by Skye Warren
I broke away from the kiss for a moment, and I reached back and undid the clasps on my bra, letting it fall to the floor. Then I shimmied out of my panties as well. Dane stared at me, his eyes dark with desire.
“God, you’re beautiful.”
He shed his own clothes as he spoke, and I gaped at his chiseled body. His chest and shoulders were broad, and the size of his erection made my mouth go dry.
Before I could say a word, he swept me into his arms and strode down the hall and into the bedroom. He lay me down on his bed, and I barely had a chance to breathe before he was on top of me, settling his weight over me as his fingertips grazed my belly, moving lower…lower still. I gasped at the delicate touches, and he reached the tender spot between my thighs, running a finger between my wet slit.
At the same time, his mouth came down on mine again, hard and passionate, his probing tongue making my body weak with need. I twined my hands around the back of his head, wanting more. Needing more.
Dane pulled his lips away from mine and moved them south, sucking the bud of my right nipple between them. I arched upward and moaned, loving how he flicked his tongue over me. His fingers kept playing between my thighs, moving over my clit in soft circles, teasing it until it was a stiff nub. I whimpered as I felt the first stirrings of an orgasm, and Dane slid a finger inside me, groaning as he felt how wet I was for him.
“Christ, you’re tight,” he murmured, moving his mouth back up my body. He slashed his tongue over the side of my neck, tasting me, and I grasped his head and brought his mouth back to mine, kissing him wildly and sucking on his tongue. His fingers were driving me out of my mind with desire, and I had to have him soon.
He stopped kissing me, and I cried out in protest until I realized why. He was moving down again, continuing his trek south of the border, and he kneeled between my legs before glancing up at me and licking his lips. My thighs trembled with anticipation, and I gasped as he leaned down, tongue connecting with my swollen clit.
“Oh, god…”
Pleasure flickered through my core, sending waves tingling outwards. Dane’s tongue laved me and tasted me, and before long he had me squirming and unashamedly begging for more. His swirling tongue was teasing, relentless, and I moved ever-closer to the edge.
As he increased the pressure on my clit, my climax rushed through me like a tidal wave of bliss, rendering me senseless, and he came back up and took my lips in another kiss. I moaned into his mouth, wrapping my hand around his neck and holding on as I quaked from the orgasm. Dane’s hands snaked up and down my bare skin, pulling me against him, and my heart beat a crazy rhythm as I waited for him to give me more.
This was just what I needed right now. Over the last year I’d been so glum, so hung up on why I’d lost my ex, and I hadn’t taken any time to let myself do what I wanted for fear of losing again. Well, no more. I was going to get what I wanted for Christmas this year… and Dane was exactly what I wanted.
I lifted my hips, readying myself to take him, and when I felt the head of his hard cock bumping up against my entrance, I moaned loudly. “Please….now!”
With one hard thrust, Dane was inside me, and I gasped as he filled me, inch by massive inch. My hips bucked wildly, grinding against his. I closed my eyes and let moan after moan spill from my lips as his groin bumped up against my clit every time he withdrew and thrust back in.
I could hear him groaning above me, but my own cries of bliss drowned most of the sound out as I lost myself in the sensations. I was already close again. So close. It was an incredible feeling having Dane’s cock moving inside me, his hard body sliding over mine, his broad chest rubbing against my breasts.
I reached my hands around him and gripped his ass, and his body tensed as he grunted, pleasure sweeping through both of us. Just as I felt my second orgasm starting to wash over me, Dane pulled out and rolled onto his back, lusty eyes taking in every inch of my curves.
“Ride me,” he commanded. “I want to see you.”
I straddled him, and with a gasp, I lowered myself onto his hardness, my eyes closing as warmth streamed through me. Dane’s big hands reached for my waist, holding me and helping me as I moved up and down, bouncing on his amazing cock. He met my moves with his own thrusts from below, and one of his hands soon moved down from my waist, cupping my mound and giving my clit the extra stimulation I needed to grind to a shuddering second climax.
My climactic cries filled the room, and Dane groaned as my muscles contracted and tightened around him, milking his cock even more. I was so lost in my pleasure that I could barely breathe, and he rolled me onto my back again, sliding in and out of me even harder and faster. Deeper. Deeper still. I gasped and whimpered as he slammed into me, and his breaths turned harsher as he drew closer to his own orgasm.
With a grunt, he finally came, and he held onto me like a prized gift as we lay there afterwards, totally and utterly spent.
“Christ, you’re amazing,” he said, wiping the beaded sweat from his brow.
“Right back at you,” I replied with a satisfied smile.
For the first time since I arrived in his bedroom, I noticed the little decorated Christmas tree set up in a pot on a tall chest of drawers, and I nudged him and pointed at it. “You know, Christmas only comes once a year…but thank god I get to do it more than that!”
He laughed and pulled me into a tight hug. “Well, let’s see if we can make that happen again right now…”
Chapter 6
Lara
I woke up alone in Dane’s bed, but I knew he was close by.
I could smell coffee brewing in the kitchen, and I could also smell something else wafting through the air—a delicious mixture of herbs and garlic mixed with something sweet.
I sat up and stretched, and Dane entered the bedroom a moment later, holding a tray. On the tray sat a cup of coffee and a plate of toast with strawberry jelly, and he grinned as he handed it to me. “Morning, sleepyhead.”
“Morning. Thanks for breakfast. What’s that amazing smell coming from the kitchen?” I asked.
He arched an eyebrow. “Did you forget what day it is?”
My eyes widened. “Oh! Of course!” I replied. In my haze of tiredness and distraction over last night’s incredible events, I’d completely forgotten that it was now officially Christmas Day.
“Merry Christmas, Lara,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss me. “Seeing as neither of us is going to be spending the day alone now—at least I hope not—I ran down to the store early this morning. Believe it or not, some places are still open. I bought what I could to make a big Christmas lunch and dinner, and I got started on the roast while you slept in.”
“Wow,” I breathed, closing my eyes and taking in the scrumptious scents again. “Thank you. And of course I’d love to stay.”
“By the way, your phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Someone called Tiana. I hope you don’t mind, but I answered it because she seemed concerned, judging by the amount of calls.”
I nodded. “That’s okay. What did she say?”
“She just wanted to know how you were and what you ended up doing last night. She sounded pretty pleased with herself when I answered instead of you,” he said with a wink. “Anyway, she said she and some guy named Chris are spending the day together but don’t have plans for dinner. So why don’t you invite them to eat with us later? I bought way too much food, and I think there’s enough brandy and fruit mince pies to last ten years.”
I smiled. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Unless you think it’s too soon. I mean, I know we only just met last night. But it’s Christmas.”
I nodded again, my heart soaring. “The more the merrier, I say. I’ll call her back,” I replied.
“Not yet. I want to give you something first,” Dane said with a grin, leaning down to plant a big kiss on my lips.
As his mouth melded to mine, it felt like the very first time all over again. My head was spinning, my body was trembling, and butterf
lies took flight in my stomach until the moment he broke away and stared down at me, eyes filled with desire.
“You know, when I was first traded here from L.A., I thought my whole world was over,” he said. “I tried to keep a positive attitude about it, but I still felt bad about getting traded after just one season. But then I met you last night, and honestly, now I think being traded to another team was the best damn Christmas gift I could’ve gotten.”
“I think I feel the same way,” I replied, taking his hand.
Last year, the holiday season had brought me some of the worst days of my life. My ex-boyfriend had ruined it for me with his nasty antics, but this year I’d taken charge and pushed all the negative old memories aside to find something new and exciting. Men like my ex simply didn’t matter, not when there were so many good men in the world.
Men like Dane.
It seemed that he and I had both received exactly what we wanted this year—a chance at love.
I really did believe in the magic of Christmas now.
THE END
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Part XI
A Nass Family Christmas by Ashleigh Zavarelli
Chapter 1
My phone flashes with another incoming text, and I groan. It would appear that my maid of honor duties are starting early.
Kristina is definitely not the type to go bridezilla on me, but her request tonight was unexpected. Especially since she knows how much I already have to juggle my schedule to make everything work.
But when the bride-to-be demands that you come over right away, you do it.
So when I get off work at the clinic, I shoot off a text to my neighbor Mrs. Williams and head straight over to Kristina's house.
I barely have time to get out of the car when she dashes out the front door with a huge smile on her face. Her eyes are red and puffy, an obvious sign she's been crying, but it doesn't look like she's upset now.
"I have huge news," she blurts.
I attempt a smile, but something inside of me is wary as my mind quickly catalogs the various possibilities for what this news could be.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Come inside." She grabs my hand and drags me along behind her. "See for yourself."
I follow Kristina into the kitchen of the small craftsman style house that she grew up in. Already, the home is filled with Christmas decorations and the scent of cinnamon. It’s the same house where I spent much of my childhood and the only place that’s ever felt like home.
Kristina's family lives on the outskirts of Austin, far away from the nauseating wealth that earmarked my childhood. Her mother is already in the kitchen whipping up some sort of celebratory feast. For what, I don't know yet. But she too is wearing an uncontrollable grin on her face.
Again, my stomach lurches.
Because Kristina's father is sitting at the kitchen island already, watching the chaos from his usual spot. But the creaking of the old stairs in the living room tell me that someone else is in the house.
And I have the sudden urge to flee.
To run as fast and far as I can.
To conjure up some lame excuse as to why I can't do this. Something that could justify why I can't participate in today’s festivities.
It's ridiculous.
I always knew this was a possibility.
In fact, I expected it, on some level.
But I guess I had hoped that it wasn't really going to happen. That he would stay gone. Like he has for the last five years.
These are the thoughts tumbling through the barren landscape of my mind where there should be excuses instead. Excuses I should have thought of months ago. But now there are none.
My feet are rooted to the floor and my mouth is dry. I'm clutching the counter with white knuckles when the footsteps draw nearer from the other room. Like gunshots echoing through the cavernous rooms of the old house.
"Kristina... I...."
I don't manage to get the words out before he turns the corner.
And my whole world just stops.
Colton Nass.
It's been five years since I've seen him. It feels like ten.
My best friend's older brother, we've known each other since I was just a little girl. And he's always treated me as exactly that. A little sister.
But now he's back for the holidays. Kristina is getting married this Christmas, and Colt has obviously taken it upon himself to meet the man who stole his little sister's heart. After he knocked her up and proposed a shotgun wedding of course.
I can just imagine how well that must have gone over with Colt when he found out. But he really doesn't have room to say anything. He of all people.
I try to melt into the counter or the floor. Hoping that he won't notice me standing there in the kitchen. With so many memories and emotions swirling between us.
My appearance may have changed, but my feelings sure haven't. I still get those funny heartbeats when I steal looks in his direction.
He hasn't noticed me yet, and I'm not surprised. I'm different now. Or at least, I'd like to think so. I lost the baby face and my body has changed too. I'm all grown up, with the curves to show it. My hips are wider, and I have no problems filling out a bra these days.
And I'm not the same quiet, shy, and awkward girl that he used to know. I'm definitely not the same girl that used to follow him around as a kid, hoping to earn one of those infamous dimpled smiles of his.
But he doesn't look like the same guy either. He's older. Harder. With broader shoulders and more muscle packed onto his frame. The military has been good for his body. But there's something so different about him, it feels like a stranger standing across from me.
And I shouldn't even care if he notices me. But there's a part of me that wants him to. That wants it badly.
I want him to look at me and see that he didn't ruin me. That I'm here, and that I'm completely unaffected by his presence. It's the moment I've thought about so often over the last few years.
But those moments rarely ever pan out the way we want them too. The way we set them up so elaborately in our minds.
And just when I think it's time to stop holding my breath, his eyes find mine from across the room.
And everything else ceases to exist.
So many different emotions flicker through his steely gray irises.
Surprise. Nostalgia. Relief.
And something else.
Something that looks an awful lot like regret.
Chapter 2
My fingers are numb from gripping the class schedule as I walk down the halls. Kristina is beside me, but I've never felt so lost.
I'm looking for my anchor.
For Colt.
He's a year ahead of us, so he's already well-established in high school. He knows how everything works. I’d always just sort of assumed that things would be the same between us when we got to high school. But if I’m being honest with myself, something has changed between us over the last year.
I want to trust that it has nothing to do with my family and who I am, but I don’t know if I can believe that. There’s a reason why I don’t invite people over to my house. They take one look around at the furniture and the stiffness of my parents, and they assume I’m that way too.
I saw it in Colt’s eyes that day. The day he and Kristina finally came over for dinner, per my mother’s request. She wanted to see who her daughter was spending time with.
And I’ll never forget the coldness on my father’s face when he looked at Colt across the table. Like he was scum. The worst kind of trash that I could have brought home.
That couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Colton was the best person I knew.
People judged him too, I guess. For living where he did. For riding a motorcycle and wearing baggy jeans and dark hoodies. I’d seen it before when we walked into stores together. It never seemed to bother him what other people thought. But something
changed that day after my father walked him outside. I asked Colt later if my father had said something to him, but he told me he didn’t.
Whatever the case, things aren’t the same anymore.
Colton is spending less time with Kristina and I and more time with his friends. I swear he grew over a foot that last summer. He doesn't even look like the same boy who built forts with us in the backyard just a year ago.
He doesn't act like it either.
But I know Colt.
I know that he will look out for us. The way he's always done. That's why we need to find him.
Kristina is beside me, but she doesn't seem as nervous as I am. She's always been more outgoing. I’ll never forget that first day, being the new girl at school. I didn’t think I’d ever make any friends. Even though my father was the lieutenant governor, I insisted I wanted to go to public school. I just wanted to be normal. Kristina was the first person who took notice of me. She dragged Colton right over and told me they were going to show me the ropes.
From that day on, I can't remember ever being separated from them.
The kids at school weren't very nice to me. They thought I was a stuck-up snob because of who my father was. But Colt always stood up for me. He even punched Bobby Daniels in the face once for saying something about me.
He’s always been my rock. My protector.
I can't even remember how many countless hours we've spent out on the back stoop, staring up at the stars and talking about life.
Colt told me this summer that he didn't know who he wanted to be anymore.
I didn't understand what he meant. Because he was the same old Colton that I've always known.
A little shy, a lot funny, and the most steadfast person I've ever met. He always told me he wanted to do something good. Like become a police officer or something.
