Page 45 of Yuletide Acres

I half expect her to slap me, but she grabs my collar, pulling my mouth back to hers. Fuck, yes. The kiss is brutal and beautiful, all in the same moment. A paradox of qualities, much like the woman herself.

With a grunt, I hoist her up, guiding her legs around my waist. I grind against her, desperate to sink inside her, to feel her squeeze around me. This woman’s pussy was a thing of beauty. I’ve never, not in all the women I’ve bedded, ever felt or tasted another woman as magnificent as Poppy.

My fingers knead her ass as she digs her nails into back, dragging them across my skin. “Let me inside you,” I murmur against her lips, feeling her stiffen at my request.

“Put me down, Dylan.”

I nuzzle her neck in an attempt to coax her back into the moment, but she’s not having it. “I’m just getting started, beautiful. Let me love on this incredible body. I’ll show you how much I’ve missed you.”

“Put. Me. Down. Now.”

Something in her tone gives me pause, and I oblige her request, smoothing down her shirt that’s ridden up to expose her lacy bra. I offer her my hand and a rueful smile. “Let’s go back to my house. Spend the day together. Fall in love all over again.”

Tears brim in her eyes, but she doesn’t bother to wipe them away. “No more, Dylan. I won’t be a notch on your belt, and you seem to have a full roster. Excuse me.”

I dash after her, catching her as she pulls open her car door. “I’m so sorry for last night. I want to be with you more than anything.”

Poppy gazes toward the sun, the light turning her eyes a glorious mix of green and gold. “I can’t let you into my heart, Dylan. I’m positive that you’ll break it again. But this time, I might not survive it.” She jerks the door from my grasp, turning on the vehicle before lowering the window. “If you care about me at all, you’ll stay away from me.”

I watch her drive away, knowing two things for certain.

One is that I’ve never screwed up this badly, not even when I deserted her in California.

The other is that I will continue fighting for us until she realizes that I meant every word I said.

I love that woman more than life itself. The hard part will be getting her to believe me.

---