Page 14 of HoHoHo for You

“We’re here, Bridge,” I growled. “You and me, together. It’s just us. Nothing else. No one else.”

A car rolled past down the street, but we were safely obscured from view by the trees and even though she flinched, her eyes didn’t leave mine.

“Lock in. Stay with me,” I whispered.“Breathe.”

5.Locked In

~ SAM ~

I reached for that shirt I’d given her and slid my hands under the hem, letting a low rumble putter in my chest because her skin washotunderneath it. She hadn’t been out here long enough for her body temp to drop, and the clothes were doing their job.

But my hands were cold from being in the air, so she sucked in when I touched her sweet waist.

“That’s it,” I growled. “You feel me, Bridget?”

She nodded. I leaned down to kiss her deeply but slowly, sliding my hands up and lifting the shirt until I could cup her ribs, letting my thumbs play along the bottom of her bra, but waiting for her to remember that I was here, and wake up.

Would she want me? Or would she want to disappear under a blanket again?

It took her a few moments, but her kiss warmed and she traced my tongue with hers. Her shaking hands sliding up my arms to lace behind my neck.

“You with me, Bridget?” I breathed against her lips.

“I’m with you.”

I rolled my hips and pressed myself against her. “Do you want me?”

“I always want you.”

“God, you’re amazing.”

She spluttered a nervous laugh, but it cut off when I pressed my erection—still swathed in my sweat pants—hard against her.

Her head tipped back and I pressed the advantage, leaning her against that wall, pinning her there with my body, letting my hands slide up under the band of her bra and cup both breasts together.

Her nipples hardened against my chilled palms, though my hands were warming quickly.

She arched into the touch and her kiss grew harder.

I was panting already—but she wasn’t. And I didn’t want to push her. Didn’t want this to turn into something that added to her fear.

Should I take her inside? I felt like we needed to replace some of these memories and experiences withgoodones—it was a tip from her psychologist. But was this the time, when she’d been startled like that?

Uncertain how she was feeling, I let one hand drag down her body, gripping and sliding slowly so she had plenty of time to stop me. But when I reached the waistband of her pants and slid my fingers underneath it, over her hips, nudging them down, she didn’t freeze up.

She arched her back off the wall to give me more room.

Growling and dropping the other hand too, grabbing her ass inside the stretchy pants with both hands, teasing her with my fingers, then pushing down further so I had to lean into her to get the pants past her hips and down her thighs, until they were slack enough to fall on their own.

There was an awkward little dance we always had to do at this point unless I was bending her over something—to get one of her feet free of the pants. But she shimmied with me, pushing down my waistband and pulling me free of my sweats as I slid down her body to reach for her foot. Thankfully, I didn’t have to stop kissing her for more than a few moments before I could yank the pant leg off over her shoe and straighten again.

Bridget threw herself into me and I caught her, pressed her back against that wall again and pulled her legs up, bending her knees, hooking them overmyhips and grinding against her. I knew she loved that, but I hadn’t anticipated how cold the wall would feel against her skin—she jerked and hissed, her breath catching as her head dropped back.

But instead of shrinking away from me, she used her leverage against the wall to grind back against me so hard it was almost painful. I slid against her—marveling that she was already wet for me—and let a low, deep groan roll in my chest as we moved together, finding our places. I braced my feet in the dirt and held her ass in one hand, cupping the other under her knee and pulling that leg higher to open her against me so when I rolled my hips, I drew right against her,hard.

Pulling my head back so I could meet her eyes, my jaw went slack at the sight. Her hair was a mess and some of it sticking to the wall. Her mouth open and lips slack as I rubbed myself on her. Her body trembling.

She arched against me again, but a sound from across the road echoed through the night, and for a moment she tensed, her head turning towards those lights that we couldn’t see on the other side of the tree. But I couldfeelher thinking—

---