My skin starts to heat up at his words. “There’s no swear jar, just so you know,” I say lightly, pretending I don’t know what he’s implying. “Addi totally scammed you out of that dollar.”
“Yeah? I wondered about that. She’s a sneaky one.” Gage chuckles.
“She is,” I agree, smiling.
“Seems like she did okay for the first Christmas without her dad.”
“I think so, too,” I reply, contemplating. “Honestly, I think you were a big help in that. Having someone else around other than me — a man who actually paid attention to her — took her mind off things a little.”
“What’s your ex like?” he asks. “If you don’t mind my askin’?”
“He’s a businessman. A deal maker,” I explain. I glance at Gage’s face, trying to see whether I’m boring him, but he seems interested to hear more. “Garrett’s identity is very wrapped up in being seen as successful, with lots of money and influence,” I continue. “I think he liked the image that being a family man projected more than he actually liked being a family man, if you see what I mean. He was great about introducing people to ‘his beautiful wife’ at parties, and talking about his ‘wonderful daughter.’ But when it was just the three of us, he was a lot less interested in playing husband and father.”
“You are, you know,” Gage murmurs.
“I am what?”
“Beautiful.” He moves closer, his hands reaching to pull me to him. “Your ex is a fucking idiot.”
“Language,” I whisper.
Gage’s mouth moves onto mine. His kiss ignites a flame inside me that’s instant, explosive. My panties are still soaking wet from earlier, when he made me come, but I can feel I’m starting to soak through them again as he moves over me, the hard steel of his cock making me throb in anticipation. I’ve never felt such a surge of arousal from any man before. It’s almost frightening, but my body is so on fire at his touch that he’s all I can think about.
“Take me into your bedroom,” he commands in a low, gravely voice. “I told you earlier I want to taste you. And then I’m gonna fill up that sweet cunt of yours and fuck you until we’re both unconscious.”
I actually feel my nipples harden at his words, so much they’re almost painful. My entire body is aching to be touched as I stand up in a daze and lead him into my bedroom. I’ve never been so thankful for three things as I am right now: First, that Addi’s room is down the hall from mine, and we don’t share a common wall. Second, that my little girl sleeps like the dead.
And third, that there’s a lock on my bedroom door.
As soon as we’re inside my room, with the door closed, Gage pushes me up against the wall and lifts me onto his cock. I wrap my legs around him, moaning, as his tongue finds mine. If our clothes were off right now, we’d be fucking, but as it is, it’s a delicious dance of torture. I grind against him, my arms clinging desperately to his neck, every cell in my body crying out for him. I knew I wanted him before, but I’m almost alarmed by how much, now that we’re finally alone.
“Fuck,” Gage swears softly, his mouth leaving mine to trail a path to the soft spot behind my ear. The scratchiness of his beard is delicious against my skin. “I’ve been waiting for this all night, Bailey. Jesus Christ, you’re gonna be the end of me.” My skin thrills at his words, at the way he says my name, loving how he just tells me what he’s thinking, how much he wants me. It’s an incredible turn-on even as I fight against feeling self-conscious. “You’re so fucking sexy, all I’ve been able to think about is how good it’s gonna feel inside your hot pussy.”
His words are like a touch — I arch back my neck, trying not to cry out. “Gage,” I whisper. It’s all I can manage to say.
I angle my hips and work my clit against the hard heat of his cock. My mind has stopped making decisions, my body in complete control. I know I can come like this, that it won’t take long. Gage seems to know this, too, because a second later he freezes and then lowers me to the ground. I stifle a whimper of protest as I try to get my legs under me to stand.
Gage takes a step back, then another. For a second I’m confused, then suddenly afraid that he might have changed his mind about this. But then he speaks, his voice thick. “Take off your sweater,” he tells me.
There’s no way for me to resist him. I do exactly as he says, pulling the hem up and over my breasts, then up and over my head. Underneath, I’m wearing a black lace bra — the only nice one I have. Gage hisses. I watch as he slowly unzips his jeans. They fall to his thighs, but he doesn’t bother to step out of them. Instead, he takes out his cock. My God, it’s enormous, hard and thick. I can’t take my eyes off it. We both stare at one another as Gage wraps his hand around the base of his shaft. He begins to stroke, slowly, as he watches me.
“Take off your pants. Leave the panties.”
I do as he says.
“Touch yourself.”
I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve never touched myself in front of anyone. But I’m so mesmerized by him stroking himself that I’m impossibly turned on. I know he wants to see me doing what he says, so I do. My fingers slide under my panties and find my clit. I’m so aroused already that I can’t help but moan. I’m throbbing, waiting for him to touch me, but I won’t last long if he makes me keep doing this.
“Tell me what you want,” Gage commands in a low, gravely voice.
“I want you to fuck me,” I breathe immediately.
“Tell me you’ve thought about me when you do this.”
“I think about you,” I admit in a near-whisper. “I think about you and make myself come.”
I watch as he continues to stroke his gorgeous cock. Pre-cum drips from the tip. My mouth actually starts to water at the sight. I want to suck him. I want to feel the velvet of his skin on my tongue.
I want everything.
“I need to taste you,” I whisper. His cock pulses but he says nothing. I take a step forward and kneel down. He slides his hand away as I reach up and wrap mine around his shaft. I taste the saltiness of him as he sucks in a breath and freezes. The hand that was stroking his cock slides around the back of my head, fingers threading into my hair.
The skin under my tongue is smooth, and impossibly hot. I’m caught up in a wave of desire to make him come like this, so strong it surprises me. I’ve never really liked doing… this… but with him I want to take him all the way, make him lose himself in my mouth. My pussy throbs, aches, at the thought. I start to slide my lips up and down his shaft, loving the feel of it. I raise my eyes up to his face. His gaze is dark, stormy. I see the tenseness of his jaw, know he’s holding himself back. When my eyes lock on his, he groans loudly and pulls away all at once.
“Fuck, you’re gonna make me lose control,” he grits out. “Get on the bed. It’s time to make good on my promise.”
8
Gage
I’ve been thinking about doing this for hours. Ever since Bailey came on my fingers and I licked her off of them in the kitchen.
My cock is about to explode, but I’m trying to ignore it for now. I want to taste her again — I’m dying for it — and that’s the first thing that’s gonna happen. I order her onto the bed. Like a good girl, she instantly crosses the room and slides onto it, her heavy-lidded eyes never leaving mine. I can’t help but chuckle at how much she wants this. It’s a huge fucking turn on.
I’ve pulled my shirt off by now, and kick my jeans off onto the floor. I have to stop myself from ripping off that black lacy bra of hers as I slide down on the bed and wrap my hand around her waist. Bailey draws in a ragged breath, her breasts rising up as she sucks her lower lip between her teeth. She looks at me from under her lashes. Her whole body is taut, tense, waiting. I reach behind her to the clasp and undo her bra, flinging it away. Then my mouth is on her, my tongue circling her nipples one at a time. Bailey arches her back toward me, her head falling backwards as I tease her nipples to attention. I’m hungry — starving — for her, so I’m rougher than
I want to be, but her legs fall apart and she strains toward me so I know this is how she wants it.
I raise myself up as my mouth leaves her breasts, and I kiss her deep, rough, unrelenting. I’m kneeling between her legs and I reach down and slide the head of my cock against her slick pussy. She gasps and wriggles against me, wanting me inside her, but I pull away. Not yet. I raise myself up to look at her, seeing her face flushed, her lips swollen from my kiss. I can barely think straight as I sink down, my head between her thighs. This is what I want. The promised land.
She tastes like honey. Golden and sweet. She’s soaked, wetness on her inner thighs. I lick the creamy skin, my beard scratching against it. Her soft, muted cries reach my ears as I slide my tongue inside her, loving her juices on my lips. I swirl my tongue around her swollen clit. She raises her hips to my mouth, silently begging me. Her thighs tremble, and fall apart. I suck her nub in between my lips. She freezes, tenses, then shatters, pulling a pillow over her face as she screams. I keep sucking and laving at her as she bucks against my mouth and tongue. My cock is so hard I’m afraid I’m gonna explode before I ever get inside her.
She’s still shaking as I reach over the bed and grab my jeans. I find a condom in my wallet, and roll it onto myself, gritting my teeth because every sensation is torture right now. Bailey has pulled the pillow away from her face now, and she stares up at me, inhaling sharply as I bring my cock to her soaking entrance.
“Fuck me,” she breathes, so softly I can barely hear her.
“Shit, Bailey.” My hands grip her ass as I slowly pull her onto me. Her heat envelops me as I enter her, so hot and tight I’m afraid I’m gonna lose it unless I go slow at first. I start to move inside her, with long strokes, and when I’m all the way in she wraps her legs around my waist and moans.
“Yes,” she whispers, throwing her head back. Jesus.
I pull out and thrust again, harder, then harder, and with every stroke her eyelids flutter as her hips arch up to meet me. Her pussy starts to tighten around me as she climbs, higher and higher.
“Is this what you want?”
“Yes!” she pants. “Oh, God yes, fuck me…”
Hearing her talk like that is all it takes, and before long I feel my balls tighten and I know any second I’m gonna lose control. Just then, Bailey lets out a strangled cry. “Gage, I’m going to —”
And then she does. Her pussy contracts around my cock, pulling me in, and then my balls contract and I let go. We come together, an explosion that overtakes both of us like a sonic boom. I cover my mouth with hers as we both cry out our release. It lasts seconds or hours, I don’t know, and when it’s over, I’m still buried inside her, my arms wrapped around her, her legs wrapped around me.
“Fuck,” I gasp. “Holy shit.”
“Language,” she gasps back.
And then we both start laughing so hard I’m not sure either one of us is ever gonna stop.
“Should I leave?” I ask her.
I don’t really want to. Which is a first for me. I fuck women. I don’t sleep with them. But here in Bailey’s bed, it’s warm and comfortable. And she feels good in my arms, snuggled against my chest. I don’t really want to get up and end it.
“Maybe.” She lets out a soft sigh. “It’s nothing personal, you understand. It’s just that Addi’s never seen me with anyone but her dad. I know she likes you, but I’m not sure how she’d react if…”
“Nah. I get it.” Probably better this way, anyway. Planting a kiss on Bailey’s forehead, I detach myself from her and crawl out of bed. I grab my jeans and my shirt and pull them on. I’m strangely disappointed, even though I can’t blame her for wanting to take it slow because of Addi.
Take it slow…
As the words flash through my mind, I realize something. I’m thinking of this as an it.
As something that could… turn into something.
As I’m zipping up my jeans, I look over at Bailey. She meets my eyes with a sad smile. “Merry Christmas,” she says softly. “This was… well, it was fun.”
Was.
I take a step toward her bedroom door. Then I stop. Then I take another step.
Then I turn and come back to the bed. “Look, I…”
“What?”
“I…” I stand there for a second, frozen. I frown, trying to figure out what the fuck I’m trying to say. Finally I snort at what a fuckin’ dumbass I’m being and sit down on the bed next to her.
“Six hours ago, I thought I knew what was going on here,” I tell her. “I thought I’d come over, get a decent Christmas meal…”
“Decent?” Bailey cocks a brow at me and smirks devilishly. “Seriously?”
“Hey, I didn’t know you were a good cook, give me a break.” I shake my head. “Dammit, woman, let me keep talking. I thought I’d come over, get a good meal…” I eye her, daring her to interrupt me again, “and I’d satisfy the itch that had hold of both of us.”
Bailey is looking at me now, not saying a word.
“Uh…” I pause. “You can interrupt me now, if you want.”
“Not a chance.”
“Figures,” I mutter. “Look, I guess I’m sayin’, my itch isn’t scratched yet.”
She looks at me skeptically. “Are you saying you want me to be your booty call?”
“Not exactly. I mean, well, yeah.” I reach over and slide her toward me. She comes willingly, her body molding to mine instinctively. I kiss her until she’s breathless and moaning.
When we break apart, she gasps, “That’s not fair.”
“All’s fair…” I begin, then stop. Because the rest of that saying isn’t something I wanna say out loud.
In love and war.
That’s crazy. It’s not war. And it sure as hell ain’t love.
Is it? I mean, no. But could it be?
Maybe. Someday. Otherwise, why the hell am I stumbling all over my words like a tongue-tied teenager?
“I’m just sayin’,” I continue, sliding my hand up to tease her bare nipple with my thumb. She moans and leans into me, putty in my hands. “This ended up being a good Christmas. A very good Christmas. And hell, it seems like a shame for me to just go back to my place and for us to go back to just being neighbors.”
“So,” Bailey says hoarsely, writhing a bit as I continue to tease her, “if we aren’t just a booty call and we aren’t just neighbors, what are we then?”
“Do we have to have a word for it?” I ask, leaning down to catch one rosy bud in my mouth. Just like that, I’m hard as a rock again. “I tease her nipple until she’s gasping. “How about you just be Bailey and I’ll be Gage,” I growl against her skin, “and I’ll make you come, and you’ll give me that sweet, wet pussy, and we’ll see where it goes?”
“You don’t fight fair,” Bailey gasps again.
“I fight to win, babe,” I rasp, reaching down to unzip my pants. My cock springs free, and I groan as I slide it against her hot, wet pussy. “Luckily, neither of us has to lose in this case. Tell me what you want, Bailey.”
“Oh, God,” she moans. “Gage, please…”
“What, babe, what?” I urge, right before I slide myself inside her. “Tell me what you want.”
“Talk dirty to me.”
Epilogue
Bailey
One year later
“Addi,” I call from the kitchen window, which I’ve cracked open just a notch. “Do you want some hot cocoa?”
“No thanks, Mom!” she yells back from outside. “Gage needs my help right now — I’ll be in in a little while!”
Smiling, I lean back and stare at the two of them. They’re standing around his bike, Gage gesturing at something near the engine. Addi, arms crossed, nods seriously. Her brow is furrowed in a look of concentration that I know only too well. She idolizes that man, and anyone who observes them for more than a few seconds can see it plain as day.
I decide to keep the window open a little longer. It’s hotter than blazes in this kitchen, partly b
ecause this December is unseasonably warm, and partly because I’m cooking up a storm. Making Christmas dinner in Gage’s house — correction, our house now — has proved to be a bit of a challenge. Objectively, it’s a lot nicer than the kitchen in the place next door where we used to live up until last month. But I can’t find things here as easily — and after putting away all the gadgets I brought from the other place, I’m realizing I should have done a better job of memorizing where I put them in the first place.
A lot of the prep I’m doing is for Christmas dinner tomorrow. I want to do as much as I can in advance, so I can spend the day with my two favorite people. Tonight, I’m making dough for make-your-own pizzas, which we’ll eat together as a family, in front of a Christmas movie or two.
It still amazes me that Gage has been so accepting about living in a house with two females. But he only complains once in a while, and even then, he makes it clear he’s joking.
The roar of an engine outside pulls me from my thoughts. Gage is sitting on his Harley now, with Addi standing next to him to one side. He has her rev the throttle. I don’t know what he’s teaching her, but she looks absolutely enthralled.
She’s still begging me to let Gage take her out on the bike. At nine years old, I still think she’s too young. But I know that eventually I’ll have to give in. Until then, she’ll have to content herself with learning all about engines, from her future stepfather.
I stare down at the engagement ring on my finger. It’s only been there a week, and I’m still a little amazed every time I look at it. Gage surprised me with it one night after dinner. He even got down on one knee. Addi didn’t seem that surprised by the whole thing, and later Gage admitted he’d asked her about it first.
“I wanted to make sure she was okay with it,” he explained afterward.
Turned out, she was. More than okay.
Gage revs the engine some more, then shuts it off and climbs off the bike. Instinctively, I glance next door, at the currently empty house where Addi and I used to live. I hope the new tenants won’t mind the occasional noise of a tune-up. Apparently, they’re scheduled to move in on January first. I wonder who they are, and where they come from. Whether they’ll have a kid Addi’s age for her to play with. Whether they’ll be happy living there.
Dirty Santa: A Holiday MC Romance Page 5