Page 63 of A Christmas Changes Everything

“Or are you gonna give me what I want?”

Smiling, Chace cupped her bare arms, lifting her off the ground and depositing her in the center of the king-sized bed she’d already turned down for the night. “Your wish is my command,” he answered, bracing his arms on either side of her on the mattress before claiming her lips with his.

God, she tasted good. Like mint Chapstick and everything uniquely Holly. Just as he remembered and desperately longed for these last eight years. Every time their paths crossed. Every time he thought about her. Every night in his dreams.

He wanted this. Wanted her. Not just for tonight. Or the next three weeks. But forever.

One step at a time, the little voice of reason reminded him.Right now, just enjoy the moment.

Moving his lips from hers, Chace traced a path with his tongue along her jawline and down the side of her throat. He nipped and suckled, leaving a tiny mark on her skin as if branding her as his.

Which she was.

Just like he was hers.

Now and forever.

Reaching beneath her, Chace deftly unclasped her bra, peeling the garment from her body and freeing her breasts from their lacy confines. He kissed one and swirled his tongue around the darkened areola before tugging the pebbled nipple between his teeth.

Holly whimpered and squirmed beneath him, her hands fisting in his hair.

Chace moved his mouth to her other breast, hoping to elicit the same reaction. From their first time together as inexperienced teenagers when neither had a clue what the hell they were doing, Holly had been incredibly responsive to the ministrations of his touch, be it with his mouth or hands or body.

And those little sounds she emitted in the throes of passion fueled the fire already blazing through his entire body.

“You taste so good,” he murmured against her neck as he made his way back to her mouth.

Their tongues met. Tangled. Dueled. And danced.

He massaged her breasts, kneading and squeezing the soft round globes and pinching her nipples between his fingers.

She wrapped those mile-long legs around his waist, anchoring his pelvis tightly against hers as she slid her hands lightly down his back, slipping her fingers beneath the waistband of his boxer briefs and pushing them off his hips to free his rock-hard erection against her belly. Reaching between them, Holly enveloped him with her hand.

Chace sucked in a breath, hoping like hell he didn’t prematurely lose his shit for the second time that night.

“Please, Chace,” she pleaded. “I need you now.”

In one swift move, he lifted away from her enough to rip the panties right off her hips. Taking another second, he removed his briefs the rest of the way. Like Holly, he wanted no barriers between them.

Except maybe a condom.

Did they need one? Holly had been on the pill when they were together, and since they’d only ever been with each other, they hadn’t seen the need for extra protection. But that was a long time ago.

“What’s wrong?” Holly asked, propping herself up on her elbows.

Chace scrubbed a hand down his face. How could he be so fucking stupid? “I don’t have a condom.”

“Good thing I never went off the pill, then.” She smiled and wrapped her legs around his waist. “More for cycle regulation than anything else,” she added.

Her explanation made Chace feel worse instead of better. Why? Because the other night she’d confessed she hadn’t been intimate with anyone but him even after they’d broken up. And though he wished differently, he couldn’t say the same.

Rolling to his side, Chace forced himself to look Holly in the eye. “Before this goes any further, you should know that you’re not the only woman I’ve ever slept with since our breakup,” he admitted, his voice strained.

“Oh-kay,” she replied as if it were a no-brainer. And no big deal. “Certainly you didn’t expect me to be naïve enough to believe you’d remained celibate the last eight years, did you?”

“You were,” he pointed out.

“Well, not to sound sexist, but it’s kind of different for a man, isn’t it?”

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