Redeemed Hearts (Thoroughbred Men Series Book 3) (13 page)

Richard was tired of mourning his losses in the line of work and appreciated what life had to offer. To him, life was offering him a chance at happiness with the angel in front of him. He wanted to teach her to appreciate each day as well… with him.

Teri grinned at him and his admission that he had never seen her favorite Christmas movie. “You are in for a treat, Santa! It’s my favorite and I have all sorts of things to tempt you with,” she teased and pulled him towards the front door.

Richard laughed aloud at her expression. “I just bet you do,” he quipped and reached out to tickle her as they practically raced to the house from his SUV. He caught her just before reaching the steps and swung her around in the yard in the darkness. Her laughter pealed through the night and he could see her expression in the moonlight.

“I adore your smile, Teri,” he confessed and captured her lips in a tender kiss. He did not want to push her but the admission slipped out before he could stop himself. He did adore her smile, her laugh and everything about her.

Teri smiled against his lips, and kissed him again. “It’s because I am such a good elf, you know?” she teased and had a sudden thought. “Care to stuff my stocking, Santa?” she breathed huskily and tugged his head back down to hers again, embarrassed a bit by the boldness of the invitation.

Richard groaned against her mouth and picked her up against him to carry her into the house. “Hell yeah! I want to stuff your stocking, baby. I have a big ol’ candy cane just for it,” he taunted, still playing the word games with her. He carried her up the steps quickly to the front door. He watched as Teri’s hands shook struggling to get the key in the lock. “Let me, doll,” he offered and unlocked the door as they both rushed inside.

Teri shut the door and whirled around desperately reaching for Richard. Their mouths met and they pulled at each other’s clothes recklessly in the dimly-lit foyer of her house. Teri yanked off his sweater and unbuttoned his jeans, her hands delved into the denim, grasping at the smooth, taut skin of his buttocks. “I love the way your body feels,” she breathed.

She felt Richard yank her offending sweater off and tore open the front latch of her bra, exposing her pert breasts. “I was just going to say the same thing. Jinx! No take backs,” she heard him say as he chuckled. She felt him tug at her pants and he pulled them off quickly. His hot eyes watching as she kicked them desperately to the side.

Their lips met again and they lost all inhibition. Teri tasted, licked and bit at him all the while she stroked his hard body, pulling it against hers. His skin was so hot and deliciously smooth. Her fingers itched to trace every contour of his abdomen like a sculptor molding clay. “I need this so badly,” she confessed, not knowing exactly what “this” was. She desired him. She was desperate for these feelings he created in her.

Teri felt his body quiver against hers as she felt him reach between her legs to touch her. She felt him roughly grasp her upper arm, turning her around and pulling her against his body. Teri felt him breathe against her neck, his heat pushing firmly against her back. She felt him pinch and tug at her nipples, eliciting a groan from her and a rush of heat to her loins. His fingers slipped into her cleft, stroking her, spreading the slick moisture on her open body. Teri felt her knees buckling from the sensation as she grasped at him to stay upright.

Richard picked up Teri and carried her purposefully to the bedroom. He had no intention of letting up from his ministrations any time soon. He informed her that he fully intended to make sure it was far from a “silent night” if they were still playing their roles and captured Teri’s gasp of desire with his lips.

He knew she was fully aware of what he could do to her body if their churchyard romp at the wedding was any indication. Richard laid her down on the bed and clutched her ankles in each hand, spreading her body wide for him to see in the moonlight streaming through the transom window above the curtains that were drawn tightly. It was just enough light to set the mood for him, although he would enjoy making love to her by candlelight sometime soon.
Maybe next time
, he thought wildly as he saw her glistening body begging to be tasted. Her scent invigorated him as he gave in to his desires. His body tight with desire, he felt his manhood aching with each catch of her breath and every moan.

Teri was quivering with each touch of his hot mouth, his hands everywhere. She wanted to touch him and taste him but was incoherent. “Richard!” she finally gasped, yanking herself away from him. She felt him grasp her body and yank her back down towards the end of the bed. Teri laughed at the intensity of his touch and broke off when she felt his searing heat rub against her cleft. “Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to Scrooge me?” she taunted him.

She saw his tight expression as he looked upon their bodies, his shaft wet in her juices but sliding ever so slowly against her nether lips. Teri heard him hiss in exhilaration as Richard buried himself into her body. She gave a loud groan and shook from the friction it caused feeling him deep in her. Teri felt him slide in and out of her, shoving her body upwards on the bed with his aggressive thrusting. She felt him grasp her legs and pull her back towards him so he could get a better grip on her, his fingers digging into her shoulders to hold her still.

Teri could feel the pressure building in her pelvis as he continued his frantic pace until she felt herself give over to her orgasm with a roar that matched his as he came. She felt his warmth race into her body and felt him shake from the intensity of his relief.

Richard felt himself pump into her as the sensations rocketed through his body. He had done it again! What was it about this little pixie that made him lose all control and abandon all coherent thoughts in his mind? He never made love to a woman bareback and here he had done it twice now to the most precious woman he knew.

Richard picked up her boneless body and laid her head on the pillow, climbing in beside her. “You are all I want for Christmas this year,” he whispered as he watched her eyes drift shut in exhaustion. He stroked her hair away from her face, kissing her tenderly.

“Merry me, Teri…and if we aren’t still playing our roles, marry me, anyways…” he whispered, afraid for the first time in his life at the response that never came as she let out a shaky sigh and a soft snore. He watched her for a few moments, and lay down next to his favorite elf of all time.

Teri awoke the next morning to the sunlight streaming in above her bed and with the warmest pillow she had every slept with: Richard. She pulled up on one elbow and propped her head on her hand, looking at his sleepy visage. “Good morning,” she whispered, seeing his eyes were open and watching her.

“It’s the very best morning ever if I am waking up to that smile,” Richard said huskily, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. He was pretty sure his breath was rancid from sleep but didn’t care and would not move away for the world. She was a vision waking up in the mornings.

Teri grinned at him and his response, not sure how this morning would be since she had fallen asleep so suddenly last night. Last thing she remembered was him talking to her softly as he moved her up into the bed. She had no idea what he had said but it was truly wonderful to be so thoroughly loved by him. She had been exhausted by the previous day’s activities, emotions and once she came, the sense of relief that followed was unimaginable! She had slept so hard against his warm body. “Would you like breakfast? I will fix us something,” she offered.

“I’d love to eat, but nothing in that kitchen tempts me as much as this sweet stuff here,” Richard tickled her and wrestled her back down into the bed. Their bodies melting together once again in ecstasy.

 
Richard returned back to the fire station that evening to relieve some of the guys so they could spend time with their families. He wished he hadn’t volunteered to work Christmas Eve for the first time in his life. This year, he wanted to spend the holiday in Teri’s loving arms and being on duty was the furthest thing from his mind.

“What’s wrong, Romeo?” Tony called out to Richard using his call sign. His “brother” looked like he had a lot on his mind lately and that could be dangerous in this line of work. The team communicated quite a bit to make sure they could focus when needed.

Richard sighed. “I am really not feeling it today. I would rather be with Teri, honestly. I may have asked her to marry me…” he hedged, awaiting a backlash from his friend and mentor who had been extremely protective of Teri from the start. He did not realize exactly how bad his reputation had been, or how good hers was, until they started being seen around town and word got out.

Richard wasn’t sure what his next step would be. Of course, he knew it would be a ring but he was hesitant because Teri had not responded to him, nor had she mentioned it in the morning. He wondered if she had been completely asleep or afraid to bring it up. He knew he certainly was!

Moving forward with a dramatic life change for him was a little exhilarating and scary at the same time. He adored Teri and couldn’t imagine life without her smile in it. He had never really wanted to see another woman again repeatedly and she was always on his mind. “Got any ideas on what she would like in a ring? You were so very right about the pink hammer,” he said quietly as his friend stared at him, thunderstruck.

Richard was a bit offended by the hesitation in his friend. He expected anger, teasing, frustration or excitement from Tony, but not the taken aback expression that had him immobile. “Am I that bad?” he muttered as he put his head down in his hands. “I am so wrong for her, aren’t I?” he questioned bitterly.

Tony shook his head and sat down next to Richard on the bench and patted him on the back in an attempt to comfort his friend. “I think that if it was the guy I knew six months ago or the cocky little shit I had to help train all those years ago, I would say ‘Yep, you are so wrong for her’ in a heartbeat. You are not that man, brother. You’ve changed over the last several months. Grown up.” Tony noticed that Richard had looked up and was listening intently. Meeting Teri had been good for his friend.

“In the last few weeks, I have seen a new man take his place. You’re different. You are more relaxed. You are content in who you are and you think ‘What would Teri do?’. That tells me you are ready to have a relationship, but is it Teri you want? Are you sure you are ready to be with only one woman? Do you love her? Have you told her? If you aren’t ready, are you prepared to hurt her like that?” Tony asked quietly.

He noticed that Richard had not responded to the litany of question. Maybe he hadn’t made that step yet. “How exactly do you maybe ask a woman to marry you and you haven’t told her that you love her yet? That wasn’t one of your old pickup lines, was it?” he joked halfheartedly.

Tony knew he crossed the line as he watched Richard get up and walk away. His friend had some serious things to think about. Tony knew they would either be terrific together because Teri was so loving and giving, or it would be a complete disaster and would crush her beyond belief. Richard, he wasn’t worried about as much. He had seen the man pick himself up and move on several times over the years. If the tiger never changed his stripes, he would be consoling one of his dear friends from another trauma in her life. On the other hand, if the tiger had met his match, there would be another wedding very, very soon.

Teri left the fire station angry and hurt. She had only been able to get a hold of Richard via text and distinctly felt like she was being avoided. The men at the station looked like they were covering for him, too! It was obvious by the guilty looks on their faces.

Teri had walked in beaming from ear to ear with a massive plate of brownies for the guys, hoping to catch Richard and be able to have a few minutes to talk. He had volunteered for Christmas Eve and his scheduled shift started the next day so he was due to be off work soon. She had figured he was extremely busy. However, he had not responded to many of her texts nor answered her calls. Could he have been that busy? She did not want to seem desperate whatsoever but she kept thinking of their time together and how happy they were. It just struck her as odd.

She sat in her truck for a minute fuming. How dare they cover for him and hide him? They had to be! Lumpy said he was gassing the truck up. Tony said he was at the grocery. Elvis said he had just left the station and went home. All three men could not look her in the face and it was an emotional blow.

She felt used and embarrassed. Teri had left the plate of brownies and walked out immediately. That’s fine, two could play this game, she thought. Teri tossed her phone on the passenger seat with vehemence, determined she would not text or call him again. Richard would have to reach out to her!

Teri was trying her best to keep busy to prevent herself from texting Richard or calling him. It had been two days since she had left the brownies at the station and still no response. Teri was determined to not break first.

She had no idea what was going on or if he was avoiding her, but something was definitely “off” in their relationship. The calls, texts, and small tokens had suddenly stopped and she found herself analyzing every aspect of her own persona to see if she had “done something wrong” in order to “run him off” as Danielle had so gently put it, she thought bitterly.

Teri pulled up to her last stop for the day. Millie had called her in a panic last night telling her that they needed a last minute inspection so they could close on a contract and the new owners could take possession on the first of January. Teri had agreed since she could use the money and it would keep her from spending New Year’s Eve alone apparently.

Danielle had plans, Carla was out of town and Millie would be at the title office waiting on her report to be faxed over, then going home to her new husband. Teri planned on going home and watching the ball drop on TV as she lay on the couch under a blanket.