Page 64 of The Naughty List

“Well, usually we spend Christmas Eve with Tim’s family, but obviously that won’t be happening this year.”

“Have you heard from him at all?”

“No.” Her expression is unreadable. Part of me wants to know if she’s happy or sad about the way she’s spending her holidays—with me—but I’m too afraid to ask. Too afraid of her answer. Maybe I don’t want to know.

She leans forward until her lips meet mine. The kiss feels like it’s happening in slow motion; like a scene from the romantic movie we watched earlier. I let my hands explore her body, caressing her skin to memorize every last inch of her. She pulls me closer by gripping a handful of my sweater, and her other hand drops down to the button on my jeans and begins working it free.

“I need more,” she says into my mouth, maneuvering herself over me and teasing my cock as she presses her wetness against my jeans.

“Sadie.” I grab her hand, stopping her from unzipping my fly. “No.” I shake my head, and she pokes out her bottom lip.

“Are you pouting?”

She shrugs, biting her lip seductively as she pulls her hand away and dips it into the waistband of my jeans. “Please, Mr. Snow.”

I grab her hand more firmly. “Don’t make me tell you no again, Sadie, or I’ll have you begging for forgiveness on your knees.”

She lets out a throaty chuckle. “That doesn’t sound like a bad time at all.” That naughty side is coming alive in her, exactly how I wanted.

“No? Let me clarify.” I grab both of her wrists, pinning her hands behind her back and holding them in place with one of my own.

“You’ll be on your hands and knees, begging for release while I fuck your ass. But I won’t let you come, sweetheart. I’ll use this tight little body however I see fit. Maybe I’ll fuck these tits, leave a trail of my cum from your chin…” I point to her chin. “All the way down to here.” I drag my finger down between her breasts until I reach her clit. “And then, when you think I can’t possibly fuck you any longer, that I can’t possibly fuck you any harder…” I pull her closer until our lips are almost touching and lower my voice to a whisper. “I’ll break you in half. You understand me, kitten?”

“Yes,” she says with a gasp, and when I tighten my grip on her wrists to show her how serious I am, she nods earnestly, showing her understanding.

“Good.” I help her off my lap and stand up, placing her on her feet. She starts to cross her arms over her body in an effort to cover herself, but I stop her by grabbing her hand and leading her down the hallway until I find her bathroom. I reach inside, flicking on the light before turning on the shower.

“Now.” I place my hands on her arms. “Be a good girl and go take a nice long shower and have a relaxing night, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning.” I place a chaste kiss on her forehead and leave her, making my way out of her apartment before I lose my resolve and make good on my threat.

9

SADIE

The moment my head hits the pillow, guilt begins to creep in.

Guilt for starting to move on from Tim so quickly. Guilt over not talking with him and letting him know I’ve decided to move on. Guilt for wanting Alex.

What could this thing between us even turn into? I’m not sure I’m ready to jump into another relationship, or if I even should, for that matter. Hell, I don’t even know if that’s what he wants with me, or if this is all just some boss fantasy he’s had playing in his head for the past two years.

“Don’t overthink it,” I mutter to myself as I flip my pillow to the cold side and attempt to shut out the noise from my brain, but the peace doesn’t last long.

Alex’s question about whether I’d heard from Tim haunts me. I reach for my phone and scroll to our last text thread. Reading through our most recent messages, it hits me how normal they seem, like we were a typical couple. Questions about what we would have for dinner, or when one of us would be home. Even a few brief conversations about the upcoming holidays. Anybody else reading these would never know we were on the precipice of a “break.” But looking back, I sensed it. I could feel it in my gut every single day. I can’t believe I was so surprised by his demand for a break. I’d seen it coming for months, but I didn’t want to admit it.

My chest tightens, and I scroll back down to the bottom and type out a simple message to him. Although we aren’t together anymore, I still want to wish him a Merry Christmas.

Me: Hey, hope you’re doing well. Just wanted to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. I hope you have an amazing holiday.

I hit send and place my phone back on my nightstand, then roll onto my back to stare at the ceiling, a single tear dripping from the corner of my eye and rolling down my cheek to my pillow. For as much as I know that I deserve better—that I want better— it’s still hard for me to process that a man I once loved and thought I would spend the rest of my life with would soon merely be a stranger. A man I’d known once but didn’t anymore.

My phone lights up on my nightstand and I quickly reach over to grab it, thinking it’s a response from Tim. It isn’t.

Karlie: Hey girl, thinking about you. I know we teased you a lot about Alex the other night but if you like him, go for it. Don’t be worried about what it looks like moving on from Tim or how your family will react. Do what makes you happy, you deserve to be happy babe. We all love you so much and have fun tomorrow with your family. Don’t overthink it. Alex will have a great time, that man is SERIOUSLY INTO YOU! Okay, Merry Christmas, hugs and kisses to you and the fam.

I smile at the message, choking back a sob because of how much I needed to hear that. It’s almost like she’s in my head with me, but the reality is she just knows me that well. Lately, I’ve felt a lot of guilt for not listening to my friends more when it came to Tim, but also for not listening to my own intuition.

---