Page 70 of Grump Hard
“Holly.” He cuts in again, taking my hand in his. “Stop.”
My heart sinks. “Why? Don’t tell me you aren’t up for a long-distance relationship after you just said you loved me and wanted to fight for me, or I might have to smack you.”
His lips twitch. “As you should. If I said something that stupid, I would deserve a smack. But no, I wasn’t… I was…” He pulls in a breath, fingers curling more intimately around mine before he adds, “I did a lot of thinking, out there in the snow, when I thought I might never see you again. And it suddenly became clear to me…” He smiles, an easy, open smile that warms me all over. “I don’t want a long-distance relationship. I want to be here, with you, in the town you love, with the people you love. I’ll have to go back to the city to pack up my penthouse and decide what I want to bring back, but?—”
“But your company,” I break in, finally finding my voice through the shock. I turn to face him fully, pulling my hand from his as I point a stern finger at his chest. “Companies, plural. You can’t just run off into the woods. You’re the commander-in-chief of one of the biggest conglomerates in the entire world.”
“Exactly,” he says. “I’m in charge. So, I decide where I want to work, how much I want to work, and what I want to turn over to the highly-trained executives I’ve been micro-managing for far too long. I have excellent people who are fully capable of handling most aspects of our everyday operations. I’ll only need to fly back to New York for quarterly board meetings and the occasional high-level acquisition. But for the most part, I can make this my home.”
I watch his gorgeous lips form the word “home,” but still can’t quite believe what I’m hearing. “Seriously? You actually want to move here? To a place where the stores have Christmas ornaments on display, all year round? Where they start playing carols in September and bedeck anything that stands still long enough with a giant bow? That won’t make you Grinch out and want to steal a peg leg all over again?”
He laughs, a low, easy chuckle that makes my skin tingle. “I can’t promise I won’t Grinch out, now and then, especially about that fucking peg leg, but…” He nudges my knee. “As long as you’re around to keep me in line, I think I’ll be okay.”
“You’re serious,” I whisper.
“Completely serious.” He cups my cheek, his thumb skimming across my cheekbone. “I want to be where you are, Holly Jo Hadley, surrounded by everything and everyone who made you the person I fell in love with.”
“That’s so beautiful, Luke.” My voice breaks on his name.
He pulls me into his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tight, heart overflowing as I realize just how serious he is about choosing me.
Choosing us.
“I love you.” I pull back to catch his gaze so he can hopefully see how much I mean it. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” He kisses me softly, perfectly.
I taste salt from the popcorn mixed with the sweetness of chocolate and this man. My man. The kiss deepens naturally, inevitably. My hands slide into his hair, and his grip tightens on my waist.
I’m about to straddle him right there on the fireplace when he murmurs, “Bed. Now. I’ll check to make sure you-know-who is asleep.”
Thankfully, Cheeks is, in fact, asleep, and Luke is soon beside me on our bed of playmats and quilts. We make quick work of our clothes, urgent but not frantic, and not the slightest bit shy. Strangely, I wasn’t shy the first time, either. The first time with someone new is usually at least a little awkward, but with Luke…
Well, he doesn’t feel like a new lover.
He feels like someone who’s been making me feel beautiful and special for a long time. When I’m naked again, with the firelight flickering around us, I make sure to tell him so.
“I feel the same way,” he says, thumbs teasing over my still-sensitive nipples, making me moan.
“You are so yummy.” I run my hands over his chest, feeling his heart racing under my palms. “I can’t wait to make your ‘girl on top’ dreams come true.”
“Yes, please, beautiful,” he agrees, his hands sliding up my thighs to grip my hips as I straddle him. “Fuck, look at you. Look at how sexy you are.”
I position myself, hovering for a moment over where he’s so deliciously hard for me. Our eyes lock as I sink down, taking him inch by inch. His jaw clenches, his fingers digging deeper into my skin as I take him completely.
“Perfect,” he breathes.
“Perfect,” I agree, relishing how thick he feels inside me.
“Tell me what you want, baby.” His hands return to my breasts, rubbing, teasing, pinching. “Tell me how to make you wild.”
“That. More of that. And your mouth,” I say, breath already coming faster as I begin to move.
I set the pace, the angle, experimenting until I find what feels just right. His soft moans as he sucks my nipples let me know he loves every second of it. Finally, I push his mouth away and rise to brace my hands on his chest, too wild to go slow anymore.
His head drops back against the quilts, exposing the strong line of his throat as he watches me move. “You feel so good,” he groans, lifting into me as I drop down again. “So, fucking good.”
I groan my agreement as I ride him faster, chasing the bliss building inside as he reaches down, his thumb finding my clit and rubbing with the perfect pressure.
