Bring Me a Maverick for Christmas!

by Brenda Harlen

  Max looked at her, his nose twitching. She gently scratched behind his ears. “And you’ll cuddle with anyone, in your own time and on your own terms.”

  “Were you talking to me?” Bailey asked, returning to the living room.

  “No,” she said.

  Thankfully he didn’t require more of an explanation as he settled beside her on the sofa again. And though the press of his thigh against hers was enough to jolt her pulse again, she hit the play button to resume the movie.

  Twenty minutes later, they were eating pizza and the animals were cowering from the noise of the firefight playing out on the TV screen.

  And then they were kissing again.

  She wasn’t sure how it happened, or even who made the first move this time, she only knew that she didn’t want him to ever stop kissing her. Or touching her.

  She drew her knees up so they bracketed his hips, then lifted her pelvis to rub it against his. She could feel his erection straining against his jeans and gloried in the friction of the denim against her flannel pajama bottoms. He groaned softly as he ground into her, giving her a preview of what she wanted, what they both wanted.

  She gasped with pleasure—then shock, as a wet doggy tongue swept across her cheek.

  “Maybe we should move to the bedroom—and close the door,” she suggested.

  He stood up, as if eager to accept her invitation, and offered his hand to help her to her feet. But when she started to lead him down the hall, he paused.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked.

  “You said you wanted to slow things down,” he reminded her.

  “That was last week. Ten days ago, in fact.” She didn’t want to slow down anymore. She wanted to move full speed ahead—with Bailey. She wanted his hands on her body. All over her body. And she wanted to explore every inch of his in return.

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but ten days isn’t so long,” he pointed out. “And if this happens tonight, I might worry afterward that it only happened because you were trying to balance the scales.”

  “If this happens tonight, it’s because I want it to happen—not because you brought ice cream or pizza or even flowers,” she assured him.

  “You had a lousy day,” he reminded her.

  “I’m pretty sure getting naked with you would make me forget about the lousy day.”

  “I’m pretty sure getting naked with you would make me forget my name,” he told her. “But it’s not the answer.”

  But before he left, he kissed her goodbye.

  It was a long, lingering kiss that assured her that he desired her as much as she desired him, despite his insistence on giving her time she no longer wanted or needed.

  And when he finally drew away, she watched him go when she really wished she’d been able to convince him to stay.

  * * *

  Ten days before Christmas, volunteers gathered at the community center to wrap Presents for Patriots. The event was the culmination of many hours of work by many hands, and by seven o’clock, the room was bustling with activity and practically overflowing with volunteers.

  For the residents of Rust Creek Falls, the annual gift-wrapping was very much a social occasion—a welcome opportunity to get together with their neighbors and catch up on what was going on. As Bailey looked around, he had to agree with Brendan’s assessment: this was an amazing community.

  More surprising to him was the number of people that he recognized from years ago and others whose acquaintance he’d made more recently. Mallory and Caleb Dalton were in attendance, as was Caleb’s sister Paige with her husband, Sutter Traub. Will and Jordyn Clifton were working at a table alongside Will’s brother Craig and his fiancée, Caroline Ruth. Claire and Levi Wyatt were at an adjacent table, Lani and Russ Campbell at another. Even the mayor and his wife had helped with the wrapping for a short while before they had to slip away to another holiday party.

  At one point, Winona Cobbs popped in, and while the eccentric psychic was sipping some of the complimentary hot apple cider, she told Bailey that his life was going to change before the night was over—but only if he was willing to let it. Everyone in town knew the old woman was more than a little odd, so Bailey tried not to let her words unnerve him.

  Throughout the evening, he overheard some snippets of conversation and learned that Thelma McGee had already offered to foster cats for the animal shelter. She wasn’t ready to replace her beloved Oreo, but she was eager to help out.

  There were also murmurs, but no confirmation, that Paige and Sutter were expecting their second child, and that Paige’s sister Lani was expecting her first.

  There were sighs of relief, and some chuckles, when it was revealed that the heart attack that caused Melba Strickland to rush her husband, Gene, to the hospital in Kalispell turned out to be indigestion.

  Christmas music played softly in the background throughout, and there was a refreshment table that offered not only hot apple cider but coffee, tea and hot cocoa, plus an assortment of seasonal cookies and treats—all donated by the generous folks of Rust Creek Falls. There was certainly plenty going on to keep the volunteers busy, and Bailey mostly hovered in the background.

  Although he’d been involved in the planning and organization of the event almost from the beginning, he still felt like an outsider in the community. Of course, that was his own fault. He’d mostly resisted getting involved because, as he’d been reminding his family for almost twelve months, he didn’t intend to stay.

  And yet, he’d still made no plans to go.

  He restocked the tables as wrapping supplies dwindled, collected finished packages and cleared away debris, and regularly found his attention shifting to the door. He told himself that he wasn’t looking for anyone in particular, but when his gaze zeroed in on Serena and his heart bumped against his ribs, he was forced to acknowledge the truth.

  He’d been watching for her.

  And he’d been thinking about her almost non-stop since he’d declined the invitation to her bed. All the way home, after he’d kissed her goodbye at her door last night, he’d cursed himself for being a fool. It was little consolation to his aching body to know that he’d done the right thing. And he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever give him another chance to make a different choice.

  “I didn’t see your name on the volunteer list,” he said, after he’d crossed the room to meet her.

  “Did you look for it?” she asked, a teasing glint in her eye.

  He had, because he’d wanted to see her. And now she was here, but he wasn’t quite ready to put all his cards on the table. “I looked at all the names,” he said.

  “Then you know there were more than enough people signed up for the wrapping,” she explained. “So I thought I’d come late to help with the cleaning.”

  “We had more than enough people sign up for that, too.”

  “I can see that,” she acknowledged. “Are you going to send me away?”

  “Of course not.” Instead, he dipped his head and touched his mouth to hers. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  The unexpected—and unexpectedly public—gesture surprised Serena. She’d wondered, after he’d left her apartment the night before, if she’d misinterpreted the situation. His kiss, in addition to making her lips tingle and spreading warmth through her veins, reassured her that she had not.

  She smiled at him. “That made the walk over here totally worthwhile.”

  He drew back to look at her. “Why on earth would you walk over here in twenty-degree weather?”

  “So that I could ask you for a ride home.”

  “I’d be happy to take you home,” he assured her. “But I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be stuck—”

  “As of right now, you’re unstuck,” Brendan interjected, obviously having overheard at least part of their conversation. “Fiona already
agreed to stick around and, no offense, but she’s much prettier than you.”

  Bailey chuckled. “No offense taken, and Serena’s much prettier than you, too, so I guess we both win.”

  Brendan held out his hand. “Thanks for all your help.”

  “It was my pleasure,” Bailey said, clasping his hand and grasping his other shoulder.

  Not quite a man-hug, but a gesture that spoke of the friendship and camaraderie that Serena guessed had developed between them over the past few months.

  “Have you been here all day?” she asked, as she and Bailey exited the community center together.

  “No, just since two,” he said.

  “Still, that’s a lot of hours.”

  “Yeah, but it was a good day,” he told her. “Being away from Rust Creek Falls for so long, I almost forgot what it was like to be part of such a tight-knit community.”

  “Did you miss it?”

  “I didn’t let myself,” he admitted, opening the passenger door of his truck for her. “Not the town. And definitely not my family.”

  “Why did you finally come back?” she asked, when he was settled behind the steering wheel.

  He turned the key in the ignition, then cranked the defroster to clear the windshield and warm up the truck’s cab. “After my marriage fell apart, I was kind of at loose ends. I could have stayed in New Mexico, but I didn’t want to, so I decided to make my way back to Wyoming, to see if I could track down Luke and Danny again.

  “Of course, they were both gone by then, but the foreman at the ranch where Luke had last been working told me that he’d gone to Rusty River.”

  “Rusty River?” she echoed, amused by the bastardization of the town’s name.

  He shrugged. “Not a lot of people outside of Montana have heard of Rust Creek Falls, and the Rusty part was at least close enough that I was able to figure out where he’d gone—although I couldn’t imagine why he’d want to come back to the town we’d said goodbye to forever.”

  “Well, whatever his reasons, I’m glad he came home,” she said, as Bailey pulled into a vacant parking spot behind her building. “Because then you came home, too.”

  She unbuckled her belt, and he did the same, then came around to help her out of the truck.

  “I didn’t plan on staying—in Rust Creek Falls,” he clarified, as they started up the steps to her apartment. “Even as the days turned into weeks and then months, I was sure I’d pack up and head out again.”

  “But you’re still here,” she noted.

  “And right now, I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

  She unlocked her door, then turned to face him. “Did you want to come in for hot cocoa and cookies?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “I seem to recall you once telling me that I needed to cut back on the Christmas cookies.”

  “I seem to recall that was an attempt to cover for your ill-tempered comment to a little boy.”

  “You don’t think I need to worry about staying in shape?”

  She splayed her palms on his chest. Even through his sheepskin-lined leather jacket, she could feel the hard strength of his muscles. “I don’t think a couple of cookies are any cause for concern.”

  “What about the cocoa?”

  She slid her hands over his shoulders to link them behind his head. “Maybe we should skip the cocoa,” she said, and drew his mouth down to hers.

  Chapter Eleven

  They bypassed the kitchen and headed straight to her bedroom. On the way, Serena almost tripped over Marvin, who had eagerly raced ahead and jumped on the bed.

  She sighed. “He thinks it’s playtime.”

  “I was hoping the same thing,” Bailey said. “But just between me and you.”

  She smiled at that, then turned to Marvin and in a firm tone said, “Off.”

  His excitement leaked out of him like air escaping from a punctured balloon, and he dropped his head and crawled to the edge of the mattress. He paused then, as if giving her an opportunity to rescind her banishment. Serena pointed to the door. Marvin reluctantly jumped down off the bed and retreated from the room.

  “This is a new feeling for me,” Bailey said.

  “What’s a new feeling?”

  “I’m torn between the anticipation of finally getting you naked and guilt that you sent the dog away.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, I promise that Marvin doesn’t hold a grudge. In fact, he’s probably curled up on Molly’s pillow already.”

  “So you’re telling me it’s okay to focus on the getting you naked part?”

  “I’m suggesting we focus on getting one another naked,” she said.

  He smiled and pulled her into his arms. “That works for me.”

  Then he kissed her again. His tongue slid between her lips, to tease and tangle with hers. His hands slid under her sweater, searching for skin, and found a soft cotton T-shirt instead.

  “Damn Montana winters,” he grumbled, as he yanked the shirt out of her jeans and finally put his hands on her. His callused palms moved over her skin, stroking her body, stoking her desire.

  She fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, desperate to touch him as he was touching her, and discovered that he was wearing a thermal tee beneath. “Damn Montana winters,” she echoed his complaint.

  He chuckled as he yanked the shirt over his head and tossed it aside. The rest of their clothes quickly followed. Then he eased her down onto the mattress, covering her naked body with his own.

  Her hands slid up his arms, tracing the muscular contours. Her palms stroked the shape of his bare shoulders, so broad, so strong. Then trailed over the hard planes of his chest and his stomach. He had the body of a rancher, lean and tough, and she wanted to lick every bit of it. But for now, she reached down and wrapped her fingers around him.

  He sucked in a breath.

  She immediately loosened her grip. “Did I hurt you?”

  “Oh, yeah,” he said. “But in the very best way.”

  She stroked his rigid length, slowly, from base to tip, then back again, and watched as his eyes darkened and a muscle in his jaw flexed as he clenched his teeth together. She stroked him again, and he caught her wrist as his breath shuddered out between his lips.

  “I can’t take much more of that,” he warned.

  “Then take me,” she suggested. “I want you inside me.”

  “I want to be inside you,” he assured her, but he lowered his head to nibble on her earlobe, kiss her throat.

  “So why aren’t you there?”

  “Because it’s been a while for me,” he admitted. “And I want to make sure that it’s good for you.”

  “It’s been a while for me, too,” she told him. “And I don’t want to wait another minute to have you inside me.”

  “In that case, give me fifty-five seconds,” he suggested.

  “What?”

  “It’s less than a minute,” he pointed out, as his hands leisurely traced her curves.

  He continued the exploration with his mouth, kissing her breasts, her belly. He parted the soft folds of flesh at the apex of her thighs, opening her to him. Then he lowered his head and touched the sensitive nub at her center with his tongue, a slow, deliberate lick that made everything inside her tighten in glorious anticipation.

  “Bailey...you don’t have to—”

  “Shh,” he whispered against her slick flesh. “I’ve only got another forty seconds.”

  She might have smiled at that, but his mouth was already on her again, licking and nibbling, tasting and teasing. Instead, she let her head fall back against the pillow, biting down on her bottom lip to prevent herself from crying out with shock and pleasure.

  She tried to hold it together. She didn’t want to come apart like this. She wanted to wait until he was inside her.

 
; Her fingers curled, fisting the cover beneath her, and she closed her eyes and tried to count down the last thirty seconds. But the numbers blurred together in her mind, as the desires and demands of her body shoved aside everything else.

  “Isn’t—” her breath hitched “—your time up?”

  “Not just yet,” he said, and continued his intimate exploration.

  She couldn’t fight the onslaught of sensations any longer. The tension inside her had built to a breaking point, and she shattered into a million pieces.

  When her body finally stopped shuddering with aftershocks, he sheathed himself with a condom and rose up over her, then buried himself inside her.

  She gasped as he filled her. Deeply. Completely.

  She braced her heels on the mattress and lifted her hips, taking him even deeper, drawing a low groan of satisfaction from his throat as her muscles clenched around him.

  He began to move, slowly at first, a steady rhythm that stroked deep inside her. Then faster, harder, deeper. Her hips rose to meet him and her fingernails scraped down his back as he drove them both to the pinnacle of pleasure—and beyond.

  * * *

  Bailey had barely managed to catch his breath when he heard Marvin’s plaintive whimper through the bedroom door.

  “Does he need to go out?” he asked, mumbling the question into Serena’s hair.

  “He has a doggy door,” she reminded him.

  “So why is he whining?”

  “He was probably a little confused by the noises we were making,” she admitted.

  “You mean the noises you were making,” he teased.

  “I’m gonna plead the Fifth on that one.”

  He turned his head to nibble on her ear. “You were pleading something very different twenty minutes ago.”

  She lifted a hand to shove at his shoulder, but she didn’t put much force behind the motion. “A gentleman should never embarrass a lady.”

  “I’m not a gentleman, I’m a cowboy,” he told her.

  “Well, cowboys have a code, too,” she pointed out.

  “Uh-huh,” he agreed. “A cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man or leave a woman unsatisfied.”