“Here—wait.” CJ leaned heavily against the door and pulled the last of her shirts off over her head. His eyes fell upon her bra. “Oh, Lord,” he groaned as he stared at her breasts covered in lacy pink silk.
“They’re not real,” she said quickly before he touched them. She’d had them done for the beauty pageant circuit. Normally, she didn’t tell people that—but he had asked for the truth. So, this was her being truthful. “I had implants years ago.”
It took him several moments to drag his eyes up to hers. “You must’ve had a very good surgeon because I never would’ve guessed.” He dropped his gaze again and lifted his hands. But he didn’t touch her. Instead his fingertips hovered above her skin. “What can you feel?”
She pressed his hands against her bra. Automatically, he cupped her and dragged his thumbs over her nipples. “I can feel that,” she breathed. After she’d gotten them done, there’d been a period where things hadn’t felt the same. But that had been a long time ago and the sensations had come back.
He reached around her back and undid her bra. As it slid off, she shivered because this hallway was not warm. Her nipples went rock-hard and, in response, CJ made a noise deep in the back of his throat. A noise of hunger and need. “How about this?” He teased the tips of her nipples and Natalie couldn’t help arching her back and thrusting her breasts closer to him.
“Oh, yes.” CJ hadn’t made a move to open the door and drag her onto the bed. Instead, he seemed content where he was, lavishing attention on her breasts.
“How about this?” he asked, his voice straining. Lightly, lightly he pinched one of her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, with just the slightest pressure. “Do you like that?”
She wouldn’t have thought it possible to want him even more, but in that moment, she did. To him, she was a person with wants and needs and she knew that he would take care of her. She had always known it, ever since he’d picked her up and dragged her into his house and made sure she didn’t freeze to death.
“Don’t stop,” she pleaded.
He didn’t. He took his time stroking and tugging on her breasts. When he lowered his mouth and sucked one nipple between his lips, she couldn’t stand it. She moaned and whimpered and held him against her. He let his teeth nip at her until she was nearly crazed with desire.
“CJ,” she begged. “I can’t take much more.”
But still he didn’t let her go. Instead, without pulling his mouth off of her, he slid his hand down between them. She still had on panties and a pair of long underwear, but that didn’t stop him. His hand dipped below the waistbands of both and moved lower, until he was stroking her sex.
“I think you can,” he murmured against her skin before his teeth scraped over the top of her breast and he latched onto her nipple again.
All she could do was hold on to his shoulders and watch as he suckled her. When he hit her very center with his fingers and began to make maddening circles, she bucked against him. He looked up at her, and in that moment, she was lost. She came undone in his arms as wave after wave of pleasure threatened to knock her legs out from under her.
But she didn’t need to worry because as she sagged against him, CJ caught her in his arms. “You are so beautiful when you come,” he whispered, and damn if his voice didn’t have a reverential tone to it.
Her mouth opened because she felt like she should say something. Normally, she did. She came up with some semi-sincere compliment on her lover’s skill or she exaggerated the orgasm that she might not have had.
But this orgasm had been actually mind-blowing and she couldn’t form words. Instead of the heavy hollowness she was used to, she felt light and shimmery. Special and wonderful.
It was so unfamiliar but already, she knew she wanted more.
She wanted all of him.
* * *
He was so hard with desire that it was now physically painful—but it had been worth it. Real or not, her breasts were fabulous. And watching her come?
That had been honest. It had been one of the most exciting things in his entire life. He had rendered her speechless and that made him feel good.
Her hand brushed over his throbbing dick and that shattered the last of his self-control.
He swept her legs out from under her and got the door to his room open. Then they were falling into bed, a tangled mass of arms and legs. He stripped her down to her panties and then down to nothing at all. He wanted to take his time—but he didn’t have any more time to take. This wasn’t a thinking thing. They had blown past seduction and there was no turning back.
“Oh, CJ,” she whispered when she finally freed him. He sprang to full attention and when her hands closed around him, he almost lost it. Because she was stroking him and he wasn’t this strong.
“Babe, now,” he said, forcing himself to pull away and reach for the bedside table. The condoms were probably still good even though it’d been a while. “How do you like it?”
A look of confusion temporarily blotted out the desire on her face. He had to wonder if anyone had ever asked her that. She needed better friends.
“I liked it when you played with my breasts,” she said, her eyes wide as he rolled on the condom.
“Then you can be on top.” And he’d have full access to her. He’d nearly made her come just by playing with her nipples—how much would she shatter if he did that while he was making love to her?
She straddled him. There was nothing slow or gentle about either of their movements. She guided him to her opening and he tweaked her nipples as he thrust into her and it was better than good. The way she surrounded him, all warm wetness? The way she tasted in his mouth? The little noises she made as he pulled her apart so he could drive up harder? He couldn’t even call it great because it was so much better than that.
He surrendered himself to her completely. Her pleasure was all his as she took him in and took him deeper. He filled his hands with her, stroking and sucking, licking and biting until she threw back her head and shuddered. He grabbed her by the hips and drove up into her, letting go as the climax tore through his body.
She collapsed down on him. They were breathing hard and a sheen of sweat covered them. “God, Natalie,” he murmured as he lifted her off of him and slid her into the crook of his arm. He got rid of the condom and then pulled the covers up over them.
She was quiet and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. He hoped he hadn’t been too rusty for her.
“Stay with me,” he said. “Stay with me for Christmas. Stay as long as you like.”
She was quiet for a little while longer. “I can’t. I wish I could but...”
It wasn’t like her answer was a surprise or anything. Winters on the ranch were long—but they didn’t last all year. And besides, eventually she’d get tired of his life. She’d want to go back to the comforts and conveniences of living in a big city instead of the isolation and hard work that went with ranching.
He accepted that. But what would happen when she left? It’d taken her less than four days to wind up in his bed. If she stayed through the New Year, how long would it take her to wind up in his heart?
Just like anything else with her, there was a risk. But apparently, it was one he was going to take, common sense be damned.
“I doubt the snow is going to melt before New Year’s Eve.”
She propped herself up on her elbows and stared down at him, a strange mix of emotions playing out on her face. “And you’d be okay with that?”
What kind of question was that? Especially considering that they were lying nude in each other’s arms?
He rolled into her, trapping her body underneath his. Even that simple movement made him hard again because he could feel the weight of her breasts underneath him and her legs sliding around his. He began to thrust slowly, dragging his erection over the outer folds of her sex.
“I want you,” he told her as he grabbed her hands and pinned them by the side of her head. “I’m tired of
fighting it. I want you.”
“I’m not good enough for you,” she whispered even as she began to writhe underneath him as he made contact with her over and over again. “I ruin everything.”
“That’s a lie,” he told her. “Whoever told you that was lying.” He let go of her long enough to fish another condom off the bedside table and roll it on. Then he positioned himself against her and, with one hard thrust, buried himself deep in her body. “You are good for me and I want you just the way you are.”
And if he couldn’t make her believe his words, by God, he was going to make her believe his actions. As he buried himself inside her, thrust after thrust, he showed her. He wanted her. Just her.
It was only later, when they were curled around each other under the covers and she was already asleep, that something occurred to him. She’d said she ruined everything—and it wasn’t the first time she’d said it.
What if she hadn’t been just repeating something that had been drummed into her when she’d been little?
What if she hadn’t been talking about the past at all?
What if she had been telling him something about the future—his future?
Sleep was a long time coming.
Ten
Christmas Eve passed in a blur for Natalie. She helped feed the horses and rode the snowmobile with CJ out to different parts of his property. She got to watch him break ice on ponds for his cows. She had done a story not terribly long ago on the appeal of lumbersexuals. But watching CJ swing a sledgehammer? All of those muscles in action? Damn.
The day warmed up considerably. By the time they made it to the third pond, CJ had unzipped his snowsuit and had the upper part hanging around his waist while he broke ice. The snow was already beginning to melt, dripping off of trees and running in rivulets toward the ponds. Everything sparkled and was bright—but she knew what this thaw meant.
It was the beginning of the end. Once the snow melted, she wouldn’t have a good reason to stay out here. Which was a shame, because they had just gotten started.
Once they made it back to the house, CJ spent a lot of time on the phone with his neighbors, making sure everything was ready for the parade and the party tonight. Then he disappeared upstairs and returned with a bright red sweatshirt and a pair of green sweatpants. He also had a more feminine-looking red top that had lace around the collar and bell sleeves. That was paired with a dark green skirt. He even had a pair of candy cane–striped tights. The last thing was a green-and-red-striped hat with a pair of elf ears attached. It was ridiculous—just looking at it made Natalie smile.
“All of this is going to be too big on you,” he said, handing her the clothes. “If you put the sweats on over the snowsuit, you’ll be good for the parade, and then at the party you can change into the other things. That is, if you don’t mind playing my elf?” As he said that last part, the color in his face deepened. “You’ll have to stand beside me and hand out presents to the kids.”
She beamed at him. “I would love to be your elf,” she said sincerely, trying the ears on. They felt silly—but good, too. Then something else occurred to her. “Does anyone else know I’m here?”
“I didn’t tell anyone in town. I mean, I can, if you’d like—they don’t have to know you’ve been here for days, but we could say you’re the special guest of honor.”
A week ago, she would’ve demanded just that. The honorary grand marshal or something else that would’ve made her the center of attention.
That wasn’t what she wanted now. She could play this Christmas party and her involvement in it for ratings and self-promotion—or she could let the focus be on Santa and the kids. She could be just an elf, handing out presents and waving in a parade.
“Don’t tell anyone,” she said. “I’m just one of Santa’s helpers.” Never in a million years had she thought she would ever say anything like that.
But then again, never in a million years would a man’s smile have meant as much to her as CJ’s did. “People might recognize you,” he told her. “You did spend an awful lot of time at that diner.”
She winced at the memory of wheedling and cajoling information out of the locals. “There’s going to be talk, isn’t there?”
But he just shrugged and pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem,” he said as she settled into his arms. “Firestone’s been having this party for forty-two years—no one wants to mess with tradition.”
She personally did not have a lot of faith in humanity. However, this was his town. All she could do at this point was hope for the best.
Still, after a quick dinner—CJ promised there would be food and drink at the party—Natalie suited up. She was back in the layers again plus the snowsuit plus the sweats. CJ helped her get the sweatshirt over her head—and now, because she had seen A Christmas Story, she understood what he meant when he asked, “Can you put your arms down now?”
“Funny,” she told him as he loaded her change of clothes and her elf hat into a bag stuffed with pillows.
“I try,” he said with a smirk. “Hold this.” He gave her his Santa beard. The plan was for them to ride the snowmobile into town then ditch it before he put the beard on and rode an old-fashioned sleigh down the main street of Firestone.
The stack of pillows served two purposes. One, it would make it look like the sleigh was filled with a sack of toys in the parade. But the other purpose was more practical. With a Santa suit over his snowsuit, CJ didn’t need the extra padding for the parade. However, there was no way he could sit in a snowsuit inside the community center for a couple of hours without dying of heat exhaustion. So he would use the pillows for his stomach once the party started.
It was a struggle for Natalie to hold on to the sack and the beard and CJ, and even though it had been warm today, it was still a long, cold ride into town. What would have taken twenty minutes in the car took close to an hour on the snowmobile. By the time they eased into Firestone, her nose was running and her cheeks were frozen.
“This way,” CJ said, parking on a snow-covered side street and helping her off the snowmobile.
“Aren’t you going to take the keys?” she asked as he led her away.
He shook his head. “Everyone knows that’s my vehicle. This isn’t Denver, you know. Jamie!” he called out as they turned the corner. “We’re here!”
Natalie stumbled to a stop. A short parade—no more than fifteen floats—stretched out along the narrow street of downtown Firestone. They came upon the rear, where an actual sleigh—with actual reindeer—waited for them. Some of the floats were on flatbed trailers that were being hauled by tractors so large they took up the entire street. There were more horse-drawn sleighs and even a couple of people dressed up like clowns on cross-country skis.
All Natalie could do was stand and stare, her mouth open. The whole thing was unreal—but in the best way possible. CJ hadn’t been exaggerating. This dinky little town in the middle of nowhere put on a Christmas extravaganza every single year and it was...
It was simply the most magical thing she’d ever seen.
“Ready?” CJ had gotten his beard on while she’d patted the neck of a reindeer and suddenly, he was Santa. He definitely had the twinkle in his eye.
“My ears.” He helped get her hood and ski mask off and then crammed the stocking cap with the attached elf ears onto her head. Then he and someone Natalie only vaguely recognized from the diner helped her up into the sleigh. The reindeer shifted nervously until CJ took the reins.
“Miss, do you think you can stand and wave?” Jamie asked as he handed the sack of pillows up to CJ.
Natalie braced her feet and her knees and gripped the back of CJ’s seat. “We’re about to find out,” she said with a huge grin.
Jamie stepped back. “Meet you all at the community center,” he called out.
The parade in front of them moved and CJ flicked the reins. Slowly, they made their public appearance as Santa Claus and his elf.
/>
It took a block before they reached any parade watchers, but when they did, Natalie guessed that the entire town of Firestone had made it for this event. Kids bundled up in thick coats and hats and boots stood on the sidewalks, waving and shouting as CJ came into view. Clearly, the reindeer had done this before because the noise didn’t seem to faze them at all. And Natalie? She managed to keep her balance and wave and smile at all of the kids.
Magical didn’t begin to describe this feeling of happiness that started midchest and radiated outward. Nobody recognized her. But strangely, they didn’t have to. All of her fame and notoriety mattered for exactly nothing right now. It should have been terrifying—but it wasn’t. All that mattered was the way the kids clapped and cheered as CJ ho-ho-ho-ed his way through downtown Firestone.
Then, as quickly as it had begun, the parade was over and CJ was helping her out of the sleigh. They had parked behind a building that she assumed was the community center and a woman who looked exactly like Mrs. Claus opened the door for them. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said. “Hurry! They’re going to be here for hot cocoa any second.”
“Doreen,” CJ said, “could you show her where the ladies room is? I’ve got to get out of this snowsuit.” With that, he hurried down the hallway.
“This way, dearie,” Doreen said as she led Natalie in the opposite direction. “Thank you so much for being an elf. The children do so enjoy this.”
“I’m having an amazing time,” Natalie said honestly. Because she was. She hadn’t believed that things like this were still possible in today’s world. Childlike innocence and joy... Who knew?
As she struggled out of her layers, Natalie could hear the noise begin to rise in the building. Undoubtedly, families were flooding into the warmth and demanding hot chocolate and cookies. As she took off her elf ears and rearranged her hair so that it would be entirely hidden under the hat, a band started playing Christmas songs.
Rich Rancher for Christmas Page 11