Page 95 of If You Give a Grump a Christmas Tree Farm
Becca dozes off with her head on my shoulder, and I say a prayer, thanking God for bringing this beautiful woman with her sweet and pure soul into my life. Every part of my world has gotten better since the moment she walked into it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Christmas Day
Rebecca—
JJ’s shifting movement awakens me, and my eyes flutter open to see him stepping to the window. The fire in the fireplace is still blazing, but the TV is now scrolling through credits.
I hear pelting against the glass and stretch.
JJ turns, his eyes sweeping over me. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.”
Joining him at the window, I peer out. All week we’d had no snow, and the few inches we’d had on the grassy areas had all melted away to nothing but a few patches in the shady spots. Now snow blankets everything. It’s pretty, but the big soft flakes that had gently drifted into my hand earlier have been replaced by a blizzard with strong blowing wind. Icy crystals pelt the window.
“This must be the storm you talked about earlier.”
“It could last all night. They say we could be buried in eight to ten inches by tomorrow morning.” He studies the sky, the low gray clouds lit by the lights of the nearby town.
I thread my fingers through his. “I’m glad you made it home before it started. I’d be worried sick if you were caught on the road in this.”
He cups my face and smiles. “I’d have pulled off and found a place to hole-up. I’d never put you through that worry, babe.” He brushes a lock of my hair from my forehead. He swallows and seems like he’s struggling with something he has to tell me.
I frown. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He shakes his head. “Got something I want to say to you, something I’ve never said to another soul.”
My mouth parts, hoping what I think he’s going to say is correct. I’ve held the words in myself for so long, fighting against them, trying to deny how deep my feelings go for this man, reciting my damn list in my head a million times, but none of that can stop my heart from what it knows is true. I love this man.
And if he doesn’t return those feelings, I’m doomed to a future I don’t even want to think about.
“Becca…” he starts, then swallows like it's hard to get the words out. I want to make it easier for him. I even think about blurting out how I feel, but everything in me needs him to say the words first.
“Yes?” I cup his cheek, and he turns into my touch, kissing my palm. It seems to reassure him, and his muscles relax.
“I love you. I know I’m not worthy of you. You deserve someone better, but no one on this earth will ever love you more than I do, and—”
I break into a grin, happiness flooding me, and I want him to shut up about not being good enough for me, because he’s everything I want and everything I need. I’m so excited to finally be able to blurt the words out, so I cover his lips with my fingers to stop him.
“I love you, JJ. I think I’ve been in love with you for a long time. I was just afraid to say the words, afraid you didn’t feel the same way I did. Don’t you dare say you’re not good enough for me. I don’t want to hear those words out of your mouth ever again.”
And there’s that killer smile I’ve fallen in love with.
“Yes, ma’am.” With that, he swoops me up in his arms, and I yelp.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking you to bed so I can show you how I feel about you.” He carries me across the cabin and through the bedroom door. “Maybe I’m not so good with words, but I’m gonna spend all night showing you.”
A moment later, I’m flat on my back on the bed with JJ’s hard body on top of me, his biceps bracketing me in. His jean-covered leg thrown over mine, and I feel his erection through the soft denim.
His hard-muscled body presses against me, and he smells so good, like leather and outdoors and a scent all his own.
His kisses my lips, one palm trailing over my hip while his knee parts my thighs. He shifts, rubbing against me through my jeans, and I moan into his mouth. He doesn’t let up, keeping at it until I feel an orgasm building.
But he doesn’t seem satisfied with that, and rolls us until I straddle him, a knee on either side of his hips. He touches the hem of my Henley.
“Take this off.”
