“Being thorough in giving you pleasure, Amber.” His voice still retained sleepy grit.
Her words were laced with play. “What happened to mistress?”
Moving his hand from her breast to her sex, he guided it between her legs. “Mercy, you’re even wet in your sleep.” He fondled her. “You said you only wanted control for the night.”
From the single window in the room over the bed, she could see pre-dawn light.
A subtle hint in his voice made her aware the reins had shifted. Giving them over didn’t make her apprehensive. Through the night, she had grown to trust Chris. She would give him this moment.
Rotating her hips into his sensual ministration, she gave her silent agreement.
Chris lifted her top leg, positioning it over his hair-roughened thighs, opening her up to him, giving himself unlimited access to her body. During the night, he’d learned how to touch her and build her arousal. His other hand wasn’t idle as it moved to her ass, his finger cold and slick sliding inside. The difference in temperature didn’t cause her pause, she knew that feel. She had become familiar with the icy gel on her skin over the years.
Stimulating her in that forbidden way, Chris took her to the edge. She arched her back into him as his hands increased the pressure. Spreading her thighs wide she gave into him, gave into herself.
As she climaxed, she heard Chris whisper beside her ear, “Stay relaxed just like that for me, Amber.”
Her first reaction was to pull away, but Chris' hand, still fingering her gingerly between her legs and around her clit, held her firmly in place as his cock slid slowly into her ass—a thick, hard invasion. Clutching his forearm that lay along her stomach, she attempted to regain her balance. She tried to tense up and refuse the hot entry, but his persistent caress to her clit coaxed her to submit, until his hard length was inside.
“Feel that?” he asked, flexing his cock deep inside of her, pressing a little deeper.
“Chris…” she called out, feeling the loss as he pulled out to the broad crown.
When he pushed back into her, she couldn’t help pressing back toward him.
Nipping her ear, he ground his hips into her and gripped her breast. “You’re so responsive, Amber.” He squeezed her breast. “You’ve liked every way we’ve fucked.” He moved in and out of her ass, one hand gripping her hip. “Even this way…your pussy is so wet your scent will be soaked into me for weeks.”
She couldn’t deny his words. Her body throbbed, ached and moistened into a blend of illicit liquid and sinuous delights. She was going mad, losing her mind. Everything Chris had taught her, she’d taken avidly. Wanting all he had to give her, wanting him.
No. Morning was coming and she had to let him go.
Reaching down she grabbed his hand between her legs, rubbing her pussy against him and her hand combined. “Then what are you waiting for…fuck me, Chris.”
As if her words emancipated him from his restraints, he withdrew. Pushing her over to her stomach, he stretched out on top of her and performed by her request. He fucked her anal opening. While he licked, laved and bit her shoulder, back, and the nape of her neck, he slammed into her. Diligently he buried himself deep inside of her ass.
Denying herself the role as bystander to their nefarious act, she stroked herself, masturbating to his rhythm until she climaxed, bucking against him and feeling primitive, wild and free. Her body’s spasms took him with her, clutching the sheets in his tight fist as he came in a chest-rumbling groan.
Exhausted and spent, they both collapsed onto the bed. Amber once again succumbed to the elixir of sleep, as Chris’ hand tenderly caressed the length of her spine.
~YH~
Amber awoke the second time alone. It was morning and Chris was gone. Her body ached from the hours of pleasure. Rolling over, she looked at the digital clock on the nightstand, noting the time and the small tube of lubricant. There was nothing on her calendar for the next few days.
She pulled the spare pillow on the bed to her chest. Sticking her face down into it. Chris’ pillow. She inhaled his scent. Strong and male. It was the only evidence of his presence in her life.
Merry Christmas. The words went through her mind. She wished she’d have said it to him. Maybe the prospect of the day wouldn’t feel so lonely.
Shaking off the melancholy, she got up. She showered and dressed and glanced out of the window to make sure the rain hadn’t returned. She would use the next few days to acclimate herself to her new town. Locate the school and maybe find a convenient store that was open for her to grab some much needed coffee and a few items for her temporary home.
Picking up her phone, she dialed her parents' number.
“Jingle-bells and eggnog! Merry Christmas!” Her father’s deep voice came through the line and made her smile. Her father reminded her of a big brown teddy bear. He was funny in a silly sort of way, but she loved him.
“Hi, Dad.” Amber sat on the bed in the dismal room. Maybe while she was out, she would pick up a tiny decorated tree for the top of the dresser. “Merry Christmas.”
“Amber-honey! Good to hear from you.” He yelled to her mother that she was on the line. “How’s the country town working out for you?”
“I just got here last night. But, so far so good.”
“Amber-honey… is that you?” Her mother must have picked up another line in the house.
“Yes, Mom. Hi—”
“Oh, goodness. You’re going to miss your family.” Her mother rushed on. “I wish you would have come home for Christmas.”
“Shelly, the girl is a grown woman,” her father defended.
“I know that, Harold. I’m just saying she’s single now and she should be home with her family for the holidays.”
“Mom…Dad…” Amber attempted to interject before her parents had a debate on the phone about her life. “Did grandma make it in?”
“Yes. I picked her up last night,” her dad answered.
“I already have the collard greens going and my oyster stuffing. You know how you love my stuffing, Amber.”
“I do, Mom. Maybe you can freeze-dry it and send me some.” Her mother was a fantastic cook. That was the reason all her aunts and uncles came to their house every holiday. Tears burned her eyes as she thought about how much she would miss her family.
“Are you going to be alone? What are you going to eat?” her mother asked.
She was wondering the same thing. “I don’t really know anyone yet. I’ll make do. It will be okay.”
“I’m really proud of you, honey. For getting back to your dreams. You’re going to make a fine teacher.” Her father’s voice sounded husky as if he was holding back emotions or wanted to say more. Harold and Doug had never gotten along from the first moment her father met her ex. He told her not to marry him. But she fooled herself in believing that she loved him and he loved her and eloped with Doug.
“Thanks, Dad. I hope so. Well, I love you both, but I need to get out and do some running around before everything closes up.”
They all passed around words of love before they hung up and she promised to call them after her first day of teaching.
Leaving the bungalow, she got into her car and retrieved the printed directions to the school from the center console. Starting the car, she backed out. She’d locate the school first so that once it was back in session she wouldn't get lost heading there on her first day. If she was lucky, on the way she’d pass a store or diner to put something in her stomach.
~YH~
“Thanks, Bob. I appreciate the assistance,” Chris told his friend as they pulled up beside his car outside of town. “Sorry I disturbed your holiday morning.”
“No problem. What are friends for?” Robert, fondly called Bob by everyone in town, was Chris’ best friend.
Leaning forward, Chris picked up the box from the floor between his feet and got out of the car. Bob had run him by his house first so that he could pick up the part from his garage where he’d pl
anned to use the next few days to replace the distributor cap before it went out. The cap won. “You don’t have to stay,” he said as Bob got out of the car, too.
“It’s no problem. Another hand will just get you moving this clunker faster.” Bob moved to the rear of his car where Chris’ car sat behind it.
Chris knew his car was in pretty bad shape. Today it was the distributor cap, tomorrow it would be something else. But it was hard for him to get rid of the ride. It had been his first car. He had so many memories in it, especially with Diane. From their first date in college to the last time he had taken her to the hospital and she didn’t come home.
Opening the driver side, Chris reached in and popped the hood.
“We’re concerned about you, Chris.” Bob fiddled with the hood, pressed the release and raised it, hooking the iron rod to keep it up while they worked.
By “we,” Chris knew Bob meant him and his parents.
“Don’t,” Chris called across the car as he went into his trunk and pulled out his small tool case. The last thing he needed was people worrying about him. Concerned whether or not he was going to start living again since Diane’s death. How shocked would they be if they knew he’d taken a chance and lived in the moment last night.
Images of a beautiful brown-skinned angel who provided him with a night of peace and ecstasy. Of course, Amber had believed she was using him to save herself, but that had not been the case. She didn’t know, but the woman had helped him start to breathe again. This morning it had been the hardest thing to pull himself out of the bed and walk away from her. However, that had been the agreement. One night. One reckless night of passion. Chris couldn’t recall the last time he’d had sex for sex's sake. No strings. Just two adults fulfilling each other needs.
Maybe when he and Diane first began dating, he surmised. Shaking his head, he walked to the front of the car.
Amber. His gut sighed. Who was she? His mind wandered.
What was a beautiful woman like her doing in Yorkshire County? Bending over the engine, he said, “I’m fine. Trust me, I’d tell you if I wasn’t.”
“How can I not be concerned for my best friend? I know you didn’t make plans for Christmas.” Bob stood with his arms folded over his chest.
“Loretta’s Diner is always good for an early holiday meal. Maybe I’ll swing by there.”
“You’ll do no such thing.” Bob slapped his hands down on the top of the car’s grill, rocking it. “My mom would have a fit if she knew you weren’t with family. Besides, Carol is making her French apple cobbler and homemade whipped cream.”
Just the thought of Bob’s girlfriend's pie and cream made Chris’ mouth water. Bob had really lucked up with the woman. Chris thought about the years he and Diane were married. Before she got sick, her cooking had always left a lot to be desired. A bad cook who only used all natural products was murder on a man’s stomach and appetite.
Using his wrench, he removed the old cap and handed it to Bob. “Fine. I’d hate to disappoint your mother.” Chris wasn’t lying. Bob’s parents were like a surrogate mother and father to him since he’d lost his own in high school.
“Good. I know you're just coming for the food, but I’m okay with that.” Bob patted him on the back. “You’ll be around family and that’s what's important.”
Rising, Chris wiped his hands on an old rag that had been inside with his tools. Standing there, he wondered what Amber was going to do on Christmas night. Was she still in town or had she tossed the cases back in her car and headed somewhere else, trying to start her new life. Her ex-husband must have been blind and a real asshole to cheat on her. She was a knockout, funny and compassionate.
“You planning to stand there all day cleaning your hands or you going to get that new cap put in?” Bob’s gruff voice broke Chris out of his thoughts.
Glancing at his friend, he teased, “I thought you stayed to help.”
“I’m holding the dirty-ass cap, aren’t I?” Bob shook the cap at him and smiled.
Laughing, Chris picked up the new one and began to install it. “Yea, you’re doing a fine job as an assistant.”
“Thank you. Besides, I’m on my way to Carol’s apartment to exchange presents before we go to my parents.”
“What did you get her?” Turning his head, Chris eyed his friend.
Bob rocked back and forth on his heels. “Jewelry. So, I plan to get lucky when she opens it, and I don’t want to have to shower first because I have grease all over me.”
Chris focused on what he was doing, not intending to stand out in the cold longer than he had too. “It’s a shame to see a man so whipped.”
“Kiss my ass, Chris. Keep it up and I’ll send Loretta’s eldest daughter to your house and tell her you’ve been too shy to ask her out.”
“You must be trying to run me back out of town,” Chris grumbled. Every man in town knew Susan Jenkins was looking for husband number three. It wasn’t something any of them looked forward too since most men in Yorkshire had already grazed in that pasture. Only the two that had gotten her pregnant had ended up going down the aisle with her.
Bob patted him on the back. “Not at all, my friend. At least not until you start smiling more freely.”
Chris knew his friend’s words were true. After long months of nursing Diane and watching her life waste away, it was hard for him to find joy or a reason to smile often.
Amber’s face flashed in his mind. Her deep, soulful brown eyes and her sexy smile that turned her full lips up at the corners; just the memory made his mouth twitch at the ends.
He should’ve asked for her number.
~YH~
“Once again, teachers.” Principal Darden’s voice reverberated around the auditorium. “With the testing period fast approaching, we all need to take a serious look at those students who may be struggling and have a difficult time passing sections of the standardized test. Be willing to work with them in class or before or after school. By the end of the week, you all will have slips in your boxes for after school students being tutored to take the activity bus,” he droned on.
Amber heard the murmuring and complaining by the other teachers around her. She’d been at the school for three weeks now. Starting mid-school year, she had only met a few of the teachers, but unlike some of them, she didn’t mind staying late. Now teaching was her life. She was still living in her bungalow at Yorkshire Inn. She had been out looking at a few houses in the area, but nothing appealed to her yet. Mr. Wilks let her know there was no rush. She could stay as long as she wanted.
Principal Darden’s final words interrupted her thoughts. “I’ll see you all at the cookout,” he closed by saying.
The faculty and staff began to disperse, most headed out toward the chilly football field for the teacher appreciation lunch. Some stragglers haunted the halls taking care of things in their classrooms. She was in the latter group. Just beginning to feel like she was getting the hang of teaching, she used every opportunity to stay ahead of the game. She was the ninth grade history teacher and she loved her job—her independence to do as she pleased.
“Amber, are you going to the cookout?” Carol Rogers, the high school’s drama teacher, asked, standing at Amber’s classroom door.
Carol had befriended her during her first day of school, giving her the inside track on how to get things done and where everything was located. Last Saturday night, she went to the movies with Carol. The drama teacher was getting married over the summer to the head football coach. The two had lived in the town all their lives.
Setting down her notes from the principal’s briefing, Amber turned and faced her. “I might go out later, but now I need to get some things done with the downtime.”
“Are you sure? I heard a tale that some of the male teachers were going to play basketball. Which means Manning, the Health and P.E. teacher, will be wearing shorts and a tank top, yum,” Carol said in her normal exuberance.
“Yum?” Amber smiled. “What does Bob say a
bout your infatuation with another man?”
Carol slapped her hands against her ample hips. “Evidently, you have yet to meet Mr. Manning.”
Grabbing her booklist from inside of her desk, Amber stepped toward her friend standing at her door. “Sorry, can’t say that I have.”
“Hell, Manning’s so good looking I think I caught Bob drooling at him a few times and they're good friends.” Carol gave her a toothy grin.
Amber had no choice but to laugh at the woman’s antics.
“He graduated from here with Bob a year before me. He was captain of the basketball team. Went away to college and played for a few years. Then graduated and got a job like the rest of us. He just got back into town last year.” Carol’s eyes sparkled with life. “Hey, he’s available and you’re available. Bob and I should have you two over for dinner one night.” Nodding her head down the hall toward the other classrooms, she continued, “You’d be better than any of these other harpies trying to get their hooks into him.”
“No.” Waving her hands in front of the other woman’s face, Amber put a halt to Carol’s thoughts. “Last thing I need right now is someone fixing me up with a man. Besides, every time I turn a corner Coach Patterson is there, smiling at me and asking me out.” She shivered. It was like being the new freshman girl in high school and having all the upperclassmen chasing her down.
“Oh, girl, you don’t want him.” Carol’s face twisted as if she’d just eaten something spoiled. “He’s a horn-dog. Patterson has been up under a few too many skirts if you know what I mean.”
Amber laughed. Carol just reaffirmed what she’d already surmised. Passing by her friend, she stepped into the hall. “You want to fix me up with something, how about a house.”
“I already tried that, remember? You didn’t like either one of them,” Carol accused.
A Naughty Little Christmas (Cowboys, Cops, and Kilts: 8 Seasonally Seductive Romances from Bestselling Authors) Page 47
