Swept Away for Christmas

by M. J. Fredrick

  In between kisses that made her yearn for him even more, they shucked the rest of their clothes. When they were naked against each other, Avery realized she’d never experienced a more perfect feeling in her life. She could stay like this forever.

  And then Luke slid inside her, filling her. No, that was the most perfect feeling possible, especially when he began to move, at first a slow glide in and out but building with each time he entered her again. Avery dug her fingers into the muscles of his back and wrapped her legs around Luke’s waist.

  “Slow or fast?” he whispered against her ear.

  Slow.

  No, fast.

  Ahh, she didn’t know.

  “Surprise me,” she said before nipping his ear with her teeth.

  When he made a powerful thrust, she threw her head back and her body arched toward his, meeting him with every bit as much urgency as she felt building in him. Her breath came in short gasps as the desire in her center built and built.

  With one more deep stroke, Luke moaned his release and Avery reached her own. They rode the wave together for several seconds before Luke collapsed beside her, his head on her shoulder. A wave of love for this man flowed out from her heart to fill every atom in her body. In that moment, she wanted him to feel the same, for the beautiful glow of her realization to never dim.

  She ran her hand over his hair and kissed his forehead. The way he placed his hand possessively but comfortably on her hip nearly had her confessing her love. But that was crazy, right? Even though they’d known each other for years, this new thing between them was much too new to be true love. At least that’s what that little nugget of common sense down deep inside her was saying.

  But if this wasn’t love, what was it? She refused to think of it as only lust. She knew, at the very center of her heart, that she loved him, no matter how crazy that seemed.

  After a couple of minutes, Luke shifted and pulled her close against his side, cradling her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him. It was a little scary how much she wanted that to be the truth.

  “That was wonderful,” he finally said. “You were wonderful.”

  She looked up into his beautiful blue-green eyes. “You weren’t half bad yourself.”

  “Not half-bad, huh? That’s not what I’d call a ringing endorsement. I guess I’ll have to keep practicing until I get it right.”

  He made good on that promise before he finally slid from the bed and to the shower, leaving her to bask in the glow of their lovemaking. She’d experienced Luke Taylor with every sense she had, and it had been beyond wonderful. She closed her eyes and drifted close to sleep. She really should get up, but her body was spent and happy and refused to move. Maybe she’d just rest until Luke got out of the shower. Her lips curved into a smile as she drifted off thinking of that warm water flowing over his body.

  Chapter Six

  Avery had a very difficult time not wearing a permanent smile over the next few days. When she wasn’t working with Luke on the motel renovations, they were stealing kisses in hidden corners. At night, they went for hand-in-hand walks on the beach, or they ended up at his place where they made love like the world was ending the next day.

  They even worked on the plans for getting the diner finished so that it could open by spring break. They both ignored the fact that she might not be in Starfish Shores in the spring. While she loved him, she hadn’t told him. It wasn’t fair to him if she was offered the job of a lifetime and chose to leave. Though the thought of leaving now knotted her up inside. But could she pass up an opportunity to make a living, to be able to help her grandparents financially, for a relationship that was so new and might not last?

  As the days ticked away toward Christmas, the soda fountain area took shape and her grandparents let her hire a couple of part-time employees to run it. She ordered a soda jerk uniform for Evan, the young guy who was a college student, and a poodle skirt outfit for Kylie, the high school girl. She smiled at the memory of the look in Kylie’s eyes when Avery had met with both of them. It was obvious to Avery that Kylie had a huge crush on Evan and equally obvious that Evan was totally unaware of said crush. The part of Avery that wanted to stay in Starfish Shores liked the idea of maybe giving them a little nudge toward each other.

  “What are you smiling at?”

  She looked up at where Luke held the opposite end of the tape measure on the other side of the back deck.

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  He retracted the tape slowly, moving closer and closer to her. “I don’t believe you.”

  “Maybe I was fantasizing about Karl Urban.”

  Luke moved so close that she could smell the earthy, manly scent of him. “Anything I can do to make you forget Karl?”

  Images of doing wicked things with Luke sprang to mind, and she smiled slowly. “There’s a leaky faucet in Room 202 that you could fix.”

  With a smile of his own, he moved that way. She followed, pulling out the master key card. But the moment she led him into the room, she closed the door and pushed him up against it and captured his mouth. “I want you.”

  Luke wasted no time taking off her pants and underwear. He dropped his own and fished a condom from his wallet before tossing the wallet aside. He sheathed himself and spun her toward the door almost in one motion. With a hungry look on his face, he lifted her against the door, bringing her legs around his waist as he entered her.

  There was something wonderfully erotic about having to contain her desire to cry out her pleasure and to have to make quick work of their lovemaking before anyone missed them. She gripped Luke’s back and rode his frantic pace until she climaxed. Luke reached his own release moments after she did.

  “I want to put you on that bed and make love to you until neither of us can walk,” he said.

  Her entire body flamed, and she throbbed where he was still inside her. She smiled at him. “If all those girls in high school knew what they missed out on, they’d be kicking themselves.”

  “I never wanted any of them, Avery. Only you.”

  Her heart tripped over itself. How was it possible to love this man even more? She started to tell him that, but the sound of voices outside stilled her confession.

  Several minutes later, she joined him in the front of the motel where they worked side by side the rest of the day. But every time their eyes met, she relived what they’d shared, could feel him inside her again. She realized it was going to have be a damned fantastic job to tear her away from him, even if she had to waitress down at The Pit for tip money to get by.

  Luke Taylor was worth it.

  * * *

  He was totally, irrevocably in love with Avery, and tonight he was going to tell her. They’d finished the work on the soda fountain renovation that afternoon, and the grand opening was scheduled for the next day. But that was tomorrow. All his focus was on tonight.

  “Where are we going?” she asked as he led her down the wooden walkway between his house and the waterway.

  “For a boat ride. It’s small, but it’s mine.” He helped her over the side of the boat and led her into the small cabin as the last light of day faded away in the west.

  “Going to be a dark ride.”

  “That’s the best part.” He guided the boat away from the dock and eased it slowly up the waterway. It didn’t take long for Avery to figure out what he was doing.

  “The Christmas lights,” she said, taking in the beautiful display on both sides of the waterway. “I’d forgotten about how everyone up and down here goes all out at Christmas.” She slipped her fingers through his and looked up at him. “Thank you.”

  “We’re just getting started.”

  A few miles up the waterway, he guided the boat over to the side within view of the lighted Fanny Jones Bridge that sat just across the state line in Florida. Unable to keep his hands off Avery any longer, he pulled her close for a long kiss. He smiled at how breathless she was when he finally lifted his mouth from he
rs.

  He ran his thumb gently across the softness of her cheek. “I love you, Avery.”

  Her lips parted, and at first he feared she wouldn’t say anything in return, that he’d somehow misread her feelings.

  “I love you, too, Luke. You’ve taken me totally by surprise.”

  Happier than he’d ever been in his life, he kissed her again, pouring all of his love into that kiss. He didn’t ask her if this meant she’d stay. He didn’t want to ruin the moment if the answer was no, if his love for her still wasn’t enough for her to make Starfish Shores home for good.

  After several minutes of kissing, he forced himself to start the boat again and turn it back toward his house. He wanted her in his bed and now.

  As he tied the boat up at the dock a few minutes later, however, her phone rang. Even before she looked at the display, a cold stone of dread formed in his stomach. When she started to ignore the call, he knew he couldn’t let her. If she was going to stay, it had to be her choice. She had to be sure.

  She gave him a shaky smile then headed up the walkway toward the house as she answered. He didn’t follow, not wanting to hear the conversation. Instead, he stood on the dock and let the night air chill him all the way down to his heart.

  He heard the hesitance in her footsteps as she returned a few minutes later and he knew. He was going to lose her. The lure of some fast-paced city full of strangers was going to win.

  “Where is it?” he asked.

  “New York City.”

  So damned far away. “I guess that’s the pinnacle, huh?”

  “I haven’t given them an answer.”

  A flicker of hope flamed to life inside him, but he beat it back. How could a small-town guy like him who worked with his hands compete with the glamour and excitement of New York City? He couldn’t.

  “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, Avery.”

  “Yes.”

  He couldn’t let himself assign too much meaning to the hesitance he heard in her voice.

  “Well, you’ve got a big day tomorrow. I should get you home.”

  She grabbed his arm, staying him. “Luke, I...I meant what I said.”

  He did his best to smile at her and caressed her face. “So did I. And it won’t change, no matter where you go.”

  He couldn’t imagine ever loving anyone again the way he loved Avery.

  * * *

  The turnout for the opening of the soda fountain was better than expected. Her grandparents wore huge smiles. And she’d landed a position at one of the premiere interior design magazines in New York City. Avery should be happy, but she wasn’t. In fact, her heart was breaking, especially since Luke hadn’t shown up for the grand opening. She’d wanted to praise him in front of all these people. Instead, her heart leapt every time the door opened only to be disappointed.

  After the celebration was over, she left her grandparents to say the final goodbyes and went back to the house. She opened her computer and read back over all the information the magazine’s editor had sent her. A month ago, she would have been floating somewhere near the ceiling. But now, as she stared at the words and thought about life in New York, it felt...empty. Her life would be empty without Luke.

  With a deep breath, she opened her e-mail program and sent off a message that was going to change her life forever.

  That finished, she headed for the living room. Alice stood at the end of the kitchen island sorting through the day’s mail.

  “Grandma, can I borrow your car?”

  “Of course, honey. Is everything okay?”

  Avery nodded. “You remember what you said about changing careers?”

  Her grandmother smiled.

  “I’m going to give it a whirl.”

  Alice pulled her close. “I couldn’t have a better Christmas present than that.”

  Avery hoped Luke still felt the same. She gave her grandmother a kiss on the cheek and grabbed the car keys from the crystal bowl on the island. “I might be out late,” she said as she headed toward the door.

  “Honey, I don’t need that car anytime soon. You might as well keep it all night.” Darned if there wasn’t a wicked little gleam in her grandmother’s eyes.

  Avery lifted an eyebrow. “I just might do that.”

  She could barely sit still on the short drive over to Luke’s. When she pulled up next to his truck, she sat and stared at his house while she tried to get her racing heart under control. This was it, the moment of truth, the leap of faith. With a deep breath, she got out of the car and walked up to his door. When she knocked, she heard Tiny running and Luke trying to corral the lovable monster of a dog.

  When Luke opened the door, she didn’t think he’d ever looked better to her.

  “Hey,” he said. “How’d it go today?”

  “Great. I wish you’d been there.”

  “Sorry, I had another job.” He was being nice, but she felt the distance between them and a desperation to make it go away. “Did you need something?”

  “You.”

  “Avery—”

  “I’m not going.”

  He froze and stared at her. “Say that again.”

  “I’m not going to New York. I’m staying here in Starfish Shores and going to throw caution and probably common sense to the wind and starting my own interior design business. I was hoping maybe we could be partners.”

  His forehead wrinkled. “Business partners?”

  “Yes.”

  At the beginning of a look of disappointment, she closed the distance between them. “And more.”

  “Do you mean that? Really mean it?”

  “I’ve never meant anything more in my life. Luke Taylor, all I want for Christmas is you.”

  He lifted his hand to cradle her face. “You have me, Avery, heart and soul.” When he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her, she’d swear she heard angels singing.

  About the Author

  Trish Milburn is the author of contemporary romance for Harlequin American Romance, paranormal romance for Harlequin Nocturne, young adult fiction for Bell Bridge Books and indie publishes her romantic suspense, women’s fiction and other titles. She’s a two-time Golden Heart award winner, a fan of walks in the woods and road trips, and is a big geek girl, including being a dedicated Whovian and Browncoat.

  Twitter: @TrishMilburn

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  To the Readers

  Thank you for purchasing this book. We hope you enjoyed it. MJ, Tanya and I would appreciate it if you could leave reviews of Swept Away for Christmas at retailer sites, on blogs, and via social networking.

  And please visit us at our websites to learn more about our other titles:

  MJ Fredrick

  Tanya Michaels

  Trish Milburn