A Santini Christmas (10 page)

It had been several hours like this. They had gotten up and made eggs then ended back in bed making love again. There was one thing that was bugging him though.

As if reading his thoughts, she said, “I’m not sure I can talk about it.”

He knew she wasn’t speaking of the night before.

“
It’s up to you.”

There was a part of him that completely understood. He had to wait for her to tell him, if ever. She rose up, resting her weight on her elbow.

“
It is the defining moment of my life. Until now.”

He smiled. “I like hearing that.”

“
You don’t understand. I’ve tried this before and had not been able to follow through. Now though…to be able to share this has been amazing. I thought I might be frigid. When it happened…”

She swallowed and he knew she was trying to gain the courage to tell him about it. He had to be patient.

“
He blamed me. Said I had led him on, that I was the one who was at fault.”

He lifted his hand to touch her face. She shook her head.

“
No, let me say this. He said it was me who had the problem. I was probably one of those girls who didn’t enjoy sex. When I had the problems with guys later…well, even though I understand why he said it, I was worried.”

Rage was too simple a word for what he was feeling. “Are you going to tell me his name?”

She snorted. “No. I don’t want to be responsible for making you go to jail.”

He looked up at her. His surprise must have shown on his face.

“
I know you better than you think I do, Stewart. Better than I thought I did.”

He leaned up and kissed her. When he pulled back, she smiled, her eyes barely open. “And you know why he doesn’t matter tonight? Because of you. You showed me it wasn’t me…that it wasn’t something I did to lead him on. No, this was all his warped view. And I’m not frigid!”

Satisfaction filled him. “No, you’re not.”

“
In fact,” she said, a mysterious smile curving her lips, “I think I have something I have been wanting to do to you.”

“
Is that so?”

She nodded. Then, she completely surprised him again. She lifted the sheet and started to kiss her way down his body, just as he had done to her. With each touch of her soft lips against his skin, his cock twitched. He was dangerously close to losing control when she settled between his legs.

The expression on her face was of a woman in power, enjoying her ability to take charge. He knew she needed it, needed to take control of the situation. He was going to let her continue as long as he could. Closing his eyes, he surrendered to her. Her breath danced over the tip of his cock the moment before he felt the wet warmth of her tongue. She was inexperienced, but she made up for it by teasing him.

With the flick of her tongue, she almost made him come right there and then. He had never been so undone by a woman. Joey took him fully into her mouth and he slipped his fingers through her silky hair. Closer and closer she pushed him. When she hummed, the vibrations filtered out over his body and he groaned. He’d had enough.

“
Come on up here, Joey.”

She gave him one last lick and then worked her way back up to his mouth. She kissed him, her tongue dancing against his. Then she moved to the side. He shook his head.

“
You’re in charge, right now,” he said, urging her on top of him. He positioned her just right. He could feel the damp heat of her arousal. “Take me in.”

Her eyes widened, then she smiled. Slowly, she lifted up. After taking his cock into her hand, she eased herself down on him. Her rhythm was slow, and it was driving him insane. He didn’t interfere, but he did urge her on. Sliding his hand between her legs, he massaged her clit. She shuddered and moaned. Damn, he didn’t think he had ever seen anything as beautiful as Joey at that moment. Her hair was a tangled mass of silk as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

“
Yes,” she whispered, in the next instant she came. Her body shuddered with her orgasm. Even in the throes of pleasure, she looked down at him and said, “Stew.”

Just the sound of his name on her lips was enough. He thrust up into her one more time and also came. She collapsed on him moments later, the only sounds in the small apartment was their heavy breathing and the rain still battering the window.

Papa watched her sleep. It wasn’t easy to get a good angle. Her bed was tiny and she was a snuggler. It stunned him to realize he was probably one of the few who knew it.

He wanted to wake her up, but he waited. Her sleep the night before hadn’t been all that restful. As if she felt his study, she stirred awake.

Her eyes fluttered, then opened. She smiled up at him. It was the sweetest thing he had ever seen.

“
Morning.”

He smiled. “Good morning to you.”

She glanced over at the clock. “Thank God I don’t have to work at the art supply store today.”

Joey burrowed closer, her head right over his heart. Right then, he knew without a doubt he would love her until the day he died.

“
So, Sam told me the bar is closed on the twenty-sixth and seventh. How about driving up to DC to meet my folks?”

She stilled, then looked up at him. “Why would I do that?”

“
I just thought we would…you know.”

Now, something close to panic shifted over her face. “Meet the folks?”

“
Yeah. They’ll want to meet you.”

She sat up, unfortunately pulling the sheet up to shield her breasts from his view.

“
Why on Earth would they want to do that?”

“
Well, I would think if they knew we were serious, they would want to meet you.”

“
Serious
?” she screeched as she scrambled out of bed.

“
Yes.” He was getting mad now. She was acting like he was asking for her first born.

“
We just met.”

“
We haven’t just met. We’ve known each other for a month.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know you.”

“
What?”

“
I…I barely know you.”

“
But you slept with me?” He didn’t mean to shout at her. She seemed to be pressing some buttons he didn’t realize he had.

“
I’ve slept with a lot of men.”

“
You have not.”

“
I have too.”

He knew she was lying but arguing wasn’t going to get him anywhere. “Never mind. We’ll talk about it later.”

She opened her mouth, but he gave her a warning look. He pulled on his pants, found his shirt and tugged it on. He barely had his shoes on as he stomped out the door and down the stairs. It was Christmas Eve,
dammi
t, and he didn’t know where he was going. Without a thought, he made his way back to his apartment. It might be noon, but it was close enough to a holiday to start drinking.

Joey wasn’t asleep when the loud banging started on her door. She wasn’t in the mood for another drunk to have lost their way. It happened on holidays a lot. Too drunk to make it back to the car, they wandered the streets. She really needed to move.

“
Joey Antonio, why don’t I know your name?”

Joey knew the voice, but not the drunken tone. It was three on Christmas morning. Of course, she didn’t know if she wanted to deal with a drunk Marine either.

“
Joey,” Sam said through the door. His voice was pleading. “Open up.”

She grabbed her robe, tugging it on as she made her way to the door. Opening it, she found Sam staggering under the weight of Stewart.

“
What happened?” she asked.

“
He showed up at our house a while ago demanding to know your name. Thelma said he was your mess.”

Stewart smiled at her. “Hey, Joey.”

She would not be charmed, even if he did look cute in a drunken kind of way. His eyes were barely opened and the lopsided smile he was throwing her way only added to the charm.

“
You sure do look pretty. That robe makes your hair bright like the sun. You have the prettiest hair. Doesn’t she have the prettiest hair, Sam?”

He ruined the compliment, by burping. She rolled her eyes. “Come on.”

They made it to the bed, almost dropping him a couple of times. The man was built like a freaking Mac truck.

He fell on the bed. He laughed, then frowned. “I need to know your name.”

He burped again and passed out.

She sighed pressing her fingers against her temples. “I’m sorry about this Sam.”

“
You should be. No Santini gets this drunk. With those men, it’s all about control.”

His admonition hurt. He was like a second father to her and knowing she let him down really made her feel bad. “I don’t think he’s drinking because of me.”

Sam settled his hands on his hips. “Don’t you give me that, young lady. He shows up at our house begging Thelma to tell him your real name. Then, he goes on and on about spending the night here, you getting attacked…why didn’t you say anything when you came in today?”

She tried to follow Sam’s train of thought but it wasn’t easy.

“
I—I…” She couldn’t come up with an excuse.

“
Thelma was hurt you didn’t talk to her about it.”

“
Stewart was here.”

And it was as simple as that. She realized in that instant, having him there had not been humiliating. It had been the best thing that could have happened. And the morning of lovemaking and their talks had been just what she needed.

Dammit. He was what she needed. Everything she needed. She didn’t want to have a casual affair with the man. She wanted forever. With babies and stuff.

“
Oh, no.” She was in love with him.

She looked at the drunken mess on her bed.

Sam nodded. “He’s going to feel like shit in the morning.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Thelma said dinner’s at two.”

He started to shuffle away.

“
Sam.”

He turned to face her. She didn’t know what she would have done if she hadn’t found Sam and Thelma. They had lifted her up and given her the family she needed to help her heal. It was as if they understood her in a way that her family never would. She loved her parents. They were dedicated to their causes and were disappointed when she didn’t want to join them. They never comprehended her needs or her desire for art.

“
You know I love you and Thelma, right?”

He smiled. “And we love you. Why do you think Thelma picked you out for the drunken idiot? He loves you too. He might not say it, but no man gets that drunk over a woman he just sort of likes. Not a Santini.”

She smiled, her heart filling with joy. “Merry Christmas, Sam.”

“
Merry Christmas, Josephina.”

The door shut behind him and she turned to face the man in her bed. He took up most of it.

It was hard to believe that just a month ago, she had never heard the name Santini or cared about this man. He was a pain in her rear end. Busting into her life, telling her he wanted a serious relationship. Hell, he wanted her to meet his parents. That would lead to meeting her parents, who were none too happy with her living the way she was.

She sighed and sat down on the kitchen chair. There was no doubt about it; the man was going to drive her insane.

Papa woke up to explosions. At least it sounded that way to him. He jolted up, opening his eyes, then slamming them shut again.