The Christmas He Loved Her

by Juliana Stone

  Raine couldn’t take her eyes off him, and when his head dipped low and his mouth slid over hers again, a teasing pass that spread fire everywhere, her legs gave out. His large palms cupped her butt, and he lifted her as if she weighed nothing. Raine wrapped her legs around his waist and sank her hands into his hair.

  Jake’s mouth hovered over hers for a second, and then he said something unintelligible and took what she offered. His kiss was an aggressive exploration, and she accepted it wholeheartedly, her hands kneading his scalp, her body pressed against him intimately. He tasted her, his mouth and tongue stroking and nipping and sucking, each motion tugging a response, and her hips began to move of their own accord.

  His hands cupped her as she slowly gyrated against him, gasping into him when her jeans rubbed against the place where she ached to be touched the most.

  Raine had no idea how long they strained against each other, her legs wrapped around him tightly, her breasts crushed to his chest as he continued to assault her mouth with the most intense, rough kisses she’d ever had.

  Nothing about Jake was soft or gentle. He was an alpha, and at the moment, exactly what she needed.

  Except she needed more.

  With a strangled noise, Raine jerked in his grasp as his mouth slid from hers and traveled a wicked path down her neck, down to the base, where her pulse pounded crazily. He suckled her skin, his tongue leaving her weak as he slowly made his way across her collarbone to the sensitive area just below her ear.

  And when his tongue stroked in a small circle there, she couldn’t help the gasp of raw need that escaped her lips.

  “I want more,” she managed to say, squirming in his arms until he was forced to let her go.

  “Shit, what about birth control? I don’t have anything on me,” he said roughly, sounding as if he was in pain.

  His words stopped her cold and she swallowed hard. God, she was out of practice. Of course. Of course he’d be worried about something like that.

  “I’m on the pill, Jake, for other reasons, so you don’t have to worry, and I’ve…” She blew out hot air. “I haven’t been with anyone since…” The lump in her throat was so thick she couldn’t speak, and she glanced away.

  “Hey,” Jake said softly as he kissed the corner of her mouth. “I’m clean, so there’s no worries there, but you have to be sure about this, Raine.” He blew out a long jagged breath. “Are you sure?”

  Raine’s answer was to slide down his body, her hands seeking his skin, desperate to touch him. Nimble fingers tugged on the edge of his shirt, yet she couldn’t seem to get it past his abs. With a groan Jake pushed her back, ripping it off and tossing it to the ground.

  Holy hell.

  Her eyes slid over ripped abs, defined pecs, and—Lord have mercy—the indent above his jeans, the one that made any woman weak with want. Jake had a few tattoos: one that was identical to Jesse’s, a Gemini—the sign of the twins, and another down his right side. It was new; she’d never seen it before, and it added an air of danger to his already-badass physique.

  “You’re beautiful,” she said. Her hands greedily covered every bit of flesh she could reach, and when she felt him tremble beneath her fingertips, she smiled and glanced up at him.

  Jake’s mouth was open slightly, his even, white teeth barely visible. Several inches taller than her, he stared down at her with hooded eyes and an almost painful expression on his face.

  She licked her lips and he groaned, and when she opened her mouth and then closed it over a turgid nipple, he swore.

  “Jesus.”

  His hands, however, held her in place so she couldn’t leave even if she’d wanted to. She twirled her tongue over him, loving the taste of his skin, loving the feel of a large, strong man in her grasp.

  He bent lower and she surged upward, meeting his mouth and deepening their kiss as her hands fell to the waistband of his jeans.

  And when her fingers tugged on the snap, when she yanked on the zipper and slid her hand just inside and felt his flat skin there, he froze for a moment and then pushed her away, a ragged breath exhaled as he ran his hands through his messy hair.

  Jake’s chest heaved and a chill ran over her as she stared up into his pained eyes. Eyes that were also dark with desire—desire for her—desire that she wanted to wrap herself in.

  Slowly her eyes ran down his wide chest, past the rock-hard abs and past the low-slung, and now-open, jeans. Hello, the man was commando.

  She licked her lips at the sight of the bulge that was barely hidden, and her fingers crept to her swollen mouth as she tried to hide the whimper of need in her throat.

  The heat from the fire enveloped her already-hot skin and she held Jake’s gaze, watching as his eyes widened when she reached for the edge of her shirt and yanked it up past her rib cage and then over her head. With a toss, she sent it flying to the ground beside his.

  “Raine, I don’t…I don’t know if…” His words ended on a strangled gasp as she cupped her breasts, slowly rubbing her aching nipples through the soft material of her bra. And then she undid the snap and it joined her top on the floor.

  His teeth were bared like an animal’s as his gaze rested on her exposed breasts. Her fingers lingered, teasing the nipples, and she swelled beneath his hunger, smiling wantonly as he took a step toward her.

  “Touch me, Jake.”

  Oh, God, did I just say that?

  And yet, as his hungry gaze was riveted to her aching, swollen breasts, she grew more bold.

  Raine cupped her breasts and offered them up like offerings to a god. “Touch me,” she breathed, her thumbs caressing her nipples.

  “Since when did you become such a fucking tease,” Jake growled, taking a step toward her.

  “Since I decided I was going to take what I wanted, and to hell with everything else.”

  A slow grin tugged the corners of his mouth. “And when was that exactly?”

  He was now inches from her.

  “About ten minutes ago,” she whispered.

  Before she could say another word, Jake’s large palms covered her breasts and held them as he bent low and took one turgid nipple deep into his mouth.

  Everything fell away except Jake.

  And his hands.

  And his mouth.

  And his incredible body.

  Raine’s senses filled until she was dizzy with the heaviness of it, her head spinning at each pass of his tongue across her nipple. When he tugged and gently began to suck, she yelped and ground her hips against him, frantic to feel him everywhere.

  Her hands reached for his jeans again, and for one split second she froze, wondering if she was in fact doing something she would regret.

  But then he blew on her wet, aching nipples, and all thought flew out of her head except one.

  Jake.

  Chapter 17

  Jake had a moment, one pristine and clear moment, where he could have put the brakes on and stopped things cold.

  Halfway between the taste of her in his mouth and the low moan that hung in her throat—right in that sweet spot—he could have taken a step back.

  But he didn’t.

  How could he? The one thing he’d wanted his entire life was right here, right in front of him, and she was his for the taking. He wasn’t going to think about it as a temporary thing. He wasn’t going to go there. Because there, back where all the pain and shit was—that was a place that had no room in here.

  Not in here, in this warm haven that Raine had created—a cocoon that existed only for them. And for once in his sorry-ass life, he was not going to do the right thing. He was sick and tired of the right thing. He wasn’t going to step aside and consider the big picture.

  He held Raine prisoner, his lips worshipping her mouth, his tongue staking a claim as he tasted her forever, it seemed. When she groaned into him, the sound f
ired him up and left him weak in the knees. The thought that she wanted him as badly as he wanted her did crazy things to his head.

  And this wasn’t the alcohol talking. Or the anger.

  It fueled all sorts of fantasies, which he pushed away, because the only fantasy he wanted to deal with at the moment was getting her the hell out of the rest of her clothes.

  Impatiently he scooped her into his arms, striding toward the fireplace, and grabbed the bubblegum-colored blanket off the sofa along the way. He tossed it on the floor and broke their kiss, aware that her fingers were still tangled in his open fly.

  Raine stared up at him, her mouth wet and swollen from his, and such a wave of desire and—he had to be honest—possession rolled over him that for a moment, he could do nothing but breathe hard and stare right back at her. He wondered if she knew how close he was to losing it completely. If she knew how many nights he’d thought of her and how many nights he’d gone to sleep, aching with the need to have her.

  His eyes dropped to her small, perfect breasts—to their pebbled, rosy nipples—and his hand clamped over them. His cock swelled even more at the sound of her breath hitching in the back of her throat, and he gently rotated his palm, first over one and then over the other, excited at the sight of her pink tongue flicking out over her bottom lip.

  She was wrong and he knew it. None of this was right, but he didn’t care.

  Tonight was about the two of them, and the rest of the world could go to hell. Tonight there was nothing but Raine.

  Gently he put her down and took a step back. She wavered slightly, her hair a crazy, sexy mess in her eyes, and her mouth—that plump, delicious mouth—parted as she struggled to breathe. He had done this to her.

  Jake was no choirboy, and in the past he’d made many a woman hot and bothered, which for a guy was as much of an ego kick as anything else. But none of those women had ever made him feel the way he did right now, as if he’d just climbed Mount Fucking Everest. As the guy on the Titanic had said, he felt as if he were the king of the world.

  Raine dragged in another long breath and pushed her hair away, licking her lips as her eyes zeroed in on his jeans. Right there, where his erection strained so painfully full that it was all he could do to not relieve the pressure immediately.

  But that would be wrong.

  He arched an eyebrow and smiled. Totally wrong, because tonight it was ladies first.

  “Come here,” he said, his voice low yet controlled.

  Raine didn’t hesitate. She took two steps until she was so close to him that he could count her eyelashes. He bent low and took her breast into his mouth, his tongue circling her nipple. But it was a quick, gentle tug and he smiled when she moaned her displeasure as he let it go.

  “Jake, I’m dying here,” she said throatily.

  “Really,” he murmured against her skin, his mouth now between her breasts and moving downward.

  He sank to his knees and slipped his hands into her jeans as he did so, yanking on her zipper and loosening her snap. He tugged the material down over her hips while she lifted first one leg and then the other so that he could take them off completely.

  Another piece of clothing to add to their growing pile.

  Jake leaned back on his haunches. He winced at the exquisite pain between his legs. And he took a few moments to drink in the sight of her half-naked body.

  She stood there, legs parted, her butt barely covered by the sexiest pair of black undies he’d ever seen. They rode her hips low and left half of her ass cheeks hanging out. And though Raine had lost some weight lately, she still had curves where curves should be.

  “Jake,” she said again.

  He leaned forward and kissed her bellybutton, his tongue swirling around it in a gentle motion. Her skin trembled beneath his lips and his fingers hooked into her panties, pulling them down slowly as he gazed up into her stormy blue eyes.

  Her lips were open slightly, that damn little pink tongue peeking out just a bit—enough to drive him even more crazy—and when she stepped out of her underwear, he had to close his eyes and concentrate. His cock was so hard, he was afraid that if he moved he would blow early, and there was no way he could let that happen.

  He rested his forehead on her belly, felt her hands sink into his hair, and when she made that sound again—the one in the back of her throat that sounded as if it were a cross between pleasure and pain—he nearly lost it.

  His eyes flew open and he inhaled her woman’s scent, the one that told him she was aroused and ready. He grasped her hip with his right hand and dared to look below, down at the thin strip of fine hair. Down at the place he ached to be.

  “Jesus Christ, Jake, if you don’t touch me—”

  Her words ended on whimper, followed by a gasp as he slipped two fingers between the folds of her sex. Without hesitation, her hips began to gyrate and he needed to hold her still, his right hand gripping her hard as his left slowly ran up and down her opening, sliding through the slickness, teasing her swollen clit with a gentle pass.

  Once.

  Twice.

  She smelled like heaven, and she was so damn wet that Jake knew she was close to the edge.

  Three times he passed his forefinger over her, until she pushed against him so hard that he glanced up and smiled.

  “You a little anxious, Delgotto?”

  A soft smile curved her lips, and he didn’t realize he’d used her maiden name—something he’d called her when they were younger—until her hand caressed his cheek.

  “I’ve been waiting a long time, Edwards,” she said hoarsely, her fingers digging into his skin as she squirmed against him.

  “Well, then, I’d better get my ass in gear, though I gotta warn you—” He barely got the words out; his jaw was clenched so tight, his need so raw, it hurt. “This is going to take a while,” he managed to say before plunging both fingers deep inside her. “Because I’m just getting started.”

  Whatever her reply was, it got swallowed in a groan as he carefully rotated his fingers. Almost immediately she began to shudder, her whole body reacting to his touch in a way that he hadn’t anticipated.

  With total abandon.

  Jake had never seen anything as hot as Raine writhing, gyrating, beneath his touch. And Christ, but she was wet and tight. The woman was every man’s fantasy.

  Her hands fell to his shoulders, her fingers digging in deep as he continued to play with her.

  “Do you like this?” he whispered hoarsely, his cock aching as she moaned and pushed against him.

  “Well,” she replied breathily, “I’m not sure.”

  His thumb rotated against her clitoris while he massaged her from the inside.

  “That is, you should keep…”

  He leaned forward and replaced his thumb with his mouth.

  “Oh, sweet Jesus, Jake, don’t stop.”

  She tasted exactly as he’d imagined. Full-on woman, and so ready for him that it was insane. Raine jerked beneath his tongue, and with each pass, her fingers dug in harder. With each tug, she groaned. With each suckle, she whimpered.

  Jake stroked her, reacting to the way she responded to his touch—a gentle pass here, an aggressive stroke there—and when she broke, when her body shuddered against him, he couldn’t put into words the power it gave him, knowing he had given her such pleasure.

  For several moments, Raine leaned on him, her small body heaving as she struggled to breathe in the aftershocks of her orgasm. Gently he withdrew his fingers. He kissed her belly and then looked up into her eyes.

  “That was…” She licked her lips and blew out a long, hot breath. “That was…” She shook her head, her beautiful eyes as big as saucers.

  “I know,” Jake answered, loving the blush that slowly crept into her cheeks when she realized his face was still so intimately close to her. He stood, his hands runn
ing up her body, and he slid his mouth across hers in a searing kiss that left them both breathless.

  When they finally separated, his hands went to the waistband of his jeans and he finally released his cock.

  “Like I said before…” His mouth was dry at the look in her eyes as she stared down at him. “I’m just getting started.”

  He stood there for a second, legs spread, cock jutting out, and aching for her in a way he hadn’t thought was possible.

  And then she nearly undid him. She nearly sent him over the edge without even trying.

  Tentatively, Raine reached for him, her fingers soft as they touched his flat stomach. Her fingers bold as she slid down and wrapped her hands around the straining length of him. A smile was on her face—one of power—as he groaned and clenched his hands at his side when she touched ever fucking inch of him.

  “You’re beautiful,” she murmured.

  “Keep that up,” Jake managed as she cupped his balls and sank to her knees, “and I’m not going to—” His teeth clamped down painfully and he could no longer speak. Muscles strained and control was thin.

  Holy hell, she wasn’t going to…

  But she did. She wrapped her sweet mouth around the edge of his cock, and immediately he jerked into her.

  “Ah, fuck.” He stared down, his insides twisting almost painfully at the sight of Raine between his legs, her wet, plump lips wrapped around his cock. Her tongue slid along the length of him in slow, precise movements.

  He closed his eyes, trying his best to wipe out the erotic picture, because he knew if he didn’t keep it together, he would ruin things. He would come way too fucking early, and there was no way he was going to allow that to happen.

  She suckled him hard, and for a moment he saw nothing but blackness and stars. He felt nothing but the heat of her mouth and the agility of her tongue. She stroked him with her hand and licked and suckled until he was so close to the edge, he couldn’t see straight.

  “Jesus Christ, Raine, you gotta stop.” His hands were in her hair, and gently he pulled her away from him, his control thin at best. Their bodies were covered in sweat, a thin sheen of desire that coated them and made the flickering light from the fire dance across their skin.