Chapter 26
HOPE
Christmas Day turned out to be even more magical than I imagined it would be. The clubhouse buzzes with holiday energy. Glasses clink with good tidings while music and laughter permeate throughout the room.
“Want to get out of here?” Frost asks as he wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his chest.
I nod and set down my drink. We slip down the hallway to the elevator to make our escape. No one calls out, so either they don’t realize we left or they understand we need time to ourselves.
Time to celebrate alone… with my fiancé. I can’t believe we’re engaged!
Frost laces his fingers through mine as we walk to his room.
The overhead lights are off, but the glow of lights from the Christmas tree Paige insisted we put in here gives off a romantic ambience.
Neither of us makes a move to hit the switch on the wall, instead, we bask in the warmth of the twinkling lights.
I touch the ring on my finger, tracing the cool metal.
The diamond catches the tree lights, which throw tiny sparks across the room.
It still doesn’t feel real. It might be too fast for some people, but for us, it was fate.
Once you find your other half, you feel this draw to them, and no matter how much you want to ignore it, the urge to be with them intensifies.
We both found our happily-ever-after.
A shiver runs down my spine. We haven’t made love since we were at my apartment, and the anticipation heats my body with unfiltered desire.
“Hey,” he murmurs, voice low and rough in a way that hits right at the center of my chest.
“Hey,” I breathe back.
His fingers brush my cheek. “You, okay?”
“I’m perfect.”
“Say it again.”
“I’m perfect,” I whisper. “You asked me to marry you today. You made me the happiest woman in the entire world.”
His breath leaves him in a slow exhale, full of emotion that I feel down to my bones.
“I meant every word,” he says.
His hand slides to my waist, pulling me closer until our bodies touch. Heat rolls through me, slow and deep, making my pulse jump.
He lowers his forehead to mine. “You sure you want to do this tonight?”
I laugh softly, breathlessly. “Frost… I’m engaged to you. Pretty sure that’s a yes.”
Frost huffs a disbelieving laugh like he’s still shocked I said yes at all. He reaches out, his thumb traces the line of my jaw, and the touch is electric.
"Hope," he whispers. He doesn't have to say anything else. I see it all in his eyes. The desperate need, the profound love, and the sheer relief that I said yes.
I lean into his touch, my body arches toward him like we’re magnets. My hands trace his chest. The rapid beat of his heart beneath my palms plays a rhythm I know better than my own. It’s changed, though. Instead of the steady thump I’m used to, tonight it’s the beat of our future.
He closes the remaining distance, and his mouth is on mine. It's not a gentle kiss. It's hungry, possessive, a kiss that says you are mine. I meet him with equal ferocity, my fingers tangling in his hair. I tug him closer, needing to feel every inch of him against me.
Frost walks me backward until my legs hit the edge of the bed, and we fall into a tangle of limbs.
His hard length presses against my belly, which sends a bolt of liquid heat straight to my core.
I’m already wet for him. My body instinctively responds to his with a primal need.
Frost breaks the kiss, his breathing ragged as he looks down at me.
His gaze is a physical touch that scorches a path down my body and back up again.
"You're so beautiful," he murmurs, his voice thick with emotion. "My fiancée."
With a groan, he reaches for the hem of my dress, his knuckles brush against my thighs as he pulls the fabric up and over my head. The cool air kisses my heated skin, and I shiver, but it’s not from being cold. It’s from the way he’s looking at me, like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever seen.
Frost’s gaze lingers on the simple lace of my bra and panties.
Leaning down, his lips trace the curve of my collarbone.
Each kiss is a brand, a mark of ownership.
He nips at the sensitive skin where my neck meets my shoulder, and I gasp, my hips lift off the bed in a silent plea.
His hands move to my back, expertly unhooking my bra and tosses it aside.
His mouth finds my nipple. The wet heat of his tongue is a shock that goes straight to my clit.
I cry out as he sucks, teasing my hardened peak into a tight, aching point.
He gives the other breast the same attention.
His hands stroking and kneading, driving me higher and higher.
I want more.
"Frost," I breathe, my voice husky with need. "Please."
He smirks but moves down my body. His lips leaving a trail of fire in their wake.
He hooks his fingers into the sides of my panties, slowly slides them down my legs.
His eyes never leaving mine. The anticipation is brutal torture.
He just looks for a moment, his expression one of pure, unadulterated lust.
Settling between my thighs, his shoulders push them open. The first touch of his tongue against my clit is like a lightning strike. I arch off the bed as he licks a slow, deliberate circle around the sensitive bundle of nerves.
He slides a finger inside me, then another, curling them to press against that magical spot deep within.
The dual stimulation is overwhelming. My world narrows with each thrust of his fingers.
Then tension that coils in my belly is about to snap.
He sucks my clit into his mouth, and that’s all it takes.
My orgasm crashes over me, a wave of pure, blinding pleasure steals my breath and my thoughts.
“Frost!” I cry out as my body convulses.
My inner muscles clamp down on his fingers. He works me through it, his touch gentling as the aftershocks ripple through me. Before I can fully come back to earth, he moves, kissing his way back up my body. The thick head of his cock nudges my entrance, and he locks his eyes on mine.
"I love you, Hope," he says, his voice rough with emotion.
"I love you," I whisper back.
Frost pushes inside me until he fills me completely.
He stretches me in the most fabulous way.
We fit together perfectly, like we were designed especially for each other.
His thrusts are slow and deep at first, a rhythmic rocking that builds the fire all over again.
I wrap my legs around his waist to pull him deeper, meeting him thrust for thrust. The room is filled with the sounds of our lovemaking, the slap of skin on skin, our ragged breaths, and soft moans.
Frost suddenly shifts, so he hits that ball of nerves deep inside me with every stroke. The pleasure is intense, and I can feel another orgasm building. He reaches between us and uses his thumb to rub soft circles around my clit. That’s all it takes. I detonate.
Shattering, my body clenches around him as a second, more powerful orgasm rips through me. A hoarse cry tears from his throat, and with a final, deep thrust, he finds his own release, pouring himself into me.
For a long moment, we just lie there, our bodies tangled, our hearts beating in a frantic, synchronized rhythm. Frost gathers me against his chest, the steady beat of his heart anchoring me.
I tuck myself under his chin, tracing lazy circles on his skin. “Are you okay?” I tease, echoing his earlier concern.
“Better than okay,” he murmurs. “I’m engaged to the woman I’m in love with.”
I smile against his chest. “You proposed in front of everyone. That was very bold of you.”
“You deserved a grand proposal,” he says simply. “You deserve everything.”
My heart flutters. “Frost?”
“Yeah, darlin’?”
“Tonight was… perfect.”
He kisses the top of my head, slow and soft. “It’s always perfect with you.”
As we lie there with the little Christmas tree glowing softly, I give a silent thanks to the creep who approached me in the coffee shop that day. Without him, I might never have met my soul mate.