Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Jim
It was midnight in Los Angeles by the time I’d finally settled into the back of my Bentley and Alastair was driving me home.
I leaned my head back against the headrest, still shocked that it’d taken the de la Vega family until seven in the evening, Madrid time, to finally meet the necessary requirements of providing me signatures—more than just the fucking handshake deal they kept trying to do—to land this deal.
“I trust the flight home was smooth, Mr. Mitchell?” Alastair questioned as he took the exit that would lead us to my home in the Hills.
“It was, and I have to say, Alastair, I do not know why you’ve not retired on me yet after all the shit I put you through,” I smiled at him, taking one last glance at my phone before tucking it away.
“Well, last I checked, I was a bit more dependable than Blake, sir,” he chuckled.
“That’s the damn truth,” I laughed, reminded of my former driver who’d gotten married and resigned after his young bride couldn’t stand him being at my disposal instead of hers.
I understood completely, though. This life wasn’t easy for those on my personal staff, like Alastair, or even for my family.
It took grit to sacrifice your own needs for another rich bastard’s, and I didn’t take it for granted that men like Alastair were able to hang with my high demands, even though they were compensated very well to do so.
My mind drifted to my family and how they’d managed to thrive in this world with me.
We all missed each other in the same way, but somehow, they managed to get through these tireless trips while I was away from them without a single complaint.
Sometimes, I felt like all of this was harder on me than it was on them.
They were the ones keeping me going on the other side of the world with their phone calls and excitement, filling me in on their days.
When Alastair turned into the Hills, the ache sharpened. The house rose up from the dark, glowing with the kind of warmth you couldn’t buy.
I walked into the foyer, and the scent of cinnamon and mulled cider met me the moment I stepped inside, wrapping around me as a perfect welcome home.
As I moved further into the house, I glanced over at the living room, seeing it glowing with a towering tree, its thousands of twinkling lights throwing reflections across the windows.
Garlands twined up the staircase, intertwined with gold ribbon and dotted with soft white lights.
I hadn’t given Christmas a single thought in Madrid. There was absolutely no space for it between contracts and selling points. But here? Now? It hit me straight in the chest. A calming and soothing reminder of peacefulness in my own home.
I climbed the stairs slowly, savoring the hush of the house. Garland was wound around the banister, catching the soft glow of lights strung throughout it, and I paused at the landing to peek in on the girls. Their steady breathing was all I needed, proof that they were sound asleep, safe and warm.
For a long moment, I stood there, seeing every part of my home already dressed in Christmas and filled with my family’s presence. Instead of overwhelming me, it was easing something inside me.
I wanted to go straight to bed, hold my wife’s body closely into mine, and finally let go. But my body still thrummed on Madrid time, and I knew I’d never rest until I washed it all off.
I loosened my tie, kicked off my shoes, and slipped quietly into the master suite, not wanting to wake Avery.
I slid the door to the master bath shut, turned on the lighting to a low ambiance, and walked over to our enormous shower.
The panel to turn on the water flow lit up at my touch, with an amber glow spilling across stone and glass.
I’d redone this bathroom a couple of years back—oversized slate shower, jets, rainfall heads, even a waterfall cascade with streaming aroma therapies. Overdone? Sure. But right now, it was the only thing keeping me upright.
I set it to eighty-two degrees. Steam rose instantly, carrying that sharp bite of eucalyptus.
My clothes hit the floor, and a second later, I stepped in, and the hot rush of water slammed into me, beating Spain off my shoulders and easing the knots in my spine.
For the first time all week, I let myself relax.
I closed my eyes, lathering shampoo into my hands, ready to scrub it all away, when I felt her small, familiar hands sliding around my waist and smoothing across my stomach.
I jolted, turning in the steam, and found Avery there. Her hair was already dampening, her smile wicked and knowing.
“Thought you could sneak in without waking me?” she teased, pressing herself against me.
“I was trying,” I rasped, my voice rougher than I meant. “Didn’t want to drag you into my midnight jet lag.”
“You don’t drag me,” she whispered, fingertips tracing slowly up my chest. “You never have.”
The heat of the shower was nothing compared to her.
I pulled her in, her slick skin soft against mine, and kissed her.
Slow at first. Then, deeper, starved, pouring days of absence into her mouth.
Steam curled around us, and I pressed her back against the glass, lifting her as her legs wrapped tight around my waist.
She gasped into my mouth, the sound unraveling me.
“God, Avery…” I groaned against her throat, tasting her skin, breathing her in. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”
Her lips brushed mine, eyes wild through the mist. “Then show me.”
I lifted her higher, her legs locking around my waist, her soft moan breaking against my lips. The sound tore through the last of my restraint. I pressed her back against the glass, the heat of her body melding with mine until I couldn’t tell where she ended and I began.
“Avery,” I groaned, my forehead pressed to hers, water streaming between us. “God, I’ve needed you.”
Her nails scraped through my wet hair, down my shoulders, tugging me closer, harder. Her eyes found mine, dark and wild, and she whispered, “Then don’t stop.”
I kissed her throat, her jaw, the corner of her mouth, every inch I’d missed, until she tilted her chin up and gave me all of her. Her body arched against me, her breath coming fast, broken, as if she’d been holding it for days, waiting for me to come home.
The water pounded down, a steady roar that couldn’t drown the sound of her moans as I drove deeper, every thrust a release of tension I hadn’t even realized I’d been carrying. She clung to me, her body taking me, matching me, her gasps turning into urgent cries that had me losing myself inside her.
“Look at me, Av,” I begged, lifting her chin with my hand, needing those blue eyes on me. “I need to see you.”
Her gaze locked on mine, glassy and burning, her lips parting with a gasp. “Harder,” she whispered, the word breaking into a moan. “I need all of you.”
“Hell yes,” I growled, giving her everything. And when she shattered, her body tightening around me, pulling me straight into her release, I let go too, a rough groan torn from my chest as I followed her into the fall.
For a long moment, we stayed there, the world narrowed to steam, water, and the sound of our breathing syncing back into rhythm. My grip loosened as I lowered her gently to the floor, her legs unsteady beneath her. She leaned into me, laughing breathlessly.
“Shit,” she murmured, her forehead against my chest. “I’m about to pass out.”
I smiled, brushing a kiss over her damp hair as I steadied her. “I’ve missed this,” I said quietly, reaching for the soap and working it over her back in slow, gentle circles.
“Shower sex?” she teased, her laugh muffled against me.
“All of it,” I murmured, kissing the tip of her nose. “Especially you. It’s so damn good to be home.”
Her hands slid across me, lathering soap along my chest and arms before trailing lower, her touch sparking life back into me. She looked up with that same wicked smile she’d worn when she first stepped in, her voice low and teasing.
“Good thing you’re home, and I took a long nap today.”
“You should sleep,” I said, though my voice was already betraying me, rough and unsteady as her hands moved lower.
“I will,” she murmured, eyes lifting to mine, mischief sparking even through the haze of steam. “But not before I get what I’ve been waiting four days for.”
Her touch tightened, stroking me back to life, her smile wicked as the water streamed down around us.
“Av…” I groaned, my head tipping back against the glass. “You’re going to kill me.”
“Maybe,” she teased, pressing her body against mine, her mouth brushing my chest. “But you’ll die happy.”
Every ounce of exhaustion I’d carried from Madrid gave way under her hands, under the heat of her body, and the way she looked at me like I was the only man who had ever mattered.
The tension I thought I’d poured out of myself came rushing back, but this time it wasn’t contracts or signatures—it was her. Only her.
I caught her wrists gently, pulling her up, kissing her with everything she’d stirred back to life. Her laugh melted into a moan, her hands threading back into my hair as she whispered against my mouth, “Take me again, Jim.”
I answered her by lifting her into my arms once more, the shower pounding around us, steam curling in thick clouds as round two began with even more urgency than the first.
Even though I was jet-lagged, another round of what Avery and I had started would make me sleep like a baby tonight. Goddamn, it was good to be home.