Page 22 of The Christmas Con

I get up, muttering under my breath. “Where is Luca?” I ask, my voice tripping over his name. The pain of missing him is palpable in the question. I wince against the judgment I’m sure is coming. I click on the light on my desk.

Gabby is picking up a perfume bottle from the metal vanity in the corner of the room. She smells it and puts it back down. “Oh, he’s been up all night. You’ll see him soon. Wear your favorite holiday outfit.”

He’s been up all night with Kieran. It’s like a knife to my heart, and yet I don’t let it slow me down. I dress in a red sweater and jeans and pull on thick socks. I finish brushing my teeth and get ready in record time. We’re tiptoeing down the stairs a few minutes later. Her guards are waiting for us by the huge SUV with tinted windows. My parents are by the door as I slide into my down parka and winter boots.

“Lizzy, I know you want to be here when the kids wake up to open presents, but you need to trust us that you need to go. This is more important than anything that will happen with gifts.”

“More important than my family?” I shake my head, eyes wide. “Mom, what is going on?”

She pulls me into a tight embrace. “Changing your perception of this day is far more important than these kids tearing into their new video games, baby. We’ll see you soon. You’ll be back in no time. He’s a good man.”

There’s a fleeting sense that I should stay here and dwell inside something I’ve always known, but it’s overtaken by the need to see this through and cast all doubts and shadows from my past aside. Gabby locks her arm in mine as we climb in the back of the vehicle, my heart racing in a familiar yet unfamiliar way. “Play the Christmas music, Jasper!” Gabby hollers, pointing a finger in the air. “Turn it up loud. We have a holiday lover in the car!”

A peal of laughter escapes even though I’m beside myself with nerves. “We’re on our way. You have me now, Gabby. I’m not jumping out of the car. Tell me where we’re going.”

“We own a property in Manhattan. That’s all I’m saying. Luca is still pissed at me for Bora Bora. This is how I’m making it up to him so I can’t mess up.” She reaches beside her to a cooler. “Do you want a mimosa?”

I would be drinking a mimosa in my fuzzy slippers while I opened my stocking, but this doesn’t seem like the time for alcohol. The car clock reads barely past five a.m. “No thanks. I need a few more hours before I start that game.”

She nods solidly once. “You’re right. That’s the right decision.”

“Does your family own properties in every single destination around the world?”

Gabby scrolls her phone. “Only the ones worth visiting.”

“How is Kieran?”

She looks up from her phone. “She is still alive. Last night Luca put her on our helicopter last night as soon as the weather was clear. She texted him when she got there that he was still alive. She said to thank you for letting him help her.”

Covering my face with my hands, I hang my head in my lap. “I was awful last night, Gabby. I didn’t even say goodbye to Luca. I was angry. I’m a Grinch!” Funny how most things that need perspective make you feel like shit after the fact. Rather, they make me feel like shit.

She shrugs. “I get angry a lot and have to say sorry for it. No big deal. Luca isn’t mad, he’s more… worried about you.”

“What did he tell you?”

She presses her lips together. She’s about to lie. “Nothing. Only that I had to come kidnap you nicely and bring you here.” The security guard pulls into a small boutique hotel that is gilded with Christmas lights. Corners of the building are snowcapped and it’s utterly breathtaking against the rising sun. There’s an overhang and a roundabout where we stop and a bellboy opens the door. A red carpet rolls out and Gabby slides out on my side and drags me inside, squealing at the top of her lungs. “Lizzy is here! Merry Christmas!” There are bells jingling and the warm scent of sweet pastries and pine. There is an enormous ice sculpture of Santa’s sleigh and all of the reindeer in the foyer.

I lay a hand on my chest when I see Luca appear at the top of the stairs. He runs down, taking each step gracefully. Rushing forward, I let the tears threatening, fall. There’s no more hiding. “I’m so sorry about last night. About Kieran. About all of it.”

He cradles my face. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. Come upstairs with me.” His tone is terse. “I need you.”

I follow him into a suite that has a fire roaring in an ornate fireplace, and a glorious Christmas tree in the corner, in front of a window with a view of a calm NYC morning. He comes behind me and kisses my neck. I spin and lock my hands around his neck. The chandelier casts a sexy glow in the room. “I love you so much.”

“Not more than I love you,” he says, bringing his lips down to mine. He twirls my hair in one hand while looking at me longingly. “All I felt was loneliness until I met you.” His breath washes over my face, in a minty pheromone riddled onslaught.

I gulp. “I didn’t know true loneliness until I met you and had to leave you.”

He releases me to unbutton his shirt. Closing my eyes, I lean into his bare chest and inhale. “You’ll never be lonely again. Do you hear me?”

I nod without opening my eyes. He uses a finger to tilt my face up to look at him. “I’m serious.”

“Okay,” I whisper.

He presses his nose against mine. “I’d really like to take your clothes off and have my way with you right now. It was a long night.”

“Same,” I mutter, a grin playing on my mouth. He mirrors the smile and steps out of the rest of his clothes. I have to sit down to take off my boots and tight jeans. There are pillar candles burning on the mantle and I can tell a lot of work went into making this a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting. There’s not a thing I’d change. It’s magic. I know we need to talk about my past, about that Christmas that changed my life years ago, but right now I need him, and I’m okay that’s where we’re starting. The heat from the fire warms the back of my legs and it’s exhilarating being here with him, like this.

“Come here,” he says, jerking his chin up. I close the gap between us and instead of kissing him like I know he wants, I go low and put his hard cock between my lips. “Ah, so we’ll start there then.” He licks his lips and lets his lashes float closed as I start bobbing and licking. I pull away and let my mouth slurp at his balls and underside of his dick.

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