Tangle of Tinsel Page 7

  “Wow,” Laurene whispers.

  “Wait until you get inside.”

  Parking, we walk up to the front door. I ring the doorbell. “Deck the Halls” chimes inside. Ollie answers the door, and my eyes struggle to make sense of what I’m seeing. Red and green tinsel cover his arms. A fuzzy white abominable snowman with blue to outline his beady black eyes and sharp white teeth spews candy and lightbulbs.

  “Feliz Navidad, mis amigos. I don’t believe I’ve met your beautiful friend before.”

  “You haven’t, Ollie. This is Laurene. We were friends in New York.”

  His eyes sharpen with recognition, and I give a quick shake of my head. It’s not that type of relationship, brother.

  “Come on and let me takes your coats.” He gives a slight bow.

  “He’s not this polite. He just wants to see our sweaters.”

  “After your piss poor showing last year, I expect great things.”

  I take my time unbuttoning my coat.”

  “Such a tease, Miller.”

  I wink. “You love it.” Turning away from him, I open my coat wide and spin around for the grand reveal.

  “Miller brought the fuego,” he cries out.

  “Sounds like Caleb has arrived.” Finley comes around the corner dressed in a green sweater with a bookcase full of books and an elf sitting on top of it. The collar turns her head into the elf.

  “Ho-ly crap.”

  “Wait.” Finley holds out her left arm and reveals a tree beside the bookcase, complete with working lights.

  “You really just created an entire scene?”

  Her manic grins goes along with the fire in her dark brown eyes. “Ugly Sweater is an entire mood.” Her round, sienna-skinned face is framed by a jet-black, chin-length bob.

  “This is why they stopped letting us compete, Fin,” Ollie says.

  She points at him. “You’re just as extra, sir.”

  “I know, my queen. It’s why we match so well.” Ollie kisses her cheek. High school sweethearts, the two are disgustingly cute. “Love of my life, this is Laurene. Laurene, my wife, Finley.”

  “We’ve got games set up, movies playing, and a dance floor along with other surprises. Snacks and beverages are in the kitchen, so we’ll head there first.” My eyes were assaulted by red, white, and green everything. Snowmen and fake snow, complete with stuffed snowballs, are placed under the vinyl words Snowball Fight on the wall.

  “It’s like activity spots for adults,” Laurene says.

  “By Jove, I think she’s got it,” Ollie calls. His personality has always been larger than life. I’m glad to see nothing has changed over the years. The traditional beer pong tables are up and surrounded by competitors. It’s a well-known fact that everyone’s welcome to crash after drinking.

  “Here’s the code. Wine is in the fridge, beers are in the red cooler, and cider’s in the green. The lighter drinks like spritzers and hard lemonades are in the blue cooler.”

  “Thank you,” Laurene says as she’s taken under Finley’s wing. Ollie nods toward another room, and we find a quiet spot to talk.

  “What’s up with the blonde bombshell?” Ollie whistles. “I thought that was over and done with.”

  “It is. This was unexpected and not welcome. She literally called me from the airport.”

  Ollie sprays his beer. “Are you serious?”

  “I took her to dinner with my family and screwed up with the girl I’m currently crushing on.”

  “What? When did this happen? I just talked to you last week there was no girl. Or was there?” He leans closer. “Tell me about this lucky lady.”

  “Her name’s Romy, and I doubt she feels that way.”

  “Romy? Tall, with curves?” He moves his hand in a wavy pattern. “Braids and light brown skin?”

  “Yes. Wait. You know Romy?”

  “Yeah, Nona introduced her when she dropped off her pie at the shop. I invited her tonight.’

  “Is she here now? Have you seen her?”

  He smiles. “Why don’t you go and see.” I move into the crowd, looking for the familiar braids with my heart in my throat. I spot her shaking her hips and laughing hysterically as she tries to get ping pong balls out of the tissue box tied around her. The song “Jingle Bells” turns off.

  “And ... Shana is the winner.”

  “I was this close.” Romy holds her thumb and her pointer finger an inch apart.

  “The hips don’t lie.” Shana wiggles.

  Romy unties her box and hands it to the game moderator.

  I follow her into the hall away from the loud crowd.

  “Romy.”

  Her body tenses, and she turns slowly. The smile slips from her lips, twisting a knife into my gut. I lunge forward, grabbing her hands. “Please don’t run.”

  “Where’s your friend from New York?” she asks.

  “My impulsive ex for over a year is somewhere around here and very clear on the fact that we won’t be rekindling a damn thing.”

  “Women don’t hop on planes and make trips like that without getting some kind of signals.” She tugs to free her hand, and I hold on tighter.

  “‘We’ll talk about this later. I have to work at Nona’s shop’ was all she got.”

  “What?” Her face screws up in confusion.

  “Exactly.”

  “How long were you together?”

  “Two years, but it was just about appearances and monogamous sex.”

  Her jaw drops.

  “I didn’t have time for anything else, remember? I was honest and upfront. We both wanted the same things. I’ll bring her over to confirm everything if it helps. I can’t lose you over this when I just found you.”

  “Thank you for explaining things. I’m sorry I assumed.”

  “I know how it must’ve looked.” I bring her hands to my lips. “You fit in with my family seamlessly, and I’m happy when we’re together. Even when we’re pulling each other’s chain. We could be so good together.”

  “You can’t know that,” she whispers.

  “I do. I know it here.” I bring our hands over my heart. “And you do, too.” Releasing her hands, I tilt her chin up with a finger. “Don’t you?” I lean down and pause a breath’s width away from her lips.

  “Damn you.” She closes the space, and the party around us is made up of her soft lips, sweet, cider-laden taste, and her tongue slicking against mine. My dick hardens. Groaning, I pull back.

  “Not here.” I guide her into a quiet, unoccupied guestroom, and we move over to the bench in front of the bed.

  “I’m not sure what this is between us, but I’d like to find out.”

  “I’m not used to letting people in, Caleb.” She toys with my fingers. “My last serious boyfriend put me in debt and cheated. I didn’t see any of it coming, and it took me years to straighten up the mess he made.”

  “I would never do that to you.”

  “Yeah. Obviously, you wouldn’t need to.”

  “Any of it,” I repeat, staring into her eyes.

  “I want to believe you—”

  “Don’t you know I’m utterly besotted?” My eyes caress every inch of her I can see while showering her face with soft kisses. “I want to create something real and beautiful. I want to take care of you as much as you’ll let me.”

  “Let’s do it,” she says breathlessly.

  I’m on her before she can change her mind. Wrapping her braids around my hand, I pull her to me.

  “Mine,” I whisper the words against her mouth before I plunge my tongue between her lips. She comes to life, battling me for dominance as she comes up on her knees to move closer. She’s a thirst I don’t think I’ll ever fully slake. I bite her bottom lip as I move back.

  “Part of me wants to take you against the wall right now.” She whimpers. “But our first time won’t be at a party. Because I know you’re going to have the tightest, wettest pussy, and I’ll need time to worship it properly.” I nip her chin. “That d
oesn’t mean I can’t have a little sample.” I paw her mound, feeling her heat through her jeans. “Are you wet for me right now, little one?” She nods her head, watching me with dilated pupils. “I think I should check.” I pop the top button of her jeans and slip my hands inside of her pants, flirting with her panty line. “You want me to touch you, Romy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Open your legs for me.” She complies, and I hum. “Good girl.” Diving beneath the lace, I groan at the slick I encounter. “You’re soaked. Is this all for me?”

  “Only you.”

  I rub her clit between my fingers, inhaling her arousal. High off her fumes and the control she’s given me, I watch her eyes gloss over. I slip a finger into her molten passage, and her pussy walls squeeze around me.

  “God, your finger is so thick, Caleb.”

  “You like my big hands, don’t you, baby?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then suck.” I slip two fingers between her parted lips. She hollows her cheeks, bobbing her head, and my dick strains against my fly. I start a quick rhythm in and out of her tight quim. Her hips rock in time.

  “I need you to come on my fingers, little one.” I add a second finger and curl them, caressing the distinct spot inside of her. Her entire body jerks. Her walls quiver, and I strum her clit with my thumb. Flexing around me, she shudders. Her hot gush coats my fingers, spilling, and she cries out around the two fingers in her mouth. Her response has me close to embarrassing myself as I leak pre-come in my boxers. I ease out of her tight pussy and slip the nectar-laden digits into my mouth. Her flavor coats my taste buds, and I grunt in satisfaction as I suck them clean.

  “You’re mine now, Romy.”

  Panting softly, she cups me through my jeans. I jerk against her, stunned by her boldness.

  “And this is mine.”

  “Yes, it is.” Buttoning up her pants, I pull her to my side and run my hand up and down her back as I nuzzle her neck. The silence between us is peaceful.

  “What now?” she asks huskily.

  “Now I take you out there to meet my friends, and we learn how to be us.”

  “What about Laurene?”

  “I think she’ll learn a thing or two about how assuming makes an ass out of people.”

  ROMY

  Caleb stands on the porch with his arms full of gift bags, looking like the Ghost of Christmas Present. I rub my eyes to make sure I’m not seeing things before I open it.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “You didn’t think I’d let my lady spend Christmas alone, did you?”

  “But La—”

  “Is at the airport waiting for her flight and knows not to contact me again. Christmas Eve was hell without you. You should’ve been there for the night before Christmas pizza and the white elephant gift-giving.”

  Rising on my tiptoes, I cup his face because I can. I capture his lips, pull him in out of the cold, and suck on his tongue. He kicks the door shut and drops the gifts on the floor. Gripping my thighs, he lifts me up, and I wrap my legs around his hips. Turning, he props me up against the door. Click. The lock turns

  “Gotta keep you safe.” If his words melted me any more, I’d become a puddle on the ground at his feet.

  I slip my fingers into his thick, black hair and tug. The shiny, soft strands are a magnet for my greedy fingers. I want to feel every inch of him. I scrape my nails across his scalp, and he purrs like a giant jungle cat. Biting my bottom lip, he requests entrance. A river forms in my underwear as I yield. He pins me to the door, pressing his thick cock against my belly. I roll my hips in search of more friction. He groans, burying his face into my neck.

  “You’re so damn tempting.”

  “I don’t want to wait,” I blurt.

  He grips my jaw tight as he stares down into my eyes. “Be sure, because I won’t stop until I’ve claimed every inch of your body.”

  “Please.”

  Lifting me higher, he sucks on my pulse point as he slowly walks us toward the stairs. Releasing my skin with a pop, he flicks his tongue against the sensitized flesh.

  “You’ve turned me into a possessive man. I want everyone to know you’re mine.” His words ignite a flame in my belly. “I need you to know it, too.” He grips my ass and rocks up. “I’m going to make you beg me to split your pussy wide with my cock, baby.”

  I’m a throbbing, wet mess, and he’s hardly touched me.

  “Is that what you want? To be my good girl and take my cock?”

  “Yes,” I croak. He’s a magician, and I’m hypnotized.

  “You can have all of that and more. But not until I say.”

  My heart pounds in my chest. Carrying me up the stairs like I weigh nothing, he makes my toes curl in my slippers. He moves into my room, lowers me to the bed, and removes my slippers and fuzzy, coffee-print bottoms.

  “There’s that smell I love.” Bending down, he inhales. “Spread those long legs for me.”

  I open them wide.

  “Very nice,” he says, giving me the praise I’m suddenly starving for. He pushes my wet panties against my clit. “Look at that swollen clit.”

  The pressure makes me wiggle.

  “Squirming already? We’re just getting started.” He nips at my inner thighs and licks the crease where my leg and thigh meet. I grip the sheet as he laves everywhere but the throbbing place I need him the most. His dark hair between my thighs is an erotic dream come true.

  “Caleb, please.” I fist his hair.

  “Hmm.” The vibrations make me twitch. Placing a massive hand to my belly, he pushes me down. Legs spread to accommodate his broad shoulders and pressed down into the bed, I’m slightly helpless. He sucks the wet lips of my pussy through the transparent cotton covering me.

  “Please, please, please.”

  “Please what?” He circles his tongue around my clit, never quite touching it.

  “I need it, baby. Please let me come.”

  “You want to come?” he asks.

  “Yes.”

  He clucks his tongue. “Not until I’m ready.” He pats my throbbing cunt and kisses his way up my body, dipping his tongue into my belly button. His thorough tongue awakens nerve endings I never knew I possessed. Pushing my shirt up, he leaves my upper arms entangled in fabric.

  “So damn beautiful.” His fingers pinch and roll my nipples.

  Moaning, I thrust my chest out, offering him more. A sharp tug draws a cry from my lips.

  “So sensitive.” Cupping my breasts, he pushes them together and latches on to one, then the other with his greedy bath. Sucking, flicking, and licking, he pushes me to the precipice. His cool breath blows over my wet peaks, and I shudder.

  “I’m close. I’m so close.” The bow of desire is drawn tighter. Slipping his knee between my legs, he adds pressure where I need it most.

  “You want to come?” he asks.

  “Yes,” I scream.

  “Do it now.” He rubs his knee against my mound, and the friction and his husky voice detonate me like a bomb. I scream his name as I come, shaking and panting as I surrender. Yanking off my panties, he tugs my shirt the rest of the way off and moves over me. His dick moves between my wet lips, tapping my overly sensitized clit with each slow stroke. He never gives me a chance to come back down as he adds his swirling thumb to the mix. My heart pounds in my chest as I lift my hips.

  “Please. I want you inside of me.”

  “You want my finger inside?”

  “No,” I cry out.

  “Words, little one. Tell me exactly what you want.”

  “I want you to put your dick in my cunt and fuck me.”

  He chuckles. “Was that so hard?” Gripping the head of his cock, he pauses at my threshold. “Look down, watch me split you open and make you mine.”

  I gasp as he pushes his thick head inside. I stretch to accommodate him as he pulls out and pushes forward.

  “Your pretty pussy takes me so good. Look,” he pulls out and goes deeper, “
how well I fit inside of your tight little cunt.”

  He increases his speed, and my eyes roll into the back of my head. My fingernails dig into his shoulders as he finds a steady rhythm. I match him stroke for stroke as he fills me to max capacity. Our skin slaps together. I tighten my pussy, crying out as pleasure radiates through me.

  “Come for me, little one. Take me over with you.” Tightening his grip on my hips, he tilts me, opening me wider, going deeper than anyone has ever been. My heart and my body fly open, and I let go, screaming as my body convulses, and I disconnect entirely with reality, floating in a strange state of bliss. I feel the tears rolling down my face, but my arms are too heavy to wipe them away.

  “Shhh.” Caleb wipes away my tears. “I’ll take care of you.” He wraps his body around mine, covering us in warm blankets as he rubs my back.

  “You okay?” he asks after a time.

  “Yes. It was just so intense.”

  “I’ll run you a bath, and we’ll soak. Then we’ll open presents.”

  “But I-I don’t have many gifts for you.”

  “You just gave me something priceless. Yourself.” He kisses me on the forehead.

  “I’m falling in love with you.” I shake off the last shackles of fear and embrace the new life dawning on the horizon with the man who helped me heal my heart.

  “I’m falling in love with you, too, Romy.” He presses his forehead against mine, and I breathe him in as we bask in the moment. It’s the best Christmas I’ve ever had, and I know this is only the beginning.

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  Caleb

  “Shh. Neva has your super hearing,” Romy whispers, making me smile as we carefully set the fake food up on the kitchen playset we stayed up all night building.

  “All this just to give the jolly man credit,” I mumble.

  “It’s the magic of Christmas, babe. Try not to be so grumpy.”