by Jan Springer
“Why don’t you go ahead and I’ll bring all the suitcases. Maybe you can start a nice warm bath for me and then we can hit the sack. I’m bushed,” Mason said as he looked back into the trunk and reached for the last suitcase.
Disappointment shot through her. She’d hoped for a little bit of romance and some hot passionate lovemaking before they went to bed. There hadn’t been time to consummate their new marriage yet.
Guilt splashed through her and she pushed away her disappointment. Of course Mason was tired. He’d driven most of the way himself, after she’d fallen asleep. She’d woken only a couple of hours ago and admonished him for not waking her so she could drive, as they had agreed, but he’d said he enjoyed watching her sleep.
The poor guy. She was being selfish thinking of romance and sex right now.
“Okay. I’ll get a bath going for you,” she replied, trying really hard to inject a cheeriness she didn’t feel.
Besides, they had two weeks to make love. She would just have to be patient one night longer.
Dense pine growth gave way to an opening filled with trees. Their branches were bare now. Devoid of the colorful leaves that had once rained down upon their cabin and they crackled eerily in the frigid wind. Beyond the trees stood their pine clapboard cabin with the hunter green painted trim.
It looked spectacular. About two feet of snow from previous snowfalls cradled the steep roof and buttery yellow light splashed from the windows. The owners had decorated the outside of the cabin in Christmas garb. Green garland with tiny white twinkling lights adorned the windows and a fat pine bough wreath laced with candy canes and a huge red bow hung at the door. The railing on the porch and stairs was also decked out in rows of garland and white blinking miniature lights. The whole ensemble made it look like a cabin in one of those ceramic villages she saw in store windows.
She dug into her pocket for the key they’d picked up earlier at the inn when they’d signed in. She found it and was about to step onto the first stair when hurried footsteps crunched along the trail behind her. Panic shot through her like a meat cleaver and her heart picked up speed as the familiar urge to run slammed into her. She’d experienced a lot of that since her encounter with Rick and Ron Smart. Jumping at noises. Wanting to run away whenever a loud noise snapped near her.
Inhaling slowly and deeply she forced herself to stay calm. Turning, relief poured through her trembling body as Mason rushed along the path bogged down with several suitcases. Snow glistened in his hair, his face glowed red in the dim light and his jacket collar was hiked up around his ears as he hunched against the cold.
“Hold it right there!” he yelled when he saw her. To her surprise, he dropped the suitcases right there in the middle of the path and ran toward her. The panic snapped back again when she thought maybe he’d received some bad news on his cell phone. But the burst of anxiety ebbed away a moment later when he quite literally swept her off her feet.
“Not one more step, bride,” he growled as he hoisted her into his arms and grinned down at her. His body heat curled around her curves, chasing away the chill of the storm and his eyes sparkled with so much love that she inhaled at the butterflies sweeping through her belly.
Wow. He smelled good. Heck, what was she saying? He always smelled good. She inhaled glimpses of the Irish Spring soap he’d showered with this morning before they’d left. And she smelled his spicy aftershave lotion and his unique scent.
“Don’t think I’ve forgotten what tonight is, babe.” He winked with a lusty twinkle in his eyes, which had her heart pounding in anticipation.
Oh thank God, he wasn’t as tired as she’d thought.
He carried her up the stairs, crossed the porch and halted in front of the door.
“Key?” he ordered.
“Hand?” She grinned at him.
His hand popped out from beneath her armpit where he’d been holding her and he wiggled his gloved fingers at her.
“I can get the door from here,” she replied. “I wouldn’t want you to exert yourself or hurt your back, especially with all the services I will be requiring from you over the next two weeks.”
“Hmm, services, heh? And what kind of services would you be in need of, bride?”
“Oh let me see. Housecleaning. Making the beds. Cooking me breakfast in bed. All of those, while you are naked, of course.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way. But I would request the same of you too. Washing my back in the bathtub. Shaving me and of course I’d like to have my toes sprayed with whipped cream. For all of which, you will be naked.”
His toes sprayed with whipped cream? Hmm, that sounded very interesting.
He wiggled his fingers as he kept her out of reach of the door.
“I’m the groom. I open the door.”
“Such chivalry.” She giggled and dropped the key into his palm.
“It’s definitely not dead where you’re concerned, wife of mine.”
Now why did she get the feeling he wasn’t truly talking about chivalry but something of a sexual nature?
Her eyes moved to his succulent mouth and need flared within her. Oh how she wanted to taste his mouth. To have him kissing her body, nibbling on her nipples and tonguing her pussy.
The sound of the key sliding into the lock and Mason opening the door brought her back from her fantasy. He carried her over the threshold and into the room.
Warm air spilled against them and they both gasped in surprise as they gazed around the transformed room.
“It’s beautiful,” Avery whispered as she took in the sight. Strings of green garland decked out in miniature red bells and tiny blinking white lights were draped over the headboard of the bed as well as along the top of the kitchenette cupboard shelves and along the top of the fireplace mantel. Several long stemmed white candles flickered in frosty candle holders on the mantel and two giant red velvet socks with puffy white edging hung on each side. Chopped firewood sat stacked neatly on both sides of the hearth where a fire crackled cheerfully.
Near the fireplace stood a four foot white frosted Christmas tree with twinkling white lights and decorated in various sizes of candy canes. Mouthwatering aromas wafted through the room and she noticed the array of red plates filled with food for two were set on a small, intimate, honey-colored pine table in one corner of the room.
“Lots of food,” Mason commented as he set her on her feet, and then headed for the refrigerator. Opening the door, he whistled. “And lots of whipping cream too.”
Avery trembled at the lust drenching his voice.
When he returned to her, he reached out and quickly unzipped her ski jacket. “Now how about I get those suitcases and you draw up that bath I mentioned before? I’m really bushed.”
“Sure thing.”
Removing her coat, she then tossed it onto the bed and headed into the small bathroom. Warm memories swept around her the moment she entered.
“Hey! How’s that bath water coming in there?” Mason called from the other room.
“Just getting it started,” she shouted back but didn’t make a move for the tub just yet. She heard him close the other door and his feet pounded on the porch and then the stairs.
She swore she’d never felt happier. She could see it in her face too. The way her eyes twinkled with love and her cheeks were flushed from the giddiness of remarrying Mason. And of course flushed from the cold. But Mason would keep her warm.
Tonight, she’d let him have his rest. But tomorrow they would be having some heavy-duty sex.
Smiling to herself, she leaned over the tub and placed the plug. But before she could turn on the faucets, Mason’s desperate cry stopped her cold. She hadn’t realized he’d returned so quickly.
“Hey, honey! Can you come out here?”
“Where are the suitcases?” she asked as she stepped into the adjoining room and found him standing there without them.
“Still outside.”
Confusion racked her and then her tummy hollowe
d out in worry as the possibilities rammed into her.
“Did you slip on some ice? Fall on the stairs?” He must have fallen while carrying all those suitcases up the stairs. She should have gone with him and helped.
“Nope.”
“Then what happened?”
“I missed you.”
All her anxiety melted away and she gave him a playful punch against his chest.
“You’re so mean. And so sweet. Come on, let’s go and get the suitcases before they get buried.”
She made a move toward the bed to retrieve her ski jacket but stopped short when she noticed it was gone, replaced by a sexy black chemise with lace side openings and a satin pink ribbon in front with a matching black thong.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, totally thrilled.
“You like?” he asked as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing her against him. Erotic tingles swept through her as she felt his impressive bulge press against her ass.
“You have great taste.”
“Most definitely the best taste in women too,” he said with a smugness that lashed happiness through her.
“And I have the best taste in men.” She smiled. “But obviously I am easily duped by my man. You used the bath excuse to get me out of the room so you could bring in this lingerie, didn’t you?”
He nodded and chuckled. “And back at the car too. I hid it behind the suitcases out on the path.”
“I thought you weren’t gone long enough to bring all those cases in. Maybe we should go and bring them in.”
“They can wait because there’s one more thing,” he said and turned her around to face him. “Look up.”
She did as he asked and gasped as she saw the softball-sized evergreen orb brightly trimmed with red ribbons and mistletoe. It hadn’t been there when they’d first come in. She would have noticed it. He’d put it up!
“The mistletoe,” he breathed the words ever so softly against her cheeks. His eyes were glazed and she noted a muscle in his jaw twitch.
He reached out, his strong arms embracing her. He held her captive, just as he had after he’d swept her off her feet in that church and placed him on his motorcycle. “It is said kissing under the mistletoe will bring happiness and a long life.” His pupils dilated and he smiled.
Her heart beat faster. Heaven knew they needed some more happiness in their lives.
His head lowered and his mouth slanted over hers.
Wow, he always tastes so good, she thought as his warm lips melted over hers and her heart pounded a frantic beat against her chest. Reaching up, she touched his bristly chin, angling his mouth just right over hers until his lips burned into her, branding her as his.
His tongue slipped into her mouth and dueled and then mated with hers, sending her world tilting in a most fantastic way. His lips burned her, and she felt as if she were on fire as he kissed her over and over. Her nostrils filled with his scent and her blood pumped wickedly though her veins as he pressed his erection against her pussy.
They were both breathing noisily when he broke the kiss. Urgency swept through her. It was a pleasant desperation she’d never felt quite to this depth before and it was intriguing.
“Hurry,” she breathed.
She wanted Mason making love to her. Wanted him thrusting deep inside her.
“I’m feeling it too, baby,” he muttered against her mouth. His voice was filled with a tension that sent erotic chills down her back.
She uncurled her hands from his neck and then ran her fingers down along his chest, feeling his nipples tighten beneath his shirt as she skimmed over them. He jerked and groaned as her palms slid over his lower abdomen and slipped beneath the waistband of his pants. Unclasping the snap, she then unzipped him, the sound of the zipper snapping like small explosions as it went down. She wasted no time in maneuvering his jeans over his lean hips and down his legs. He stepped out of his pants and she brought his underwear down and off.
When she took his bold erection into her hands, intense need slammed through her. He groaned again, his strong powerful hands tightening over her shoulders as if he were trying to keep from collapsing.
She drew in a breath as she held the hot heaviness of his shaft in her hands. She swore he’d never felt so heavy and swollen. And his cock looked so angry and flushed and so ready to perform. And she thought he was tired? He was anything but. He appeared so aroused she suddenly wondered if she could keep up with him!
That idea enticed her to no end.
She gave only a momentary thought to telling him they really should get their suitcases still sitting outside but brushed that idea aside. She had better things to do with her time. And with her man.
“Get out of your clothes,” she ordered and quickly undressed.
“What clothes? You’ve left me with only the shirt on my back.” He chuckled and started unbuttoning.
When they were both naked she splayed her palms over his hips and pushed him backward toward the bed.
“Hey, what about my bath?” he complained playfully.
“Later,” she breathed and he fell onto the bed with a plop.
“What about the lingerie?” He laughed.
Hell, he was laying on it.
“Much. Much. Later,” she whispered. She lifted her leg and gave him a perfect view of her pussy as she ran the bottom of her foot up and down along his rigid shaft. The heat and rock-hard sensation of his erection tracing the sole of her foot gave her a wicked thrill and she noticed his pupils dilating with need as his gaze became transfixed between her thighs. Since they’d returned home from here, she’d let him be the bold one in the bedroom again. She’d been biding her time for their honeymoon. It hadn’t been easy. But now as he tried to rise into a seated position and reach out to her, she splayed her hands across his chest and pushed him back down.
“Determined woman, aren’t you?” She could tell by the flare of arousal in his eyes he was enjoying her boldness.
“That’s an understatement.”
Clasping his knees, she widened his legs so she could step in between them. She kneeled and leaned over, gently kissing his smooth flushed cock head. The heat and musky smell of his erection lashed her senses and she scraped her teeth tenderly along the length of his swollen flesh until he was groaning.
She stood and climbed onto the bed over him. He reached out and cupped her breasts and tweaked her nipples. Angling herself, Avery inhaled as she used the tip of his cock to massage her clit. Any coherent thoughts soon went spiraling as sharp sensations enveloped her.
Mason groaned again. A low guttural animalistic sound that made her heart suspend in her chest with unbelievable happiness. She loved that she had so much power over him.
However the power was short-lived when Mason grabbed her and flipped her onto her back.
His eyes looked stormy and filled with lust as he held her wrists above her head and gazed down at her.
“I want you now, baby.” His voice was drenched with lust and the intensity of it made her shiver.
“Then take me, husband. Take me hard,” she breathed.
He growled an animalistic sound that played erotically with her senses.
Using his knee, he opened her legs and his cock pushed into her wet vagina. He was very thick and she gasped as she accepted his girth. He impaled her hard and fast, just the way she loved it. He withdrew and then thrust in and out of her in a wonderful rhythm.
He pistoned into her with such a demanding power she was whimpering and keening and gasping all at the same time. Her vagina clamped around his cock so hard, he groaned again. His mouth melted over hers, his hot lips claiming her, his tongue tangling with hers in a wonderful erotic dance of seduction.
Avery screamed as she exploded, the intensity of the climax rippling through her every fiber. Mason kept pumping and kissing, letting her ride the carnal waves whipping through her like a frenzied storm. In a dazed haze, she heard Mason cry out too and felt his hot seed fill
her deep inside.
Oh yes, she was a woman on the verge of so much happiness she could already taste it, because she was in love with the most wonderful man in the world.
About the Author
Jan Springer writes on four acres of paradise tucked away in the Haliburton Highlands of Ontario, Canada. Past careers include accounting, truck driving, farming and factory work but her passion for writing won out in the end. Now Jan writes full time and is a part-time caretaker. She enjoys kayaking, hiking, photography and gardening. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and Passionate Ink (RWA Erotic Romance chapter). She loves hearing from her readers.
Jan welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and e-mail address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Jan Springer
Christmas Lovers
Claiming Hannah
Dark Heat
Edible Delights
Ellora’s Cavemen: Legendary Tails II anthology
Heroes at Heart 1: A Hero’s Welcome
Heroes at Heart 2: A Hero Escapes
Heroes at Heart 3: A Hero Betrayed
Heroes at Heart 4: A Hero’s Kiss
Heroes at Heart: A Hero Needed
Holiday Heat: Jade
Nice Girl Naughty
Outlaw Lovers: Colter’s Revenge
Outlaw Lovers: Jude Outlaw
Outlaw Lovers: The Claiming
Outlaw Lovers: Tyler’s Woman
Outlaw Lovers Dossier
Sexual Release
Sinderella
Sweet Heat
Undercover 1: Peppermint Creek Inn
Undercover 2: Kiss Me
Undercover 3: Intimate Stranger
Zero to Sexy
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.