Page 4 of New Home for the Holidays

But now is not the time to think about it.

“Please, what?” There’s a challenge in his voice I want to rise to and meet head on.

This isn’t me. I’ve always been a little more reserved. I’m not the one to fall into bed with a man. Every person I’ve been with before, I took the time to have real feelings for them. Maybe that’s where I went wrong because those feelings meant I was able to get hurt, but I’m not one for casual flings or one-night stands.

I want more.

I want the dream.

Love.

Acceptance.

A feeling of belonging.

I crave the connection.

But now, looking down into Officer Montgomery’s eyes, I feel something I never have before. This is right. This is what I’ve always been searching for and never found.

“Treasure,” he grits out, his jaw clenched like he can read my mind and is having a hard time keeping ahold of his control. It’s a warning. An omen.

I want him out of control though. I want him to give himself over to the heat between us, the need. It’s the only way.

My fingers tighten in his hair, and I try to pull him towards my pussy, but he doesn’t budge. He’s right there. So close. Too damn close and yet so fucking far away.

“Please eat my pussy,” I plead.

The way his lips curl has a shiver rolling down my spine. He swipes his tongue up my slit and lets out a sound that’s a mix between a groan and a whimper. “You taste as sweet as I knew you would,” he admits, wonderment in his voice that I’ve never heard come from anyone in my life before.

Like I’m the center of his universe. Like I’m the only thing he needs to survive until tomorrow.

My head is spinning, and I hold my breath, waiting for the next swipe of his tongue. Needing it. Anticipation skates across my body, enveloping me and making my eyes water. I know when it breaks, when it becomes more, I’ll be consumed.

I can’t fucking wait.

The feeling builds and just as I gasp for air and I feel his mouth descend, music blares next to my head. My eyes pop open and I look around my room, the walls tinged with morning light. Looking down my body, I find myself tangled in my sheets.

But what I don’t find is Officer Montgomery looking up at me.

As I slump back into bed, despair and a little embarrassment threaten to pull me under. It was just a dream. I’ve never had a dream like that before. It felt so real and the wetness between my thighs is a testament to how much the few moments I spent with Officer Montgomery yesterday affected me.

Reaching over to turn off my phone and stop the music, I notice the time and let out a groan. The last person I want to go and hang out with is my brother, not with how on edge I’m feeling. But I don’t have a choice. We have a standing breakfast meet-up on Saturday mornings, and we haven’t missed one in a while.

The only reason we’ve ever had to cancel was if Jared was needed at work. Thankfully, the lack of crime in town means officers don’t need to work much beyond their scheduled shifts. Still, accidents happen everywhere and nowhere is perfectly safe all the time.

My heart aches a little because our youngest sister, Cove, won’t be at breakfast today. She hasn’t been back here to have breakfast with us in about four months now. It’s not like I can blame her, she’s out in the world and living her dreams. Even better, she’s found the love of her life and is so damn happy that I’m almost envious of it.

It’s not like I would trade her happiness for my own, but there’s also a yearning in my soul to have the kind of love she’s found. Not only is she head over heels in love with Langston Phillips, a rock star who was scraping rock bottom not too long ago, but her songwriting talents are finally getting the recognition they’ve always deserved.

I’m damn proud of my little sister even though thinking about the differences between our lives makes me feel a little stuck.

I’ve never spent much time away from our little hometown. I’ve never had big dreams which required the expanse of the world to be realized. But I am living the life I wanted when I was a girl. I wanted to deepen my roots in Wintervale and become a teacher because I had some amazing teachers growing up, along with some who were far too stuck in their ways.

I wanted to be someone kids could learn from and be excited about it. I wanted to help them identify their deepest hopes for their future and then find a path to make it a reality.

There are other things I want out of life too. Like a family—a man who loves me with everything in him and some kids who are the perfect blend of our love. The thought warms me from the inside even though it feels like it’s so far away from being my reality.

One day. Maybe.

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