Page 13 of Holiday Hookup

“Jaxon, I promise that Santa will know exactly where you are.”

Dane’s eyes meet mine across the couch as a sad smile crosses his face. “Hey, little man?” Dane asks, Jaxon turning in my lap. “Why don’t you write Santa a letter explaining where you are? That way he knows…”

Jaxon’s face breaks out into a smile as he looks between Dane and me.

“Mommy, do you think that will work?” The hopeful look in his eyes is the balm I didn’t know I needed.

“Well, it couldn’t hurt!”

With that, he runs down the hall and into the room Dane made up for us and we’re left alone once more.

“Thank you for that.”

His smile returns, and I feel the warmth that always washes over me under his gaze. “He’s a good kid.”

I get up, heading back toward the island and as I lean against the sink, my head down and taking a deep breath. Dane comes up behind me and the second his hands grasp my hips, pulling me gently back against his hard chest, I suppress a whimper, shaking my head.

“I can’t do this,” I mutter, stepping out of his hold and running down the hall only to find Jaxon playing in his new room. Leaning against the doorway, I watch as my son plays with his toys, oblivious to everything that’s going on, and I pray it stays that way.

I need to remember that I’m doing all of this for him. I need to remember that my life can’t have distractions, not when Jaxon’s involved. So I repeat the same mantra over and over in my mind: do not get involved with Dane.

I can handle a week of him… right?

Chapter 10

I really wish I could get the look in her eyes out of my head when she saw me in just a towel. Yet the more time I spend with her in my apartment, the more I want her eyes on me. The more I want to feel her touch again, and the more I want to feel her wrapped around me.

I know something is holding her back. She tells me it’s Jaxon, but being around her, seeing her avoid my eyes, giving me the cold shoulder when I know she feels what I feel, it tells me there’s more to this than just her son.

So, when she walks into the apartment after dropping Jaxon off at school, I haul her against the wall and trap her between my arms.

“Dane, what are you doing?” Her voice isn’t angry like I assumed, it’s worried and maybe a little nervous.

“Something I should have done the second I saw you standing in that hallway last week.”

Just as she opens her mouth to say something, I mold my lips to hers, groaning at the taste as memories of our last kiss come flooding back.

My hands find their way to the base of her skull, pulling her closer as I devour her lips. Her hands grip the back of my shirt, pulling me closer as I savor the feeling of her slowly grinding against me.

“Dane, we can’t…” she groans between kisses, but I don’t listen. My lips travel down the column of her neck, past her collarbone, stopping at the opening of her blouse. “I have to get to work…”

I ignore her, my tongue darting out and reveling in the taste of her skin.

“Call in sick,” I mutter, continuing my ministrations against her sensitive skin.

My hands find their way to her breasts, squeezing them through the thin fabric of her shirt, and I groan as she arches her back, giving me the all-access pass I’ve been craving. I take full advantage, unbuttoning her shirt as I lick my way between the mounds I have been dreaming about for weeks.

“I’ve fucking dreamed about seeing these…”

Her moans fill the room as my fingers find the snap of her jeans, and just like that, it’s as if cold water is poured over her head. Nellie locks up under my touch as she pushes me away. When our eyes meet, the desire I saw a second ago is gone, replaced with something I’ve never seen from her before… fear.

“What’s wrong?”

She doesn’t answer, walking into the kitchen and buttoning up her blouse as she goes.

“I thought…”

“Yeah, well, you thought wrong.” Her voice is shaking, her fingers desperately trying to do up every small button, but she’s struggling, so I do the only thing I can think of… help her. “What are you doing?” she whispers, her eyes never leaving my hands, which are now expertly doing up her shirt.

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