22. Bryan
22
brYAN
“ I s she asleep?” I asked Nova.
She didn’t say anything for a long moment, just stared down at Amelia.
When Amelia mumbled something about getting a mommy for Christmas, my gut clenched.
It was precisely what I had been thinking. I wanted Nova for Christmas too.
Having Nova stuck with us was probably the most fortuitous result of what could have been an absolutely disastrous day. My blood pressure spiked every single time I thought about it. Unfortunately, every time I glanced over at Nova and saw the way she smiled and the way her hair shone in the firelight, I felt that stab of ‘what if?’ We could have lost her. There was a very real possibility that I never would have found her car and she would have been stuck under inches of snow. At some point, her car would have run out of gas.
I shook my head. I didn’t need to be thinking about that. She was here. She was safe. She was whole. She had all of her toes.
I chuckled.
I knew exactly why she had been so offended when I asked her how her toes were.
I remembered exactly how she giggled when I nibbled on them, running and swirling my tongue around before sucking them into my mouth. Things that I should not have remembered, or at least I should have pushed back and savored for later.
She worked for me, and I wanted her. I didn’t think I could wait until this professional arrangement was over between us before I made my move and claimed her.
I busied myself with the fire and hoped Amelia hadn’t scared Nova off with her comment.
Nova was still here, and she was cuddling my daughter as if she cared for her as well.
“I think she might actually be asleep now,” Nova said quietly.
I scooted over next to them. Amelia looked completely limp. I reached out and carefully, not wanting to wake her but needing to confirm that she was asleep, shifted her onto the couch and tucked a blanket around her, making sure that she was comfortable.
“Here.” Nova held out Humphrey. That stuffed animal had seen better days. But I could see Amelia carrying him around with her when she went away to college, and she would for the rest of her life. She would show Humphrey to her kids and say, ‘this was my special lovey animal when I was a baby, and he’s been here for me the entire time.’ Humphrey probably needed a bath and maybe some new stuffing. But that wouldn’t stop Amelia from loving him.
Once I had Amelia all tucked up, I slid in next to Nova. She didn’t wiggle away from me as I ran my hand over her leg and squeezed her knee. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“You’ve said that.”
“I’m serious. I’m glad I found you.”
“Found me to cook, or found me in the snow?” She laughed softly.
“Both.” It was getting harder to speak around my need to kiss her.
“I’m really glad you found me too.” She barely glanced at me. She smiled and stared into the fire.
I didn’t bother to try to stop myself as I reached out and swept her hair back so that I could look at her in the soft glow, in the soft, warm glow. “I heard what Amelia said.”
“What did Amelia say? She has said a lot of things tonight.”
“About your being a Christmas present.”
Her eyes flashed up and met mine. A look of surprise spread across her face as her mouth formed a perfect O. I leaned in and claimed those lips.
She moaned softly, not pulling away from me.
“Do you know what I want for Christmas?” I asked, breaking the kiss.
She bit her lip and shook her head.
I liked that she was unable to speak. I liked that I flustered her to the point of not being able to think clearly. She absolutely fuddled my brain into scrambled eggs.
“I want you to be my Christmas present. I want to unwrap you on Christmas morning.”
“You want to tuck me in a box and leave me under the tree?” She gave me a wicked smile.
“You’re funny. No, I want you under me.”
She turned her head and looked at Amelia in shock. “Your daughter is right there.”
“She’s asleep,” I pointed out.
I stroked my knuckle down the side of her cheek and traced down her neck. I loved the way she looked in my clothes. They hugged all of her curves, showing off her ample breasts and gorgeous ass.
“You know, I could unwrap you right now, if you’d let me.”
“Not with her right there,” Nova answered.
“My bedroom is upstairs.”
“It’ll be cold,” she complained.
“Not that cold. Besides, I have a thick comforter. I’ll keep you warm.”
“Is that a promise?”
I stood and held out my hand. She slid her palm against mine. It should not have been so sensuous, but my groin instantly tightened at the touch of our hands. I pulled her to her feet.
“Come with me. Find out.” I didn’t let go of her as I led her up the stairs. She didn’t seem nervous in the dark hallway.
Or even in the dark of my bedroom. The air was noticeably cooler, but my skin was burning.
Cupping my hand around her head, I pulled Nova to me. Her lips slid over mine in a dance that felt right. She belonged here with me. She was mine.
I needed to feel her skin against mine. I stopped the kiss long enough to pull my own top layers off. We held each other’s gaze for a few heart beats, and then I was helping her to pull the sweatshirt over her head. I stopped pulling on the fabric when her arms were tangled up, over her head.
Her breasts lifted and pressed against me in invitation. Leaving her arms captive, I lowered my lips to taste the soft skin of the swell of her breasts. With a primal groan, I wrapped my hands over her bra, grasping her, wishing my hands were bigger so I could fit all of her into my palms.
She managed to get rid of the shirt somehow, because it wasn’t long before her fingers were twisting in my hair, clutching me to her.
I teased one nipple through the thin fabric, first with the scrape of my teeth, and then with swipes of my thumb. Desperate to have that growing bud in my mouth against my tongue, I pulled the fabric aside.
“Bryan, stop, you’ll ruin my bra.”
I grunted. I didn’t care. I’d buy her a new one.
“It’s too big to do that. That’s not comfortable. Help me take it off.” That was a much better plan. She was a smart woman.
I reached around her and unhooked the garment, while at practically the same time, she was whipping it away from her chest and off her arms.
I reclaimed her breasts with my hands and my mouth with a growl. She was soft but her nipple was firm. She was perfection, warm and sweet.
I could have stayed where we were, making love to her breasts for hours. But the rest of my body raged to touch her. I needed to feel the smooth skin of her legs entwined with mine. I needed her silky thighs tight around my hips.
Leaving my mouth on her breast to suck and lick, I ran my hands down the slope of her smooth back and slid my fingers under the band of the sweats. The pants followed, and once over her round hips, they pooled to the floor.
Nova kicked out of them and began backing up as I moved us to the bed. She gasped and fell back when her legs hit the bed. While she pushed herself back and onto the bed, I ditched the rest of my clothes and joined her.
She let out a soft, sexy sigh as I slid up next to her. I let my hand smooth over her middle and over a breast before capturing her chin and holding her for a kiss.
I devoured her mouth like the starving man that I was. She was the very sustenance I needed to survive. How had I managed these long days not touching her, pretending that I didn’t need her?
Her fingers tickled as they danced over my shoulders and along my back.
I fell back and grabbed her wrist, pressing her palm to my chest. “Touch me,” I demanded.
“I can do that,” she purred. She shifted onto one arm, propping her hot breast against my arm. She skimmed her hand down my ribs and up my abs. She toyed with first one nipple and then the other. Each flick sparked a shudder of nerves that shot straight to my cock. My balls were tight with need.
“Lower,” I moaned.
She teased over my abs, running her finger around my belly button and then trailing her fingers back and forth through the hair on my body.
“You mean like this?” She slid her fingers around the base of my shaft.
There was no thought, no ability to speak. I let my head fall back on the pillow and reveled in her touch. Her fingers teased my cock, tickling along the underside, sliding around the precum at my tip.
I groped around in the dark trying to find where she had shifted her body. I wanted to touch her. I wanted her skin under my fingers. And I wanted my fingers buried deep inside her.
The darkness of the room heightened the sensations. I would have liked to have seen her more clearly, but there was something thrilling about having to find her in the darkness.
Her softness brushed over my legs as she straddled me. Her body against mine left me dumb. I couldn’t think of what she was doing when I felt the press of breasts against my thighs. And then there was heat, and warmth, and dear Lord, her mouth around my cock was bliss.
I arched off the bed as her tongue did magic things, and she sucked on me, pulling me into her with drawing suction.