I lean over to kiss him, but he pops a piece of fruit in my mouth instead saying, “None of that, because once I get you naked again, we’re not leaving this room for hours.”
I giggle at his dramatics. We resume eating, as I spear a strawberry from my bowl and move to feed it to him.
“You have it, baby, I’m not a strawberry person. I prefer the melon,” Tom says, stealing a piece of honeydew from me.
“Melon is my least favorite. Totally tasteless. I prefer the strawberries.”
“Sounds like we’re perfect for each other,” he says with a smile, feeding me another strawberry from his bowl.
After swallowing, I ask a burning question that has been silently eating at me since I took my first bite. “Do you make breakfast for all the women you sleep with?”
Looking up, Tom says, “I don’t sleep with women.”
I raise my eyebrows in disbelief. There was nothing virginal about last night, nor how unbelievable he is in bed.
“I never stay the night,” he says, amending his statement.
“Oh,” I reply softly, popping another one of his strawberries into my mouth.
Once we’ve both cleared our plates, Tom says, “I’m going to get my stuff and then we can go outside.”
Jumping off the bed, he leans over to kiss my forehead and takes the tray of dirty dishes, placing it on the nearby chair.
Grabbing his jeans and jerking them on, he walks towards the door saying, “I’ll be right back.”
Moving off the bed, I dig through my suitcase until I find something warm to wear. I really should’ve purchased more than one set of sexy underwear. Not that I think Tom would notice, but my cotton briefs and bras, although colorful, aren’t seductive at all.
I’m in the bathroom, putting the finishing touches on my outfit when I hear Tom’s voice say, “I’m back.”
“Okay, I’m ready. Are you?” I ask, coming out of the bathroom dressed and wearing my new ugly, but serviceable boots.
Tom is staring down at something in his hand.
“He called again.”
“What? Did you answer?”
“No, I’m not in the habit of answering other people’s phones,” he says, annoyed.
“I’m not asking him to keep calling me. You do realize that, right?”
“Yes. It’s really over between you two, right?” he asks cautiously.
“Yes!” I exclaim. Sighing, I add, “I’ve told him we’re over, but he keeps calling. I’ve just started ignoring his calls, hoping he’ll go away.”
“Next time he calls, talk to him. And please tell him you’ve moved on,” he says softly, pulling me into his arms.
Wrapped tightly in Tom’s embrace, his words, ‘you’ve moved on,’ repeat themselves on an endless loop in my head. Does he mean I’ve moved on with him?
Fuck, I hope so!
All too quickly, he pulls away. After giving me a possessive kiss that leaves me breathless and wanting more, we bundle ourselves up and are ready to venture out into the cold.
When we step outside, it is no longer snowing, but the air is crisp and cold. The world is still, and as we take our first few steps in the undisturbed snow, the crunches of our footfalls seem to echo in the silence.
Tom leads the way into the center of what just yesterday had been dead grass, and sits down in the snow.
“What are you doing?” I ask, looking at him like he’s crazy. Who in their right mind sits down in cold, wet snow?
“Get down here with me,” he says, tugging on my pant leg.
“Why? You’re going to get wet and cold.”
“We’re going to make snow angels.” He says, grinning up at me.
“Snow angels?”
“Yes, now sit your ass down here next to me,” he orders, patting the spot next to him in the snow.
“Now what?” I ask, having lowered myself onto the snow.
“Lay back.”
“You’re crazy,” I say, mimicking him and laying down. I stare up at the blue, cloudless sky, breathing in the cleansing cold and surprisingly feel warmer than I’ve ever felt before.
“Okay, now move your arms up and down and your legs together and apart,” he says, beginning the movements.
“Sorry,” I say, as I hit him with my leg. We’re lying too close together, and keep banging each other accidentally.
“We’re too close,” he says laughing, getting up and wiping the snow off of him. Then he reaches down and helps me up, brushing snow off of me, too. He spends a bit of extra time wiping it off of my backside, I notice.
We move away from our creations and stare at the angels, who are blended into one design.
I bend and pick up some snow, forming a snowball in my hand as well as an idea.
“You wouldn’t,” he says, as I advance towards him, holding my newly made snowball. When I get close enough I throw it, hitting my target. I laugh as he shakes the snow off his jacket.
“I’m going to get you,” he says, reaching down making his own snowball, then advancing towards me. I turn and run in the opposite direction. I hear the crunch of his boots behind me.
“No, Tom!” I say, as he chases after me, easily matching my strides. An arm hooks around my waist. I’m pulled backwards, and stumbling clumsily, we fall into the snow, laughing.
Rolling, so his body is hovering over mine, Tom rubs our cold, wet noses together. “Eskimo kisses,” he says breathing hard, his eyes bright with his infectious smile.
“I prefer real kisses,” I say, forcing my smiling face into a pout.
“I prefer my June Bug’s kisses,” he says, staring down at my lips. Reaching up, I cup the back of his head, bringing it down so I can kiss him.
After several lost minutes of kissing while lying in the newly fallen snow, we pull away, shivering.
“We should go get changed. I don’t want you getting sick,” Tom says, standing and pulling me up along with him.
Making our way back into the inn, we notice that the power has at least been restored—which hopefully means there is a mug of delicious hot chocolate in my future.
When we reach my room, which has now become our room, I quickly take off my wet jacket and boots. I place them by the fire next to where Tom has laid his.
“You’re freezing. We should take a hot bath,” he says, moving into the bathroom to start the water running.
I follow him, stripping off my wet clothes and tossing them onto the floor. I’m down to my underwear when he turns around and smiles.
“Don’t. I want too,” he says, coming towards me. Cupping my face, he gives me a slow, gentle, and thorough kiss. He’s delicious. He tastes even better than hot chocolate.
His hands disappear, moving to my waist, where he pulls down my underwear. I kick them off into the corner. Kissing my neck he undoes my bra, gliding it down my arms.
“Are you warming up?” he asks, palming my breast with one hand and cupping my ass with his other.
“Yes,” I moan, reaching to start unbuttoning his shirt, needing to feel his naked skin.
Pulling away, he quickly strips off his own clothes. After turning off the taps, he gets into the water first and holds my hand as he helps me step in.
“Are you sure you should be in here with your wound?” I ask, settling myself in between his legs.
“You saw it last night. It’s completely closed,” Tom answers, rubbing my shoulders. The massage I had the other day was great, but this is even better.
“If you recall, I was a bit distracted by another part of your anatomy,” I reply, running my fingertips along his muscular thighs.
“Are you warm enough?”
“Mmhmmm,” I reply, relaxing into his ministrations.
“I’m going to take that as a yes,” he says, kissing the side of my head as he runs his fingers gently down my arms in a tingling, goose bump-creating caress.
The water is wonderfully warm and melts away the cold, causing my skin to burn with sensation. The chest I’m n
ow leaning on is moving in slow relaxed breaths, lulling me to sleep.
I’m jerked back to reality when Tom asks, “Did you always know you wanted to be a nurse?”
“No. I just sort of found my way into it during college, and realized it was something I was both good at and enjoyed. Did you always want to be cop?” I ask, wanting to know everything about him.
“No. I’ve always loved animals, and I got my degree in Animal Science, thinking I’d become a vet like my Dad.”
“Instead you became a cop?” I ask, curious why he didn’t follow his dream.
“Yeah,” he says, not offering any more information.
“Why didn’t you become a vet?” I politely pry.
“For a lot of reasons,” he says thoughtfully. “I didn’t want to be in debt forever, Pete wanted to go into medicine, and my parents really only had the means to help out one of us.”
“So you gave up on your dream so he could have his?” I ask, amazed at the generosity of the man whose arms I was in.
“I wouldn’t say that. My dream was always to work with animals and to help others in some way; as a mounted police officer, I’m able to do both.”
“Do you ever regret it?” I dared to ask.
“Never,” he says sincerely, kissing the side of my head. “I quickly realized that it wouldn’t have been the job for me, anyway.”
“How come?”
“I think part of the desire was wanting to work with Dad—plus I love to travel, and you can’t really do that while running a practice.”
“True. That’s one thing I love about my job. I can schedule vacations, and I don’t take work home with me.”
We sit in silence for several relaxing moments. Gentle touches and caresses pass between us, both lost in thought.
“Do you like to travel?” Tom asks.
“Yes. I used to travel a lot with my sister before she got married. But now she, understandably, wants to experience new places with her husband.”
“You don’t go with them?”
“And be the third wheel?” I ask, laughing. “Where is one place you’ve always wanted to see?”
“Rome,” comes his immediate answer.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I loved learning about their history in school,” he admits.
“I went to the Roman Baths when I was in England a couple of years ago. They were amazing. I can only imagine what the ruins are like in Italy.”
“We’ll go sometime, and experience them together,” he says, kissing the side of my head and wrapping his arms around me.
Then he adds teasingly, “But if we’re going to travel the world together, you need to learn to pack lighter. There’s no way I’m dragging all your crap around the world.”
“Don’t you think that’s a double standard?” I ask.
When Tom left the room earlier, I had thought he was just getting clean clothes from his room. But when I came back from the bathroom, I noticed two large suitcases in the corner, standing next to mine.
“What?” he asks innocently.
“I saw your luggage in the room. It looks like you brought your entire wardrobe,” I tease.
“I didn’t know how long I’d be here on medical leave.”
“And your Mom doesn’t have a washer or dryer?” I ask, laughing.
“Whatever,” he says petulantly, rubbing his face into my neck and squeezing me tightly as I giggle.
We lay there in silence, enjoying being together and the warmth that has been created between us. I’ve never been able to relax this fully with anyone else.
I feel completely content.
“I could stay like this forever,” he says softly, wrapping an arm across the top of my chest.
“Me too,” comes my honest reply. Curling my hands around his forearm and holding onto his warm embrace. I shiver suddenly realizing that the water has gone cold.
“Are you cold, baby?” he asks softly into my ear, pulling me closer into his chest.
“Yes, but I don’t want to move,” I say, pouting and gripping his arm harder.
“If we get out, I can warm you up,” he says, then adds in a growl, “I did promise you a riding lesson.”
Sitting up, I turn, sloshing water onto the floor, and come up onto my knees. Straddling his waist, I place my hands on his shoulders.
“You did,” I say, as his two large hands grab my hips and pull me closer.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I lean down and kiss him, sucking and nipping at his lips playfully until he growls in annoyance.
Taking over, Tom grabs the back of my head with one hand while his other arm bands around my waist, holding me close. His kiss is possessive as he sucks my tongue into his mouth and tastes every part of mine with his own.
Tom breaks away as I begin wiggling on his lap in excitement. I can feel his cock twitching and hardening beneath me.
“As much as I’d love to do this here, you’re cold, and we didn’t bring a condom in with us,” he says softly, his heavy breathing tickling my face.
“Okay, Cowboy,” I say, moving against him again, teasing him further and making him groan in frustration.
Grabbing hold of my hips, he lifts me off of his lap and moves to exit the tub. With more splashing, we leave the cold water behind.
Tom takes a warm towel, courtesy of the electric towel warmer, and wraps it around my body, gently rubbing off the chill. Then he uses one himself before tying it loosely over his hips.
“Tom!” I cry out in surprise, as I’m tossed over his shoulder.
Walking out of the bathroom, he runs his hand up the back of my thigh, dipping his fingers under my towel and into my awaiting wetness. “My girl is already wet for me,” he says hotly.
Once we’re in the bedroom, Tom tosses me effortlessly onto the bed with a bounce. I giggle as he whips the towel from my body and tosses it onto the floor before he drops his own towel and crawls onto the bed, covering my body with his nakedness.
Leaning down, he gives me an all too quick peck before flopping onto his back next to me. Turning his head, he says, “I’m yours. Do your worst, baby.”
Laughing, I move onto my knees. Staring down at him, I kiss him, biting and sucking his lower lip. Tom then helps me maneuver myself so that I’m straddling his body.
“Just close your eyes and think of England,” I giggle, sucking the pulse point on his neck while I tease his nipples into hardened nubs. His laughter turns into desire-fueled groans.
I move down his body, worshiping him as I go. I suck his hardened nipples, tasting his salty skin and feel the defined muscles that are twitching in pleasure under my hands.
Tom is running his hands along my thighs and anywhere else he can reach as I slide further down his body in my own exploration.
“You feel so good, baby,” I say, reaching his bellybutton as I move closer to my goal. I tease the skin on his hips, sucking and nipping at him, ignoring his obvious erection.
“June, please,” he begs on a groan, bucking his hips into me, encouraging me to acknowledge his rock hard cock.
“What, baby?” I ask, taking him by surprise as I palm his cock. He sucks in air and groans as my fingers work him in slow, firm strokes.
“God, June, baby, where did you get so fuckin’ good at everything? Fuck it, I really don’t want to know,” he rambles, moving his hips in time with my movements.
“I do a lot of reading, Cowboy,” I say as I duck down, licking the underside of his thick cock and making it twitch, then sucking it deep into mouth.
Tom groans loudly, fisting my hair. I can feel my sex creaming, watching, hearing, and smelling his excitement. Wanting to feel his hardness beneath me. I crawl up his body.
Resting my wetness on him, I kiss him moving our bodies together, rubbing my clit on his cock.
“Either mount up, baby, or I’m taking over,” he growls into my mouth, his fingers digging almost painfully into my hips.
“Okay, Cowboy,” I whisper agains
t his lips, pushing myself off his chest to sit up.
After twisting, as well as almost unseating me, he grabs a condom from the table and places it in my outstretched hand.
Moving down his body, I quickly tear open the foil. Then, taking Tom’s naked cock into my mouth one last time, I gently suck and lick off the leaking pre-cum.
“June,” he growls, fisting my hair painfully.
Releasing him from my mouth, I quickly sheath him before positioning my sex over him. Slowly, I lower myself onto him, feeling the heady stretch within, and hearing Tom’s mutual groan of satisfaction.
“Are you topping from the bottom?” I gasp out, as his hips buck up into mine, filling me completely.
His rich laughter fills the rooms. “Only so much teasing a man can take, baby,” he replies, encouraging me to move.
Slowly, I raise myself, drawing out the sensation, and then I plunge back down quickly, once again seating myself fully onto his cock. I love feeling the rumble of Tom’s growls of satisfaction beneath my palms on his chest.
His hands have moved up to cup my breasts, teasing them as I enjoy the power of controlling our ride. The feeling of him beneath me and the sounds of pleasure in the air all spur me on to ride him harder, faster.
Gliding his hands down my stomach, he reaches between us and his callused thumb finds my clit, igniting my own pleasure.
“Tom,” I gasp, feeling myself start to burn from within. I begin riding him faster, with almost frantic strokes.
“That’s it, baby, ride me harder,” he encourages, guiding my movements with his free hand.
Taking a deep breath, I begin moving hard and fast, grinding our sexes together as I feel my coming orgasm rising within me.
“We’re comin’ together,” Tom growls. Unable to speak, I can only nod.
“Tom!” I cry out, my sex squeezing his cock as I find my release. He quickly follows, grabbing my hips with both hands as he comes.
I fall onto his chest in an exhausted heap. My face in his neck, I can feel his heart pounding beneath my fingers as his ragged breath begins to return to normal.
“That was amazing,” he pants, wrapping his arms tightly around my body. I nuzzle and kiss his neck in response, unable to find the words to properly express how I’m feeling.
Whispers of Winter: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Romances Page 118
