by Jamie Begley
“Do you want me to?”
“God, no.”
“Santa, the only thing I want is you.”
Pure lust swept through him that he had no capacity to hold back any longer. Arin was an adrenaline rush that stormed his senses, one he powerless to withstand.
When she dragged her breasts across his chest, he forgot the club was within inches of them. Taking her mouth, Hennessy kissed Arin fervently, feeling his cock swell under the baggy pants as she boldly circled her fingers around his length. Grabbing her by the arms, he mashed her tits harder against him.
Using his legs, he started to rise to carry her upstairs, but just as he did, Hennessy felt a shove on his shoulders.
Blankly, he raised his head and saw the whole room watching them.
“Going somewhere, Hennessy?” Jack and Moon blocked him from getting up. “You trying to break the rules?”
“No …” Damn, he was, he acknowledged to himself, but fuck if he would tell them.
“Are you saying that Arin is your naughty Santa?”
Hennessy stared at Arin, silently willing her to give a word or movement that he could interpret she was.
Arin just steadily stared back. “A man named Hennessy isn’t afraid … He’s fearless.”
Hennessy felt as if she had stepped into his heart and claimed it for her own. She was the one who was fearless. She had been from the first moment they had met.
He’d been the one who hadn’t been able to handle anything or anyone permanent in his life. He would run off or drive them away until there was only one man who followed him. And sooner or later, Core would become just as resentful and angry as Moon.
Arin was his naughty Santa. She had given him hints he had ignored, telling himself he was trying to outsmart Viper’s game while, in reality, he had been trying to outsmart himself, to keep himself from becoming attached to her, to keep himself from falling in love with her. And he had almost succeeded … until a bold, beautiful woman forced him to stay long enough to realize it was too late. He was already in a trap, and the last thing he wanted to do was escape … or let her escape.
Giving Jack and Moon smug smiles, he rose, holding Arin. “She’s my naughty Santa.”
“Arin?” Disappointed, Jack stood still, while Moon walked away.
“I’m his.”
“Damn right.” Hennessy lifted her higher on his hips, carrying her toward the steps. “She’s all mine.”
Chapter 16
Arin leaned back against Hennessy’s bedroom door when he set her down. Shimmying out of her elf outfit, she watched as he took off his suit and boots.
“Who really drew my name?”
She mischievously removed her bra, letting it drop to the floor. “Sasha. It cost me plenty, too. I had to give her half my wardrobe, pay off the bet I made with Jewell, make good on the bets that the other women made with the brothers, and compensate Winter for all the headphones she’d bought. You better be worth all the trouble I went through to switch names with her.” Mock threatening him, she sauntered toward him with a teasing lift of her lips.
“Whose name did you really have?”
“Jack,” she confessed.
Hennessy laughed. “He said you were.”
“I was never going to be anyone’s but yours. When I set my mind to something, I never fail.”
Taking her by the waist, he lifted her into the air. Her breasts at eye level, he rolled his tongue around her nipple, his domineering gaze eating her alive, promising to fulfill every fantasy she had ever imagined during her bleak marriage.
Putting her hands on his shoulders, she was able to look down at him. Her stomach muscles quivered at how easily he supported her weight.
Hennessy was a man’s man, not a man who pretended to be one, who couldn’t keep the sexual promises he made. Hennessy wasn’t a fantasy image she had created either; he was a living, hot-blooded male who was not capable of making promises he couldn’t keep. That was why he was so hard to pin down.
“Same here.” Turning around, Hennessy carefully lowered her to the bed, his muscles straining under his brown skin as he placed a knee on the mattress and leaned over her. “Baby girl, I’m a man of few words, so when I say this, you better listen up.”
Sprawled under him, Arin carnally arched her back, pushing her breasts upward and begging him to touch her.
“You might think this is just a game, but I’m not playing with you. I’m being dead serious when I say you’re mine. You. Are. Mine.”
“You think so?” Taunting him, she ran her palms over his chest, using her thumbs to circle his nipples.
“I know so.”
“Prove it.”
“I will. And, when I fuck you, you’re never going to be able to forget it.”
“I would never be able to forget` you, even if you never touched me. You’re not an easy man to forget.”
Arin felt the steel embrace when Hennessy lowered his body to cover hers. There wasn’t a soft part on his body that she touched, from his shoulders to his arms, to his back that flexed under her searching fingertips as he used his mouth to explore the contours of her body.
He nuzzled his face into her waist, darting his tongue out to taste her before moving lower to bury his face between her thighs. Using his wide shoulders to make room for himself, he grabbed behind her knees to lift her to his waiting mouth, delving his tongue to discover what the tiny thong wasn’t strong enough to protect.
Releasing one knee, he tugged on the one string of the thong, easily breaking it with a yank that had her bud throbbing at the experienced tongue playing and stroking in a tantalizing game that had never been played with her before. It was fucking hot as hell, but it was also torture that she was unable to touch him the way she wanted to. She was used to giving, not receiving.
The new experience had her twisting on the bed, then moaning when he drove his tongue inside her, sliding along the walls of her pussy. She grabbed the sheet instead of using her nails, afraid she would ruin the perfection of his body with her scratches. His body was a God-given work of art, and she wanted nothing to mar its perfection.
Tingles of pleasure from the long strokes of his tongue left her panting as if she was running a mile in twenty seconds.
“The fucking jerk!”
She received another long, delicious lick before he breathed out, “Who? I hope you aren’t talking about me?”
“My fucking ex. I was fucking gypped!”
“Baby girl, I always prefer to eat my dessert before the main course.”
“Oh … my … God.”
At his dirty innuendo, that he was going down on her for no other reason than enjoyment for both of them, caused tremors to shudder through her pussy. It gave a whole new meaning to sex for her … a pleasure she could participate in, and not just to give away but to share.
Hennessy reared back until he was on his knees. Then he reached toward his nightstand to open the drawer, removing a condom.
After efficiently sliding it on, his cock jutting upward, he lifted her by the waist and slowly lowered her down.
Gripping his shoulders, Arin held on as her damp pussy slowly accepted the wide girth of his dick.
“Oh … my … God!”
“Is that all you can say?”
Any other time, the confidence in Hennessy’s expression would have made her angry, but … sweet Jesus, he deserved her homage to his dick.
Gradually, he worked his cock higher in her as he took her mouth in a sultry kiss, fucking his tongue inside like his cock was taking her pussy.
“Fuck me back.”
Holding his shoulders, she used her knees to lower and lift herself over his cock, taking him even deeper. Desire turned to lust, forcing her to move faster and faster, fueling the ride they were taking. His hands on his waist sped her up even more in his own frantic pace for release.
“Oh … oh …” she moaned, tightening her grip on him.
The walls of her pussy clenched in sp
asms when she felt Hennessy’s cock throb beneath the condom covering.
“Baby girl, don’t blame your ex. No normal man would be able to handle that treasure you’re carrying.”
“I don’t need the after-sex bullshit.”
Hennessy used his chest and hands to press her back to the bed with a conquering curve of his lips. “Baby girl, who said I was done?”
Chapter 17
Arin lay sideways on the bed, her breasts pressed into Hennessy’s abs as they languidly lay together.
Rolling onto her side, she reached for a slice of pizza from a plate on his chest.
“I told you that I would take care of my baby girl.”
“I don’t think ordering pizza is going to make you man of the year.” After taking a bite, she turned the slice for him.
“I deserve a man of the year award for fucking you nonstop for the last six days.”
“I can’t believe how fast time is passing. It’s almost Christmas Eve.”
“I have to leave for Florida after that.”
“I know. You’ve told me every day for the last six days.” Keeping her face impassive, she ate another bite of pizza. “I get the message loud and clear.” Hennessy might as well hang a calendar on the wall and mark off the days counting the number to go before he left. Every time he mentioned the date, it was a dose of reality that he didn’t consider what they had going on was long-lasting. Meanwhile, she never wanted it to end. She wanted to stop the clock on Christmas Eve and hold it—and Hennessy—still forever.
“I don’t think you are. Or … at least, not the right one.”
“Then talk to me straight. I prefer it that way anyway.”
“What are your plans? After Florida, Core and I will be going back to Arizona. You could come visit me …”
Arin shook her head. “I own a business in Ohio. This is the first vacation I’ve had in years. I don’t know when I’ll be able to manage another anytime soon.”
“Not even for me?” Hennessy huffily rose.
Forced to sit up, she could see the wounded pride in his expression.
“Not even for you. I’ve been down that road before with Marcus. I moved away from Ohio to North Carolina. I hated being away from Ohio. My parents are retired now, and my brothers and sister are usually gone with trips and their jobs, but Ohio is still home for me. It’s where my life is.”
Hennessy scooted off the bed, grabbing a pair of jeans.
“That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for you there. Ohio is a big state. I also have a house big enough for the both of us if you want to come. My door will always be open to you.”
Arin bit her lip when he dropped his jeans again.
“When I was three years old, I watched my uncle kill my mother and father. I’ve spent my life bouncing away from every home I’ve lived in, even now.”
Her face twisted in grief for him. For a little boy to see his parents murdered in front of him must have been traumatic. Not only that, but it being another relative would have shaken the stability of his world. Living his childhood in foster homes clearly hadn’t repaired the damage. They hadn’t given him the love and care he’d needed to cling to when he’d needed them most of all. He had never been able to find another place to give that same stability, and until he could, leaving was the safer and only option he could control. “You can stop or slow that roll anytime you want to, Hennessy.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“The man I heard Moon describing is up for any challenge, even when he involves life and death. How about love, Hennessy? Are you up to that challenge? Because, as much I enjoy fucking you, after Christmas is over, that’s the only man I want in my bed.”
“I don’t know.”
Arin gave him a tender smile, placing the pizza plate on the nightstand to pat the bed. “It isn’t Christmas yet. Get that perfect ass of yours over here …”
Slipping out of bed in the dark, Arin quietly pulled on her housecoat to leave the room.
Walking downstairs, she stopped by the large Christmas tree. The club room was empty, as she had expected it to be so late at night. Lowering herself down onto the floor, she sat, enjoying the solitude and the beauty that everyone had contributed to decorating the tree.
“What are you doing?”
“Christmas Eve always makes me sad.”
Hennessy sat down, bracing his back against the wall. Then, pulling her to him, they both contemplated the tree, as if the twinkling lights could answer life’s most precious questions.
“Why does it make you sad?”
Relaxing back against him, she tried to explain what she had never been able to answer to herself. “Everything is so beautiful. Then, the next day, it’s gone. The presents are unwrapped, the gifts put away, and everyone leaves.”
“Christmas Eve was always my favorite part of the holiday until I realized Santa didn’t exist.”
“How old were you?”
“Three.”
The same age as when his parents died. If his foster parents didn’t share marshmallows, she was certain toys from Santa wasn’t high on their Christmas lists. Something as beautiful as Christmas meant so much joy for some, yet for others, it brought disillusionment. Not that there was a Santa but rather the magic of love that it represented. It broke her heart that so many missed out.
“Such a young age to find out he doesn’t.” Sadness tore at her heart that his parents weren’t there to protect him. Hennessy’s parents must have loved him deeply before their deaths. Only a deep love could have created the man she had fallen in love with.
“How old were you?”
Arin leaned her head back on his shoulder. “Ten. That’s when I finally had to admit it. I was getting too many weird looks. You don’t get as many presents when your parents know you don’t believe in Santa Claus. I loved playing the Santa card.”
“No one cared if I did or didn’t.”
Arin reached for a present under the tree. Turning sideways, she handed it to him. “Merry Christmas.”
“You want me to open it now?”
“Yes, please.”
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as he opened the small box. When he didn’t move to take the necklace out, her nerves strung taunt. Arin lifted the long, silver chain, sliding it over his head, the key coming to a rest near his heart.
“The key is to my house. I had my address engraved into the metal on the top. No matter how many miles you ride, you can always come home to me. I’ll be waiting because … I love you.”
She saw him struggle with his emotions. Surprise, confusion, then awkwardness were easily read—as if he didn’t know how to react. “It’s okay. I don’t expect you to say anything. Just know it’s there when you need it, just like I will be. You don’t have to make your life a shadowbox. All you have to do is be strong enough to step out of the box and build new frames that lets the sun inside.”
He huskily cleared his throat. “You have to wait until Christmas morning for yours.”
“I can wait.” Arin wasn’t hurt that Hennessy didn’t respond to her gift or what she said. The protective barrier he kept between himself and the world wouldn’t be overcome in one Christmas. What he needed was lots and lots of mistletoe.
“Look up.”
Hennessy lifted his head to look where she pointed.
“Are you wanting me to kiss you under the mistletoe?”
Her face dropped in disappointment. “You don’t want too?”
Hennessy’s back started sliding down the wall until he was lying under the tree and she was lying on top of him.
“Kisses under the mistletoe is for the Hallmark channel. Real men fuck under the tree.”
Chapter 18
Arin hung her coat in the closet, expecting to see Hennessy in the club room. She had just returned from church with the other women. When she couldn’t find him downstairs, she went up to his room, thinking he might be taking a late nap. She was disappointed to find the room empty.
Using the opportunity to change, she then went back downstairs and into the kitchen.
“Moon, have you seen Hennessy?”
“He’s at Viper’s house. Winter invited him for dinner to pay off her end of the bet.”
“Ahh … That’s why she left church before the rest of us,” she said as she got in line with the club members to fix herself a plate.
As she was walking toward the dining room, Moon got up to fix himself another plate. “I forgot to tell you that Hennessy said to tell you he won’t get to see you tonight. Several of the brothers have asked for his help to put toys together.”
“Okay. Thanks for the message.” Finding a seat next to Jewell, she ate while listening to the women talk.
Arin hid her disappointment. This wasn’t turning out to be the Christmas Eve she envisioned with Hennessy. She only had two days left with him, and this was probably the only Christmas Eve they would spend together.
Get used to him not being there, Arin morosely told herself.
She had opened her heart to him, and he, in turn, had revealed nothing about his feelings.
She came here, expecting nothing from any of the men, and that was exactly what she would be leaving with … except for a heart that was already beginning to break.
“Where’s Hennessy?” Jewell asked when she didn’t join in on the conversation.
“He’s at Viper’s. Then he’s helping the brothers put toys together.”
“After you get done eating, you might as well watch movies with us. Razer alone has two bikes to put together. He’ll probably be pulling an all-nighter.”
“What movie are you going to watch?”
“The Nightmare Before Christmas. Best Christmas movie ever!” Sasha told her. “You in?”
“I’m in. I’ll even make the popcorn.”
Hennessy must not have been the only one helping put toys together, because all the men disappeared after dinner, leaving the women to themselves.
Arin made the popcorn, then spent the rest of the evening watching movies.