Rekindling Christmas (12 page)

The slight erotic pain of feeling
him so deep inside her curled her toes. She enjoyed the unrestrained passion he
showed her. By his third stroke, color swirled and blurred before her eyes, a
kaleidoscope of images, as her final orgasm shook her body more mightily than
the three before it. She screamed and thrashed against him as she gripped his
arms tighter.

Repeatedly he claimed her body,
drawing her climax over a rocky road of pleasure.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Oh,
sugar-lips, you’re taking me with you.” Titling his head back, he squeezed his
eyes shut as he came hard, pressing his dick against the mouth of her womb.

Seconds turned into minutes, before
either of them moved. He glanced down at her and frowned.

She could see the question in his
eyes, as he lowered her legs to the mattress. Feeling the unexpected tears
rolling out of the corners of her eyes, she knew he was concerned. Not wanting
to speak or discuss the flood of emotions that were erupting inside her, she
hugged him and rested her face in the curve of his neck.

Respecting her silence, he held her.
Rolling to his back so that she was lying on him, he caressed her spine.

She knew the tears were prompted by
the connection she’d shared with Carson and the overall experience of being
with him. Not to mention she’d never before experienced a vaginal orgasm during
sex. She’d heard that they were mind-blowing, but now she knew. None of that
did she want to talk with him about now.

“So, where do we go from here?”

Using his chest as a platform for
her arm, she rested her chin in her palm. “I don’t know. But
this
is
nice. What do they call it…afterglow?”

He chuckled and tweaked her nose.
His eyes said he knew she was avoiding a more serious conversation, but he
didn’t press her. “Yeah, pretty much. You wiped me out, girl. You know, I was
hung-over, too, so I didn’t have all my stamina.”

“Hell and burned hotdogs, if that
was you lacking in any way, I’m not sure if I can take any more.”

He laughed hard. “I missed those
silly phrases.” Dragging his hand down to her ass, he cupped it and squeezed.
“I think you can hold your own, however I give it to you.”

“Mm, maybe.” She wiggled against
him.

He was quiet again as he got out of
bed and disposed of the condom in the bathroom and washed up.

When he returned to his same place
in bed, he said, “I know I don’t have any claim on you, Ryanne. But I don’t
think I could handle seeing you with another man here.”

Seeing him with another woman would
have dug a knife in her gut as well.

Raising her other hand, she stroked
his chin and neck. “So what you’re saying is that while we are here, it’s just
us?”

“Yeah. We can talk about the rest
later.”

The rest
. She’d just got him back in her
life. A man she’d always cared about. She couldn’t risk getting her hopes up
that he wanted something more. Something permanent. “This is great for the
snow-covered mountains of Colorado, but let’s not move too fast.”

Pressing her ass firmly, he allowed
her to feel the hardening of his cock. “We have known each other most of our
lives. We just had the best earth-rockin’ sex ever, proving that we are compatible
in the important area. There isn’t any other speed for us to travel,
sugar-lips.”

She couldn’t deny his words.
“Possibly.”

He arched an eyebrow.

She placed her hand over his mouth.
“Let’s just not make any promises.”

His eyes tightened in the corners
and the lids lowered as he searched her face, trying to read her, but
eventually nodded.

“Thank you.” She kissed him then
curled against his side.

Soon, they both drifted off to
sleep.

Chapter
Eight

“Oh my God, I can’t believe how much
fun that was. I’m amazingly better at ice-skating than I was at skiing.”

Carson
looked over and enjoyed seeing the
joyous glow on Ryanne’s face. Her chocolate eyes were bright, and her cheeks
were reddened from the cool wind and exhilaration of playing outside. She was even
more beautiful to him now than when she was a teenager.

“It was fun. I was glad to see that
you stayed off your ass
most
of the time in the second half.” He
traipsed up the hill beside her after a vigorous game of broomball with other
guests. They’d turned their broom-like sticks in to the hotel personnel next to
the rink.

“Which was a good thing, since my
ass is still on the tender side.” She gave him a shove.

Barely sidestepping from the impact,
he winked at her. “Try not to scream so loud when you come next time and maybe
you can convince me that you didn’t like it in the ass last night, sugar.”

She shook her head and looked away,
but not before he caught the smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Over
the last two days they had made love frequently, in multiple positions.
Sometimes adventurous, other times he kept his strokes slow and steady, in and
out of her dripping wet sex. He could never get enough of her. If someone would
have told him when he was nineteen that it would feel so right and perfect with
Ryanne, he never would have let her be absent from his life. Even if he would
have had to transfer to her college, he’d have done it.

“Only you guys would think to pack
lube for a holiday ski trip.”

“A
singles
ski trip. And
Phillip brought it along. I just made good use of it.” He swatted her on the
ass and chuckled as she squealed and darted away from him.

Chasing after her, he grabbed her
around the waist and turned her to him for a quick kiss. She gave in to the
kiss, then pushed him away and continued toward the hotel.

“I’m starving. I hope lunch is still
going.”

“I’m sure it is.” He rubbed his
stomach. “I worked up a mean appetite.”

She gave him a challenging look,
squinted her eyes, and dared him to continue.

“What? I meant at broomball. What
did you think I was talking about, the sex before it?”

She nodded.

“Gee, sugar-lips, you can’t keep
your mind out of the gutter for a second, can you?”

Laughing, she gave him a sly look
then took off running. Over her shoulder she called out, “Race you!”

“Always the cheat!” he yelled back
at her, but he stood there for a moment watching her run up the hill, the locks
of her ponytail waving in the breeze.

He sprinted until he caught up with
her and kept pace, matching her stride until they both stopped at the side
entrance, breathless. Minutes later they strolled into the dining room, just in
time to grab two pre-made deli sandwiches, fruit bowls, chips, and water before
they closed.

“So, you asked me about why I came,
but you never told me why you’re here.”

He unwrapped his sandwich, took a
large bite, and waited until he swallowed before answering. “Well, I rarely see
my folks. You know we’ve never been close. I talk to my brother maybe four
times a year. For a while about two years after he got out to L.A., he got
messed up with drugs. Guess things weren’t going well on the music front.”

Eating from her fruit bowl, she
said, “I was sorry to hear that. Your mom mentioned something about it to my
mother, and Mom told me.”

Shrugging, he continued, not wanting
to dwell on the distant relationship between him and his only sibling. “Mom and
Dad spend so much time taking care of my grandfather, they usually get her
brother to stay with Granddad over Christmas while my parents take a trip.”

“Is it hard not being close to your
family?” She reached into his bag and stole one of his potato chips.

“When I was younger, yes, but I
hardly think about it now.” He took a chug of his water before sharing
something with her that had always been in his heart. “You know, I always
envied how tight you and your family were. Holidays and birthdays were always
celebrated with such gusto. One day I plan to have that with my own family.”

She stopped eating for a moment and
looked off in the distance. “They’re a pretty nice bunch.”

“You wish you would have gone to Florida, instead of coming here?”

Glancing back at him, she shook her
head. “No.” She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “I’m happy
where I am.”

He lifted her hand and kissed her
fingers. He wanted to share more with her about how he felt having her back in
his life, but he respected her wish not to get too serious.

“Besides, I will fly in on Christmas
Day and get all the love.”

“True.” He took another bite of his
sandwich.

His phone started to vibrate. He
took it out of his pants pocket and then checked it. Recognizing the number even
though it was marked
unknown
, he chose to ignore it and shut his phone
off.

“You can answer it if you need to. I
don’t mind.”

He hadn’t missed some unspoken
question clouding her eyes.

Shaking his head, he put it away.
“No need.”

They resumed eating for a few
moments.

“So, tell me about the girl who
broke your heart. How long did you go out?” She was asking him the question,
but he noticed she kept her focus on the last few bites of fruit in her bowl.

“I never said I was heartbroken.”

“Never said you weren’t.” She pushed
her bowl to the side and glanced at him.

He waved his hand in the air.
“Nothing really to talk about. We were together for about six months, then
Ashley decided I wasn’t the guy for her. Case closed.”

Carson knew there was a little bite
to his voice; it wasn’t due to any residual feeling for Ashley, but the
embarrassment still got to him. Being the brunt of jokes over the last year was
annoying, and when the holidays drew closer this year, people had started up
again.

“Sorry I brought it up.” She broke
her sandwich in half and took small bites at the meat hanging over the sides.

Shit, now he’d ruined the mood.
Standing up, he leaned over the table and kissed her on the cheek then sat
again. “Look, can we go back a few moments and start over? I’m here with you
right now and that is the most important thing to me.”

She pretended to ponder his
question, tilting her head to the side and staring at him, then she grinned.
“I’d like that.”

“Good.” For the remainder of their
meal they brought each other up to date on old mutual friends they’d grown up
with.

“Man, I am stuffed and beat. I could
use a nap.” Ryanne leaned back in her seat and rubbed her stomach.

“Is that an invitation, sugar-lips?”
Resting his forearms on the table he allowed his gaze to travel along her body,
currently encased in a sweatshirt with the resort’s name and logo on it.
Another item she’d purchased in the shop.

“Oh, no, it is not. And don’t you
sugar-lips and try to sweet-talk me, either. I have not been getting my eight
hours of sleep at night as it is, mister.”

He held his hands up at his side. “I
take full responsibility for that. But I can’t help it if you are so damn
irresistible.”

“You’re going to have to get over it
for the next two hours.” She stood and grabbed her trash. “However, you are
welcome to join me in getting a little shut-eye, if you like.”

“Not if we are just going to sleep.”

She laughed and moved to the
trashcan beside the exit. “We are.”

After tossing his things into the
receptacle, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, not caring who may see
them. Lifting his lips, he said, “You sleep. I have a few things I need to do.
I will come get you in a little while.”

“Deal.” She kissed him again and
then moved to the bank of elevators, one arriving just then.

“See you soon.”

*           *           *

“One second.” Ryanne pulled one of
her new sweaters over her head, this one wool. She didn’t particularly care for
the itchy feeling of the material, but she knew it would keep her warm. Carson had called her thirty minutes ago, waking her up and telling her to dress for
outside. She hoped they were going to walk through the village. She wanted to
see the lights and decorations. Strolling through the area holding hands with
him would be the first time she didn’t feel like a fifth wheel during the
holiday.

Grabbing the comb off the bathroom
counter, she jogged lightly to the door as she dragged the comb through her
hair.

“Hi, beautiful.” Carson stood there
looking sexy as sin. His muscular frame was encased nicely in jeans, a gray-and-black
flannel shirt that brought his eyes out, and his thick ski coat that was
hanging open.

“Hi, yourself.” Stepping to him, she
kissed him, letting him know in that passionate display how much she had missed
not having him by her side while she slept. It amazed her that she’d only been
sleeping beside him for two nights and already he was a significant presence.