by A. C. Arthur
“Come on, I want to show you something else.”
Reminding himself to never doubt Gemma’s word again, he followed, this time taking her hand to help navigate them both through the thicker patches of snow. When they came to an unexpected incline, she lost her footing and drifted back. He was right there to catch her, but the slope was slippery and soon they were both falling to the ground with a laughter-filled thump.
He didn’t notice she’d rolled over and come to her knees while he continued to laugh and when he finally sat up it was to a snowball smacking him square in the chest. All laughter stopped.
“Did you just throw a snowball at me?”
She feigned innocence. “What? Who me?”
He bit back a grin. “There’s nobody else out here.”
“Oh,” she said with a nod. “Then I guess I did just throw a snowball at you. What’s the matter, Myles Donovan never got hit with a snowball before?” She was already coming to her feet, bending down to swipe up more snow in the process.
“Oh I have,” he said, getting to his feet as well, before kneeling again to gather up some snow. “But nobody who dared to throw one at me has ever lived to tell about it.”
She hurled the next one, but since he was expecting it, he ducked in time to avoid it, then let the one he was holding soar until it splashed against her right breast.
“Ooop.” She made the adorable sound and looked down at her chest. “In my titty. You hit me in my titty with a snowball?”
He was already taking full advantage of her shock and ignoring the quick jump of his dick at her words and where the snowball had landed. Throwing another one, he almost yelled bullseye as it smashed into the left breast.
Her mouth formed another shocked “O” before she shook her head and grinned. “Oh, it’s on now!”
Of course, she threw numerous snowballs aimed at his groin throughout the rest of the battle, none of which quieted the heat building in the form of his erection. When she ran to hide behind a tree as he pummeled her with one snowball after the next, he couldn’t help but chase her. In a sense he felt as if he’d been chasing Gemma Taylor all year long, trying to catch up with the woman who’d intrigued him from the start. Coming around one side of the tree as she peeked around the other side, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back to him. The action held enough force that it sent them to the ground once again. This time Myles rolled on top of her, staring down into her grinning face—her rosy cheeks and still glossed lips, long lashes wet from snow, eyes filled with happiness.
He didn’t hesitate but lowered his face to hers to kiss her chilly lips. “Thanks for coming this weekend, Gemma.” He kissed her again this time letting his tongue slip past her lips to glide along hers.
She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him down until the heat of their desire cocooned them from the chilly day. Myles closed his eyes to the kiss and to the feeling that he was sinking fast.
Seven
By eleven o’clock on New Year’s Eve, Myles and Gemma had eaten a terrific dinner of fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas and cornbread all courtesy of the additional groceries Myles had ordered and had delivered at Gemma’s request.
“Have you heard from anyone in your family?” he asked when he came into the living room holding a mug in both hands.
They’d watched movies all evening and decided against viewing any of the televised New Year’s celebrations. Instead, they’d put fluffy fleece blankets on the floor with pillows in front of the fire. The Christmas tree was lit with warm bright lights and silver and gold decorations. Another courtesy of Myles, or as he’d informed her his assistant who’d hired a holiday decorator when he told her he would be staying there throughout the holidays to work.
“Just text messages,” she said accepting one of the mugs he offered and watching him sit on the blanket beside her. “They’ll all start calling at 12:01 no doubt. We used to plan a conference call at midnight but then when everybody was in a different time zone we decided on a text right at midnight for everyone no matter where they were and then a call so that we each spoke to one another at some point during New Year’s Day.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t want you to stay through the new year.”
She held her mug in both hands loving the feeling of warmth and marveling at the pretty fluff of whipped cream with something gold sprinkled on top. “I’d already told them when I arrived last week that I planned to return home in time to schedule clients for the holiday rush. And we were all together for Christmas Eve and Christmas which has only happened consistently for the last two years so that was amazing. What about you, was your family upset about you working through the holiday?”
He shook his head. “Nah. My parents are actually in Vegas. My dad had a couple of shows booked out there, so they won’t be back in Chesapeake until the second week in January. Cee-Cee’s on a girls’ trip as she put it and Kendra’s working, just like me.”
She reached out a hand to touch his thigh. “Well, you aren’t actually working right now.”
“Um, you’re right about that.” They both chuckled.
“So what’s this? I smell butterscotch but I thought you said you were making hot chocolate.”
“It is hot chocolate,” he said, pointing down at the mug. “It’s under all the whipped cream. And it’s spiked with butterscotch schnapps with rock sugar on top.”
“Well alright, Myles. Let me find out you’re trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me on this New Year’s Eve.” Eager to taste what smelled like a phenomenal drink, she put her lips to the edge of the mug and took a tentative sip. “Mmmmmm.” She groaned at how good it tasted. “I’m never gonna want plain old hot chocolate again.”
He grinned after taking a sip from his mug and then reached out to wipe her upper lip. “Ms. Whipped Cream Mustache.”
She swiped her tongue over her upper lip the second he moved his finger. And he groaned.
That’s how it always happened between them—a look, a word, a brush past him, a touch of his hand, the blink of his eyes, the parting of his lips and damn, she wanted him all over again. How was she going to pack up and go home tomorrow, leaving all these memories behind? Gemma had no idea and she’d warned herself against thinking too hard about it these last few days. She’d told him that it was fine, that she’d just enjoy the rest of this time with him and she intended to live by those words.
“How is it possible that I want you more now than I did when you first arrived here a few days ago?” Before she could answer he set his mug down and moved closer to her. “I want you more than I did that first night at National Harbor.”
He was already taking the mug from her hands when she cleared her throat. “There’s no denying the physical pull between us.” That was an understatement. She wondered if their attraction was so intense that others would be able to sense it if they were together.
But that was the problem wasn’t it? Nobody was ever near when they were together. At least nobody they knew or loved because this wasn’t that type of relationship.
“I agree,” he said cupping her face in his hands. “No denying it at all.” His lips were on hers in seconds for a kiss that was as hungry as it was sensual.
The way his tongue stroked over hers, the gentle touch of his hands holding her cheeks, the heat that spread through her like she was a puddle of accelerant and he was the flame. She couldn’t reply to his words, not even if he pulled his mouth away from her because she was too busy focusing on all the feelings blossoming inside her.
He eased her back until her head hit the pillows, never once breaking the contact of the kiss. He was on top of her now, his hands moving up and down her arms, brushing past her breasts, touching her hips, then moving back to grip her ass. She moaned, lifting her legs to wrap around his waist not giving a damn if that made her seem greedy or wanton. She was both and anything else when it came to Myles.
When he began tr
ailing kisses across her cheeks and down her neck, Gemma arched beneath him. Her fingers grasped the material of his shirt as she kept her eyes closed, not wanting to disturb the moment because it was probably their last.
Myles continued kissing her neck, his hands moving to the hem of her blouse. “I told you I wanted you naked all weekend,” he grumbled against her neck.
“I’m not stopping you,” she whispered.
Pulling back with a sly grin he winked at her. “No. You’re not stopping me.”
He moved quickly removing her blouse and bra, then going down to slide her pants and panties down her legs. There was a mumbled comment about black lace and sins before she was naked and under his heated perusal.
He gasped and then licked his lips. “You’re so damn beautiful.” Seconds after the comment his hands were on her again.
Cupping her heavy breasts, toying with her nipples. He leaned down to bury his face between them. “I dream about your big dark nipples.” He groaned. “Fuck! I can’t get them out of my head.”
Nor out of his mouth because his tongue stroked over one the moment the words fell from his lips. He took the tight bud between his teeth, applying the smallest amount of pressure before releasing it and then gorging on her breast like he was a starving child.
Gemma held the back of his head, more than happy to feed him until he was so full of her he couldn’t think of anyone or anything else. Was that selfish? She didn’t give a damn if it was.
He went from one breast to the other sending spears of pleasure shooting straight down to her pussy. She was so wet and ached so deeply for him. Easing her hand between them she spread her legs wider moaning when her finger finally brushed over her clit. In the blink of an eye Myles pulled back. Looking down at where her hand was, he pushed her wrist away.
“Nah, that’s all for me.” In the spirit of show, don’t tell, he eased down her body, lifting her legs and dropping them over his shoulders, before burying his face between them.
The rush of pleasure soaring through her at the touch of his tongue to her clit had her bucking up off the floor.
“I got you, baby,” he crooned. “I got you.”
And he did have her. With his palms on her ass lifting her up like he was bringing a bowl of delectable dessert to his face for consumption he drove his tongue deep inside her center and all she could do was moan his name. Over and over again.
When he shifted a hand to press two fingers inside her while his tongue bathed her clit, she came. Her body convulsed, her fingers fisting in the soft blankets beneath them and she thanked every deity there was for Myles and his magnificent mouth.
Her body was still humming with pleasure when he eased his fingers out of her and moved his mouth away.
“No. Please don’t stop,” she begged.
He was coming to his feet as she looked up at him. “Hold tight, lovely.”
She watched him pull his shirt up and over his head and then unbutton and unzip his pants. “Remember the other day when you were saying something about a quickie and six minutes.”
Biting her lower lip, Gemma groaned. “Ah, come on now, you already broke that six-minute time. There’s no need to prove your point again.”
Myles had broken that six-minute mark so many times since the first day she’d been at the cabin and each time she’d enjoyed the hell out of every single second. Tonight, however, she needed him right now. She needed all of his inches stuffed deep inside her so she could bury the pain of knowing she’d never feel him again.
He grinned. The smug sexy man had the audacity to laugh at her need while removing his pants and boxers. She would’ve cursed him in those moments but for the sight of his long thick dick ready for the taking. But the moment she began to sit up prepared to reach for him, he stepped back.
“Patience,” he said in a chiding tone.
Her response was a string of expletives that only made him chuckle harder while he hunted in his pants pocket for a condom.
“Lay back,” he told her while opening the packet. “Spread your legs so I can see you”
She reluctantly did as he asked, only because her attention had been stolen with the way he gripped his dick in one hand while fitting the condom to his tip with the other. Her head hit those pillows, legs falling apart as her tongue licked her bottom lip in the way she wanted to lick his dick.
“That’s my girl,” he whispered before coming down to his knees between her legs.
He lifted one leg, placing it on his shoulder again then with his hand guiding him, touched the tip of his dick to her clit.
“Fuck!” Her eyes closed and pinched her nipples so hard she wanted to scream again.
“You’re always so wet for me, lovely. Always so hot and so damn wet.” He was rubbing his dick up and down her slit, gliding through her essence with a slick sound that echoed in her ears.
“Myles.” Her voice was a whimper, her emotions frayed and tattered. “Please, baby, you gotta stop playing with me.”
“I can’t stop,” he said in a tone that was different and alluring at the same time.
She opened her eyes slowly, glancing down to see him still moving his dick along her plump folds.
“I can’t stop wanting you, baby.” His gaze locked on hers. “I can’t let you walk out of here tomorrow knowing I’ll never see you again.”
Her heart thudded in her chest. “What are you saying?” Her hands stilled on her breasts and she licked her lips.
This time when he guided his dick along her folds, he pressed into her with one smooth motion, burying himself to the hilt. They both gasped and stilled, waiting countless seconds while pleasure filtered through them, sealing them together.
“I’m saying I want more of this.” And with that last word he pulled out of her partially then sank slowly back inside her again. “I want more of you.”
He pulled out, eased in.
“I want more than weekend getaways.”
Out and then in again.
“More than quick texts and phone calls.”
“Myles,” she gasped and circled her hips to join in the torturous but deliciously slow rhythm he’d created.
He nodded, rubbing a hand down the leg that was still propped on his shoulder. “Yes, baby. That’s the answer to your question. Yes. I can give you more.”
And that he did, pumping into her with those slow movements until they were both heaving from the effort of holding their climax at bay. Then he eased her leg down, lifting the other to clasp them behind his back. Still buried inside her, he leaned down, until his elbows were on either side of her head.
“I want to try to be what you need, Gemma.”
She cupped his face then, holding him still while she stared into his eyes. “Are you sure?”
He started to move again with quick hard pumps. “I don’t say what I don’t mean.”
Yeah, she’d started to believe that about him.
“You still want six more minutes with me?”
She brought his face down to hers and touched her lips to his. “I want all the minutes with you, Myles. Every last one of them.”
Gemma had no idea how long he stroked inside her or how long they lay in each other’s arms after their release shattered them. The only reason she knew the new year had come and gone was by the chiming of her phone with notifications from her siblings. But none of that mattered right now, the only thing she wanted to focus on was this moment and this new year commitment they’d made to each other.
Looking for your next read by A.C. Arthur?
Check out the first chapter of PLAY TO WIN, the first book in her sexy new small town contemporary series, The Game Changers.
Play To Win
Game Changers, Book 1
Ethan Henley traded in his suit, tie and Secret Service badge to mix drinks at the Game Changers Sports Bar he now co-owns with his childhood friends. Returning to their hometown where they’d been branded the “bad boys” wasn’t part of their plan, but now that
they’re back, they’re determined to prove everyone in town wrong. For Ethan, that means making amends with the girl who’s heart he’d unintentionally broken during high school.
Portia Merin left Providence and the awkward life she’d led there behind long ago. After a messy breakup and her retaliation leads to her unintended stardom as a sex instructor on YouTube, she decided to roll with it—despite her lack of actual experience on the subject—and is now on tour to promote her first instructional book. Life’s looking pretty good for Portia right now, until the weather and her aunt’s will leave her stranded back in Providence and her old high school crush shows up with a copy of her book.
One
A fifteen-year-old Ethan Henley would have thought he’d died and gone to sexual heaven. Thirty-one-year-old Ethan wasn’t far off that mark himself.
The sounds were distinctive. Oohs and ahhs that only came during the throes of pleasure. Or at least he was almost certain of that fact, as he walked down a wide hallway at the Regional Resort and Spa in Alexandria. It was Friday night and just a couple of hours ago, he’d been ready to leave Game Changers, the sports bar he co-owned with five of his closest friends, when a call from Rodney Hankin, a regular at the bar, came in. Rodney needed a favor. One that could lead to referrals from Rodney to other men having bachelor parties, to use Game Changers instead of the new upscale resort. That was the only reason Ethan agreed to drive just outside the town of Providence, Virginia, where he lived, to make this delivery.
This resort had opened just a few weeks ago and as far as he’d heard, was living up to all the grand hype they’d seen on television. That meant the resort was probably charging a small fortune for that huge conference room Rodney and twenty other guys were occupying right now.