Page 26 of His Christmas Gift

“Is he really that daft?” she asked him as they snagged glasses of champagne from a passing waiter. Their eyes met and they both burst out into laughter.

“I’ve no clue where he met this one, but can I just say, I am certainly thankful that the woman I’m in love with, is completely real, unlike that nip and tuck atrocity.”

“You don’t want floatation devices in bed with you?” she teased as his eyes ran over her cleavage skillfully shown off yet still concealed within her dress. The keyhole on her chest hinted at what may be beneath but certainly didn’t offer it up for any and every view.

“No, I can’t get enough of your sweet little chest pressed into mine, those hot little nipples poking me like mad while I drive you wild,” he whispered against her ear making her eyes flash with desire at him. “All I can think about is taking you home and stripping that dress from them. Taking your breasts into my mouth and suckling them while my hands slip down your stomach. Moving across your hips, under the hem of your panties, delving into those gorgeous curls of yours. Parting those wet lips until I can slide a finger inside your warm sheath, making you shudder and cry for more.”

“God Jasper,” she moaned feeling her body react to his words almost as though he were truly touching her.

“You’ve forgotten all about them now, haven’t you?” he said into her ear as Ella and Micah headed their way.

“All I can think about is getting home and you into bed now,” she said gently tugging him down towards her by the tie. “You better kiss me, or you’ll be sleeping without any respite.”

“I’d have you changing your mind in minutes, princess,” he stated before claiming her lips in a long kiss not caring who was watching. Elaine was well aware what was going on with them and that meant he could touch her more easily at the office but there was something incredibly arousing about touching her here in front of who knew how many people.

“My, my, you’d think you two were the engaged couple of the night,” Ella said breaking them apart before leaning in to kiss her cheek. “You look gorgeous Melissa, glowing in fact.”

“We’re not engaged, not expecting,” Jasper said running his finger along her other cheek. “What you’re sensing is all sexual arousal…”

“Jasper!” Melissa gasped, her cheeks reddening fully.

“My sexy girl, fuck how I love you, princess,” Jasper said chuckling as he pulled her into his arms as those around them watched intently.

“Oh my, what’s going on over here?” Karina asked reaching the mix.

“We’re just witnessing a completely out of his mind Jasper, be absolutely besotted with the fair Melissa,” Micah answered as Jasper gave her another slow, hot kiss.

“I can’t believe you’d say something like that to me let alone to someone else about me,” Melissa said pulling back finally.

“Do you think anyone here will believe we’re not sleeping together, Missy?” he countered with a long look that had a hint of color hitting her cheeks again.

“No. Do you deny that what’s between us is more than just your everyday sex?” he continued making the color deepen. “No. So why should I not admit that the reason you’re glowing is from absolute happiness that is entirely related to the incredible sexual chemistry we share or that I was deliberately teasing you about it?”

“Jasper,” she said unable to stop from laughing. “I love you, you crazy, silly man.”

“Aww, I knew you two were head over heels for one another no matter what you tried to deny at your dinner party,” Karina said looking between them. “You’ve finally found the right one Jasper, keep her.”

“I plan on it, we’re very happy with our relationship as it is for now, although come mid-February that may all change very quickly if I have my way,” he added pulling gazes around to her in curiosity.

“Why mid-February?” Ella asked looking between them. “Don’t tell me you think you have to propose on Valentines?”

“No, the truth is, Jasper and I met because I have a six-month internship at his company,” Melissa said surprising the group. “My father wanted me to get my MBA, but I can’t stand business. I don’t want to live my life that way, but he’s overly protective. My mother died when I was twelve so since then it’s been just us and he thought he knew the perfect map for my life to take. We got into an argument over grad school. I told him I didn’t want to go, didn’t want to go into business, and he thought I just needed the chance to see for myself that I had it in me to become it or something. So, after two long weeks of arguing and disagreeing, he relented. He said he would concede that I could skip going to grad school this year as long as I spent at least six months working in a business setting,” she added her heart fluttering madly as Jasper’s fingers slid up and down her arms, holding her to him.

“He made it clear he meant a corporation rather than government or retail sort of jobs and I didn’t want him hovering over me the entire six months. I looked here for temporary jobs or internships that weren’t going to become permanent because I didn’t want to deal with the potential trickiness if they wanted me to stay on,” she explained pulling smiles from the group.

“With our audit, we had extra work to get things settled back into place, but I knew it wouldn’t become a full-time position,” Jasper said as the women laughed softly. “Missy was working down under Callum, and he was an absolute ass to her. We met two days before the dinner party when he was calling her horrendous things rather than be concerned that she could have been injured thanks to others in the lobby.”

“I was sent on a coffee run and as I came back in to go up the elevator, one of the architects in the building knocked into a tray I had and sent it sailing towards me. I stepped back, apparently onto someone’s strap for their bag, and it flew out from under my foot, offsetting my balance and I fell, the second tray covering me,” Melissa admitted shocking the group.

“Callum saw it all happen and rather than help her up, he started laughing. I was furious and then I actually saw her, and it wasn’t just the coffee that was a puddle at her feet,” Jasper said kissing her softly on the temple. “I sent her home with Keith and then had him take me by so I could check on her, make sure none of the coffee had scalded her, and just after I got there her father called.”

“And you realized she was just a daddy’s girl with a need to keep the internship?” Karina guessed and he nodded.

“I wasn’t about to fire her from it, not after the way Callum behaved. After we spoke, I knew I didn’t want her anywhere near my brother. So, I decided she could finish out the rest of the internship upstairs with Elaine, giving me an excuse to see her. I made Callum apologize to her the next day and Elaine met us showing her to our suite. As I came back in from the meeting, I asked about the dinner party and Elaine realized we hadn’t gotten the confirmation back from the caterers, leaving us a day to get it all set up,” Jasper told them, nodding at the shock on the women’s faces. “Missy offered to help arrange it and I was desperate, plus she was so adorable with her offer that I couldn’t begin to say no. I was stunned by what she came up with and I knew that night that I wasn’t about to let her go easily.”

“We just didn’t want everyone at the office thinking the only reason I got the internship or kept it was because I was sleeping with Jasper. I’m sure my father will argue that I didn’t stick to our agreement when the six months are up, but at least the last three months of my internship will have been pleasantly enjoyable. I’ve spent the last month arranging the Christmas party and now we’re moving into the investors’ dinner,” Melissa added as Ella laughed fully beside Micah who shot her a curious glance.

“What’s so funny, babe?” he asked.

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