Page 49 of A Gift of Time
Chapter Fourteen
The ending credits played forHow the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Caden remained cuddled against me.
We’d already watched the old classic Christmas movies, likeYear Without a Santa ClausandRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and the Grinch was the last one.
Dinner had been sweet potatoes and steak, and Caden had baked sugar cookies for dessert—which were now only crumbs on the plates on the table in front of us.
It was nearing ten p.m. and my eyes couldn’t stop focusing on the green clock above the fireplace. So many times, I’d had to fight the urge to smash the damn thing, but Nick had said it’d ruin my chance at ever going back to my old life if I did.
Pressing my lips into Caden’s hair, I held him tighter, enjoying the moment as long as possible.
He turned his face and placed it against my neck before gently kissing my throat.
“I have an idea,” he murmured, his breath tickling the side of my neck. He lifted his head and gave me a shy smile. “You’ll probably think it’s dumb, but I love to read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmason Christmas Eve. It’s a tradition I started a few years ago.”
Heaviness settled on my chest as memories of our past Christmas’ flashed through my head.
The last Christmas Eve, I’d put on a Santa hat and had held the book in front of me, reading it aloud in a dramatic narrator voice, even acting out the expressions and actions throughout the story. Caden had laughed so hard, he’d snorted and spilled some of his drink on the rug.
“I don’t think that’s dumb,” I said before kissing the top of his head and getting off the couch. He turned and watched as I walked to the kitchen, grabbed two glasses and the bottle of wine from the refrigerator, and returned. “Thought we could use some.”
“You read my mind,” he responded, taking one of the glasses.
I poured the wine before sitting back down. “I don’t have the book, so I’m just gonna pull it up on my phone and read.”
Caden grinned and leaned back on the couch, taking a drink.
After taking a sip, I set my glass on the coffee table and scrolled through my phone. Finding the story, I cleared my throat and winked at him.
His smile widened, and he snuggled more into the couch, waiting for me to start.
And then I re-enacted the last time I’d read it, deepening my voice and becoming overly dramatic with my movements.
By the time I finished, Caden had set his wine down because he was laughing too hard. His face was a darker shade from all the giggling and his blue eyes glistened.
That’s how I loved him most—when he was happy.
He stopped smiling when he looked at me, and his eyes searched my face. Worry creased his brow. “What’s wrong, Jack?”
“Nothing,” I said, stepping closer. “You’re just beautiful.”
I bent and kissed him then, wrapping my arms around his midsection and pulling him up. His mouth moved against mine in an unhurried way, as if he were savoring the taste of me like I was him. We grabbed at each other as our tongues danced, and we wound up in my bedroom.
I laid him on the bed, and he grazed his teeth over his bottom lip as he stared at me.
Neither of us said anything—our expressions said enough.
I lay on top of him and kissed him deeper, trying to convey my feelings for him in the way my lips moved with his.
Caden arched his back and tilted his head back on the mattress, exposing his throat. Taking the hint, I kissed the side of his neck until I found his weak spot. His breathing quickened as his arms came around my back, holding me tighter.
“Mm, rightthere,” he groaned.
Soon, on top of the clothes stuff wasn’t enough. His dick pressed into my abdomen, and mine was so hard it hurt. He nipped at my throat in a sexually playful way, and I looked down at him, smiling.
“Someone a little eager?”
“I need you, Jack,” he said in a seductive, breathy tone.
