by C. M. Albert
I pulled back, my eyes searching his in a silent understanding. “As much as I’d love to sit in your Jeep all night and make out, I think we need to get in there. We can put in an appearance and then head home if you want.”
“Home,” Mitch murmured against my lips, brushing them once again with his. “I love the way that sounds coming from your mouth.”
Well, shit. The butterflies were the least of my worries now.
THE RAP ON the car window startled us, causing Mitch to jump back like a busted schoolboy, slamming his knee on the dashboard in the process. I would’ve laughed, except I saw the look on Rosalie’s face as she stood next to Mitch’s window. He stepped out of the Jeep, looking down at the young woman.
“Hey, Rosalie,” he said. “Don’t you look pretty tonight.”
Her sour expression turned brighter, and she twirled a long strand of hair as she looked up at him.
Maybe she didn’t see what we were actually doing in the car. I got out, making my way around to the back so I could grab my backpack. There was still time to get a few shots in while Mitch worked. I followed him and Rosalie into the youth center and was delighted to see the holiday party in full swing—streamers hanging in a tented fashion from the ceiling of the great room, a Christmas-colored disco light swirling and casting green, red, and silver rays of light across the floor, and balloons everywhere!
I pulled out my camera and hoisted my bag onto my back so I could be hands free while shooting. I followed Mitch around as he talked to kids, helped finish ornaments for the hospital, caught up with Inez and Bridgette, and shot some hoops in the gym with a couple of the older kids. I wasn’t surprised to see that he could dunk, but it sure was sexy to watch. I got a ton of shots of him playing hoops, loving the long lines of his body as he sprung from his calf muscles, catching some good air.
We headed into the community room next to a kitchen area where food was set up and being served by volunteers. I got a picture of the long assembly line of residents from Arden’s Glen as they served food and refreshments to the kids of the community. It was a group effort, I realized as I looked into the lens of my camera, capturing the kindness and compassion I saw in each helper’s face as they interacted with the children.
Eventually the crowd started to thin, so I grabbed a plate and sat down to nibble. Rosalie came over and joined me with only a glass of punch in her hands.
“So, how come you two were late tonight?” she asked. Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine though as she looked across the room at Mitch, who was helping a little girl with her craft.
“Didn’t he fill you in?” I asked, not sure how much he wanted to share about Christiano’s experience just yet. Especially since his father hadn’t been notified.
“Not really. He just said y’all were running late from visiting Egan and Celeste at the hospital.” She ran her finger around the rim of her glass, not looking as confident as she had earlier at the café.
“Then that’s all it was, Rosalie. Look, I’m not any good at this, but I feel like there’s something else you’re trying to ask without just coming out and asking it. Is there something you want to talk about?”
I stared at Rosalie, waiting to see if she’d be honest with me. She was a beautiful girl of mixed Latina descent, her pale tan skin shimmering under a light dusting of body glitter. She was curvy in all the right places, and her little black dress seemed as if it were painted on.
“It’s nothing,” she said, shifting in her seat. “I just—Mitch invited me here, and then he showed up late. He said he wanted my help with something, but I haven’t had any alone time with him all night. I really like him, Dez,” she said with a sigh.
My heart went out to her, and I knew I needed to talk to her woman-to-woman and let her know something was starting to brew between Mitch and me. But then her eyes lit up and she stood, running her hands down her body-hugging dress, and I knew without looking that Mitch must be headed toward us.
“How are the two prettiest ladies in the room doing tonight?” he asked, winking at me as he took a seat. “Man, I’m beat.” He took a carrot stick from my plate and popped it into his mouth. “I see you’re finally feeding those hippos,” he teased.
I noticed the perplexed look that flashed behind Rosalie’s eyes and almost felt sorry for her. She was so young and was an amazingly gifted girl; she was just barking up the wrong tree with Mitch.
She leaned over the table, giving Mitch an eyeful of her glittery cleavage. I had to admit, it looked pretty spectacular. “You mentioned you wanted to talk to me about something? Can we go somewhere private and talk?”
He looked at me and swallowed, trying to figure a way out of this mess. “We can talk here. It’s nothing really private, Rosalie,” he offered.
“Yes, but there is something I want to talk to you about, as well,” she said, shooting me a glance. “And it is private. Let’s go to Inez’s office, shall we?” she said, rising on her black suede boots that caused her to tower over me.
She came around the table and grabbed Mitch’s hand, pulling him up.
“Help!” he mouthed to me as she tugged him in the opposite direction. I burst out laughing and gave him my best sympathetic look and a hearty thumbs up. This was something they needed to work out. It was not something I was getting between.
I finished my plate of finger foods and took a few last shots of volunteers who were lingering, talking to the kids of the community, picking up, boxing up ornaments, and generally just congregating. It wasn’t something I saw a lot of in New York, but the cozy communal feeling in the room warmed my heart. I’d never really been a part of a community before as an adult. After college, my life became entirely focused on loss, isolation, and recovery. I’d been fighting to survive day by day ever since.
Looking around, I realized I was finally ready to move on. I wanted something more for myself, and the answers were starting to surface one by one in the form of a small town called Arden’s Glen.
I saw Rosalie come from around the corner, her eyes glowing. She brushed by me and whispered, “He is so mine; he just doesn’t know what to do with me yet. I’m going with him tomorrow to deliver the Christmas ornaments and help the terminal kids with acceptance of what’s on the other side. This is going to be a Christmas neither of us will soon forget!” she squealed, winking at me as she sauntered away. Her hips swayed in an exaggerated fashion as she left the room, knowing Mitch was following not far behind her.
“Mitch,” I said as he neared me, a dangerous look in his eyes. Everyone else was already packing up and turning off the lights to head home for the night. There was word that the flurries were going to pick up, and no one wanted to get caught in an unexpected storm. Though the mountains sheltered Arden’s Glen, it wasn’t unusual for a winter storm to sweep through and leave its mark.
Mitch wrapped me in a hug that I was growing entirely too used to. It made me feel as if I were on the right track somehow, even though I had no idea what that track was or where it was going. “We all done for the night?” he asked. “Did you get all the shots you needed?”
“Yeah, I think so. There’s one more I’d like to get, though, now that everyone’s gone. I want you to go with the flow, okay? Just trust me?” I asked, looking up into his eyes. I loved that he loomed over me, made me feel protected in his embrace. His warm eyes were searching mine, filled with a touch of humor and a pinch of worry. I giggled, knowing he would resist me in about two minutes, but also knowing my vision was never wrong.
We walked out to the back garden, where a little trail led to a giant set of angel wings—the same ones Celeste had hand carved a few years ago. Egan bought them from her friend Nash to help him raise funds for his Feed Hope Foundation. Then he donated them to the youth center in memory of his younger brother, Declan. They were expansive, intricate, and impressive up close. They took on a haunting quality at night, though the glow of twinkling white Christmas lights strung up in the garden helped soften the effect.
“Hear me out,” I said, moving toward Mitch. I ran a hand along the front of his shirt, itching to feel what was underneath. But it was freezing cold outside, and we had to get these pictures taken fast. The snow was already falling faster than when we arrived, fluffy white flakes sticking to our hair and clothes.
“Just spit it out, Jerry,” he said, cupping my chin in his hand. He ran his palm over my cheek, and I wanted nothing more than to lean into his touch, relax as his hand explored the rest of my body.
“Well, Newman,” I said, trying to concentrate, “I need you to take your shirt off for me.”
He looked around as if I were punking him. “You’re kidding, right? I’m already freezing cold and it’s like—what?—twenty-five degrees outside?”
“That’s why we need to be quick. I’ll direct you, and I promise these will make sense later. I just need a few shots out here with the angel wings.”
“Yes, but I’m not quite clear about why I need to be shirtless?”
I started to unbutton his flannel shirt, undoing each button slowly until the fabric parted and fully revealed his chest. I trailed my fingertips lightly over the hard ridges of his abdomen, even more impressive than I imagined. Goosebumps raced across his skin, and his nipples hardened in the cold air. I glanced up under heavy lashes and raised a brow. “This is why. Just trust me,” I whispered.
He shrugged off the shirt the rest of the way and handed it to me before walking over to the angel wings. I watched as the muscles in his back contracted with each step, almost predatory like a mountain lion in the snow.
I focused in on him and began clicking as he walked. Man and angel. He glanced over his shoulder at me, his eyes smoldering. “Where do you want me?” he asked.
On top of me?
I answered a little more practically. “Lean back against the wings as much as you can, and look out at the mountains, glancing up a little as if you’re trying to see something far away. There, yes.” I snapped dozens of different angles, having him adjust his arm this way or that. Then I got up closer, zooming in with the wings in the background, almost as if they were his own. “Just a few more,” I promised. “Look at me, Mitch. The way you did in the elevator. Like you want to rip my clothes off.”
I swallowed when his eyes slammed into mine, devouring me, hungry. I snapped several shots, my hand trying to stay steady as I zoomed in even farther, focusing only on his eyes. These are just for me.
He stalked toward me again, shivering from the cold. The look of hunger never left his eyes. He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me close, bringing his mouth down on mine. The heat of his tongue against the cold night air sent shivers throughout my body. He was both cold and hot, and the juxtaposition was maddening. I wanted to take him inside and warm him up in the simplest way.
He must have had the same idea because he grabbed me by my hand and pulled me along a path, but in the opposite direction of the youth center. “Where are we going?” I asked, confused by our change of plans.
“It’s your turn to trust me,” he growled.
“Says the man who’s dragging me deeper into the woods in the dark, way out here on the Vega Farm where no one can hear me scream if I need rescuing.”
He stopped cold on the path, causing me to run into his back. He turned to look down at me. He cupped my chin again and brought his lips softly to mine. “I would never do anything to hurt you, Dez. If you don’t know that, then we should turn around now.”
It was my chance at an out if I wanted it. My eyes met his rich, warm gaze and the lust shot straight to my belly again. But I saw more than just heat staring back at me. I saw kindness, humor, compassion, intelligence . . . I also saw hurt and hope swirled together, and I realized he was taking just as big of a risk as I was by giving into this hunger.
I kissed him back, slowly at first, until his hand reached up into my hair, cupping the back of my head. Our bodies pressed together and I almost lost it. I slid up against him, trying like hell to climb inside. I could feel his hard chest pressed against me, and I wanted nothing more than to taste his skin, feel him beneath me. “I don’t want to get hurt, Mitch, but I don’t mean like that. I was just teasing. My heart on the other hand . . .”
“We’ll take it slow if we need to, Dez. I just want to be with you.”
“Me too,” I admitted quietly. I looked around. We were still on a walking trail, and though we’d lost sight of the small garden behind the youth center, Mitch seemed to know exactly where we were headed. “But it’s kind of cold to be making merry in the woods at night,” I teased, laughing nervously.
He grabbed my hand again, pulling me farther down the path. “We’re not making merry in the woods, Dez.”
Oh. My heart deflated just a notch. Then what were we doing?
“We’re going to make merry in my secret cabin in the woods,” he said huskily.
Well . . . if that didn’t just make me want to pick up my pace.
I’D NEVER BROUGHT a woman to the cabin the entire time I owned it. Technically, it was on my land, which butted up against the backside of the Vega Farm near the rear of the property where the youth center sat. It was an old caretaker’s cabin for a ranch that no longer existed. Most of the original land was sold off to the Vegas for mining. But I was lucky enough to receive this little parcel through an inheritance, and it was my best-kept secret—until now. Bridgette and Inez knew it was mine, of course, but no one else really knew the place even existed. It was only accessible by car through the Vega farm, which kept it nice and secluded. It came in handy when I needed a place to crash after a long day’s work, or when I just needed to get away from the noise of the city.
We crashed through the front door kissing, Dez dropping her backpack onto the ground and shrugging off her jacket in the process. She kicked off her boots haphazardly, and they landed somewhere on the hardwood floors with a loud thud. She pushed me back while kissing me until I was pinned up against the door. I guess she wasn’t kidding when she said I’d know. Her mouth was on mine, dominating, sucking my lips and biting them occasionally. Her hands were everywhere: in my hair, scratching down my back, running slow laps up and down my happy trail. I wanted to slow down, but I knew the fire had been stoked long enough. Maybe we’d just consume each other in the flames once and be done with it.
Her mouth found my sweet spot—my ear—and my body shivered from the soft brush of her breath, the warm swipe of her tongue. Her hand slid down the front of my jeans and cupped me, massaging my length as best as she could under the constraints of my pants. I wanted so badly to take charge—knew she needed a man who could—but I gave in and let her lead, appreciating the soft trail of kisses that ran the length of my torso, down to the top of my jeans. Her tongue made little circles around my belly button, driving me insane with heat as she worked my jeans over my hips and onto the floor.
My hand tangled in her hair as she took me in her mouth the first time. The sight of her long, dark hair nestled between my thighs as she worked up and down on my shaft nearly sent me over the edge. “Dez,” I growled, “you need to stop or I won’t make it to the bedroom.”
She pulled back and looked up at me with those electric blue eyes and said huskily, “That’s okay. We have all night.” Her lips found me again, sucking hard as her hands wrapped around me and twisted back and forth. I didn’t want to come this way for our first time together, but I let my hand find her hair again, wrapping it around my fist in a ponytail so I could watch as she took me all the way in. I closed my eyes and gave over to the warm sensation of her mouth, her frisky little fingers as they cupped my backside and thrust me deeper. I’d never been so badly torn between wanting to lift her up and take her right there against the front door, or giving into the wicked nirvana that was her mouth.
I finally gave in, letting her bring me to climax, my body shuddering completely with the orgasm and from the warm tunnel of her mouth. My legs were still shaking as she slid up my body, leaning against me as she droppe
d her head to my beating heart.
I wrapped my arm around her, running my hand down the length of her hair. I kissed the top of her head and whispered, “Dez, that was incredible, but entirely selfish. I’m sorry.”
She looked up at me, surprised. “Mitch, I’ve been imagining doing that since you first ran into me at the market. Maybe it was your arrogance, maybe it was those smoky, bedroom eyes . . . I don’t know. But, trust me, there was nothing selfish about that. Besides”—she stepped back, making her way to the kitchen—“as soon as you feed me, you’ll be returning the favor.”
She looked over her shoulder and winked. I pulled my boxers back on but left my jeans where they were. I opted instead for a warm pair of flannel pajama bottoms I kept at the cabin, leaving my shirt off since she seemed so taken by my bare chest. Besides, I had no idea where my shirt actually was and was hoping we’d be naked again sooner rather than later.
I padded into the kitchen, saw Dez bending over as she peered into my open fridge. I suddenly had very different ideas about the type of cooking that should be happening in this kitchen. She stood up and smiled, busting my wandering eyes. “I won’t be able to go for a round or three if you don’t feed me first, Mitch,” she teased.
I rolled my eyes. “Well, then, I suppose that’s the least I can do.” I took the carton of eggs from her hands and set it on the counter. “Sit,” I ordered, slapping her behind.
She raised a brow at me, but immediately sat on the high barstool at the kitchen island. The cabin was small, and the downstairs was basically one open room, the island its only divide. A small bathroom and laundry room were tucked out of sight near the back door, and a bedroom was the only thing on the second floor. It wasn’t grand, but it suited me just fine when I needed to get away.