Page 79 of The Christmas Fix
“I’m not scarred,” he argued. “It was decades ago. I’m over it. I should be over it.”
Cat cupped his chin with her free hand. “Listen to me. There’s a difference between being scarred and being a victim. You took what was a terrible childhood, and you made sure your daughter would never feel any of those things. She’d never be hungry or cold or scared.”
“A lot of good it did her. She wants to be a celebrity and have pink hair. Next, she’s going to be telling me she doesn’t want to go to college.”
She gave his grizzled chin an affectionate squeeze. “Stop. You didn’t have control when you were a kid. Your parents weren’t responsible enough to provide the stability and security you needed to feel safe. It’s why you’re Mr. No now. Why you were such a dick about the show.”
“I wouldn’t say I was a dick—”
“Totally a dick.”
“Fine. I was a dick,” he conceded. “I just. Things need to be safe, tidy, secure. I’m in charge of the livelihood of this town, and I take that very seriously. I don’t want to let anyone down or make a bad decision that would hurt people.”
“So, you play it safe,” Cat filled in the blank.
“Sometimes maybe a little too safe,” he admitted. He picked up her hand and traced the tattoo with the tip of his finger. “I’m unnaturally good at assessing risks. And you’re a huge one.”
She grinned. “How am I risky? I’m light, I’m fun, I don’t require constant care and attention.”
“Oh, you’re risky. I could fall for you, and you could just walk out of my life onto the next job, the next guy, the next adventure. And I’d just be left remembering.”
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Cat woke with his sleep-hardened cock buried at the base of her spine. Even in his sleep, Noah was shifting against her, greedy for more friction.
Her body felt sore and well used from last night, and yet… there was a sharp yearning formore. She’d thought getting it out of their system at least once would dull the need she felt. But now she feared she may have only awoken the dragon. The intimacy? That was too much. But the outcome. Dear, sweet baby Jesus, she’d never experienced anything like that in her entire sexual history.
It was ironic to get to thirty-two only to realize how sorely she’d been deprived. She wanted more. More of his rough words, more of his body worshipping her own. More of that edge of pain mixed with a pleasure that threatened to drown her. And yet, her heart ached for him, for that little boy hungry for love and safety. She’d misjudged him on so many levels.
His arm was thrown over her waist, hand gripping her breast. She felt her nipple pebble against his palm, seeking, needing. Noah flexed against her ass again, and Cat felt a shiver of desire snake through her.
She closed a hand over his as it gripped her breast and kneaded.
“Mmm,” he murmured against her hair. She waited for him to wake and was rewarded with a more conscious thrust at her back.
Cat reached behind her between their bodies and trailed her fingers over his hard-on. He pulled his hips back, giving her room to wrap her hand around him. One pump of her tight hand was all it took to feel moisture pooling at his tip.
She heard the sigh resonate in his chest, and his cock twitched in her hand. He was beyond ready for her. But she wasn’t ready for the intimacy, the rawness they’d shared last night. It felt too… serious. Too intense. She wanted to show Noah fun, not turn him into a sex slave soulmate.
Cat rolled onto her stomach, knees pushing her ass in the air. It was all the invitation Noah needed.
“Condom,” he demanded in a sleep-roughened voice.
She pointed to the nightstand, and he ripped the drawer off its tracks in his hurry.
Like a Pavlovian experiment, Cat felt herself go wet at the sound of the foil between his very capable fingers. There’d be no finesse here, just a sleepy morning fuck that woke and warmed their bodies. No staring into each other’s eyes and guessing the other’s secrets. No unsettling yearnings for something so much more.
Cat buried her face in her pillow when Noah notched himself into place. He stayed there for just a moment, one inch inside her, igniting a fire that threatened to burn them both to the ground. Smoothing his hands up her back and around her sides, he leaned forward just slightly to cup her breasts and slide another inch deeper into her.
She could barely hold back the cry. It wasn’t deep enough. She wasn’t full enough. She was desperate for it. For him.
She flexed her hips backward against him, and he allowed her another inch. Cat took a shaky breath. Her fingers held the sheets in a death grip. Noah stroked up her spine and back down, a gentle yet stirring touch. Everywhere he touched her, her skin felt a thousand degrees warmer. Her ass cheeks, the backs of her thighs, her spine, and now her breasts again. He kneaded them with his firm fingers and without warning used his grip to yank her backwards onto his cock.
Cat cried out into the pillow. Her muscles were already dancing and sparking with an impossibly swift build toward orgasm.
“Damn it, baby. You’re so wet,” he groaned, fingers flexing into her soft flesh. “I haven’t even touched you yet.”
Noah took his time sliding out of her, and Cat immediately felt bereft, empty. When he sank into her again, she could feel his body coiling against hers. The need that she was fighting was present in him too. Instinct was driving them in one direction and one direction only.Fulfillment.
