Page 72 of The Holiday Grump
He lowered down to kiss my stomach. “Unlikely. But even if they did, it wouldn’t be as hot as this.” He ran his tongue down my body. “I’m completely drunk on you, Noelle. I’ve lost all control.”
My body responded before my mind even caught up to his words, launching fireworks on every point of contact. His thumbs massaged my thighs as his tongue circled me, teasing and building pressure. I wasn’t performing for anyone. I was floating in my little bubble, high on his acceptance, free to focus on every sensation. I felt him there with every breath, kiss, and touch, but he’d stepped into a role that required nothing of me. I tilted my hips, moving with him, riding the wave of pleasure, making incoherent noises he matched with his groans.
When he sensed me getting closer, he pulled back, holding his breath. I was so desperate for him that I nearly learned to levitate. “Please, Fredrik.”
He caught my clit with his tongue, and my vision exploded with sparkles. I came apart, shaking against his mouth. Time stopped, and the world vanished for a moment, gifting me a delicious, floating fall, like a snowflake drifting through the sky.
I opened my eyes to his smiling face. My grumpy guy was grinning, watching me. “I love seeing you come,” he said matter-of-factly. “I think it’s my favorite thing.”
I laughed. “It’s my favorite thing, too. You wanna see it again?”
I’d never felt this sensitive. This charged. It was a little foreign, but too good to pass up. I pulled him closer, and he yanked down his jeans, finally as naked as I was. The fire crackled behind the glass doors, filling the room with its warm glow. When he filled me, I cried out, my nails digging into his arms as I held on.
“You want on top?” he asked. “I don’t mind.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But I’m so close I?—”
It had never happened to me. I’d never come like this, trapped under someone. But I was too far gone. Too sensitive. Maybe we’d both planned to last a little longer, but it wasn’t in the cards. I felt him pumping inside me as my body took over in the sweetest release, shaking from head to toe.
“You took me with you,” he whispered as we caught our breath. “Next time, I’ll last longer.”
“It was perfect,” I said, still riding the high, my body limp and tender. “I don’t like the performance game. How long you’re supposed to last or what you’re supposed to sound like.”
“You’re right.” He kissed my shoulder, still inside me. “Let’s not do that. Next time, I’ll sound like a foghorn as I come in my pants.”
I chuckled. “Sounds great.”
“As long as there’s a next time.” His voice was thick and tender, and it shot a little arrow straight into my heart.
“We have time,” I said gently. I couldn’t promise anything more.
He rose onto his forearms, looking at me. His eyes werethe softest I’d ever seen, his voice so vulnerable it sent instant shivers through me. “Noelle. I’m falling for you.”
I held my breath against a cocktail of emotions swirling like a sugar-rimmed tornado. Love and desire. Fear and doubt. And an overwhelming sense that everything was about to change.
CHAPTER 24
Fredrik
Iwaited for her to say something, my heart beating so hard it hurt. I knew it was too early, but if we didn’t talk now, when would we? When she was sailing across the Atlantic?
I’d nearly given up when she spoke. “It’s scary.”
I helped her sit up, and we got dressed in silence. I threw two more logs on the fire and carried our coffee cups back to the kitchen. She joined me, taking a seat across the island.
“Are you angry with me?” she asked.
“No. Why?”
“Oh.” She looked genuinely surprised. “I feel like I said something wrong.”
“You’re right. It’s scary. We don’t have to decide anythingright now.”
What else could I say? Nothing like this had happened to me in years. Maybe ever. I knew I was falling hard. I could feel it happening, but I couldn’t expect her to follow. I had to pull myself together right now or I’d scare her away. Hell, I was scaring myself with these thoughts. I couldn’t blame her for feeling the same.
“You know I ran off from my wedding.” She pinned me with a look that was both pained and open. “I called an Uber and never talked to him again. And I still don’t know why I did it.”
“I think you do,” I argued. “Think about it.”
