Janelle Denison - Christmas Fantasy

by Christmas Fantasy

  She was close…so, so close.

  He lifted his head, sliding his mouth from hers to watch her expression. His gaze locked with hers, demanding and fiery. There was no way she could hide anything from him, he wouldn’t allow it. He coaxed not only her physical surrender, but an emotional one, too…and she found the feelings swirling within her thrilling, arousing and terrifying, because she’d never given a man what Austin silently asked for…her complete acquiescence, heart, body and soul.

  “Let it go, baby,” he rasped, as if he understood her fears. “I’ll catch you when you fall.”

  Helpless to deny him, she closed her mind to everything, ceasing to exist past the feel of him moving in her, over her…and then it happened, a blinding rush of sensation that stole her breath and spilled through her like liquid fire.

  The orgasm was so intense, she grasped his shoulders for fear of flying apart. And just as she reached the peak and her body convulsed with the exquisite, sensual gratification, she gave him what he’d ultimately wanted.

  “Austin…” she moaned huskily, raggedly.

  A satisfied light glimmered in his eyes. “Yeah, just like that…”

  In a series of hard, swift strokes he thrust into her, and as she watched him toss back his head and give himself over to his own violent climax, she realized she’d gone and done something utterly foolish…. Something that would only lead to a wealth of heartache for her, false expectations from her parents, and a string of disappointments for the man who’d possessed her body so thoroughly.

  She’d fallen hard and deep for Austin McBride.

  STANDING BY the side of the bed, Austin stared down at the woman sprawled on her stomach amidst the tangle of sheets and blankets, unable to help the lazy smile tipping his mouth, or the warm inner glow chasing away the chill still clinging to his skin from his predawn quest through the misty, rainy morning to find Teddy a special Christmas surprise. No easy feat, considering every tree lot he’d driven to had sold out the night before.

  Finally, his persistence had paid off. He’d found a lone, solitary tree in an abandoned lot, a scrawny five-foot Douglas fir with a broken limb and a crooked trunk that wobbled haphazardly on the wooden base it had been nailed to. Knowing how effortlessly Teddy could transform such imperfection, he’d claimed the tree. While he was trying to secure the five-foot shrub to the top of the Mustang, it had started to rain, a cold drizzle that gradually soaked through his shirt and jeans.

  The slight discomfort would be worth seeing Teddy’s face light up with joy when she saw her surprise. Her very own Christmas tree, to decorate as she pleased, and to share with him. This year, she wouldn’t be alone on Christmas morning. This year, he’d give her every reason to celebrate.

  He had nothing to wrap and put beneath the tree for her. The thought had crossed his mind on the drive back to her place, but he’d decided that he wanted to give Teddy something more personal than a tangible gift, something precious and priceless, something all the money in the world couldn’t buy. Something she was in dire need of, even if she didn’t realize it yet.

  His love.

  Yeah, he loved her. The emotion had snuck up on him when he’d least expected it, stealing into his heart and making him realize he needed this feisty, stubborn, too-independent woman in his life. He wanted a wife to come home to at night and share his life with, and he wanted children to bring love and laughter to a home that hadn’t experienced much merriment since his parents had died. He imagined all those things, and more…and in every mental picture that projected in his mind, Teddy played a central part in his future.

  His feelings for her were crazy, nothing he’d ever prepared himself for, yet there was no denying what he felt for her exceeded anything he’d ever experienced. And despite their different backgrounds and her parents’ uncertainties about him, the only person’s opinion that mattered to him was Teddy’s.

  He knew that needing someone didn’t come easily to Teddy, but he harbored enough confidence to believe her feelings for him were just as strong as his were for her, which, at the very least, gave them a solid foundation to build on. He’d seen the emotion in her eyes when he’d made love to her last night, the uninhibited way she’d responded to him told a tale of its own. But he’d also sensed her uncertainty after that first joining, felt the barest hint of reservation. And he wasn’t going to give her time to come up with any regrets.

  Luckily for him, she was easily distracted. He’d kept her mouth and hands and mind as busy as his own. He’d fanned the flames of desire all over again, taking her in possessive, erotic ways that had at first shocked Teddy, then incited her to new, feverish heights. They’d made good use of the box of condoms he’d brought, and in the dark hours of the night he hoped he’d managed to strip away a few layers of that frustrating reserve.

  She let out a soft, slumberous sigh and shifted on the mattress, stretching out more fully on her belly and sprawling those gorgeous legs of hers across most of the bed. He couldn’t help but grin. If he’d still been lying beside her, she would have kicked him right off the edge. The woman was a bed-hog.

  The covers wrapped loosely around her slender hips and tangled around her shapely legs, leaving the smooth slope of her back bare to his gaze, and hinting at the soft, warm nakedness beneath the sheet. Her arms were folded around a pillow, her face buried in the softness, and the slight curve to her body afforded him a glimpse of one full, pale breast.

  Not so surprisingly, sexual heat surged through his body, settling into an insistent throb in his groin. Amazingly, he grew full and heavy beneath his cold, wet briefs and the denim molding to his hips and thighs. Welcoming the rush of warmth and anticipating the greater heat of Teddy’s body, he stripped his damp T-shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. He toed off his shoes, tugged off his soaked socks, and struggled to push the wet denim over his hips and down his legs. Completely naked, and fully aroused, he slipped beneath the covers and moved toward Teddy.

  The moment his chilled flesh touched hers she gasped and came awake, her head lifting from the pillow. She looked disoriented, her tousled hair falling over her face, her eyes hazy. Before she could turn around or scramble away, he aligned his body over hers from behind, pressed her back down on the mattress, and pulled the blankets up around them.

  “Austin?” she said, her voice husky and a little bewildered.

  He dragged his open mouth along her jaw, nuzzled the warm, fragrant hollow of neck, tasting her skin with his lips and the touch of his tongue. “’Morning,” he murmured, his rumbly voice low and intimate in the shadowed gray before dawn. The soft, rhythmic pitter-patter of rain against the window added to the lazy, sensual morning.

  She released a drowsy, complacent “Mmm” as he caressed along the indentation of her waist with his hands, then shivered when he slipped his palms along her ribs and finally tucked his chilled hands between her breasts and the mattress to warm them.

  She sucked in a swift breath as her nipples beaded against his icy palms. “You’re freezing,” she complained as another shudder ran though her, though she made no move to push him off her.

  Nudging her thighs apart, he settled between that warm, welcoming harbor. “I won’t be for long,” he whispered, gently rubbing his stubbled cheek along her smooth shoulder. His damp hair brushed her skin, and he felt her shiver again.

  “And you’re wet,” she said, her voice filled with confusion.

  “I think that’s my line.” He rolled his hips forward, gliding his hot, male flesh along her slick, feminine cleft, proving his point.

  She laughed huskily, and wriggled her bottom beneath him, impatiently seeking the deeper contact he planned to give her in his own sweet time. She drew a deep breath, and released it slowly. “You smell like rain, and pine.”

  “Imagine that.” Smiling at the puzzled note to her voice, he eased a hand away from her breast, slid his flattened palm down her belly, and threaded his way through silky, damp curls to a greater fire, a mor
e desperate need. Sultry desire drenched his fingertips the moment he touched her.

  She whimpered beneath him, and he groaned, the heaviness and hunger inside him intensifying. “Ah, you feel so damn good, Teddy,” he breathed. Sinking deeper into her lush heat, he plied that tiny nub of flesh, giving her nothing but pleasure. Her breathing quickened, and he had the fleeting thought that he might be crushing her with his weight. “Am I too heavy for you?” he murmured against her ear.

  “Nnnnooo,” she moaned, her legs parting wider for his touch, while her fingers gripped the pillow. She turned her head to glance back at him, but got caught up in the tremors shimmering through her body. He watched her eyes roll back in ecstasy, her lips part, and a long, keening cry rip from her throat as she gave herself over to the erotic sensations.

  Satisfaction swelled in his chest, and he continued to stroke her, slowly, exquisitely, reverently, until the last bit of rapture ebbed—reveling in the fact that this time, she didn’t even try to temper the emotional climax.

  Her unconditional response turned him on, humbled him, even. Wanting to give the same in return, he dragged his palms from beneath her, found her hands, and laced their fingers together at the side of her head. “Lift your hips for me, Teddy,” he rasped near her ear, desperate to be inside her.

  She accommodated his request without hesitation, and he slid into her with a sleek, heavy glide, surrounding her with flesh that was no longer chilled, but now burned with the wild need to possess her in the most elemental way possible.

  Mutual groans coalesced, and his hips began pumping harder, faster. Her fingers tightened around his, and she whispered his name, over and over, a sweet, drugging litany that dragged him deeper into the flames.

  The sensations crashing over him stole his breath. The powerful emotions he felt for this woman touched his heart, overwhelming him, sending him careening straight over the edge of control. Burying deep, he arched against her and rode with the most excruciating pleasure he’d ever known.

  11

  SIGHING CONTENTEDLY, Teddy draped her leg over Austin’s and rested her head in the crook of his shoulder, unable to think of a nicer way to wake up in the morning—making love to an exceptionally sexual, virile man who was as generous with her pleasure as he was greedy about taking his own satisfaction. The delicious, satiated glow spreading through her was something she could get used to.

  Sex had never been a necessity for her, certainly not something she’d given much importance to in her pursuit to establish her career, but she quickly realized it was a matter of making love to the right man. She couldn’t get enough of Austin, the excitement of his kisses, the thrill of his touch, and even the sexy way he looked at her that could make her smolder and burn until he extinguished those internal flames of desire.

  Their sexual compatibility and sizzling attraction was a win-win situation, and though her startling realization last night had scared her on an emotional level, she’d put her feelings for Austin into perspective during the night and decided to handle the situation like any other independent woman would. She’d have an affair with Austin. A simple, undemanding relationship that wouldn’t interfere with the goals she’d worked so hard to achieve, or threaten the unrestricted life-style she’d finally established for herself. A no-strings tryst that wouldn’t give Austin any false illusions about a forever kind of future together. No promises. No long-term commitment.

  Satisfied with her plan, she lifted her head to look at Austin, furrowing her fingers in the soft, curly hair on his chest. His eyes were closed, and he looked exhausted, completely wiped out. And totally gorgeous with dark morning stubble lining his lean jaw. She thought about that roughness against her neck and shoulders during their last erotic interlude, and her skin tingled with renewed awareness. Slowly, she skimmed her palm down to his belly, slipped her hand beneath the sheet draped over his hips, and curled her warm fingers over his semierect shaft.

  He groaned, and grabbing her wrist, he pulled her hand back up so it rested over the steady beating of his heart. “Have mercy, woman. I need a little time to recuperate,” he muttered, eyes still closed.

  She laughed softly, and took pity on his poor, abused body. “Okay, I’ll give you ten minutes, and if you’re still being uncooperative, I’ll just have to climb on top and straddle you while you’re sleeping.”

  The corner of his mouth twitched. “You’re a shameless hussy.”

  “It’s all your fault,” she said, reaching up to run her fingers through Austin’s still-damp hair, which brought to mind how cold and wet he’d been when he’d slipped into bed with her just a little while ago. “So tell me, why were you all wet?”

  “As you can see, it’s raining outside,” he said, his voice a deep, rumbling murmur.

  She glanced toward the window, watching rivulets of water run down the pane. The soft sound of rain outside soothed her. “Hmm, so it is.” But that didn’t really answer her question, so she rephrased it. “What were you doing out in the rain?”

  The eye closest to her opened halfway, enough for her to glimpse feigned exasperation. “You’re not going to let me sleep, are you?”

  “Nope.” Smiling at his poor attempt to appear annoyed, she stacked her hands on his chest and rested her chin on top. “What were you doing out in the rain?” she repeated.

  Both eyes opened, brilliant green and full of mischief now. “Getting your Christmas present.”

  Her heart flip-flopped in her chest at that surprising announcement. It was Christmas morning, and the last thing she expected was a gift from Austin, especially when she hadn’t gotten him anything in return. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “I wanted to.” He brushed a strand of hair off her cheek, his touch infinitely tender, the look in his eyes just as adoring.

  The swell of emotion she experienced for this man at that moment terrified her, and she quickly suppressed it. “What store would be open on Christmas, at six in the morning?”

  He lifted a dark eyebrow. “Well, Ms. Skeptical, why don’t we just go find out?”

  Like a giddy kid on Christmas morning, Teddy sprang from the bed and grabbed the long, cotton robe hanging on the hook behind the bathroom door. Slipping into it, she came back to the bedroom and found Austin sitting on the side of the bed, still naked, and frowning at the garments on the floor.

  He glanced up at her. “My clothes are all wet, except for my costume, and I’m afraid those chaps might be a little drafty.”

  She laughed, though the thought of all that gorgeous masculinity framed in nothing but leather chaps made her pulse quicken. “But oh so sexy,” she said breathlessly.

  “I’d be happy to oblige that fantasy later, darlin’,” he drawled huskily. “But right now, I’d prefer to keep the important parts warm.”

  She tightened the sash on her robe, and extended an offer before she lost the nerve. “Maybe you ought to leave a few extra changes of clothes here.”

  His gaze held hers for an immeasurable moment, dark and searching. “Maybe,” he said, his tone completely noncommittal.

  Not wanting to delve any deeper into that subject at the moment, she rummaged through her dresser drawers, withdrawing a pair of light pink drawstring sweat shorts she wore around the house. Turning, she held them out to Austin. “This should work, for now. I know they look small, but they stretch, and they’re comfortable.”

  His expression turned doubtful, but without any other options available, he went ahead and stepped into the snug shorts. Sure enough, the fabric stretched to accommodate his muscular form. The soft pink cotton molded to everything male about him, from his lean hips and tight buttocks, to the masculine bulge between his hard thighs.

  “Wow, the color pink really suits you,” she teased.

  He propped his hands on his hips and glared. “I’m sure your parents would be thrilled to find out I wear women’s clothing.”

  She smothered a giggle. “My lips are sealed.” Grabbing his hand, she tugged him towar
d the bedroom door. “So, where’s this surprise?”

  “In the living room.”

  She headed in that direction, but before they reached the end of the short hallway, he stopped her, turning her to face him. Uncertainty flickered in the depth of his eyes, touching a chord deep within her.

  “It’s really not much, but it’s something I hope might become a tradition.”

  His words puzzled her, but she didn’t have much time to ponder them. He asked her to close her eyes, and once she did, he rested his hands lightly on her shoulders and guided her into the living room. The scent of pine added to her bewilderment.

  “Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” he said from behind her, his words warm and heartfelt.

  Teddy opened her eyes, and gasped at the sight of the Christmas tree sitting in the corner of the room, crooked and fractured in places, but its spirit not broken. The tree was nothing grand, a misfit among Douglas firs, but the sentiment behind Austin’s gesture transcended grandeur. The lengths he’d gone through to offer her this special gift exceeded anything anyone had ever done for her.

  “It’s all yours, to decorate as you please,” he said, pressing a soft kiss against her hair. “And you’re not alone this year. You can share it with me.”

  Realizing he must have overheard the conversation she’d had with Jordan about her childhood, her throat tightened and tears burned the back of her eyes.

  It’s really not much, but it’s something I hope might become a tradition.

  Now his words made sense, the meaning behind his remark teeming with assumptions…and complications. “Tradition” implied something lasting, tied up with commitment, and the future. A custom passed on from year, to year, and shared with loved ones.

  Oh, Lord. While she wanted to maintain a casual relationship with Austin, he’d sailed headlong into forbidden territory, making subtle insinuations she wasn’t near ready to face.