by Cathryn Fox
I move slowly, and her whimper curls around me. She lifts her hips to meet me, and again I can’t help but think how perfect we are together. I shift to look between our bodies.
“I love the way you take me,” I say as my cock reemerges, only to disappear into her hot depths again. “Shit, you feel good.”
“I love the way you fill me,” she says and draws my mouth back to hers. We kiss, deeply, and I pick up the pace, move a little faster and rub my pelvis against her clit. She moans into my mouth, her sweet pussy gripping me tightly as I plunge hard, blunt strokes that bring on her second orgasm. She shatters around me, her sex muscles squeezing tight, gripping my cock, like it’s a lifeline in the storm, as her cries of ecstasy vibrate through me.
“Yes,” I groan and close my eyes, exploding inside her and filling her with my cum as I disappear with her, overwhelmed with my need for closeness, her touch. I come and come and come some more, filling her completely. I find her mouth, kiss her deeply, possessively, leaving my mark of ownership. She kisses me back, and my heart pounds faster as I collapse on top of her, a pressure swelling in my chest, as she hugs me tight.
She might have hurt me in the past, wronged me in a way that gutted me, but there is no denying I love this woman. I love her with every goddamn fiber of my being. I always have.
So what the hell am I going to do about that?
I go back on my knees, and pull her until she’s sitting. I brush her hair from her face, and her soft demure smile, the smile of a well-fucked woman, shuts down the last of my thoughts.
“Come on. We’re not finished,” I say.
“We’re not?” she asks.
“Not by a long shot.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Londyn
I’M PRACTICALLY HOPPING around the villa as the clock strikes seven. I dart to the front door to look out, then back to the living room to admire the tree. Judging from my anxious state, you’d think I’d just downed a dozen espressos, but I haven’t had any caffeine since this morning. I’m just insanely excited about what’s going to happen, any minute now.
I truly can’t believe I pulled it off. Cason caught me sneaking around a few times, whispering on the phone and dashing out when he was busy working. He has no idea what I’m up to and I’m secretly thrilled. I just pray, pray, this turns out the way I want, and he doesn’t get angry with me for overstepping.
Good Lord, that first night I called Peyton, getting her number from the contacts on Cason’s phone while I thought he was still sleeping, was nearly a bust. I had no idea I’d woken him and when I turned to find him behind me, I was sure my mission to create new Christmas memories had been foiled. But he didn’t ask questions, and I didn’t supply answers.
I wasn’t sure how Peyton would react to my idea, and I’m sure she hates me, although she didn’t seem at all surprised to hear I was in Cannes with Cason. Nevertheless, she jumped at the idea, and I can’t help but wonder if she was a bit lonely all by herself back in New York. Even if she does hate me, what I’m doing isn’t about me. It’s about a boy and his sister and helping them find a new, happier way to get through the holidays.
“What is the matter with you?” Cason asks, as he comes from his office and plants a warm kiss on my lips, like it’s the most natural thing in the world, like we’re an old-time couple with an easy comfort and intimacy between us. I almost laugh. We do go way back, and the truth is, I’ve never felt this way with anyone. In his arms, I feel safe, cherished and appreciated. He brings out the best in me, and his belief in me has bolstered my confidence and makes me want to get out there and leave my mark on the world. The hell with those who never believed in my abilities. I don’t need them. I’ll do this on my own. Well, with a little help from my friend. The man I’m in love with.
God, I love him.
Really and truly love him. I’m done denying it, and if I’m being truly honest with myself, I’d never stopped, not even after he said terrible things about me. He’s always held my heart.
He represents a safety that allows me to put myself out there. He was right though, when he said I didn’t fight hard enough. I have been letting fear of failure hold me back.
“Londyn, are you okay?”
His voice pulls me back. “I’m fine,” I say quickly, and he arches a brow.
“Then why are you so agitated?”
“I’m not agitated. I’m excited. It’s Christmas Eve!”
He turns and looks at the tree. There’s a sadness about him he’s trying to hide—for my sake. My heart swells with all I feel for him. Over the last week we’ve had so much fun talking about Soft Wear, planning ideas, and talking about having the launch next fall. He even surprised me with a fashion show in Nice, and that night I finally met my idol, Luis Laurent. We actually talked about my idea. I pretty much needed cement shoes to keep me grounded. Afterward, Cason had a private meeting with him, and I don’t know who they were discussing—I think Luis’s newest intern, a position I’d die for—but words like lacking in skill and pedestrian were tossed around. I feel sorry for the designer, and is it awful of me to think that I could apply for the position if she’s let go? Yeah probably. Nevertheless, these last two weeks have been a true fairy tale, one I never want to wake from.
A knock comes on the door and I nearly jump from my skin. “Who could that be?” I ask.
Cason frowns. “I have no idea. I don’t usually have visitors on Christmas Eve, or...ever.”
I grip the sofa to stop myself from leaping. “Why don’t you get it?”
He dips his head, and examines my face. I’m sure I must look like the village idiot with the way I’m smiling.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, go,” I say and shoo him away.
“I’ll get rid of whomever it is, and then you can try to convince Santa you’ve been nice instead of naughty,” he says, his voice full of warmth and playfulness. My heart twirls in my chest.
I follow behind him as he heads to the door. He swings it open, and when he finds Peyton standing there, suitcases and shopping bags in her hands, his head rears back.
“Peyton, my God...” He reaches for her, pulls her inside for a hug. A second later he has her by the shoulders, and is holding her at arm’s length. “Wait. Is everything okay? Are you okay?”
She laughs and whacks him with her bags, and I hug myself as I watch the beautiful exchange. “Of course I’m okay, big brother. Stop worrying about me all the time.”
He looks past her shoulder for a second. “What...what are you doing here?”
“If you let me in, I’ll tell you.”
“Right.” He pulls her in and kicks the door shut behind her. “What’s going on?”
“You weren’t coming back to New York, so I thought I’d come spend Christmas with you instead.”
The muscles in his back ripple as his shoulders tense. “You want to spend Christmas together?” he asks, and I don’t miss the hitch in his voice. Happiness wells up inside me. This is what he never knew he needed and I’m thrilled that I could do it for him, and that he’s not angry about it.
She drops all her bags to the floor. “Of course I do, you big oaf.”
“Oaf?” he asks and relaxes.
I chuckle and Cason turns. He takes one look at me and his expression changes, softens, as realization dawns. “You—you did this, didn’t you?”
My eyes fill with tears at the warmth in his gaze, the love I see shining there. “I thought it would be really nice for you two to create new memories. There are some presents I put under the tree for you both.”
“This? This is what you’ve been up to? All the sneaking around and secret phone calls?”
My eyes widen. “You knew?”
“Yeah, I notice when you’re not here, Londyn.”
I grin. “Oh.” A frown turns down his lips. “Wait
, what did you think I was doing?”
He scrubs his face and my heart sinks as he averts his gaze. He still doesn’t trust me? After these last two weeks, I thought we’d moved past so much. Then again, he did share ideas with me, and vice versa. If he thought I was doing something disloyal behind his back, he would have called me out on it, right? Yeah, he would have, and maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he does trust me, and old insecurities are just seeping back in.
“I didn’t know,” he says. “I guess I just never thought...this.” He points to Peyton.
I smile. “Merry Christmas, Cason.” I reach for my coat, about to put it on.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asks.
“I want to give you two private time together.”
“What if I don’t want you to leave?”
Peyton walks around him and I expect her to wave me out, but she sides with Cason. “I don’t want you to leave either, Londyn.”
“Are you—”
“We want you to be a part of our new memories, too,” Peyton says, her dark eyes full of honesty and sincerity. How does this woman not hate me?
My gaze slides to Cason, and he’s nodding in agreement. Their kindness, openness and inclusiveness hugs me like a blanket. I want to be a part of this small family more than life itself.
“I’d like to stay,” I say.
Peyton skips toward me. “Good. Now, where’s the eggnog?”
“I’ll get you eggnog,” Cason says. “First there’s this ‘oaf’ thing we need to discuss, and why is everyone calling me names?”
“Probably because you deserve it, Cason,” Peyton says and drags me down the hall. She wraps her arm through mine. “Put my bags in my room will you. Leave the pink one, it has the presents.”
As Cason stands there scratching his head, Peyton and I head to the kitchen for drinks. I go to the fridge and pull out the eggnog. I toss ice into two glasses and pour a generous amount of the delicious alcoholic creamy mixture into both. Her crystal glass clicks on the marble island as I set it down. She quickly picks it up, taps it with mine and smirks at me.
“What?” I ask.
“You and Cason.”
“Oh, it’s not like that,” I say and take a big drink to cover the heat infiltrating my cheeks.
“But you want it to be. I always knew you two belonged together,” she says matter-of-factly. I open my mouth to speak and she continues with, “He’s been a miserable prick, Londyn.”
I laugh at her language, but sober quickly. “Because of me.”
“Exactly.”
“He hates me.”
She snorts. “Is that what you think?”
I shake my head. “You sound just like him.”
“All I know, girlfriend, is I’ve never seen him look at any woman the way he looks at you. He’s been a prick because you haven’t been in his life. Fate brought you two back together, and this time you guys had better not screw it up.”
My heart tightens. “I never meant to hurt him.”
“I know, and now you two have a second chance.”
A bubble of hope wells up inside me, but I’m afraid to let myself get too excited. “Do you really think so?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“We have a history, you know that.”
“I know.” She takes a big drink of eggnog and holds her glass out for me to refill it. “Don’t judge me,” she says. “It’s been a bad year.”
“I’m sorry. Is everything okay?”
Instead of answering, her eyes narrow, and she shakes her head. “Everyone deserves a second chance, Londyn. Well, not everyone,” she says with a snarl.
I run my finger over the rim of my glass. “What do you mean?”
She glances over her shoulder, all conspiratorial like. “Do you remember Roman Abbot, Cason’s good friend since college?”
“Yeah, why?” I ask. What the hell did Roman do to make her snarl like that?
“Well, he—”
“Bags are in your room, and the pink one is under the tree,” Cason says, coming into the room. He stops when he spots us leaning toward one another. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Girl talk,” Peyton says, and rattles the ice in her glass.
“Is it about me?”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. The world does not revolve around you, brother. Such an ego.” Cason grabs her in a headlock and runs his knuckles over her head.
“Smart-ass,” he says.
I can’t help but laugh. I’m not sure what Peyton was about to tell me but the mood has shifted, so I let it go. I pour Cason an eggnog, and wave him and his sister over.
“Come on,” I say. “I can’t wait until morning.”
I lead them to the tree, and as we all stare at it, I look beyond it and gasp.
“What?” Cason asks, his eyes wide as he assesses my face.
“Look.” I point to the window, and both Cason and Peyton step up to it.
“It’s snowing,” Cason says and shakes his head. “I can’t believe it, although nothing should surprise me now.”
“Santa came through,” I say.
Peyton glances back and forth between the two of us. “Okay, you two, I’d tell you to get a room, but there are presents under this tree, and I want to open them.”
“You don’t want to wait until morning?”
She rolls her eyes at Cason. “It’s like you don’t even know me.”
I laugh, loving the ease between brother and sister. Peyton is smart, funny and her adoration of her brother is as bright as the Christmas star. We would have been good friends.
Maybe we still can be. Maybe she’s right and Cason and I do have a second chance.
Peyton picks up a gift and shakes it. “Maybe don’t do that?” Cason says. “You don’t know if it’s breakable.”
“Calm down,” Peyton says and glances at me. “Can you lend my brother a tampon?”
I burst out laughing and Cason scowls, but the love for his smart-ass sister is all over his face.
“See what I mean?” he says to me and throws his hands up. “Kid sisters.” I grin. This man is going to make an incredible father.
“Okay, you two behave before I have to separate you.” I drop to the floor, and cross my legs. I tap the floor. “Come sit.”
They both drop down beside me, and Cason scrubs his face, agitation rolling off him in waves. “I didn’t know we were exchanging gifts.”
Here I told this man I couldn’t give him anything other than my body, but that was a lie because he was already holding my heart. Heck, he might as well hold the rest of me, too.
“I don’t give to receive,” I say. “Besides, Cason, being here in Cannes, at Christmas, with you, is the best gift I’ve ever been given.” I squeeze his hand, and his face warms. “Okay, Peyton,” I say, needing a distraction before I launch myself into his lap and kiss the living hell out of him. I hand her gift over.
“Ooh, it’s small.”
“Good things come in small packages,” Cason says.
“Really?” Peyton responds. “That’s not what she said.”
Cason groans, and I hand him his present. “Yours is bigger.” Peyton coughs to hide a chuckle, and I roll my eyes at her playfulness.
Peyton rips into hers and goes perfectly still, her eyes latch on the gift. I spot tears and my heart sinks. Oh, no, I made a huge mistake.
Her head slowly lifts. “You...you got me this?” she asks as she removes the Tamagotchi from the packaging.
“Cason told me a story and I—” Before I can finish she throws her arms around me.
“I always knew you were special, Londyn. Thank you. You can’t even believe how much this means to me.” My heart overflows with happiness, and my breath stalls when I turn to see the intense way Cason is staring at me.
“Open yours,” I manage to get out.
His throat makes a gurgling sound as he swallows. “Londyn,” he begins, his grip on his present tight.
“Open it already,” Peyton says and tears at the paper to expose the Transformer inside. I never was certain which one he wanted, Peyton wasn’t either when I posed the question, but after a bit of research I discovered Optimus Prime was a sure bet.
He breathes heavily, his brow furrowed as his mouth turns down in a frown. My heart races, and once again, I hope I didn’t make a mistake.
“Thank you,” he says quietly.
“Who is this one for?” Peyton asks.
“Um, all of us, actually. Go ahead and open it.”
She tears into the package, and laughs when she discovers snakes and ladders. Cason’s head finally lifts, and I can’t stop staring at him, even though he’s looking everywhere and anywhere but at me.
“I’ll, uh, I’ll be right back,” he says and takes the eggnog glasses into the kitchen. I debate on going after him to make sure he’s okay.
Peyton nudges me. “I think you broke my brother, in a good way.”
I point to the kitchen. “Should I—”
“No, give him a minute. This is a lot to take in.” She leans into me and wraps her arm around my shoulder. She presses her lips to my cheek, and I feel her tears slide over my skin. “Thank you, Londyn. This is exactly what we needed, and the fact that you knew that...” She breathes deeply and lets it out. “My brother is the luckiest guy on the planet. We both are.”
Cason comes back. We both turn, and I’m stunned, silent when I see how dilated his eyes are. Peyton, however, she stretches her arms out and feigns a yawn.
“You know what, I’m exhausted from all the travel. I think I’m going to call it a night.” She covers her mouth and yawns again. “How about we pick up here tomorrow, and after breakfast, which Cason is cooking of course, we can spend the day playing snakes and ladders?”
