Page 78 of The Holidays with Mr. Mitchell
For the first time in weeks, I wasn’t thinking about work, headlines, company parties, or the countless other things waiting for me outside this retreat. Just balance. Her hand in mine, the pulse under her skin, the soft hum of everything finding its rhythm again.
I might need to thank my brother for dragging all of us into this weird therapy journey of theirs. Then again, hewasthe main reason I was trending as a tree-hugging billionaire who ruined his family, so it was probably best not to give him the satisfaction.
TWENTY-NINE
Avery
The drive home was quiet,charged, and as if the heat from the fire chamber had followed us into our car. My pulse still hummed under my skin, every nerve alive. Whatever that ridiculous therapy had done, it left me floating somewhere between calm and craving.
Jim’s hand rested on my thigh as he drove, thumb tracing slow circles that had nothing to do with comfort. He hadn’t said much since we left the resort, but he didn’t need to. His silence was its own command…steady, deliberate, impossible to ignore.
When we pulled into the driveway of the Malibu house, just as the sky was streaked in molten gold, the ocean below our deck caught the light, turning every wave into what looked like liquid metal. I barely had time to shut the car door before Jim was already opening mine, his hand outstretched. That simple gesture sent heat racing through me all over again.
“We still have time before we pick up the girls,” he said in a tone that sent a sizzling sensation through me.
“Howmuchtime?”
“Enough,” he said.
It was the way he looked at me with this focused certainty, like I was the only thing on his mind. The spa had promised connection, alignment, balance. What it really delivered was a man who could undo me with a single glance.
Last night had been incredible—more than enough to erase a week of fake fighting. But right now, my body was responding like it hadn’t just missed him, but it had been starving for him.
The look in his dark eyes told me he’d felt the same.
He took my hand as we entered the house, the door clicking shut behind us.
Before we took another step past the entryway, Jim stopped, turned back to me, and I knew I was going to love what came next.
He caught my face in his hands, his touch rough from restraint, tender from knowing exactly how much power he held. When his mouth met mine, the spark that had followed us home ignited into something that felt bigger than both of us.
Every inhale was his—every exhale, mine. Light rolled through me in waves until I couldn’t tell if we were moving or if the whole house was.
The next thing I knew, I was in his arms, him taking long strides through the house, while his lips never left mine. All of this felt new and exhilarating in ways I didn’t think I’d forgotten, until now.
He laid me down on the cold granite surface of the kitchen island. I ran my fingers through his thick black hair, tilting his head up so I could indulge myself in the taste of his neck.
A low groan escaped him as he gently removed my leggings, and I peeled off my top to expose myself fully to him.
His eyes were set with purpose as they met mine. “God, I love you,” he said. “And I’m taking your beautiful ass right here on this counter.”
“Ice cold?” I smiled.
Jim’s lips lifted in one corner, “If we’re good, we can recreate that whole fire and ice technique right here.”
Before I could respond, Jim’s shirt and pants were on the floor, and then he climbed over to where I lay back, waiting for him to do whatever he wanted with me.
His lips were firm as they moved up my sides, over my abdomen, and up the center of my chest. I couldn’t resist reaching down to feel the thick length of everything I wanted and needed inside of me this instant.
I arched into him when his lips captured my hard nipple, and he sucked harder than usual. The granite was glacial under me, while his body burned everywhere it touched mine. It was like the heat met the cold, and I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. All I knew was it was heightening every nerve and sensation within me, and it was enough to make me come undone.
My legs fell open as I took Jim, guiding him into me. “Fuck, yes,” I said, as he answered my need.
Jim braced himself on both elbows, his knees planted, and moved deeply and slowly into every fiery nerve that welcomed him. I contracted everything inside, tightening harshly just to hear his breath catch at the sensation of me clinching his dick.
“You’re so fucking perfect,” he said, thrusting harder.
I practically growled, needing more of him. “Harder, baby. God, please…”
