Christmas Cowboy (A Standalone Holiday Romance Novel)

by Claire Adams

  “Man, you are going to look good no matter which shirt you choose, and you know it,” Mark said, shaking his head. He paused and then offered, “The blue one is better.”

  I grinned a little and then tugged it over my head, doing up the remaining buttons. “What are you, a girl?” I quipped.

  Mark laughed again. “You think you're finally going to seal the deal tonight?” he asked. “Get some of that sexy Hawaiian ass?”

  “I wish,” I groaned, already half-hard at just the thought of it. “She says we need to go on five dates before she'll sleep with me, and unfortunately, I kind of believe that she might stick to that.” I shook my head. “Fucking crazy.”

  “Definitely crazy,” Mark agreed, shaking his head in sympathy. “But that's women for you, right? Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.”

  “Exactly.” I paused. “You think this barbecue place is the place to go?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah,” Mark said. “And I asked Jonie, she's one of my good girlfriends, and Jonie said that she'd love to go there on a date, so I can't imagine a girl not liking it. Totally chill, but great food, and a bit romantic as well. You're going to have a great time.”

  “Awesome,” I said, again, not sure why I cared so much to impress her. “One more favor.”

  “Shoot,” Mark said.

  I sighed, running a hand back through my hair, even though I had just styled it perfectly. Fortunately, the style was a bit messy, casual beach hair. “Look, after the whole thing about money and everything last time, I was just wondering if it would be okay for me to borrow the car tonight, rather than having you as my driver. I'd still pay you like you were driving me, just I wouldn't want Gretchen to know. And you could stay here while I was out on my date until I brought the car back. Hell, order room service, watch something on pay-per-view. This is a nice place, right?”

  “Aw, man, you're smitten, aren't you?” Mark asked, a knowing look in his gaze. He glanced around. “Maybe I could have my girl over here, yeah?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, sure, just do it on the balcony, or in the bathtub. I don't want you fucking in my bed.”

  “Totally fair,” Mark said, looking pleased with my response. “Yeah, no, totally fine.” He dug into his pocket and came out with the keys, which he tossed over at me.

  A little while later, I felt like I was learning to drive all over again. I shook my head. It had been a while since I'd driven myself anywhere. But it wasn't a totally unpleasant feeling; in fact, it was kind of nice to be there behind the wheel, with good music on the radio and a warm evening breeze in my face.

  I had asked Gretchen her address, so this time, instead of the impersonal task of meeting her at the restaurant, I could meet her at her home. I smiled a little to myself as I looked at the cute little place. Then, I parked the car and got out. Sure, I could just honk the horn and wait for her, but something told me she would appreciate the extra effort of my walking up to the door to meet her. And maybe, just maybe, I'd get myself invited inside. She had said that we wouldn't have sex until the fifth date, but that didn't mean we weren't going to fool around at all, surely.

  “Hey,” Gretchen said when she answered the door, sounding a bit breathless, and I wondered if she had run to answer the door. I hid my smile and pulled her into a hug.

  “Hey,” I said against her hair.

  Gretchen looked nervously around. “I'm not quite ready,” she admitted. “Or rather, one of my clients just emailed me regarding an appointment for tomorrow, and I meant to get back to them first. Do you want to come in? Would you mind waiting for a minute or two?”

  “No problem,” I said, entering the house feeling smug.

  Gretchen laughed. “I'd give you the tour, but you're standing in most of the place already,” she said, gesturing around the open-plan home. It was small, but it was obvious from the colorful cushions on the sofa to the driftwood hung on the wall that every piece had been carefully selected by her.

  She waved a hand toward the kitchen. “So, that's the kitchen, and this is the living room. And the hall. There's a bathroom over there, and then upstairs is my bedroom and the guest room.” She laughed again, sounding even more nervous. “It's not luxurious or anything, but, it’s mine.”

  “It's home,” I said, looking around, smiling a little. I shook my head. “To be honest, I've been living in my place in New York for about six years now, and it still doesn't feel homey.” I grimaced. “Actually, it feels like it's all come out of a catalog.”

  Gretchen grinned. “Yeah, I think a lot of bachelor pads end up that way,” she said. “We don't have that many bachelors here on the island, but-” She clapped a hand over her mouth, and I couldn't help laughing.

  “You're adorable when you're flustered,” I told her.

  She blushed brightly, looking even more flustered, and I wanted to say things like that again and again, just to keep her looking like this.

  “My computer is upstairs,” she told me.

  “Okay,” I said easily. “I'll wait down here.” I thought that was a good line. I didn't want her to feel like I was intruding. I'd make it to her bedroom. I knew, but there was no reason to rush things.

  “Okay,” she said, looking relieved, and I knew that I had made the right decision. I mentally high-fived myself.

  Dinner went well, and then we found ourselves back at her house.

  Gretchen was laughing, taking off her heels even before we were halfway across the parking lot. “I have sand everywhere,” she confessed. “Pretty sure it's in my mouth, even.”

  I smiled over at her. She'd had a few cocktails with dinner, and I could see the effect of them on her, in the way that she was giggling and easy. But I'd also had enough to drink that I was a bit tipsy. “Yeah, me too,” I told her, with regards to the sand. I grimaced. “Good thing I didn't wear a suit for this one.”

  Gretchen giggled. “Yeah, that would have been a bit out of place,” she agreed. She shook her head. “Honestly, I didn't even know that place existed. Thanks for showing it to me. I'm sure my parents are going to love it, next time they're in town.”

  “They don't live around here?” I asked curiously.

  “Nah,” Gretchen said, shaking her head. “I'm born and raised here, but as soon as I went to college, my parents moved back to California. My mom missed her family, and both of my grandmothers still live there. So.”

  “Do you ever get back to see them?” I asked.

  “Yeah, a few times a year,” Gretchen said. “I don't go back for Christmas usually because the flights at this time of year are insane, even though most people are trying to come to Hawaii rather than leave it. But still, it's not worth it. I was just there a month or two ago, though, and I'll take another trip there in the spring.”

  “You must miss them,” I said, even though I wasn't sure why I was tempering her giggly humor with such depressing thoughts.

  “Yeah, I miss them,” Gretchen said easily, though. “But I get to live here.” She spread her arms and twirled around, losing her footing for a moment in the sand.

  I reached out to steady her. “Easy there,” I said.

  I couldn't see, with the dim lights what they were, but I was pretty sure she was blushing. “Thanks,” she said. She paused. “You know, I'm usually not this drunk.”

  “And you usually don't sleep with people before the fifth date,” I said seriously. I couldn't help it; that was all that I could think about at the moment. We'd had a good conversation over dinner, and I was starting to realize that not only was I sexually attracted to her, but I also just simply liked her, as a human being.

  “I feel like we've been on a lot more than two dates,” Gretchen admitted as we walked toward her home. I was thankful that the restaurant hadn't ended up being that far away, it had meant that I could drink guilt-free at dinner.

  I should have brought Mark out with me, but oh well. Too late for that now. If Gretchen wouldn't let me stay the night, I'd just have to pay for an Uber to bring hi
m out to me, and then I'd have him drive me home. Otherwise, I was sure he'd enjoy having my suite to himself for the night.

  I leaned in and kissed Gretchen on her doorstep, pinning her against the door. For a long moment, we stayed like that, our lips sliding cautiously against one another's. Usually, I would take control of a kiss, dominating it and forcing my way into her mouth. Then again, usually, I would expect her to open herself to me, to be practically begging for it, before I'd even done anything.

  But Gretchen wasn't like the girls who I normally took home with me. There was something delicate about her.

  There was nothing lacking in her passion, though.

  She finally opened her mouth to me, as though she had come to a decision in her mind, and she pressed up against me, her arms coming up to twine around my neck. I slotted a leg between hers and listened to the way that she groaned, softly, against my lips, as though she needed so much more than that.

  She probably did. If she was waiting for a guy to take her on five dates before he went home with her.

  “I'm going to stay over,” I told her, pulling back to lean my forehead against hers. “I owe you three more dates, but I'm going to stay over.”

  “Yes,” she agreed, sounding just as breathless as me. She smirked at me, though. “They'd better be good dates, though.”

  “They'll be like tonight,” I told her. “But to different places. I promise.” I only hoped that Mark had enough recommendations for good places to take her, but I had to assume that he did. He had lived there his whole life, after all. I smiled and leaned back in to capture her lips.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Gretchen

  I didn't know why I was inviting Christian inside. The date had been great, and I still had Mina's, and Mrs. Harris', words in the back of my mind. Just have fun with it.

  I knew there was nothing wrong with this, but at the same time, I wasn't the kind of girl to have sex with a dude after only a couple dates. I should be holding out, out of respect for myself. Or something like that.

  But at the same time, with his hands tracing hot lines down my curves, I couldn't seem to pull away from him.

  “Are you sure about this?” He was sweet enough to ask as we tumbled through the front door.

  I shook my head. “No,” I told him honestly. “Not at all.”

  Surprisingly, that made Christian pause. “Maybe we should-”

  “No,” I said, already desperate for the feeling of his leg in between mine. I could only imagine what it would feel like to have his fingers touching my mound. I blushed at the very thought of it.

  Christian smiled down at me, brushing my hair back. “You're beautiful,” he said seriously.

  I laughed nervously, ducking my head a little. “You say that to all your girls?”

  Christian frowned. “Look, I know my reputation precedes me, but I’m not everything you think I am.”

  “Sorry,” I said. “I imagine it must be difficult being you. Knowing that everyone knows all your personal business.” I trailed, wondered why I was saying this, now of all times. Was I actively trying to make sure we didn't end up having sex?

  But Christian smiled at me again. “Yeah,” he agreed. “It is a bit difficult. But all the same, I have a pretty awesome life. Especially when it means that I can treat a sexy girl like you to dinner.”

  And there we were, back around to the sex thing. I could almost sigh with relief as he leaned back in, kissing a heated trail along my jawline and down the line of my throat. I tilted my head back to give him better access, needing more, and he complied, licking and sucking at the delicate skin there, sending heat pooling between my legs.

  Christian's arms came around me, and he scooped me up, pressing me back against the wall. I wrapped my legs around his waist, groaning at the feeling of his erection already straining to be free of his jeans.

  “Bed,” I gasped out between kisses, squirming a little so that he would set me down. There were too many layers of clothing between us, but I knew that if we started stripping off here, we'd probably never make it to the bed before we coupled.

  “Where is it?” Christian asked, though, beginning to carry me upstairs, making me giggle.

  “Those muscles aren't just for show?” I asked teasingly. I nodded my head toward the room on the left. “It's in there.”

  “Good,” Christian growled, his voice gone husky with lust.

  He nudged open the door with his foot and brought me inside, tossing me gently down onto the bed and then crawling on top of me. He slid his fingers under my shirt and pulled it off over my head. Then, he groaned softly and stroked a hand over the black, lacy bra that I'd put on even though I hadn't expected that we would end up here together at the end of the night. It had been meant to make me feel confident and sexy for the date, but it was nice to see his appreciation of it as well.

  Still, he didn't leave it on for very long, reaching expertly around behind me and unhooking the clasp. I suddenly realized that here I was, half-naked already, and I hadn't even got his shirt off yet. I reached for his buttons, clumsily beginning to undo them, and Christian pulled away, moving to stand next to the bed.

  “Strip,” he said, doing just that himself. He winked at me. “Easier this way.”

  I laughed and slid my skirt off, pausing with my hands on my panties. I bit my lower lip, feeling a bit of uncertainty again.

  “Hey,” Christian said, crawling back onto the bed in just his boxers and covering my body with his own. “We won't do anything that you don't want to do,” he told me firmly.

  I gasped and rocked my hips toward his as his erection slotted between my legs, pressing against me with only those two flimsy layers of fabric between us. “Please,” I whimpered. “I want this.”

  Christian's response to that was to kiss me again, nipping at my lower lip so that I would allow him to slip his tongue into my mouth. Slowly, his hands traced their way down my sides, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. Then, he began to follow that same path with his mouth, pausing for a moment to place kisses on each nipple, making me arch and squirm against the sheets.

  He grinned up at me for a moment and then moved his mouth lower, kissing past my navel and finally coming to rest between my legs. He placed a soft kiss to the front of my panties, grazing his teeth lightly across my clit. I gasped again, tangling my fingers in his hair.

  He reached up and slipped his fingers into the waistband of my panties, drawing them down off me in one fluid motion. Then, he continued to trail kisses across my skin, tasting the smooth folds between my legs and then carefully stabbing his tongue inside of me. At that, I practically writhed.

  “Please,” I managed, the sound more of a broken sob than anything else.

  Christian smirked devilishly at me and then moved his way back up my body, aligning his thick erection against my entrance and pushing slowly inside. I sighed softly once he was fully seated inside of me, feeling better than I had in a while. Christian smiled and pressed a soft kiss into my shoulder. Then, he began to move his hips, rocking them steadily, giving me short little thrusts that hit at exactly the places that I needed to feel him.

  As he thrust into me, he continued to tease his hands across my skin, tracing lightly enough that it was just on this side of tickling me. I whimpered, tangling my fingers in the sheets and feeling as though at any moment, I might fly apart into a million pieces.

  “Come for me,” Christian whispered roughly into my ear, and I cried out as I did just that.

  Christian groaned and continued to use me mercilessly, driving me through my orgasm and leaving me gasping for air, clinging to him. But his rhythm soon faltered, hips stuttering, and I could tell from his expression that he was coming in wave after wave of pleasure as well.

  He collapsed against me, a comfortable weight, and then he rolled off to the side, dragging me over and into his arms and kissing my hair.

  “Fuck,” he said. “That was incredible.” He rubbed his hand down my arm
. Then, he laughed a little. “That was the fastest I've come in a long time,” he admitted.

  I blushed a little, suddenly remembering all the other girls that he had been with. Remembering that this wasn't special for him in the way that it was for me. And sure, maybe he hadn't come that fast in a while, but that didn't mean that the sex had been particularly mind-blowing.

  I knew I shouldn't be thinking it, but I had to wonder where I stacked up against the rest of them. And I hated thinking like that.

  I rolled away from him, looking back over at him and biting my lower lip. “You didn't strike me as the kind of guy who wants to cuddle after sex,” I told him. That was true.

  Christian winced. “I don't always,” he told me. “But, are you asking me to leave?”

  I shrugged a little, trying to pretend that this didn't matter, that none of this had mattered. Because I knew that must be how he was viewing this situation. I slipped out of bed, unable to stand it anymore. “I have work early tomorrow morning,” I told him, faking a yawn as I scooped up my discarded panties and pulled them back on. I put my hair up in a ponytail and went over to my dresser, digging out a shirt to sleep in.

  “Okay,” Christian said slowly, getting out of bed as well and beginning to put his own clothes back on. He seemed uncertain, as though he didn't know this part of the routine, and maybe he didn't. Maybe the stories weren't to be believed, and maybe he did spend the night normally.

  More likely, he'd just always been the one kicking the girl out, rather than the other way around.

  I tried to ignore the unhappy feeling in my stomach and the way my mind was telling me that if he had been willing to stay, why couldn't I just accept that?

  “I think it's best that we don't see one another again,” I told him as he finished buttoning up his shirt. I couldn't quite look at him as I said that, and I hoped he would get out of there before I started crying. I wanted this, but I couldn't keep doing this to myself if I knew that I was never going to be anything more than just another fuck for him.