Page 12 of The Christmas Eve Delivery

“Ishouldn’t be doing this,” I admitted even while I held his hands and backed down the hallway pulling Miles with me. We had a long day, but I didn’t want Miles to get away from me, not yet.

“Then do you need me to stop you?” His smirk was more of a smolder, and I didn’t think he had any intentions of insisting that I stop.

Miles was the kind of man who if I said no, or wait, he would stop immediately. And I also knew from watching him move that he would be strong enough that if he stopped moving, I didn’t have the strength to budge him. So he was following me because he wanted to.

“You keep a room on the first floor?”

“I live here. When Mom ran the inn, she turned half of the first floor of the north wing into our private living space.”

Miles stopped walking. I was right. He was solid, and I couldn’t budge him.

“This is your home, isn’t it?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes. Has been since I was about five and Mom started running the place.”

I tugged on his hands to get him moving again. Instead, he pulled me toward him. I had no choice but to let him reel me into his embrace. I giggled breathlessly as he crushed me to his chest. His fingers skimmed over my brow, brushing back my hair. His eyes searched mine.

“You’re taking me to your bed?” He put a strange emphasis on the fact that it was my bed.

I managed to nod. I tried to swallow, but everything, my thoughts, my breath, my heart, all seemed to be lodged in my throat at that moment. What was he looking for? What did he see inside me?

The soft caress of fingers against my skin tightened as he held the back of my head and then claimed my mouth. At first, the kiss was demanding, and after a second of bruising force, his lips were soft, gentle, seeking. He played with my lips, nipping with his teeth, teasing with his tongue.

I let out a soft moan as I melted against him. I wanted to flow over him and have him guide my body exactly how he wanted me.

His hands grasped at my hips and pressed our bodies tighter. He could have begun peeling my clothes from me in the chilled hall, and I would not have cared.

“Lydia.” My name came out on a low growl.

I placed my hand against his cheek. The scruff of his beard tickled my palm. I was afraid he was going to change his mind.

He continued to kiss along the side of my cheek and down my neck. And then he let out another growl sound as he lifted me.

I gasped. “Miles!”

“Put your legs around me, woman.”

I did as I was told. My slip-ons fell from my feet. His fingers bit into my ass as he held me. He took a few steps, and then my back was against the wall. I clung to his neck as he shifted, pressing into me. I was supported by his hands under my legs, a strong thigh, and the pressure of his hips against mine. There was no mistaking his arousal as he sandwiched me between the hard ridge in his pants and the wall.

His hips rocked against mine, causing the best erotic friction. His mouth was on mine. I clambered to hold on to him, to keep my legs wrapped around his hips. He ground against me as if he could rub away the clothes between us.

His hands roamed over my ribs and my hips. His lips were on my face, on my mouth, down the side of my throat. Never had I thought anyone would consume me with such desperation. The heat between us was almost unbearable.

The unbearable part really was the clothes. I wanted to feel his skin against mine, his body controlling mine, his lips against my skin.

“Miles,” I moaned.

“Lydia,” he growled.

“Bed,” I somehow managed to say.

He let out a disappointed moan and eased back from my body only enough for gravity to take over. As I slid down the spacebetween his body and the wall, his hands grazed over my breasts, and his cock pressed into my belly.

“Are you sure you want me in your bed?”

“It’s more comfortable than the floor,” I responded. “Yes, I want you in my bed. Please.”

I held my hand out to him, and once again, I began leading him toward the private spaces of my home.

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