Page 19 of Naughty and Nice

“Yeah, I did. I guess it’s why Christmas is so hard for me right now. I don’t have a lot of family. I don’t have anything but this bar. I’d always hoped to have a big family. It gets a little too lonely on my own.”

Rebel glanced down at Willow and saw that her eyes were closing. She was falling asleep. He didn’t want to wake her, but he did want to hear more. “You want a big family?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’d love a big family.” There was a small, tired giggle. “Like your club. Do you think they’d love to have a place like this? I could cook them a big dinner and then I wouldn’t have to make myself feel so sick about how much food I make.”

He didn’t get anything else out of her because in the next second, Willow had fallen fast asleep. Rebel waited for the annoyance or the fear to come clawing at him. Nothing happened.

He kissed Willow’s head and kept his arm around her, waiting, expecting, but nothing happened. Willow stayed curled up against his side, and her warmth soothed him.

Rebel had never slept with anyone in his bed. He always believed it was because of the years he spent being forced to share a bed as a kid. When it came to women, he always kept his distance, but with Willow, he had broken a lot of his own rules.

He kept pursuing her even when she didn’t show any interest in him. It had taken time for him to realize that Willow liked his company. She even looked forward to his arrival every Friday night. The truth was, he didn’t want to just wait until Friday.

The club—his brothers, his men—all wanted to know when they would get to meet this woman that had stolen his heart. The guy who asked him had gotten a punch to the face, but they had all laughed it off.

Willow had stolen his heart. She just didn’t realize it. If what she said was true in her exhausted words, then he could call his boys.

He didn’t want to leave the bed, or Willow’s warm embrace, but he slowly slid out and immediately missed the feel of her surrounding him. For several seconds, he stared down at Willow. He just didn’t want to leave her alone.

He went in search of his pants and grabbed his cell phone. Bringing up his VP’s name, he pressed the dial button and waited. Rebel knew it was a long shot, but after a few minutes, Brick finally answered.

“What’s up, Prez?”

“I want you guys, all of you, at Storm’s bar, by New Year.”

“Really? We’re going to meet the chick you’ve been falling for?”

“Just be here!”

He hung up his cell phone, shook his head, and then climbed back into bed. It didn’t matter if Willow didn’t mean it now. The guys were coming and he’d get to see just how serious she was about the two of them.

There was no turning back now. Only forward.

****

Willow woke up to the sun shining through the curtains and a delightful soreness to her body that suggested she had a very good night.

At the feel of the naked man beside her, the memories of the previous night came flooding back. She opened her eyes and looked up to find Rebel still asleep. He looked so peaceful. The blanket had fallen away and she pulled it back up and over him, because he felt a little cold to the touch.

Rebel was in her bed. She had sex with him multiple times, and she hadn’t gotten to bed until nearly seven in the morning on Christmas Day.

Willow sat up and then groaned. It was close to one in the afternoon. The bar was always closed on Christmas. It was one of the few days she took as her own. She didn’t have a problem with Rebel being her present.

She breathed him in. He smelled of her soap and his underlying manliness, she couldn’t quite put her finger on what the scent was. For several minutes she allowed herself the pleasure of just being in his arms, but then her need for the toilet started to call, and of course, some coffee. Slowly, so as not to wake him, she slid out of bed and made her way toward the bathroom.

She used the toilet, washed her hands, and took a quick glance at her reflection. She was completely naked, but she didn’t mind that. Her hair was all over the place as if it had a life of its own. She never wore makeup and in that moment she was grateful, otherwise, trying to clean up the mess would have been a lot more work. So, she grabbed her toothbrush and worked at her teeth, swilling with mouthwash after she was finished.

After her teeth, she splashed ice-cold water onto her face, and any remnants of sleep soon slipped from her mind and were completely obliterated from her thoughts. Next came her hair, and she had tears in her eyes while attempting to brush the wild mess, but she got through it. Grabbing a clip, she twirled the long locks into a bun and tied it up on top of her head, keeping it out of the way.

She took her robe off the back of the door and slid her arms into it. Returning to the bedroom, she saw Rebel still curled up in her bed, looking mighty fine.

Breakfast. She didn’t have any gifts for him, because she didn’t believe his threat from the previous year, so the least she could do was cook him breakfast. She made her way through to the kitchen. There were still the dishes from last night, so she got to work on them. In that moment, she wished she had paid for a dishwasher, but there was time.

Putting the radio on to some Christmas tunes, she got to work. It didn’t take long after she put a few of the dishes with crusty edges in to soak. She cleaned the mess, then got to work on the coffee machine, wiping down her counters. Once that was done, and a single coffee was made, she felt more human. She went to the fridge, grabbed everything she would need for breakfast, and began to work. Willow hoped the smells would help to bring Rebel out of his nap.

Humming along to the tune, she kept the coffee hot and then began to fry the bacon and the hash browns. She already had the sausage on the grill. There was probably more food than they would need.

If she had a big family, she’d already be considering cooking the turkey. Actually, that would already be behind.

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