Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 21003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
“About four months. I bought it in August.”
“Do you like Mexican food?”
“Love it. It’s another reason I refuse to move from Chicago.”
“I miss the city sometimes, but it pays to have a house that’s away from all the noise.”
“Yes, the quiet is wonderful. That’s why my sister loves it.”
“How is your sister? I saw her the other day, but I haven’t seen her since.”
“Oh, she’s out of town. She went to go see our father and his wife for the holidays.”
“So you did all that decorating for nothing?”
“Oh, no. She’ll be back, but it’s not for nothing. I got to meet the pretty snow angel who smells like cinnamon.”
“Thank you. Did you get any of my cookies?”
“I’m afraid I missed out,” I say after swallowing my bite of food.
“You didn’t want them because they were Christmas cookies, did you?”
“No, sweetheart. I swear. I just didn’t get any because I was so anxious to come over here that I’d forgotten about them, and then you tossed me on my rear and I never went back to my sister’s house. I went home to plan.”
“Oh.” I take her hand in mine.
“I’m going to be straightforward with you because that’s just who I am. There are no fucking games because I don’t play that shit. I run a multi-billion-dollar empire. I work hard, and that’s probably going to be our biggest obstacle—that I’m already trying to fix—but I know that you think that we’re not a good match because of one holiday.”
“It happens to be my favorite holiday. I have so many wonderful memories.”
“And I have one of the worst.” I sigh and take a drink of my pop and then wipe my mouth with the napkin. “Look, I will forever have an ache in my heart this time of year, but I’m learning that maybe there are reasons to enjoy it.”
“Will you tell me what happened?”
“I’m surprised my sister didn’t tell you already,” I chuckle out a scoff.
“She left that out.”
“My mother died in a car accident on her way Christmas shopping.”
She gasps so loud, her hand falling to her stomach and one hand flying to her mouth. She shakes her head slowly, voice soft. “I’m sorry.”
I pull her hands away from her body and take them in mine. “I know that it’s not everyone’s fault, and as you can see, my sister still loves the holiday. I’m sure that she sees it as a way to help heal herself with the good memories, but for me it hasn’t always been easy.”
“I’m so sorry, Parker. That is difficult for anybody.” I swallow hard. “That wasn’t the worst of it. She was out buying a present for a woman she thought was her friend; the same woman who was banging my father.”
“Oh my God.”
“That son of a bitch betrayed the most wonderful woman in the world, and she died trying to spread love and kindness to two people who didn’t deserve it.”
She throws her arms around me, and through her sobs, she says, “I can take everything down if you want me to.”
I hook my hands under her arms and pull her away to look into her eyes. “Oh, God, no. Please don’t. I like seeing you smile. Besides, I never felt more in the Christmas spirit until I met you.”
“You don’t have to pretend for me.”
I wipe her tears. As sad as I am for my mother, I’ve shed enough tears. The only thing I have left is my anger, and suddenly that doesn’t seem as strong with her here in my arms. “I’m not.” Her lips brush mine. I lightly caress the nape of her neck and deepen our kiss before pulling back to look into her eyes.
“We should stop,” I say, trying to gain control of myself.
“Why? Don’t you want me?”
“I want you, Caroline. I want you so damn bad that I can’t think straight, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make you mine. I’ll give you all the Christmas cheer you want.”
“We’ll make a Christmas compromise.”
“Fair.”
“But for now, I want you to let me unwrap the other delivery that came today.”
“I haven’t come just yet,” I growl, pinning her down onto the sofa.
“Please make us both come,” she begs against my lips. I hope the fuck I can. For the past week, I’ve fantasized about taking her on her holiday floor, wanting to worship her on Santa’s playground, hoping to tear her apart and hear her scream my name as I made her orgasm over and over.
I slink down her body, smiling as I run my hands over her, teasing her ever so lightly. She has way too many clothes on for my liking, but I’ll remedy that in just a moment.
I need her naked and bared to me. I grab her top and swiftly lift it over her head, revealing her lush tits to my hungry mouth. I drop my head and run my tongue along her ample breasts, sucking on her hard nipple until she’s whimpering. Her hands spear into my hair, pressing my face onto her chest. I move my head to the other and give it attention while my hand squeezes the one I just abandoned. “Damn, these are so perfect, baby.” I give them some more attention before running my lips along her chest, up to her throat, and to her pretty lips.