Christmas Showdown (9 page)

He could see her internal struggle for
control. Something he wished she would simply let go of. But he
stopped, against his body’s better judgment to take her. Now.

With all the strength he had left, he
released her. “Darlin’, what is it?”

She inhaled on a shudder, taking choppy
breaths. “It’s been so long.”

“Since?”

“This. Sex.”

Curiosity got the better of him. “How
long?”

More color dotted her cheeks. “You were the
last time.”

“Fuck, that’s hot.” So hot that blood slammed
into his groin, creating a sweet, sweet ache. He felt like throwing
back his head and roaring.

Her brows dipped. “What?”

“Knowing that another man hasn’t touched you.
Well—” How did he explain how much it thrilled him? How it
triggered his possessiveness for her? Made him want to beat his
chest like some damn Neanderthal.

Mine
, rolled through his head.

She snorted, tugging her bra up and her shirt
down. “I’m glad my abstinence does it for you.”

As she righted her clothing, he realized he’d
ruined the chance to have her in his arms tonight.

“No. That’s not it at all.” Trey pulled her
back into his arms. “It’s just…” He swallowed the knot in his
throat before he continued. “Damn it, Kelly. It’s this thing
between us. In Denver. Now here.” He placed his forehead against
hers. He wasn’t good at sharing his feelings. Hell. He wasn’t even
sure what they really were. But there was one thing he did know.
“Darlin’, I want you.”

The fluttery sensation in her stomach jumped.
Was it possible Trey felt the same connection she did? Kelly
wouldn’t even attempt to deny a large part of the attraction was
sexual, but there was something else, something that went deeper
than the union of their bodies. Something she felt in her heart and
soul that had kept Trey on her mind when time and miles had
separated them. Even when she had cursed him for the circumstances
she found herself in, she had ended up longing for what could have
been between them.

Should she listen to her head or grab on with
both hands to what he offered? Not only a father for TJ, but maybe
the love she had dreamed of. Or was this just another dream—a
fantasy?

“What if this thing between us doesn’t work
out? What about TJ?”

“And what if it does, Kelly? Can you walk
away without giving us a chance? Not only for TJ, but for us?”

Damn him for laying the monkey on her
back.

Kelly pondered for only a moment, knowing her
answer was no. She couldn’t pass up the opportunity for TJ to have
a real family—both his mother and father. And she didn’t want to
let this man go.

He stared into her eyes expectantly, waiting
for a response.

“No,” she said softy. “I’ll try for TJ’s
sake.”

Trey flinched as if she’d slapped him, his
arms falling from around her. “I won’t share my bed with a woman
out of obligation. We both deserve more than that.” Without another
word he walked away, taking his place on the floor and returning to
wrapping presents.

“Trey?”

His intense glare rose, his jaw seesawing.
“What?”

“That’s not exactly what I meant. It’s just—”
Kelly pinched her lips together before starting over again. “You
have to understand—” She hesitated, once more searching for the
right words. “Every move, every decision I make affects TJ. Right
now you and I have an amiable relationship, but if we become
intimate and things don’t work out, what will it mean for our son?
It doesn’t matter what I want or desire.”

Laying down his scissors, he bent a knee,
placing his arm across it. “What
do
you want, Kelly? Not for
TJ, but for yourself?”

“You,” she whispered. “From the first time I
laid eyes on you.” The truth tumbled from her mouth before she
could censor her words.

Pupils dilating, the heat in his eyes
softened into a sultry gaze that played cat and mouse with her
emotions. Her heart rate and breathing quickened. Slowly he got to
his feet. For the briefest of moments, she felt the urgency to run,
not sure whether into his arms or from him. As he closed the
distance between them, she swallowed hard. It made her
self-conscious, but once their eyes met she couldn’t look away.

“C’mere.” He stabbed his fingers through her
hair to cup the nape of her neck and pulled her so close their
bodies touched chest to chest and hips to hips.

Kelly pressed her palms against his chest.
“Tell me that everything will be okay?”

He brought her lips nearer to his so they
lightly touched. “Darlin, it will be more than okay.”

When his mouth slanted over hers, Kelly cried
out at his hunger—a kiss so blatantly hot and consuming it shook
her down to the root of her soul. A rumble rattled in his chest,
rising to a low hum as he pressed through the seam of her lips and
deepened the caress.

This time when his hands slid beneath her
shirt, he pushed the material up in a hurried manner, forcing her
arms up as he jerked it over her head. When the shirt fell to the
ground, his palms smoothed over her bare flesh until she felt the
clasp of her bra release. Then he guided the scrap of cotton down
her arms until she stood before him topless.

His nostrils flared. “They’re even prettier
than I remember.” He cradled the heavy globes in his hands.
“Fuller, more luscious. Even your nipples.”

Trey gliding his thumbs over the taut peaks
sent shards of electricity through them, splintering through her
swollen breasts. She breathed in the shiver that raced up her
back.

“Naked. All of you.” His deep, sexy voice
laden with lust sent goose bumps across her skin.

Before she changed her mind again, she
reached for the button of her jeans and wedged it free, her zipper
following. Gaze locked on his, she pushed her pants over her hips,
taking her panties with them, working them down her legs and
stepping out of them. His eyes darkened. Then he swept his arm
behind the back of her knees, raising her and cradling her against
his chest. Without speaking, he carried her to his bedroom, setting
her gently on the big bed before he returned to lock the door.

Pivoting, he stood unmoving and stared at her
with such intensity she felt the burn. “I’ve dreamt of you lying
here—in my bed. Your red hair feathered against my pillow.”

And she had dreamt of this moment too.

As he approached, a tightening quaked low in
her belly. Moisture dampened her thighs, making her slick with
need. It had been so long. With each step that brought him closer,
her body reacted, warming and tensing, waiting for that moment they
would join. Erasing the last two years as if they’d never
existed.

Before he reached the bed he stripped his
shirt off, revealing large biceps, sculpted shoulders, and muscular
abs that rippled down into the waistband of his jeans. His pants
hung low and her pulse pounded as his skillful fingers unfastened
them, revealing a raging erection, long and thick, narrow hips, and
strong thighs.

The man was perfection.

“Bend your knees and spread your legs.”

His command made her gasp. Another flood of
desire released between her now trembling legs. But she hesitated,
feeling self-conscious.

“C’mon, darlin’, I want to see all of
you.”

Easing her knees up, she slowly parted
them.

Staring, Trey growled. The low rumbling sent
chills up her spine. But when he climbed up on the bed, positioning
his head between her thighs, a whimper rose in her throat.

“Trey?”

“Shhh, darlin’. I need to taste you.”

As he kept her gaze trapped with his, he
smoothed his warm palms up her rib cage, seeking her firm, rounded
breasts, tweaking her nipples before returning down her trembling
stomach. When his hands closed in on her hips, he lowered his head
and pressed his mouth against swollen folds. The first delicious
swipe of his tongue along her slit forced her knees wider and her
hips off the bed.

“Easy, baby.” He chuckled, the vibration of
his laugh shimmering across her sensitized flesh.

When his warm breath brushed over her wet
sheath, her pussy flexed, a blatant plea for more. A thick finger
entered her slowly and pulled back as his tongue made another path.
Then he repeated the action, teasing her with a slow in-and-out
rhythm that wasn’t enough.

Kelly needed more. She needed him to fill her
completely.

Before she could plead for more, his tongue
circled her clit and her breath caught. He laved, nibbled and
worked the extended bud until she clutched at his head and bucked
beneath him. Then every muscle in her body clenched, tightening
into a fist. Her sex took on a pulse of its own, throbbing to the
point of bursting, a wave of heat so hot it rolled over her body
like a steam engine.

“Trey. Oh God.”

Kelly lurched from the bed, his grip the only
thing keeping her in place as a tremor skated over her skin
followed by another stronger one. When her legs shook and her pussy
quaked, she bore down, opening and welcoming the orgasm that
engulfed her in one big pleasurable moment too intense to remain
still or quiet. Her eyes closed as she cried out. Arching her back,
she thrashed her head side to side as wave after wave consumed
her.

All too soon the undulations died to a
whisper, leaving abrupt spasms that shuddered through her. She
released a contented sigh, gazing down her length to discover Trey
crawling up her frame like a predator on the hunt.

He gave her a feral grin. “You’re beautiful
when you come.”

“And you’re beautiful doing what you do so
well.”

Easing his hips into the cradle of her
thighs, his eyes flared with heat. “So you liked that?”

His firm erection pressed against her
tenderness and she moaned. “Oh yes.”

“You ready to wrap the rest of the
presents?”

Oh Lord, the man had to be kidding. His cock
was rock hard, inches away from entering her. The prominent veins
in his neck and arms bulged blue with blood. Kelly had yet to sate
herself on him.

Laughter met her confusion. “I’m thinking of
wrapping you and tying you into a bow so I can unveil that sweet
body of yours all over again.”

“We can do that later. Right now I need you
inside me, Trey. Please.”

“All I have is a condom.”

“It can’t happen twice. Besides, I’m not
waiting any longer.” She curved her arms around his neck, pulling
him down. Scenting her essence on his lips, she kissed him like she
had dreamt of doing for two years.

Kelly’s caress left Trey breathless. She was
everything he remembered and more. Her lips were soft, but firm and
demanding, devouring him with an unabashed hunger that exceeded the
kisses they had shared in Denver.

But nothing prepared him for the longing in
her eyes when she threw a leg over him and maneuvered him on to his
back. She slid between his thighs and then her mouth was
everywhere, touching and kissing his neck, licking down his chest
to travel lower. His gut clenched as her tongue made a wet path
along his bellybutton, dipping inside before nibbling further
downward.

That’s when he stopped breathing
altogether.

His cock twitched, a bead of pre-come oozing
from the slit. The muscles in his thighs tensed, even his ass
tightened in anticipation.

“Condom,” she murmured against his heated
flesh.

Damn. He wanted her bareback, no latex
between them, at least for this. The thrill to feel her hot mouth
moving over his dick was overpowering.

“I’m clean, darlin’.”

“Mmmm,” she groaned, “good.”

When her moist tongue swept the rim of his
erection, he hissed, moving closer as a rush of blood slammed into
his groin. She glanced up at him with a devilish glint in her
eyes.

He thrust his hips forward, slicking come
against her cheek. “Fuck me, baby, with that beautiful mouth.
Now.”

Her fingers circled his shaft, her lips
parting as her gaze remained on his. Then she closed her mouth
around him and sucked. Slow and steady and then fast and taut, she
moved up and down him, teasing and taunting him until he didn’t
know which way was up.

The need for the incredible sensation to last
shattered when she tongued the ridge right under the tip of his
penis. Air gushed from his lungs. But when her fingers began to
stroke the area right beneath his balls as her head started to bob
again, his insides exploded into a ball of flames. Fire licked
across his cock with each stroke.

“Kelly. Stop.” Trey shuddered, clenching his
butt cheeks to subdue his rising climax. When he could breathe
again, he pulled her up his body. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Never.” Kelly giggled as he rolled her over
and slipped atop her. Her eyes grew as dark as a stormy sea when
she cupped his face. “Please, Trey.”

He loved the way his name sounded on her
lips.

“Make love to me,” she whispered.

Never taking his gaze off hers, he blindly
reached in the top drawer of his nightstand and extracted a condom.
Tearing open the wrapper, he donned the latex before settling his
hips back between her thighs.

“Wrap your legs around me.” When she did, he
placed the head of his cock at her entrance and thrust home.

Buried deep inside her, he didn’t
move—couldn’t. Her hot, tight sheath was amazing, even through the
thin barrier of the condom. For a moment all he could do was savor
the rightness of them being together once again.

“God,” she gasped. “I missed this.” Her silky
hands mapped his body, running both palms down his back, his ass,
and his thighs. “Missed you.” She tipped her chin to press her lips
to his.

Her mouth was warm and wet, lulling him into
a state of pleasure he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. He
couldn’t get enough of her, deepening the caress. As their embraces
grew more ardent, Kelly’s touch became more demanding, her
fingernails leaving trails of sparks in their wake. He moaned. His
body ached with a need too large to contain and he began to rock
against her.