All He Wants For Christmas

by Elisabeth Naughton, Alexandra Ivy, Cynthia Eden, Katie Reus, Laura Wright, Skye Jordan

  Suddenly he gripped the back of her neck again in that purely dominating way that made her melt. “We’re finishing this when we get back.” His voice was a low, raspy growl.

  Unable to find her voice, she simply nodded. Oh yeah, they were definitely finishing this.

  Chapter 6

  Jackson kept his weapon tucked in the back of his pants with his leather jacket covering it. He had a license to carry and used it more often than not. Just because he’d gotten out of the Navy didn’t mean he’d lost all his survival instincts. Tonight, however, he wasn’t going to need it. Not after who they’d just seen on Nora’s laptop.

  “She’s so freaking dead,” Nora muttered as they entered the storeroom of her shop. It was dimly lit but there was more than enough room to see everything.

  The storeroom was split into two sections. This half was filled with open boxes of books and neatly stacked books ready to be stocked when necessary. It was all very organized, just like Nora.

  “How do you want to do this?” he asked as he shut and locked the door behind him.

  “Just…ugh, I don’t know. I’ll go in and figure out what she’s doing here. Do you mind waiting in the storeroom?”

  He shook his head and brushed his lips over hers. Nora’s eyes widened slightly, but then just as quickly her cheeks flushed pink. They weren’t going back to friends. Ever. Nora was it for him and after tonight, it was pretty clear that she wanted to be more than friends too. Hell, he’d known that for a while.

  Sighing, she opened the door from the storeroom to the shop. When he heard a male voice, Jackson grabbed her upper arm out of instinct and tugged her back. She let out a soft gasp, but he ignored it and moved into the shop. A ten foot high bookshelf was to his left and a display of Christmas books and other Christmas items to his right. The soft murmur of a male voice filled the air. It carried enough that he guessed it was coming from the front of the store. The counter and too many displays blocked him from seeing for certain.

  All of Jackson’s instincts went on alert. They’d seen Sasha on the screen, but she’d been alone. If someone else was here, no way in hell was he letting Nora go in by herself. He started to reach for his weapon but then he recognized the voice.

  Turning to look at Nora, he motioned to the line of light switches on the wall, then pointed to the shop. She knew how the light system worked better than him. “The front area,” he whispered.

  She nodded and flipped them. As soon as she did, he heard a female yelp of surprise. Without pausing, he strode forward with Nora right behind him. Sidestepping the counter and moving around the displays, he stopped at the front nook to find Sasha buttoning up her sweater and his own freaking cousin moving to step in front of her.

  “What the heck is going on?” Nora demanded before anyone could speak.

  Sasha’s face was as crimson as her sweater as she stepped out from behind Donovan, who’d just turned eighteen. “Hey, Nora, I uh…” She cleared her throat and Donovan held out a hand for Nora after giving Jackson a wary look. “I’m Donovan O’Connor. I’m your sister’s boyfriend. And Jackson’s cousin.”

  “Boyfriend?” Sasha blurted.

  Donovan turned before Nora could respond or attempt to shake his hand. “Are you seeing someone else?” he demanded.

  “No, I just thought…”

  “I’m not hiding us anymore, Sasha. I’m barely one year older than you. It’s not illegal for us to be together. I care about you and I don’t want to be with anyone else.”

  Jackson scrubbed a hand over his face. He so did not need to hear any of this.

  Nora cleared her throat. “So, Sasha’s boyfriend? Is there a reason you two have been sneaking around here? And why aren’t you at Liz’s house?”

  Sasha looked mortified as she wrapped her arms around herself. “Her parents are heavy sleepers. I was planning on staying there, I swear, I just wanted some time alone with Donovan.” She looked at the kid then, her expression softening to one of complete adoration.

  Donovan looked just as smitten. Freaking puppy love.

  “And you thought using my store was okay for that? You thought lying to me was okay? I’m assuming it was you who set off the alarm the other night?” Nora sounded more hurt than angry, her voice cracking on the last word. Jackson wanted to reach out and put his arm around her, but he could tell she needed to hash this out with her sister.

  Sasha nodded. “Yeah,” she whispered. “I’m really sorry. When you told me the cops showed up I should have said something but I thought you’d be pissed. We didn’t touch anything and I punched the wrong code in when trying to enter, that’s all. I was just distracted and…” Her cheeks flushed even deeper and Donovan actually looked embarrassed then.

  Wasn’t hard to guess why she’d put the wrong code in if Donovan had been distracting her. Oh, sweet Lord. By the panicked look on Nora’s face she’d come to the same conclusion. Yeah, this was not the type of conversation the sisters needed to have in front of Jackson or Donovan.

  “You drive here?” he asked his cousin.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m going to follow you home.”

  “Dude, that’s not—”

  “Yeah, it’s freaking necessary and it’s happening. We’re leaving now.” He turned to Nora and not caring about their audience, he cupped her cheek. “See you tomorrow night?”

  “Yeah.” Her voice was soft, breathy and all he could envision was the way she’d straddled him on her couch barely twenty minutes before.

  He should wring his cousin’s neck for the interruption. He pressed his lips to Nora’s, just a brief brush to reinforce his claim on her. Because she was his, no doubt about it. It took willpower he didn’t know he had to pull back. But he wasn’t starting something he couldn’t finish. Nodding tightly, since he couldn’t find his voice, he looked at his cousin and jerked his chin toward the back door.

  “I’ll call you later,” Donovan murmured to Sasha before falling in step with Jackson.

  Nora watched as Jackson left, thankful he’d taken the boy with him. Well, more like a man than a boy. God, when had her sister grown up so much? This was definitely new parenting territory and she wasn’t sure she was ready for it. Not that she really had a choice.

  “You want some chocolate cake?” she asked quietly. Chocolate pretty much fixed everything.

  Sasha blinked and to Nora’s surprise nodded as tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry for lying.”

  She held out her arms and tugged her sister close. “I’m not mad.”

  “Yeah but you’re disappointed, which is way worse,” she sniffled against Nora’s neck.

  “Well, yeah, I am. Come on.” She slung an arm around her sister’s shoulders and pulled her to the connected shop. “Sit and I’ll grab us food.”

  “Okay.” The word came out watery as Sasha slid onto a chair at the closest high-top table.

  “Let’s start with why you lied to me,” she said as she rounded the display counter. Her mouth watered as she pulled out the chilled triple layer chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting.

  “I don’t know.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “Gah, fine. Donovan is really hot and well, popular. I guess I thought if things didn’t work out it would be easier if no one knew about it.”

  Nora slid the dessert plate and fork in front of her sister, struck by how young and vulnerable she looked at the moment. “So you figured it would hurt less if you hid your relationship?”

  “I guess when you say it, it sounds dumb.”

  She bit back a smile. “Not dumb. It’s just that you should never hide any relationship. You’re one of the brightest, most beautiful girls at that school—”

  Sasha snorted before stabbing her fork into her cake. “You have to say that because you’re my sister.”

  “I don’t have to say anything. And it’s true, regardless. Not that your looks matter anyway. Does Donovan make you feel…” She struggled to find the
right words. “Grateful he’s dating you?”

  “No! I mean, like, I’m glad we’re together, but no. If you mean does he make me feel like he’s doing me a favor or something, no. I’m not stupid. I’d never be with a guy like that.” She snorted the last part as if it was ridiculous.

  It eased some of Nora’s fears. Not all of them because it was pretty clear her sister was getting physical with a boy. Something she hadn’t really prepared herself for. They’d had the sex talk on multiple occasions but it had been more abstract than anything else because Sasha had never been interested in guys. Until now apparently. “Have you two had sex?” Might as well just ask the question. Nora had been older when she’d first had sex, well into college, so she’d just assumed she wouldn’t have to worry about this until later.

  Sasha shook her head, embarrassment clear on her face. “No. I’ve thought about it but I’m not ready. I don’t know that I’ll be ready anytime soon either.”

  “If you do start thinking about it, will you come to me first?” She needed to make absolutely certain that Sasha protected herself.

  Sasha nodded. “I promise.”

  “And no more lying?

  “No, I swear.”

  “Good. I’d like to invite your boyfriend over for dinner, get to know him better. I promise not to embarrass you—too much.”

  Sasha snickered. “His mom embarrasses him all the time so don’t worry, there’s nothing you can do worse.”

  “You’ve met his parents?”

  “No. He’s asked me over but I was too nervous. I’ve just seen her at games before. She’s really loud and makes these homemade signs that all the guys hassle him about.” A grin lit Sasha’s face. “I think he secretly likes it though.”

  “You know we’ve been invited to Jackson’s mom’s house tomorrow for a Christmas Eve party. Will Donovan be there?”

  “Yeah. He says he has a present for me but I didn’t get him anything.”

  “I’m sure we can figure something out tomorrow.” How hard could a teenage boy be to shop for? Apart from sex, something Nora was definitely not going to think about, they liked food, right? “Maybe you can bake him something? Or you can just get him something from Gemma’s shop.” The Holly Jolly Chocolatier had melt-in-your-mouth goodness on every shelf. There was no way to go wrong.

  “He does eat a lot… So, am I, like, grounded?”

  “This might be a parenting fail, but no. Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, I’m not a monster.” And the truth was, Sasha was such a great kid. This whole mess aside, she’d always been so great and honest about everything.

  “I think maybe you should ground me anyway,” she muttered, picking at her cake now. “I’ve been feeling really bad. I know you were looking forward to decorating the tree and…” She trailed off, setting her fork down. “I’d feel better if you grounded me.”

  “You’re getting a free pass for this one but only because your guilt is real. And I remember what it was like with my first boyfriend.”

  “Your first boyfriend was a d-bag.”

  Nora lifted a shoulder, not bothering to deny it as she cut off a chunk of chocolately goodness.

  “Not like Jackson. What’s up with you two anyway? And how did you know we were here?”

  “Jackson set up video cameras and planned this whole ‘sting’ as he called it—”

  “Ohmygodyousawus?” She shouted the question, all the words running together.

  “No! I didn’t even realize you were here with someone.” Well, she’d suspected it considering the bra she’d found earlier. “We were watching a movie and saw you—just you—on the feed, then came over here.” Thank God she hadn’t seen more than that.

  “Oh, good. I mean, it wasn’t like we were—”

  “I so don’t want to hear about it. If you decide to have sex then we need to talk, but until then, I’m good.” And she never wanted any details anyway. Maybe when Sasha was older and their relationship shifted they could talk about more personal things, but as of now Nora needed to keep her parental figure in place. She cleared her throat. “Listen, I think Jackson and I are going to start dating.” Hopefully a lot more than just dating. There was no way to keep him at arm’s length. And she didn’t really want to.

  “Cool. Even though he was dumb before, I like him.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, he’s cool. And the way he looks at you it’s clear he’s all about you.”

  Okay then. “So if he came by for Christmas breakfast, would that be okay?” She hadn’t actually asked him yet, but really hoped he could.

  “Totally. Can I ask Donovan too?”

  “If it’s okay with his parents.”

  The grin Sasha gave her was blinding.

  Suddenly Nora couldn’t wait until the party tomorrow. She was going to tell Jackson that she wanted to be with him and only him. She owed it to both of them. So he’d gotten scared before? She could deal with that as long as it didn’t happen again. If she was being honest, the intensity with him had scared her too. Still did, a little. She’d never imagined feeling such an intense attraction to someone. Not only that, she adored Jackson as a person. He’d always been respectful and he made her feel good about herself in a way no one ever had before. He was worth holding on to.

  Plus he was sexy, protective and…he was hers.

  Chapter 7

  “Stop fidgeting,” Sasha muttered. “You look great.”

  With her free hand, Nora used the old fashioned knocker on the O’Connor’s front door. “I’m not fidgeting.” But she was nervous. She’d decided on a bottle of wine for Jackson’s mom. It seemed like a safe enough hostess gift.

  “Remind me how many times you changed tonight?”

  “Ha, ha. Keep pushing it and maybe I really will ground you.” Nora felt a little silly being so nervous to be at Jackson’s parents’ place. Their long, winding driveway was filled with vehicles and the stately two-story home was lit up with an impressive display of white and multi-colored lights as well as a Santa and reindeer on their roof.

  “I don’t care. Donovan’s grounded.” She gave Nora a sly grin.

  “Really? I thought he was eighteen.”

  “He still lives at home and apparently Jackson narced him out to his mom—”

  The door opened and to Nora’s surprise, Donovan opened the door. Music and laughter trickled out with him, the noise level seeming to grow with every second that ticked by. He really was a good looking kid. Tall, boyishly handsome with dark brown hair and blue eyes that seemed to run in the O’Connor family, he definitely had heartbreaker written all over him. She just hoped he didn’t break her sister’s heart.

  He stepped forward, pulling the door shut behind him. “Miss Cassidy—”

  “Call me Nora. Seriously.” She was twenty-five, thank you very much.

  “Yeah, sorry.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark slacks. His attire made her glad she’d worn a party dress. “Listen, I really wanted to apologize to you in person for sneaking around like that.”

  “It wasn’t even his idea—” Sasha began but he cut her off with a shake of his head.

  “Doesn’t matter. We, I, shouldn’t have been using your place like that. I like your sister a lot and I want to keep seeing her. I hope you don’t base your opinion of me solely on this.”

  Nora half-smiled. He was so earnest and brave to stand there and take responsibility like this, it was hard not to. “Apology accepted. I don’t know if Sasha’s asked you yet, but if you’d like to join us for Christmas breakfast you’re welcome to come over.” She was going to ask Jackson tonight if he could make it as well and was a little nervous about it. She knew his family didn’t do anything big until dinner so she hoped he’d be able to.

  “Yeah, she asked and I’m in. Thanks.” He looked at Sasha then, his expression softening. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thanks.” Sasha shot Nora a look that pretty much said ‘get lost’ so she murmured something nonsensical
and sidestepped him, opening the front door.

  Nora knew Sasha wanted to give Donovan his present and she didn’t need her big sister hanging around for it. And Nora didn’t need to witness anything between the two of them. The foyer was festively decorated with garland and lights lining the staircase. Next to it was a white bench with a stuffed, life-sized Santa Claus holding red and silver presents in his lap. And next to that a tree that had to be at least eight feet tall was covered in fake snow and red and silver decorations.

  Before she’d taken two steps, Fallon appeared out of nowhere in a slinky green dress. Her auburn hair was piled on her head in some sort of complicated twist. As usual she looked stunning, and a little flustered—which wasn’t normal for her. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She grabbed Nora’s hand and pulled her inside what turned out to be a small guest bathroom that smelled like cinnamon and vanilla. Little candles lined one of the windows, the sight of them flickering in the mirror creepy until Fallon flipped on a light.

  “You okay?” Nora asked. “You seem high strung—even for you.”

  “Yeah, I just…might have kissed someone I definitely shouldn’t have.”

  “Who?”

  Fallon’s lips pressed into a tight line. “I can’t say.”

  “I need a drink if we’re going to play this game. And I really need to find your sexy brother.” Okay, maybe she didn’t need a drink. She was wired and feeling practically desperate to see Jackson. They’d texted each other all day. She’d been crazy busy but had made the time for him. The anticipation of seeing him had her feeling almost buzzed.

  Fallon’s mouth dropped open for a fraction of a second. “Are you two finally…” She made an obscene thrusting motion with her hips.

  Feeling her cheeks heat up, Nora nodded. “You are such a guy, I swear. And yeah, I think so. I just need to talk to him.” And kiss him because it was all she’d been thinking about today. Straddling him on her couch last night, then having to stop, had been the last straw. She needed Jackson’s mouth on hers as soon as possible, and his body on top of hers as soon as possible after that.