Page 54 of Another Christmas from Hell

He really needed to stop thinking about last night, Bryce told himself even as he was forced to bite back a groan as he thought about the moment when he ran his eyes over Cayley and realized that none of the fantasies that he’d had about her over the years came close to the real thing.

God, she was so fucking beautiful, Bryce thought as he grabbed another piece of sheetrock and placed it on the wall of what would one day be his sister’s office and-

He really needed to stop thinking about her, Bryce told himself as he grabbed the drywall gun and set to work. As he punched the screws through the drywall, he thought about her large breasts tipped with the prettiest pink nipples that he’d ever seen in his life, the way that her nipples hardened under his gaze, the soft line running down her belly and nearly fucking groaned when he found himself thinking about the dark, neatly trimmed curls between her legs that glistened in the moonlight.

He’d nearly fucking came right then and there when she’d parted her legs for him and gave him a view that he would never forget. She’d been so fucking wet, Bryce thought, struggling to focus as he finished what he was doing and grabbed another sheet. Her lips had been so soft and swollen, and that clit…

God, even in the moonlight, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off the pretty little pink clit as he’d imagined what it would be like to take it between his lips and lick it. He hadn’t meant to take things as far as they did, but with every stroke of her tongue and roll of her hips, he hadn’t been able to think straight. It felt so fucking good to touch her.

He’d been tempted, so fucking tempted to push inside her last night and find out just how fucking tight she really was, but he’d managed to stop himself, knowing that she wanted to take it slow. But that wasn’t the only reason he’d resisted sliding inside her and putting them both out of their fucking misery.

He wanted to savor every kiss, touch, and moan with her.

He didn’t know if that made him a hopeless romantic or just a fucking idiot. He’d never cared before, but with Cayley…

He wanted so much more from her.

He-

“How are things going with Cayley?” came the curious question that had Bryce biting back a curse as he placed the drywall gun down and faced his sister, not really all that surprised to find her watching him curiously as she sipped what he already knew was hot cocoa from a coffee cup with a bright yellow smiley face painted across it.

“They’re fine,” Bryce said as he wiped his hands off on a rag and grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler.

Nodding absently, Rory asked, “And by good, does that mean that you’re willing to admit defeat?”

“Not even a little fucking bit,” Bryce said, taking a sip of water even as he had to admit that he had no fucking idea what he was doing anymore.

He’d never expected to feel like this, never thought that he’d come this close to losing control, and now that he’d had his first taste of her-

He’d never been more terrified of anything in his life, Bryce realized, finishing off his water and tossed the empty bottle into the barrel in the corner before grabbing his measuring tape, needing something to do because if he stood there thinking about just how fucking happy Cayley made him, he-

Would lose his fucking mind.

So, instead, Bryce was going to focus on the job that he’d been hired to do, spend time with Cayley and enjoy this while it lasted. Then…

He didn’t want to think about what was going to happen when this was over. The only thing that he knew was that it was only temporary because if he allowed himself to believe that this was going to last, Bryce would never survive what he knew was coming.

“So, the fact that you beat the shit out of Sean and stuffed him under my kitchen sink last night…” Rory said, letting her words trail off.

“Helped pass the time,” Bryce said, shrugging it off.

“And the way that you watched Cayley’s every move last night?” Rory asked, letting him know that he wasn’t going to be able to play this one off.

“I thought you promised Connor that you were going to stay away from construction sites while you were pregnant,” Bryce said, deciding that a change in subject was necessary because the last thing that he needed right now was for his sister to know just how badly he was struggling with this.

He didn’t want to let Cayley go and that…

Wasn’t a fucking option.

“I did,” Rory murmured in agreement as she reached into her bag and pulled out a set of keys and tossed them to him, “but we decided to make an exception today so that I could give you these.”

Frowning, Bryce caught the keys as he sent his sister a questioning look. “What are these for?”

“Thomas House,” Rory said, shrugging it off as she took a sip of her cocoa.

Nodding absently, Bryce glanced down at the keys in his hand and realized that this was probably going to be the only thing that got him through this. Once this was over, there was no way in hell that he was going to be able to stay in that apartment, not with Cayley living across from him. He was going to need somewhere else to go to clear his head, Bryce thought even as he resigned himself to never setting foot in this building again once it was done, knowing just how fucking difficult it would be to see her.

He’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t tempted to say the hell with it and-

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