CHAPTER TEN
COVIN
We made dinner. I wasn’t skipping that step a second night in a row. Lindy let me tuck her into my side as I poured her a glass of red wine—actual red wine, not the port I found on the first night—and chattered quietly beside me in the kitchen.
A sense of normalcy enclosed us as snow fell outside in a thick coverage. I suspected we weren’t going to get that picnic in tomorrow after all. The silent whiteout provided a blanket between us and the world, blocking us off entirely.
Tonight, that wasn’t a sense I objected to in any capacity.
“Tell me you milked Buttercup,” Lindy said suddenly, stiffening.
I groaned, leaning back against the kitchen bench. “Oh, damn. So many Christmas trees…” I bit my lip to hide my smile.
“You irresponsible cow sitter.” Lindy’s eyes flashed for half a second.
Apparently I couldn’t hide shit around her.
“Not guilty,” I laughed as she slapped at me. I placed my wine glass behind me near a small basket of pinecones, ducked her next slap and caught her wrists, pulling her into me. “I milked the cow.”
“Promise?” She glared at me, as though those fiery eyes could extract any truth from my mouth to hers.
Actually, that wasn’t a bad thought. I cupped the back of her neck, pulling her in closer.
“Promise,” I murmured, slanting my mouth over hers.
She didn’t complain about my cow milking habits for a while after that. When I let her up for air, my heart pounding and my slacks too damn tight, she placed both hands on my chest and pushed.
“Stay. There,” she said, pointing at me with both hands like I’d been a bad dog.
“Staying,” I said obediently, checking her face for any sign I’d hurt her.
She shook her head, laughing. “I’m fine, Covin. And you’re sweet. Just…you’re a lot for a girl who hasn’t done anything like this for a little while. And the last guy wasn’t anything like you. At all,” she added with emphasis, backing up. Her hair trembled around her head as she shook it side to side. “Honestly, it’s fine. I just want to make dessert.”
I relaxed, leaning back to where I stood before. “Want a hand?”
“I’m good. Back in a sec.” She grabbed something from the freezer, rummaged in the fridge, and darted off.
The kitchen fell quiet without her in it.
“Girl’s got me spinning.” I said softly. “Stay out of the bedrooms tonight, Al.”
The dry cutlery on the rack rattled. I grinned. “Thanks for not stacking anything weird in our paths.”
The cutlery rattled once and stopped. I took that to mean our resident ghost had left the room, or at least retreated to the unused wing of the castle for the evening. Pleased as I was that he gave us our space, I was still intrigued about his history. This place belonged to him, and that history was what I was here to uncover after all. His was just a little further back than I had expected to delve.
Lindy emerged from the pantry holding two giant schooner glasses overflowing with dark liquid and ice cream.
“What the hell did you make?” I took one glass and the spoon she handed to me.
“Root beer floats,” she said proudly. “There was that case sitting there and I figured it was fair game.”
“Looks good to me.” I leaned in and sniffed. “Did you test this first?”
Lindy laughed, throwing her head back. My heart ached in my chest at the sight.
“Hell, no I didn't test it. It could be terrible. I didn’t check the use by date on the root beer either, but the ice cream was in-date because I just bought that today. Together?”
“Why not?” What was worth the risk of an instant death at the hands of the root beer god compared to more laughter from this woman?
“Alright. One, two…” Lindy counted us in and we both took sips at the same time.
Fizz shot up my nose followed by a lump of ice cream.
“Oh, wow. Sassafras. That’s um…”
“Powerful. Yeah.” Lindy nodded, coughing behind her hand. She giggled and swiped at my mouth. “You’re messy.”
I leaned in and licked her top lip. “Same, love.”
She stilled, and I took the chance to step back. You’re a lot, she’d said earlier.
If scaring her off was on the cards I didn’t want to risk that, at least not just yet. There was a long night ahead of us and this Christmas Eve would be a night we would both remember for a damn long time, if I had my way.
Picking up my glass, I attacked the ice cream with my spoon. “Once you get used to the flavor it’s pretty good,” I acknowledged.
“Good, because there’s a whole case of the stuff in there.” Lindy shivered.
I grabbed the scarf I’d taken from her before, back when she fell apart in my hands. Hell, just thinking about her bare skin put me back in the same state I’d been a few minutes ago when I kissed her until her lips turned red and swollen. Forcing my mind to clear, I wrapped the scarf around her neck, looping it loosely and leaving her plenty of space the way I thought she wore it.
“Is that right?” I asked gruffly.
“Yeah.” She looked up at me, all wide eyed and soft lips coated in ice cream and root beer.
I am totally screwed.
I reached for her at the same time as she discarded her dessert, both cups jingling as they clashed together on the tabletop. Our bodies crashed in the same fashion, her rising up to meet my mouth as I pulled her into me.
“Upstairs with me, Lindy. Now.” I squeezed her waist. “I’d do this here but…” I drew back to kiss the corner of her mouth, her breaths coming too fast against my lips. “I want to take our time. Alright?” I whispered, slowing it right down as she panicked.
Lindy knotted my shirt in her fists, tugging me closer even as her eyes squeezed shut and she nodded. “Alright.”
I cupped her cheek and kissed her slower, walking backwards through the doorway and into the hall, bringing her with me. My hip hit the edge of something. Not that I noticed the pain now, but I’d feel it in the morning.
The moment we stepped away from the residual heat of the kitchen and the oven where I’d spent the afternoon baking for her and the work crew, the cold settled in. I kissed her a little harder, squeezing her waist when she moaned prettily for me.
“Right. Bedroom. Blankets?” she asked hopefully. “No ghost though.”
Worried she’d launch into another threesome-ghostly-porn speech, I shook my head. “Already covered it, love. Come on.” Wrapping my hand around hers I led the way to our bedrooms in long strides. She kept up with me as I turned into our corridor the floor above, and I stopped. “Your pick.”
She nibbled her lip. “Mine.”
Letting out a pensive breath, I followed her into her room, kicking off my shoes as I entered. She shut the door as I knelt at the small fireplace, setting it up and not stopping until a small blaze took the edge off the icy air that seemed to seep through the ancient stones and the more recent gaps between them.
Satisfied with my efforts, I turned around and found Lindy naked on her bed. One leg crossed in front of her, her arms wrapped loosely around her ankles. Her wild spiral curls frizzed about her like their own blanket as I walked toward her, barely able to breathe as I drank in her tiny form, so vulnerable before me.
She was smaller than I’d imagined, even having seen her naked from the waist up earlier. The memory of her orgasm just from nipple play shattered me and I was on her with a growl, cupping her chin and halting a breath from her mouth.
“I want to fuck you into this bed until the snow stops falling, you know that?” I demanded, my lips grazing her mouth with every word.
Her eyes widened in the flickering firelight, the only glow in the room that cast dancing, elongated shadows around us.
“That could be days,” she whispered back, even though there was no one else around to hear us.
“And I’d spend every moment of them pressed skin to skin with you,” I traced my mouth over hers like I had that first day.
Her breath stuttered before she tipped her head back. Those soft, already swollen lips parted, inviting me in. I groaned as I tasted her, swiping my tongue across hers and demanding more. That she opened wider for me, allowing me to push her back onto the bed.
She scrabbled at the covers with the back of one hand. I cursed, gripping the lot. Lifting her in one arm I pulled everything back. Her legs looped around my waist as she clung to me, giving me every inch of her trust.
“So good for me. So beautiful,” I praised her. My heart beat an irregular, too fast rhythm against my ribcage, threatening to burst free as I laid her back onto the bed and pulled the covers up around her. “Gonna let me worship you like I promised?”
“Uh huh,” she whispered back, dark patches staining her cheeks.
She didn’t have to say another word to tell me what sort of lover the previous boyfriend had been—a shit one who cared more for his own needs than hers. That changed tonight.
“Covin,” she moaned as my hands roamed her body.
I took plenty of time acquainting myself with the feel of her, how each curve sat in my palm, what her body felt like and how she reacted when I squeezed or licked or nibbled on her.
There was no rush no matter how much I needed to throw her back and bury myself in her heat, knowing how damn good she’d feel. This was new for both of us, and for her it was groundbreaking. I slithered down her body, throwing one of her legs over my shoulder. Gripping a handful of blankets, I tossed them up to her.
“Don't freeze up there,” I warned.
She whimpered as I licked her from taint to clit then went back to her entrance, soothing her swollen flesh where she ached, her flesh already slick with need and desire. Her sweet taste glided over my tongue like silk. I dug my fingers into her ass cheeks, molding my hands to her flesh as I licked her.
Knowing she ached for this as much as I did drove my arousal but sated it too. I would lick her all night if that’s what she needed to accept me.
One hand curled languorously in my hair. She tugged gently on the strands as I teased her. “Come back up here,” she begged softly.
I looked up at her across the soft curve of her stomach. “If you’re still talking, I’m doing it wrong,” I said with a smile. My next lick wasn’t so sweet and her eyes fluttered closed.
Fucking bingo.
Nibbling around her clit I set a faster tempo designed to make her come, but not too hard or too fast. Her nails scratched my scalp as her thighs squeezed around my shoulders, tightening against my neck.
I nodded between licks. “That’s it, give me everything,” I encouraged her, knowing when she came it would be big from the tremors trembling the inside of her thighs.
“Please,” she chanted, raising her pelvis to meet my tongue. “Please, Covin?—”
I sucked her clit into my mouth, flicking the tight nerve bundle with my tongue fast, over again.
She screamed as she came, a rush of sweet, salty fluid coating my lips.
“Christ, that was beautiful,” I murmured, licking up her mess, and kissing her thighs as I rose over her.
Lindy trembled all over, falling apart like she had before. I gathered her against me as she gasped, still shaking.
“Want me to stop, love?”
“No, please, don’t— Get this off,” she said, a little of the usual sassy Lindy coming back to me as she plucked at my clothing.
I smirked and dipped my head to suck on the hollow of her throat just to make her squeal with the over stimulation so soon after she’d come.
“Yes, ma’am,” I muttered, letting her have her way, for now.
Her fingertips glided across my chest as I tossed my shirt over the side of the bed and discarded my pants shortly afterward. Her touch dropped lower, her discovery tour heading south. I gritted my teeth as she traced over my erect cock, her touch so light it felt painful.
“If you’re going to touch me, like this.” I closed her hand around me in a tight grip, and gave a hard pump.
“Oh.” Shock coated her voice. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t, love. That’s what I like,” I promised her, sliding a hand between her legs to play with her as she explored.
The soft cries that left her lips as she ran her thumb over my cockhead, smearing precum everywhere, were too damn beautiful. Leaning her backward, I arched over her body, sliding one finger then a second inside her, and let my hand stay still as she squirmed.
“Covin, please—” she panted.
“Not until you’re used to the size,” I muttered, tempted to spank her, though I wasn’t sure how she’d take that.
“No, please,” she begged. “I need you to…”
Her cheeks colored as words failed her, but the way she rocked her hips, riding my hand left me in no doubt of what she wanted, at least, no doubt anymore.
“Do that again,” I demanded hoarsely, fixing her with a hard stare when she shook her head. “Again, Lindy. If you want me to fuck this pussy with my fingers, then you roll those luscious goddam hips again so I can see what you’ll look like riding my cock in a minute.”
She moaned, already reacting to my command before my words fully processed. Her legs spread for me, she rocked against my fingers, rolling her hips and bearing down on me.
“Again,” I ordered, fascinated by how her body knew what it wanted, and took without her permission. I waited until her hips turned down this time and shoved my fingers deeper.
A long cry ripped through the room as she panted. “Covin, I can’t, not —”
“You will. Once more, Lindy. Two more times, alright,” I bartered her pleasure back from her.
She nodded, rolling her hips as I plunged my fingers deeper into her.
Plunge, and withdraw.
Roll.
Plunge, and withdraw.
A shaky hip roll.
“Once more,” I commanded.
She let out a low moan I barely heard as she came for me again. Heat gushed over my palm, coating me to the wrist. I waited until her flutters slowed and pulled my fingers free, licking her juices from my skin.
She watched me through glazed eyes and I wasn’t sure just how much she took in. Her orgasms were so powerful each one wrecked her. Maybe I’d been a little hasty in believing we could go all night. I wasn’t twenty anymore and she wasn’t like any other woman I had ever loved. But still, I'd do everything I could to bring her the maximum amount of pleasure I could tonight before we both crashed.
Together.
Rising over her and gripping the foil pack I pulled from my pants earlier, I leaned in to kiss her long and slow. She deserved it after the performance she just put on for me. I let out a shuddering breath of my own as I discarded the empty pack and rolled the condom on, notching myself at her slicked entrance.
“Anything you need me to do before…” I stared straight into her eyes, needing her okay.
She shook her head. “No, Covin. I’m all yours.”
That’s enough .
I slid into her, not stopping until she swallowed me whole and my thighs rested against hers. Thin arms linked around my shoulders, nail digging into my skin as she clung to me. Her breaths came in shallow pants, her eyes drifting closed.
That wouldn’t do. I needed to see her.
“Lindy, look at me,” I murmured. “I want to see you, love.”
Her lashes lifted like they were the heaviest thing in the world. “Please, I need?—”
“I know, beautiful.” I kissed her gently, gliding my tongue over hers until we were both panting, and her walls hugged me tight and hot and wet. “We will. Just getting you used to the feel of us, okay?”
“Okay.” Again her trust floored me.
I slid my arms around her body, holding her to me as I rocked my hips, sinking deeper and deeper into her. Each withdrawal she gripped me tight with those infernal walls that seemed intent on never letting me go. I groaned as I plunged back into her, not stopping until my thighs pressed to hers, and her pussy closed around me in an intimate kiss of its own.
She shuddered through the first few thrusts, and that was where my control abandoned me. I drove deeper, lifting one leg around my waist and locking my arm behind her hip to hold her in place.
“I’m going to fuck you, love. You tell me if I’m hurting you, alright?” I stared into her eyes, pushing the words out between my teeth as I willed myself not to come too soon from her stunning and reactive body as she pulsed around me with every word.
The moment she nodded I slammed into her again and again, sinking deeper with every movement, each more brutal than the last.
Heat enveloped me as Lindy wrapped herself around me. Her other leg locked around my waist, she met every thrust with a lift of her hips, no matter how insane my pace grew. I groaned into her neck, licking and sucking at her skin, knowing I’d leave marks on her, wanting my marks on her flesh.
That thought was what tipped me over. Her hot little pussy milked me all the way home, and she came with me as I fell into a world filled with snowflakes and cornflower blue skies and kiss bitten lips I needed to trace with my tongue over and over again.
When the roaring in my ears stopped and the ache in my throat released, I was still kissing her gently, rocking out bodies together as she pulsed and clenched around me in a series of aftershocks.
“Is it always like that with you?” she whispered, rubbing her fingertips along my forearms.
“That?” I stared down at her, the corner of my mouth pulling up. “No, love. I don’t think it’s ever been quite like that at all.”
Before she could find a reason to brat out on me or answer back, I tied off the condom, discarded it in the room trash, grabbed the covers that had slid sideways at some point, threw them over us and hauled her back into my arms.
Neither of us were leaving her bed before midday tomorrow, regardless of the date. That was my Christmas promise to her.