Christmas Cowboy (A Standalone Holiday Romance Novel)

by Claire Adams

  “That was fucking hot.”

  “Glad you approve.” I smiled around his head in my mouth and then sucked him, bobbing my head and stroking his base to give my throat a rest.

  “You’re going to spoil me.”

  “I’m going to try.” I felt the bed shift when he sat up, and I let go of his cock as his hand trailed up my naked back and then back down to cup my ass.

  “I want inside you now that I’ve got you good and soaked.”

  It was what I’d been waiting to hear, and my core ached thinking about him filling me up. I fell over on my back and spread my legs wide for him to settle his hips between them, but he came up on his knees and rubbed his cock at my entrance, dragging his head around to spread my juices. I was just like he said: soaked.

  He nudged himself against me, but then he fell across my breast and kissed me full on the mouth where I tasted myself on his lips. He deepened the kiss as if he loved the taste of us mixed together and then his cock slid its way home, slowly inching, nice and tender until he found my depths.

  I settled around his girth, my slick walls stretched to their limits and then some. He was so big inside me, and I realized the long oral work over had aroused him more than I’d ever known possible. Good thing I was accommodating.

  I ground my hips as he rocked his nice and slow. He kissed my mouth and neck and nibbled my ear, all the while caressing my hair and cheek. We fell silent for a while, nothing but moans and the sounds of our breathing, which was all my ears needed to hear at that moment.

  His movements echoed the words he’d spoken, that sweet I love you that had fallen from his lips. I never doubted it for a moment, and we continued that way until my next orgasm washed through me leaving me spent and limp in his arms.

  But he wasn’t done with me yet. He rolled us over, and I fell against him, weak from the long session, my energy spent. I found the strength to sit up and ride him, but he braced my hips and bucked his until he was doing most of the work. He growled out a moan as his release finally ripped through him, spilling against my mound, down his shaft, and around his base. He’d pulled out just in time, but I lowered myself to his still pulsing cock and rode him through the last waves of his pleasure.

  “You’re amazing, baby.” He kissed my shoulder as I collapsed across his chest, but then I sat up and captured his smooth face between my palms to stare deep into his eyes.

  “I love you, too.”

  His mouth closed on mine before I could take another breath, and we lay there listening to the sounds of our breathing until we fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Aiden

  For the fourth time in a month, my computer monitor at the office went out on its own. Layne had told me the last time I’d have to get a new one. I wasn’t in a hurry to get back to work, so I stared out my office window thinking about Lexa, instead.

  We’d finally gotten the last of her things from her apartment and turned in her key, but she insisted on paying out her lease on her own. I didn’t put up a fight; how could I, especially when she’d told me how she’d gotten the place on her own and was going to leave there on her own, paying her way like she’d intended when she leased it. I had held up my hands and backed away, earning a cheerful laugh and kind smile.

  I reminded her later when we got back to the house how I was going to insist on taking care of her, but she wasn’t having it, and we had our first spat. Making up had been amazing, but then she bit my ear and told me I wasn’t getting my way. We’d see. I had a few tricks left up my sleeve.

  Glen had even pitched in to help with the move and since I wasn’t spending as much time on his barstool those days, I’d invited him over for Sunday dinner. He promised not to let anyone sit in my place, and I demanded a sign be hung.

  I was laughing about that when a soft knock sounded at my door. “Come in.”

  “I need some help.” Lexa’s voice sounded through the door, and I got on my feet and opened it to find her with her hands full.

  “You shouldn’t be lugging all that up here alone. I could have come down.”

  “No need, I’m here now. I would have called, but I thought I could make it.” She had three bags of food and a drink holder with three drinks and what looked like a fudge sundae.

  “Are you feeding an army?” I dug in the bags and found three plate lunches, two slices of pie and everything we needed to eat it.

  “Just you and Layne. I thought I’d bring him something in case he was still swamped with that case you’ve been stressing over.”

  “And it’s only my first case, so you can imagine how good things will be when I’m six months back to work.” I hoped she would understand what she was getting herself into, but then again, her nursing wasn’t any different.

  “You don’t look too busy to me.” She narrowed her eyes and glanced at my computer.

  “That’s because it died again. The monitor needs to be replaced, and since I own the place, I guess they’re going to let me get it myself.” I hadn’t had a chance to call my assistant to put in a request, but as slow as she moved, I’d do better to run that errand myself.

  “You pay people to do that for you.” She took out a container and peeked inside. Then she grabbed a slice of pie and a soda and carried it next door.

  “I do, but I haven’t had a chance. It just happened, and then I got lost in my thoughts.”

  The door to Layne’s office opened, and he greeted Lexa with a smile. “What have we here?”

  “Room service. I thought you could use a little nourishment. Aiden tells me that you’re on a tough case and this is my way of showing support.” He took the containers from her and then the drink.

  “Thanks so much. This will save me an hour. I’m hoping to be done before the day is over. We go to court next week.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Hope you’re ready.”

  “I’ll be ready, don’t you worry.” He thanked Lexa again, and she closed his door and headed back into my office. I watched her dig into the bag and hand me my food. “You’re so caring.”

  “What because I want to be helpful? It’s just a little food, don’t get all sappy on me or I’ll never come back.” She gave me a playful look, but I pulled her into my lap.

  “You’re not going anywhere, and I mean it. You’re an amazing woman, and I’m not letting you forget it.” She opened the pie container in front of me.

  “Do you eat peaches?” She took the sundae from the holder and placed it next to the pie.

  “I don’t know, are you a peach?” I kissed her behind her ear until she giggled.

  “Born and raised.” She lifted her gaze to the heavens and then gave me a nudge. “I didn’t know if you’d like it or not so brought a sundae. I’ll eat whichever you don’t want.”

  “We’ll split them both. Why choose when we can have it all?” I pounded my fist on the desk, and she handed me my drink, reminding me of Glen.

  “You know, I’ve been sitting here thinking.” I slid my fork into the pie and stabbed a peach.

  “I thought I felt the earth shake.” She was in a silly mood, and I loved it. I loved her playful spirit and hoped my idea wouldn’t spoil it.

  “I’ve been thinking about my job.” As my tone grew serious, her face fell.

  “I thought it was working out okay?” She glanced at the door and hopped up to close it all the way.

  “I’m doing great, but stepping in and taking over the reins has put a bad taste in my mouth. Layne should run things, not me. I can’t even get a decent computer monitor, and I don’t like coming here every day.” She stepped up to my side and ran her fingers through my hair.

  “What are you thinking?” I didn’t like the look of worry set in her brow.

  “There’s no need to worry. I’m not going to stop working, but I think I’d like being at home more often. I was going to sell this place and do that if that settlement was more than I could handle, but since I don’t have to do that, I’ve had
to rethink things. I like being at home. I’ve gotten used to it over the past year, and I think working from there would be good for me. I could still use this place as a base, but I think Layne should run it.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea, but are you sure you won’t be needed here?” She wasn’t grasping exactly what I was saying.

  “Baby, I’m thinking about giving everything over to him. That way I would only have to come here when convenient for my clients. I’d like to have a separate office, a personal one where I can practice the type of cases I’m interested in, not this corporate defender shit my father loved so much.” I pulled her back down into my lap.

  “We’d be okay, you know, as far as money goes. I’d still hold my investments here, and my estate is worth more than we’ll ever need, but I think Layne deserves the bigger piece of this pie.” I tapped the slice in front of me with my fork, and lifted it to her mouth.

  “I don’t worry about money. I’ve got quite a little nest egg of my own, in case you ever wondered. Besides, I’m quite aware of your wealth.” She chuckled and gave me a nudge.

  “Yeah? What tipped you off?” She leaned down to kiss me, throwing both arms around my neck.

  “I never worry about anything with you. If you want to stop working altogether, I’d understand. I want you to do what makes you happy.” She had found her joy in organizing the foundation, and she’d even grown closer to Layne, which is why I figured she had brought him lunch, too.

  “Speaking of happiness, how’s the foundation event coming along?” I took a moment to taste the tangy chicken she’d bought for lunch as her face lit up.

  “All is on track, and I’m meeting with the auction house later this afternoon. I should have everything in place by then, and a few of the doctors at the hospital have even offered to donate.” I met her eyes, and she was already shaking her head. “I’m not turning down his contribution.”

  “I’m not asking you to.” I caressed her cheek with my thumb and fed her another piece of pie.

  “You’re not angry?” Her brow cocked high, and she seemed to study me as if gauging my reaction. She knew I didn’t like the fact that she’d went on a date with the guy, but in her defense, I’d told her to never come back. I had promised myself not to hold it against her, but I would forever keep my eye on the good doctor.

  “No, I’m sure it’s a generous offer and every bit helps.”

  “He’s giving twenty-thousand dollars.” My jaw dropped, and she smiled. I hadn’t expected that generous of a donation, and I turned away and glared down at the food, which I suddenly didn’t feel like eating.

  “He’s still in love with you.” I stuck out my tongue and made a face, but Lexa laughed.

  “Now you’re being ridiculous. He was never in love with me. Sure, he had a crush, probably a few fantasies. Naked ones, even.” She whispered close to my ear.

  “Who wouldn’t? But see, that proves my point, and you admitted it.” I feigned disgust turned my head away, but she took my face in her hands, a gesture that we now used tenderly, never again in the hard way I’d used it against her, and she stared deep into my eyes.

  “You know better.”

  “I do, and I’m proud of you. You’ve done an amazing thing with the event planning, and it’s going to be special. Allison would have loved you and me together.” I had started speaking more of my family with her, and she’d opened up more about Shawn too.

  “Would she? I think Shawn would have been a little uneasy about his sister dating a rich playboy type?” She took my fork and fed me a piece of the still warm pie.

  “Playboy?” I scoffed at the word and shook my head. “Hardly. You’re the one with a bunch of horny doctors paying you thousands of dollars.” She nudged me, and I rocked us back only to turn the chair over with us both in it.

  We crashed to the floor, and I broke her fall. The commotion, the chair crashing down as well as Lexa’s scream, which thankfully drowned out my own, caused Layne to react.

  I heard his footsteps as he ran across his room. “Are you okay?” he called through the door.

  “Are we?” I asked Lexa who broke into a fit of giggles. “Yeah, we’re good.” I started to move to get up, but she pinned me down and raked her hand through my hair. Her soft lips pressed gently against mine, and her other hand snaked down and rubbed me through my pants.

  “You’re a bad girl,” I muttered against her mouth. But she held a finger to my lips and slid her hand down my pants as she ground her hips against my leg.

  “I’m thinking we better make the most of this office while we can.” She flashed me a wink, but I reached up and raked my finger through the pie, collecting the filling on the end of my finger, which I brought to her mouth, smearing it across her bottom lip. She gripped my wrist and sucked my finger clean and then licked her lips before sliding down on me.

  “Have I told you lately how much I love you?” Her soft giggle sounded against me and quickly turned into a moan. The last day in my office turned out to be a memorable one.

  Epilogue

  Lexa

  Aiden had a habit of watching me sleep, and I sometimes wondered if that was how he spent his nights. I opened my eyes to find him at it again, and I buried my face against his chest and fought the urge to wake.

  “Rise and shine, sleepyhead.” He kissed my hand and then rolled me off of him, only to rest on his elbows above me.

  As I looked up into his eyes, I couldn’t believe it had been almost a year since we’d met. Things were going better than ever between us, but I was still holding my breath for a proposal and turning blue. Bre assured me it would happen, and I had to wonder if he’d talked to her about it. I’d tried to pry it out of her more than once, but she denied any involvement in such conversations.

  He stared down at me with his own sleepy eyes, and I couldn’t imagine waking up to anyone else. He was my perfect match, and he’d made my life so much better that I sometimes needed to pinch myself to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

  His phone made a buzzing, and he reached across to the nightstand and let out a curse. “Fucking Layne. He wants me to come up and get the rest of my father’s things. Seems he had a storage closet there. Who knew?”

  “Do you ever regret giving him the business?” I stroked his cheek and closed my eyes.

  “Not one bit. I’ve got everything right here in this house, everything that I’ll ever need. Including you.”

  “So, we don’t have to go out to dinner tonight with my parents?” I’d been trying to talk him out of that little dinner date since he broke the news to me. I’d wanted the two of us to have a nice romantic dinner for two to celebrate our year together, but since it was also the anniversary of our families reuniting, as well as the official conception of the foundation, he wanted to celebrate by taking us all out to dinner.

  “We do. We can’t back out on them now. Besides, your mother said she had some exciting news.” He shrugged his shoulders, and I narrowed my eyes. That didn’t make any sense.

  “And, when did my mother say that?” It seemed she would have told me before telling Aiden, though I do think she had started to like him best. I tapped my finger on his chest as I waited for his answer, but he kissed me instead, pressing himself hard against me. I pushed him back and rolled over. “I’m waiting for your answer.”

  “Don’t be difficult tonight, okay? We’re going to a nice dinner, and that’s all you need to worry about.” That was his polite way of saying that’s all I needed to know. He wasn’t going to fool me. He had something up his sleeve. The last thing I wanted was a surprise of any kind, but more than that, I didn’t want to ruin anything Aiden had planned. He loved to do things for me, and I had learned to let him.

  It was his way of taking care of me, and while I wasn’t about to get into another argument with him about how independent I was, I’d learned to pick my battles and let him feel in charge.

  It’s funny how when you love someone so much, you learn to let them have t
heir way. The truth was I had learned to love it. I wouldn’t take that kind of shit from anyone else, of course, but Aiden was mine and I was his. I loved being his.

  “Yes, sir,” I rolled my eyes and giggled.

  “I’ll give you something to giggle about.” He tickled my sides, and I went into a fit of laughter so hard I had to warn him off.

  “You can’t tickle a person first thing in the morning.” I nudged him away and sat up.

  He rose up behind me and planted a kiss on my shoulder. “Mattie’s making breakfast for us this morning, so we better get ready and go down.”

  I knew better than to argue about Mattie waiting on me. She’d been part of the package deal, and I had to respect the lady’s livelihood. Besides, it was nice having the extra hand around the house. It wasn’t like I could handle it alone with all those rooms, half of which I’d only been to the door of during my tour.

  I’d turned one of them into a sitting room where I could work on the foundation in peace, far away from anyone else, but Aiden had learned that I was a pushover when it came to his ability to distract me from my work.

  “Then I’m going to hurry up in the shower, so yours doesn’t get cold on you.” I jumped up and raced him to the shower, but he met me in there and slowly washed me from head to toe. He worked me up to such a thick lather I had to remind him that we were in a hurry and our food was getting cold.

  Minutes later, we were dried off and dressed and headed off to the kitchen where Mattie was finishing up our meal. She’d baked a breakfast casserole that had become one of my favorites.

  “Pete Jr. is going to be making a trip to the nursery next week and wanted to know if there are any special requests. He’s going to rework the flower beds out front and replace a few of the plants that aren’t thriving. He should be around to talk to later.” Mattie stepped over to the small table by the window that overlooked the oaks, and that’s when I realized she was talking to me. “He said he’ll get anything you want.”