Nadine was running around like a chicken with her head cut off making sure volunteers were all in the right places. She had a clipboard full of notes and sign-up sheets to keep track of everyone. When she ducked her head in the makeshift dining room and spotted me I gave her a big smile and a thumbs up. I had everything under control here, so she didn’t need to worry about a thing.
I passed one of the tables and an elderly man reached out to touch my elbow. I turned to him with a smile. “Good evening, sir. What can I get for you?”
He pointed at his potatoes. There was a massive pile of them on his plate and it looked to me like he’d eaten the outside layer of gravy off of them. He was at least seventy years old with a thick gray beard. His clothes hung off him in tattered layers. The soles of his shoes were almost worn all the way off and his hands were dark from living outside and not having access to a bath or shower for weeks at a time.
I smiled. “More gravy?”
He nodded.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be right back, okay? Can I get you anything else while I’m in the kitchen?”
He shook his head and I went off in search of a plastic cup I could bring him some gravy in. The nice thing about this event was if someone asked, they received. It was a rule I’d implemented the first time I volunteered. I believed that anyone from all walks of life should be able to come to our dinner and be treated as an elite guest. They never received this kind of service in their daily lives, but I wanted to guarantee it to them this evening. We all deserved some extra care and attention at Christmas time.
I found a small cup and brought it to him. He was incredibly thankful, though he could not speak, and I told him I’d come back to check on him shortly to make sure he didn’t run out. Then I did another lap and saw to other people’s needs.
As I was bringing fresh napkins to the table of a young family with six kids, I happened to look up at the doorway. Standing in the middle of the entrance, and all dressed in black, was Max.
He was watching me with a smile on his face. I hurried over to him and jumped into his arms, throwing mine around his shoulders. He laughed in my ear as he hugged me, and then kissed me when I pulled away.
He set me down and I pulled my sweater down. It had ridden up when I leapt into his arms. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
Max shrugged and looked around. “I came to help. And, well, it’s Christmas Eve. I wanted to see you.”
I felt my eyebrows creep up my forehead. “It’s Christmas Eve so you wanted to see me? What does that mean?”
He smirked. “I guess it means I might be feeling a bit of that mysterious Christmas spirit you’re always talking about.”
I patted his cheek. “Oh. You’re gonna learn a lot about Christmas spirit tonight, Max Miller. Roll up those sleeves. I’m putting you to work.”
The Christmas Eve dinner wound down at ten o’clock that night. Max and I stayed until eleven to help all the other volunteers clean up. Nadine ushered me out the door at eleven on the dot and told me not to lift a finger until the holidays were over. Max took my hand and assured her he would make sure I enjoyed Christmas, and then he pulled me down the stairs and out to the parking lot. “Where’s your car?”
“I walked. I’m not far down the road.”
“I gave my driver the night off.”
“Guess you’re walking me home, then.”
Max offered his arm and I took it.
The walk home was more romantic than I could have dreamed. Our steps were slow and lazy as we toddled down the sidewalk admiring the Christmas lights on all the houses and the Christmas trees twinkling in people’s windows. I pointed out some of my favorites along the street, and Max chuckled at the one house that had a cardboard cut-out of the Grinch on their roof stealing the string of lights from the trim.
“I can’t imagine a better way to spend Christmas Eve,” I said, as we approached my townhouse at the end of the street.
“It’s the best I’ve had in twenty-two years,” he said.
I stopped walking and so did he. Our arms were still looped together as I stared up into his bright green eyes. “Really?”
He nodded. “Really.”
I stretched up on the tips of my toes and kissed him. His lips were warm and soft and a welcome sensation upon my own. The night was chilly, even for LA, and I wanted to curl up in his arms.
“Come on. Let’s get you inside,” Max said.
We walked up the stairs to my front door. I fumbled with my key in the lock as Max looked over my shoulder. His closeness was distracting. So I told him so. “I can’t get the door open with you hovering like that.”
“How come?” He asked, leaning down and resting his chin on my shoulder.
“You’re in my light.”
“Bullshit. There is no light. It’s dark as hell out here.”
“Well. Just give me some space, will you?”
Max brought his mouth right to my ear. I could feel his breath on my neck. “No.”
I shivered. The key slid into the lock.
“Thatta girl,” he cooed in my ear. Then he ran his tongue up the side of my neck before pinching my earlobe between his teeth.
I whimpered. It wasn’t because it hurt. Quite the opposite. He was being gentle, but he was overriding all of my senses. All I could smell was Max. All I could feel was his body pressed up against my back, his teeth pinching my ear, his breath hot against my neck. It was all him.
And it was all I wanted.
I turned around in his arms. Max planted his hands on either side of me, with the door at my back. He loomed over me, his broad shoulders blocking my view of the street and park behind him. I stared up into his face, all shadows and darkness, and whispered, “Are you coming in?”
If he smiled I couldn’t see it. “Yes pretty girl. I’m coming in.”
Max reached down and turned the door handle. The door opened wide and he pushed me inside. We stepped over the threshold and I was shrugging out of my jacket before he kicked the front door closed behind him.
“Nice place,” he muttered as I pulled my sweater up over my head.
“Thanks.”
Max took off his coat and undid his shirt as he followed me down the hall. We arrived at the bottom of my stairs, which I began to ascend, walking up backwards so I could watch his shirt come undone. He followed me up, his shirt hanging open, and when I reached the top I pulled off my black dress pants. I draped them over the banister and turned around to prance into my bedroom.
Max was hot on my heels.
He caught up to me before I reached the bed, wrapped an arm around my waist, and took me down to the mattress in a fit of giggles. He trailed his lips up my arm and across my shoulder until he finally worked his way up to my lips. Then he rolled himself on top of me and pinned me beneath him as our kiss deepened.
His jeans were still on and so was his shirt. But it was open, so I slid my hands inside and up his back. Muscle rippled beneath skin. Denim whispered against my bare legs. I tried to reach down to start undoing his jeans, but he caught my wrist to stop me and began working his way down the length of my body.
When he hit my hips he began drawing my panties down over my legs. Once they were down around my ankles he pulled them free, tossed them aside, and pushed my knees apart to settle between my legs.
I looked down at him, now wearing nothing but my bra, and watched as his tongue darted out to swirl over my clit.
I sighed with pleasure and let my head fall back to the mattress. Each roll of his tongue made the fire inside of me burn hotter. I sunk my fingers into his hair with one hand and reached above me with the other to grip the top of the mattress.
As he worked me closer to the edge, his tongue now lapping at my juices, I lifted my ass from the bed. He put his hands under my ass and held me up. I moaned, whimpered and writhed, then gave into my body as my orgasm broke over me.
Max licked his lips as he straightened up between my legs, crammed a han
d in his pocket, and pulled out a condom.
“You’re always prepared, aren’t you?”
He pinched the wrapper between his teeth to undo his jeans and push them and his boxers down to his knees. Then he tore the wrapper open with his teeth and rolled the condom on. “Chances with a girl like you are few and far between. A guy would be an idiot not to carry at all times.”
“Not to carry?” I snickered. “Max, it’s a condom, not a pistol.”
“Oh but they share an element of danger,” he winked.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh my God. Just get your ass down here.”
With a deep chuckle Max lowered himself onto me, dropping his hips to mine. He ran his cock up and down my pussy, coating his tip with my slick juices, then he eased his way inside me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he planted one hand beside my head and the other on my shoulder, holding me in place as he pushed his whole length inside me.
I moaned. So did he.
“Deeper,” I pleaded.
Max lifted my legs so that my ankles were resting on his shoulders. He kissed the inside of my ankle while he rocked his hips. His cock plunged deeper inside of me than ever before. My toes curled. I squeezed my eyes closed. The pressure was almost too intense.
Almost.
“Yes,” I gasped, reaching both hands over my head to grip the sheets. My hands tightened into fists.
Max rolled his hips and drove upward at the end of each thrust.
“I’m coming,” I breathed, my breath hitching in my throat.
Max leaned over me, proving to both of us just how flexible I was as my ankles remained on his shoulders as he kissed me. His hips continued moving in a delicious rhythm as his tongue plunged into my mouth. His lips sealed over mine as a cry escaped me as I came.
He grunted and groaned into my mouth as he came undone as well.
His hips slowed and he rocked back onto his heels, straightening up so my ankles fell from his shoulders. He raked his fingers through his hair and fell onto his side beside me. Then he peered over my shoulder and a smile crept over his face.
I rolled to face him. “What are you smiling about?”
“Merry Christmas, Laura.”
I glanced over at the clock. Seven minutes past midnight. “Merry Christmas, Max.”
Chapter 33
Max
Waking up with Laura on Christmas morning was a big change of pace for me. I was used to spending this day alone. I treated it like any other day other than allowing myself to sleep in. I’d get up and shower and make myself breakfast and coffee. If I was feeling up to it I’d go for a walk or something, but that usually just reminded me that it was Christmas day and I was missing out.
This year was different. I woke with Laura wrapped up in my arms. Her hair was in my mouth but I didn’t mind—the chemical taste of her shampoo and hair products didn’t bother me either. I stayed where I was, too afraid to move for fear of waking her up.
She was sleeping so peacefully. She was facing me and had her left leg draped over my right thigh. Her arms were curled up against her chest and her chin rested on her knuckles.
I kissed her forehead and closed my eyes to listen to the birds chirping outside her bedroom window. As I lay there I wondered what time it was. For all I knew it could be as early as six in the morning. It could also be as late as nine. There was no way to tell. Laura had dark curtains in her room that cast the space into dim light.
Letting my breathing fall into sync with hers, I vowed to wait as long as necessary for her to wake up on her own.
She stirred awake maybe a half hour later. She came to with a soft moan and stretched like a cat in my arms. Once she curled back in on herself after her stretch I kissed her cheeks and the tip of her nose. “Good morning, pretty girl.”
Her lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes which were still heavy with sleep. “Good morning.”
“What time do you have to be at Ella’s?”
She frowned and then stifled a yawn. “Not until noon-ish.”
“So you have time for breakfast and coffee?”
Laura smiled. “Of course I do. What sort of question is that?”
I patted her bare hip. “Alright. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
“Do you mind if I shower first?”
“Not at all. Take your time.”
I gave her one last good morning kiss before rolling out of her bed. She stayed under the covers and watched me pull my boxers and jeans on. When I left the bedroom and went downstairs I heard her get out of bed and close the bathroom door.
Downstairs I saw the Christmas tree in her living room that I’d been too distracted to notice last night when we stumbled into her place drunk on each other’s kisses. It was tucked in the corner and unplugged. I walked over and plugged it in. Multi colored lights blinked to life and sent warm light around the living room.
And, for a moment, I thought it looked beautiful.
We enjoyed our morning together. It didn’t last as long as I wanted it to, because it turned out we didn’t get out of bed until almost nine. Laura had to get ready and pack up the gifts she was bringing. I helped her load up her car and kissed her goodbye in the driveway. I watched her pull away as I waited for my driver to pick me up. When he dropped me off at my place, I sent him home with a big chunk of cash and the promise that I wouldn’t need him for the rest of the day so he could relax and enjoy the time with his family. He didn’t have young kids anymore but I still felt guilty for taking him away from his Christmas celebration.
My penthouse had never felt as empty as it did that afternoon.
I passed the time away with a shower and some mindless television while I kept my eye on the clock. When four o’clock finally rolled around I left the penthouse in a hurry and went down to my car. I drove out of the city limits to pick Laura up at the address she’d texted me earlier in the day.
The house I picked her up from was pale yellow and cute as hell. She came out the front door as soon as I pulled up and waved at the family that stood in the doorway saying goodbye. She got in my car with a bright cheery smile, smelling of cider and eggnog.
As she buckled her seatbelt I pulled away from the curb. “How was your afternoon with Ella and her family?”
“It was nice. Low key. Simple. Although honestly, I kind of wish I’d just spent the day with you.”
I smiled and put a hand on her knee as we drove. I wished the same thing. But this thing between us was so fresh and so unpredictable that I didn’t want her to drop all her Christmas plans just to accommodate me. It was better this way.
When we pulled up to the house Laura gasped and leaned forward to peer up at the big white colonial as I drove up the driveway. “Wow. It looks exactly the same as I remember.”
I put the car in park at the top of the drive behind Hayden’s Escape. “I know. Keith keeps it just how Mom did. Christmas lights, tree and all.”
“It’s beautiful.”
I nodded as I looked up at my mom’s house. “It is.”
She gave me a sad smile. “Christmas must be hard without her.”
She didn’t need to clarify that she was talking about my mom. I nodded. “It is. But having you here makes it easier. This year has been better than the others. Without a doubt.”
Laura reached over and grazed my cheek with her thumb. “I hope we can keep that theme going.”
“Me too.”
She patted my cheek. “Come on. They’re waiting for us. We should go inside.”
She made to get out of the car, but I caught her by the elbow. “Hold on. I have something for you before we go inside.”
She turned back to me. Her expression was adorable as her features all scrunched up in confusion. “What do you mean?”
I reached into the back seat where a present the length and width of my forearm was waiting. It was wrapped in metallic gold paper with a red velvet bow. “I know this is a bit random but I wanted you to have these.”
“Max�
�I didn’t get you anything.”
“No, it’s not really about Christmas. I would have bought you these whether it was Christmas or not. Just open it.”
Laura looked from my eyes to the present in her hands. Slowly, she pulled the bow apart and began peeling open the paper. Once the gold wrapping was off a navy blue box with silver lettering was revealed. She was confused when she lifted the lid and saw a pair of silver scissors sitting upon a white silk underlay.
She looked up at me. “They’re beautiful, Max. But I don’t think I understand.”
I chuckled. “I know. It’s odd. But I got them for your ribbon cutting ceremony.”
“My what?”
“Your ribbon cutting ceremony. You know. For when you open the children’s home. You can’t just use ordinary old scissors for something as amazing as that. You have to do the moment justice. When I saw these I knew they had to be yours.”
Laura shook her head slowly and ran her fingers over the blades of the scissors. When she looked up at me her eyes were glistening with tears. “Thank you.”
I blinked. “Oh Lord, please don’t cry.”
She laughed and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry. This is just really sweet. I’m speechless, Max. Thank you.”
“I’m glad you like them.”
“I love them,” she said, as she leaned across the console to give me a kiss. “Now let’s go see your family.”
Laura got out of the car and I hurried to follow as she cut across the driveway and made her way along the path at the front of the house. We stepped up on the front step and I knocked on the door.
Seconds later it was opened by Catherine, who threw her arms around Laura the minute she laid eyes on us. Then she came and hugged me tightly, too.
“Merry Christmas, Catherine,” I said, squeezing her firmly.
“Come in,” she said, stepping back inside the house and motioning for us to come in. Laura stepped in first and took off her shoes. I came in after her and closed the door behind me. As I stepped out of my boots Catherine took Laura by the hand and pulled her down the hall to the kitchen.
Brand New Man Page 20