THE BENNETTS' CHRISTMAS (The Bennett Family and the Masters Family Book 6)

by Brenda Jackson

  Sebrina glanced across the kitchen table at Parker. After making love again, they had worked up an appetite, so they’d gone back into the kitchen and dived into those hot wings, like they’d intended to do earlier.

  She was glad he’d had a chance to meet Kennedy and Victoria when Victoria had been in town a couple of days ago. Little did he know there was no way Victoria would have returned to California without getting a chance to check him out. The same held true for Kennedy.

  It had been obvious that both of her cousins had liked him. His Parker Stanhope charm, charisma and appeal had easily won them over. And, of course, his striking good looks and animal magnetism were attributes that any woman could appreciate. In no time at all, the four of them were sitting around the dinner table, savoring a meal Parker had prepared and engaging in conversation like old friends. It was obvious her cousins were quite taken with him, but then, she was taken with him as well.

  He was looking at her expectantly, and she suddenly realized she hadn’t reacted to his words. “And I know they are glad they got to meet you.”

  That was the understatement of the year. Both Kennedy and Victoria had called her later, giving her unsolicited advice about her love life. According to them, she’d be crazy if she didn’t go after Parker Stanhope with a vengeance. They told her that the sexual tension between her and Parker was thick enough to cut with a knife. And they claimed that Parker’s eyes had followed her, wherever she went. She had to admit that she’d watched him, just as closely. Victoria and Kennedy were taking bets as to who would cave first, dragging the other one to the bedroom to get it on.

  And they had finally gotten it on. And it had been wonderful. Still, though she had no regrets, she couldn’t help wondering if he did.

  She soon found out she had nothing to worry about it. Even while sitting in the kitchen, simply eating, it was obvious that they wanted more of each other. Making love those two times had just whet their appetites.

  By the time they had finished their hot wings, her libido was in overload and there was no mistaking the low, sensual growl she heard in his throat when he stood to collect their plates to carry them to the sink.

  She watched as he loaded the dishwasher, appreciating the sexiness of his stance, the strength of his build, the beauty of his bare back that was to her, and the way his PJ’s caressed his tush. Then she thought back to what was under those PJ’s—front and back.

  As those memories filled her mind, her desire overwhelmed her, allowing some kind of primal force within her to take over. Suddenly the kitchen was filled with crackling energy—the hot, raw, carnal kind. She couldn’t stop a small moan from escaping her lips.

  Hearing the sound, he turned and glanced over at her. The moment he did so, a jolt of need hit her, making her core ache. It was the very place he had been earlier, and she needed him to visit there again.

  As if he read what was in her eyes, he crossed the kitchen floor, swept her back up into his arms and carried her into his bedroom.

  Since Sebrina was used to working at night, it wasn’t odd for her to be awake in the predawn hours of the morning. She lay there a moment before remembering where she was, and whose naked leg was entwined with hers.

  “You’re awake?”

  The husky sound came close to her shoulder and the whispered words warmed her neck. Shifting to her back, she gazed into eyes so blue, they reminded her of the ocean in winter. The waters of the Jersey Shore were close to where her father lived and where she’d spent a lot of her summers.

  His sandy brown hair had flopped in his face, nearly covering his eyes, and his unshaven jaw tempted her to touch him. Seeing such a sexy man this early in the morning was almost too much for her to absorb.

  “Yes, I’m awake.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to say anything else. His mouth swooped down on hers, taking her lips, her breath, her soul, as if he had every right to do so. It was as if he was claiming her as his.

  And she loved it.

  She loved him.

  That admission sent a shockwave through her at the same time Parker released her mouth, then moved to her breast. A moan escaped her lips when he slid a nipple into his mouth and began sucking in earnest. “Oh yes!”

  She couldn’t remember the last time a man had taken care of her breasts this way. Last night Parker had delivered multiple times, and he was still delivering.

  He released that nipple and then went to the other one, at the same time as she felt his hand slowly move to the area between her legs. Silently begging for the pleasure only he could give her, her thighs parted willingly, allowing him to slide a finger inside of her. She groaned in pleasure and when he finally pulled his mouth away from her breasts, he whispered, “You are so hot…and so very, very wet. Baby, I need to taste you.”

  Then he was shifting in bed, planting kisses downward, from her breasts toward her stomach, nibbling on the areas in between. Using his tongue, he licked all around her navel, then moved lower, rubbing his nose over her feminine folds. She gripped his shoulders, overwhelmed with emotion, and very, very grateful she’d recently had a bikini wax.

  When he gripped her thighs and widened them, she knew what he was about to do. At the first flick of his tongue across her center she moaned, maybe too loudly, but she couldn’t help it. And when he used his fingers to open her folds, before letting his tongue take over, she couldn’t help but cry out. That’s when he buried his face between her legs, pushing his tongue inside of her, deeper than she thought any tongue could go.

  His mouth devoured her clitoris. And when he locked his mouth on her and began sucking and licking her as if tasting her was the only good thing in his life, she nearly shot off the bed, but his grip on her thighs kept her in place.

  She grabbed hold of his hair and pulled it, but that didn’t slow him down. It was as if he was marking her in every way that he could. She knew that she would forever yearn for him to do this to her.

  She’d engaged in oral sex before, but it had never been like this. No man had ever used his tongue this way on her before, as if thirsty for every bit of moisture her body was creating. Her orgasm hit hard and he held tight, his mouth still on her, lapping her up like his life depended on it. And when she convulsed and exploded into what seemed like a trillion pieces, he was there, taking it all in.

  And then she came yet again, and still, his mouth wouldn’t let up, taking everything she was giving him, burying his tongue nearly nose deep inside of her. She knew at that moment, whether she wanted to or not, whether it was his intent or not, he owned this. She couldn’t imagine any other man doing this to her. And while her body was coming down from a double orgasm, she felt him get out of bed and through dazed eyes, she watched him open his nightstand to retrieve another condom and put it on.

  Then he was back, sliding between her legs and in one smooth thrust, he entered her. All she could do was hold on as he took her hard and fast. It was a good thing the bed had a good mattress because it was definitely getting a workout. And then he tilted her hips for deeper penetration and began thrusting even faster.

  She thought he had gone farther into the depths of her body than any man had ever gone before. His manhood was touching places that had never been touched, and she was feeling the effect.

  He joined his hands with hers above her head, entwining their fingers, then rubbed his chest against her breasts as he continued to ride her. Torture had never been so sweet. She lifted her hips to receive each and every one of his downward thrusts, fighting back an orgasm, not ready for it to come yet. But she couldn’t hold it back.

  She was saying all kinds of things—naughty things, things she would normally not say. She might be ashamed of herself later, but she wasn’t now. She had never been this outspoken in the bedroom. And tonight, she wasn’t just outspoken, she was outright demanding and greedy as hell. Not that he seemed to mind. He was giving her everything she was begging him for. He was bringing it on and doing his thing, and she was takin
g it in and doing hers.

  The combination was the most powerful lovemaking she’d ever experienced. And she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else but Parker.

  “Sebrina?”

  She forced her eyes to open and glanced over at Parker. It had to be past eight in the morning. Swallowing, she said, “Yes?”

  “We need to get the hell out of this bed and out of this house. You’ve become an addiction.”

  He had become awfully addictive as well. “Okay,” she said, slowly easing up in bed. She’d lost count of the number of times they’d made love.

  “Spend the day with me away from here,” he suggested.

  “Doing what?”

  “Let’s go on an outing to the zoo.”

  She loved the zoo but hadn’t been in years. It was supposed to be a nice day outside, with no snow and not too cold. Besides, walking would help ease her soreness, though she didn’t regret one moment of it. “I’d love that,” she said, sliding out of bed and glancing around the room for her clothes. He spotted them first. Easing out of bed he walked over to pick them up, then handed them to her. “Thanks.”

  “You want to shower with me?”

  What he was offering was tempting, but she knew better. She smiled over at him as she slid into her nightie and robe. “Then we’ll never leave, Parker,” she said, nodding over to the bed. “It’s calling our names again, but we need to ignore it. Give me half an hour and I’ll be ready, okay?”

  He smiled back at her. “Okay.”

  She was about to leave when she felt Parker take hold of her hand. The touch was electrifying, and she drew in a sharp breath. “Yes?”

  He leaned in and kissed her, and she felt her body melt into his. When he released her mouth, he whispered, “I can’t wait to spend the day with you.”

  She nodded and quickly headed for the door. Well, that experiment had been a colossal failure. Because after acting on it, the chemistry between them was more explosive than ever.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  “AREN’T THEY THE CUTEST things?” Sebrina said to Parker as they stopped at the huge cage that held an arctic fox with her pups.

  Holding her hand, Parker stopped beside her and glanced at the fox. Since foxes were fairly common in Maine, he had seen quite a few of them on his parents’ property, but he had never seen one with white fur. “They are definitely cute. It’s a shame they’re in a cage, though.” He glanced at his watch then asked, “Ready for lunch?”

  “Yes.”

  They had eaten breakfast before leaving the house. She had shown him that although she didn’t spend a lot of time at a stove, she knew how to use one. Together they had whipped up pancakes, eggs and bacon. It was nice having her in the kitchen with him. He couldn’t help suggesting they do it more often.

  A short while later, they were being shown to a table at one of the zoo’s cafes. A couple they’d run into had suggested they try the place, saying the hamburgers and fries were delicious.

  As they sat, waiting for their order, he thought about the fact that Sebrina hadn’t brought up the subject of their relationship…and how it had changed. It seemed she was determined to avoid any discussion of what they’d shared. He’d let it go for a while, but sooner or later, they’d have to talk about it. She had to have realized that acting on their attraction had only made it that much stronger.

  She smiled over at him. “So, what exhibit did you like most?”

  He leaned back in his chair. “I’ve always had a thing for zebras, and the habitat the zoo has put together for them is impressive.”

  She lifted a brow. “You’ve always had a thing for zebras?”

  He grinned. “Yes, ever since my grandparents gave me a huge stuffed one as a kid. I had it for a long time and then one day, it was gone.”

  “Gone?”

  “Yes. Mom figured I was too old for it, so she donated it to a charity that was collecting toys for Christmas.”

  He could vividly remember that day, coming home from school to find Zeke gone and then being told why. He had become upset—really upset. His parents had plenty of money. They could have bought those kids lots of toys for Christmas. But instead, they’d taken away the only one that had meant anything to him.

  “Gladys the giraffe was my favorite toy,” Sebrina said. “As I got older, Monica replaced Gladys. In fact, Gladys later became a hand-me-down to my younger cousins. She got passed around so much, she eventually fell apart. Just think about it, Parker. My Gladys and your Zeke made other kids happy.”

  He met her gaze. “You think so?”

  “I’m sure of it.”

  He felt more love for Sebrina at that moment than she could possibly know. In fact, she didn’t have a clue. And making love to her, being inside of her, intimately tasting her the way he had, had only boosted his emotions a hundred times. He had always thought he’d put his career before everything, including love. But he now realized that even if he reached his dream of one day becoming a chief-of-staff at a hospital in Tampa, he would never truly be happy unless she was there with him. There was no other woman on this earth who he could ever love more than he loved her.

  He refused to settle for the kind of marriage his parents had. He needed more than a loveless partnership. He wanted a wife who’d be his life-partner, but more importantly, a wife who forever would have his heart.

  And that woman was sitting here with him right now.

  Sebrina was glad when the waitress chose that moment to return. For the past five minutes or so, all conversation between her and Parker had ceased, and they had merely sat there, staring at each other and stirring up the chemistry that still raged between them.

  She now knew what it felt like to be cherished, and she doubted certain parts of her body would ever be the same. Even now, while the waitress placed their meal in front of them, heat flared in her core, and her mouth watered, just thinking of the many times he had kissed it.

  She had to admit, her sister and cousins had been right. She had loved Wade. He had been the only guy she had ever given herself to, heart, body and soul. And she’d never found a reason to move on.

  Until Parker...

  Last night, he had touched something inside her that no other man had touched since Wade. It was more than just the physical, although she would admit the physical had meant a lot. Wade had made love to the girl she had been at seventeen. Parker had made love to the woman she was now, and he had done so in a way no other man ever had. Just watching the way that he was eating his hamburger reminded her of the way he’d feasted on her. Even now, she could recall how his tongue had...

  “Are you okay, Sebrina?”

  She blinked. Had she been sitting there staring at his mouth, watching him eat his food without touching hers this whole time? “I’m fine,” she said, reaching for the ketchup at the same moment he did. Their hands touched and immediately a charge of desire ripped through her entire body. She met his gaze and knew he felt it as well.

  “I have an idea,” he said, when she pulled her hand back.

  “What is it?” she asked, hoping he was going to suggest they bag their lunch to-go and return home ASAP.

  “Since we’re out and about, how about another outing?”

  Was she disappointed that he wasn’t rushing them back home? She shifted in her seat, tightening her legs together to ease the ache. “Where?”

  “Umm, you name the place.”

  She thought about it for a minute and then said, “What about Can-Can Wonderland?”

  He lifted a brow. “What’s that?”

  She picked a fry and took a bite. “It’s a fun place with mini-golf, restaurants, and arcades that include several pinball machines. It even has go-carts, for the daring at heart. And there’s a soda fountain as well as a bar that sells cocktails.”

  “Sounds like my kind of place.”

  She smiled. “Mine, too. I think it will be fun.” And just the type of place where they could work off some of the sexual energy buildi
ng between them.

  It was close to eight that night before they returned home. After a fun day at Can-Can Wonderland where they had spent a lot of time in the arcade playing endless rounds of pinball and climbing a man-made mountain, they had eaten dinner at the restaurant on site. Afterwards, they had worked off the meal on the mini-golf course.

  Parker thought his time with Sebrina had been special. Had they remained here or returned earlier, chances were, they would have ended up in bed again. Not that he minded. But he didn’t want her to start thinking their relationship was only physical, because it wasn’t.

  Still, he wished their bodies would get the message. Because the moment they entered the house, the temperature rose exponentially. They had managed to keep the smoldering heat between them under control around others, but now that they were behind closed doors, there was no ignoring the seductive energy passing between them. She had been headed for the stairs, but then she stopped and slowly turned around. He actually felt his body tremble at the look he saw in her eyes, and he knew what she wanted…what they both needed.

  He moved toward her, covering the distance that separated them, unable to ignore the myriad sensations engulfing him with every step he took. When he came to a stop in front of her, they just stood there, staring at each other. The silence between them stretched out as sexual hunger grew. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. And when he reached out for her, she came into his arms.

  He took her mouth with all the relentless need that filled him, knowing at some point that he’d need to tell her this wasn’t about sex, but love. The only thing holding him back was the fact that she probably wouldn’t believe him, since things were happening so fast. But then, according to Rae’jean and Ryan, that was the way things had been for them, too. That’s when she had realized she loved Grady but hadn’t been in love with him. The sexual chemistry between her and Ryan had been too strong to deny, even before they’d been officially introduced.