Christmas in a Small Town

by Kristina Knight

  She made a sound of disbelief, but when his mouth reached her hip bone and pressed another kiss there, she stopped talking. He’d have to remember that trick the next time she started going on about the bike trail.

  Levi let his fingers venture farther south, to the black lace covering her hips. Camden’s breathing slowed as if in anticipation. He paused, one finger under her waistband, and focused his gaze on hers. He studied her for a moment, and then another. Her brown eyes were huge, soft and dewy and filled with wanting.

  She wanted him, and the knowledge was a powerful thing.

  He’d had women want him before, but never a woman like Camden. The women he’d taken to his hotel rooms in the past were more plastic and less real than the woman beneath him tonight. It was almost as if they hadn’t really existed, or as if he had been a different man then. Camden made him want more than just sex. More than the physical, and he’d think deeper about that later. After the sex had cleared his mind so he could figure out what all of this meant.

  Levi Walters had never been a relationship guy, not because he didn’t want a relationship, but because he’d never met a woman who made him want something that went farther than a few dates.

  Camden drew in another breath, and the muscles in her abdomen clenched when he pushed his finger beneath the lace.

  He had no idea what a long-term relationship looked like, but he thought, with Camden, he could almost imagine it.

  Levi drew tiny circles over the skin at her hip toward her belly button, and then swirled his way to her other hip. Camden made a small sound like a kitten and pulled her lower lip between her teeth. Levi drew another series of circles along her lower belly, entranced by her clenching muscles, at the tension drawing her body tight like the laces on a football.

  When her hips bucked, he pulled the damp lace from her, leaving her naked before him. Levi swallowed. Her alabaster skin was so different from his. He pressed a kiss to her hip before working his way over her hip and down her leg, pausing to tease the back of her knee before making his way to her ankle. Camden inhaled, her breathing ragged.

  “I know I teased you about punishment for that whole football thing,” she said, her voice as ragged as her breathing, “but I don’t think I can take much more of this.”

  Levi began making his way up her other leg, pausing at her knee again. “You’d be surprised what the human body can take,” he said.

  “You’re a bad, bad man, Levi Walters,” she said when he pressed a kiss to her center.

  “You have no idea, Camden Harris.”

  Camden lay on the bed, her hands still above her head, although he’d released her wrists several minutes before. Need filled her big brown eyes. He pressed one finger inside her, feeling the heat of her center and wanting more. She closed her eyes and seemed to stop breathing for a long moment. Levi pushed another finger inside her and found her clitoris with his thumb, pressing gently against it.

  “God, Levi,” she breathed.

  Levi flicked against the bundle of nerves again. Withdrew his fingers. Pressed back inside and flicked again.

  Camden pressed her hands into the pillows and bit down on her lower lip as her eyes squeezed shut. Levi continued the pattern. Press. Flick. Withdraw. Press. Flick. Withdraw. Until Camden’s breathing came in short gasps and her head rolled from side to side on the pillow.

  “Levi.” She whispered his name as the orgasm came over her. Camden’s shoulders stiffened and her hips arched up against his hand, driving his fingers more deeply into her. Pushing his thumb firmly against her body. Her muscles contracted over his joints. Her mouth tightened a fraction, and her fists clenched against the pillows.

  She shattered around him. Her hips lowered to the mattress, but still, Levi continued the motions. Press. Flick. Withdraw. Press. Flick. Withdraw.

  Levi moved over her, dipped his tongue into her belly button. Her hands reached for him, pulling him up, up her body. Camden’s hands found his hips and pressed beneath the denim. She unbuttoned them and pushed the zipper down as his mouth met hers. And then her soft hands were on him, and Levi was lost to her touch.

  Pushing his jeans over his hips, Camden freed his length. She circled his erection with her hand, her thumb playing with the little opening at the tip.

  He groaned. He needed to keep things under control if he were to make this night special for Camden.

  Levi pushed himself off the bed, shucked his jeans and grabbed a condom from the nightstand drawer, but Camden took it from him to slide it down his length. The feel of her hand around him took his breath away, and as she rolled the thin latex over him, Levi thought he might lose it before he got to feel the heaven of Camden surrounding him.

  He pushed her back onto the pillows, taking position between her legs. Her hands were soft against his chest, her gaze still filled with need. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer to her body.

  She was warm, ready for him, and Levi thrust inside her. She caught his mouth in another kiss. He arched and her tongue traced a path from his lower lip over his chin to his collarbone.

  He wanted to go slow, wanted to make this last all night, but Camden urged him on, meeting him thrust for thrust. Levi emptied himself into her and collapsed beside her on the bed.

  Breathing heavily, he closed his eyes. He’d been right.

  Sleeping with Camden had complicated things, and for the first time in his life, he didn’t mind the complications.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  A FEW DAYS LATER, Camden stood with Calvin in the barnyard as a large truck and trailer drove slowly down the lane. On the way back from Tulsa, Calvin had called the breeder and purchased five new dogs, which were being delivered today.

  She hadn’t seen Levi yet this morning, and that was unusual. He’d been out of bed when she woke and hadn’t been back to the pretty house he’d built only a few months ago. The sun hid behind thick gray clouds today, and Camden shoved her icy hands into the pockets of her coat and hunched her shoulders against the biting wind.

  Wherever Levi was, she hoped he was warmer than she was at this moment.

  The big truck stopped, and a short man with a large spare tire got out. He held out his hand to Calvin. “Nice to see you, Calvin. Ready to see the dogs? I brought a couple extra, just in case you wanted a few more options.”

  The three of them went around the big trailer. When the breeder opened the back gate, a cacophony of dog barking echoed into the early-morning air. Camden winced. The dogs were mostly border collies, but there were a couple of Australian cattle dogs in the mix. All of them looked to have good builds, and despite the barking, the dogs seemed even tempered. All good traits in working dogs.

  One by one, Calvin led the dogs from the trailer, putting them through a mini workout that would tell him everything he needed to know about the dogs in his school. After each workout, Calvin put the dogs in one of the newly renovated runs. An hour later, the breeder took his truck and trailer back down the drive, and Calvin turned to Camden.

  “I guess we’re in business.”

  Camden looked around the barnyard. The dogs were noisily investigating their new home, and even Six seemed excited about the new arrivals. “I guess we are,” she said. “Mother was in town the other night, after the meeting. Grant brought her, I suppose to guilt me into going back.”

  Calvin snorted. “That didn’t work.”

  “No.”

  “Because of Levi.” Calvin started toward the house, and Camden walked with him.

  Because of Levi. Because of her. Because of Slippery Rock. Because of all of it, Camden supposed. Inside the house was much quieter than outside.

  “They’ll calm down. I’ll take a couple out on a walk this afternoon. Get them used to the area, used to me.” Calvin paused then said, “The two of you are spending a lot of time
together.”

  “I like him.” She more than liked him, but Camden wasn’t quite ready to admit just how important Levi had become to her over the past few weeks.

  “He’s a good man.”

  Bonita came downstairs from her craft room, holding a few handmade bookmarks. “Which do you like better? And how are the new dogs doing?” She asked both questions together, and before Camden could answer either, Calvin broke in.

  “Elizabeth was here,” Calvin said, and Bonita’s mouth dropped open. “Monday night after Thom’s meeting.”

  “She’s thinking about visiting, maybe at New Year’s.” Camden shrugged. “I don’t really know what to think about that, but I’ve decided I’m going to be happy about it.”

  “You should, honey,” Grandmom said. “She’s your mother, and she loves you. She loved your father. She never understood either of you, but she does love you. I never doubted that.”

  Camden had never thought of her mother in terms of love or understanding. Overbearing, yes, broken, definitely. Bonita might be right, though, that Elizabeth’s misunderstanding of her father and then of Camden didn’t also preclude her loving her family.

  Not any more than Camden’s inability to fall in love with Grant had precluded her falling in love with Levi. And she did love the handsome farmer. The knowledge scared her almost as much as it made her want to run around the room shouting.

  She loved Levi, and she wanted him to love her back.

  “I, um, have a couple of errands to run. I’ll see you both later,” she said.

  Hours later, the sun was beginning to set, blazing a brilliant orange in the western sky, and Camden was alone at Levi’s home. She’d lit a fire in the fireplace, had peppercorn steaks prepped for the grill and baked potatoes in the warming oven. Levi wasn’t home yet, and she wondered where he was.

  Camden wandered the big, sparsely decorated room. Pictures of his family, Bennett, Mama Hazel and Savannah, lined the mantel, along with a few action shots of Levi in his football gear. The hardwood floors were polished to a shine, the leather furniture comfortable as well as fashionable. He’d hung long taupe and black curtains at the windows, but she’d never seen the curtains closed. Levi liked natural light.

  She checked her watch and yawned. It was barely five o’clock, but Camden could hardly hold her eyes open. She would take a little catnap while she waited for Levi to get back. Settling into the couch, Camden curled her arm under her head and let her eyes drift closed.

  It seemed like only a moment later that she jolted awake. But the sky outside the windows was black, so she knew she’d slept. The clock on the mantel chimed the half hour, and she wondered what time it was.

  “You’re awake,” Levi said from the chair next to the couch.

  “I was only going to have a catnap. What time is it?”

  “A little after eight. Sorry I’m late.”

  “Catching up on work?”

  He nodded. “Dog delivery go well?”

  Camden nodded. “Did you eat anything?”

  “Not hungry.”

  “Anything good on TV?”

  “I was too entranced by the beautiful woman on my sofa to settle for boring television.”

  “Dinner is prepped, it’ll only take a few minutes—”

  Levi leaned across the space separating them. “I already said I’m not hungry. All I want is you.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his mouth down on hers. The familiar licks of passion burned her belly. This was the man she loved. The realization was still new, but not quite as scary with Levi’s mouth on hers, the feel of his body against hers.

  He lifted her from the sofa, his arms solid against her back and legs. “We should take this upstairs,” he said, and she had no idea how they managed to get from the living room to the master suite without Levi tripping up the stairs or against some piece of furniture, because his mouth never left hers and his pace never faltered.

  In the master suite, he set her feet on the floor and cupped her face with his hands. “I missed you today. Came over to Calvin’s this afternoon, but you were gone.”

  “I drove to Mallards for dinner supplies. Peppercorn steaks, loaded baked potatoes, a nice bottle of wine.”

  “Sounds almost as delicious as you,” he said. “What’s the occasion?”

  Butterflies slammed around in Camden’s belly. She loved him, but telling Levi when they’d only been together a couple of weeks? It was probably the worst form of relationship suicide, but she couldn’t not tell him. Not when the realization made her feel so very much inside.

  “I love you,” she said, and Levi froze for a long moment. The butterflies in her belly stopped ricocheting around, and her hands clenched behind his neck. And then his mouth was back on hers, voracious in its plundering, and Camden forgot to be afraid. She’d said what she needed to say. She didn’t need to hear the words in return; it was enough to know how she felt.

  Levi pulled her hips into his, and she felt his erection hard against her. She took off his long-sleeved black T-shirt then fisted her hands in the light mat of hair on his chest. His frame was hard beneath her hands, his heart thundering in his chest. She flicked her thumbnail against his nipple, and Levi groaned in her mouth.

  Camden had considered wearing a dress tonight, but she’d decided it would make things too formal. As if she were offering herself up or something. So she’d gone with her usual jeans, but opted for a fitted sweater. Levi lifted the garment from her body, and the cool air in the bedroom made her nipples pucker beneath the satin of her bra. He reached between them, lowering the zip of her jeans so he could push them over her hips. Camden kicked them off, her mouth still fused with his. Her hands found his zipper and she released it to push the denim over his narrow hips. Levi picked her up again and deposited her on the bed.

  Camden pushed the extra pillows off the side, eager for him to join her.

  Levi reached into the nightstand drawer for a condom, and then he was beside her, all six feet five inches of him stretched out, making her feel small, despite the fact that she was five feet seven inches herself.

  He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, and she thought he might say the words, but the moment passed, and she told herself it didn’t matter.

  For too long she had kept her feelings to herself, but that was the old Camden. The new Camden wasn’t afraid of the things she felt. She owned those feelings. Telling Levi she loved him was part of owning them.

  When his mouth found hers again, it was gentle, but instead of that dampening the heat between them, the caress stoked the fire hotter. She twisted her leg around his, wanting to hold him here, right here beside her, as long as she could.

  She wanted more. More than his mouth on her. More than her hands on his back or tangled in his hair. Camden pushed his jeans and briefs over his hips and was rewarded with the feel of his smooth backside in her hands. That wasn’t what she wanted either, though. Reaching between them, she took his length in her hands, squeezing the shaft gently. She liked the feel of him—strong, hard. She ran her thumbnail gently down the vein on the underside, and Levi drew in a breath.

  “This is going to be over pretty quick if you keep doing things like that.”

  She smiled at him. “There’s always round two.”

  “We passed two and then four the other night.”

  Camden giggled. “I meant two tonight. And you’re counting?”

  He nibbled her lower lip and allowed his hands to work down her abdomen toward the apex of her. “Counting. Memories seared across my brain. You make the call.”

  She squeezed again.

  “I call touchdown.” Levi shifted his body over her and into her in one motion, making Camden gasp. She drew her lower lip between her teeth and curled her toes as he filled her.

 
“Cam,” he said, placing little kisses along her lips and then continuing to the base of her ear.

  Camden wrapped her legs around him, urging him farther in, and he began to move. She felt him all around. Over her. Inside her, and she never wanted the feeling to end. Levi sucked her earlobe into his mouth, and Camden clutched at his shoulders. He buried his face in the hollow of her neck, and she wrapped her arms around him. Their bodies seemed to sync as he quickened the pace. Camden’s muscles clenched, gathering as he pushed her higher and higher, and then it was as if she were flying. She squeezed her legs around his hips as if to start the whole thing over again and then her body went boneless as Levi charged over his own precipice.

  Breathing ragged, Camden sank into the pillows. Levi rolled to the side but brought her with him so that their legs were entwined on the soft bed.

  “That’s a nice welcome home.”

  “I was going to say that was a nice wake-up call.” She kissed the soft skin above his pec and slid her tongue against his hard nipple. “Was I asleep long?”

  “Ten, fifteen minutes. I didn’t really count. You looked so cute, asleep on my sofa.”

  Camden yawned and pillowed her head against his shoulder, her chest to his chest. “We should eat in a little while, and then we could work on that second round,” she said sleepily.

  He settled his arms around her after pushing a lock of hair behind her ear then kissed her temple. “Sounds like a good plan,” he said.

  Camden tucked her foot between his legs and threw her arm over his chest. She sighed and allowed her eyes to close.

  This was perfect. He was perfect. Fast didn’t negate the perfection.

  She was in love with Levi Walters.

  And she could wait for him to love her back.

  * * *

  LEVI WATCHED CAMDEN sleep for a long time. She looked so peaceful. So content.

  And she loved him.