Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
STETSON
Ican’t get enough of her.
I don’t think I’ll ever have a fill of her sweetness. She tastes so good. She feels so good. Everything about her pulls me in. The moment I set eyes on her on my yacht, I was sucked in. Just the same way I was yesterday.
Even more.
I was overcome with the need to have her.
Possess her body, mind and soul. I gave her the clause—I’ve only given two other women the clause to sign—and those women, I’d known for months. And I didn’t even bring them to the village because I knew I made a mistake once I had them sign. I never even told them my story.
But Charlie…
A woman I just met and barely know, despite seeing her childhood Christmas memories and getting some insight into her soul. I have her sign the agreement, bring her here and tell her more than I’ve ever told a member outside our family.
No. I don’t fucking understand it.
It makes absolutely no sense.
But hell, I don’t give a damn.
I want her the way I’ve never wanted anything else in my life. Her face, her smell… it pulls me in like something I could never even imagine.
If Jayson could hear my inner dialogue now, he’d call me a Hallmark card, hell, I’d make fun of me. But I can’t help it.
I can’t help the overwhelming feeling I have to claim her.
As mine.
Fuck.
I already know what it’s going to feel like. I already know it’s going to be too good to be true. I already know she was made for me.
How do I know this?
It’s something I can’t explain. Maybe it’s part of the lore of my ancestors. Or maybe it’s just desire.
No.
It’s not that.
It’s more. I know it is. She’s familiar to me. It’s like I’ve known her before. Or I’ve always known her. I can’t explain it, and frankly I don’t want to dive into the emotion of it. I just want to be in the moment. To feel her like this.
To feel her soft lips, to hear her moan in desire.
I want her underneath me and I want to be so deep inside her that I’m all she can ever think about or imagine. I want to be her fantasy in every waking moment.
Because I have a feeling, she’s about to be mine.
I pull back from her so I can breathe her scent in, my lips trail kisses around her beautiful face and I rub my beard against her delicate skin.
“You’re so beautiful,” I tell her as I gaze deep into her sapphire eyes.
She doesn’t answer, instead she turns her head shyly and moves it into my chest as she wraps her arms around my waist. We hold each other like this for a moment as I place soft kisses on the top of her head.
To be fair, I’m impressed with how well she’s taken it all in with stride. I know her mind must be racing in all sorts of directions, and I don’t blame her. I’m just relieved I don’t have to work harder to make her believe in all of this.
But then, this is a novel experience for me too. I’ve never brought a woman here. I’ve never told a woman about my family before, and I’ve never felt the earth move when I set eyes on a woman in my life.
Dammit! The earth moved.
Her body trembles in my arms and I pull her even closer.
“Are you cold?”
She shakes her head against my neck.
“No,” she whispers softly.
“Then what is it?” I ask, feeling so protective of her.
“It’s nothing,” she says and if possible, molds herself into my arms even more.
I tilt her face up to mine and stare down at the perfection looking back at me. She takes my breath away. I’ve never had such a reaction to a woman before in my life. Everything about her makes my blood heat up.
My eyes race over her face. Flushed cheeks, twinkling eyes—maybe a slight buzz from Shorty’s hot chocolate.
Perfect.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” I say.
“You’re the one who can read minds this time of year,” she returns cheekily. “Why don’t you tell me?”
I rub my hands up and down her back and kiss the side of her neck.
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“Then tell me how it works,” she says.
“I can see your memories from Christmas, when you were a child and whenever Christmas really mattered to you.”
The last time it meant anything was when she was thirteen years old. That was before her parents split up and she became a full-time mom for her baby brother.
I watch the emotions play across her face as she processes my words. I try to explain the gift to her as best as I can.
“I realize it’s hard for you to understand.”
“No,” she says to my surprise. “I get it. And somehow, it makes sense and feels right. Santa shouldn’t be able to read all our thoughts all of the time. Just the ones about Christmas—the ones relevant to him and what he does.”
I’d never thought about it like that.
“Agreed.” I watch her lazily. “So answer the question.”
She smiles playfully and pushes away from me and picks up her cocoa. She takes a sip and watches me in a flirtatious way. My blood heats up and again, I realize how much I want her.
How much I want her to be mine.
“Now that I know about most of all of this part of the clause,” she says as she motions around the village, “isn’t it time for you to show me the rest?”
The blood rushes through my veins and I feel like I can hear it. Yes, my dear, I think it’s time I show you the rest.
What I say aloud—
“That’s my favorite question of yours tonight.”
She smiles like the seductress she is.
“Good,” she says sweetly before she ruins it with, “after all, we only have the night.”
I think it’s time to set her straight.
“Not just tonight,” my voice is intentionally strong. “Per the extension clause, I can extend as long as I like.”