Fallin' in Love (3 page)

He nuzzled her ear. "Like spin the bottle?"

"I was thinking of something a little more adventurous."

"And I'm thinking I've lost my mind since I'm the only one around here who's naked."

Her delighted laughter spiked his excitement to a new level. She held onto him with one hand and with the other started to scoot her impossibly tight skirt down. It got stuck over her hips.

"Here," he said, "you hold on to me and we'll get this taken care of."

Mia shimmied while Luke tried not to get distracted at the sight of her luscious curves appearing as the skirt descended. He knelt to help her lift her booted foot out of the way. It didn't take half a second for him to realize it placed him at eye level in the perfect spot: the skimpy red lace panties were a hot contrast to all the black she wore, the boots, the corset. . .

He couldn't hold back any longer.

Luke shifted the panties to one side and placed his mouth right on her. She gasped, and then grabbed his shoulders, holding tightly. He gripped her butt in both hands, keeping her right where he needed, so he could enjoy her to his heart's content.

She began to moan, and then her fists were in his hair, moving him to a spot he didn't hesitate to follow. She murmured his name, several times, and when he increased the pressure—
just so
—she came apart.

***

M
ia managed to catch her breath while Luke sat back on his heels, the very picture of a satisfied male. Her legs could barely hold her up any longer. But the way he grinned as he got on the bed, his eyes promising her even more pleasure—how could she possibly resist that invitation?

She walked slowly toward him, doing her best to stay in sex siren mode. Thankfully the costume helped. Luke's obvious appreciation did wonders too.

She sat down next to him. It seemed the easier choice, since climbing onto the bed while wearing over-the-knee boots was not a skill she had ever thought to train for.

"We may have to rethink this weekly Halloween celebration," she teased.

"I don't know," he answered, his eyes pinned to her. "I'm liking it. A lot."

She wrapped her fingers around him, stroking lightly. He settled his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. He opened them back up almost immediately.

"What?"

"Nothing," he rasped. "I just didn't want to miss what those red fingernails can do. I've been thinking about it since you opened the front door."

She grinned as she resumed her movements, letting his hiss of pleasure determine whether her hand moved faster, or more slowly. He dropped his head back onto the pillow with a groan.

"God, Mia, you're killing me. In the best possible way."

The anticipation was getting the best of her, too. She climbed on top of him, nestling against the heat of his body. His hands slid over the leather of her boots before moving upwards, smoothing over every inch of bare skin he could find. She loved how his eyes gleamed when he gripped her waist and pulled her forward.

But it was too much for the corset, and it gave up trying to contain her breasts.

Luke lovingly kissed one exposed nipple. "Best." He switched his attention to the other one, tormenting it in the most delicious way. "Halloween." He flashed her a sexy grin. "
Ever
."

Then he moved deep inside her, making his words come true, over and over.

N
ovember

"I'm still amazed you managed to get away from work on Thanksgiving." Mia sneaked a bite of cornbread stuffing when she thought Luke wasn't looking.

"I'm the boss, remember? I can decide things like that every once in a while." Luke gave her a kiss. "And quit stealing the stuffing."

"I can't help it. It's sooo good." She frowned for a moment. "You're positive it won't cause any commotion?"

"If you keep stealing the stuffing?"

Mia smacked his arm playfully. "You know what I mean."

"Are you expecting someone else to show up? You said your brothers had other plans—"

"And your family is off on some tour of Europe. I know. I just feel a little guilty. Okay, a lot guilty."

"Don't." He finished chopping some celery and set the knife aside, wiping his hands on a towel tucked into his waistband. "I wanted to have today off."

"You're still cooking, though, on your day off."

He finally tugged her into his embrace. "Is there anything I can say, or do, to convince you I'm happy right where I am, doing what I'm doing?"

Mia stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. "I know you like kissing me." She grinned. "And my sous chef skills have exploded the past few months, haven't they?"

He chuckled. "Yes, they have. So there's no need to worry. Let's enjoy our first holiday together—"

"Halloween was technically our first holiday—"

His face lit up at that memory, making her tingle everywhere. "Actually, Labor Day was our first. But every day with you feels like a holiday."

"I would say that sounds kind of corny, but I feel the same way."

"Okay then. Let's get back to making this spectacular dinner. Once we've got the turkey in the oven, we'll have a few hours to—" His eyes twinkled. "Show each other what we're thankful for."

"Oooh, I like how you think." She gave him a swat on his sexy butt. "Back to work then!"

***

L
uke settled himself into the corner of the couch, and tucked Mia under his arm. She snuggled closer, pulling the blanket over them, even though they didn't need it for warmth.

They always generated so much heat, the fireplace might not get much use during the upcoming winter months. It still added to the cozy atmosphere, though, and he was glad Mia had suggested it for today.

Luke kissed the top of her head. "You first. Tell me something you're thankful for."

"I'm thankful your couch can hold both of us comfortably. Especially when we get so wild."

"You call that wild?" He laughed. "I had a tight hold on you the entire time. I wasn't about to let you get away. What else are you thankful for?"

"Since you made both of us work up an appetite, I'm thankful I'm not cooking."

"I'm thankful for that too. Ow! That's a lethal elbow you've got."

She tilted her head back to look at him, and her grin was infectious. "You forget I grew up with two brothers. I've had to learn a survival trick or two over the years."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. You know what I'd be grateful for?"

She raised her eyebrows.

"A kiss."

"I can't possibly say no to that."

He started to lean forward, but to his surprise, she lifted his shirt and placed her soft lips against his ribs, right where her elbow had made contact a moment ago. He let loose a big sigh of contentment.

"Is  your boo-boo all better now?" She dotted several more kisses along his ribcage. Even his belly button got some of her TLC.

"Sort of. But you might have created another owie," he said with a laugh. "Further down. And that's something I'm
always
thankful for."

"Me too." She grinned and then laid her head against his chest, smoothing her hands over his bare stomach. "I just realized—it seems so strange that Hellboy isn't here."

"You're right. I never thought I'd miss him like I do. That goofy grin of his. How excited he is to see us."

"We can definitely put him in the 'thankful for' column."

He stroked Mia's hair, letting his fingers travel down her arm. She was at the top of the list of things that made him feel thankful, as well as excited about the future. The only thing he wasn't thrilled with was her leaving again in a couple days.

"Tell me something about yourself I don't know yet," Luke said.

"I stole some more stuffing before you put it in the turkey."

He gave her a playful tickle. "I said something I
didn't
know."

She narrowed her eyes, as if she was plotting revenge, but the sweetness of her smile diminished the fierce effect she was after. "Okay, here's one. I don't like sweet potatoes. So you can have all of them today. And every day."

"How can anybody not like sweet potatoes?"

She made a gagging sound he found utterly adorable. "They're gross! They want to be a potato, but they're not. And they're definitely not sweet. Talk about false advertising."

He laughed as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I promise I won't be one of those guys that says, 'wait til you taste them when I make them'."

"Well that's a relief." She snuggled back into his arms. "Although I might give yours a try. You haven't steered me wrong yet."

Her words gave him the opening he'd been hoping for. He wasn't sure what Mia might think of his suggestion, but, as she always liked to say, you never knew unless you gave it a try.

"I've been thinking." Luke blew out a nervous breath. "We've made this long-distance thing work, and it's been pretty good. . ."

"But?"

Mia lifted her head to look at him. He saw the anxiety in her expression and continued quickly before she got the wrong impression.

"But it kills me every time you have to leave. I want more time with you. Not just weekends or other spare moments we can steal to be together. I'm hoping you feel the same way."

"I definitely do," she said.

"Would you be willing to move in with me?"

Her slow smile was perfect, calming his nerves and thrilling him at the same time.

"It makes perfect sense. I mean, I can do my virtual assistant job from anywhere. I've done a lot of work here already."

"That's what I was thinking."

"And Hellboy might have a complete breakdown if we tried to live away from him."

"He can barely handle it when we're just next door."

"Good thing he's forgiven us for that leash episode."

Luke chuckled and then gave her a long, leisurely kiss. He was so grateful for her easy acceptance of his plan, he had nearly forgotten the most important thing he wanted to say.

"I've fallen in love with you, Mia. I love being with you, and it's torture when we're not together. I know we can make this work."

"We've made it all work so far." She kissed him back. "And I've fallen in love with you too. Probably when I first saw you washing your car."

"Are you sure it wasn't when I growled at you when you knocked on my front door that first time?"

"With your shirt off?" She put the back of her hand to her forehead and pretended to swoon. "There are so many times. But I think I really started falling when you brought Hellboy with you, to convince me we weren't just a fling."

Even though they'd just finished making love, Mia's eyes were bright with the same passion he was feeling. She tugged his head down to hers, and when he felt her heated breath against his lips, he couldn't stop his moan of anticipation.

He moved so Mia was underneath him. She began pulling at his shirt, trying to get it out of the way, and fast.

In the next instant a screeching sound stopped them both.

"Is that the smoke alarm?" Mia couldn't stop her giggles. "I thought that only happened to me, not world-class chefs."

"No, it's the oven timer." Luke grinned. "Although just a little while ago, I wouldn't have been able to hear it over you."

She swatted at him, blushing. "You're terrible."

He stuck his bottom lip out and whined like Hellboy did. "And after all I've done to make you think otherwise."

She twined her arms around his neck. "Well, maybe this dinner will make up for it."

He smiled, just as the oven timer started bleating again. "Okay, slacker. Time to put your sous chef skills to use again. Are you ready?"

"Definitely."

He captured her mouth for a kiss, showing her just how ready he was for the start of their new future together.

The End

(kinda)

––––––––

B
ut wait! There's more! Here's my holiday gift to you—the next story,
'Tis the Season
, is included here for your enjoyment. Happy Holidays!

What gifts of love will the holiday season bring?

Copyright 2014 by Donna Cummings

All rights reserved.

F
irst week of December

"What do you think?" Mia stepped back from the fireplace and swept her hand out like a game show hostess.

Luke tore his gaze away from her beaming face and checked out the three fuzzy red stockings she'd just tacked up to the wood mantel. One of them had his name on it, another had Mia's, and a tiny one in the middle had "Hellboy" embroidered in an elaborate gold script.

Hellboy sat in the middle of the living room and gave an appreciate bark.

Luke grinned. "That's one way to wean him away from his shoe fetish."

"Oh, he's gotten so much better. He's down to one shoe a week now. Plus he seems to like the cheaper ones more than he used to."

"Damn, and I told Santa to bring a shoe store for his present."

Mia bent down and did her best to cover Hellboy's ears. "Don't ruin the surprise! It's his first Christmas."

Luke laughed and pulled both of them into his embrace. "It's ours too. Want to know what I asked Santa for this year?"

"I have a feeling I already know." She gave him a luscious kiss on his very willing lips. "I just hope Santa didn't faint when he heard it."

"Would you believe Santa asked me to repeat it?" Her appreciative laughter made him hug her a little tighter. "I know I say this all the time, but I'm so glad you're living here now."

"I am too." Hellboy began to wriggle in Mia's arms, so she set him down on the floor. "He always knows when we're starting to think about—"

"Yes, he does. So we really shouldn't disappoint him."

Her lips tilted up into a sexy grin. "It wouldn't be right if we did."

They both headed for the bedroom at record speed.

***

M
ia let out a huge sigh of contentment. When she heard Luke do the same, she turned to look at him. He laid on his back, adjusting the pillow under his head, his lips stretched wide in a satisfied smile.