by Aliyah Burke
“I’ll get it for you,” Sam said.
“No, it’s okay, Ritchie is on his way.” She touched his arm in a plea for him to look at her. Eventually he did. “Thank you, Sam. For taking me with you.”
“Not a problem.” His voice was gruff.
“Let me get that one for you, sis.”
“Thanks, Ritchie.” She gave him a smile. “Do you need any help, Sam?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I’ve got it.”
“Okay”—she cleared her throat—“well, thanks again.”
As she followed her brother inside the house, she was still thinking about Sam. “Ritchie,” she said after he leaned the tree against a wall.
“Yeah?”
“Why don’t you help Sam with the lights on Laila’s house?”
“What about here?”
“I have to make some cookies first,” she said, with a grin to Eric. “It would go much quicker if you helped him. Then you both could come over here and have something hot to drink and cookies.”
His sharp gaze found hers. “Mean that much to you, sis?”
She nodded.
“All right then. Come on, Eric. Let’s go put up lights with Sam.”
Soon the door closed on them. Not even a minute later, she sank on wobbly knees to the nearest chair and put her head in her hands. Giving herself a moment, she took several deep breaths before pushing to her feet and heading to the kitchen. The smell of pine followed her every step.
She turned on some music as she washed up and got to work making some cookies. The familiarity of it soothed her wayward nerves and soon she felt better. When her countertops were full of cooling cookies, she began whipping up some frosting for them. Putting amounts in smaller bowls, she then added the food colouring to get the choices she wanted. Then she began to decorate them.
The front door opened and she peered over to see her three men walk in. Eric, Ritchie and Sam bringing up the rear. Her belly did a little flip at the sight of him. It hadn’t been that long since she’d seen him but the reaction occurred nonetheless.
“Coffee’s ready,” she announced.
“What about me?” Eric asked with a grin. “Do I get coffee as well?”
“Take it up with your dad, little man.” She shook her head at his question. He hated coffee, she’d given him some before and he’d almost spat it out.
“No thanks, I like hot chocolate.”
“I’ll have it ready for you in no time, Eric.”
“You’re the best, Aunt Roxi.” He slipped from the kitchen, which left her and Sam alone.
She smiled and stared at the frosting on her finger. Before she could clean it off, she found it in Sam’s mouth. Shit, her legs trembled as he swirled his tongue around her digit. He watched her as he sucked the frosting off her finger, eyes dark with desire. He slowly tugged on her wrist and removed her finger from the warmth of his lips before he licked his own.
“Delicious.” He leant forward and kissed her briefly then moved to wash his hands. “Thanks for sending them over to help.”
Still unsure her heart would ever calm, she joined him at the sink. “How do you know it was me?”
He merely looked at her and she shrugged as she washed her own hands. “Thank you, Roxi.”
“Stop thanking me.”
She left him there and went back to work decorating cookies. Soon her house was full of cheer as the men put up the tree in her living room and lights around, both inside and out. Later in the day, she went to her brother and whispered in his ear that Laila should be home. He slipped out and she stayed with Sam and Eric.
Hovering in the entranceway between the kitchen and the living room, she inhaled and smiled. Her house smelt like Christmas. Cookies, pine and cheer. She loved this time of year. Always had.
Laila joined them for dinner and when Roxi finally went to bed that night, she was exhausted. It seemed that sleep caught her immediately and she went willingly, knowing she had to get up early tomorrow and take Ritchie and Eric to the airport.
* * * *
It was Sunday morning and she’d just returned from the ferry ride back from Seattle. Making a cup of coffee, she curled up on her couch and enjoyed the quiet. Not that she minded having Ritchie or Eric with her, but most of the time she did live alone and so it wasn’t always easy to have the noise.
Ring. Ring. She reached out with one hand and lifted the phone from its base. “Hello?”
“Hey, Roxi, it’s Laila.”
“Hey.”
“Just thought you would like to know, Dean is getting out of the hospital on Tuesday.”
She sighed heavily. “Oh, thank goodness. Yes, that’s wonderful. Thanks for telling me.”
“Sure.” A moment of awkward silence before Laila said, “Just wanted to let you know. Bye.”
“Bye, Laila.”
She replaced the phone and shook her head. I need to make up with her. She missed her friend. Finishing her coffee, she got to her feet and placed the empty mug in the sink. Then she made her way back to the bedrooms. After stripping the beds, she put the sheets in the laundry and straightened up, although neither room really needed it.
Her Sunday morning was quiet. She didn’t leave the house except for her run and she realised she missed seeing Sam. It bothered her to know how much she looked forward to being in his presence. She had to get a grip. He wasn’t sticking around. Didn’t matter to her heart, though.
Ring. Ring. She glanced at her phone with a sigh. Did she really want to answer it? She was slow to get up and lift the receiver.
“Hello?” She walked into the kitchen and turned on the kettle for tea.
“Hi, Roxi. It’s Ariel.”
She grinned. She and Ariel Greene had been in the Corps together. She’d got out after four years but the two had remained fast friends.
“Hey, woman. How the heck are you?” She paused, frowning. “Where are you?”
“I’ve just arrived in Texas, actually. Part of a security firm that’s opening up a new office in San Antonio.”
“Wow, congrats. So what’s up? Fill me in.”
Ariel began to talk about what she’d been doing and a whisper of feeling up her spine had Roxi turning from the stovetop to spy Sam standing there. Her heart beat thunderously and she covered the mouthpiece and said, “You scared me.”
He didn’t apologise. In fact, he didn’t say anything, just stood there staring at her with those damn blue eyes that she couldn’t escape from, not even in her dreams. She licked her lips and muttered a response to Ariel.
Sam stood there, clad in rinsed indigo-dye jeans, ones worn from age and use, not ones you purchased that way. These had to be a favourite pair. They hugged his strong legs and showed off the part of his anatomy which always made her weak in the knees. His shirt was long-sleeved, the hue of wrought-iron. It boasted a spread collar, wood-style buttons and a crosshatched pattern that looked good on him. It emphasised the power in his upper body. The shirt was untucked and hung over his lean hips. Lord help her, all she wanted to do was unbutton it and touch the man beneath.
“How long are you in Texas for then, Ariel? Are you staying permanently or do you move with the job?” Roxi didn’t have a clue how she’d got the words out straight.
“I’ll be here for a while. Then I’ll go when we start up something else. I think we’re heading to California next.”
“You sound happy,” she said.
Her breath caught when Sam moved towards her. Predatory steps. Determined steps. A fire burned in his gaze and she swallowed and dug her nails into her palm to keep from reaching for him.
“I am.”
“How are your parents?”
Ariel began telling her and the second Sam touched her, her attention wavered. Nothing more than him reaching out and stroking a finger down her cheek. She arched a brow and gave him a questioning look. His smirk sent her spiralling down flashback road to the tree farm.
He wouldn’t. Even as she shook her head
no, he gave a wicked grin and dropped to his knees before her. Shit. He wasted no time, just drew down her sweats until they pooled around her socked feet.
His warm breath fanned her through the thin material of her panties and she grew wetter. He lapped at her, pressing the flat of his tongue against her. The friction through her panty material made her tremble.
“You okay, Roxi? You made a sound.”
“I…I’m fine, Ariel. Just hit myself on the stove. I was making tea when you called.”
“Okay.” She got back to her story.
Sam pulled down her underwear with his teeth then went back and shoved his face between her legs. She trembled and almost dropped the phone. The feel of his stubble was like electrical shocks spearing her.
He sank his tongue in before withdrawing and doing it all over again. In seconds he had her on the edge of coming. Her legs shook and he didn’t stop or slow. No, he put his hands on her thighs and spread them further, allowing himself to get deeper.
She barely contained the moan which threatened to escape. Her breaths were coming faster and faster and she struggled to follow along with Ariel’s conversation. He took her to the edge only to back off and begin the build up all over again. With her free hand, she cupped the back of his head and tried to push him closer. He resisted. He hummed against her and she shuddered again. She very nearly screamed the roof off when he shoved two of his thick fingers inside her as he rolled her clit in his mouth. As it was, her breath left her in ragged puffs.
“What do you think, Roxi?”
Shit! She’d lost total track of the conversation. Scrambling to remember what she’d said, she snagged onto the first thing she could recall. A visitation.
“I would love to see you.”
“Great. I’ll get settled a bit more and we can plan something.”
“Uh huh,” she mumbled, fascinated by the naked man who stood before her, his cock erect and covered with a condom.
Flashing a glance up to his face, she was struck mute by the raw desire reflected there. He fisted his cock and stepped closer. Leaning nearer, he whispered in her ear, “Let’s see how well you can carry on this conversation.”
She whimpered in the back of her throat and did her best to focus on Ariel, who was telling her all about San Antonio and how much she enjoyed it there, despite the short time since she’d arrived.
Sam lifted her up onto the countertop and reached past her to turn off the kettle which had begun to whistle. Then he was back. The broad head of his shaft slid up and down her slit before he thrust home in a single flex of his hips.
“Ohh,” she cried.
“Roxi?”
“Burnt myself on the kettle. I’m a klutz today,” she lied.
Sam gave her a decadent grin and began to move. She dropped her head back to rest against the cupboard door, the hand which held the phone shook as her body began to tune everything but the man between her thighs out.
He reached up lazily and cupped her breasts, rolling the nipples between his fingers as he continued his precision motions.
Back and forth.
In and out.
She was so fucked, she didn’t know which way was up. Eyes rolling back from the pleasure awashing her body, she gave up.
“Ariel, I have to go, hon. Let me call you back.”
“Okay. Great to talk to you.”
“Uh-huh,” she panted before hitting the button to end the call. She dropped the phone on the counter beside her leg and reached for Sam’s broad shoulders.
“Damn you,” she muttered as she dug her nails in and flexed her internal muscles about his thickness.
“I thought you could carry on a call when a man was between your legs,” he rumbled around her nipple.
“I did,” she insisted.
He chuckled and released her breast before staring at her face. “Mumbling isn’t carrying on a conversation.”
“I…I didn’t mumble.”
“You totally mumbled.” He brushed their lips together. “That’s one,” he said in a tone that sounded remarkably like a promise.
“One?” Cripes, she could barely follow this conversation. She just wanted to give herself over to the pleasure.
“Now I get to fuck you into exhaustion.” He punctuated each word with a slam of his shaft, as far in her as it could go.
She fragmented. When the lights stopped flickering around her eyes and she could open them to focus, she found he’d moved them to her bedroom. His length still deep inside her, he laid her back and began all over again.
* * * *
Roxi stirred and rolled to her side, cracking open her eyes. Sam lay there like her, head propped up by his hand, watching her. The moment their eyes met an arrogant smirk filled his face, lifting those all too entirely kissable lips.
“Stop,” she muttered.
“Why? I got two.”
He sure as hell had. Every single muscle in her body was sore. Every one. Too tired to argue with him, she merely shrugged.
Sam reached out and smoothed back some of her hair, which was plastered to her head. They were both sweat-covered and naked. She touched his chest, trailing her nails down it until she got to his cock, which lay against his thigh. Curling her fingers around it, she grinned when it began to harden.
Stroking, she held his gaze until he became fully erect. Lowering her eyes, she licked her lips and moved her mouth to him. Casting a glance up, she saw the smirk had vanished only to be replaced by even more raw need.
When she succumbed to exhaustion once more she realised something—it wasn’t so bad losing a challenge like that. Not at all. Although Sam was with her when she fell asleep, her bed only boasted one occupant when she woke the following day.
* * * *
Cyber Monday came fast and she was at work early, aware that the day would be a busy one. Her body was still sore but it made her smile as she relived her time on Sunday with Sam. Jules King, her boss, had returned and was waiting for her outside her office.
“Morning, Roxi.”
“Mr King.” She nodded at him, taking in his suit. Impeccably dressed as always. He was a good man, married to his high-school sweetheart with three children, one grandchild and another on the way.
He grinned. “Just can’t bring yourself to call me Jules? A bit odd, don’t you think? I call you Roxi and you call me Mr King.” He waved a hand. “I’m just picking on you. I want to talk to you about the incident Thanksgiving night.”
“Sure. Here? Or in your office?”
“Mine. Drop your things off and come on up.”
“Be right there.” She unlocked the door to her office and stepped in, turning on the lights. After she’d put her stuff away, she took another sip of her coffee and headed to meet her boss.
“Come in and sit down,” he said when she knocked on his door.
She did as instructed then crossed her legs at the knees, waiting for him to speak.
“I wanted to commend you for taking charge when the call came.”
“Doing my job, sir.”
“It was Thanksgiving night and you shouldn’t have had to be called. Do you know why you were?”
She shook her head. “I assumed it was because no one else was available.”
“I’ve fired Mr Delf. That’s why you were called. I want you to take over as the head of security.”
She opened her mouth and he waved her off.
“I know what you’re going to say, you don’t have the seniority as some of the others here. True, you don’t, at least not here in the bank. But you have more when we take into account your time in the Corps. You don’t have to make a decision now. Please let me know by the end of the week at the latest.” He opened his desk and withdrew a packet. “This is what we’re offering you.”
He stood and she followed suit, holding the packet in one hand. “Thank you, sir.”
“No, thank you, Roxi. I’m glad I have someone like you on staff that I can trust so implicitly.”
&nb
sp; He walked her to the door and let her go with a gentle squeeze of her shoulder. Back at her office, she debated looking at it now but knew she still had work to do, so she put it with her purse in the drawer and got to it.
At home that evening, she made a bowl of soup. She ate while reading the offer. By the time she climbed into bed, she knew she wouldn’t take until the end of the week to give him her answer. It was a very generous package and she would be wise in accepting.
The next day, she was still in a good mood. The promotion offer and Dean would be home from hospital today. Lifting her cup for a drink of coffee, she paused when her phone rang.
“Yes?”
“Miss Mammon, this is Miss Whyte.”
She knew who it was. From the front desk. “Yes, ma’am. What can I do for you?”
“I’m sorry to bother you, but you have a visitor. A Mr Hoch.”
Her belly flipped and clenched. Whirling in her chair, she stared at the monitors and honed in on reception. Sure enough, Sam stood there. Straight and proud, not leaning on anything. That familiar reaction her body gave when he was around—or she thought about him—began again and she tried desperately to disregard the throbbing of her clit and the tightening of her nipples. To no avail. It was all too easy to recall the feel of Sam’s touch on her body.
“Miss Mammon?”
She blinked a few times and took a deep breath. “I’ll be right there.”
“I’ll let him know.” She hung up.
Roxi stared at the screen for a few more moments. What could he want? Had something happened to Dean? No, that couldn’t be it. Laila had the day off since Dean was coming home, and surely she would have called him had there been a change.
Won’t know until you get your ass up and go see.
She got to her feet and headed for the door, doing her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.
Chapter Eight
Sam sat in the waiting area, legs crossed, leafing through a magazine as he waited for Roxi to appear. He’d missed her like hell. It had taken an amount of control he hadn’t known he possessed to keep himself from remaining at her house. With her. In her bed. In her. Where he belonged.