Clan McKinloch: Stars, Stripes & Xmas Bells

by Kaitlin Maitland

  “I know.”

  “I wanted adventure. I guess this is as good a place to start as any.”

  Trip laughed. “So we’re like a safari now, is that it?”

  She squirmed against him until they were face-to-face. Her red hair was loosely braided, the long plait resting over her bare shoulder. The fact that she’d agreed to sleep naked with him had been a monumental step as far as he was concerned. He wanted her to be comfortable with him and with herself.

  “Do you prefer to go by Trip or Aiden?” she asked.

  “You want to talk about names now?”

  “I just don’t want to blow it in front of your family.”

  He wondered if she would think it odd that he preferred his nickname to his given name. Other than his family, the people who knew him best called him Trip. He’d introduced himself to her as Trip, and it was the name he’d heard cross her lips ever since.

  An idea took shape in his mind. “I think I know how we can get an answer to this name issue once and for all.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Whatever name you scream in the next ten minutes, that’s the one we’ll stick with.”

  Her brow furrowed in thought. “What’s happening in ten minutes?”

  He didn’t bother answering. Instead, he pushed Ashton onto her back and began kissing his way down her chest. Her nipples beaded into hard little points as he licked the soft skin between her full breasts. Going lower, he teased her belly until she shrank reflexively. Her abdomen moved quickly as her breathing sped up.

  “Trip, what are you doing?”

  The anticipation in her voice was equal to the fire thrumming in his veins. “That’s once, but you didn’t scream it. I’ll fix that.”

  He placed a long, lingering kiss just above her mound. She moaned as he nipped and sucked her pale skin. A spurt of precum dampened the head of his cock. He dipped low on his hands and knees, his cock rubbing against the sheets. The contact was torturously rough when what he longed for was the satin embrace of her pussy.

  Trip nudged her legs apart and nuzzled the silky thatch of red hair. He blew a puff of cool air across it, and she arched her back in response. Threading his fingers into her pubic hair, he gently spread her full lips and held them open. She was glistening with the juices spilling from her tight pink opening.

  She made a low noise when he ran his tongue the length of her slit. It wasn’t enough. He wanted to hear her scream his name. Using the tip of his tongue, he pushed into her opening. He mimicked the rhythm of sex with shallow thrusts that sent a visible wave of tension through her muscles.

  Her clit became engorged as blood rushed to her sex. He carefully sucked the sensitive nub. Her creamy fluid grew sharper, the taste erotic on his tongue as he devoured her softness. He could feel her climax coming, sense it uncurling in her spine.

  “I’m so close,” she whimpered. “Please don’t stop.”

  As if he could when she was so sweet and perfect. Sliding two of his fingers deep into her channel, he used them to place pressure on her pelvic bone. Her pussy clamped down on his hand. Flicking her clit with his tongue, Trip increased the friction until she was panting and he could feel her on the verge of melting.

  “Trip! Oh God, Trip!”

  He abruptly pulled his fingers from her pussy and reared back on his knees. “And there’s our answer.”

  “You’re stopping?” She lifted her head, her expression suggesting she might castrate him for leaving her in that condition.

  “Not on your life, darlin’.” Trip hooked his arms beneath her legs and slid his painfully hard cock deep inside her cunt.

  “Trip!”

  “Damn, I love hearing you say that.” He pulled out just far enough for another thrust. “Again.”

  “Make me come, Trip!”

  He pushed hard, sinking deep inside her. She arched her back, the angle creating a delicious slide into her body that had the tip of his cock flush against her G-spot. His balls grew tight as he felt her begin to quiver around his shaft. Her release was coming fast. It began as tiny tremors that rippled along his shaft. Finally it crashed in waves that grew in intensity until he couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Fuck, Ashton. I’m coming.”

  His cock pulsed, and a thick stream of semen filled her pussy as she continued to climax around him. Lowering his head, Trip took her mouth in a soul-shattering kiss. He stroked her tongue with his. The ebb and flow of their kiss went from desperate to sated, until it mirrored their mingled satisfaction.

  When he finally ended the kiss, he withdrew his cock from her pussy and lay down beside her. He could hear nothing but the sound of his heartbeat in his ears. A thin sheet of sweat cooled quickly on his skin. Pulling up the duvet, he covered them both.

  “So,” she said. “Trip it is.”

  He hugged her close, more content that he’d ever known possible. “Seems that way.”

  “Well then, Merry Christmas…Trip.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  December 25—1:00 p.m.

  Even with Trip by her side, Ashton felt like a basket of nerves when she rang the doorbell at Jack and Ella’s house. She shifted from foot to foot on their porch in her thickest winter jacket and boots. They’d walked the three blocks, not just because it was only three blocks, but because there would be no driving on the snow-packed icy roads for hours yet.

  “Relax, darlin’.” Trip wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

  The door swung wide open, and Morrie beamed at them. “Hey! The lovebirds have taken a break from screwing like little bunnies so they could join the rest of us.”

  “Nice,” Trip muttered. “Real classy, Sis.”

  Ashton wasn’t sure if she should laugh or smack her friend upside the head. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside the McKinloch family home. It wasn’t as if it was her first visit. She’d been there plenty of times, just not for a holiday get-together.

  “Welcome, come in. We’re going to eat in just a few minutes.” Ella disappeared back into the kitchen.

  Jack and Ossian were camped out in front of the television, watching the last few minutes of It’s a Wonderful Life. The scene looked like something out of a holiday traditions handbook. A pang of longing made Ashton antsy without understanding why. She wanted so badly to be a part of something like this. Was that normal, or was she trying to be something she wasn’t?

  “Thanks, Mom. I’m starving.” Trip immediately took a seat on the couch next to his brother.

  “I think I’ll go in the kitchen and see if anyone needs help.” Ashton started to walk away, but Trip caught her hand.

  Pulling her down, he kissed her soundly on the lips. “Don’t stay away too long.”

  Ella’s huge eat-in kitchen was filled with food. Donal and Gavin worked companionably at the center island, carving a huge turkey with obvious skill. Morrie and her mother were busy putting the finishing touches on a table laden with sliced ham, stuffing, sweet potato pie, fresh rolls, mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, and a green-bean casserole covered in French fried onions—a St. Louis holiday staple.

  “Hey, sweetie, why don’t you just have a seat?” Ella waved at the table. “Morrie did some beautiful place cards for us.”

  Ashton wandered closer to the long table. A neatly folded piece of cream-colored stationery announced the name of the intended guest. Picking one up, Ash realized the back of each card held a fun fact about each member of the family. Her stomach knotted. What would hers say?

  Trying not to seem hurried, Ashton finally found hers smack-dab in the middle of the long side between Trip and Ossian. She picked it up. Her full name was embossed in silvery lettering. Flipping it over, she tried not to hold her breath in anticipation.

  Ashton Gregory—newest addition to Clan McKinloch

  Pressure built behind her eyes, and the lettering grew blurry. She swiped at her eyes, not wanting to seem like a fool. The words might have seemed silly if she hadn’t read th
e McKinloch family history printed on the back of their menus about a thousand times. It gave a romanticized version of the McKinlochs’ roots on the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. They were proud of their heritage, and at the time Ashton had only been able to wonder what it might be like to have such a strong sense of history. She was utterly alone in the world. The McKinlochs were the opposite.

  “You know what that means, right?” Morrie asked.

  Ash hadn’t heard her friend approach. Looking up, she realized the entire family was in the kitchen waiting to sit down to dinner. She felt as if she’d been caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

  Ossian gave her a wide smile. “It means you’re stuck with us.”

  “Sit down, all of you, and give the girl a moment to think.” Ella shooed them toward their seats. “What it means is that my wandering son had better remove his head from his ass and ask Ashton to marry him before she gets away.”

  “Apparently.” Gavin’s tone was flat, but at least he wasn’t openly hostile. That seemed like progress. “She’s going to make certain you’re part of the family in one way or another.”

  Ashton felt as if she’d been run over by a train. “Marry me? Isn’t it a little soon for that?”

  Morrie made a point of staring at Trip. “I don’t know, big brother. Is it?”

  Ash swung around to look at Trip. Were they serious? Was he going to propose to her based on—and then it hit her. It wouldn’t matter how many years they knew each other. She didn’t need to know him any more than she did. As crazy as it might have sounded, she loved Trip. She knew it wasn’t perfect. She wasn’t delusional, and there was every possibility that they had incompatible bad habits somewhere.

  It just didn’t matter.

  “I was going to wait until later.” Trip glared at his family members, who were giving him expectant stares. “But I might as well do it now.”

  “You should move back a little so we can see better, Ash,” Ossian suggested.

  Gavin nodded. “And he has to kneel. In fact, he should really beg. He could use the humbling experience.”

  “Shut it, both of you. You’re ruining the moment,” Morrie snapped.

  “I’d planned to do this after dinner.” Trip did kneel. Right there in front of the enormous holiday feast prepared by his brothers. He pulled a gold foil box out of seemingly nowhere and held it up. The square box was too large for a ring. What was he doing? “I love you, Ashton. You know I do. And I know this is crazy. But I don’t want you to fly around the world for this relationship without knowing that I want this commitment in my life for good.”

  He slipped the lid off the box. Even in a kitchen full of rich holiday favorites, Ashton instantly picked up the sweet scent of the candy coating on those Jordan Almonds. The box was filled with a sizeable portion of the pastel-colored treats, two tickets to the Tivoli, and topped by a gorgeous princess-cut diamond solitaire ring. For just a moment she forgot how to breathe.

  “So, will you marry me?”

  Not only had he welcomed her into his family, Trip had remembered all the best parts of her childhood holidays. There was only one answer that made sense. It was the same answer she’d given him that night beneath the fireworks when she’d known instinctively that this man was what she wanted. “Yes, Trip. I’ll marry you.” She looked around at the crazy McKinlochs gathered at the table. “And I suppose that means I’ll marry all of you too.”

  “Hell yeah,” Ossian said with a satisfied nod. “Now can we eat? I’m starving.”

  Trip rose and pulled her close. “You just gave me the most incredible Christmas present ever. And I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life enjoying my gift.”

  Ashton gazed around at the family settling down to eat their holiday dinner. It was hard to imagine that six months ago she’d been a lonely office manager who would have given anything for just a taste of the adventure life had to offer. In one star-spangled bang, she’d been swept into a parallel universe where she wasn’t alone anymore. She had the love a man she couldn’t get enough of, and an entire family at her back.

  Loose Id Titles by Kaitlin Maitland

  Daggertail

  * * * *

  The BOSTON AVANT-GARDE Series

  Strung Out

  Crescendo

  Impetuous

  Encore

  * * * *

  The CLAN McKINLOCH Series

  Stars, Stripes & Xmas Bells

  Kaitlin Maitland

  Kaitlin Maitland is an avid reader and a rabid horse enthusiast with a love of drama in everyday life. She began writing at the age of twelve after growing tired of waiting for her favorite authors to write sequels. Now she’s scrambling to write her own sequels while keeping up with a variety of exciting new characters and settings. Kaitlin makes her home in the Midwest and while she has yet to travel to a distant planet, she finds plenty of story-inspiring drama close to home.

  Find Kaitlin on the Web at http://www.kaitlinmaitland.com.