“Hold on, sweetheart, it’s gonna be a wild ride,” he growled, just before he slid her down his shaft. She was hot, wet, and felt so fucking good that Holden needed a moment. Gigi shuddered in his arms, whimpering from the joining of their two bodies.
He started slow, wanting to make sure she had time to adjust to the position, but after a few strokes, Holden picked up the pace, driving harder and harder into her. The movement from his thrusts made her breasts bounce, and the sight captivated his attention. He wanted to lean down and take them in his mouth again, but there was no way to do that and maintain the pace he was on. It was like he was a crazed animal who couldn’t control himself, still he knew exactly what he was doing, how hard he was fucking her, and just how much they were both enjoying it. Gigi’s head was thrown back, her moans echoing throughout her body. He could feel her body react to his motions, to his own animalistic desires.
“You like that, sweetheart? You like when I fuck you like this?” he growled.
“Yes…don’t stop…” she said. “Holden…I’m gonna…”
Holden felt her insides clamp down on him, gripping him for dear life as an orgasm rolled through her body. Flinging herself forward, her nails digging into his shoulder, Gigi screamed, spurring him to go faster, harder, never letting up. He felt every single thing she did and more. His skin was on fire, his heart was pounding a mile a minute, and nothing else seemed to exist around them in this moment. Just the two of them, joined together, giving in to their passion.
When her orgasm finally let up, Holden slowed down until he was all but at a halt, letting her catch her breath. His heart squeezed, taking her in, her post-orgasmic state forming a blissed out look on her face. He pressed his lips to her, as if he could somehow share that bliss just through the contact of their lips. But that wasn’t enough. He needed his own release and couldn’t help but wonder if he could get her to another.
When he glided all the way out of her, Gigi whimpered in disappointment as he lowered her to the ground.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, we’re not done,” he said, spinning her around and bending her over the counter. “I just want to see this glorious ass of yours as I fuck you.” He gave her backside a swat before driving back into her, letting out another groan.
“Yes!” Gigi called out. It was a reaction neither of them were expecting from her, but one that sent lightning through his veins nonetheless. Alright, my sweet southern belle likes it a little rough sometimes…
Gigi moved her hips backwards, meeting him thrust for thrust as he picked up the pace again. He was a man on a mission, wanting her to crest that mountain one more time. He didn’t have the words to express how he felt about her, but he hoped that his actions now, in giving all of himself to her like this, showed her just what she meant to him. Just how much she had changed his world for the better, and how he had no idea what he’d do without her. He had a different outlook on the world now, and it was all because of her.
Feeling his own climax start to build, he reached around her and found her clit. Gigi mewled as soon as he made contact with the little bundle of nerves, crying out as he started to circle it with his finger. She was so incredibly responsive to his touch, which only served to fuel his own orgasm. A few strokes later, Gigi gripped onto the counter as she exploded again. Her pussy clamped down on Holden’s cock right as his own release overtook him. She milked him for all he was worth, their bodies writhing together as they both came.
A long moment passed before either one of them could move, the room filled with nothing but the sounds of their breathing. When Holden finally felt like he had the strength, he stepped back from the counter, hauling Gigi into his arms. He picked her up and carried her up the stairs.
“Where are we going?” she asked, her eyes closed, snuggling against his chest.
“I think after that ride, what you need is a bubble bath,” he said, turning into his bathroom. “A little roughness calls for a little softness in return.”
He set her down on the vanity and turned on the hot water spigot on the clawfoot tub. Turning back to her, he was confused by the look on her face. She was looking at him like she was trying to work out a puzzle, or like what he had just said had been in a language she didn’t understand.
“Are you going to get in with me?” she asked.
“If you would like me to.”
She nodded. “I trust you, Holden. I feel safe with you. I…I more than like you.”
“You ‘more than like’ me?” he asked, halfway teasing, halfway curious what that was supposed to mean.
“There isn’t a word for that step in between like and that other L word. More than like was the best I could come up with,” she responded, looking a little sheepish.
“I more than like you too, sweetheart. A lot.”
20
Gigi
With only a few days left until Christmas, Gigi seemed to have lost track of whether she was coming or going. The Busy Bean was the busiest she’d ever seen, with the whole town of Colebury seeming to be in and out of the café as they were doing their holiday prep. The peppermint-bark cupcakes she’d created on a whim had been a big hit, both the test batches she’d dropped off at Speakeasy and the Gin Mill and at the Busy Bean as well. So much so, she now had special orders for them for the holiday seemingly coming out of her eyeballs. But the cupcake, which had either white or dark chocolate cake with chunks of peppermint candies mixed in, a chocolate mousse frosting, and was topped with a decent-sized hunk of the peppermint bark, was so much fun to make that the task didn’t seem quite as daunting as it would have only months ago.
Today, however, was not about baking. Holden had made her mark off the entire day, telling her they had plans. Not that she had any idea where they were going. He’d been all kinds of secretive the last few days, telling her it was a surprise and that all she needed to do was be ready to go by two o’clock, and to wear warm clothes. Every time she tried to figure out what he could possibly have up his sleeve, her whole body thrummed with excitement. She had tried to coax it out of him that morning in his bed, peppering his chest with kisses, as she had recently discovered he liked, but he held strong and didn’t crack even in the slightest.
“You're about to explode over there with anticipation, aren’t you?” he asked, after they’d been driving for about forty-five minutes.
“Yes!” she told him. It had been what felt like forever since they’d seen anything other than trees and farmland, but Gigi had learned that Vermont was just like that, and it didn’t mean they were lost. She trusted that Holden knew where he was taking her—she just wished they would hurry up and get there.
“Good, because we’re here.”
Gigi sat up in her seat, looking around to see if there were any signs of life, but still nothing. Until a second later, when a large sign reading “Aurora Christmas Tree Farm” came into view. A few hundred feet past the sign, they pulled into a parking lot that was streaming with people and families, some carrying trees, wreaths, and other assorted Christmas décor, while others milled about and chatted.
“A Christmas tree farm?” Gigi asked, her excitement boiling over. She knew she must sound like a little kid, but she couldn’t help it. “Are we going to pick out a Christmas tree?”
“Sure are, sweetheart,” he said, parking the truck and hopping out. When he came around and opened her door, he looked at her like she was the only woman on earth. It sent a ripple of emotion through her, loving the way he made her feel with just a look. “You said you don’t have a lot of happy Christmas memories. That changes today.”
Gigi bounded out of the door so fast, Holden had to take a step back to not lose his balance. She didn’t have the slightest idea how this was done, but that wasn’t going to stop her from enjoying every moment of this day. She rushed toward the area where most of the people seemed to be heading, with Holden hot on her heels, snow crunching under their feet as she found her way to the grove of pine trees.
�
��Okay, stupid question,” she said, stopping in the middle of a row of trees. “What makes a good tree?”
There were fewer people around now that they were out among the spread of pines. It amazed her how each tree could look so similar and yet so different. Looking between them all, she had so many questions about this process and couldn’t even begin to form them all.
“You just kinda pick one,” Holden said with a shrug.
"So, we just walk up and down the rows until we see one we can’t live without?”
Holden chuckled, grabbing her hand and pulling her into him. “Pretty much, sweetheart. Christmas trees are kinda like love in that sense—when you know, you know.”
“I thought I knew once,” she said, looking down at her feet, her joy over this experience fading slightly to the pain of thinking of Bradley and her sham of a marriage. “But I was wrong. It wasn’t real. I chose the wrong tree.”
Holden squeezed his arms tighter around her, drawing her into the warmth of his chest. She inhaled his spicy scent, finding comfort in it as well as his embrace. A brief wave of guilt hit her, reminding her that she still needed to let him in on the rest of her secret. Sucking in a deep breath, she tried to find the words now, but couldn’t. His arms around her left her feeling safe, like everything she had left behind in Atlanta wasn’t real. The thought slipped from her mind just as Holden rested his head on top of hers, allowing her a moment to deal with her emotions.
“That tree had no idea what it missed out on, in my opinion,” he said, still holding her tight against him. She could feel his chest rumble as he spoke and couldn’t help but smile at the vibrations. “Today’s tree, however, will be so overjoyed to have been chosen by you, that it won’t have the ability to do anything other than stand proud and try to make you happy every day.”
“Is that so?” she asked, lifting her head to look him in the eyes.
“Absolutely.” He took a step back, releasing her, but almost immediately took her hand in his and started to lead her down the row. “Now, traditionally the tree goes in the living room, right by the fireplace. We’ve also put it in front of the bow windows before. So, picture that space in your head and the shape of the tree you can see there.”
Gigi looked around at the different trees, trying to place each one in front of the large window. She liked the idea that you’d be able to see the tree as you drive up to the house, like it was greeting you from inside. She squeezed Holden’s hand as they walked along, each tree they passed not quite right. When they got to the end of the row they were on, they made a little U-turn into the next one, continuing their stroll. After about twenty minutes of walking, she was starting to wonder if maybe she was being too picky, if she’d gotten too far into her own head thanks to the love metaphor, since every one they saw had something “wrong” with it. They were all either too tall, or too skinny, too robust, or missing a patch. So much for knowing it when I see it…
The sun was starting to set, and a shiver ran through her from the cold. It was only going to get colder as the sun disappeared, and Gigi started to wonder if she needed to give up and just let Holden pick one.
“Cold, sweetheart?” Holden asked as she shivered again.
“A little,” she replied sheepishly. She hated admitting to her failure, but she was really starting to not see any more options.
“Come here.” Coming up behind her and drawing her in close, he wrapped himself around her, letting his body heat engulf her. His hard chest felt so good against her that she let herself get lost in it for a moment, leaning her head back on his shoulder. Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath.
When she opened them again, she was stunned at what she saw. The perfect tree was standing right in front of them.
“Holden, that’s it. It’s perfect!” she said, unable to take her eyes off it. The evergreen was shorter than most of the ones that surrounded it and almost pear shaped, with its wide base and narrow top. Gigi couldn’t exactly put her finger on the reason, but this was the tree.
“Yeah?” he asked. “Then it’s yours.” Holding up the bow saw he’d been carrying, a childlike smile crossed his face, and Gigi could have sworn she saw his eyes sparkle. Crouching underneath the tree, he sawed away at it, until the tree fell, hitting the ground with a loud thud.
“Alright, sweetheart, let’s get this bad boy loaded into the truck and home so we can get it decorated.”
Holden
Out of the corner of his eye, Holden could see the joy written all over Gigi’s face. She hadn’t stopped smiling, or bouncing up and down, since they’d gotten the tree loaded into the truck back at the tree farm. When he’d asked his parents if they minded if he did this with her, wanting to make this first Christmas without her husband a happy one, he’d known it would mean a lot to her. He just hadn’t realized that it would also mean so much to him.
Holding her this afternoon while she mourned had been an emotional moment for both of them. His marriage might have been a lot happier than hers, but their spouses were both just as gone, the both of them navigating the mess of moving on. Having her to walk through all of this with him had been exactly what he needed.
Taking a brief detour, he did a loop through Colebury green so she could get the full experience of seeing it all lit up. She ooohed and ahhhed, taking in the massive tree that stood directly in the middle of the square, covered in a myriad of colored and white twinkle lights. Large green, red, blue, and white ball-shaped ornaments were sporadically placed on the branches, adding to the flair, with a sparkly gold star at the very top which glittered under the flood lights cast on it. The front lawn of the town hall was aglow with a winter scene, complete with spiraled lights forming trees, and reindeer formed from twinkle lights. The Catholic Church next door had the requisite nativity scene out front, as well as a large wreath hanging on the side of the building.
When they pulled into the drive, Gigi bounded out of the truck, more energy flowing out of her than a small child with a new toy.
“How do we get it inside?” she asked, opening the tailgate.
“I’ll handle that part, if you’ll go make the hot chocolate,” he told her, kissing her softly. He was pretty sure he would never tire of her kisses, and he could only hope that she felt the same. She nodded gleefully and skipped into the house.
Holden couldn’t help but sing “Fat Bottomed Girls” by Queen as he maneuvered the evergreen that Gigi had picked out into the house. It took some doing, but he managed to make it through the front door and into the stand with no major damage to the tree’s shape and minimal pine needle loss. Taking a look at it again, he silently laughed to himself that this was the one she picked. He had no idea why she felt so taken with this one, but it wasn’t lost on him that she’d picked out a tree that had quite the set of hips, so to speak, and that her own hips were one of his favorite things about her. Not that he would ever admit to any of this out loud.
“Here you go,” Gigi said, coming up behind him and handing him a mug. “Careful—it’s hot.”
“Ready for this?” he asked.
“You have no idea,” she beamed.
“The St. Jameses and the Montgomerys are strictly white twinkle light people. None of that colored light nonsense,” he said, in mock sternness, holding up a string of lights. “But other than that, it’s free rein. I’ll do the lights, if you want to start picking out ornaments. The standard ball ornaments and such are in that box, and the family ones are in there. Have at it.”
Gigi went straight for the family ornament box, just as Holden would have guessed. Based on everything she’d told him, she’d had enough of generic decorations in this lifetime, and she wanted this tree to have heart. She pulled out a bunch, slowly unwrapping and admiring each one before laying them out on the coffee table. Once he was finished adorning the tree with the lights, she handed him a bright red ball and set to work on finding the perfect spot for everything she’d unwrapped.
“What’s this one from?” she as
ked, holding up a pine cone with red glitter all over it.
“That is from sometime in preschool. I’m not even sure how the thing still has glitter on it. But there is no way my mom would have ever thrown it out. I’m not sure she actually understands the concept of throwing things out.”
“That’s so sweet though.” She unwrapped a small, star-shaped frame ornament, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh as she looked at the picture inside. He didn’t even need her to hold it up to know what it was, but he let her continue anyway. “Is this you?”
“Seventh grade,” he said, owning up to the insanely embarrassing photo. “Braces, acne, and spiked hair. I mean, it’s every thirteen-year-old boy’s dream to look that cool!” Gigi laughed as he took the ornament from her and held it up to his face so she could see the comparison. “I’m sure that had Lexi Reynolds only known that this kid would turn into this stud, she never ever would have turned me down for the dance that year.”
Taking the ornament out of his hand, Gigi stood on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his. She tasted like the hot chocolate they’d been sipping on, making him want to devour her.
“That stud is mine now, so Lexi Reynolds can just back off!” she joked, before finding an opening on the tree for it.
“I am sure she is just as unconcerned about me now as she was back then. What about you? Who was your first crush?”
“Archie Porter,” she said without hesitation. “He was soooo cool.”
“And did Archie know that you existed?”
“Oh, absolutely. Our mothers lunched together. We ‘dated’ for three years,” she said, using her fingers to make air quotes around dated.
“Dated?” he questioned, repeating her gesture.
“He broke my heart just before Homecoming in the eleventh grade. Said he just didn’t see us working long-term. Sophomore year of college I found out he was dating the kicker of the football team at Tennessee. They’re married now and have the cutest cocker spaniel.”
Cakewalk Page 18