McDonald_MM_GEN_Dec2013

by Donna McDonald

  Knowing that might be as close as Eve was going to get to admitting she wanted him, Sam bent her back over his arm, his mouth holding onto hers as he slid one hand up under the faded shirt until it found a lace-covered breast. Her ragged sigh of pleasure had him gripping her tightly in his palm as he explored her mouth and breast with equal enthusiasm. This woman—this moment—this was why he had been waiting all those long, lonely months for her to want him back.

  “If I drag couch pillows and a blanket over here, will you lay down with me? I don’t want to push you too far, but I can’t leave you either. I’d go crazy right now if you made me go home,” Sam said.

  “I still think this is just some sort of temporary madness,” Eve said, but her fingers fisted tighter in his shirt. “But if you let me go for a minute or two, I can do a little better than couch pillows. I’m scared, but I don’t want you to leave either.”

  Eve saw hesitation to let her go in Sam’s intense gaze, but finally he released her breast. Her keen disappointment was more illuminating to her than her desperate response to his kiss. For first time in years, she found herself actually wanting a man. She could almost hear Hilde laughing in joy and clapping over it.

  When Sam moved away, Eve rose and headed to the guest bedroom closet. After gathering up a comforter, two blankets, and two pillows, she headed back. The man who swore he wanted her was now sitting with hands draped over his knees, staring into the fireplace. He turned and smiled when she arrived. His happiness to see her caused her heart to squeeze in her chest.

  “Will these work?” she asked, her throat clogged with an unnamed hope.

  Nodding, Sam used the chair to pull himself up. It took him only a few seconds to move the coffee table and rearrange the chairs to make room. He helped her spread out comforters and blankets. Then he pulled her down with him, rolling her onto a pillow. His mouth covered hers before she could protest. A shiver shook her body from head to toe.

  “Are you cold?” he asked, when he let her up for air.

  Not sure she had voice enough to talk, Eve settled for shaking her head.

  “Good,” he said. “Some of your ugly clothes have to go.”

  Looming over her, she let Sam sweep the sweatpants away, which he did in under three seconds. Then he pulled her close and lifted one of her legs over his.

  “Better. Much better,” he said, kissing along her cheek and chin as he stroked the leg thrown over him. Soon his hands were drawing circles on her backside and Eve felt herself growing nervous again. Longing for the man in her arms consumed her with every trailing kiss he gave her.

  She cleared her throat and forced herself to speak before it was too late. “I want to do this, but I’m not—I have no protection.”

  “From what?” Sam asked, ceasing his kissing to look at her.

  “From you,” Eve said pointedly. When Sam frowned, it made her giggle even though her cheeks heated. “Are you really going to force me to say this? Condoms, Sam. I have none. Do you have any with you?”

  Sam nodded solemnly. He was grateful Eve had made that particular jump in her thinking even though he couldn’t take advantage of it yet. But Merry Christmas to me, Sam decided, pulling her leg tighter around him.

  “Yes I have some. But we don’t need them tonight. This moment is too important to mess up with sex. My instinct says that I could give you a dozen screaming orgasms and you’d still kick me out without coffee in the morning. I’d rather you ask me to stay and spend Christmas day with you.”

  “Really?” His reticence to act surprised her. “Forgive me for not keeping up, but that’s a pretty abrupt change of mind from what you’ve been saying since yesterday. Did you have a sudden change of heart while I went to the closet?”

  Sam slid his hand up under the baggy shirt to cup her breast again as he pressed the hard ridge under his zipper against her belly. “No—not changing my mind. Sex just wasn’t all I thought about doing with you. I’ve also been waiting to hold you like this. I don’t want to risk the friendship we’ve spent years building either. I was intending to seduce you as soon as you’d let me. That’s honest, but that’s not all this is about. It’s important to me that you believe that.”

  With her head now on the pillow next to his, Eve lifted a hand to run through his hair. The whole time she did, Sam palmed her breast as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Proof of his desire pressed against her and seducing him the rest of the way would have been very, very easy. Her hand itched to go exploring. But Sam was right, she didn’t want to lose their friendship either. Wanting more with him was still a very scary thing for her.

  “Next time I screw up my courage to screw, you better make good on all that seduction talk,” Eve whispered.

  Sam laughed at her bravado, and the fact that Eve moaned every time his hand tightened on her breast. But he finally let her breast go to gather the rest of her more tightly to him.

  Sighing in contentment to feel her heartbeat next to his, he pulled covers closely over both of them. He counted his blessings when Eve let him have his way. Her perfume wrapped around him as she cuddled in his arms. It was truly the best present he could ever imagine getting from her and that’s what he thought as he kissed her eyes closed.

  “It’s after midnight. Merry Christmas, Eve. See you in the morning.”

  “Merry Christmas, Sam. I am glad you’re here,” Eve said, sighing as she let sleep claim her.

  Chapter 6

  Eve woke under a weight, all toasty and warm, and smiled. It faded slightly when her eyes finally opened and saw Sam’s grinning face looming upside down over hers. One look around had her noting that he’d piled more covers on her at some point.

  “Good morning,” Sam said.

  “Good morning,” Eve said back. “You’re up early.”

  “I’ve been up for a couple of hours. If I had stayed next to you—well, let’s just say I’d have shown you just how much of a morning person I am,” Sam said.

  Eve giggled at his innuendo, and then her gaze focused on something he was holding over her head. “What’s that for?”

  Sam looked at the small piece of mistletoe he had clipped from one of the boughs in doorways. “Dutch courage, I suppose. And it’s way less hard on my body than a couple triple-shots of bourbon.”

  She laughed at Sam’s flirting and stretched, realizing as she did that she had slept in her bra. Her hands went to her breasts, automatically massaging them to relieve the tightness.

  “Want some help with that?” he asked.

  Eve blinked at his offer and stared up into his smiling gaze. He had the nicest eyes. They seem to laugh at nearly everything. What an amazing way to live.

  She opened her mouth to give him a compliment, a bit shocked at the comment that popped out instead. “So you’re a breast guy? Your ass jokes last night had me thinking otherwise.”

  Sam laughed and bent to give Eve an upside down kiss, the mistletoe still clutched in one of his hands. After finishing with her mouth, he couldn’t resist pushing the covers down and kissing the top of each breast through her clothes. Her arch up toward him was damn inspiring and he wished like hell that he had time to see if she’d let him kiss any lower.

  Sighing, he pulled away because he had to. “I’m an everything guy. I like the whole package.”

  “I’m a package kind of person myself, especially when it’s pressed against me all night,” Eve said, fascinated when Sam, who had been sexually teasing her non-stop, rocked back on his heels and blushed. “What? That comment embarrassed you? Two seconds ago your package was nearly in my face when you leaned over me.”

  “Eve . . . God, you’re killing me,” Sam said, painfully aware of his arousal as he twirled the mistletoe between his fingers.

  Eve rolled over and propped her chin up on her hand to better look at him. “Well, that makes two of us. My walls are down this morning even though I’m still dealing with the fact that you spent the night wrapped around me. Now I know that sounds like a
guy’s line, but I woke up several times during the night and you weren’t turning loose. I had to pry myself from your fingers to go to the bathroom earlier this morning.”

  Sam sighed and stared off into the kitchen. “You were very cuddly and warm.”

  Eve smiled happily at the wistfulness in his voice. “Thank you. It was actually nice not sleeping alone. I’d forgotten how nice it could be to have company.”

  Sam sighed. “Damn, I want to crawl back under those covers with you, but this day is not destined to go the way I planned. I was hoping to take you home with me and make you breakfast, but . . . I can’t. I got a call from Angeline’s folks. We weren’t the only ones with a crisis last evening. I need to run over and re-light the pilot on their furnace. It has a tendency to go out unexpectedly. They haven’t had a chance to get it looked at yet this winter.”

  “Okay. Rain check on breakfast?” Eve asked, rolling until she could sit. She pulled the covers around her and groaned at the stiffness in nearly every limb. “Damn. I’m too old to sleep in the floor.”

  Sam smiled at Eve’s complaining. “You’d have been worse off if I’d done what I wanted to you last night and this morning.”

  Eve picked up a pillow and threw it at him. “Your lack of sympathy is not helpful, sir. I still hurt.”

  “I’ll fix the stiffness for you later. I give great massages too,” he said.

  Eve stopped struggling with the covers and stared at him. “Yes, I find that very easy to believe after my sample last night. That talent alone may make you worth dating. See? I’m making progress.”

  She nearly melted into a puddle when his smiling eyes crinkled. Sam’s gaze on hers promised to make good on everything he was teasing her about. It made her underwear very, very uncomfortable imagining him rubbing her in all the places she ached. It had been so long since her body had gotten genuinely aroused that she’d forgotten what it had felt like until Sam started reminding her.

  “So tell me Mr. Hero, when will you be back from your rescue mission?” Eve asked, as she slowly got to her feet.

  Sam stood when Eve did. “I don’t know. They called an hour ago, but I couldn’t make myself leave until you woke up. They have a gas fireplace. It’s not like they’re freezing just yet, but they had to sleep in the living room all night. I don’t suppose you’d want to come along, would you?”

  Wrapped in one of the extra covers he’d thrown over her, Eve padded across their makeshift bed on the floor to stand closer to him. “It would be kind of weird for me to go along, don’t you think?”

  “No. I told Greg and Joyce that I was spending Christmas with you. My in-laws are not average in their outlook on life. They know I’ve been dating,” he said carefully, studying her reaction to his statement.

  Eve pulled the cover tighter. “But Angeline’s death . . . it hasn’t been very long. This is their first Christmas without her.”

  “Actually, she was in the hospital last Christmas. Everyone came to visit there. She slipped into a coma two days after that. Angeline’s sister is coming for their holiday this weekend. So Greg and Joyce are not doing anything today except fighting the cold,” Sam recited.

  Eve worked one hand free of her wrap and used it to rub his arm. “I guess I don’t mind coming along if you really want me to. Let’s just promise not to tease each other in front of them. It seems cruel for me to be flirting with their son-in-law, even if he is a widower.”

  Sam couldn’t help leaning down and kissing her again. When he lifted his head, it was to see her eyes still closed. “Life is for the living, not the dead, Eve. I want your company.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Give me twenty minutes then. If the water is still running in the island’s prep sink, will you make us a couple coffees to go? I have some muffins and fruit we could eat on the way.”

  Sam nodded and dropped his hands. “Sure. I’ll check. If not, I’ll run to my house and make some.”

  He let her step away, but called to her as she left. “Eve? Thanks for being a good sport.”

  Eve nodded and fled before she gave in to her need to go back and wrap her arms around him.

  ***

  “I’m glad you’re staying for dinner. It makes me feel less guilty for pulling Sam away from his Christmas plans,” Joyce said.

  Eve folded the napkin and carefully placed silverware on it. “Would that be the grand plans we had for making sure my sink didn’t leak all over my kitchen again today? It’s alright—truly. There’s no need to feel guilty at all.”

  Joyce nodded. “I know Greg misses Sam coming by, but I didn’t mean for lighting the pilot to lead to cleaning the furnace filter and sealing the garage door. And on Christmas day too. That’s just not fair.”

  Eve laughed. “Sam is getting food out of rescuing you. I couldn’t even feed him last night. The best I could offer was a shot of good bourbon to warm him up and some crackers and cheese. At least this time, Sam rescued a woman with a full holiday meal just waiting to be eaten.”

  She smiled when Joyce laughed at her teasing, but really it was true. For Christmas dinner, she had been planning to warm up a can of soup or the pasta leftovers still in her refrigerator.

  “You’re still being an awfully good sport,” Joyce said, shaking her head. “I don’t know if I’d be so understanding in your shoes.”

  Eve shrugged. “What shoes? My kids are out of town. I was happy to tag along and have something to do. It’s better than staying home and watching the parade on TV.”

  “Well, I’m really glad you came, Eve. It’s nice to meet you at last. I listen to your show all the time,” Joyce said.

  “My show? You listen to my show?” Eve exclaimed. She never said anything to new acquaintances about her radio show until she was certain they weren’t going to judge her.

  “Sam talks about you all the time. I hope it’s okay that he told us. Your show is wonderful. Greg and I listen to it as we’re going to bed. You have a very soothing way about you.”

  Eve felt her eyebrows raise in mild surprise. She still got a little shocked each time she found a new fan of her show. “Oh . . . well . . . thank you. I didn’t realize Sam had said anything about me or my work.”

  Eve saw the older woman smile at her comment and drop her gaze.

  “Can I ask you a personal question, Eve? It’s none of my business, but you seem so nice, and I just have to ask,” Joyce said softly.

  Eve put silverware by the last plate and took her time answering. She was stumbling around in her head for a polite way to say “yes, I do mind talking about myself and my work” when Joyce spoke again.

  “Are you and Sam dating?”

  Biting her lip, Eve decided to err on the side of discretion, especially since she had no freaking idea what Sam had actually told his in-laws. Had he mentioned their mistletoe madness? Hopefully not.

  “Sam and I are long-time friends. Well . . . and future in-laws now that our children are engaged. We’ve known each other since he and Angeline bought the house down the street from us.”

  Eve ducked her head a little as she tried to catch Joyce’s eyes. The woman wouldn’t look at her.

  “Why do you ask, Joyce?”

  “No reason really,” Joyce said, shrugging. “Sam told us he was dating and I just thought—well, I don’t know what I thought. He’s certainly under no obligation to bring his dates to us for approval. I guess I can only hope he’s dating women as nice as you.”

  “Does his dating bother you?” Eve asked.

  “Oh heavens no,” Joyce said quickly. “Sam is a wonderful man, and was a wonderful husband to Angeline. She gave him strict orders not to grieve long for her and to move on as soon as he could. Greg and I both want him to find someone. We just hope the woman doesn’t take him completely away from us. It would be like losing another child.”

  Eve nodded. She got that. She really got that. Nathan had been showing up to court Megan for years. He was like Rick to her. She could only see her affection for Sam’s s
on deepening over time.

  “You know, I’ve known Sam for over a decade. He’s never going to let anyone take him completely away from the people he cares about. Plus Nathan and Megan would never let him be with someone like that. And since I’m his friend, I would never let it happen either. So you can set that worry completely aside. If Sam gets caught up with some selfish dizzy-lizzy, there are lots of people to set him straight.”

  Joyce laughed. “Dizzy-lizzy. That’s a good one. Do you still see your in-laws?”

  Eve shook her head. “No, but it’s different in my case. They live in Arizona and not just across town. I call them a few times a year. Now and again I ship a grandchild out to visit for a few days. They’re good people, but I’m not as close to them as Sam is to you and Greg.”

  “Sam has a large capacity to love,” Joyce said. “Any woman would be lucky to have him. And he loves to laugh. And tease . . . he’s a terrible tease.”

  Eve laughed at how well that described him. “I definitely agree with you on all of that.”

  “You know, your laugh sounds exactly the way it does on the radio,” Joyce said.

  The comment made Eve laugh again. “Thank you—I guess. Is that a good thing?”

  “Oh yes. You’re so much fun. Do you date at all? Sam said it’s been three years since your husband died and that you don’t go out with anyone. Now that I’ve met you, it’s seems more of a shame than when he told us about it.”

  “Wow—Sam’s a regular little gossiping bee, isn’t he? Did he tell you the color of my underwear?”

  Joyce laughed and winked. “Probably only because he hasn’t seen them. The man does love to brag, even if it’s mostly teasing.”

  Eve thought about Sam stripping the sweatpants off her last night. She was pretty sure he’d seen her panties. But she’d absolutely kill him if he told Joyce or Greg about what happened.

  A bell dinged in the kitchen, saving her from further awkward conversation, and maybe saying something revealing about her evolving relationship with Sam.

  “Oh good. The turkey’s done,” Joyce said.