Page 39 of A Little Merry

“You don’t have to say a word, Lucas. I can feel it. Do I look different?”

“Yes,” Merry told her, in a soft voice. “You look beautiful. You’ve gotten your Christmas wish.”

“I can’t believe it. I feel so… so… not like me… in a good way.” She walked over to the table, placed my plate down in front of the empty chair next to Merry, then gave her a big hug and said, “And it’s all because you’ve gotten your own Christmas wish. Merry Christmas, my darling.”

“I don’t know what the hell is going on, but it’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” I said, standing next to Merry. “Did something magical just happen here?”

“It sure did,” Merry said. “A Christmas miracle.”

I took my seat next to Merry, while the transformed Noelle took her seat next to Billy Ray, but not before they kissed, which was news to me.

A moment later, Merry held up her wine glass and said, “Thanks for the best Christmas ever. Thank you, Noelle, for being a true friend. Merry Christmas, everyone.”

We all picked up our glasses and repeated the Merry Christmas wish.

Then Connor said, “Let’s eat.”

And with that, we dug into what was quickly turning into the best Christmas of my entire life.

AFTER BILLY RAY and bombshell Noelle left… even her voice had changed into something much lower and sexier… and after all the dishes were stacked in the dishwasher, and Merry had invited us to spend the night, we were like awkward teen boys trying to read the girl we wanted more than our parents’ car on a Saturday night.

“What a night,” Ethan said, as he plopped down on the sofa.

“What a couple of weeks,” Connor mumbled, slipping down on the floor and leaning his back against the sofa.

“What a woman,” I said, as I took Merry’s hand in mine, then spun her around to Michael Bublé crooningAll I Want For Christmas Is You.

I danced with her until he sang about the mistletoe, then Connor tapped my shoulder, and she danced with him as Ethan and I watched. It made me emotional, and when Ethan took her in his arms, it was all over. I knew how much she changed his life.

What an amazing woman. Soon, we surrounded her as Connor repeated the song on his phone, twirling her, loving on her, as she kissed each of us, and we took turns holding her. Then I picked her up and carried her to her room, like I had the night Billy Ray showed up and tossed a wrench onto the path we were all on.

This time, when I placed her down on the bed, there was no covering her up and tucking her in. This time, everything was different. This time, I slid my hand along the side of her lovely face and kissed her… and not just some random kiss, but a searing-hot kiss that expressed all the love I had for her, all the emotions I’d kept hidden from the very first moment we met. From that first kiss under the mistletoe, when I knew this woman was different.

“I’m all in,” I told her. “Whatever you need. I’m here.”

“Me too,” she whispered, then we kissed again and tugged our clothes off as quickly as we could make it happen. I didn’t know where Ethan and Connor were, but I was glad they decided to give us this time alone. I wanted her all to myself, at least for this first time.

When we were naked, and her body pressed against mine, branding me like some burning-hot iron, I knew this night would be like nothing I’d ever experienced.

I felt my heart pounding in my chest, beating so fast that I could almost hear it. I felt a little shaky, like my balance wasn’t quite there, so I pulled her down with me onto her soft bed—the down blankets caressed our bodies.

“I should still be angry with you,” she said, as I gently ran my hands over her breasts.

“I know, and I’m sorry. I was an idiot.”

“I thought you hated me,” she mused as I suckled one breast, then the other. Her skin tasted sweet and salty at the same time. I loved how her nipples felt rough against my tongue, hard as little pebbles that I swirled around with my tongue and nipped each one with my teeth.

“I could never hate you,” I told her. “I’m in love with you.”

I said it as naturally as if I’d said it a hundred times before.

“And I’m in love with you. I didn’t think I could breathe again if you kept on ignoring me.”

I pushed her hair off her forehead and kissed each of her lovely eyes, then settled on her mouth again, ravaging it with my tongue, until her deep moans and her hands running up and down my back told me she wanted me to fuck her.

“I need you in my life, in my day, and in my bed at night,” I told her, meaning every word, every nuance.

“Come inside me, Lucas,” she said, her voice beautifully raspy and desperate.

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