Mischief Under The Mistletoe Read online

Forcing himself to break their kiss, more like a mouth rivalry of whose desire burned hotter, he turned her to the chair. Their chair. His hand on her head, he pressed her head into the back of it. Using his free hand, he undid his belt, forcing his pants down. “Get your knees up there and your ass low. I’ll make it up to you, but this is gonna be fast.”

  HIS AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR had her scorching from the inside out. Fast? Fine. Moving his right hand to the top of her butt, he guided it lower. Running his fingers between her legs, he discovered she didn’t require any additional stimulation. She had been ready for this for the last eight years. Nudging his tip around her opening, he clamped his fingers on each of her hips drawing her to him as he thrust inside her.

  Whimpering with need and ecstasy, she let him direct their bodies. And grateful that he did so. He fit her perfectly, stimulating her and holding her in a state of bliss. He took several hard, deep strokes in quick succession, tugging her to him with each thrust. Then he slowed, plunging into her in a deliberate, placating pace. Before he returned to the frenzied ramming. Without moving his hands from her hips, it astounded her that every part of her experienced a heightened sense of rapture.

  He lied when he claimed it would be fast. A pleasurable ache formed. Each withdrawal and return stoked it. She existed in an intense nirvana with a delicate balance between agony and euphoria.

  “Baby, I can’t hold off much longer. Come for me,” he pled, in the most delicious husky voice.

  Her body tensed, but she never had an orgasm by just penetration. She didn’t want to disappoint him. Have him thinking it was him. She could just fake it. She felt like she could come, though, any second.

  “Becca, stop thinking about it. Feel it. Feel me.” He coached her as if he dominated her mind as he did her body. Sliding his hand to her stomach, he lowered it. Rubbing her with the exact momentum he ravished her with his cock, her insides clenched. Lifting her hands, she braced herself on the chair. He pinched her clit and she hollered out as she shuddered in the throes of a phenomenal climax.

  Jake hammered into her several more times and he joined her, sending her over another unparalleled peak.

  Hugging her to him, he laid back on the carpet. Both panting, his words puffed out tickling her ear. “Am I to assume that this is the result your getup was shooting for?”

  Clutching his wrists she wrapped his arms tighter around her. “It came out better than expected,” she giggled, wiggling her butt into him.

  Nibbling on her neck, he groaned, “You are one fucking delicious morsel, young lady. I hope you’re prepared for what you started here.”

  Closing her eyes, she savored the feel of his mouth on her skin, the elation of being in his arms.

  “Oh, I’m prepared.” Moving out of his arms, she jumped up. “Come on. I...well, you bought you something today.” Rolling over, he slid his jeans up from around his knees. “Give me your shirt to put on. It’s out back.”

  Giving her a sexy smirk first, he removed his shirt. He laughed when she licked her lips. Dang if he didn’t draw out a wanton side to her. She wanted to run her fingertips through the smattering of dark hair that enhanced an already spectacular specimen. Later. Lacing her fingers with his she led him to the kitchen.

  “Open the fridge. I thought tonight we could prepare dinner together.”

  Raising one eyebrow, he ambled over to it and opened it. Tossing a huge smile back at her, he brought out the steaks she marinated. “Now these are excellent cuts of meat, my dear. You realize I don’t own a grill. Right?”

  “Don’t underestimate me, mister. Grab us a beer and follow me.” She assumed he left her the cash to spend. So she did. She purchased a cheap little table and chairs she placed on the patio. Atop the table she put a small charcoal grill. “See. I thought of everything.”

  Setting the beers on the table, he drew her to him. Fingering her hair, he cupped her face gazing into her eyes.

  “Be careful what you wish for.” His lips brushed hers. The tip of his tongue grazed the outline of her mouth. Unlike their kiss earlier, this one held no urgency. It epitomized foreplay for the mouth. Never had she shared such a thorough exploring kiss. He left no part of her untouched or unimpassioned.

  Gripping her ass, he picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her back inside. “I’m getting the impression you want to wait on dinner.”

  “I love that you are so perceptive.” Dipping his head he licked from between her breasts upward to under her chin. “I need to have a more proper, expanded introduction to this body of yours.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON Rebecca beamed and bounced with happiness. She had no idea what time they finally put the steaks on the grill Tuesday night, nor what they tasted like. The two of them picked at them and poked at their potatoes before they gave in to their mutual desire and ended up back in his bed. She had never been so sore, not even from the spanking he gave her. It was a most yummy sore she ever suffered.

  Wednesday night followed the same itinerary from the previous night, minus the French maid costume. As soon as he walked in the house, they joined in rushed, fanatical sex. They sat outside, had a few beers and easy conversation. Before falling asleep, their bodies tangled together, they shared a couple more rounds of slower, toe-curling sessions.

  He took her to the movies Thursday night. He joked on her for ordering and finishing the biggest bucket of popcorn available. And they pulled over on the ride home and had truck sex. She couldn’t imagine being any happier. Jake was everything she expected him to be, and so much more.

  Dishing out the casserole she cooked Friday night, Jake leaned over the bar. “That smells amazing. I’m really hungry.”

  Giggling, thinking she too worked up an appetite after the frantic lovemaking they engaged in, she handed him a plate. “Let’s hope it tastes as good. I don’t think I could mess it up. I followed the directions.” They went to the living room to eat.

  With their initial “hello” completed, his gaze fell on the boxes and bags she piled up in the corner. “What is that? I’m leaving you too much money for the errands I believe.” Pecking her on the cheek, he squeezed her knee.

  “I didn’t spend much. It’s just a small something to add a little Christmas spirit in here. I thought it would be fun. We will decorate it together.” Running into one of the dollar stores after work earlier, she bought a four-foot artificial tree and some decorations. “We can set it up on the end table over there by the chair.” Any time one of them mentioned that chair, they both grinned.

  “Speaking of Christmas, and this weekend, I have to go out of town tomorrow. I’ll be back Sunday evening. I know when we first made this arrangement I didn’t discuss the weekends. I figured you could have the weekend off,” he suggested.

  Hoping he had to leave earlier than before she finished her shift at the bakery, since he didn’t invite her, she offered, “I do have a few presents I can shop for. What about you? I expected to receive a list of gifts you needed me to pick up. Co-workers?” She would have liked to go with him. She knew this would be a long weekend without seeing him.

  “Oh shit!” Clutching his phone he pulled up the calendar. “Okay. Good. It’s just the nineteenth. They’ll get there in time.” Facing her, he hesitated before admitting his oversight. “You really wouldn’t mind picking up a gift for me? It’s for Loretta, my older sister. Nothing major, maybe a scarf, or something. She lives up North and to be honest, she has a stick up her ass an Olympic pole-vaulter couldn’t maneuver. I’ll give you her address and the money to overnight to her.”

  “I don’t mind at all. I told you I will be out anyway.” She realized she didn’t know anything about his family. “What about your parents?”

  “They’re both deceased. Just me and Loretta.” Lifting his plate he glanced at hers but she hadn’t finished eating. “I’m getting some more. It’s delicious. Then let’s do this tree.”

  IT BOTHERED HIM SHUTTING her down like
that, but he didn’t discuss his parents with anyone. Not even his sister. He hadn’t thought about them in a long time. He didn’t want people’s pity. Truth being that it made people uncomfortable. Especially him. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, his mom went fast. His alcoholic dad ran his car into a tree a few months after. He and Loretta were both grateful that the accident didn’t involve anyone else.

  Until Rebecca he hadn’t felt much of anything. He went through the motions of everyday life, burying himself in his work. This last week she dominated his thoughts. He hadn’t felt this alive in years. Being with her made him happy, excited for each day. He couldn’t get enough of her. Every afternoon when he came in from work, he had to have her. He needed to know she belonged to him. So he took her. Hard and fast each time, claiming and marking her as his. Each night he made love to her, and no matter which way he had her, both fulfilled him more than any other woman had.

  What would happen after the holidays? She returned to classes. He returned to his next project in Ohio. It pained him now to imagine her having any feelings for him other than what they shared now. He never wanted to cause her pain or disappoint her.

  AS MUCH AS IT IRRITATED her that she left his sister’s address at his house that morning, and she had to drive all the way back to get it after a Saturday at the bakery, recalling why she ran so late that morning made her tingle with happiness. After decorating the little tree last night, they popped a bunch of microwave popcorn, climbed into bed, and watched movies. They laughed. They loved. And hearing her alarm that morning, he flipped her on her back and took her again. All the while telling her how much he would miss her and to meet him back there tomorrow afternoon.

  Engrossed in those memories it didn’t register what she saw at first. Pulling over she parked behind a truck a few houses down. She recognized Terrie’s '68 Mustang in the driveway behind Jake’s truck. He said he had to go out of town. Did he mean with Terrie? The front door opened and Jake and Terrie walked out. Rebecca envisioned Terrie’s blazing red hair as an inferno she lit herself. But Terrie didn’t know him as Rebecca’s. She never got a good look at him last Friday. It’s not as if she could fault anyone for being interested in him. She sure as hell was. Tall, dark, and handsome. A woman’s dream.

  She watched him open Terrie’s car door, hugging her before she got in. None of this made sense. Did she think this past week meant more than he did? Did he prove her to be the biggest fool ever? Maybe he liked being with strippers, but in her case, he knew her family and felt a genuine responsibility because of that and the spanking that cost her that job.

  Her emotions shifted with each breath she struggled to take. Fury. Pain. Confusion. Regret. Jealousy. Shock. Anguish. They all tore through her leaving her nauseated, fatigued, and crushed. He went to his truck and left after Terrie. Rebecca didn’t know what she wanted to do. She didn’t think she could do anything. Managing to leave her jeep, she drifted to his house. Letting herself in she went straight to his room. The room she shared with him last night. The bed he loved her in that very morning. Undisturbed, they must have remade the bed. She sat. Rolling to her side, she pulled her knees up and released some of the agony cultivating inside her. She cried until she had nothing left except gasps.

  Would he come back today? She needed to confront him. She needed answers. She laid there staring at nothing. For a long time. An hour maybe. Noticing some popcorn on the floor from last night when Jake jumped her during the movie, which ensued with him loving her until her body twitched and she saw stars, she went to the hall closet for the vacuum. He didn’t deserve to have her clean up anymore of his shit, but she felt restless and couldn’t lie there any longer waiting. Waiting on what exactly she had no clue.

  Plugging it in, she turned it on and ran it over the carpet around the nightstand. Something clanked and the brush stopped rolling. Yanking the cord out of the wall, she flipped it over. She found the culprit. A big, gaudy, ugly earring. Terrie’s? Crumpling to the floor, she wailed. Bursts of sobs sprang out of her tight chest and raw throat.

  “Becca, baby! You’re here.” She didn’t hear him until he held her in his lap on the bed rocking her in his arms. “What is it? I’m glad you are here.”

  Slapping him in the chest with her right palm, he dropped his arms and she scooted off his legs.

  “How could you!” she screamed, grateful her rage marched to the forefront. “I thought this week meant something to you. How could I have been so stupid?”

  Pain flashed in his eyes and he stiffened as if an arrow struck him. “I don’t know what you are talking about Becca? It did. It does.”

  Flinging the earring at him, she ranted, “I guess one woman just isn’t enough for you. You don’t believe in monogamous relationships? That would have been good to know.”

  Holding the earring in front of his face with two fingers, he eyed it. “This is what has you all fired up? I don’t recognize this. Where did it come from?”

  Shaking the vacuum cleaner handle, she pointed with her left hand. “On the floor by the nightstand. It got stuck up in the vacuum.”

  He laughed. “So, you aren’t the only woman to ever enter my bedroom. It could be Corinne’s for all I know. You saw this place when you first came here... and the condition of my previous vacuum. That could have been on the floor for a year or more.”

  He had the nerve to insult her intelligence. She needed to get out of there. Get away from him. She felt sick and couldn’t think straight. “I’m leaving. I can’t do this.”

  Smashing the earring on the nightstand, he stood. “Seriously! You can’t be jealous of a woman in my past. I get you’re young, but I’m twenty-eight years old Becca. There have been other women.”

  This time he slighted her maturity. “Just stop Jake. You’ve been up and down. Hot and cold. Sane and insane. Why did you not want to see me today? You had to work out of town?” She couldn’t prevent it. Her lips quivered. “You don’t know what you want. From what I’m learning, it’s been an ongoing problem.”

  Brushing past her, he kicked the door before turning back and facing her. “You are nothing but trouble for me. I knew it. From that night at the bar I knew it. I never cared that much about a chick and what she did, but you...I cared.”

  “Liar!” she yelled at him as she ran past him and out of the house.

  THE FRONT DOOR SLAMMED. He didn’t know what just happened. All over an earring. He never considered her to be one to overreact in such a way. Maybe it was best that it ended now. Hell, if she got that bent out of shape over something he thought he explained, he could only imagine how she would be when they had long stretches apart.

  He hoped she just needed a little time. Cool off. Something else could have set her off. Something at the bakery. Or with her family.

  Sunday came and went without a word. He started to worry. He didn’t want to be without her. Everything reminded him of her. Every room had her touch. His refrigerator never held so much food, and all organized. Beer sat on the second shelf to the left. Condiments filled the doors. Sandwich meat and cheese were inside their intended drawers. She even put fresh flowers in a vase on his small kitchen table. Recalling how she often danced around, lost her balance, and collided with every piece of his furniture at least once over the last week made him miss her that much more.

  Plugging in the lights for the Christmas tree he decided he couldn’t wait any longer. He called her, but she didn’t answer. He texted her. Received no reply. She would contact him. He needed to pay her. Fuck. He just needed her. He wanted her. Even if she behaved like a spoiled brat. He knew how to remedy that, and ached to do so, because this time—he wouldn’t toss her in the spare bed.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  GUILT CONSUMED HER. She hated lying to her mom. Besides calling out with a stomach virus, she knew holidays were their busiest times of the year at the bakery. But if one more person wished her a Merry Christmas yesterday she thought she might leap over the counter and strangle them. She struggled Sunda
y, but nothing like yesterday. When she stayed in her apartment, in her pajamas, she could break down and bawl like a baby when she felt like it.

  The bottle and a half of wine she drank last night didn’t help. Not only did she have stomach pains, her chest ached, her heart hurt, and her throat burned, but now she had a massive headache added to her pains. All she wanted to do was hide and cry. Today her final payment on the cruise came due. Just another thing to toss in the wind. Jake called and texted her several times over the last two days, but she couldn’t bring herself to read his texts or listen to his messages. Why suffer a drawn-out breakup? She needed to gut out these first horrible days.

  She wondered over the years what happened to Jake. Assuming he and her brother lost touch because of their busy lives, but maybe he changed over time, maybe he had no desire to settle down with one woman and build a life together. Hell, did she? She didn’t give it much thought until him. Her sobbing resumed. She hated this.

  Curled up in her recliner she heard a knock at her door. Covering her head with her blanket, she sought to silence her cries. She didn’t want to see anyone. The knocking continued. Throwing the blanket to the side, she got up and went to the door. Wiping her eyes, she opened it. A blur of dark hair and a plaid flannel shirt rushed her. She hollered but it didn’t deter him. Finding herself sitting on her washing machine, she gaped at Jake. Assuming he planted her atop the nearest fixture he located to trap her as he stiffened an arm on each of her sides, boxing her in. If he turned and went straight through the door and to the right he would have entered her kitchen. He went to the left into her laundry room.

  “Becca, you are a pain in the ass,” he grumbled. “Are you just that stubborn that you were going to forfeit your deposit on the cruise...and walk away from what we have going on here?”