Her Secret Santa Read online

  Cupping her face, he lifted his head and met her eyes. “I wasn’t sure I’d find you here this morning. I’m glad you stayed.”

  “I tried to leave at dawn. You…”

  Stroking her hair out of her eyes, he smiled. “I what?”

  “You…dissuaded me.”

  “Did I?”

  “You know very well you did. You said there were still a few spots on my body that you hadn’t tasted yet, and then you…” She squirmed.

  “What?” he murmured, as turned on now as he’d been last night.

  “You put your mouth on me.”

  His favorite part. “You taste so good, Ally.”

  She closed her eyes. “You have this way, you know. Of making me feel…”

  He waited for her to finish that thought. He made her feel what exactly? But when she remained quiet, he realized that there was no qualifier on the end of her sentence. He made her feel.

  Period.

  And his heart caught, hard. But when he bent to kiss her, she slapped a hand to his chest. “We have work,” she said. “We have to get up and go collect the rest of the toys. Together.”

  “Aw, how sweet.” He kissed one corner of her mouth, then the other. “You want to spend time with me.” He smiled when she scowled, because that hadn’t been what she meant and he knew it. She still didn’t fully trust him. That was okay, they’d work on it.

  Her stomach growled. “Great. I probably have mascara all over my face, a major case of bed head, and now you know how loudly my stomach can growl.”

  “I don’t see any mascara, or bed head. Although…” He brushed his fingers over the silky strands. “It definitely has a ‘just been thoroughly ravished’ look to it.” He grinned when she groaned. “And my stomach can outdo yours any day of the week, trust me. Come on, I’ll feed you.”

  “Shower first.”

  “Shower first, then.”

  With that, he rolled out of bed and yanked the sheet off her.

  She squeaked, then sat up and eyed his hard-on. “Again?” she asked as he lifted her into his arms.

  She was trying to sound resigned, but he could hear the low tremor of excitement in her voice she couldn’t hide.

  It cracked him up. He stopped for a long, slow kiss that had her panting and clinging to his lips. He pulled back just enough to say, “And you think I’m the addict.”

  CHAPTER 7

  THEY DIDN’T GET LUCKY in the shower. In fact, he let her go first. Ally didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved that he wouldn’t be once again effortlessly pulling a shocking amount of desire, passion and need out of her, not to mention the emotions.

  God, the emotions.

  She’d had no idea.

  None.

  But being with the right guy, having him touching her the right way, making her feel…

  Right.

  After her shower, he fed her. He stood in his kitchen in worn jeans, a faded firefighter T-shirt, and a day’s growth of beard shadowing his jaw, and made her an omelet and toast, looking sexy as hell while he did it.

  In the light of day it hit her just how hot he was, how virile and potent his sheer presence was.

  And he was completely unaware of it.

  When he caught her staring at him, his usual easy smile was replaced with something far more devastating—a deep, almost fierce intensity.

  “What?” she whispered, but he shook his head, shrugged it off, and then he pulled her out of her chair and kissed her until neither of them could think. After they’d eaten, he asked her about her plan for the day.

  Her plan.

  He hadn’t tried to push his own agenda on her, hadn’t tried to take over, hadn’t done anything but show her in every move, every step, every word he uttered that he completely and totally respected her job and her ability to do it.

  Did he have any idea how attractive that was? How he made her want things she’d already decided weren’t in the cards for her?

  “So where to?” he repeated quietly, making her realize she’d been staring at him stupidly for God knew how long.

  “Let’s go pick up toys at the stations,” she said.

  “I like the ‘let’s.’”

  That afternoon, he drove her to the first of the three fire stations in town. There was half a box of toys there, and Eddie handed them to her one by one.

  No surprises in the bottom.

  Same thing at the second fire station.

  At the third, Eddie’s own firehouse, the stack of gifts was bigger. Once again they went through their routine, Eddie pulling out each toy one by one, until he stopped handing them over to her.

  “That’s it?” she asked, holding her breath, wanting to be relieved, searching his face for a clue.

  She found it in the slight tightening of his mouth.

  He lifted a package wrapped in shiny gold, with the ever-present naked Santas all over it. This box was about a foot long, only a few inches wide, and she stared at it like it was a spitting cobra. “Damn.”

  He took her out to his truck to pull off the paper. Ally felt her mouth open and then close and then open again. She was impersonating a goldfish.

  A struck-dumb goldfish.

  Eddie took the foot-long vibrator from her hands. “Interesting color.”

  It was as purple as Barney the Dinosaur. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?” she finally murmured.

  “Spend another night with me and I’ll show you.”

  Her insides quivered, her body recognizing the truth of his statement. She stared at him, trying to frown but her damn nipples went hard. “You’d…you want to…with this.”

  His smile was downright wicked. “I’ve never been much for toys, but I know how thorough you can be. If you wanted to check this out, I’d feel obligated to assist. Or at the very least, watch.”

  “It’s evidence.” But she looked at the thing again with just enough speculation to make him laugh. God, she loved his laugh. Shoving him, she looked at the box. “Hey, look. There’s a store tag here.” It was for a porn shop in the next town over, one they hadn’t visited.

  Half an hour later, they were on their way there, Eddie driving with easy, calm efficiency. He still wore those old jeans and T-shirt, dark glasses over his eyes now. He hadn’t shaved, and she thought of how that rough jaw would feel between her thighs tonight. Then she realized she had no idea if she was going to see him tonight.

  Or the next night.

  She had no claim on him. None. She’d slept with him, period. And though she didn’t regret it, not a single moment, she also knew that things were different than before. Months ago, her heart hadn’t been fully engaged. Now it definitely was.

  As for his heart, she had no idea. Men didn’t work the same way women did. They could get naked and not get attached.

  Eddie slid her a glance. “You okay?”

  “I am.” Let it go, please let it go…

  “Looks like you’re deep in thought.”

  She opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn’t say anything.

  He looked as if he wanted to push the issue, but they were already at the porn shop. The door was locked. Looking at the sign, they realized the store didn’t open for another fifteen minutes. They waited at Eddie’s truck, where he tugged her to him. “Hey.”

  “Hey.”

  He smiled, but when she didn’t, he lifted his sunglasses to the top of his head. “Want to tell me those deep thoughts now?”

  “No.”

  He studied her a moment, then pressed her back against the door. “You remember when I was telling you all the things I liked about you? That you’re smart as hell, and gorgeous, and you make me want things that I’ve never wanted before?”

  She didn’t remember that last part, no. Her breath caught, because in spite of herself, she liked the sound of it.

  “I also like your honesty,” he said quietly, nudging her face up to his. “It’s such an innate part of you. If you feel something, if yo