Twelve Days of Love

by Tess MacKall

  “Feel good?”

  “Mmm…” she moaned.

  He continued to massage for a couple of minutes before his hands moved up her legs to her calves. Ahh…this would feel so much better without the jeans. Her mother had to know there was hanky-panky going on. What was the harm? No, they couldn’t take another chance. Could they?

  There was a slight tug to her waistband. She opened her eyes to see him nibbling at her jeans button.

  “What are you up to?”

  “Making you more comfortable.”

  The waistband fell open and he planted a kiss to her bellybutton.

  Eden giggled. “Stop it. There’s no door to this room,” she whispered.

  “Reminds me of high school. But with a twist. Your mother isn’t going to check up on us. I was right about the kitchen, wasn’t I?” He dipped his mouth back to her bellybutton.

  She relaxed, knowing he was right. “So how does this remind you of high school?”

  “You know. The parents are in the other room and you’re supposed to be studying but you’re really doin’ the nasty.”

  “I studied.” Of course she did, and of course he didn’t.

  He chuckled and went back to nibbling. A second later, he gripped the zipper with his teeth and pulled it down. Eden tensed and tried to sit up but he held her in place. His teeth latched on to the top of her panties and pulled them down as far as they would go. She held her breath.

  “I had a feeling they’d be white cotton.”

  “Wh-what’s wrong with white cotton?”

  “Not a thing, sweetheart. Not a thing.”

  “You prefer—”

  “What did I tell you about thinking you know what I like?”

  “Dental floss running up a woman’s crack.”

  He rested his chin on her pubic mound. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

  Had she upset him?

  “Well…neither can I.” He curled his fingers into the top of her panties, simultaneously gripping either side of her jeans, and yanked them down over her hips.

  “Nick!” she hissed as loud as she dared, terrified she’d draw her mother’s attention.

  In a matter of seconds, her jeans and panties were lying on the floor and Eden was naked from the waist down. Her hands flew to her pussy. Nick slapped them aside. She closed her eyes, thinking that any minute her mother would walk in, despite knowing otherwise. Her nipples strained against her bra. God help her, her pussy was wet.

  “Haven’t seen one of these in a while,” he said.

  “What?” Surely he didn’t mean a pussy.

  “One with hair.”

  Eden’s entire body flushed with heat. Of course Nick only dated women who waxed. All Eden ever had the nerve to do was trim a little. Why did he want her? Granny panties and a hairy pussy! What the hell was she thinking?

  With her eyes still closed, she chewed on her bottom lip. “Sorry. Give me my pants, please.”

  “No way. I can smell you. You don’t want your pants back.” He let his fingers play with the curls hiding her pussy.

  Oh god, oh god. His breath blew warm across her sex. She cracked open her eyes to see him lower his head. The warm wetness of his tongue met her skin, dragging around her bellybutton. Had he drawn a heart around her navel? He kissed the center and dotted her stomach with several more, and Eden fell under his spell. Every part of her begged for him.

  “Let’s get you out of this sweater, honey. I want to see all of you.”

  Nervous yet excited, she sat up and tugged the sweater over her head. The moment she did, she crossed her arms over her chest, ashamed of her plain white bra. She looked down, afraid to meet his eyes. That’s when she remembered her not-so-flat stomach. Her immediate reaction was to suck it in.

  Nick leapt from the sofa and skimmed his shirt over his head. Next he unfastened his jeans and pushed them down his legs along with his boxers. Eden’s breath caught. The man of her dreams stood in front of her naked. So tall and muscular, exactly the way she’d always pictured him. Her gaze roamed over his body, resting on his rigid cock. She licked her lips, swallowed hard, and exhaled slowly.

  I’ll Make Love To You by Boyz II Men began to play.

  Nick offered her his hand. “Dance with me, Eden.”

  Dancing naked. One of her naughty fantasies. How did he know? She took his hand and let him pull her from the loveseat. Their bodies connected and a wild flash of heat raced through her veins. She forgot about her bra and looked into his eyes. What she saw took her breath away. He wanted her—her—Eden Riley. And for the first time, Eden believed that.

  Nick slid the straps from her shoulders and released the clasp. The plain ole bra fell to the floor. A shuddering breath escaped his lips. He closed his eyes for a few seconds. She planted her hands on his chest and he opened his eyes and smiled.

  “You don’t need gimmicks, honey.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said.

  “Wild thongs, push-up bras. The thought of you spreading your legs and letting someone spoon hot wax on your… Well, I don’t understand any of that.”

  “You don’t?”

  “No. I bet you don’t shave your legs every day either. But I bet you shaved them today.” He rolled her nipple in his fingers.

  Her breath hitched and then she giggled. How did he know?

  “Come on, admit it. You shaved them for me, didn’t you?”

  “That’s not true.” She did have her pride.

  “Oh, okay. You just shave every Sunday. Yeah, right. You shaved your legs for me and didn’t even know this was going to happen. My kind of gal. Did you know that green smock you wear at work makes me hard?”

  Her head whipped upward. “You need help.”

  “Yeah, I do. And you’re just the help I need. And after a damn year of looking at you in that smock, dreaming about what you’d look like naked, it’s time to do something about it.”

  His hands floated across her back, down to her ass cheeks. Holding her close, his cock pressed hard against her stomach, he began to slowly sway them back and forth as he sang the words to the song in her ear. All Eden’s fears fell away and she surrendered to him, laying her head on his chest.

  Step by step, he danced them closer to the fireplace where he lowered them to the carpeted floor. On their knees, facing each other, he cradled her face in his palms.

  “It’s Day Eight, Eden, and I’m going to make love to you. What a difference a day makes.”

  He swept her into his arms and laid her down as he kissed her. Another love song drifted over them but Eden didn’t care. Her heart sang its own song now with words only she and Nick could hear.

  He trailed his tongue down her throat, across her collarbone and to her breasts. Suckling gently from each nipple, his hot mouth sent waves of pleasure through her body. Her juices wet her pussy and she arched into his hips. He slid lower and still lower until he reached her sex. Parting her pussy lips, he blew his breath over the moistened folds. Eden trembled, her hips lurching upward.

  And then his tongue found her clit.

  Her mind spun out of control. She dug her fingers into the thick-piled carpeting and spread her legs wider. His mouth scooped in the distended bud, his tongue flicking across it in rapid strokes. She pumped her pussy against his tongue and, for the space of a few seconds, held herself taut before letting go to the splintering pleasure that overtook her. It was exactly like her dreams. Even with all the fears she’d had to overcome to allow this to happen, fears that still lingered, she was taken aback by how easily her body responded.

  Eden wanted him inside her. At the same time she worried what it would do to her heart. She loved him, but what if he didn’t love her? It wasn’t that she expected him to say it. God knew she couldn’t. None of it mattered anyway. She’d let it go too far. Her wishful thinking, the cozy atmosphere—and Nick’s powerful effect on her—had sealed her fate, at least for tonight.

  She reached for him, urging him upward and
into her arms. He came to her and their lips joined in a deeply erotic kiss. When he pulled away, he grabbed his jeans, fumbled around in the pocket and brought out a condom. Eden moaned as he skimmed it over his cock, the sight making it all so real to her, not just a dream anymore. Nick was going to fuck her and she’d never been so hot for sex in her life.

  He slid his hand between their bodies and poised his cock at her pulsing entrance. With a powerful lunge, he drove his hard length into her. She thrust her hips into the air, meeting his efforts.

  “Oh baby. You’re so tight. So hot.”

  “You feel so good, Nick.”

  “Wrap your legs around me.”

  She raised her legs and locked her ankles behind his back, drawing him more deeply inside her. The pitching motion of his hips slowed to a stop as he gave her a long, lazy kiss. But Eden’s body was on fire and she needed him to drive his cock to the hilt and give her what she craved so she humped against him—almost begging.

  “Oh baby. You’re gonna make me come before we even get started.”

  “I don’t care. I’m ready now. Please…”

  He pulled his hips back and slammed forward. Her pussy walls clenched around his cock tightly, her muscles milking him. Over and over, their passionate joining took her higher and higher, closer and closer to heaven.

  Eden’s breathing grew short and erratic. Her heart rate soared. Flames of need licked her pussy, pushing her to the edge. Nick moaned low in his throat. She squeezed her eyes shut and stars burst behind her eyelids. Her orgasm seized her as Nick’s hot cum filled the condom.

  Their rhythmic movements ceased. Nick collapsed against her then rolled her over so she lay on top of him. She listened to his heart, counting the beats, never feeling more complete as a woman in her life. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.

  “Eden, if this was Day Eight, I can hardly wait for Day Seven.”

  Chapter Eight

  Countdown: Day Four

  Nick whipped the Camaro out of the dealership parking lot, weaving in and out of traffic on his way to Eden. He’d walked on air since the first night he’d made love to her. A nice, uncomplicated routine had fallen into place and it suited him just fine. Each afternoon he left the dealership and drove over to the floral shop where he waited for her to finish work. Then he followed her home and they had dinner with her mother. After some television and conversation, Maggie always excused herself and left them alone.

  All the pieces in Nick’s life had slowly but surely come together. He sensed Eden was still holding back a bit, yet he felt in his heart that she loved him. Smiling to himself, he thought about the plans he had for Day One—Valentine’s Day. Excitement jetted through him.

  And knots bubbled in his stomach too.

  What if she…? No, he refused to think about that. He’d deal with it when the time came. For now he just wanted to get to the shop and hold her. It had been a long time since they’d parted that morning.

  Minutes later he parallel parked two spaces down from the shop and got out. He neared the door and just as he reached to open it, out popped Mandy Gates. She turned and almost collided with him.

  “Nick! I haven’t seen you in ages. Where have you been keeping yourself? You missed the performing arts center board meeting the other night.”

  That was the first night he and Eden had made love. No way would he have given that up for a freaking board meeting. “I had plans that night. Sorry. Buying flowers?”

  “Oh yes, needed a fresh bouquet for dinner tonight and remembered seeing this shop the other day. Quaint.” She wrinkled her nose and laid her hand to his chest. “I had a meeting at the arts center with some members of the planning committee earlier. What brings you here?”

  “My girlfriend is the owner.” Did Eden consider herself his girlfriend? He guessed they needed to talk a little more now that the sex was working. He definitely wanted her thinking in the right terms before Valentine’s Day.

  “Oh. I see,” Mandy said. “The black-haired woman?”

  “Yeah, that’s her. Eden Riley.”

  “Okay. To each his own, I guess.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Well, you have to admit, Nick, you can’t compare her to Jenna.”

  “No. I can’t. Thank god.”

  “I understand. You got burned and now you want the exact opposite.”

  Nick looked at Mandy’s bleached-blonde hair and collagen-swollen lips. What a piece of work. He imagined her years down the road, skin stretched back so far behind her ears she could tie it in a bow. Whatever happened to two people growing old together?

  “I feel sorry for you, Mandy.” Sliding past her, he opened the shop door, hearing the welcoming sound of bells.

  That woman touched him! And Nick did nothing to stop her either. Another uppity Jenna lookalike. Legs that went on forever, hair the color of sunshine, boobs that reached her destination a good minute before the rest of her—and that look. The kind of look that said she’d rather die than break a nail. Well, if that’s what Nick wanted, fine. She wouldn’t stand in his way—not that she could anyway. Sooner or later people showed their true colors. And Nick had just shown his.

  He’d probably been dating the woman for a while. What were the chances that someone like her—the mall type, not a regular customer—would just show up and need a bouquet of flowers and know Nick too? Maybe she’d gotten wind of Eden’s relationship with Nick and decided to check out the competition. Finding out, of course, there really wasn’t any competition.

  Short, geeky and chubby didn’t compare to leggy, blonde and busty.

  An icy shield formed around Eden’s heart.

  Nick walked in with a big smile on his face. Eden tried her best to smile but couldn’t force the corners of her lips to tilt. He hugged her to him and kissed her.

  “Been looking forward to those lips of yours all day, honey. And I’m starving. I called Maggie and told her not to make dinner. Figured we’d stop at the sub shop and pick up something to give her a break.”

  A little ice melted. “That was thoughtful of you.”

  “She looked tired at breakfast this morning. I think maybe we should find someone to drive her to her treatments, don’t you?”

  “Been thinking the same thing.” How could she doubt him? He seemed to care so much.

  “Everything all right, honey?”

  “Just tired. Nick? Can we talk?”

  “Of course. What’s on your mind?”

  “Who was that woman?”

  “Mandy Gates. One of Jenna’s friends. She’s on the performing arts center board with me too. Why?”

  “Wondering is all.”

  “Ahhh, you’re jealous, aren’t you?” He grinned. “I like that.”

  “Jealousy is a bad thing, Nick. Two people should trust each other.”

  He backed up a little but held to her shoulders. “You don’t trust me?”

  “When I saw you talking to her all kinds of things ran through my mind.”

  “That’s natural, Eden. It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  He chuckled and shook his head, letting his hands drop to her hips, pulling her crotch against him. “I love everything about you, honey. Your soft skin, your hair, your breasts, these baby-makin’ hips. Mmm….”

  She pushed away from him. “Stop it. I can’t compare to that woman and you know it. And what is it with all these cracks about my hips and babies? Am I just the simple girl next door you know won’t whore around on you ’cause no one wants her? Is that it, Nick?”

  Surprise shot over his features. He held his hands up in the air. “Whoa, honey. You’re creating an issue where there isn’t one. You’re right. You don’t compare to Jenna or Mandy. Why? Because you’re more beautiful than either one of them ever will be. No amount of makeup or surgery is going to fix those two. You’re letting your insecurities get the better of you.”

  “My insecurities. Nick, the whole world knows what men consid
er beautiful. And it’s not me. You’ll never see someone like me draped across a magazine centerfold. Admit it.”

  “Something tells me that no matter what I say, I’m not going to win here. Why don’t we drop this? Finish up and let’s go grab some dinner. We’ll talk later.”

  “Not tonight, Nick. This is hard for me to say, but I think we should back off and think about what’s going on here. Jenna really hurt you and it’s possible you’re interested in me because I’m not like her in any way.”

  “And there’s something wrong with not wanting you to be like Jenna? For God’s sake, Eden, listen to yourself.”

  “I am. I was distracted by the sex but I’m listening to myself now. Please go.”

  “No. This is Day Four. We’re going to finish what we started!”

  “Will you please give up on that silly Twelve Days of Love thing? It’s a marketing gimmick. It has nothing to do with real love and life!”

  “But look at how far we’ve come in eight days. There’s your proof.”

  “All it proves is that we got caught up in it. We’ve both been deluding ourselves.”

  He planted his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t do this, Eden. What we’ve shared is real. And as far as the sex is concerned, isn’t sex supposed to bring two people who care closer together?”

  “Yes, sex should make a couple closer. Apparently it didn’t work with us. I can’t spend my life in a fit of jealousy every time you speak to a woman because I feel inferior. I don’t want to question your motives. Motives I believe you haven’t questioned enough. Let’s take a break and think before one of us gets hurt.”

  “You mean before you get hurt. Because surely Nick Lancaster is such a son of a bitch that it’s going to happen. And he’s crazy to boot and doesn’t have sense enough to know what he wants. No wonder you’re alone, Eden. You’re stuck in high school.”

  The door slammed behind him, sending the bells into an agitated dance that went on for what seemed like forever. Eden stood there and watched him go, too numb to speak or move. Where were the tears? There should be tears.

  What had she done?