One Snowy Night Before Christmas (10 page)

Amy squealed a “yippee” as Jessie turned to retrieve their
snow boots from the tile square in front of the door.

“Just give a holler if you need some help,” she told Tom.
She helped Amy into her boots and stepped into her own. Before going through
the patio door, she stopped, watching him as he turned on the oven and pulled a
baking pan from the drawer below it.

He glanced over and grinned. “Do you like your prime rib
medium rare?”

“That sounds perfect.” Just having him here made all those
lonely Christmases seem distant, almost forgotten. “Thanks, Tom.”

* * *

Tom finished the dishes while Jessie and Amy watched an old
animated feature of
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
in the living room.

“I left the roast pan soaking,” he said. He lowered his
voice to a whisper as he saw Amy was asleep, leaned up against Jessie.

“Why don’t you take her upstairs?” She eased Amy off,
helping him scoop her up. Thankfully tonight she was already dressed in
Jessie’s borrowed t-shirt and a pair of fluffy socks. He picked her up in a
bundle with the crocheted afghan she’d snuggled under.

Jessie shut off the television and followed him upstairs.
She stood in the doorway as he slipped Amy into bed. He didn’t know what she’d
meant exactly by asking him to stay, and while a great part of him hoped she’d
meant “stay
with me
,” the logical part of his brain wouldn’t let him get
his hopes up. She was a lonely woman who’d suffered an emotional blow
tonight—it would only make sense she didn’t want to rattle around an empty
apartment stewing over what had happened. He wasn’t just a horny, hard-up
lawyer—he could be a friend to her if that was what she needed.

He set Amy on the far side of the bed, leaving room for
himself on the other side, and covered her with the blankets.

Jessie lingered near the door, gilded by the light in the
hall.

She wore those clingy black leggings again, showing off legs
so long and shapely they should be illegal. A fuzzy gray sweater with a low
v-neck dipped between full breasts, slightly shifted to reveal the gentle slope
of one curve as she leaned against the door jamb. The sweater looked well-worn
and nappy with age, clinging deliciously to every curve. It was short, as
though shrunken through years of washing, ending neatly at her waistline and
allowing him an unobstructed view of her firm little behind.

He rounded the bed. “I’ll just finish that last pan—”

She caught him as he tried to step past, placing her hands
lightly on his shoulders. “Leave it.” She rose on her toes and kissed him, her
lips soft and hesitant.

He placed his hands at her waist as glorious male triumph
raced through his veins. This gorgeous young woman kissed him! But that little
voice in his ear reminded him she was wounded, lonely, and vulnerable. It would
be too easy to take advantage.

He leaned away, gently pushing those sweet hips. The void
between them felt like a canyon.

“Jessie, are you sure?”

She shifted and pushed her body closer again. “I know you
can’t give me anything more than tonight. That’s okay.” Her voice dropped into
a throaty whisper. “Let’s just be together for this one night. I want to feel
you. It’s been a long time since anybody’s loved me.”

It was logic he could live with. He hauled her close and
took her mouth, hungrily this time, showing her he could give her what she
wanted, and what she needed. As much or as little as she could take.

She met his kiss and returned it just as fiercely, letting
him ease her against the wall and pin her there. He slipped his hands lower,
gripping those firm buttocks. He pulled her against the aching hardness tenting
the front of his pants, and Jessie wrapped her legs around his waist. He
carried her into her bedroom and elbowed the door shut behind them.

The light of the moon cast the room in silver planes. He
toppled onto her bed, landing on top of her with her legs still wrapped around
him. Had it not been for their clothes, he would have been inside her and
halfway to release before the mattress recoiled.

He stopped kissing her only to stroke his hand over the
fiery silk pooled beneath her head. He’d wanted to touch her hair since he’d
first seen her. It proved to be as soft and luxuriant as he’d imagined.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered, staring down into
green eyes as deep as emeralds.

And thank you, Officer Mike, for being the stupidest man on
earth
.

“Touch me, Tom. Touch me everywhere.”

“Gladly.” He kissed her again, thrusting his hips against
her. He slipped his hands under the small of her back and lifted her off the
mattress as he eased them further onto the bed.

He rose onto his elbows and slipped his thumbs under the
edge of her sweater. She lifted her arms above her head as he pulled it up and
over, revealing a black lace bra and smooth, creamy skin. Tiny freckles looked
like a dusting of cinnamon between her breasts. He pressed his lips to the side
of one smooth swell, inhaling her flowery scent before releasing the front
clasp to her bra. It snapped open and fell away, presenting him with the most
beautiful breasts he’d ever seen.

Her nipples hardened in the cool air—tiny, firm, and rosy
pink. He closed his mouth over one and suckled, enjoying the way she gasped and
arched her back, combing her fingers through his hair.

His own clothes suddenly felt binding. He stood up only long
enough to tear the sweatshirt over his head and toss it aside.

Jessie sat up and slid to the edge of the bed. She looked up
at him as she slipped her hands around his waist. A teasing grin found her
lips.

“You have an incredible body,” she whispered, running her
fingers over the hard ridges of his stomach.

Thank you, Bowflex
.

“I work out,” he replied simply. The months and months of
pain that had gone into his abs was one hundred percent worth it for this
single, magnificent moment.

Her fingers slid around his sides and under the elastic
waistband of the sweat pants. That adorably wicked grin slipped back to her
lips as she gently pushed down. His erection sprang free, tall and throbbing
with the need to be inside her.

She leaned forward and kissed the length of his shaft,
letting her eyes drift shut. He dragged in a shallow breath with far too little
oxygen and suddenly couldn’t draw another. Her tongue slipped out and trailed
up the underside of his turgid length, damn near killing him.

“Oh God, Jessie.”

Dragging the bedside table open, she rifled through the contents
until she found a condom.

Its foil wrapper flashed in the low light. “You want me to…”
She looked up at him with wide eyes.

Tom nodded. He somehow managed the single word response.
“Yeah.”

With a firm but cautious grip, she sheathed him. He gripped
her forearms and hauled her to her feet. He nudged her knit pants over her hips
and let them drop to her ankles. Still holding his gaze, she stepped out of
them.

Jessie jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around him.

Still cradling her against him, he braced himself with one
hand and eased them down onto the mattress.

He plunged inside her and filled her to the hilt in one
fierce thrust.  Jessie threw back her head. “Oh, yes!”

Skin rubbed against skin with a glorious explosion of
sensation. Jessie tightened her arms around his neck and pulled him down, onto
her and into her, the heat of her body a glorious burn that branded his
awareness. She was silky smooth, firm and soft in all the right places. Like a
Viking intent on conquering he drove into her, and she opened her mouth to his
ravaging kiss as eagerly and deeply as she let him delve into her body.

He thrust into her again and again, deeper and harder each
time, until she broke from his kiss to gasp out his name. “Yes, yes!”

They rode the pleasure together, seeking and giving, begging
and demanding from each other. Tom exploded so intensely that for a long moment
of rapture he was nearly blinded.

“My God,” she breathed out in a rush.

As he came back to earth there was only her scent, the plush
feel of her sumptuous body, and the heavy rise and fall of her chest beneath
him. The hot, wet grip of her body gloving him. He turned his head and kissed
the velvety skin behind her ear.

“Merry Christmas,” she told him.

He laughed, and she laughed with him.

“Are you tired?”

He lifted his head. “No way.”

“Let’s get under the covers.”

That was the best suggestion he’d heard all month.

* * *

He wasn’t sure what time it was when he awoke, but the moon
had traveled out of view of the window and the house was cold.

They’d crawled under the plush blankets and she’d straddled
him, teasing him with fleeting, darting kisses, her breasts dangling above his
chest, her hardened nipples brushing over his skin. It had been the perfect
position for him to touch every part of her. He slid his hands over her,
all
over her, memorizing every inch of her body. This might be his only chance, and
he wouldn’t let himself forget a single second of this encounter.

He could be on his way back to Portland in mere hours. It
seemed like a punishment now; he wanted nothing more than to spend every night
in the arms of this delectable, enchanting woman.

But Jessie had made it clear she only wanted this one night
from him.

It must have been all the time he’d spent alone that made
this superhuman erection possible. He’d gone on two dates in the last four
years, but neither of them had ended with a sexual encounter. Jessie was his
first since Amy’s mother.

God, had it really been that long? The idea that he could be
back in his car and on the road before the sun set again was too bleak to think
about.

He spooned up beside her, inhaling the clean, strawberry
scent of her hair. Jessie rolled onto her side and slid into his arms. She
rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his chest.

“I don’t do this, you know.”

He knew that. She’d been as hungry as he was.

“Pick up strangers and bring them home.”

“Am I a stranger?”

She laughed. “Not anymore, you’re not.”

He liked the sound of that.

She nestled more comfortably around him. “What’s your
favorite color?” She tilted her head up and met his eyes.

“Green.” He smoothed a fiery lock from her brow. “No, red.”
He traced the line of her soft cheek with one finger. “What about you?”

She smiled. “Definitely blue.”

“Boston, or Manhattan?”

“The cities or the chowder?”

“Both.” He fingered a lock of her hair, still amazed by how
silky it felt.

Her smile turned wicked. “Depends on my mood.”

“Ah, a woman who likes variety. Where have you been all my
life?”

She sighed and leaned her head back on his shoulder. “Right
here, waiting for you.”

* * *

Jessie slept lightly, constantly aware of Tom lying beside
her. She’d been alone for so long, it was a startling change to have someone
with her. Startling and magnificent. Her body tingled, wonderfully spent.

She came fully awake, knowing it was near dawn. Morning
would come too soon. She shifted and Tom came awake too. Those brilliant blue
eyes opened dreamily, then crinkled as he smiled.

“Hey.”

She smiled back. “Hi.”

“What time is it?”

She glanced past him to the clock on the bedside table.
“Four-thirty.”

He took a long, slow breath. “I should go back to Amy so she
doesn’t get scared if she wakes up and I’m not there.”

She nodded. Yes, he should. But she wasn’t ready to part
with the warm body under her palm.

“Not yet.” She reached into the drawer for a condom and then
rolled backwards, urging him with her. She slid her hand over his hip and
across his thigh. She cupped him, found him ready for her.

“You’re good for the ego,” he told her.

“You’ve done wonders for mine, too.”

She did not expect the look of surprise he gave her, and his
expression made her smile. “What?”

“That’s almost impossible to believe. You’re smokin’ hot.
I’m a nerdy pencil pusher.”

Now she laughed. “You’re a hot-shot lawyer. I’m a tow truck
driver.”

“Jobs can change. Beauty is forever.”

“Beauty fades.
Brains
are forever,” she argued
lightly.

“Then it’s agreed. We’re both out of each other’s league.”

“I object.”

“Overruled.” He kissed her. She melted all the way to her toes.

She dragged her nails up his arm. “Stay with me for a
while.”

“No argument there.”

In a fluid, beautifully slow movement almost like a flower
opening in the sun, she parted her legs and he slid between. His broad chest
covered hers. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close. He rose
on her slowly and gently, taking intimate possession of her body.

“You feel good.”

He chuckled, a deep rumble in her ear. “You feel pretty good
yourself.”

She caressed his back. “Mmm, yes. Just like this.”

He settled next to her on the pillow. She turned her head
and pressed her lips to his. It was like a dream, a wonderful, delightful dream
of magical sensations. The idea alone that she shared her body with this
man—that he was inside her, the most intimate parts of their bodies linked—was
enough to send her reeling toward climax.

He squeezed her breast with his fingers splayed wide, then
drew them across her skin until he lightly pinched her nipple.

“You have beautiful breasts.”

She shifted her hips underneath him, enjoying the way her
muscles felt the thickness of him. “And you have a beautiful cock.”

She rocked her hips again, earning a zing of pleasure when
his thickness pressed and relented. He uttered a tiny groan of pleasure in
response.