Chapter 15
Drew awakened early and glanced out the window.
It was snowing outside. Charlie had said forecasters had predicted a white Christmas, which was not unusual for this high up in the mountains.
The snow falling on the alpine lake made a beautiful picture.
But not as beautiful as the woman asleep in his arms.
After their first time, he had left her in bed to go into the bathroom to discard the condom, then returned to the bedroom with a warm cloth to tenderly wipe her down.
This was the first time he had performed such an intimate task on a woman.
But then, he had never been a woman’s first before, and for him, it was an honor to take care of her that way.
Eden had been surprised by his actions, and he could tell by the blush that spread across her features that she was somewhat embarrassed by such personal ministrations.
He told her that he had wanted to show her that it wasn’t only about the lovemaking act itself, but how a man took care of the woman afterwards.
His internal clock, which usually woke him at the crack of dawn to go jogging, kept him awake.
However, he wasn’t going outside to run in the snow this morning.
Nothing felt better than to simply lie here with Eden in his arms, remembering last night.
Surprisingly, he had no regrets. In a way, he knew it was bound to happen.
There had been too much sexual chemistry between them from the first for it not to.
Now they were here naked in bed together while he waited patiently for her to wake up.
That gave him a strange feeling. Though he’d shared a bed with numerous women, he’d never taken care of one the way he had Eden over the past few days.
He had her parents to blame for that. He still found it simply unbelievable that they would go so far to control their child.
Did they think she would want to live her own life, at some point?
He was glad she would be leaving for Paris next week and could begin the career she wanted.
Drew wanted to believe that once she was gone, his world would return to normal.
He would start a new year for the Steele Trucking Company.
His partnership with several new distribution centers and warehouses would begin, which meant new routes and more drivers, and of course, more rigs.
The coming year should be a profitable and productive one for him.
Then, of course, there would also be more women, some he knew and liked sharing time with, and others he’d likely meet along the way.
Why did that thought suddenly have no appeal to him?
Absolutely none. Could it be that way because he was sharing a bed with a woman now, and thinking that way was inconsiderate?
Hell, if it was, then he’d been pretty damn inconsiderate many times.
In the past, he’d been known to have sex with one woman for lunch, and before he could get out of bed and redress, he’d already be anticipating his evening with another.
He made sure that before he got involved with someone, he and his prospective bedpartner would have ‘the talk’.
They needed to know that no woman had dibs on him.
Ever. Being run out of Charlotte had taught him a valuable lesson.
Although he had ‘the talk’ with all of them, he’d learned to recognize the type who wouldn’t take him at his word.
And so, he’d learned to avoid them. Because he wasn’t about to change for any woman. No exceptions.
However, that was the crux of his problem.
Somehow, Eden Tyson had become an exception.
He hadn’t had ‘the talk’ with her. It hadn’t even crossed his mind.
The only thing he’d been thinking about last night was making love to her.
At least he knew that whatever was between them had an end date.
He wouldn’t see her again after she boarded the plane to Paris.
Then she would be out of sight and out of mind.
Would she really? Of course, she would. She had her life to live, and he had his.
He wished her well in all her future goals, and in his heart, he knew she would one day be a success, with or without her family’s blessings.
What he admired most about her was her strength of will, defying everything and everyone who stood in the way of her getting what she wanted. What her heart desired.
He glanced down when he felt her stirring in his arms. His eyes stayed on her, wanting to see the very moment she woke up, and he was the recipient of that drowsy look when she opened those beautiful green eyes.
He’d been the recipient before when she dozed off in the truck.
But never had he gotten that look while she was in bed with him, waking up in his arms.
Then it happened. She slowly opened her eyes and her gaze snarled with his.
Then she smiled and instantly, a deep, sexual hunger stirred to life in his mid-section, as well as something else he hadn’t expected.
It was something he’d never felt before ─a yearning and desire that went beyond the bedroom.
He felt his brain faltering when, suddenly, an image flashed into his mind.
One of her in bed at his home, waking up in his arms there, too.
How could his mind conjure up such a thing when it wouldn’t be happening?
He didn’t get attached. He hadn’t even done so with Valerie.
When she had ended things after falling in love with someone, he had been okay with it.
There had been no feelings of possession or obsession.
He’d simply wished her well and moved on.
Maybe he was feeling this way with Eden because he was getting caught up in the moment. That had to be it.
Thoughts of anything but her fled his mind the moment she leaned up and pressed her mouth to his in a good morning kiss, which he returned.
At that moment, it seemed nothing in the world mattered except this.
Being in this huge bed with her, the desire he felt, and the sensations swamping his body from her kiss.
He eased from the bed to reach for a condom, then felt the heat of her gaze roam over his naked body as he put it on. Then he returned to bed and her open arms.
**
Eden was convinced there was nothing like a Drew Steele kiss.
When he captured her mouth, it made her head reel, her nipples tingle, and the area between her legs throb.
He used his tongue like a precision tool, and the expert way he took her mouth was masterful.
She doubted she’d ever meet another man like him.
He thought he was simply showing her how to make sure her future lovers knew how to please her, but she knew that few would be as giving and accommodating as Drew. He was unparalleled.
And when he shifted their positions to slide between her legs and then ease inside of her, she quickly added incomparable to his list of virtues.
Already, she knew her inner muscles were contracting with the need to feel him.
Her gaze drifted up from his muscled chest to his face, and her body began overheating when their gazes met as his body moved inside her.
It seemed he was intentionally riding a fine edge between not going too slow and almost too fast.
Unable to look into his eyes any longer without triggering an orgasm, she shifted her gaze, turning to watch the pulse throbbing in the base of his throat. Why did the sight of it make her body even more needy?
When he picked up the rhythm of their lovemaking, adding a sensuous beat, desire overtook her, consuming her like a flame sucking up oxygen.
When she forced herself to breathe deeper, she inhaled the manly scent of him, which only pushed her closer to the edge.
The sinfully erotic movement of his hips as he stroked back and forth into her wasn’t helping.
Suddenly, a bolt of intense pleasure consumed her and made her scream his name.
Somehow, she felt his own climax building and then escalating to a peak in unison with hers.
Then he hollered her name just moments before he brought his mouth down to capture hers, kissing her with toe-curling intensity.
At that moment, Eden realized she had fallen in love with Drew.
**
Drew slowly untangled his legs from Eden’s and eased out of bed.
A quick look at the clock indicated it was past noon.
They had slept through breakfast and would do the same with lunch if he didn’t order food soon.
A bed plus Eden equaled lovemaking. That meant they would need nourishment.
Besides, this was Christmas Day, and he had something he wanted to give her.
Slipping into his jeans, he went to the living room.
He glanced at the television and saw that the Disney Christmas Parade was on.
At any other time, he would probably have sat down and watched it, but not now.
He had more important matters to attend to—digging out the gift he had purchased for Eden yesterday.
Forcing back the thought that this was another exception, he decided to consider it a parting gift…
even though he had never purchased a gift, parting or otherwise, for any of his other lovers.
He wondered at the significance of that for a moment, then decided there was none.
It was Christmas, and this time of year tended to put people in a giving spirit.
Returning to the bedroom, he eased back in bed and gently woke Eden, who’d fallen asleep again. When he looked in her eyes as she awakened, he had a funny feeling that he would never tire of seeing her like this. “Merry Christmas, Eden. I got you a gift.”
She stared with drowsy eyes at him as the meaning behind his words broke through her sleep-ridden mind. She blinked and then shifted positions to ease up in bed. “You got a gift for me?” she asked in a disbelieving voice.
“Yes. It is Christmas, after all.”
She began nibbling on her bottom lip as if distressed about something. “What’s wrong?”
She met his gaze. “But I didn’t get you anything.”
“You gave me the greatest of all gifts last night.”
She seemed confused by his statement. “What?”
He leaned closer. “You. You gave me a part of you no other man had ever touched. No one else has given me such a gift.” For some reason, knowing he was her first, and for the time being, her only, made a part of him swell. His heart.
His heart? No. He was mistaken. Nothing about a woman ever affected his heart. There was only desire between them, nothing more. Glad he had cleared his mind of that foolish thought, he handed her the box.
He watched her open it, seeing the smile on her face before she looked at him with shocked eyes. “How did you know?”
Drew knew what she was asking. When they had been at the holiday fair held by the Cherokee Indian Tribe, he had stepped away from her for a moment to look at the display of knives whose handles were made from deer antlers.
When he glanced over his shoulder, he saw one of the women showing her a hand-crafted necklace that she seemed quite taken with.
He knew that she was being careful with her money, not knowing what might come up, and wouldn’t buy anything for herself, no matter how much she wanted it.
So he decided to get the sterling silver, turquoise Cherokee star necklace for her as a gift.
He’d gone back to get it when she’d slipped into the ladies’ room.
“An astute lover is aware of everything when it pertains to his woman.” Instead of saying ‘his woman’, he should have said ‘the woman he is with’, but for some reason, he refused to make the correction and just hoped the error went over her head.
“Oh, Drew. This means everything.” She threw herself in his arms, and he held her tight.
From the shaking of her shoulders, he knew she was crying.
That made him wonder why such a gift meant so much.
When she stopped crying and he pulled back to stare into her tear-stained eyes, he asked, “What’s so special about this gift, Eden? ”
After a couple of sniffles, she said, “First, because it was from you. And then because it’s the first gift I’ve received that is something I truly wanted and not something someone felt I should have.”
He lifted a brow. “Didn’t you ever make a Christmas list for Santa?”
“No. My parents wanted me to know that my Christmas presents were from them and not dependent on whether I was naughty or nice throughout the year. They expected me to be nice all the time.”
He couldn’t help asking, “Just what sort of gifts did you get at Christmas?”
“Usually, stock certificates for shares in various companies.”
He would have laughed if the conversation hadn’t been so damn serious. “Stock certificates weren’t all bad, were they?”
She rolled her eyes. “They were, if that’s all you got for Christmas every year, while your friends were getting games and toys.” She shook her head at the memory. “Thank you, Drew.”
When she leaned in to kiss him, he met her halfway. When her tongue took hold of his, seducing him with her sweet, enticing taste, he thought she was getting way too good at this. Finally breaking off the kiss, he exhaled a deep breath. “Get out of this bed, so we can eat.”
She smiled at him, gliding her hand to the nape of his neck. “And after we eat?”
He smiled at her. “Then we’ll get back in bed again.”