He exhaled a hot breath and whispered against the sensitive canal. “You haven’t opened your stocking yet, my love …” The deep, sultry baritone caressed Jeseca’s soul and lit a fire deep within. Then his mouth descended a few inches and grazed the side of her neck in a teasing caress. Rows of flames erupted wherever they touched, and Jeseca felt as her core grew damp and ready. Both eyes fluttered shut while an erotic moan slid from her throat. David lifted two fingertips against her sweater’s deep V-neck and tracked them over the tender swell of her breasts.
More, her mind and body screamed. Everything.
In response, her nipples tightened and her guts transformed into a hot, quivering mass. She was putty in those masterful hands, and she felt herself melting inward. Oh, yes. She ached for him to tear at her sweater until the buttons blasted away … to devour his mouth in a kiss … to become one with him, to feel him possess her.
But David merely chuckled—and the rich cadence of his laughter ricocheted through her body. Beyond the walls, a gust of wind penetrated the home and yanked Jeseca from her dreamy haze. “You were about to open your stocking. Remember?”
Jeseca climbed onto her feet in an unsteady movement. “Right. Stocking. Need to open it still.” Then she threw David a pointed look—and he returned it with a sly, sexy wink.
Yes, she inwardly confirmed. Something was definitely up his sleeve.
•
David’s heartbeat soared as he watched Jeseca unhook her stocking from the mantel. Shoving her black-rimmed glasses in place, she peered inside at the countless scraps of paper. Confusion spread across her features. She set the champagne glass on the mantel and turned to him with an inquisitive, slightly suspicious look.
“I wrote a reason why I love you on each one,” he said, sliding intimately behind her. Luscious curves melded against him and turned every inch of his body to stone. In contrast, her posture softened as she sagged against the security of his chest. Then she lowered the stocking onto the sofa, as if caught in a surreal daze, and removed a handful of paper scraps. Her voice was shaky and riddled with emotion as she read them aloud:
The way you hum to yourself while you brush your hair.
Your passion for life.
The way your hand fits perfectly in mine.
The way your glasses slide down the bridge of your nose.
The music of your laughter.
The way you love Brody as much as I do.
Then—
Her hands stilled and her features transformed into an expression of pure awe. She released a choked gasp while her eyes twinkled like two twin emeralds.
Only the crackling fireplace and her hard breathing ruptured the silence.
David’s heart hammered, threatening to burst through flesh and bone. Apparently she’d caught sight of the diamond wedding ring at the very bottom.
She withdrew it with trembling fingers, tears cascading down her flushed cheeks. Shafts of light caused the three karat diamond to flare like a beacon. David’s own emotions threatened to overwhelm him as he gently seized the ring and slid it onto her wedding finger. Then he lifted her hand, fastened both eyes shut, and pressed a lingering kiss to her knuckles.
His heart was in his throat, his body was on fire, his thoughts were a jumbled mess—and everything that mattered most stood directly before him. Eyes never parting from her own, he stepped in front of Jeseca’s body and knelt onto his knees. Brody followed suit, plopping onto his lanky haunches several feet away. He glanced at David expectantly, a speckled tongue rolling out from those enormous jaws. A sharp bark of laughter escaped Jeseca as she swatted away her tears.
David clutched onto her smooth, pale hands, while tears plummeted down his own cheeks. Completely vulnerable and overcome with fierce emotion, he allowed his heart to crack wide open. And he welcomed Jeseca Reed inside.
She was his gift, his joy, his everything.
He locked onto her gaze. “This past year you’ve become so much a part of me, it’s hard to believe that I ever survived without you. Some nights I’ll lay awake for hours and simply watch you sleep. You, Jeseca Reed, are my best friend, my lover, my hope, my joy, my inspiration, and the counterpoint to my soul. Everything about you makes me fall in love with life again. Because you are everything. Now … will you marry me and Brody?”
The End
Rachel L. Demeter
Rachel L. Demeter lives in the beautiful hills of Anaheim, California with Teddy, her goofy lowland sheepdog, and her high school sweetheart of eleven years. She enjoys writing dark, poignant romances that challenge the reader’s emotions and explore the redeeming power of love.
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A Kindled Winter Page 14