Unexpected Gifts (3 page)

Reaching between them, she tugged at his
waistband. “Take them off.”

Chapter Three

Sam groaned at the rough quality of her
voice as her cool fingers grazed his stomach and she tugged at the
button of his fly. “God, Cass. I want you so fucking bad,” he
muttered against her neck, palming her ass and fitting her more
snugly against him.

Her damp heat practically seared his fingers
as they came into contact with her sopping panties. The sweet scent
of her arousal was addictive. He wanted nothing more than to lay
her back across the counter and bury his face in her pussy. How
many times had he imagined her thighs locked around his head as he
ate her out? How many times had he stroked himself imagining making
her come? Would she scream? Whimper? Stay silent? His balls drew up
tight as he realized he was about to find out. He wouldn’t rest
until he knew the answer and she was utterly satisfied.

The shrieking whistle of the tea kettle
nearly startled her from his arms, but he pinned her more firmly to
the wall and reached over to turn off the burner. The wailing
sputtered to silence, leaving no sound behind but their harsh
breathing. Securing both arms around her, he carried her through
the nearly dark house to the couch in the living room. It was
selfish as hell of him, but he didn’t want to give her a chance to
change her mind.

Laying her back on the cushions, he hooked
his fingers in her panties and tugged them down her legs, taking
her socks with them. Her thighs splayed open momentarily before she
started to close them. There wasn’t enough light to tell, but he
suspected that a blush had risen to her cheeks.

Kneeling on the floor before her, he urged
her legs apart and leaned over her, pulling a taut nipple into his
mouth. A strangled sound escaped her as she arched up, urging him
to take more—suck harder—with her whispered begging. His stomach
skimmed across her damp pussy as he leaned farther in, moving from
one breast to the other, drawing on her tautly budded nipples,
feeling them pucker against his tongue.

She tangled her hands in his hair, tugging
as he teased her, nipping at her distended flesh as he sucked. He
loved her responsiveness. Tyler had been an idiot to walk away from
her, but Christ, Sam was glad he had.

Dragging kisses over her torso, he made his
way across the trembling flesh of her belly to hover above her
pussy. The scent of her arousal enflamed him further, and he slowly
drew a fingertip through her slick folds. His cock jerked as he
imagined what it would be like to slide inside her, to fill her
completely.

He’d wanted her for so long; it was almost
impossible to believe he was finally here with her. If not for the
sensation of her velvet soft skin beneath his touch and her
undeniable warmth, he’d think he was lost in another hopeless
daydream.

Using his thumbs, he gently parted her
folds, opening her to his gaze in the dim light. The single
streetlamp backlit the blowing snow, and through the front window,
it cast a gentle glow over her skin, making her look almost
ethereal—her pale skin radiant in sharp contrast to her dark hair
spread across the cushion. No matter what happened, he’d always
remember her like this—beautiful and open to him.

Lowering his head, he tasted her. Like sweet
wine, her flavor burst across his tongue, hot and addictive. He
lapped at her slick flesh, darting inside her tight opening before
stroking upward to circle her swollen clit.

Desperate whimpers escaped her lips as she
lifted her hips to his mouth. He was certain he’d never seen
anything as hard-on inducing as the sight of her body straining
toward pleasure, toward release. He slipped a finger inside her wet
channel, groaning at the way she clasped him, knowing it would only
be a million times better when he was buried balls deep inside
her.

Slowly, he stroked in and out of her
shuddering body, adding another finger and another while brushing
his thumb across her clit. She gripped the couch as if she wouldn’t
stay grounded without hanging on. She was close. He could feel it
in the way her muscles tensed and the way she bit her lip as if she
could hold back her impassioned cries. He couldn’t wait to see her
break. He wanted to make her come more than he’d ever wanted
anything.

Keeping his gaze on her, he flicked his
tongue across her clit before sucking the tiny bundle of nerves
between his lips. Her entire body stiffened as her release washed
over her; his name was torn from her lips with an anguished cry.
He’d never heard anything more beautiful.

Panting, her eyes fluttered open, and she
pinned him with her stare. “Please tell me you have a condom.”

Panic flared to life in his gut. He pulled
his wallet from his back pocket and rifled through it until he
found one. He climbed to his feet and quickly stripped off the
remainder of his clothes while Cassie watched, teeth gnawing at her
lower lip. He quickly sheathed himself and paused, gazing down at
her.

Cassie squirmed under his scrutiny. She knew
she wasn’t perfect, but she couldn’t remember ever feeling so
self-conscious before. Finally, she looked away. “Please, don’t.
Don’t stare at me like that.”

A rueful smile curved his lips. “I wanted to
make sure this wasn’t another misguided, adolescent fantasy.”

“Um…did they happen often enough for that to
be a concern?”

He chuckled as he leaned
over her. “You have
no
idea.”

A spiral of warmth unfurled in her middle,
but she couldn’t meet his eyes. “I hope you’re not
disappointed.”

Sam lifted up her chin until she met his
gaze. “Fantasy was never this good.”

Her eyes stung at the sincerity in his
expression. She opened her arms to him, drawing him into her
embrace. As he settled into the cradle of her thighs, the warmth
she’d experienced earlier was replaced by undeniable heat.

She groaned at the sensation of his thick
cock sliding through her wet heat to graze her aching clit. “Quit
teasing,” she muttered.

He grinned, and her chest tightened. “Never.
Not while I can get a reaction out of you.” He slipped through her
damp folds again, making her cry out. Finally, he took pity on her
and gently prodded her opening.

Cassie lifted her hips in an attempt to urge
him deeper, but he held back. All but growling, she nipped at his
earlobe. “You’re not going to like the reaction you’re going to get
if you don’t quit tormenting me and just fuck me.”

His lips quirked. “I don’t think I’ve ever
heard you use that word before.” His eyes glinted wickedly. “Are
librarians even allowed to say that?”

“Sam…”

“What? It’s hot.”

She frowned at him.
“Then,
fuck
me
already.”

His grin fading, he lunged
forward, pushing all the air from her lungs with the force of his
thrust.
Yes.
This
is what she wanted. Him. He stilled, letting her adjust to the
invasion, but his body shook from the effort of remaining
motionless. She shifted slightly, taking him deeper, loving the way
his eyes closed and his lips parted as he slid farther in, filling
her completely.

His eyes flashed in the low light as he
opened them and pinned her with his gaze. She wanted to look away,
afraid he’d see the depth of emotion she’d always been careful to
hide from him, but she couldn’t. She was sure he could see every
thought she’d ever had about him, every feeling she’d ever
experienced for him, and she couldn’t do a thing to stop it. It was
as though he had a direct link to her heart, and he’d learned all
of her secrets. There was a part of her that wanted to look away,
but the bigger part wanted to commit everything about this night to
memory.

Slowly, he withdrew, and she finally had to
shut her eyes. The sensations were too much. She swore she felt
every vein, every ridge as he pushed through her grasping passage.
Her internal muscles convulsed, trying to keep him deep inside her.
She whimpered at the loss as he almost completely pulled out,
groaning as he hilted himself within her again. Nothing in the
world had ever felt this good. She was sure of it.

Sam’s careful, measured thrusts quickly
became out of control as he shafted her harder and faster. Cassie
loved every rough lunge. She lifted herself into each advance,
meeting him every time, as her release twisted and knotted in her
middle.

She gripped his shoulders, unable to look
away from the way he watched her—as if he were just as in awe of
this moment as she was. She’d never been loved like this. Primitive
need stripped away the mask of civility and filled her with raw,
aching hunger. His gaze held her captive, feral and unfocused, his
jaw clenched. The force of that much passion, directed solely at
her, set off uncontrollable tremors throughout her body.

She clung tighter to him. His muscles
twisted and flexed under his slick skin as she wrapped herself
around him. Whispering his name over and over like an endless
prayer, she strained against him. The tremors became rolling waves
as he pounded into her, pushing her toward the edge.

“God, Cass—I can’t hold back. I wanted to
make this good for you,” he grated. “To make it last…”

Heat coalesced in her middle, spiraling inward in an
ever contracting knot, but his hoarsely muttered words shoved her
past her breaking point, and everything flew apart. Release rushed
through her body, drowning her as her pussy clutched and spasmed
around his cock. Still, he slammed into her.

He groaned her name as he stiffened, his
body shaking with exertion as his orgasm poured through him and
into her. His heat seared her through the thin barrier of the
condom, and she shuddered, wishing for a crazy moment that there
was nothing between them. His head dropped to her shoulder while he
dragged shaky breaths in and out of his heaving lungs as she
stroked his sweat-damp back.

Slowly, he raised his head and looked at
her, gently smoothing the hair from her face. Something about his
bemused expression made her feel as if he were seeing her for the
first time. And who knew—maybe he was. This was new territory for
both of them.

He kissed her. Achingly sweet and tender, it
was the kind of kiss that answered all of the questions she’d ever
thought to ask. All except one—how was she ever going to find the
will to go back to real life when this was over?

And it would be over. Of that, she had no
doubt. This was a result of the heat of the moment, curiosity and
pity. She couldn’t forget the pity. Yeah, reality was really going
to suck.

Hiding her face in the curve of his neck,
she sighed. She’d done the one thing she’d always swore she
wouldn’t do. She’d gone and fallen in love with Sam. No, that
wasn’t true. She’d been in love with him for years. She’d just
refused to let those feelings have any air to breathe. Any room to
develop. Now, they were running wild, and she needed to bury them
again as quickly as possible.

He eased out of her and curled around her
back, pulling the afghan from the back of the couch over the top of
them. Urging her head onto his arm, he kissed her temple, and she
blinked back the tears that burned her eyes.

Chapter Four

Dawn’s dull gray light crept through the
window, making Cassie squint. Lifting her head, she saw that the
snow still came down with a vengeance. She also noticed she was
alone on the couch. For a minute, she wondered if Sam so thoroughly
regretted what had happened between them that he’d slunk off into
the night. But, she reasoned, even if he had regretted it, he
wouldn’t have just left her without saying goodbye. He also
wouldn’t have taken off in a dangerous blizzard. Especially not
with his truck stuck like it was.

Looking toward the dining room, she noticed
a muted glow behind her. Her ficus plant was draped with softly
shining Christmas lights, and a pile of presents sat on the floor
in front of the pot. Her brow furrowed, and she pulled the afghan
more securely around her and sat up just as Sam entered the room
wearing nothing but his worn jeans and carrying a couple of her
snowmen ornaments.

“You’re awake,” he said as he hung them on
the plant, causing the branches to droop.

“Yeah. What’s all this about?” she asked,
gesturing loosely at the decorations.

He shrugged, the dim lights highlighting his
bare chest. “You love Christmas. I couldn’t stand the thought of
the douche bag taking this away from you, too…so I improvised.”

Tears burned her eyes as she stared at the
man who’d been her friend and also the biggest pain in her ass for
the last fifteen years. Having Tyler leave her was nothing. It was
going to hurt so much more when this—whatever it was with
Sam—ended.

She was so, so stupid. She wasn’t Sam’s
type—never had been. Besides, he was a serial monogamist—one steady
girlfriend after another. When this came crashing down around them,
not only would her life suck, but it would affect the rest of her
family, too. After all, Sam was basically her parents’ second son.
There would be nothing but years of awkwardness after this. What
the hell had she been thinking? She sank to the floor in front of
the makeshift tree and blinked back the tears that threatened.

He sat on floor across from her and stared
at her. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Cassie-girl?”

“Nothing.” She couldn’t meet his eyes.
Instead, she stared at the shimmering lights on the tree.

“Now, you’re lying on Christmas Day. Your
mother would be so disappointed.”

Yeah, well, that was nothing compared to how
the woman would feel when she eventually got wind of what had gone
down here, last night. And she would. Finding out stuff her kids
didn’t want her to know was her mother’s mutant ability.