Chapter 6
Six
Haydyn
Kenna lay soft and warm in my arms. I woke up about half an hour ago, but she was still asleep.
After we’d first fallen over each other like horny teens, so clouded by lust we’d forgotten protection, I’d made sure to don some when I took Kenna into my room to make love to her.
She made me laugh as I carried her out of Michael’s room, anxious about throwing his bedcovers in the laundry all the while assuring me she thought she wasn’t in the right place in her cycle and we should be okay.
Despite what I’d said to her, there was still a part of me worried that I was going to be the one who got my heart broken. That Kenna was still grieving and looking for a place to latch on to in her grief. That when she finally started to heal, she’d realize that and leave us.
But seeing her look so hurt thinking I only wanted her body, I couldn’t let it stand. I couldn’t bear to see her in pain.
And I wanted her so badly.
So I gave in.
Even as worries spun in my head about how this would affect Michael, I couldn’t deny how perfect she felt in my arms.
Brushing her hair off her neck, I trailed light kisses over her soft skin. She squirmed in her sleep, undulating her perfect arse against my cock.
Jesus, she was turning me into a teenage boy.
Reaching back for the nightstand, I grabbed protection and suited up. Then I set about waking Kenna with my fingers. Hot blood thickened my cock from semi to full mast in an instant at the feel of her warmth. I found her clit and circled it.
Kenna moaned, her eyes fluttering open. It took her a second to get her bearings. She glanced over her shoulder and her expression softened at the same time her lips parted on an excited gasp. “Haydyn?”
“Happy Christmas, sweetheart.”
“Happy,” she moaned, her fingers tightening around the pillow beneath her head. “C-Christmas. Ahhh, Haydyn.”
Feeling her grow wet, I couldn’t wait any longer. I gripped her hips and nudged her legs open. Finding her, I surged inside, squeezing my eyes closed at the perfection of her snug heat around my cock.
Our groans and cries filled the bedroom as I gently made love to her.
We came together. “Kenna,” I groaned, shuddering against her as I trailed my mouth down her shoulder. “You’re so perfect.”
“That was certainly the perfect way to wake up.” She giggled, and the sound filled me with a strange mix of happiness and desperation.
I didn’t want to lose her.
Not yet.
Thus, I wasn’t going to push the subject. We’d just enjoy each other today. We’d help each other forget about the people we were missing.
Just as I returned from the bathroom after cleaning up, my phone rang on the bedside table. “It’s Michael,” I told Kenna as she sat up in bed.
She smiled but bit her lip shyly, making me want to kiss her. Instead, I grabbed my phone, eager to hear my son’s voice.
“Happy Christmas, Michael,” I answered.
“Dad! Happy Christmas!” He sounded excited and a pang of longing hit me. “I can’t wait to come home and open my presents!”
I’d told him Santa would drop off his presents from me here at the house so I could still experience a bit of Christmas with him when Deena brought him home tomorrow.
“Did Santa bring you cool stuff at your mum’s?”
“You can stop with the Santa stuff. Jim told me he’s not real.”
Anger tightened my throat and I choked out, “Jim told you Santa isn’t real?”
I heard Kenna suck in a breath and looked at her. She glowered ferociously and mouthed “Fucking asshole” and I think I fell just a wee bit more in love with her.
“I’m ten, Dad, nearly eleven. I kind of already knew.”
“Well, Santa doesn’t visit people who don’t believe in him, so that’s probably why Jim thinks he doesn’t exist.”
“Dad.” Michael laughed. “You don’t have to pretend. Okay?”
I wanted to fucking kill Jim. It was bad enough Michael was growing up so fast …
did we as adults have to force them out of childhood?
When I was a kid, there was nothing more magical than believing in Santa.
Yes, it was heartbreaking when I discovered he wasn’t real, but I wouldn’t trade it for how bloody magical those eleven years of my life were when I still believed in him.
Changing the subject, I asked him what they were up to. Michael chatted away about the new phone Deena had bought him and games for his games console. Then he got quiet and asked, “Can I stay at home for Christmas next year?”
My heart lurched. “Why? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine. I just … I like our traditions better. And I thought maybe I could just stay with Mum one weekend a month instead of at Christmas.”
I smiled as I sat down on the bed. “We’ll figure something out. But if you want to spend your Christmases at home from now on, you can.”
A soft palm pressed against my back and I turned to see Kenna smiling at me. She slid her hand around my shoulders as she moved to press a kiss on my nape. The move made her naked breasts press against my back and arousal rose in me again.
Terrible timing.
“Do you think it’s okay if I call Kenna?” Michael suddenly asked.
I stiffened, and Kenna felt it. “Uh, of course you should call Kenna. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.”
Kenna pulled back, eyes wide. And then she was scrambling out of bed. If she wasn’t so fucking gorgeous, it would’ve been funny to watch her hurry naked from the room, presumably to get dressed and find her phone.
“Okay, I’ll call her next.”
“You do that. I love you, son. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”
“Love you, Dad. Bye!”
Less than a minute after I hung up, I heard Kenna’s phone blaring and then her sweet voice answering, “Happy Christmas, Michael!”
My heart beat a wee bit faster. Because I wanted her to say that to my boy. I wanted to hear her say it to him every year. But could I trust that’s what she wanted?
I put my worries aside for the day. Instead, I enjoyed Christmas with Kenna.
She talked me out of calling Deena and giving her an earful for letting Jim tell our son Santa wasn’t real.
We made breakfast together, and I tried to shrug off my annoyance.
Kenna was playful and flirty in the kitchen, so that helped take my mind off it.
After breakfast, we sat down by the tree and opened our gifts to each other. Kenna had left the presents under the tree before Michael had departed for his mum’s and she’d, thankfully, forgotten to take the gifts we’d bought her home.
She’d clearly snuck a look at my toiletries because she gifted me a bottle of my favorite aftershave, as well as a bottle of my favorite (and too expensive wine). “You shouldn’t have,” I murmured against her lips. “Thank you.”
Kenna kissed me long and deep. When she pulled back, she whispered, “Someone needs to spoil you.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to beg her never to leave. I cleared my throat and handed her the gift from me. It was a designer cashmere scarf I thought would suit her coloring. She smoothed her hands over it and oohed and aahed, like I’d given her the world.
Then I handed her the gift from Michael.
Her lips parted as she unwrapped it to discover the blue box with Tiffany & Co.
on the front. It was an extravagant gift and one I thought would look better coming from Michael.
“Haydyn,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes as she opened the box to reveal the black velvet interior.
Nestled on the velvet was a delicate 18K rose-gold necklace with two interlocking circles accented with carved Roman numerals.
“The girl in the shop said the necklace is part of a collection about taking time into your own hands and treasuring what matters most. The circles reminded me of your parents too. I thought it—Michael thought it was something you could wear to remember them.”
Tears spilled down Kenna’s cheeks as she stared at me as if she might feel the same way about me. “This is all you, isn’t it?”
I shrugged. “It’s from us both.”
“It’s the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you.” Her fingers trembled as she took the necklace out of the box. “Can you help me put it on?”
I nodded, taking the necklace. Kenna turned, swiping her hair out of the way, and I gently fixed it around her neck.
When she turned, her palm covered the circles. “You’re the most thoughtful man I’ve ever known, Haydyn Barr.”
My heart hammered in my chest. “You bring it out in me.”
Kenna’s answer was to throw her arms around me and kiss me like there was no tomorrow. So I lowered her to the floor and made love to her like I might never get the chance to again.