Holiday Heat: The Men of Starlight Bend

by Ashley Jennifer

  “How about a cup of coffee or a glass of wine?”

  Anna gazed up at Nick as he posed the question. Their pseudo-date had turned out to be one of the best nights she’d had in longer than she could remember. The amiable teasing, the adventures rehashed and the general sense of family and familiarity had been downright magical.

  So she pushed the door open and said, “I have brandy, if you’re interested.”

  “Even better.” There was a suggestive glint in Nick’s eyes, though he didn’t press. Didn’t swoop in for a kiss or indicate he was looking for more than just an after-dinner cocktail.

  She also kept the conversation easy and breezy. “You know how Travis is. Every time he pops by, he has a good bottle of something or other in hand. So there’s scotch, too. And a fantastic sipping tequila. Your choice.”

  “Brandy’s fine. How’s your step-dad doing?” Nick asked as he slipped the coat from Anna’s shoulders and hung it on the rack before divesting himself of his overcoat.

  “Wonderful. The bar’s hopping as always and I think he has a girlfriend, though he hasn’t yet confirmed. I have my spies, however. And he started wearing aftershave.”

  “That’s your dead give-away?”

  She laughed. “That and the fact he got a new Stetson.”

  Nick followed her up the three steps from the foyer to the hallway that led past a large guest bathroom on the left and a curved stairwell on the right. Then the corridor spilled into an exposed-rafter, multi-level space facing a wall of windows and glass doors. The spacious, open kitchen was set off to one side with an island. A formal dining table sat in the center of the room, looking out on a U-shaped redwood deck with a couple of fire pits and outdoor sectionals, and the back portion of her property, including a large pond, dense woods and the majestic mountain range in the distance.

  Off-shoot wings one either side of the kitchen/dining area accommodated an office and a living room. Two bedrooms and a master suite with bathrooms were located upstairs.

  A hell of a lot of space for one person, but it’d been warm and cozy when her mother had been alive, Travis had lived here and Anna and Nick had also hung out at the house.

  Nick added wood to the fire in the living room as she poured drinks. He took the snifter from her, clinked rims with hers, and then sipped. “Excellent selection. Tell Travis I said so. And is he really not planning to mention he has a girlfriend?”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t want to pressure him—or overwhelm him with my excitement that he might finally be seriously involved with someone.”

  “Understandable. He’s had some tough times.”

  “It really wrecked him when my mother died. That car accident blindsided us all, yes. But Travis…” She shrugged and tried to tamp down the emotion that welled within her. “God, he loved her so much. I mean, I was rocked like nothing you could ever imagine. Yet with Travis… Jesus. I felt like I needed to be sitting next to him every second reminding him to breathe. He was absolutely gutted.”

  Nick stepped close and tucked a curl behind her ear. “You were so amazing, so strong. I’ll never forget how vigilant you were in making sure Travis got through his darkest days.”

  “Don’t look at me like I’m all reverent again, Nick. I had you for an emotional safety net and that allowed me to be there for Travis. As much as he’d always been there for me, since my dad bailed on us. But it was also hugely helpful to have something—someone—to concentrate on so that I didn’t drown in my own sorrow.”

  He set their glasses on the mantel. Said, “You’ve always impressed the hell out of me, sweetheart.” His fingertips glided over her cheek. “I very honestly have missed you more than you’ll ever know.”

  “Nick…” She gazed up at him. “What about Jake’s mom?”

  “I’m not married, angel. I’m not committed to anyone other than Jake. And in my soul—to you.”

  She sighed at words she’d been dying to hear.

  One corner of Nick’s mouth lifted in his bad-boy smile. The one that always set her pulse racing. “You know I could never marry anyone other than you.”

  “But that’s impossible,” she quietly, painfully admitted. “We both know it. Two totally different trajectories and temperaments. And now you have a son.”

  “I’ll tell you everything you want to know about Jake. After I’ve kissed you.” The pad of his thumb swept over her jaw. “There’s no one who’s going to object?”

  “Not a soul.”

  His warm mouth gently pressed to hers.

  Lightning struck and Anna gasped.

  Nick took the opportunity presented and slipped his tongue inside to tangle with hers in a slow, sexy kiss. Anna naturally gravitated toward him, their bodies melding together as she slid her arms around his waist and splayed her palms against his back. His muscles flexed beneath her touch and he deepened their kiss.

  Years melted away. Time ceased to exist.

  In a heartbeat, Anna was lost. Consumed by the intimacy of the moment and the heat radiating from Nick, seeping through her veins, searing her. He had one arm around her shoulders as his other hand cupped the side of her face, his long fingers twining through her hair. Her breasts nestled below his hard pectoral ledge and her breathing escalated.

  Anna would never forget, in a million years, how sensual and sizzling Nick’s kisses were. But this one held an electrifying undercurrent that hinted at an urgency to possess her, a desire to brand her. Exciting her like never before.

  She felt his erection through the fly of his suit pants and the sense of need brimming within him. It mirrored her own need. An intense, raw sensation that had not existed between them previously, when they were younger.

  This was a powerful eroticism conveyed by a scorching kiss and their more adult awareness of each other. Emotions that crested the sweet and stirring ones they’d shared years ago now morphed into incinerating, unrelenting physical cravings.

  “Nick,” Anna whispered as she dragged her mouth away and tried to catch her breath. Though that was really of little consequence to her. She was fixated on getting naked with him. Feeling his hot skin against hers; his hands and mouth on her body.

  It’d been forever and a day since she’d been with a man. But all that really registered in her mind and heart was that it had been too agonizingly long since she’d felt this man buried deep, filling her and taking her to dizzying heights.

  Anna unraveled herself from him and shoved at the suit jacket covering his shoulders. She tossed the garment toward a chair adjacent to the sofa. She tried to work the buttons on his dress shirt, but her fingers were shaky. Crazy, because she routinely operated on animals, tended to them under duress when they were suffering. She’d always had steady hands. But Nick had her teeming with exhilaration and an insistency that sent vibrations through every inch of her.

  His hands covered hers and he helped her with the fastenings, then she whisked off his shirt.

  Anna’s pulse spiked. He was magnificent, so beautifully sculpted and just plain…mouthwatering.

  Her palms skimmed over his ridged muscles, up to his shoulders. Then down his bulging biceps.

  “Jesus, Nick,” she muttered. “How do you find the time to stay in such phenomenal shape?”

  “You really want to talk about that right now, angel?”

  She tore her gaze from his riveting physique and smiled up at him. “I guess not.”

  “Hmm. You guess not.”

  Anna sighed blissfully. “Okay. Definitely not.”

  “Better.”

  He sank to one knee in front of her and slipped off her boots and socks. Curled his fingers around the waistband of her leggings, along with the thin lacy strands of her thong, and eased them down her legs. He helped her step out of the clothing.

  His hands swept up her thighs and under her sweater as he stood. He had her out of it in the next second. Her strapless bra followed.

  When she was stripped bare and standing in the glow of the fire, he
let out a primal growl as his gaze roved over her from head to toe. And oh-so-slowly back up.

  “Anna,” he whispered. “You really are sensational, sweetheart.” He reached for her hand and pulled her to him. “And you make me so damn hard.”

  He kissed her in that hot, demanding way that lit her up and had her insides singing and her spirits soaring.

  He cupped her breasts and massaged with enough pressure to make her pussy ache for him. Nick tore his mouth from hers and his head lowered to her chest, his tongue fluttering against one puckered nipple.

  A sharp whimper wrenched from her slightly parted lips. Her fingers threaded through his thick hair, her desperation for him clawing at her. He drew her nipple into his mouth, sucked hard, jolting her.

  “Oh, God,” she moaned. “Nick…”

  One of his hands glided down her stomach, causing the flesh to quiver under his touch. Then his fingertips skimmed over her slick folds, caressing lightly. Teasing her. Tempting her. Ratcheting her desire and sparking an insistent throbbing deep within her.

  His other hand moved around to her backside and his fingers grazed the cleft of her ass before two eased into her pussy from behind while his hand in front shifted and he targeted her clit with the pads of his fingers.

  His head lifted and he kissed his way up her neck, murmuring, “You’re so wet for me, baby. So quickly.”

  “From the moment you disconnected your call yesterday and turned to face me.” It was a wonder she could speak, her heart hammered so hard in her chest and her breathing was jagged.

  “I have to make you come, sweetheart,” he said in a dark, titillating tone. “It’s all I could think of when Ruby told me she wanted to return to Starlight Bend.” His lips sealed hers again as his fingers pumped slowly and enticingly inside her.

  The tension mounted within her, pulling taut. Her fingers twisted around his strands of hair. Their tongues coiled, their lips tangled. She inhaled his expensive scent and tasted the brandy he’d sipped. He permeated her senses, held her mesmerized by the feelings he evoked.

  Until all the sensations collided and burst wide open.

  Anna broke their kiss just as her cry of pleasure ripped from her lips.

  Nick groaned as her inner muscles contracted around his fingers and her climax blazed through her.

  “Damn,” he said against her throat. “You drive me wild, angel.”

  “Then make love to me, Nick. Now.”

  ~~*~~

  Nick withdrew his fingers as the vibrations still radiated from her. He pulled Anna down to the silver-fox fur area rug covering the hardwood floor in front of the fireplace. He snatched pillows and a chenille throw from the closest chair and Anna settled against the mound. He spread her long, silky legs, positioning himself between them, his head dipping to the apex of her parted thighs.

  “Wait…” she said in a suddenly hesitant tone.

  This wasn’t anything they’d done together before, but he was dying to taste her. And make her come again.

  “I have to have you this way, Anna.” He heard the edgy desire in his voice, the intense need to possess her with such an intimate touch.

  “I wasn’t saying no,” she quietly assured him. “Just letting you know this isn’t something I’ve ever experienced.”

  “Glad to be your first,” was all he could say, because now he absolutely had to have her.

  His tongue grazed her slick skin and her body jerked.

  “Oh, God,” she said on a fragile breath. “You’re going to blow my mind, aren’t you?”

  “That is the intention.” His thumbs glided over her folds, opening her to him. His tongue flitted along that tiny pearl of nerves and she sucked in a slice of air.

  He drew the swollen bud against his teeth and then tongued it again. All very slowly and deliberately as she acclimated to his mouth on her.

  She combed her fingers through his hair and her hips rocked as he applied a bit more pressure, circling her clit. Until she was whimpering and writhing, silently begging for more.

  The tip of his tongue fluttered against the little knot.

  “Oh, Nick. Oh, God. That is so unbelievably good.”

  He slipped two fingers into her tight canal and stroked as he continued to lick and suckle. Nothing in his wildest dreams or fantasies could have prepared him for the reality of her. She tasted as sweet as honey. Smelled of her signature lavender scent. And the way her hips rolled and she moaned sexily had him so damn close to exploding—before he was even inside her.

  Nick increased the fluttering and his fingers glided along her slippery inner walls.

  “Yes,” she said on a long sigh. “Nick, I’m going to come. Oh, my God, this is so amazing.”

  He suckled the bud once more, a bit deeper.

  “Nick!” she called out. And started to quake. “Oh. God!”

  She clenched his fingers as the orgasm took her. Nick’s breath continued to blow over her skin as his own breathing labored from the desire gripping him so fiercely and the arousal that heightened every time he made her come.

  He gave her a few moments to ride out the orgasm. Then he moved upward, propping himself on an elbow and hovering over her as he worked his belt buckle and popped the button on his suit pants. All the while, the sight of her captivated him. The flush across her golden skin and the tremors still cascading through her.

  Anna’s eyes shimmered and tiny pants of air fell from her glossy lips. Her blond hair was fanned out against the pile of pillows, framing her gorgeous face. His gaze slid over her body, all those luscious curves and mile-long legs making him even hotter for her.

  Nick unzipped his pants. Managed to toe off his boots and then rid himself of the rest of his clothing while his gaze was still riveted to her.

  She traced her nails up his forearm to his biceps, teasingly, igniting his groin. She curled her fingers around his flexed muscles, as much as she could, and tugged him closer to her. His lips brushed over hers and she sighed dreamily.

  “I’ve wanted you for so long,” he whispered.

  Her eyes misted. “I’ve needed you for so long.”

  “Oh, sweetheart.” He sank into her heat and moisture and everything inside of Nick went haywire. “Jesus,” he ground out. “Anna.” She felt incredible. Tight and tantalizing.

  For a few suspended seconds, he was lost in the fiery sensations coursing through his veins and mingling with every emotion he’d ever had for this woman. So that he was entranced. Enthralled. Not even sure he was breathing.

  Anna’s grip remained on his upper arm, her nails digging in. Her other hand skated down his spine to his ass. She cupped a cheek and lifted her hips. They started to move together in a languid, sensuous rhythm.

  Their gazes were locked and he could easily see that she was as hypnotized as he was. As deeply aroused by sensations and feelings they could never escape. Not when they were together like this.

  He pressed in further and she gasped. Slowly opened to him as he pumped into her.

  Her pebbled nipples grazed his pecs. Her warm wisps of breath caressed his skin. He sensed the underlying urgency building within her, but as was the case with him, Nick also grasped the need she had to savor every long, full stroke, every grinding of their hips, every sweep of flesh against flesh.

  The crackle of the fire and her soft moans filled the otherwise quiet room. The flames in the hearth couldn’t compete with those she stoked straight to his core, edging him closer to a powerful climax he fought to hang onto a while longer.

  He palmed her breast. Massaged tenderly, then swept his thumb over the taut center.

  “Nick,” she muttered. Her back arched, pressing the plump mound into his hand.

  He bent his head to her chest and curled his tongue around her puckered peak.

  “Yes,” she said. “Oh, God. That’s perfect. And you feel so good inside me.”

  He suckled her nipple as his hand glided downward, over her hip, to the top of her thigh. He lifted her leg and
draped it over his waist, forcing her pelvis to tilt so that he could pump all the way into her. He knew the instant he hit that special spot deep in her pussy. Anna let out a sharp cry and her nails practically drew blood on his biceps and his ass. He was even more crazed for her.

  Nick increased the tempo. Thrust steadily into her. She matched his pace. Her breaths came in staccato beats that echoed the pounding of his heart.

  “Like that,” she quietly insisted. “Oh, God. Nick. Yes… Just like that.”

  Her eyelids drifted closed. The corners of her mouth quivered. Shivers ran through her.

  “You are so insanely beautiful,” he told her, his very soul crying out for her, keeping him locked in this burning bliss where he was surrounded by her essence, wholly bound to her.

  “Anna,” he said in a strained tone. “No one could ever make me feel like this. Just you. Always just you.”

  He felt her exhilaration crest. And then she shattered all around him.

  “Nick!”

  “Oh, fuck,” he growled.

  She squeezed him tight. So damn tight.

  Nick couldn’t hold on a second longer. The firestorm erupted and he called out her name as he came with her, filling her with his hot seed, the sensation prolonging her climax, keeping her clutching at him, milking him until he was dry.

  And all that was left were the tremors rippling through his body.

  Chapter Five

  Nick’s hot and hunky body was curled around hers, his chest to her back. She was wrapped in his strong arms and drowning in the sinfully delicious scent of him.

  Anna had convinced herself that playing Scarlett O’Hara for an evening and not obsessing over what tomorrow might bring wouldn’t be detrimental to her in the long run.

  Not the wisest sentiment, but currently a concept she clung to.

  They’d never left the living room. Were snuggled together on the floor in front of a blazing fire with the snow falling beyond the tall windowpanes. The storm was moving in a bit faster than had been forecasted. Nick had phoned Ruby and Jake to say he was staying overnight at the ranch since the roads hadn’t been cleared recently. Anna was particularly sensitive to him traveling in icy conditions, given her mother’s accident, and Ruby completely understood.