Page 21 of When You're Home for the Holidays
He tucked one arm under her head and placed the other arm around her front, his hand returning to its familiar, possessive hold between the apex of her thighs. She loved the way he held her, the way he fucked her, the way he loved her.
She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to snuggle up as he spooned her and held her tight. She wanted to shower him with praise and thank him over and over again for loving her so well. But a long, full-body yawn escaped her before she could say or do any of those things.
“Roll to your back and sleep, beautiful,” he murmured into her hair, as if sensing her internal struggle. “I’ve got you, and we’ve got all the time in the world.”
Chapter twelve
Tori
Shewokeuptothe sounds of muffled laughter and Michael Bublé.
“Merry Christmas, beautiful,” Rhett greeted her from his side of the bed. He was sitting up against the headboard, freshly showered with his laptop perched on his legs. He closed it and set it on the nightstand before reaching out to pull her into a hug.
“What time is it?” she yawned, still feeling the heaviness of sleep throughout her body. She stretched her legs straight and remembered she was naked from the waist down, the stickiness of all their fun from last night still present between her thighs.
“It’s not even eight am,” Rhett replied, tucking a section of unruly hair behind her ear. She was definitely going to need a shower before she went out and joined everyone in the kitchen. “But Jake already tried to run in here and jump on the bed an hour ago like a little kid on Christmas morning.”
Tori’s eyes bugged out at the prospect of their friend finding them naked in bed.
“Don’t worry.” Rhett kissed her on the forehead, right between her eyebrows. “I was already up, I heard him coming, and I didn’t let him get two steps into the room.”
Tori nodded once but still brought her thumb to her mouth in concern. “Just Jake?” she asked.
“Yes, just Jake. Fielding and Maddie both know better, thankfully.”
She bit down harder on her nail as the memory of searching for Penny last night replayed in her mind. Rhett and Fielding had avoided each other completely at dinner and for the rest of the night. She knew better than to hope the tension between them would disappear because it was Christmas.
“Stop that,” Rhett scolded, pulling her finger away from her mouth. He placed a gentle kiss on her hand and laced their fingers together. “I already talked to Fielding this morning when I went out to make coffee. We gave each other bro nods, and he resisted making any stupid remarks, so we’re good. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
She sighed as she curled up into his side. She wouldn’t have minded a few more hours of sleep, but she was also excited to give everyone their presents. They had all agreed to forgo gifts—no one in their group needed a single thing—but Tori couldn’t resist playing Santa. Maddie and Fielding each had a present to open, then the gift she was most eager to give was what they had planned for Jake.
“Do you want to get up now or sleep a little more?”
She inhaled deeply, willing the fog to clear out of her brain. “I know better than to think Jake won’t try to barge in here again if we don’t get out there soon.” She sat up and stretched her arms overhead. “I’ll get up. I need to shower, so maybe you could hold them off for half an hour?”
“Want me to join you?” he offered, running his hand up her arm and pulling at one of the thin silk straps of her camisole. Feeling the fabric rub taut against her shoulder reminded her of all the deliciously naughty things they had done together last night.
“We both know it’ll take more than half an hour for me to get ready if you join me,” she retorted, stretching up to kiss him. “Um, with that in mind… any idea where my thong is from last night?” Judy was always trying to pick up after them and keep up with the laundry. She blushed slightly at the thought of anyone finding that particular undergarment on the floor.
“Well, I did consider stuffing it in Jake’s stocking this morning…”
She smacked her husband’s arm as her cheeks heated in embarrassment.
“What?” Rhett defended. “You said he was on the naughty list!”
“You think you’re funny at Christmastime, don’t you?”
“You know I’m just teasing you, beautiful. I took care of it already.” He kissed her forehead again, then moved to get out of bed. “Shower and take your time. I’ll get everyone started on breakfast and bring you coffee while you get ready.”
Rhett’s joke wasn’t the only teasing she had to endure that morning. Apparently, she had been much louder than she realized last night, and Maddie and Jake were relentless. She hadn’t stopped blushing since they sat down for breakfast.
“Seriously. I’m staying in the basement with the guys next year if you two can’t remember you have company sleeping in the loft that doesn’t have any walls or doors on it,” Maddie ribbed as she reached across the table for more bacon.
“No objections from me,” Fielding said, giving Maddie a sly smile and a little tilt of his head. Jake punched him in the arm before Rhett could even react.
“I don’t know about the acoustics of the loft, Fourth Wheel, but the basement isn’t exactly soundproof either.” Jake raised both eyebrows and gave Tori a pointed look. She had no one to blame but herself—she was the loud one, after all—but Rhett usually reminded her to keep quiet when they had guests at the cabin. She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d chosen not to remind her on purpose last night, given the pissing match that had gone down when they were looking for Penny.
She chanced a glance at Fielding, who had been uncharacteristically quiet all morning. He met her eyes for just a second before looking away, suddenly fascinated by his glass of orange juice. “I’m just glad I sleep like the dead…” he muttered, shaking his head.
