15. Tessa
Chapter 15
Tessa
I 'm nervously pacing Sugar you’ve met them a dozen times or more when we were growing up.” He smiles but I can sense the tension.
“That’s different.”
"What happened to no more walls?"
I laugh, but it dies when I realize he's serious. "That's not— I mean, it's not about walls. I just… I like my quiet Christmas tradition. Staying home, watching movies…"
"But that was with Ivy. If she’s with Asher, you’ll be… alone?"
"Well, usually I had…" My voice catches unexpectedly. "I had Meatball."
"Meatball?"
The tears come before I can stop them. Zane immediately pulls me against his chest, one hand stroking my hair.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push, baby. Who is Meatball? Tell me about him?"
I pull out my phone, scrolling to my photo album labeled My Boy. "He was my cat. I found him during a snowstorm when I was seven. He was so tiny, nearly frozen…" I show him a photo of a chunky orange tabby sprawled across my lap. "He lived to be eighteen. I lost him last winter."
"He's beautiful," Zane says softly, swiping through the photos. "Look at that face. Definitely earned the name Meatball."
I laugh through the tears. "He was the best. Every Christmas morning, he'd wake me up by batting ornaments off the tree until I got up to feed him. Then he'd curl up with me on the couch while I watched Christmas movies."
"I have a confession," Zane says suddenly, kissing my temple. "But you can't tell anyone. It would completely ruin my reputation as the bad boy Mercer."
I look up at him, intrigued. "What is it?"
"Ah-ah." He grins. "It's a surprise. You'll have to wait until Christmas Day."
"Christmas Day?"
"When I come over." His eyes soften. "If you'll have me? I'll stop by my family's house first—I usually don't stay long anyway—but then I want to spend the day with you. Creating new traditions."
My heart melts. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." He wipes away the last of my tears. "Just us. However you want to spend it."
"I'd like that," I whisper. "I love you."
"I love you too."
His kiss deepens, hands sliding under my sweater as he presses me against the wall. The brick is rough against my back, but I barely notice, too lost in the way he's touching me, tasting me, making me feel more alive than I've ever felt.
When he presses his hips against mine, his cock rigid, I gasp. "Now, about those new traditions."
His hands slide under my bra as his mouth trails down my neck, and soon all thoughts of Christmas fade away, replaced by much more immediate desires.
“I want to taste you,” his lips murmur against my neck as he slowly begins to fall to his knees. His nose is sliding up my thigh, right to my?—
“Ah,” I moan when he kisses me through the material of my pants.
He has me naked from the waist down in seconds, my ass on a table, my legs thrown over his shoulders as he wastes zero time tasting me. I close my eyes, letting him spread my thighs farther apart as he slides two fingers inside me, his tongue doing wicked things to my clit.
“Seeing your pussy weeping for me like this is worth more than any power I could ever achieve.” I glance down my body, his eyes dark and hungry, his lips glistening with my wetness as he leans in to finish me off.
My back is arching, his name coming out in a garbled moan as he curls his fingers, hitting my G-spot and making me see stars.
Later, as we drive back through the quiet city, my hand finds his on the gearshift. The Corvette purrs beneath us, and I think about how far we've come from those high school days. How much better reality is than any teenage fantasy.
"Stay tonight?" he asks as we pull up to my building.
"I can't." I touch his cheek. "I promised Ivy I’d swing by to do our gift exchange. But… come over for Christmas? Bring that surprise you promised?"
His smile is soft, secret. "Wouldn't miss it for anything."
As I watch the Corvette disappear into the night, I think about that teenage girl who used to watch him from afar, dreaming of being close to him. If only she could see us now.