Chapter 16
Brooks
“Ruby!” I called, my voice carrying through the lodge as her bright red tutu swished ahead of me like a little holiday flag.
She only giggled harder and darted farther away, weaving through the decorated halls with the agility of someone who knew I couldn’t resist chasing her.
I groaned and took off after her, boots pounding against the polished wood floor.
I’d brought her here to surprise Annie with a midday pick-me-up, figured seeing her daughter would be the best kind of break during a long day of prepping.
But right now, Ruby had other plans, and apparently, those plans included running me ragged.
“Brooks! Nooo!” she squealed over her shoulder, tutu bouncing with every step. The sound of her laughter mixed with the twinkle of Christmas music spilling from the speakers overhead.
We whipped past massive trees decked out with ribbons and ornaments, stockings hung along the bannisters, and garlands that shimmered in the glow of white lights. The whole place smelled of pine, cinnamon, and hot chocolate.
I lunged, fingertips brushing the air just shy of her.
“Too late!” I warned, but she cut right at the last second, leaving me off balance.
Damn. The kid was good.
She bolted straight into the grand ballroom. By the time I followed, gathering what was left of my dignity after being juked by a seven-year-old, the sound of her little shoes tapping against the hardwood echoed off the vaulted ceiling.
The room was insane—tall windows framed a panorama of snow-covered mountains in the distance.
The peaks were dusted like powdered sugar, the sky a soft gray that promised more flurries before nightfall.
Inside, the glow of chandeliers and the faint hum of holiday chatter made the space feel warm, festive, alive.
“Whoa there!” a deep voice called out.
Ruby came to a sudden halt.
A man stepped forward—salt-and-pepper hair, neatly trimmed beard, and a perfectly pressed suit that looked a little too formal for the middle of the afternoon. He carried himself with an authority that made me stop in my tracks too.
“Miss Ruby,” the man said with a gentle smile. “What a pleasant surprise.”
Ruby grinned and, with all the grace of a princess in a Christmas pageant, dipped into a curtsy, her tutu puffing around her knees.
“Hi, Mr. Hatchman,” she chirped.
The man’s eyes slid to me then, sharp but kind.
“And you must be Brooks.”
I reached out a hand, my grip firm. “Yes, sir.”
His shake matched mine—solid, practiced, like a man used to being in control. Yeah, no doubt in my mind. This had to be the mayor.
Before I could say much else, Mr. Hatchman bent and scooped Ruby into his arms. She let out a delighted squeal as though this was an old, familiar routine.
“Would you like to see the Santa display? Santa himself will be here in just a few days.”
Ruby’s eyes went wide, sparkling like she’d just been handed a golden ticket. She nodded eagerly, clutching his shoulder as if she might fly off with excitement.
Just like that, the mayor carried her off.
My stomach tightened, instinct telling me I should stop him, that a man walking off with a little girl without even asking was enough to set off alarm bells. However, Ruby looked perfectly at ease, completely comfortable in his arms. She knew him. Trusted him.
Still, I wasn’t about to let it go without checking with Annie first.
I turned toward the far side of the ballroom, where the soft clatter of pots and pans spilled from a doorway. Sure enough, a glimpse of stainless steel and bustling figures told me I’d found the caterers’ kitchen.
My boots thudded against the gleaming floor as I made my way across the room, every step pulling me closer to the one woman I couldn’t stop thinking about.
Annie.
She was bent over one of the prep tables, rolling out dough with flour dusted up her forearms, her hair pulled back into a messy knot that left wisps falling around her face. She had that focused look that made her seem completely untouchable, but also like the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
I leaned against the doorway, watching her a beat too long before I finally said, “Well, well. If it isn’t the queen of Christmas cookies herself.”
She glanced up, startled at first, then smirked when she saw me. “Brooks. What are you doing back here? You can’t just waltz into my kitchen.”
“Kitchen police gonna arrest me?” I teased, stepping inside. “Figured I’d report to the boss before the mayor himself kidnapped your kid.”
Her hands froze on the dough. “Excuse me?”
I held up a hand quickly. “Not like that. Ruby ran smack into him out in the ballroom. Mr. Hatchman? Big guy, beard, suit—looks like Santa if Santa was running for office.”
Relief softened her shoulders, and she let out a small laugh. “Ah. Yes. The mayor. Ruby adores him.”
“I figured. Still made my stomach hitch when he just picked her up and walked off.”
Something flickered across her face then—gratitude, maybe. She pressed her lips together, studying me for a moment before nodding. “Thank you for… noticing. For caring.”
“Can’t help it.” My voice was rougher than I meant, and I tried to soften it with a grin. “Kid’s fast as lightning, by the way. Nearly juked me out of my boots out there.”
Annie laughed, a soft, musical sound that made my chest ache. “Oh, she does that to me daily. Don’t feel too bad.”
“Still stings,” I admitted, sliding closer until I was standing across the table from her. I rested my hands on the edge of the counter, leaning in just enough that the flour dusted onto my knuckles. “Guess I’ll need a rematch.”
Her eyes darted to mine, then down to my hands, then back again. Her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t step away. Instead, she rolled the dough one more time and said lightly, “You don’t strike me as the type to lose.”
“Depends what I’m playing for.”
The air shifted between us then—thick, warm, charged. I watched her lips part, the tiniest hitch in her breath, and my stomach clenched with the urge to close the space, to see if her mouth tasted as sweet as I imagined.
She seemed to sense it too, because her hand lifted from the dough and brushed against mine, just a graze, light as snowfall, but it sent a jolt through me.
“Careful,” she murmured, her voice softer now. “You’ll get flour on those fancy jeans.”
“Guess you’ll have to clean me up then,” I shot back, the words rough with teasing and something heavier beneath it.
Her laugh was quiet but shaky, and I saw the way her throat bobbed when she swallowed. “You are trouble, Brooks Bennett.”
I leaned a little closer, my knuckles still grazing hers on the counter. “Maybe, but I’m your kind of trouble.”
For a moment, the world narrowed to just her—the hum of the kitchen fading, the reason I’d come here completely lost. It was just Annie, flour-dusted and flushed, her eyes locked on mine like she was weighing the risk of letting me in.
She stood there alone, vulnerable, and so tempting that every reckless part of me wanted to push until we found out just how far we could go before someone caught us. If we got caught at all.
I closed the space between us, bracing my arms on either side of the counter until she was caged in. Leaning down, I let my breath skim the curve of her ear.
“You’re alone, right?” I whispered.
A shiver raced across her skin, tiny goosebumps rising along her bare arm. Slowly, I traced my hand over her shoulder, savoring the softness beneath my palm.
“Maybe,” she murmured, her voice teasing but threaded with something deeper. Then, with deliberate boldness, she pressed back into me, her body fitting perfectly against mine. “Did you have something in mind?”
The laugh that slipped out of me was low and rough. I pressed a soft kiss to her neck, inhaling the warm scent of flour and sugar that clung to her skin.
“I might,” I hummed against her, trailing kisses along the line of her throat until her head tipped, giving me more.
My hand slid over her hip, gripping gently, kneading her through the apron she wore. “I came here to surprise you with Ruby,” I admitted, my lips brushing her ear. “But since she’s not here right now… maybe I can surprise you in other ways.”
Annie spun in my arms so quickly it stole my breath. Her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer until her chest pressed flush to mine.
“We could sneak away to the janitor’s closet,” she teased, her smile daring me.
I shook my head, smirking. “Tempting, but I had other plans.”
Her eyes darkened, searching mine.
The risk of someone walking in only sharpened the need thrumming between us. She bit her lip, and I nearly groaned at the sight.
“You drive me crazy, Annie,” I whispered, brushing my thumb along her jaw.
Her hands fisted in my shirt, tugging me down until our mouths hovered just a breath apart. “Good,” she murmured, her voice trembling with desire. “Because you do the same to me.”
The kiss that followed was desperate and hungry, a clash of need and want that had been simmering for far too long.
Her lips were sweet and warm, her body pliant against mine as I pressed her back into the counter.
Every sound she made—every sigh, every hum—pulled me closer, made it harder to remember why this was reckless at all.
“I’ll be quick, I promise.”
She reached down to my pants, unbuttoning them and reaching her slender hand into the waistband.
“Flip.”
Annie spun back toward the silver counter, her palms flattening against the flour-dusted surface. The kitchen door was wide open, daring someone to walk through and catch us in the act. That only made my cock ache harder.
I shoved a hand between her shoulder blades, forcing her down until her cheek pressed into the flour.
With one hard yank, her pants slid down, baring her ass to me.
I dragged my palm over the curve of it, squeezing, spreading her open, taking in the sight of her glistening for me under the glow of lights.
“Fuck, look at you,” I growled, freeing myself with shaking hands. My cock throbbed, heavy and ready. “Hold on, Red.”
Her fingers gripped the counter, knuckles white. I lined up and slammed into her, burying myself to the hilt in one rough stroke. Annie cried out, but I clamped my hand over her mouth before the sound could echo.
“Shh,” I hissed, my hips pounding into her. “Don’t let them hear you. You take this cock quiet, you hear me?”
Her muffled moan vibrated against my palm as I drove into her, fast and merciless. The slap of my hips against her ass echoed through the kitchen, mixing with the faint hum of holiday carols from the radio in the corner.
“That’s it, baby. Take it. Take every fucking inch.”
Her body squeezed around me, and I lost myself in the sight of her bent over the counter, face smeared with flour as I fucked her into it.
“You love this, don’t you? Being used right here where anyone could walk in.” I pulled her back against me, slamming deeper, my balls slapping her soaked pussy. “You love my cock filling you up while you can’t make a sound.”
Her moans turned desperate, her body clenching around me in waves. I pressed harder over her mouth, grinding my teeth as I fought to hold on.
“Good fucking girl,” I rasped. “Take it.”
I couldn’t hold back anymore. I drove into her harder, chasing the edge, wanting to mark her.
This wasn’t sweet. This was dirty, raw, reckless. A quick fuck to burn us alive before the world came crashing back in.
I let her collapse forward, her cheek pressing into the cool counter, her body still trembling from the aftershocks of what I’d just done to her. My own climax roared through me, the tingle at the base of my spine snapping into a fire that consumed every last ounce of control.
With a groan, I pulled out, stroking through the last hard pulses as I spilled hot across the small of her back. The release coated her, streaks dripping down to the curve of her ass and sliding lower between her thighs.
I watched, breath ragged, as the sight branded itself into my mind. Annie was wrecked and messy, painted with me. I wanted her to stay like this, marked and undone, proof of what we were together.
Reaching down, I tugged her pants back into place, deliberately trapping the mess beneath the fabric. A dirty secret only the two of us would know.
“Leave it,” I murmured, my lips brushing her ear as I pressed against her one last time. “Let it remind you who you belong to.”
Her breath hitched, a shiver running through her even as she sagged against me. And damn if I didn’t already want her again.
“That was kinda hot,” she said, standing to face me again.
“I can make sure to come back and do it again.”
Annie laughed, pushing past me to the sink.
“As much as I’d enjoy that, I do have work to do. If you show up here again and distract me, you’ll have to answer to the mayor why I didn’t have his sugar cookies done in time.”
“Fine by me.”