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“Should we watch Heroes?” April asked, giggling at nothing. Her cheeks were red and she looked so damn cute.
“Well, if we do, we can’t keep the heat on too, or there’s no way we will have any propane left for tomorrow morning,” I told her.
“What about the fireplace?” She nodded at it. I had retrieved a few more stacks of wood from outside earlier, so we had plenty, but I was hoping not to have to use it. It would be nice to zone out and watch a movie, though. And I was just drunk enough not to care as much as I usually did about open flame. I’d been getting better about it over the years.
“Alright, let’s watch something,” I agreed. “Not Heroes though. Pick an old movie.”
While I got the fire going, she sorted through the shelf and found a few options. When I turned around, she held up two cases.
“What do you think, Die Hard? That’s a Christmas movie, technically. Or the Addams Family. Just because.” She shrugged.
“Definitely Die Hard.” I answered.
We turned off all the lights and the furnace, and lit some candles. That and the fire were all that we had in the way of light. Then we popped the movie in, and sat on the couch. By some unspoken agreement, we huddled together under a blanket. As the movie went on, April moved closer, until she had her head on my shoulder, and my arm was around her waist. It was all very innocent. And date-like, I realized with a jolt. It was exactly like dozens of dates I’d had back in high school, and college even. Then, I’d been watching the movie in the hopes of putting some moves on the girls. Now, I already knew that April was a sure thing.
Which made it more wrong, somehow. When I had agreed to our temporary frenemies with benefits situation, I’d assumed we’d have sex when the mood struck, and avoid each other the rest of the time. Instead, I hadn’t been away from her in over twenty-four hours, and now we were cuddling on the couch like a couple. The worst part was, I didn’t want to be away from April. I had genuinely enjoyed the last two days with her.
Somehow, someway, I’d completely lost control of the situation and I needed some space to get my head back where it needed to be.
Unfortunately, with the power situation, I was stuck in bed with her again, so that wasn’t an option. I just needed to make it to tomorrow, I told myself. The roads were already a little bit better today, so by tomorrow we should be able to leave. And then everything would be fine. Besides, I was so very comfortable. It was hands down the best Christmas I’d had since my parents had passed.
We stayed exactly how we were all evening, drinking more wine and eating more chocolate until we were drowsy. After the second movie ended, I went to gently shift April away so I could turn the TV off and she caught me off guard with a quick kiss. I promptly forgot what I had been doing, and kissed her back. We slid down on the couch, making out lazily.
I was too tall for the damn thing, though, so when I got frustrated a few minutes later, I picked April up and set her on the rug, spreading the blanket under us. With the fire burning in the hearth beside us, and nothing but candlelight in the room, it was absurdly romantic. I tried to block it all out, and focus on April. The wine was making things hazy, and although the logical part of my brain was telling me to speed things up, and make it kinkier and less romantic by finding some random spot in the cabin that we hadn’t yet christened, I didn’t.
Instead, we progressed slowly. It was the opposite of the other night when April had thrown her shirt at me and had become a veritable sex kitten right before my eyes. I leisurely kissed my way down her body, removing clothing only when it was in my way. Even then, I paused to marvel at how beautiful she looked, with the shadows from the fire dancing across her pale, smooth skin.
I continued my progress, sliding down to kiss along her inner thigh, then all the way down to her ankle, reveling in her soft, shivery sighs. As I worked my way back up, I saw April watching me, her hazel eyes glowing with desire and need. I stopped once more, settling onto my stomach, and buried my mouth between her legs. A second later I heard her gasp my name, and felt the tug of her fingers in my hair.
Still not in any hurry, I took my time, licking her sensitive flesh and swirling my tongue through her folds as she panted and whimpered as her orgasm built. Just as she was at the point of begging, I relented and sped up, sucking her clit hard just as she spasmed and cried out her release.
I crawled back up, admiring her flushed and dewy body as I caressed my hands everywhere I could reach. I wasn’t close to having enough of her yet. Once she was breathing evenly, I laid down over her supine form, slid my fingers into her hair, and kissed her deeply. Without pulling away, I reached between us, lined my aching cock against her slick entrance, and slid into her with a slow, grinding thrust.
She sighed blissfully, while a deep groan erupted from my chest as we rocked together at a smooth and steady pace. She gently bit my lip, and I had to force myself not to lose it right there. I hooked one of her legs high around my waist, and the impossibly deeper connection caused April to arch against me and cry out, finally breaking our kiss. Instead of claiming her lips again, I looked down and met her gaze. I couldn’t seem to look away. Her eyes were full of some emotion I couldn’t quite read, and I had the sinking feeling that mine reflected the same sentiments, too.
April slid her hands around to the nape of my neck and held my gaze unwaveringly, although her eyes were getting more unfocused with each hard, strong thrust of my hips against hers. Knowing that I wasn’t going to last much longer either, I sped up, purposely grinding against her clit each time. I watched her fall apart moments later, thinking that it was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. I only looked away when my own climax had me burying my face in her neck, while gruffly whispering her name.
Minutes went by, and I was finally able to think clearly again, even as my mind reeled from what had just happened. It was the first time that we’d had sex in standard missionary position, for a good reason. It had been intensely intimate. I’d never felt so in sync with a woman before, and the realization was giving me a panicked feeling in my chest.
What had just happened between me and April wasn’t just fucking—it was something a lot more emotional, leaving me feeling vulnerable and exposed in a way I’d never experienced before.
I had a suspicion what it all meant, and it was the worst-case scenario.
I was falling for April Dodd.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
April
I stared at the wall of the bedroom, which was currently bathed in cheerful early morning light, and tried to think of something equally happy. Something to bring my mood up when I was feeling so . . . sad.
The clock on our arrangement had run out. It was our last day together, and I was trying not to let it bother me. I’d known that the end to our temporary affair was coming, of course, but anticipating us going our separate ways didn’t make it suck any less. The last three days had been pretty much perfect once we’d put aside our differences—it was hard to imagine that soon I’d go home and not see or talk to Ryan for months.
Up until last night I had been doing pretty well with keeping my walls up around my heart. I’d fully enjoyed his sexy body, and talented mouth, and at times could see that we might even come out of this as real friends. But then I had the bright idea to bring out the wine. We’d gotten drunk and careless, and had broken the one cardinal rule by cuddling on the couch.
If I was being honest with myself the intimacy between us had started before that, with the gift exchange, and talking about our families, and connecting in a way we never had before. And when I’d felt those old feelings for Ryan threatening to emerge, I’d made no effort to stop them. It was easier to blame the alcohol for those lowered inhibitions, but I knew better.
Snuggling with Ryan on the sofa had only been the beginning. I didn’t think that there was any force on Earth that would allow me to forget making love with him. Because that’s exactly what it was last night. With the fire, and candlelight, and chocolates, it had been every single romantic cliché under the sun. Undoubtedly, it would be the experience against which all future experiences would be judged for the rest of my life.
