Page 19 of Santa Baby

“Want to turn around and find out for yourself?” I gasp out at the offer, self-preservation kicks in and I dash from the tub over to the towel. I keep my eyes averted as I quickly wrap the terry cloth around me. I look up even though I know I shouldn’t, “I’ll even let you touch it if you want to.”

I dart out of the room, wanting to put this bath out of my mind as fast as mist evaporating in an open room.

Chapter Fifteen

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Talia

I throw myself into preparing for Thanksgiving, so I don’t have to think about what happened yesterday. I’m lucky because there is a lot to help out with to make sure dinner is done on time and everyone is ready to eat at the designated time. I invited Naomi to dinner and when she shows up it is like a little piece of my past has come to visit. We catch up and gossip about all the people on our floor before she takes Noelle and starts playing with her in the floor.

Last night I fell asleep before Nic came to bed, so I didn’t have to worry about talking to him about The Bath Incident last night. He wanted to make sure everything was ready for us to travel to the Big House tomorrow so he and his mom stayed up kind of late making sure things would go smoothly. I can’t even be real sure if he actually slept with me last night.

And today he isn’t acting like anything happened between the two of us. He seems a bit distracted as I stay close to his mom so I can help her with the cooking. Everyone gathers around the table and that’s when he stands up and takes my hand in his.

“I know everyone here is aware of what is happening in our lives but I’m still a stickler for tradition, so…Talia,” He sinks down in front of me and pulls out a ring box to hold up in front of me. I take a quick look around the table at all the eyes on us before coming back to his. I can’t believe he’s doing this. On bent knee. “Will you marry me? Will you let me be a part of not just your life but Noelle's as well?”

I look at the ring nestled in the plush velvet nest resting in his hands. This is way too much like the real thing. I can’t let it be too real. Then I stand a chance of losing my focus and forgetting why I have to do all of this. I run the risk of forgetting that none of this is real. It's all a lie.

“Angel.” His voice snaps me back to the moment and when I look past the ring in his hand to meet his eyes, I finally find my voice. His gaze oddly offers me a stable place to focus and concentrate. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes.”

His mom starts clapping with unshed tears in her eyes and Naomi starts too. Both women rush over to offer hugs. Somehow, I make it through the rest of dinner without being completely worthless and dropping everything I try to pick up. And just because dinner is over, it doesn’t mean that my shock is over. Anita decides to stay overnight with us so we can all leave early tomorrow so I have no other option but to sleep with Nic.

Both of us lie in the near dark as we try to find sleep. The last thing I want is for us to start talking about The Bathtub Incident or what happened when he was trying to propose to me. Sleep would make that hard to do…if I can find it in time. We are on our own side and the space between us seems vast and a whole lot wider than it actually is.

He finally whispers in the dark softly, so softly I can barely hear him. “Fuck it!”

He rolls past the divide and turns me suddenly as well. Now we are lying back to chest and his arm is thrown over my waist. “What…?” He buries his face in my hair and acts like he is about to settle in for a while. “Why did you say…?”

Do I really want to know?

“Why did I say fuck it? Because I’m tired and I’m not waiting for you to fall asleep tonight so I can cuddle you.”

“What?” His words not only shock me but leave me grappling for sturdy ground, “You…wait until I fall asleep? Before you… ’cuddle’ me?”

“Most of the time. But, darlin’, I figure we’ve seen each other naked, there’s no reason for us to not cuddle. Right?”

I open my mouth a couple of times to try to form a reply but end up not saying anything.

“Try to sleep, angel. Tomorrow will be here fast enough.”

Somehow, I finally fall asleep. The next thing I’m aware of is an alarm going off. It sounds like mine but when I search my mind, I can’t remember setting one. More things creep into my sleep-fogged mind the longer the damned buzzing keeps going on. A hand on my body, legs all tangled up together and my leg thrown over something smooth and hard. Things start to snap into focus when the hand on my butt gives it a little squeeze and a male voice mumbles something over my head. I don’t catch what he is saying but I am very aware of who he is.

“Nic?”

Am I dreaming? Is this a dirty dream?

“Mmm, I’ll kill it, baby. Don’t move.” He drops a kiss on my forehead and pulls his hand out of the elastic band of my panties. He reaches behind him to hit the button to kill the alarm causing his pelvis to push against the vee of my spread legs.

My eyes fly open as his dick comes to rest up against the front of my thin panties and sleep rushes from me almost as fast as I took off running from the bathroom a couple of days ago. I drop my hands to his broad forearms and try to scoot away from the protrusion. He turns back to me and once again his hand travels down the plains of my back to find the stretchy band of my panties before he shoves his hand down them so he can cup my ass cheek in the palm of his hand. Again. He pulls me close, and I am shockingly aware of the fact my nightgown has traveled up not just to my waist but further up so that my breasts are smooshed against his bare chest.

“Nic?! Oh God, please wake up.”

“I’m awake, angel.”

“Then why are you still holding my ass and pressing your dick in my…Nic!”

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