All I Want for Christmas: A Contemporary Romance Holiday Collection

by S. L. Sterling

  "That sounds good."

  When I returned to the living room, Drew had placed a large blanket down on the carpet in front of the fireplace. He had pulled the pillows from the couch and scattered them around as well. He was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them, staring into the fire.

  "Here you go," I said, handing him the mug and sitting down cross-legged beside him.

  We both sat in silence for a while, watching the flames of the fire dance, until I finally broke the silence. "So what are you still doing up? I figured you went to bed ages ago," I murmured, looking at the dancing orange and red flames of the fire.

  "Like you, I too have things on my mind." He sighed, taking a sip of his tea now that it had cooled down.

  We were both quiet again. I wanted to tell him how I felt—I so did—but I was so afraid that he would run again that I couldn't. However, the longer we sat in silence, the stronger that feeling stirred in my gut.

  "Anything you care to talk about?"

  He shook his head. I flopped back onto the floor, stretched my arms over my head, and let out a yawn. I stared up at the ceiling for a while, and when I finally decided to look over at Drew, I was surprised to find that he was watching me, his eyes dancing over my body.

  Without saying a word, he rolled onto his side and, keeping eye contact with me, lifted my shirt, exposing my stomach, and then he bent ever so slowly and pressed his lips to my bare belly.

  I closed my eyes at the feel of his lips on me, finally opening them again when he pulled his lips away and found him once again staring into my eyes. I softly smiled and ran my fingers through his hair, while he continued placing tiny kisses along my tummy. He went inch by inch, lifting my shirt as he went. I felt that familiar ache stir at my center, and when he kissed the underside of my bare breasts, I squeezed my thighs tight together. He made his way to my neck, and then he finally met my mouth, his tongue sweeping across mine. His kiss was so deep, I could feel the want behind it as he wrapped me tightly in his arms, his strong, warm hand squeezing my waist.

  "Take me upstairs," I murmured as he pulled away and studied my eyes.

  Within minutes of asking him that, we fixed the living room and I was in his arms as he carried me up the stairs. He walked over to his room and shut the door behind us after placing me down on the floor. As soon as the door was locked, he walked over to me and reached for the drawstring on my pajama pants, tugging at it gently until the tie gave way, slipping them off me and letting them drop to the floor. Then he gripped the edge of my shirt, lifting it over my head and again dropping it to the floor as well, leaning in to bite my already hardened nipples.

  I pushed at the waistband of his house pants, pushing them down over his hips. He kissed me hard, backing me up against the edge of his bed, where I sat down and took him in my hands, slowly stroking his beautiful, hard cock.

  As I looked up, I noticed he was watching me intently as he ran his fingers through my hair. I bent and licked the bead of precum from the tip of his cock, listening to him inhale deeply as I swirled my tongue around him.

  "Fuck, Lexi," he hissed, pushing me back onto the bed, until I was lying down looking up at him. He kneeled between my legs, forcing them open with his knees. I ran my hands over his hard abs, biting my bottom lip as I wished he were inside of me. With his knees holding my legs open, he looked into my eyes as he ran his fingers through my wet center, causing a chill to run through my body and my nipples to harden as his fingers found my clit. He supported himself with one arm and his mouth met mine to silence the moan that was about to come from my mouth as he continued to run his fingers over the already swollen bundle of nerves.

  "You have to be quiet," he whispered as he continued teasing me.

  "I can't," I whispered, “it feels too good.”,

  He pulled his hand away and reached over inside the bedside table, pulling a condom out. I heard the foil rip and opened my eyes to watch him roll it on. He bent down and licked each of my nipples, then kissed me deeply as I felt him press against my opening, finally slipping inside of me, filling me. He held me close as he pumped slowly and deeply inside of me, kissing me to stifle my moans.

  23

  Drew

  * * *

  The soft morning light peeked through the blinds, causing me to wake. I stared up at the ceiling, remembering last night. The feel of her soft skin against mine, her harsh breathing in my ear, and the little whimper she expelled as she finally came. I went to roll over and felt an arm around my waist, and panic started to rise. I glanced over at the clock and saw it was close to five.

  "Lexi, baby, wake up," I whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. She didn't wake. Instead she readjusted herself and snuggled up closer against me. "Lexi, wake up," I once again said as I shook her. "You've got to get up, baby."

  "Just go back to sleep." She ran her fingers over my chest.

  "Lexi, come on, baby, your parents are home. Get up."

  Her eyes opened abruptly, finally remembering where she was. "Oh my God, what time is it?" she asked, panicked as she looked around for her shirt.

  "It's just before five."

  I watched as she jumped from the warmth of my bed, the heat of her body leaving me, and threw on her pajama pants and T-shirt. She was just about to grab the door handle when we heard a door open on the other side, followed by her mother’s voice speaking with her father. I could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest as panic set in, and I jumped up and went to her.

  "It's okay, Lexi," I whispered. "Just stay quiet."

  I could see the worry lining her eyes as she stood quietly in my arms, waiting for her parents to either go downstairs or back to bed.

  "My God my bedroom door is open. I’ve never slept with it open." The panic rose in her once again as I rubbed her arms.

  I had to do something to calm her down, so I grabbed my sweatpants and threw them on. "Give me a minute. You wait right here."

  She looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

  * * *

  I pushed her behind the door and stepped out into the hall, pulling my door shut. Lexi's parents’ bedroom door stood wide open, and I could see Jim facing the other way looking out the window. The bathroom door was shut tight, and I could hear the shower already running, which meant Barbara was in there. I slipped across the hall and pulled Lexi's bedroom door shut tight and was just about back to my room when I heard Jim clear his throat.

  "Well, you're up bright and early. Merry Christmas, son!"

  "Merry Christmas, Jim. I take it Barbara is in the shower?" I asked.

  "Yep. She wanted to get breakfast prepared early so we can all make it to church on time."

  "No problem. I'll just wait in my room." I went to turn to go back in when I heard Jim clear his throat.

  "Oh geez, Drew, were you able to get that closet door open to put your belongings away? I forgot all about how it sticks."

  "No, sir, but it’s all right. I don't really need it."

  "Nonsense, let me take a quick look," he said, starting to make way for my bedroom door.

  "Jim, really, it’s all right. Zach said he was going to help me with it later," I said, gripping his arm and looking him directly in the eye. "Really, it's fine." I could imagine Lexi freaking out behind the bedroom door at the thought of her father bursting inside.

  "All right then, geez. I should go down and make some coffee. See you shortly."

  I watched as Jim went downstairs, and then I went back into my room and shut the door behind me. "You're safe," I said, looking at an extremely panicked Lexi. I walked over to her and wrapped her tightly in my arms, kissing the top of her head as I felt her relax against me.

  It was almost ten when we arrived at the church for the Christmas day service. We filed into the familiar old church that we had all grown up in, Lexi and I trailing behind everyone else. As she walked in front of me, I snuck a quick kiss on the side of her neck, praying that no one turned around to see it. We
had spent such a wonderful night together, and having her wake up in my arms on Christmas morning had been the best gift I could have asked for.

  Lexi slid into the pew and made enough room for me to sneak in beside her. Like always, she already had the hymn book in her hand and was marking out the music that would be sung during the service. She had always been like that, and I was glad to see she hadn't changed. I slipped my hand behind her and turned my body toward her. She looked up at me as if I had lost my mind. Putting my arm around her in front of everyone was apparently not allowed.

  "What are you doing?" she mouthed at me, elbowing me in the ribs.

  "What?" I shrugged my shoulders and winked at her. "Can't I put my arms around you?"

  She ignored me and went back to searching through the hymn book. I looked over at the rest of the family. Ann Marie was talking with Barbara and Jim, and Zach was firmly engrossed in their conversation. No one was even paying attention to us.

  I leaned down so my mouth aligned with her ear. "No one is even paying attention, watch. Don't make a sound." I kissed her ear, sucking her earlobe into my mouth.

  Her cheeks flamed red as she tried to hold her composure while squirming in her seat.

  "I can't wait to slide into your tight pussy later on," I whispered. I was sure I was going to go to hell after saying this in church.

  "Isn't that right, Drew?" I jumped up when I heard my name called and looked over to see Zach staring at us.

  "What's that, man?" I asked, swallowing hard.

  "Skiing tomorrow? Are we on?"

  "Yeah, yeah, of course, we are on. Can't wait." Ann Marie looked at me and then to Zach and back to me again, a knowing smile on her lips as she looked to a very red-faced Lexi.

  Fuck, I'd been caught.

  I dropped my arm from behind Lexi and sat facing forward, putting on my good boy hat. Thankfully, the sermon began, and everyone’s attention was finally off me. Now I just needed to make it through the next couple of hours trying to calm the raging bulge that was in my pants.

  We had just returned to the house and were sitting in the family room sharing stories with Ann Marie from Christmas past when my cell phone rang. Lexi looked up at me and frowned as I looked at the screen.

  "Can you guys excuse me for a moment?" I asked, frowning at what I saw on the screen.

  "Sure thing. Don’t be long. Gift exchange is coming up!" Zach said, getting up to refill everyone's apple cider.

  I ran up the stairs, the vibration of my cell phone stopping as I picked it up. "Hello."

  "Merry Christmas, Drew."

  I felt my heart start beating hard in my chest at the sound of the voice on the end of the other line.

  "It's Laura."

  I had barely thought of her since I had been here, which had been a welcomed change from before. I swallowed hard as I wondered to myself about what the hell she wanted.

  "Is this a bad time?"

  "Do you think there could possibly be a good time?" I chuckled, my asshole side coming out.

  "I suppose I deserve that."

  "What do you want?" I couldn't help being abrupt but hearing her voice had brought everything back to me.

  "Well, it’s just that I am in the area visiting my parents and was hoping to maybe see you. I was hoping we could talk."

  I pondered this for a minute. As much as I didn't want to see her, I also wanted answers. I deserved answers. After all, that was what I had come to seek, and truthfully, the only place I would get them was from her. I glanced down at my watch and mentally calculated the time it would take for gift exchange and dinner.

  "All right, tonight at eight?"

  "Perfect. Swing by my parents’ place. I'll see you then. Oh and, Drew, Merry Christmas."

  We had done our gift exchange shortly before dinner. Zach and Ann Marie had left with Joe and Barbara shortly after dinner to head to her family’s for the evening, leaving Lexi and I at home. "I'll be back shortly," I called up the stairs to her.

  "Okay, if I'm not here when you get back just come downtown. I may go out and snap some photos of the town square," she called down to me not even questioning where I was headed.

  "All right," I answered. I grabbed my coat from the hall closet and headed out the front door. Lexi and I had promised to exchange gifts tonight after the family was in bed. I hurried down the porch steps and made my way to Laura's parents’ place about twenty minutes away.

  I rounded the corner thinking about Lexi when I looked up and saw the house off in the distance, and everything came rushing back, thoughts of Lexi leaving my mind. I walked slowly up the front steps to the front door and knocked, waiting to be let in. It was a cold night, a few clouds in the sky, but mostly the stars twinkled brightly above my head.

  It was only a matter of seconds before I watched Laura come around the corner, smiling as she approached the door. She looked good, dressed in black dress pants and a white silk blouse with a red scarf around her neck. She pulled the door open.

  "Hey." She smiled at me. "Come on in," she said, stepping off to the side.

  I could hear her family chattering and laughing in the background as I stepped inside the foyer.

  "It's good to see you." She grinned as she held her hand out for my jacket.

  I was hesitant. She had said she wanted to talk, and I had assumed she meant in private, but I slipped my jacket off anyway and toed off my shoes.

  She hung my jacket in the closet and then turned to me, smiling as she placed her hands on her thighs and looked around as if she didn't know what to do. Laughter erupted from the kitchen, and she turned and made her way back to where she had been.

  "Drew's here," she called out as I followed behind her into the kitchen where everyone sat around the kitchen table, dessert plates in front of them.

  "Hi, Drew, it's great to see you," Laura's mom said, getting up from her chair and embracing me in a tight hug.

  It was almost as if Laura hadn't run off with another man only minutes before we were supposed to get married, leaving me at the alter looking like an idiot. Laura patted the empty chair beside her, signaling me to sit down.

  At first, it was awkward being back there with her family, and then I got into a debate with her father, and soon an hour had passed by. I glanced down at my watch, seeing that it was close to ten. I didn't want to be here all night. She had wanted to talk to me, after all. I leaned over and placed my hand on her knee. "Can I speak to you alone?" I whispered as everyone looked over at us.

  "Of course." She smiled awkwardly, excusing us from the table, and got up. "Guy's we are just going to head out for a walk."

  "Drew, it was great to see you again," her mother said, hugging me once again.

  I walked out to the foyer and slipped into my shoes and grabbed my coat off the handle of the closet door.

  "How about we walk down to the little cafe in town?" she murmured as she put her coat on.

  "Sure. That’s fine," I said, opening the front door and stepping out into the cold.

  We walked in silence for a while through the brightly lit neighborhood, taking in the Christmas lights. It wasn't a comfortable silence by any means, and I struggled to find words to say to fill that silence while we walked. I had never been as glad to see the lights of the cafe as I was in this moment. As I approached the door, I was surprised to find the cafe open, not really thinking about the fact that it was Christmas day.

  I opened the door and allowed Laura to step in front of me. She walked over to the seat beside the fireplace and unwrapped her scarf. "What would you like?" I asked.

  "A coffee please," she said, sitting down and running her fingers through her hair.

  I brought over two coffees and sat down beside her. She sat there looking at me, a smile on her lips, just like nothing had even happened between us.

  "So you wanted to talk," I said, grabbing a creamer out of the bowl in front of me and pouring it into my coffee, followed by sugar. I wasn't wasting time.

  She took i
n a deep breath. "Drew, I want to apologize."

  "For?"

  "The way things went down. I know it's all my fault."

  I could barely believe what I was hearing. Of course, it was her fault.

  "What happened?" I asked, placing the spoon down on the table.

  She looked at me through tears as she stirred her coffee. She had more to say, I knew it. "I don't know. I guess I choked. About a month before our wedding, I met someone, and he brought something out in me that I couldn't fight. I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't really even think much of it at first, but then something changed."

  "So, you just ran off? Just threw away everything that we had?"

  "I figured it may not hurt as much that way."

  I chuckled to myself. "Laura, just don't." I shook my head, taking a drink of the coffee I barely even wanted to drink now.

  "He was different from you. He was adventurous and wanted to have fun, he wanted to see the world...and he wasn't you," she mumbled.

  "Of course, he wasn't me," I said. "And where is the wonderful man now?"

  "He left me about three months ago. We had gotten engaged, and then he came home one night and told me he had met some other girl one night in a bar we had been in. I tried to keep him, but he took off with her." She sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes.

  I glared at her, at the terrible display of emotion she was trying to trick me with. I cleared my throat and sat back in my chair. "So now you know how it feels. Doesn’t feel so good, does it?" I spat, my angry, vindictive side coming out.

  * * *

  She pulled her chair closer to me and put her hands on my knees. "I made a mistake, Drew. I didn't realize how lucky I was to have you...until you were gone."

  "Laura..."

  "No, Drew, please just hear me out. I want us to have another chance. I want you back." She didn't give me time to even digest her words. Instead, she just leaned in and kissed me.