24. Jareth
Iwoke up slowly, taking in the quiet of the morning. With a yawn I reached for Hazel only to find her side of the bed empty, the sheets cool to the touch. My gaze went to the decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the room with Hazel’s presents still sitting beneath it. We’d been so lost in exploring each other’s bodies we’d forgotten about the gifts. We were lucky we remembered to call her grandmother and wish her a Merry Christmas.
The clink of ceramic bowls and the scent of brown sugar and cinnamon wafted into the bedroom. After a quick stretch, I rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom before making my way out to the open concept living room and into the kitchen. Hazel stood at the stove humming Christmas songs and the TV had a Christmas movie playing. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head, muttering to herself as she checked her phone and then the bowl of ingredients she was stirring together.
She was so fucking beautiful.
Last night wasn’t enough. I wondered if any amount of time with her would be enough to satisfy me. Already I envisioned slipping my hands up her robe and finger-fucking her until she screamed my name. I slid in behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “Good morning, Sunshine.”
An ear-splitting scream, not the type I was hoping for, left Hazel’s mouth and made my ears ring.
“Fucking hell, babe.”
“Sugar honey iced tea. What was that, Jareth? You scared the ever loving daylights out of me.”
“I woke up and missed having your body next to mine.” Shit. I sounded whiny. What had one night with Hazel done to me?
She spun in my arms and snuggled in close. “Good morning, handsome.”
I looked over her shoulder and noticed the glass dish with a baked casserole, a plate of bacon, a bowl of fruit, and that the bowl she’d been mixing had whipped cream in it. “Are you making us breakfast?”
Her smile was happily reminiscent. “Yes, it’s the same one Grandma and I used to make for Christmas together and since we missed this yesterday morning I’m making up for lost time.”
I kissed her forehead. Guilt painfully twisted my gut. “I’m sorry you missed Christmas with her.”
“Me too. On the bright side, when we get home, the three of us can celebrate together.” Hazel’s eyes widened, and she tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth.
“What is going on in that head of yours, Sunshine?” I swiped her lip with my thumb to smooth it out and soothe the tiny bite marks.
“If it’s too weird, you don’t have to hang out with us. I know you don’t do holidays or relatives.”
“I’m looking forward to spending time with both of you,” I responded, surprised at how much I meant it. Hazel wasn’t wrong in her assessment. I avoided meeting my date’s families, children, or anyone else that you might sit around the table with for a birthday or holiday dinner.
“She’s going to ask you a million questions. And fair warning, she’ll want to know what your intentions are towards me.” Hazel ducked her head against my chest. “It’s going to be so embarrassing,” she muttered.
I rubbed the back of her neck. “It’ll be fine. Telling her all the surfaces and places I want to fuck you probably isn’t what she’s looking for in regards to my intentions.”
Hazel’s beet-red face snapped up. “Please do not say any of that. You’re kidding, right?”
I shrugged.
“You’re kidding right, Jareth?”
I let out a booming laugh. “You seem to be able to read my mind about everything else, Hazel Finley, yet for this you don’t know if I’m telling the truth or not.”
“I’m panicking. That’s why I can’t read you.”
I leaned in for a morning kiss only to have Hazel turn her head at the last minute so my lips landed on her cheek. “Sunshine. I was only teasing you.”
She frowned and then covered her mouth. “It’s not you. I forgot to brush my teeth this morning. I’m not kissing you with yucky, smelly morning breath.”
While still looking into her jade green eyes, I plucked her hand from her mouth, and shoved it behind her back, pushing her forward. With my free hand, I gripped her chin and lowered my face so it was only an inch or two from hers.
“Jareth.” Her voice sounded breathy.
“Haven’t you realized I get what I want? And right now that’s a good morning kiss from you.” I tugged her until her body lay flushed against my chest. The thick fluffy robe hid too much of her curvaceous body from me. I needed to rectify that.
“Mm-hm,” she murmured, her eyes darkening with desire.
“Not brushing your teeth in the morning, having perfectly shaved legs, or whatever hell women think they need to do before we want to rip their clothes off and fuck them against a wall… Does. Not. Matter. Got it?”
She nodded. Our faces were so close her lips almost brushed across mine.
I leaned forward, placing my mouth on hers, the soft, sweet kiss immediately reflecting the hunger thrumming throughout our bodies. We thrust our tongues together, dueling, swirling, caressing each other. We kissed as though it had been weeks instead of hours since we last touched. Now that I had one taste, I knew it would never be enough. My hard cock lay sandwiched between us and with each rock of her hips it only grew harder.
Instantly, her body did that thing I loved. She melted into me, her limbs becoming pliant and soft. I felt her surrender physically and mentally as her body wrapped around me, and her fingers reached up to twine in my hair. With each swipe of my mouth, she tugged a little harder, the delicious pull a reminder that she wanted me as badly as I wanted her.
Our desire, an intrinsic need, was more than a simple want. Just as fire needed oxygen to thrive, they couldn’t exist without the other—and neither could we. Hazel lit up places inside me I thought were long dead and buried. And while that nagging sense of doom still lingered, I did my best to shove it to the back of my mind, to force myself to enjoy this moment and any other I had with her.
And still, no matter how much I pushed back at the thought, it fought to gain a foothold at the forefront of my mind, whispering that too much oxygen could cause the fire to burn out of control. I was determined to keep Hazel safe from getting caught in the blaze of a relationship with me. I just hadn’t figured out how to do that yet.
She yanked on my hair as though sensing the direction of my thoughts and without words telling me to focus on her.
I bit down lightly on her lip, immediately soothing the spot with my tongue. The tiny moan she released went straight to my cock. I needed to have my mouth on her. I slid my hands under her thighs and lifted her up onto the countertop. Her body was so damn sexy I couldn’t wait to have her, my eyes demanding to gaze upon her beauty. To make her mine once again. My lips trailed down her neck to her collarbone, sucking at the sensitive skin in the crook of her neck.
“Breakfast.” She let out a loud groan, not able to finish her sentence, as I lightly bit her nipple through the plush robe.
“We can heat it up. I want you for the first course,” I demanded.
“God, yes,” she panted, throwing her hands down by her side.
I pressed my hand to her chest, slowly lowering her down until her back lay flush. With my other hand, I tugged at the sash of the fluffy white hotel robe until it gaped open to reveal the swells of her breasts. I kissed each inch of skin as it was exposed.
A smile tugged at my lips. “You are absolute perfection.”
She sent me a coy smirk. “Yeah? Tell me more.”
I buried my face between her enormous tits. “I love how these are more than a handful and can’t wait to slide my dick through them and come all over you, marking you as mine.”
A faint blush stained her cheeks, and the desire in her eyes grew with my words. “I think I’d like that,” she whispered.
“I love how responsive you are as I lick and suck on these fucking gorgeous nipples. It was like they were made just for me.”
She nodded enthusiastically. “All of me was made for you.”
Her heartfelt sentiment created a sharp feeling of possession that speared my chest and spread through me. “Only me.”
“Only you,” she breathed out on a moan.
I lightly bit her nipple, then rolled my tongue around it and sucked hard until it was a hardened nub beneath my lips. Hazel was a fucking goddess come to life, and I was the lucky bastard that claimed her body. She whimpered as I opened my mouth further and licked and sucked her pillowy breasts.
Even though my dick demanded that I skip ahead and plunge straight into her willing body, she deserved everything I could give her. She deserved for me to pay homage to her beauty. I kissed my way down her stomach, honoring every roll and curve with a swipe of my tongue. My hands followed suit by caressing her skin, allowing me to pay special attention to any place that made her squirm. “I love your lush body. I want to worship it over and over again.”
I spread the rest of the robe apart, her gorgeous, wet pussy on display for me as I finished unwrapping her delectable body. “No underwear, Sunshine?”
She bit her lip. A shy smile curved her mouth.
I rubbed my hand through her wetness, making sure to go slow to tease her. Her desperate whimpers edged me on. I wanted nothing more than to pleasure her all night long. My fingers slid between her glistening folds and circled her clit. Her back rose restlessly as I nipped at her upper thigh and pushed her legs further apart, laying them over my shoulders.
No matter what happened after we returned from Bali, I wanted Hazel to know how breathtaking she was, inside and out. I was attracted to her stunning beauty, quick mind, and the way she cared for others. I was still amazed that she chose me to be her first.
I lowered my head and nibbled her clit while my finger circled her entrance, teasing her. Hazel’s hands clenched and released against the slick countertop as though she didn’t know what to do with them. Her hips lifted when I slid my finger into her.
“More,” she pleaded with me.
My teeth lightly ran across her sensitive nub as I growled, “More what, Sunshine?”
Not hesitating, she gasped, “Put two other fingers in me. I want to feel my body stretch for you.”
I pushed my fingers into her waiting warmth, keeping a slow and steady rhythm. “Play with your nipples,” I commanded.
Her core clenched as her fingertips lightly danced across the hardening nubs, making me groan as I imagined her strangling my cock the same way. A shuddered breath left her mouth, and she pinched her fully distended nipples harder, alternating between rough and soft.
Hazel’s hips lifted and met my thrusting hand. Her gasping moans had pleasure rippling through me. For the first time, someone else’s needs were directly correlated to mine. The better she felt, the better I did. Her shuddered breath caught as I blew on her clit just before I sucked on it hard and rolled it between my lips.
Hazel’s legs shook so bad, I used my free hand to weigh down her abdomen. Knowing how close she was, I alternated between using my tongue and sucking on her clit. Whimpers fell from her lips as her body jack-knifed and her legs clamped tight around my ears. Her screams of release had my chest swell in satisfaction.
She shivered as her orgasm continued to squeeze and clench my fingers. I slowly slid them out and popped them into my mouth, licking them clean. Watching me, she groaned. I stepped in between her waiting thighs and thrust into her warmth.
I had to stop when I bottomed out. Her pussy continued to spasm, gripping my cock so tight I almost came on the spot.
“Jareth,” she murmured, trying to shift her body, her arms barely supporting her.
I tugged her upright, pulling her ass to the edge of the counter, loving how her arms and legs immediately twined around me as though we’d done this a million times. My thrusts were frantic this time as the overwhelming need to claim her superseded anything else.
She kissed her way across my jaw and down my neck as I’d done with her. Her gasping pants echoed in my ear.
“Fuck, Hazel.” Having just come down from her first orgasm, her core tightened again.
“Oh, God. I think I’m going to come again,” she moaned, disbelief edging her words.
I swiveled my hip and slipped my finger down the front of her body to toy with her clit. “What do you need?” I ground out. I was going to have her orgasm one more time before I did, even if it killed me.
“That. Keep doing all of that,” she chanted over and over.
I snapped my hips faster, my balls drew up tight, and pleasure shot through me so hard and so fast that my vision darkened to a single pinpoint. Hazel.
“You… this was… ” Just like the night before, words failed me. She was everything, all rolled up into this one perfect body and one perfect mind, and I couldn’t find a way to express any of that.
Hazel rested her head against my chest, her breath still coming out hard and fast.
“I can’t move,” she whispered.
I picked her up, cradled her in my arms, and brought her to our bedroom. Gently, I released her arms from around my neck and placed her on top of the bed. When a slight pout popped out her bottom lip, I grinned and smoothed her hair back before tucking the blanket over her. “I’ll be right back.”
With one last glance at the sexy woman in my bed, I made my way into the bathroom and started filling the tub with warm water and the floral-scented bath oil. As it filled I lit the candles in the room and lowered the lighting. Hazel deserved to be pampered today and every day.
Hazel sat cross-legged on our bed, a childish grin lighting up her face.
“Keep your eyes closed,” I demanded and turned away from her.
She immediately closed them. I watched as she tried to open one eye just a little. She had no idea I could see her in the large mirror above the long chest of drawers in front of me. “I know what you’re doing. If you keep this up then no presents for you.”
“You’re no fun.” She did nothing to hide the pout in her voice but did screw her eyes shut tight.
“That’s not what you said earlier.” I chuckled, remembering her delight when I climbed into the tub with her.
I grabbed Hazel’s computer and quickly connected us to Gran over video chat. The second she was on the screen, I pressed my finger to my lips and winked.
She gave an exaggerated wink back and waved.
I placed the laptop on the bed in front of Hazel.
“I can feel the bed shift. It doesn’t feel too heavy so it’s not a bowling ball but not too light to be keys to a new car.”
Laughter burst out of me. “I had no idea you were so interested in bowling.” Gran had already warned me that she’d try to guess what I was giving her and would be terrible at it.
“I’ll have you know that I was part of the town bowling league when I was nine, and I was one of the highest scorers that year.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
I shook my head and grabbed the first present for her from under the tree. “Open your eyes.”
Hazel pursed her lips as her gaze met mine. I loved how her eyes sparkled with humor. I knew the second she noticed the computer because her eyes widened just before she screeched what sounded like her grandmother’s name.
“Ready to unwrap some presents, sweet girl?” Gran asked, her voice choked up.
“Yes!” Hazel’s excitement fed my own.
I heard paper crinkling on the other end of the computer.
“Jareth… ” Hazel let out a breathy sigh and met my gaze. “Thank you. I hate that I have nothing to give you.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need anything. You are my Christmas gift.”
“Now, he’s a keeper,” Gran interrupted.
“He certainly is.” Hazel blew me a kiss. To my surprise and hers, I pretended to catch it and hold it against my heart.
I shifted to the other side of the screen and handed Hazel my first gift. A large flat present that she could barely fit her arms around. Gran grabbed a present of a similar size. I’d purchased presents for both of them and had Gran’s delivered to her yesterday.
“Okay, one, two, three. Unwrap,” Hazel cheered. She ripped off the paper and yelped. “Oh. My. Gosh. Is this… this is the painting I’ve been drooling over by Diana Molivani?” She flipped the canvas around to show Gran the lily pad-covered pond, weeping willows, and flowers down by the impressionist painter. Hazel never would have paid twenty thousand dollars for a painting.
“Oh, Jareth. This is stunning. Thank you.” Gran held the closeup version of lily pads floating on the water of Hazel’s painting.
“How did you know?” Hazel’s teary-eyed gaze swung to me.
“Lacey gave me a few ideas,” I admitted. “And I remembered you mentioning her a year or two ago when you were looking for artwork for your living room.” The living room that was close to being finished, I thought with a twinge of disappointment. I didn’t want to think about the day Hazel would be ready to move out of my place and back into her own.
Next, I handed her a small box with individual signed hardcover books by her favorite authors wrapped inside. With each one her gasps got louder. Once she’d finished, she reached out to grab my arm before I moved away to grab another present for her.
Her fingers dug into my cheeks as she kissed every available spot on my face before getting to my lips. “You sweet, sweet, thoughtful man.”
When she let me pull away, I was shocked to feel the slight burn of a blush. “You deserve this, Hazel. Especially after I screwed up the holidays for the two of you.”
“You have more than made up for it. You’ve made this a trip I’ll never forget.”
I smiled as I grabbed her the last gift—a small elongated box wrapped with shiny red paper and a sparkly silver bow. I had wanted to fill the room with presents, but Lacey’s advice prevailed when she said Hazel would be too overwhelmed with that many, and that a few well-thought-out gifts would mean more to her and Gran.
Once I handed it over to her, Hazel patted the spot on the bed beside her. She gave a happy little sigh as she rested her head on my shoulder and I slipped my arm around her.
Gran grabbed the box of the same size and held it in her hands. “So you two decided to leave tomorrow morning?”
“We did,” I answered. “Hazel and I can come back here another time. Perhaps, you’d like to join us then.” As much fun as we were having, I knew it weighed on Hazel being so far from her family and friends during the holidays. While we’d already missed Christmas with them yesterday, I wanted us to be back in plenty of time for her to have a belated celebration with everyone before the New Year.
Hazel toyed with the bow and slowly slid her finger under the wrapping paper. My eyes never left her as she unwrapped her gift and lifted the lid off the box. Her fingers carefully reached in and lifted the delicate gold chain with the medium-sized locket, a snowflake etched into the front. When she opened it to see the picture of her and Gran inside, she burst into tears.
“This is the most perfect gift ever,” she wailed. “I’ve always wanted a locket.”
“Jareth, I don’t know how to thank you for your generosity,” Gran whispered, her voice choked by her own tears. I’d given them the same necklace knowing how much they’d cherish it.
I wiped away Hazel’s tears and kissed her. My heart panged at how happy I’d made my girl and her grandmother. It had been so long since I’d done anything like this I’d forgotten how good it felt.