All I Want for Christmas: A Contemporary Romance Holiday Collection

by S. L. Sterling

  "You've got to go don't you?"

  I knew that disappointment lined my face, and I nodded at her as the guys came running in, opening their lockers and pulling out their gear, while Kristy stood looking at me.

  "Let's go, Reeves," Scott called out.

  "Come to my place once you are done?" Kristy whispered and ran back to my bunk and took the book she'd made me, while I ran to my locker. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a key then ran over to me and placed it in my hand and closed my fingers around it. "See you tonight?"

  "You got it. I will see you in a bit." I kissed her quickly and continued pulling my gear on.

  23

  Kristy

  * * *

  I sat in the living room watching the end of a Christmas movie. I yawned and glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost eleven. Austin had been on that call for the past seven hours, and I was beginning to get a little worried.

  As the anxiety crept through me, I figured it may be best for me to go to bed. I knew Austin would eventually come, so I locked the door and wandered into the bedroom, slipped off my pajama pants, and climbed into bed. I grabbed my book from the nightstand and began reading, hoping that it would keep me awake until Austin arrived.

  * * *

  I woke to what sounded like a thud in the apartment and sat up, listening hard. I glanced at the clock. I was shocked to see it was already one in the morning. I found my book lying next to me and moved it to the nightstand when I heard another noise. I slipped out from under the covers and went to the door, stopping to listen again before I cautiously walked down the hall towards the living room. I could see the entryway light on, and I poked my head around the corner to see Austin, with his back to me, fiddling with the lock on the door.

  * * *

  "What time is it?" I questioned quietly, trying not to scare him.

  * * *

  He turned his head and looked at me. "Hey, it's a little past one. I was trying not to wake you. I can't get this locked," he said, jiggling the lock more.

  * * *

  I was about to step forward to show him how to lock the broken lock when I heard it click shut. He leaned down and pulled off his boots. He was still wearing his uniform, which meant he had probably just left the scene and drove right here. He dropped his heavy coat onto the floor.

  * * *

  I stood there staring at him, watching as his muscles flexed underneath the T-shirt he was wearing. I realized I had jumped out of bed in a hurry to see who was inside, and I was wearing nothing but the T-shirt I had gone to bed in. I realized that he, too, had noticed, and his eyes washed over me and he took a step toward me.

  * * *

  "I'm sorry I took so long," he whispered, stepping closer to me. "You do know that you've been on my mind all night. Where did we leave off?" he growled.

  In one swift motion he had swooped me up in his arms, kissing me as my legs wrapped around his waist, while he carried me down the hall to my bedroom.

  * * *

  He placed me onto the bed, gripped the hem of my shirt, and pulled it off me, the look in his eyes one of hunger, want, and need. He reached behind him and pulled off his shirt, exposing his rock-hard abs to me. I leaned forward and ran my fingers over his rippled muscles. His hand found my chin, and he tilted my head up so he could look into my eyes as he undid his belt buckle, dropping his pants to the floor. I couldn't help but allow my eyes to run over his body. He pushed me back and crawled in between my legs and held himself overtop of me, looking down into my eyes.

  * * *

  "It was a long night, and I'm kind of tired," he whispered.

  * * *

  "That's okay," I said, running my hand down his cheek.

  * * *

  "So, I might not be able to—"

  * * *

  I pressed my finger to his lips, silencing him. "It’s okay. We don't have to do anything."

  * * *

  He said nothing, just took hold of my hand and ran it over himself, shuddering at my touch. He was hard as a rock, and I instantly knew that that had not been what he was talking about. "I was going to say I might not be able to do it more than one time." He chuckled.

  * * *

  He lowered himself down and kissed me, moving his lips over my ear, down to my neck, and then my shoulder. He ran his hands up my body, gently cupping my breast, and then allowed his lips to travel to my already hardened nipple.

  * * *

  The sound of my moan echoed through the room as he twirled his tongue around it and sucked me gently into his mouth before letting it go and coming up to meet my mouth again.

  * * *

  "I missed you," he whispered.

  * * *

  "I missed you too," I answered back, opening my legs so he could rest between them.

  * * *

  He leaned on his forearms, staring down into my face, gently brushing my hair back with his fingers. "Do you have any condoms?" he asked, looking down at me tenderly.

  * * *

  I blushed. I wanted to feel him inside of me, not him with a layer of protection between us. I locked eyes with him and shyly shook my head no.

  * * *

  "That's a bit of a problem," he murmured, looking at the clock. "Stores are probably closed. We used all the ones from that weekend away?"

  * * *

  I nodded and brought my lips to his ear. "I don't think we need one," I whispered.

  * * *

  He looked into my eyes. I was sure he could feel my heart thumping with nervousness and excitement as I waited for him to say something.

  * * *

  "Are you sure?" he asked as he studied my eyes.

  * * *

  "I'm sure."

  * * *

  I couldn't tell what he was thinking, and for a minute, I was worried that perhaps I had crossed a line and that this was going to be taking too big of a step. That thought was soon squashed when he brought his lips to mine, sliding his tongue between my lips and through my mouth. It was slowest, deepest, most sensual kiss we had shared since we had been together.

  * * *

  He ran his hands over my body, and then I felt his hand between us as he pumped himself a couple of times before he aligned himself with my opening. He inched in slowly, the deep groan coming from his lips as he continued inching inside of me.

  * * *

  It felt different. We felt closer, and I could feel every part of him inside of me. Once he was fully seated, he held himself there, taking a moment to kiss me again. When we parted, he looked down at me as he pulled himself out and pumped back into me, all the way to the hilt. I couldn't hold back the moan that slipped between my lips.

  * * *

  I tried to open my eyes so I, too, could watch him, watch his expression as he sank himself inside of me, but every time I thought I would be able to, he buried himself so deep inside of me, which felt so good I had no choice but to close my eyes.

  * * *

  We took our time, slow and steady, building us both up, and then he would stop, allowing us both to come back down. It was the most sensual love making I had ever experienced, and when we couldn't fight our orgasms any longer, we both came, quivering and holding onto one another, completely breathless.

  * * *

  Ten minutes later, I lay wrapped in his arms, pressed against his warm body, with my eyes closed. Everything once again felt complete, and I rolled over so I could bury my face into his chest. I couldn't help the tears that began to fall, my body shaking.

  * * *

  "Hey, what's wrong?" Austin's deep, tired voice asked as he pulled me closer to him.

  * * *

  I sniffled. "I can't believe I almost lost you. That I pushed you away."

  * * *

  He didn't say anything right away. Instead, he kissed my forehead and smoothed my hair. "I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere. Unless, of course, you want me to. Honestly, make-up sex it the best kind. It’s probably my favorite." He met my
lips, slowly kissing me as he held me closer to him than I even thought possible.

  I felt the bed dip and opened my eyes. The room was still dark, and I looked over my shoulder to see Austin sitting on the edge of the bed. I rolled over and placed my hand on his hip. "What is it?" I murmured.

  * * *

  "It's time to get up. I have to get back to the station."

  * * *

  "Really?" I whined.

  * * *

  "Yep."

  * * *

  I glanced at the clock. It was only five, which meant Austin had had less than three hours worth of sleep. "I'll get up and make you something to eat," I said.

  * * *

  "No, babe, it’s early. Go back to sleep. You need your rest," he said, pulling the covers back up around me and kissing me.

  * * *

  He wanted me to go back to sleep, but as soon as I had heard him climb into the shower, I got up. I headed to the kitchen where I put on some coffee and began making oatmeal and toast. He was underslept and tired, and I didn't want him leaving here without something in his stomach.

  * * *

  I busied myself, and soon I felt his hands on my hips. "What are you doing?" he whispered, kissing my ear.

  * * *

  "Making you breakfast."

  * * *

  Austin distracted me for a minute, kissing me, and then sat down at the table, while I poured the oatmeal into the bowls.

  * * *

  "I could get used to this." He chuckled. "Addie usually throws me a cold piece of toast and a reheated cup of coffee on my way out the door."

  * * *

  "That sounds exactly like Addie." I laughed. She was all about quick foods that she could eat in two seconds because of her job. I placed the bowl of oatmeal in front of him, along with yogurt and blueberries, and sat down across from him after pouring two cups of coffee.

  * * *

  "This looks great. Really, you didn't have to."

  * * *

  "I'll make you breakfast anytime." I winked.

  * * *

  "I'd love that. So tell me, when are you planning on starting your business?"

  * * *

  "Well, I was thinking the new year. I need a bunch of things first, and it’s going to put a significant dent into my savings, but the sooner I get it done, the quicker I can get started."

  * * *

  Austin nodded. "Well, I was thinking this morning in the shower. Would it help you if you had a roommate?"

  * * *

  "Yeah, most definitely, but this is a one-bedroom apartment. I'm not sure I want to turn the living room into a bedroom just so I have someone to share the rent with, if you know what I mean."

  * * *

  "No, I get it. Although I wasn't quite thinking that. I thought maybe you could move in with me."

  * * *

  I looked up from my breakfast and smiled. "Austin, that would be great, and it’s really thoughtful, but I don't know if our relationship could stand having Addie in our faces every morning or listening to us every night." I chuckled. "I mean, I love her to death, but..."

  * * *

  Austin held up his hand to stop me. "What if I told you I bought a house and that it would just be us."

  * * *

  "You what?"

  * * *

  "I bought a house. I want you to move in with me." A slow smile spread across his lips as he got up from the table and placed his empty bowls in the sink.

  * * *

  For a minute, I sat there shocked, and then I got up and walked over to him. He turned as I approached, and I threw my arms around his neck. "Yes," I said, standing on my tiptoes to try and reach his lips. "Yes, I will move in with you."

  He pulled me into his arms, lifted me up, and kissed me hard.

  Epilogue

  Kristy - Three months later

  Moving day came quicker than we both had thought. I had been busy during the beginning of the year getting things up and running for my business and had managed to secure a couple of accounts. Austin had ended up moving in with me right after Christmas, to help me until we took possession of the house.

  We'd begun moving some things that we could do ourselves the day prior, but today we had the guys from the station coming to give us a hand. The last load was on the way over from my apartment, and Austin's stuff from Addie’s, plus, the storage unit he had was now sitting in the middle of the rooms of the house.

  "That's it!" Greg said, coming and dropping the last box from the back of his truck onto the kitchen floor.

  "God, you have a lot of stuff," Greg said, staring at the mess of boxes.

  "It's not all mine. Austin had the entire storage unit remember." I laughed as the guys flopped down onto the couch that sat in the middle of the living room.

  "We remember!" They all let out a laugh.

  I grabbed four beers from the fridge, opening each of them and then carrying them into the guys. "Pizza and wings should be here soon," I said, and sat down on the arm of Austin's chair. "I ordered it about forty minutes ago."

  "Can't wait. I’m starving." Austin chuckled. "What about you guys?"

  "Seriously, you guys are slave drivers. We are starving. We weren't sure if you were going to feed us or not," Greg said, and the guys all started to laugh.

  "Feeding everyone but you there, Greg." Austin chuckled, taking a swig of his beer.

  I got up, leaving them to their talk, and went into the kitchen and began unpacking dishes and putting them away.

  "Help!" I heard from outside and looked out the window to see Addie standing holding three trays of pizza and two large containers of what must have been the wings with no way to be able to open the door.

  I laughed seeing her struggle as I opened the back door and took some of the food from her. "Thanks!" I said.

  "I ran into the pizza guy in the driveway. You guys have enough food here to feed an army." She laughed, stepping inside and handing me the other pizza boxes I couldn't take from her in the first place.

  "That's because we new you were coming," Austin said, coming into the kitchen to give us a hand.

  "Haha....very funny," Addie said, rolling her eyes and smiling at me before wrapping her arms around me and pulling me in for a hug.

  "Hey, I lived with you long enough to know your appetite."

  Addie reached out and smacked Austin across the arm, laughing. "My appetite, man, you are delusional."

  "Come and get it," I yelled after I had set the pizza, wings, and paper plates onto the kitchen table.

  Austin grabbed me and pulled me in front of him, my body snuggling up against him as he wrapped his arms around me while everyone came in to fill their plates with food.

  "I can't wait until they are gone," he whispered into my ear, his lips grazing my earlobe, sending a chill through my body.

  I elbowed him gently in the ribs and laughed.

  "I want to christen every single room in this house with you," he whispered again, this time kissing my neck.

  "Oh my God! Would you two get a room!" Addie said, rolling her eyes as she looked over at us. "You'll have plenty of time to do whatever it is you’re whispering to Kristy about enough to make her blush.”

  Everyone broke out into laughter.

  Hours later, the house was finally quiet, everyone having left Austin and I alone for the first time the entire day. We sat together on the couch, his arms wrapped around me, and I closed my eyes, resting my head on his chest.

  I felt Austin place a gentle kiss on my shoulder. "What are you thinking about?"

  "Hmmm, just how lucky I am to finally have found you," I whispered.

  "Me too," he said, pulling my T-shirt down a little more off my shoulder and kissing me again.

  "It's awful, but you've been in front of my face all these years. I somehow feel like I wasted them."

  Austin was quiet for a minute. Then he placed his fingers under my chin, lifting my head so I could meet his eyes. "Sometimes, the thing
s you want the most are right in front of your face all along. It just takes some time for them to appear." Slowly, he brought his lips to mine and kissed me slow and deep. When we parted he looked at me. "I'm so happy that I finally had the courage to open my eyes again enough to see you."

  I stood up from the couch and held my hand out to him. He looked up at me. "What are you doing?"

  I pulled my T-shirt off and unclasped my bra, allowing it to fall away from my body. "To christen the bedroom." I smiled, my cheeks heating at the thought.