Holiday by the Sea

by Traci Hall

  “I have to call my parents.” She swallowed and pushed her hair back from her pale face. “Later, though.”

  He turned off of Commercial toward his apartment complex. “You should rest. I can make you breakfast.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  She stared out the window.

  “Well, what do you want? What are you feeling?” He had to know so he could help.

  “Honestly? I’d like to punch that guy. Make him give me my mom’s stuff. What kind of jerk steals on Christmas, really? It’s not like he’s giving my mom’s pearls to his kids. Not like that television, which is three years old, an antique in today’s technology, by the way, is going to pay anybody’s rent or feed them.”

  Riley didn’t have any words of comfort to offer. He was having a hard enough time with his own anger.

  “I could understand if it was presents.” Then she shook her head. “No, I can’t understand.”

  “You don’t have to, Teagan.”

  He tightened his grip on her knee to stop it from jumping. Her skin was cold.

  “I just don’t know what to do with these emotions. I’m fine, but I don’t, I don’t feel fine.”

  “We’re here.” He parked in front of his complex. Eight old-style Florida condos, single story and cement that had survived seventy years of tropical storms.

  She nodded, opening the door. Barefoot, red curls flowing down her back, her silver sleeveless top and tight black skirt. She looked sexy, wounded and pissed off all at the same time.

  She was powerful. Potent.

  Suddenly he had a great idea for a way to take the edge off.

  Chapter Twelve

  Riley unlocked his front door, glad he’d straightened up yesterday before heading to Teagan’s. His apartment was a 700 foot square. Small kitchen, small bedroom, small bathroom, small living room.

  “Not much that you can’t see from the front door.” He gestured to the couch and television. Two doors, one hid a bathroom, the other his bedroom.

  “I think my dorm room was bigger,” she observed.

  She waited at the threshold, the morning sun lit behind her, giving her a halo. He pulled her into his space and shut the door, locking it. It was a decent neighborhood, but still, by the beach, you had to be careful. After this morning’s scare, he’d be uber-aware for a while.

  “Did it come furnished?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I bought a new mattress and sheets. A few rugs. Towels. But it was great, not having to bring anything else. Fresh out of college and limited funds.”

  “You have a new car,” she said. “You seem to be doing all right.”

  “I have an Acura. Not exactly sporty.”

  She leaned against the brown fake leather couch. “Did you want sporty?”

  “It wasn’t practical.” He shrugged and tossed his keys on the round dining table that was in the kitchen. A window looked out over a shared courtyard and pool. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “Water.” She pressed her hand to her stomach.

  “It’s been a crazy morning.” He took a cold bottle from the fridge and handed it to her, taking one for himself too. “Come, sit. Put your tote bag in there, if you want.”

  He pointed to his bedroom.

  “That’s a big assumption.” Her mouth wavered.

  “Really?” He grinned, uncapping his water and said teasingly, “I thought you wanted me.”

  She tossed her hair and gave him a long look. “That was then. Now?” Teagan opened the door to his room and nodded. “Well, it’s clean. Bed made. Dark brown is good.”

  “Were you expecting whips and chains?”

  “From a band geek? I was prepared for Battlestar Gallactica curtains.”

  He’d had the bedspread in middle school, but didn’t tell her that.

  Dropping her bag by the bed, she came back out, peeking into the bathroom next. “Also clean.”

  “I’m a grown man.”

  “A single grown man.” She walked around the living room, looking at the pictures. He had a few with him and his mom. His trip to New York with a girlfriend, also a teacher, a photo of the night sky he’d taken during one of his sea turtle watches. “This is really great. You weren’t kidding about being a star gazer?”

  She didn’t wait for his answer but finished checking out his pictures. “Mom?”

  He nodded. “After college graduation. One of the few times she came to visit. She doesn’t care for the heat.”

  “I can’t blame her.” She picked the picture up. “She’s pretty, but fair. Your dad must be dark? With those curls?”

  “Black Irish. Blue eyes, which I didn’t get.”

  “You have great eyes. Cinnamon.”

  He laughed. “They’re brown.”

  “Nope. They have a golden amber hue.”

  “I’m gonna stick with brown.”

  She put the picture down, her gaze traveling over a few of the shells he’d found and arranged on the shelves with his books.

  “You read for pleasure?”

  He took a drink of water and walked toward her, wondering what had caught her eye. “Sure.” He pointed to his David Sedaris collection. “This guy’s a comedic genius.”

  Teagan scrunched her nose. “High praise. The last thing I read was my mom’s cookbook.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’m so glad the robbers didn’t make it into the bakery.”

  Riley put his hand on Teagan’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.” He opened his arms and drew her in, fitting her against his shoulder.

  “You’ve been great. Thank you.” Her voice was muffled against his chest, her body warm.

  He hugged her tight. “I’m just glad that we fell asleep on the beach.”

  She nodded, the top of her head brushing his chin. “I can’t stop thinking about it. What if...”

  Riley understood and led her to the couch, where he helped her sit. “But nothing happened to you.”

  “To us,” she clarified.

  “Us.” He sat next to her and took her hand. “But I had to stop you from chasing after him,” he pointed out, hoping to get a laugh. “You were gonna kill him.”

  Her eyes crinkled at the corners. “He had Mom’s jewelry.”

  “He was five times your size.”

  “So? I had justice on my side.”

  Her ferocious tone caught him off guard. “Good thing I had your arm.” What would she have done once she got the guy? That terrified him. He scooted all the way back against the cushion. “You want to watch television? Sleep? Eat? Shower?”

  “Have sex?”

  Riley’s quick intake of breath made him cough. “I thought that was off the table!”

  She squeezed his hand. “It’s just that you’re so cute. I’d love a hot shower, to get the sand out of my hair. Then I can make you breakfast. I don’t want you to wait on me.”

  “You’re a guest.” Uh, could they get back to the sex part?

  “I thought we were friends.” Teagan swirled her thumb around his knuckle.

  “Fine.” He wouldn’t argue semantics when she was going to be naked in his bed within the hour. “It just makes sense that I fry up some bacon while you’re showering, pal.”

  Teagan scrunched her nose. “Towel?”

  “In the cupboard next to the sink.” He brought her fingers up to his mouth and kissed her long, red nails. “Clean even, since you’re such a fan.”

  She slipped her hand free and stood up, her hip next to his face. It took effort, but he didn’t nip at her ass. Teagan lifted his chin so he was looking at her, her eyes sparkling with suppressed laughter. “I like my bacon crispy.”

  *****

  Teagan released a soul-deep sigh as she closed the bathroom door behind her. The morning seemed surreal. Frightening in places, empowering in others. What a Christmas. She’d remember it forever.

  She dreaded calling her parents to let them know about the robbery, she just didn’t have the mental energy.

  Honestly? She was hopi
ng that Colin Johnson, super-cute police officer, would call any second and say they rescued her mom’s jewelry—then she’d have something positive to report.

  She turned on the hot water.

  His bathroom was red and white for the holiday. Did he change his linen for the seasons? Having lived in a shared apartment after her dorm years, Teagan was just glad when there were clean washcloths. Matching wasn’t so important.

  Like her parents, she wasn’t into material things. She didn’t require much to live, and she’d scaled down even more thinking that she’d be on her way out of the country.

  She peeled her skirt down and lifted her top over her head. Panties and bra off. Seeing her underwear sprawled across her dresser like that, one of her bras in the hall as if the guy wanted it, for what purpose? Made her feel sick.

  Teagan stepped under the hot, forceful spray, cleaning the sand and morning’s events from her skin. How intimate, using Riley’s soap. Lathering, she smelled citrus. His shampoo, ocean breeze. She sniffed, deciding it was more like coconut than salt.

  Teagan lingered in the spray, forcing herself out when the water lost its heat. Wrapping her hair in one towel, she dried off with another, each rub of the cloth making her skin come alive. Riley had been her hero since the day he’d saved her cookies from toppling, and she wanted him.

  Wanted his mouth and hands and body.

  She re-wrapped the towel around her, keeping her shoulders bare. Opened the door and got hit with the savory smell of frying bacon.

  Sauntering into the kitchen with a deliberate sway of her hips, she snagged a crisp piece from where it cooled on a paper towel. “Yummy.”

  Riley turned from where he’d been rinsing the pan and spatula. His jaw dropped as he realized she was dressed in his very short red towel.

  “Uh...”

  She shimmied her shoulders and swiveled around. “What?”

  “You’re naked under there.”

  Teagan snorted. “And they call me the Observationalist.”

  “Give me five minutes, and I can be naked too.”

  “Fine.” Five minutes of torture, waiting. “But the longer you take the less chance there will be any bacon left.”

  He ran into the bathroom, shedding his red silky shirt before he even crossed the threshold. The door slammed, the water turned on and Teagan burst out laughing as she snagged another piece.

  She ambled into his room, still chewing, and turned down the comforter. Towel-drying her hair, she got most of the water out and quickly fluffed it into waves around her face. Teagan peeked into the mirror above his dresser.

  Her eyes seemed big in her white face, her mouth red. Always pale, she became see-through when tired or stressed.

  The faucet turned off.

  She swallowed, nervous. For all of her bravado, she wasn’t completely confident in her body. Would he like her? Would he care that her curves were soft? What if he preferred the thin bony types?

  He found her standing before his bed and his appreciation showed in the way his towel, wrapped loosely around his hips, jutted out.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he said, slowly walking toward her. “I thought so from the first second I laid eyes on you.”

  “My ass? If I recall, I came into the auditorium backward.” She kept her backside to the mattress.

  Riley didn’t joke. Without his glasses, his gaze was intense. He studied her without staring, without it being awkward. “You.” He gestured with his hands. “Everything about you.”

  He stepped so close his body heat scorched her skin. He tilted his head and leaned down to kiss her, gently, softly. Exquisitely.

  He tasted like bacon. And coffee, the brat. He must have made some while she was in the shower. She caressed his shoulders, his lean muscles bunching beneath her touch.

  She forgot her nerves as he teased her mouth open, his hand cupping her hip, his breaths shallow as he dared to trace upward to her sensitive breasts. He didn’t stay there though he made a low growl in his throat.

  “You’re so soft. Your skin. Your hair. I want to feel all of you at once.”

  She wanted that too.

  He kissed her collarbone, her jawline, her nose, his lips firm. Hot.

  She curled her toes into the strip of carpet by his bed, her breasts heavy. Aching. Riley pressed his length against her and it was her turn to catch her breath. The music teacher was hiding that?

  Teagan put her hands around his waist, pulling him close as he learned her mouth. He sucked her lower lip and she sighed, licking his tongue. Thin, yes, but muscled and toned, she learned the shape of his back with her fingertips. Caressed his heated flesh, pressed her breasts into his chest.

  She couldn’t get close enough.

  “May I?” he asked, his hands at the place her towel was tucked in.

  It wasn’t that she hated her breasts, it’s just that they were big and if she had something she could change about herself, it would be that. Riley, sensitive, must have realized it.

  “Can’t we get under the covers first?” Even though the curtains were drawn, it was still light enough to see.

  “Teagan, you are beautiful. I never imagined that you’d be shy.” Riley kissed her again, making her feel beautiful. He tugged at her towel and she nodded. The dark was so much better, but she’d brazen it out.

  His eyes widened and he threw his towel to the side, his erection straining toward her. Long, hard and not at all put off by her breasts.

  He sat her on the edge of his bed and kneeled before her, kissing her beaded nipples, using his palms to cup each mound of her warm flesh.

  “Merry Christmas to me,” he breathed out. “You have no idea how gorgeous you are.” He suckled, teased, and within moments, with his mouth alone, he made her squirm with ecstasy. This was passion. I never knew.

  Teagan reached for him, his steely length hot, the tip of him moist beneath the pad of her thumb. Ready for her.

  “Condom?” she asked, on the brink of not caring. No man before Riley had brought her close to orgasm by lavishing attention on her breasts.

  “Hang on.” He nipped along the undersides of her skin. “I could eat you.”

  “Uh huh,” she nodded, her brain fuzzy with want. “That sounds perfect.” Desire. She lay back against his pillows, dragging him with her, wanting him now.

  He kissed her, pressing against her thigh then he pulled back. “Just a sec.” Riley got off the bed and walked across the room, his tight ass and lean hips captivating her attention as he opened the top drawer of his dresser, taking out a foil package. He ripped it open as he walked toward her, sliding the condom over his erection in sensual strokes that made her pant for breath.

  She leaned back as he approached the bed, parting her legs.

  “You’re so damn hot,” he whispered. “Sexy.” He slid his hand to her hipbone, over her taut stomach, finding the heat at her core. He feathered light touches across her, dipping his finger inside her with teasing, agonizing strokes.

  “I want you.” Her mind blazed with pleasure. She lifted herself to his touch, not caring that he saw her. All of her.

  Riley groaned, his cinnamon eyes darkening to black, curls falling over his forehead as he joined her on the bed. The mattress dipped as he kneeled before her, running his hands up her calves, behind her knees, brushing her aching mound without touching her there, where she wanted it most.

  He kept his eyes locked with hers and suckled her nipple, kneading the other breast with a demanding hand. Shots of desire bordering on madness darted through her system.

  She lifted her hips, searching for his hardness, parting her legs wide. “Please,” she asked, “please.” She’d never been delirious with desire before. Didn’t know it could make her so needy, wanting more. Wanting it all.

  He flicked the bud between her legs and she screamed with pleasure. Pleasure drawn out and multiplied by him entering her with a masterful stroke, charging forward to the hilt.

  He pumped into her slowly
at first, stretching her, making her feel every ridge, every wave, then faster, taking her to her highest peak. She turned her head and screamed into the pillow, muffling her shouts, her body pulsating as Riley gathered her close, holding her as she climaxed around him.

  “Merry Christmas.” He whispered into her hair, his hand on her heavy breast. His breaths came hard.

  “Mm. Merry Christmas,” she answered seductively, her hand on his tight ass. “Can we do it again?”

  He laughed, his breath warm against her cheek. “Best present ever.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Riley wasn’t a sleeper after sex—instead he had extra energy. Normally he would go for a run, but he didn’t want to leave Teagan alone.

  Like, ever.

  Making love with her had been phenomenal, amping his energy to crazy new levels. She was so feminine, so freaking gorgeous, that he just wanted to go right back into that bedroom and do it a third time.

  She needed her rest though. It had been a rough start to the day. He showered quickly, then booted up his laptop on the kitchen table. He had a little back patio, but he didn’t want Teagan to wake up and worry that she was by herself.

  The best way to find out more about Teagan Becker would be to look her up online. She had a following, a quarter million viewers. He didn’t know that many people, not even if you added everybody in his whole entire life.

  He plugged in his headphones so as not to wake her up and quickly found her channel on YouTube.

  Teagan Becker: Observationalist. He didn’t recall that being a real word, but hey, he got it in context. He found the beginning of her vlogs and hit play.

  Younger, angrier, Teagan started off talking about the unfairness of expectations. She was compelling, captivating in front of the camera. Her style was easy, conversational, as she discussed everything that crossed her mind. She was very self-conscious of her body, telling her viewers that she dated body builders because they didn’t mind a bigger girl.

  What the hell? Riley bit his tongue and kept watching, fast-forwarding to the last year. Her job in advertising, her anger returning at the double standard and thwarted expectations. Over the years, her maturity showed in how she shared her thoughts, how she had found her self-worth. She was determined to see the world. Travel. Talked backpacking and hostels. Rail passes.