Mistletoe & Hollywood (14 page)

PER EVAN’S INSTRUCTIONS,
which I was more than happy to take after two weeks away from him, I packed mostly warm clothes and a few of the naughty little numbers he liked best. I was completely intrigued. Part of me thought maybe we’d be headed to Desire. I wasn’t opposed to going back there someday, but I didn’t want to share Evan with the eyes of other women at the moment. I wanted him all to myself this Christmas.

We loaded up the car with my bags, the gifts I’d bought him, and a little cooler of snacks. When he suggested the cooler, I eyed him skeptically. He didn’t mention another word about where we were headed to or how long it would take. He simply said we’d be there until New Year’s and that everything had been taken care of. Though Evan had taught me a lot about letting go and freeing myself by not agonizing over the details in life, I still struggled with anxiety of the unknown. But Evan always quelled the stress in me somehow, so I took a deep breath and tried not to zero in on the GPS on his dash. He reached across the center console and rested his hand on my knee before pulling on to the street.

“Know any road games? We’ve got about five hours,” he said nonchalantly.

I gaped at him and watched him break into a laugh. “Five hours?!”

“At least I suggested road games first and not road head,” Evan retorted, licking his lips.

I shoved his shoulder, shaking my head. “Shut the fuck up, Weston.”

He glanced over at me while stopped at a red light, sincerity showing through from his tempting stare. “Missed you,” he said softly.

Sighing, I leaned over the console and put my head against his shoulder, wanting nothing more than to be as close to him as possible. “Love you,” I whispered.

THE SNOW WAS
blowing in such thick blankets across the darkened road I almost missed the turn into the long driveway. Our long driveway. Dani had already smacked me around for tricking her into believing I wasn’t going to make it out for our Christmas break together in time. I knew she’d absolutely lose it when she found out that I’d bought her a house for Christmas.

She sniffed in the passenger seat and I glanced over in time to see her wake up with a sleepy smile. Her arms stretched out in front of her and she glanced around at the evergreen trees lining the driveway, which was dusted with snow despite the fact I’d paid someone to come out and clear it that morning. I smiled at the notion of being snowed in with Danielle in our new home. Maybe it would keep us from coming back to reality for a few more days.

“You’re slowing down,” she remarked, sitting up a little straighter and trying to see ahead through the heavy flakes caught in the beams of my headlights.

I snorted a laugh and shook my head. “Yeah, Sassy, we’re here.”

As if Mother Nature knew my girl needed to see where we were headed to smother the flames of worry that often ravaged her, the snow let up just as we approached the massive home. Her eyes grew wide and she shot me a look.

“
This
is where we’re staying?” she asked, a touch of giddiness behind her incredulous question.

Flipping the visor down, I pressed the garage door opener, lifting one of the three doors, and she let out a squeal.

“Weston, you are something else.” She laughed.

I parked the car and let Fifi out of the backseat before I opened Danielle’s door. She was smirking at me and shaking her head, probably thinking I was crazy. She had no idea.

“Let’s go in the front door. That way you get the full effect,” I said, taking her hand. Leading her to the bright red double front door of the ivory mansion, I felt my guts pitch. Holy shit, what the fuck was I about to do? What if she took off running? I knew damn well that what I’d done had been impulsive, but the woman made me too happy. I couldn’t help from rushing things with her. I craved our life together.

When I slid the key in the lock and opened the doors for her, I heard her gasp. Fifi squeezed past my legs and started sniffing her way through the house. Danielle stepped inside hesitantly and craned her head to stare up at the grand staircase to the right before she spun around to me. Her smile grew and my breath hitched at the sight. She took a step further inside and I saw her sparkling eyes move over the immaculate hardwood floors and down the expansive hallway that led to the living room. I was anxious to see it all again too. Harrison had hired an interior designer to decorate and furnish the place and since I’d seen the bill, I was sure it was all pretty plush.

“Why don’t you go look around and I’ll bring the bags in?” I offered.

“Okay,” she replied, still grinning wildly. Fifi padded into the foyer from wherever she’d just roamed and sidled up next to Dani. Scratching the fur between her ears, Danielle sighed. “Come on, pup, let’s go explore.”

A half-grin pulled at my mouth and I headed back out to the car to fetch our luggage.

I HAD JUST
shut the dresser drawer full of Danielle’s things I’d unpacked when she cleared her throat behind me. When I turned and saw her leaned against the doorjamb, I almost rushed her. I wanted to toss her on the bed. I’d been away from her for too long. I breathed a laugh when she breezed past me without a word, heading to the three floor-to-ceiling windows on the far end of the master suite. I watched her stare out at Lake Ontario. The water was still, the pristine surface looking like a black pool under the moon as snow was still falling with no end in sight. I slipped my arms around her from behind and looked out at the water with her.

“I’m kind of obsessed with the kitchen. This place is gorgeous. And there’s a pool, which means you’ll probably have to bring me back in the summer,” she said quietly, letting me hear the smile in her voice. A breath fell out of me and I pressed my forehead into her shoulder as I grinned.

“It’s really beautiful in the fall,” I said with a sigh.

She hummed and then her body stiffened. “How do you know?”

“I’ve been here before.”

Her shoulders fell under my touch and I couldn’t stand keeping it from her for one more second. “Oh,” she said solemnly.

I let go of her and moved to the nightstand where I’d left the box. When I turned back to her, she was holding herself with her arms across her body.

“You okay?” I asked.

Her head wobbled and she gave me a weary smile. “I just don’t like thinking about you sharing this place with anyone but me. But it’s okay. It’s a great house, so I see why you wanted to bring me here too.”

I breathed another small laugh and moved to her smoothly. The moonlight painting her from the windows made me weak. She was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen. My hand rose to brush her cheek and her brow wrinkled at me. “Do you know how much I love you?” I asked.

Danielle’s teeth scraped at her bottom lip and she shrugged.

I rolled my eyes and smirked. “Oh, come on. You’ve got me wrapped around your little finger and you know it, Sassy,” I teased.

When she cracked a smile, I swallowed thickly and held the little red box out to her. She stared at it for a moment, breathless, and then she looked up at me again, her eyes full of uncertainty.

“I was here in the fall because there was an open house…”

She looked back at the box and I put it in her hands, coaxing her to open it, but she remained still.

“I live and breathe you, Danielle. I’d give you anything. Everything. Forever,” I said. I pulled the top off the box, revealing a key attached to a silver keychain in the shape of a
W
. She gulped.
Fuck.
“We don’t have to live here right now. It’s for whenever you want it. It can be just for little getaways, even. I know you’re not ready to leave your job and Georgia, but I just thought eventually—when you’re ready, we could—” I was desperately trying to salvage this. How had I been so utterly fucking stupid?

She traced the shiny metal
W
with her fingertip slowly, still killing me with her silence.

“It’s ours,” I whispered. “Ward and Weston.”

“You bought me—you bought
us
this house?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes dropped to the floor and I felt my stomach fall there as well. When she took a step in the direction of the door, I opened my mouth to beg her to let me start over. I’d sell it. I’d bulldoze it if she wanted. But she didn’t walk toward the door. She walked toward the bed. And she grabbed my hand before I was out of reach and led me there with her. My head clouded and I dropped the box on the nightstand. When she stopped at the side of the bed, I met her gaze.

“Dani—” I started.

Her index finger silenced me, pressing gently to my lips for a second. When her face softened, a smile curving her lips and lust rouging her cheeks, my breath came a little easier.

“I’ve missed you too much to wait any longer for this,” she whispered. She slid her arms over my shoulders, linking her hands behind my head to bring me to her lips.

The world faded away when my mouth met hers. I stopped thinking of her reaction to the key the moment she pressed her body to mine. I picked her up and put her on the bed, hastily shedding my clothes before climbing over her. Danielle grinned up at me and my enthusiasm. When she reached for the hem of her shirt, I stopped her hands.

“I’ve waited too long for this to let you undress yourself,” I said, nuzzling my face against her bare stomach as I slowly slid the fabric up her ribs.

Danielle let out a sexy little sigh and let her arms drift above her head to the pillows. I took pleasure in disrobing her as slowly as I could stand. But I wanted her. I needed her. I let my tongue taste the softness of her breasts and the sweetness of her pussy, taking my time exploring her body, getting drunk on her moans. I devoured her. Sucking at the heated core that had grown wet for me instantly made her cry out. My fingers eased inside of her, rhythmically fucking her into a state of wild abandon. She sent my name out to the ceiling as she cracked apart, devastated by bliss. But as she shook beneath me and I kissed her to let her taste herself against my lips, I felt a wicked grin creeping onto my face.

We were just getting started.

I hoisted one of her legs up against my chest and didn’t bother giving her a breather before I pushed my cock inside of her.

“Fuck,” she groaned, the guttural response making my cock twitch as I moved within her.

I could already feel her walls clenching around me, bringing me to my peak sooner than I’d hoped. But she was too fucking good. She made me feel like a teenager. The woman could blow me a kiss and make me hard. She’d lick her lips and it made me want to come. Thrusting deeper, I looked down to see her smiling at me. I wet my lips, my brow furrowing as sensation started to ripple through me uncontrollably.

I kept my eyes locked with Danielle’s, quickening my rhythm as she started to let go of the noises I found so incredibly hot. I leaned into her, one of her beautiful legs hooking around my hip, the other firmly against my chest. The closer I got to her face, the deeper my cock moved into her. A staggering breath fell from her lips. I dipped to kiss her, the feeling of her tongue in my mouth while her pussy gripped my shaft leaving me gasping.

“I love you,” I said against her mouth.

Her response was a deep grunt and her hands clutched my hair. My mouth twitched up on one side. It was a request and I knew it. It had taken her a little while to get over that fight we had—the night before she walked out on me—but she’d started wanting her hair pulled again. I threaded my hands in her hair and made a fist, just barely tugging at the strands as she lay against the pillows. Her eyes rolled back and a throaty moan rang out of her. Her pussy held onto me like a vice and I felt her shudder as she cried out again. Fuck. Her noises, the sound of her breath, the little squeaks she cracked out as she came—those were my undoing.

I pumped into her more, panting in between kissing her mouth roughly. When she finally moved her hands down my chest, scraping her nails across my stomach, I winced in pleasure and came with a groan.

Her fingers relaxed on my abs and her legs loosened against my frame. I slumped beside her, pulling her body close to me. My hands stroked her hair and I fell in love with the feeling of her breathing beside me all over again. We’d been together so many times but no matter how many times I had her, how many ways I loved her, I was always reminded of what it was like in the very beginning. I still loved her like I’d just kissed her in the courtyard. I still wanted her like she was sporting a garter belt and stockings. It was only now that we had travelled miles away from both of our initial doubts and fears that I knew for certain Danielle was mine and I was hers. We’d fallen so hard, so fast, so…stupidly, but we’d fallen for real. My dream girl was real. The fantasy I’d conjured up beside my weak mother was with me now and forever, in the home I knew in my heart we would raise our children in.