweetheart. If you have a beer, I’d like one, and you can play doctor.”

Jesus fucking Christ, my dick was so hard, it hurt . Why did everything that came out of his mouth sound like something straight out of the beginning of a porno? And why did his voice have to sound all gravelly and sexy and— ugh .

Unable to form a coherent sentence with my brain all focused on playing doctor and his sex-soaked voice making my dick hard, I spun on my heel and headed back into the house, grabbing a beer out of the fridge. I popped the top off the bottle and tossed it into the trash before heading back out onto the patio. Wordlessly, I handed him the beer, and when he took it with his good hand, I dropped to my knees on the concrete beside his chair, my skin turning pink when I felt his heated gaze on where I rested…

And the tent on the front of my sweatpants.

Seriously, fuck my life.

I grabbed an alcohol wipe and began cleaning his thick forearm, trying my best to ignore the prominent veins standing out against his skin and how warm his body was in the cooler air of the night. It wasn’t cold here; it was rare it got cold in Florida. But it was definitely cooler than usual, and his body heat was… nice.

Very nice.

The flick of a lighter caught my attention, and I glanced up to see Cal lighting another cigarette. I snorted and shook my head before ripping open another alcohol wipe.

“You’re a terrible Santa,” I told him. “You didn’t come down the chimney?—”

“You don’t have a chimney,” he deadpanned.

I rolled my eyes and continued as if he hadn’t spoken while I applied antibiotic ointment to his injury. Millie had done a damn good number on him. He was beginning to stop bleeding, but there was still a little bit of blood oozing from the bite wounds as I spread the ointment over his injury.

“My dog sensed you in the house. You didn’t even have a red sack. Your white beard didn’t match your black mustache. And Santa is fat—not…” My cheeks burned red as I ran my eyes over his toned, tanned upper body. Fuck . “Not that.” My voice sounded strangled to my own ears.

“I’m not out here to be everyone’s Santa, sweetheart,” Cal rumbled as I wrapped gauze around his arm. The white cloth-like fabric was a stark contrast to his darker, hairy skin. He tipped my face up once I’d secured the bandage in place with tape, and my breath hitched in my throat at the greedy, sensual look burning in his dark eyes. “I’m just out here to be your Santa.” His lips tilted up the tiniest bit, but the smile wasn’t friendly. It was a smile full of sensual promises, and fuck me with a brick, I really wanted him to make good on them.

It’d been so long since I’d been with anyone . And I really wanted to be with Cal—my own personal Santa. Stalker or not.

“Did I do a good job of being your Santa, sweetheart?” he asked.

He smelled like beer and cigarettes, and on anyone else, I probably would have been repulsed. But I only ended up swaying closer, desperate to feel his mouth on mine. His lips looked so inviting.

“An amazing job,” I whispered. “I know you left me presents beneath the tree…” I licked my lips, my heart racing and slamming against my chest bone with every hard beat, “but are those the only gifts I’ll get from Santa this year?”

A low growl vibrated from deep within his chest, and then, his mouth was on mine, kissing me with fervor. I moaned low in my throat and leaned more into him, my fingers curling into my sweatpants so I wouldn’t reach up to tug him closer or accidentally grab his injured arm and ruin this whole thing.

Because holy fuck , this kiss was fantastic .

His hand came up to wrap around the side of my throat, and I groaned, my lips parting beneath his. He took advantage, sweeping his tongue inside my mouth. I leaned up, my hands sliding around his neck to slip into his soft hair.

I squawked when Millie suddenly shoved herself between us, sending me toppling back onto my ass. Cal snarled at her, but Millie just wagged her tail, her entire back-end wiggling with the movement. I winced when her damn hard tail whacked me in the face, and I shuffled back a bit.

“You little cockblocker,” Cal rumbled as she licked at his arm near his injury. Standing to his feet, he moved around her and held his hand out to me. I gratefully took it, allowing him to pull me to my feet. My breath hitched in my throat when he leaned down and skimmed his nose along my jaw. My head tilted back, and a low moan ripped from my throat.

My brain went offline, and a full-body shiver wracked through my frame. My cock throbbed.

“We’re going upstairs to your room, and we’re locking the little mutt out . Nod if you agree.”

I was sure I looked like a bobblehead as I nodded. Words? What the fuck were words?

“Good.” With that, he grabbed my hand and towed me inside. Once Millie was in with us, her body still wiggling with excitement, he shut and locked the back door before tugging me toward the stairs. Once we were inside, he put a booted foot gently to Millie’s shoulder and nudged her out the doorway. “No, ma’am. I’ve finally got your sweet daddy where I want him, and you’re not ruining this for me.”

With that, he shut the door right in her face.