Page 71 of The Holiday Grump
I nuzzled into his side, and he wrapped his arm around me. I felt so safe and relaxed. “Can we stay here all day? Just you and me and the fire?”
He kissed the top of my head. “You can stay as long as you’d like.”
Would I be safe right here, with him? Fredrik was a recluse. Who would think of looking for me in this house?
My heart swelling, I climbed onto his lap to straddle him. He kissed me back, running his fingers up my back. I felt his erection between my legs and shivered. He was so good to me. So attentive. Spencer hadn’t been a terrible lover, but I’d never wanted him like that. I’d been performing in the bedroom, just like I’d performed for his friends and family.
“I never thought I was that sexual,” I said, a little dazed. “I don’t usually want it. I have to really focus to get myself in the mood, you know?”
He tilted his head. “With Spencer, you mean?”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “I always felt bad that I couldn’t be as seductive as he hoped. I’m so spontaneous, and he used to say I should save it for the bedroom. But then I’d feel a bit distant and weird, and I had to… fake it.”
Fredrik froze, frowning at me. I tried to kiss him again, but he grabbed my face between his hands. “I know this sounds disingenuous, especially from another guy who’s sleeping with you, but your ex is a piece of shit.”
“It’s true, though. I’m not spontaneous in the bedroom.”
“You just seduced me in the sauna, and I’m currently rock hard because you climbed on my lap on the couch in the middle of a serious conversation. So I respectfully disagree.”
I smiled at the evidence he laid out. “Of course! We just met. It’s all new and hot. But you’ll see I’m not… good at it.”
“What do you think I’m expecting? And I’m terrible at dirty talk. I can’t even flirt. I have no moves.”
I drew back, peering at him in confusion. “But you gave me those orgasms! You knew exactly what to do.”
He was trying not to look too pleased. “I collect a lot of trivia. Some of it is sex-related.”
I stared at him in awe. “You’ve learned about female pleasure from books, haven’t you?”
His gaze flicked sideways. “I may have picked up some of those medical romance novels. They’re very detailed.”
“Oh my God!” I clasped my mouth.
He didn’t seem embarrassed, stroking my hair away from my face, his gaze soft and discerning. “How was your first time with Spencer?”
“I… was drunk,” I confessed. “I wasn’t brave enough to gonear him, so my friend kept buying drinks. I was impulsive, even forward, but I didn’t enjoy it. It’s never that much fun when you’re wasted.”
It had been another performance. My audition, more accurately. With Fredrik, I didn’t feel like that. I was finally connected to my own body, not using it to win someone’s approval.
“I wouldn’t feel like sleeping with someone either if I were constantly scrutinized,” he murmured, kissing my neck. “You can’t love someone unless you accept who they are. The only person you can change is yourself, and even that’s a tall order.”
His words relaxed me further, and I melted into his touch. It felt so good. So reverent. Like he was in awe of me, mesmerized by every detail, with no judgment. No expectations. And it was the hottest thing I’d ever experienced.
I peeled off my shirt and tank top, throwing them on the couch. He unhooked my bra and ran his hands over me, groaning. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Noelle. Nothing.” His voice was husky, and it pooled more heat into my core.
My clit throbbed in anticipation. He might not have been talking dirty, but he was giving me words I desperately needed. Fredrik drew me closer, pinching my nipple between his lips. Starbursts erupted through me, and I rocked against him.
Somehow, we shifted from an upright to a horizontal position, with me lying underneath him on the couch. I fought to get rid of my pants, then my underwear.
“I’m completely nude. In your house,” I said, biting back a nervous laugh. “On your couch.”
He pulled back, as if noticing the same thing. “So you are!”
“I don’t know why I’m laughing, sorry. It’s just weird.”
“Bad weird? Because this is hands down the hottest thing that’s ever happened in this house. Ever.”
“How would you know? Maybe they had orgies in here.”
