As we sat there admiring our stunning, if a little bizarrely decorated tree—it really was having an identity crisis—we chatted about Hogmanay, and Brad and Josie’s visit. It would be good to see them, but that wasn’t what I was looking forward to the most.
Turning to Mallory, I stroked my hand down her cheek. “Do you know what I’m looking forward to?” I moved in closer and could feel her warm breath on my face.
“What?” she whispered, no doubt reading my mind.
“I’m looking forward to unwrapping you on Christmas morning and kissing you all over.”
She gasped and her pupils dilated. Leaning in, she took my mouth, slipping her tongue inside and breathing in deeply through her nose. When she pulled away, I locked my eyes on hers through a heady fog of lust.
Swallowing, she smoothed her hand down my chest. “Why wait until Christmas morning?”
Oh. Fucking. Yes. I needed no further encouragement as I smiled, stood, and took her hand. This was it. It was finally happening. I fought back the doubts trying to seep into my mind about whether I would satisfy her and focused on the fact that this was us and we were meant to be.
I led the way upstairs and once inside the bedroom I pulled her against me, slipping my hands down to her rounded bottom. “I’ve waited for this moment since the day I met you.” My voice was almost unrecognisable as lust and emotion had taken me over. I could hardly speak but I wanted to convey my feelings this time using my own words instead of those belonging to another. “I want to savour this. I want to savour you, Mallory. I love you with all my heart, but I want you with every inch of my being.”
I’d never spoken a truer word. I was hers. All of me. I trailed my hand up her body and into her hair. Lowering my mouth so that it almost touched hers, I relished the feeling of her warm breath increasing speed on my lips as I gazed at her, knowing my longing was clearly evident. I closed my eyes as she slid her hands up over my chest; the feel of her hands caressing me this way sent pleasure shooting to my very core. I clenched my jaw, determined to keep my cool and fighting the urge to throw her back onto the bed and climb on top of her.
No, I would take this slowly.
As her hands found my hair, I touched my lips to hers, gently at first but I was grasping onto my self-control by a hair’s breadth. The kiss deepened and the taste of her overtook my senses. I heard a groan escape from my throat and felt slightly embarrassed, but she didn’t pull away. Her breathing quickened as she grasped at my hair and I at hers.
She tugged at the hem of my T-shirt, dragging it from my body it one swift motion as I stooped to make the process easier. Once my chest was fully exposed to her hungry eyes, she leaned in and kissed my tattoo, grazing my nipple with her tongue. I inhaled sharply and my head rolled back as I relished the feel of her lips on my skin.
I pulled her sweater from her body. My eyes were drawn to her full breasts in their blue lace bra, and I swallowed hard. Tracing my fingers along her collar bone, I kept my eyes on hers, watching her every reaction to my touch. Her hands found my waistband, and before I knew it, I was stepping out of my jeans and kicking them to one side. Then it was her turn. Unclasping the button of her jeans, I slipped my hands inside and squeezed her bottom before sliding the denim down her legs.
We finally stood before each other in just our underwear. The butterflies took flight in my stomach. This was really happening. A wide smile took over my face and I shook my head.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked in a quiet, nervous voice.
“I’m just looking at you and thinking that I must be the luckiest man on the planet right now.” She peered up at me in disbelief, a frown creasing her brow. Taking her face in my hands, I smoothed my thumbs over her lips. “You truly are beautiful, Mallory. So very sexy. And you just don’t seem to realise that. Your curves, your skin… I mean you’re just… so beautiful. I can’t put into words how much I want you.”
“You did a pretty good job with words right there. But if you can’t… can’t find words… just show me?”
There was nothing I wanted more. I kissed her once again as I unfastened the blue lace bra from around her ribs. Dropping it to the floor, I caressed her breasts first with my hands and then with my mouth. Her nipples tightened and she sighed, allowing her eyes to fall closed. She had the most beautiful breasts I had ever seen, and the taste of her skin was like some intoxicating elixir. I couldn’t get enough of her and felt sure that I never would.
Dropping to my knees before her, I gazed up into her half-closed eyes and slipped the blue lace panties down her smooth thighs. Kissing her soft belly and hips, I circled the skin there gently with my thumbs. I loved the noises she made; they told me she was enjoying what I was doing to her as much as I was enjoying doing it. I nuzzled the soft hair at the junction of her thighs and inhaled her scent. I was already addicted and needed to taste her there too. I slipped my tongue into her damp flesh and her legs almost buckled. Gripping her hips to steady her, I caressed her with my tongue as she massaged my scalp with her deft fingers, sending shivers down my spine.
I replaced my tongue with my fingers I watched as her breasts heaved and her mouth fell open. That look of sheer ecstasy had me mesmerised. She was on the verge of release but I wanted more. When I removed my hand, she made a cute little whimpering noise that made me smile. I stood once again, removed my boxers, and turned her around. When I pulled her to my chest, my arousal pressed into her lower back, sending delicious tingles down my body to where we connected.
I took her breast into my hand and squeezed the tight bud between my finger and thumb, making her gasp and lean her head back into my shoulder. I kissed and sucked at the soft flesh of her neck and removed my fingers from her tender spot to smooth my hands up and down the curve of her waist; another of my favourite areas of her curvaceous body. Stepping away to take in the vision of her naked body again, I skimmed my eyes down her back to her luscious bottom. What I saw at her lower back made me gasp and drop to my knees once again.
“Mallory.” Her name left my throat as a strangled sob as I took in the image before me. I traced the ink of her tattoo with my fingertips and she shivered, glancing at me over her shoulder. “That’s… that’s the Celtic symbol for everlasting love,” I said as my throat tightened. “And… you’ve got my initial… wait… our initials on your body?” I grabbed her hips and pressed my lips to the tattoo. “Mallory it’s beautiful, it’s perfect.” I couldn’t believe she’d done it and wondered when and why.
Standing, I turned her to face me. I couldn’t hide the effect the ink had on me. “When?”
She cupped my face in her hands. “Greg, I realised how I felt about you when I was in Yorkshire, the last time. I was so angry with myself for how I handled things. I figured I’d probably ruined everything, but I wanted a permanent reminder of you. I wanted something to keep forever in case I had blown it by being so racked by guilt at loving you. Something that was out of sight to everyone else, but that I knew was there.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t believe she’d thought that she’d ruined things after all the crap I’d put her through.
She stepped closer to me, her soft breasts connecting with my skin. “I love you, Greg, so much. I was so scared to even acknowledge my feelings until I went away. I was terrified that you’d fallen for Kate. I’m so glad you hadn’t stopped loving me. Now you know how I feel, and whenever you look at my tattoo, you’ll know how much I truly love you. There’s no going back for me now.”
“I love you so much, Mallory. So, so much.” I placed kisses over her cheeks, eyes, and lips, and as our mouths reconnected and our tongues tangled, I relished the taste of her once again. We tumbled onto the bed, wrapped around each other.
When we pulled apart, I slipped my fingers into her dampness again, making her moan. She gripped me and began stroking me. The sensations she elicited radiated through my body like a rush of heat through every single nerve ending.
Reaching down to my jeans w
here they had fallen, I pulled out a small foil packet, opened it, and stretched the sheath down over myself. I began to caress her again and her soft moans were like the best music I’d ever heard, sending shivers down my body and making me desperate for her. She began to tighten around my fingers, and when she cried out I kissed her deeply, swallowing her noises of desire and bliss like they were necessary for to me live. Moving my body between her thighs, I gazed down at her as she breathed heavily, her eyes filled with adoration. She pulled at my shoulders in a silent instruction and I sunk myself inside her body, closing my eyes as the pleasure of our joining filled every fibre of my being.
Never had making love felt the same as it did with Mallory. In that moment I knew I’d found the other half of my soul; the other half of me. As I moved my body within hers, we locked eyes—and fear took over me. What if she changed her mind? What if she realised that I wasn’t the man for her? Oh God, if I lost her now—
“Greg.” She tangled the fingers of one hand in my hair. “I love you and I want you… and I mean forever.” She had read my mind or seen the worry in my eyes. Either way, she spoke and my fears melted away as she gasped and pulled me into her hard with her other hand.
I fell into the abyss, calling out her name, and she joined me as she fell once more too.
Chapter Fifty-One
After we made love that first time, Mallory asked me to move in with her. To say I was shocked would be the fucking understatement of the year, but I jumped at the chance. I was so glad she had rejected the offer she’d received on the house she loved. We’d pretty much been living together anyway, and making it official was the best feeling. It meant she believed in us. It meant we were a couple with a future, and I simply can’t express how that made me feel. There are just no words that come close to describing the happiness.
I loaded up the Landy with all my crap and made my way over to my new home. Angus wagged his tail frantically as if he knew. And when I pulled up outside the cottage, I climbed out, ran over to Mallory, scooped her up, and spun her around.
We carried all the boxes from the car into the house until the living room looked like a warehouse. We vowed to start unpacking them as soon as possible, but Mallory enticed me to take a shower. Because I took a lot of encouraging… ha!
As she led me out of the room and we passed the window, she gasped. “Greg! It’s snowing.” I slipped my arms around her waist as she watched the shimmering flakes float to the ground. “It’s perfect,” she sighed. And it really was.
After gazing out the picture-perfect view, we made our way up the stairs and into the bathroom. We undressed each other slowly and stepped under the cascading hot water, where we washed and caressed each other and made love languorously until the water ran cold.
~~~
Christmas morning arrived and I regressed to childhood. After making bacon sandwiches, I made my way upstairs to wake my gorgeous girl. Mallory didn’t appear to share my enthusiasm for arising early on our first Christmas day, and I had to resort to underhanded tactics to get her out of bed. After tickling her, I scooped her up and wrestled her over my shoulder, exposing her bare bottom from under the old T-shirt of mine that she slept in and giving it a little playful slap for good measure. Her protests made me laugh, and even though she slapped at my ass as I carried her, I didn’t put her back on the ground until we reached the living room.
We ate our bacon sarnies and drank Buck’s Fizz by the Christmas tree with its twinkling white lights and garish display of trinkets, and I couldn’t help staring at my Mallory in her just-woken-up, half-naked state. I wanted to have her again right then and there, but we had gifts to open so I decided to hold back, determined that I would make this morning special for her—and then make the most of her body again later.
She handed me a little rectangular parcel and I just stared at it. It looked so beautiful wrapped in her handmade wrapping paper with its gold hearts and snowflakes that I just didn’t want to spoil it. She encouraged me, clearly eager to see what I thought of her gift.
Carefully I opened the wrapping and took out the hand-painted sign. She had made me a gift, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever received. So simple, but the meaning behind it made my lip tremble as I read the sign aloud, “‘Welcome to Greg and Mallory’s Home’. Mallory, this is the best Christmas gift I’ve ever been given.”
She laughed “What? Did you never get a bike or a Scalextric?” she teased.
“Aye, yes, course I did. But this means so much more because you made it for me and it makes our moving in together official. Best gift ever, just like I said.” We shared a tender kiss before I handed her the gift I’d got for her.
She frowned and the puzzled look on her face at the flat rectangular parcel had me jumping in to explain. “Now, before you open it and go all apeshit on me, I just want to defend myself and say that it’s something for us both. But I think you’ll be happy and that’s what matters.”
She eyed me suspiciously and opened it. “Bloody hell, Greg! Two first-class return flights to Canada?” Before I knew what was happening, she launched herself into my arms and covered my face in kisses.
“Whoa! That’s not the reaction I was prepared for!” I slipped my arms around her and pulled her to my chest.
Leaning away from me, she met my eyes. “I know and I should be angry with you. But how can I be when it’s just so perfect?” Her lips met mine again in a less vigorous assault—not that I was complaining about the passion she showed the first time.
“Well, I spoke to Renee and she says we can either stay with her, or if we don’t feel comfortable doing that, she’ll book us into the hotel in Kingston, her treat.”
“How wonderful! I love you, Greg McBradden.” We tumbled to the rug, and all thoughts of waiting until later to savour her body again went out the window and joined the falling snow.
~~~
On December twenty-eighth Brad and Josie, Mallory’s best friends from Yorkshire, arrived to stay in time for Hogmanay. As Brad and I made coffee for our women in the kitchen—giving the girls time to catch up and talk each other’s head off—I decided to put my next plan into action.
“So Brad, mate. How are you fixed for a wee bit of New Year shopping?”
“Yeah, sure. Looking for summat in particular?” His Yorkshire accent was much stronger than Mallory’s and sometimes I had to really listen to get what he was on about.
“Yeah. I need you to be my smoke screen.”
He raised his eyebrows and grinned. “Oooh, that sounds intriguing.”
“Not a word to Josie though, eh?”
“You what? Do you think I’m daft or summat? She can’t hold her own water, that one.” Brad laughed.
“Great, so you and I will go in one direction and the girls can go off in another, eh? Or better still, they can go in Mally’s car and we’ll take the Landy. That way I can get sorted without distractions.”
“Good plan, mate.”
My magnificent plan was in motion. Mallory would be getting several surprises come Hogmanay.
New Year’s Eve—Hogmanay
I dressed in my kilt, knowing Mallory loved a man in Highland dress… well, knowing she loved me in Highland dress actually. Brad and I waited in the living room for the girls to come down the stairs in their finery. I was playing at the pub for the Hogmanay celebrations, and my nerves were jangling for several reasons; the least of which was performing.
Suddenly my eyes were drawn to the doorway where Mallory stood in a sexy, fitted silver dress and heels. My mouth fell open and I just stared at her voluptuous curves, thinking to myself that I wanted to fling her over my shoulder, carry her back upstairs, and rip it off. I trailed my eyes down her body and back up again, meeting her blue orbs with a smile. She, too, was staring hungrily at me. Think sensible thoughts, think sensible thoughts, I repeated over and over in my head, willing my blood to return northwards. Sheesh, the effect she had on me with just one sultry look of longing.
&
nbsp; “Get a bloody room, you two.” Brad chuckled as he punched me on the arm, releasing me from my lust-filled stupor.
We made our way over to the pub in the chilled December air, and I made some joke about wishing I was from Eskimo heritage, considering my crown jewels were turning to ice under my bloody kilt. So much for looking good for Mallory. It’ll be a wonder if my package functions after this bloody weather.
Thankfully the pub was nice and cosy when we arrived, and the whiskey that was handed to me by Stella certainly helped. I wasn’t drinking as much of it anymore. I had no sorrows to drown. Just memories to keep in my heart.
I took up my place behind the mic stand and grabbed the attention of the crowd. “Right, now guys, as you know, this roller coaster year is drawing to a close and I’m happy to be sharing this special evening with youse all tonight. I won’t be doing much blathering. So enjoy the music, and dance if you have the room around you, but remember…”
“DON’T SING ALONG!” the crowd shouted in unison, and I laughed heartily but I knew for a fact they bloody would.
Chapter Fifty-Two
I was right. They bloody sang along at every given opportunity. Having said that, it was my own fault for singing such bouncy bloody songs. I slotted the odd smooch number in there too, especially for my gorgeous girl. And her eyes filled with tears when I brought her to sit by me as I sang “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. When the song ended, we kissed, and the place erupted into applause and whistles. There wasn’t a dry eye in the pub, and I knew I’d pay later but I didn’t care. I wanted the whole world to know how I felt about her.
At the end of the night I sang “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers, and the roof nearly flew off the place as the crowd got rather carried away. I gave up singing in the end and just played as everyone knew the words and I was past caring what they sounded like. I sat there with a huge grin on my face and when I caught Mallory’s gaze fixed on me, I playfully rolled my eyes.
Bridge of Hope Page 27
