Page 108 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

It was pure joy, and Jonas leaned back on his hands, marveling at the sight. Every heartbeat pulled him closer until he felt overwhelmed with emotion. The lightness in his chest—it had to be love. There was no other explanation. It was as piercing and as true as anything he’d ever felt.

He took Rachel’s hand and brushed his lips across her knuckles. “Thank you.” He looked into her eyes as he said it. It was as if all the electricity in the universe had centered between the two of them. “Thank you so much for coming over.”

“I—” She blinked, cheeks flushing. “You’re welcome.” She squeezed his hand. “I didn’t know you felt so strongly about Christmas considering you didn’t decorate.”

“I feel strongly aboutyou,” he said. “About both of you having a good Christmas.”

“This is lovely,” she whispered, then cleared her throat.

He couldn’t let them leave. Or he couldn’t let them leave without at least offering them space in his home. They belonged here. “Please stay the night,” he asked, losing all the cool that usually accompanied him to his job and through his life.

“Where would Scott sleep?” Her teeth gnawed at her lower lip. “I don’t know if there’s a safe space for him here, and I don’t want you to have to rearrange your entire life just to fit us in.”

“My entire life.” He laughed. “I had a crib brought over from the lodge. It’s already in my spare bedroom.”

Scott stopped by the tree and rubbed at his eyes, a good indication they needed to fix dinner. It wouldn’t be long before he’d be ready for bed. Rachel rubbed his back in small circles, then gathered him in. “Okay.”

“Okay?” At her nod, he leaned down to kiss the top of Scott’s head and squeezed her hand. “Dinner is already prepped, I just need to heat it in the oven.”

“Oh? Is this another Chef Chris specialty?”

Jonas laughed. “It is, but I didn’t put it together, I asked the chef to take care of it so we know it’ll taste great.”

After dinner, Scott was more than ready for bed. “Time to lie down,” Rachel said softly as she carried him to the bedroom.

Jonas hung back, watching as she pulled his PJs from the diaper bag, changed him, and then helped him brush his teeth. He dropped a kiss on Scott’s forehead, letting Rachel lay him down in the crib. When she started to sing him a lullaby, Jonas stepped down the hall and took a seat at the edge of his bed.

A few minutes later, Rachel appeared in the doorway, looking as luscious as he’d ever seen her, a fire in her eyes. She came in confidently, pushing his knees apart to stand in the space between his legs. “Thank you for all the gifts,” she said, heat in her voice. “But Jonas?”

His breath stopped. “Yeah?”

“There’s something else I want to unwrap.”

He put his hands on her waist. “What is it?”

“You.”

10

RACHEL

The fact was, Rachel wanted him.

She’d wanted him from the moment she first saw him three years ago, she wanted him the other night when she kissed him, and she definitely wanted him now. This man had created a late Christmas for her just because she hadn’t had time to do it herself.

Jonas’s hands tightened on her waist as she leaned down, letting her fingers graze across his shoulders as she kissed him. He tasted good. Like mint and hope and something slightly forbidden. Should she have agreed to spend the night? Maybe not, but her desire was too powerful to be ignored.

Jonas groaned into her mouth. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do this,” he said against her lips.

“I have some idea,” she answered.

He pulled her close then, and she was lost. Lost in the stubble at his chin and the strength of his muscles and the way his clothes fit against his skin so effortlessly. She was jealous of those clothes. The next time they came up for air, she tugged his sweater off, then his shirt.

She ran her fingertips down his abs, a memory surfacing of another time she’d done this. “Wow,” she breathed. “Wow.”

Jonas looked down at her fingertips against his skin. “We’re not even,” he said, moving in to pull Rachel onto the bed as he started to strip off her clothes hungrily. Jonas leaned down and kissed her collarbone, then the hollow of her neck, then the curves of her breasts.

It was only sex, she thought hazily. Only sex and nothing else. The huge feelings that rolled through her like thunder were momentary impulses. No, that was a lie. She knew it was a lie more with every touch of his hands against her skin. Every roll of his fingers across her nipples. The heat of his breath on the side of her neck made her arch off the bed, wanting more. She’d never stopped thinking about Jonas. Or dreaming about him. Of what this moment would be like.

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