Page 62 of A Christmas Bargain

I guided her to climb onto my lap. “But I didn’t mind. I like talking to you. Opening up to you.”

She leaned in to kiss me, taking my wineglass and setting it on the side table as she straddled me closer. “I like spending all this time with you too.”

Between kisses and exploring touches, we left the heavier topic of loss behind and focused on the present. On us. It wasn’t as though I were replacing her with the memories of my wife. And it didn’t seem like she was getting turned on because she was desperate for an escape from talking about losing her mother.

It just happened. Naturally and instinctively. I was drawn to her, and she was just as needy for me.

“That thing about time,” I said as I slipped my hands under her sweater to treat myself to the silky smoothness of her skin.

“Yeah?”

“It can go so fast,” I said as she kissed along my neck, holding onto my shoulders as she ground into me.

“Or slow,” she teased.

“It’s hard to believe we’ve only just met,” I told her between hard breaths.

“Bizarre,” she agreed.

“But it feels so right, Claire. When we’re together…”

She nodded, letting me see the feral lust shining bright in her eyes. “Yeah. I know.” She silenced herself with a hard kiss. I grunted against her open mouth, so swayed with desire that I held her tighter, never wanting to let her go.

Digging my fingers into her sides, I urged her to work with me as I stood. She got the message. She understood that I wanted to move us off the couch.

Wrapping her legs around my waist, she clung to me as I picked her up and carried her. This was becoming a habit, taking her into my room. We were getting used to this, sneaking in here when Naomi slept.

This time, I let Claire down to stand as I closed and locked the door, and she continued to show me the pace she wanted.

Fast and frantic. It hardly mattered if we rushed to get naked. It just promised that the encore would be slower. We were that desperate for each other, that insatiable for one another.

Her lips stayed flush to mine, warm, wet, and greedy. But as she walked toward the bed, urging me to move with her, she unzipped and lowered my pants. She dropped to her knees, stroking her fingers up and down my dick, but I grinned and stepped out of her reach.

“Hey!”

“It’smyturn,” I argued playfully, leaning down to toss her onto the bed.

“You had your turn yesterday, and I want?—”

I kissed her hard, removing her pants. Leggings were so easy. One tug and they went.

“Let me be greedy,” I growled against her lips as she kicked her pants and panties off. She held my face, breathing hard as I wrestled her sweater higher. “Let me be greedy and take what I want.”

She nodded, smiling as she leaned up to get her sweater and bra off.

Then I sat back, feasting my eyes on the present I’d just unwrapped.

She was my gift. My blessing.

And I wondered how I could tell her that she was the Christmas wish I hadn’t realized I’d been waiting for.

“Derek?” She reached up for me, and I sighed.

Maybe this time could be an exercise of showing, not telling. Because when I confessed that I’d tricked her into fake dating me, I had to be prepared for losing her from the damage of my lies.

“Take all you need from me,” she said breathily, spreading her legs wider and lifting her arms higher to embrace me as she lay there.

I didn’t need to be told twice. Lowering to kiss her, I set out to show her how much I wanted to give her, too.

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