“What a relief.” Her eyes flutter closed, giving me even more space to watch her.
Okay. That sounds creepy, but I can’t help it. She’s got that expression, the one that made me fall for her in thefirst place. The creative spark is lit, and though she looks as exhausted as I feel, there’s still a soft smile etched on her lips.
I jump up from the bed, knowing this train of thought can only derail and run into the side of a building and burst into an explosion of flames. “I’m going to use the bathroom. Want me to start the tub while I’m in there?”
“Ohmygod, yes. My hero.” She groans and it goes straight to my dick, and I scamper into the bathroom before she can catch me.
I take way longer than I need to, waiting for the water to hit just the right temperature, filling the tub with the vanilla-scented bubble bath the hotel provided. When I open the door to the bathroom, she’s standing right there and she looks so beautiful it makes my chest ache, and holy fuck what have I done? Writing this book together doesn’t just mean spending the next few days hashing out plot points. It means copyediting questions and promotional appearances and signings.
More time with Jess trying to deny what’s becoming more and more obvious.
I clear my throat, shoving down any and all traces of emotion. “All ready for you.”
“Thanks, Nick.” Her voice goes soft, and so do her eyes.
I make myself repeat the refrain.She has no intention of giving me a second chance.
I move out of the way, sweeping my arm in a wide arc like the fool that I am. “Your bath awaits.”
She slips into the bathroom and closes the door behind her.
Second Christmas
Nick
“Remember last Christmas?” Jess asks, laying her head on my shoulder and looking up at me with a grin.
I press a kiss to her forehead, settling back into the train seat so she can rest against me more comfortably. “How could I forget? You blurted out how much you love me in the middle of sex.”
She swats at my arm half-heartedly. “It’s not my fault your dick made me lose all sense of propriety.”
“It is pretty potent.”
She laughs, resting her chin on my shoulder. Her voice lowers to a throaty whisper. “Remember what I was wearing that night?”
I groan. As if it would be possible to wipe the memory of her lacy red lingerie from my mind.
She shifts a bit in her seat, and the movement gives me a peek down her V-neck sweater. Her breasts are encased in the red lace that has starred in more than one fantasy since this time last year.
I groan again. “Jesus, Jess. We’re in public.” I adjust my jeans. “Not to mention on the way to your parents’ house.”
“My room is on the opposite side of the house from theirs.”
“I am not having sex with you at your parents’ house.” Though fuck if just the thought doesn’t make me half-hard. I glance around the train to make sure no one is looking our way.
She chuckles. “We’ll see about that.”
We both know I’m powerless to resist her.
It’s been a year and a half, and the sex has somehow only gotten better. I’ve never opened myself up to anyone the way I’ve opened myself up to Jess, and who knew being vulnerable with someone could actually lead to orgasms so scorching I sometimes feel like my balls might combust.
I’m one hundred percent certain this girl is the one. And it isn’t just the sex. It’s everything between us. The way we challenge each other, the way she makes me laugh without even having to try. The way we both itch to explore the world, but love coming back home. I never really believed in soulmates, even though I write about them, but Jess might be the one to fully convert me. It’s like the woman has no flaws.
“I love Christmas,” she sighs happily, hitting me with another punch-in-the-gut grin.
Okay, so she has one flaw.
I would never admit it to her face, but even her love for the holidays is becoming a bit infectious. Like chicken pox or herpes.
