This Christmas (17 page)

The room seemed to lift up, the tiny white lights casting a glow around them that was more magic than real. His mouth soft against hers, the pressure increased with every sip, until his tongue slipped past her lips and Bree collapsed against him.

His fingers threaded through her hair, holding her head firmly so he could take her mouth in the most exquisite dance. Bree felt his hardness against her belly and she let her hand travel from his waist to his broad back, leaning into him, remembering how he felt before and realizing she wasn’t the only one who’d changed.

Her therapist’s hands noticed the ridges of muscle on his flank and back. The way he moved and everything flexed and relaxed. When his arms slipped around her, and he lifted her, it was effortless.

Bree looped her arms around his neck and left a trail of kisses along his jaw as he carried her back up the stairs.

“I love how this gown feels on you, but I can’t wait to get it off,” he growled.

Burying her face in his neck, Bree’s heart pounded in her chest. Everything about this was right. He was hers, he’d always been hers, and nothing had been right since they’d been apart.

He walked through her bedroom door and pushed it closed with his foot. He stood in the center of her room, the place where she waited to hear from him, where she watched from her window, and Jake brought it all home and kissed her. He kissed her like he did when they first came together. He kissed her to make up for all the years they’d been apart and, finally, Jake kissed her for the future they were destined to have.

Bree inhaled his breath, felt the fire in him warm her skin, and her desire flared in a way it never had before.

He set her on the floor and ran his hands over her shoulders, pushing the straps down her arms and the gown followed, slipping off her body and pooling at her feet. Jake rested his forehead against hers and caressed her face with such tenderness Sabrina thought she might cry.

Slowly undoing the buttons of his shirt, Bree ran her hands over his bare chest, feeling his need in every one of his muscles before she relieved him of his clothes. Jake’s fingers grazed over her body, his touch feather light. He wasn’t rough or aggressive, but gentle, probing, perfect.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered. “I’ve never forgotten how your skin felt or how sweet you smelled. It’s the same.”

Getting even closer, Bree pressed her lips to his chest and her hands dropped down and stroked his erection, making him gasp with pleasure. “You’ve been in my dreams every night for ten years, Jake. You were my only lover.”

Gazing into her eyes, he seemed to understand what she’d told him. Backing her up slowly, he eased her down onto the bed. Kneeling in front of her, Jake nudged her knees apart and settled himself between her legs. Leveraging himself over her, he kissed her lips, her neck, her breasts, and left a warm trail of kisses on her belly before pressing his mouth to her center. His gentle ministrations were raw and deep and meant to take her over the edge.

Which is exactly what happened.

Sabrina fisted her hands in the bedclothes, riding the sensations as Jake gripped her hips and didn’t let her scoot away. He didn’t stop when she begged, and she dissolved when the scruff of his beard grazed the inside of her thigh and his mouth nipped and teased her core.

There were no words.

He chuckled, warm and sexy, as he watched her come apart. “How did you like that?”

Bree was barely conscious, so she couldn’t really answer. She only had a vague sense of him gently moving her and tucking her under the covers.

Her body was heavy, boneless, and yet she responded instantly when he climbed in next to her and kissed her yet again.

The gentleness was gone replaced by heat and passion. His mouth went deep, capturing her with no question as to what he wanted. Dipping his head, he teased her breasts and Bree suddenly felt self-conscious. The last time they’d been together, her body had been perfect and now she bore the wear and tear of having a child. But when he touched her again, running his hands up and down her sides, Bree stopped thinking altogether.

“I want to be inside you,” he whispered against her ear.

Stroking his face, she nodded and he didn’t hesitate, protecting himself before easing past her entrance. Sabrina, tensed at the invasion, but remembered it was Jake, and once the initial burn cooled, he’d be gentle and loving. Entering slowly, Bree remembered how much she loved the feel of him as he filled her. Each bit of progress brought her closer and closer to the magic his body promised. Finally, burying himself deep, she could feel the tightness, but then, as with everything else, he became familiar and her body opened and accepted him like it always had.

Their movements were in perfect sync, his thrusts firing every nerve ending until she peaked again, and the orgasm rushed over her like a flood. Jake followed and she held his damp body close as he surged into her, crying out.

“I love you,” she whispered against his shoulder. “I’ve never stopped loving you.”

He held her close and Bree wanted being with him to be her reality every night for the rest of her life. But when he didn’t return her words, the doubt wiggled in her head and Sabrina prayed he wouldn’t break her heart again.

T
he snow left six inches on the ground before it stopped at dawn. Bree awoke when the bed became chilled and she saw Jake at the window, buttoning his shirt and tucking it into his pants.

“I wish you didn’t have to go.”

They’d talked about his first road trip since his injury. On one hand, Bree was happy he was strong enough to skate with his team again, even if it was just to practice, but on the other, she’d miss him. There was no getting around how much she’d miss him.

Jake turned and smiled when he heard her. “God, you look gorgeous.”

“I’m probably a mess.”

“A beautiful mess. You look like you had lots of great sex.”

She smiled because she’d had plenty of great sex. Bree was sure she’d be aware of it for a good part of the day. “Why so early? I thought the team charter wasn’t until later. Are we getting more bad weather?”

He leaned in and kissed her, nibbling her lips and touching her in the way only he could. “No, thank God. Getting into the city sucks when it snows. It would take me forever, and I...” He hesitated, and his expression grew serious. “I have someplace I have to be.”

This was not going at all like Bree expected. It was a week before Christmas and she thought they’d have some time together. Jake obviously had other plans; plans she didn’t know about. The city? Why was he going... her heartbeat kicked up a notch when she thought about what, or more likely who, he had to see in New York.

“You have someplace to be?” Her thoughts went right to his ex, who lived on the Upper East Side.

Jake sat on the edge of the bed. “I didn’t want to upset you, so I didn’t tell you. Destin, Sydney’s son, goes to a private school in Manhattan. I promised him I’d go to his Christmas concert before I fly out with the team.”

Bree felt a little crack form in her heart. “Oh, I see.”

“Sabrina, don’t.” Reaching out, Jake cupped her cheek and dropped a sweet kiss on her lips. “There’s nothing going on, but I’m the only father he’s ever known.”

God, she was a horrible person. They’d talked about his relationship with Sydney, and how by the time Jake found out the toddler wasn’t his, the two of them had bonded. Destin was just a child and it wasn’t his fault his biological father deserted him, but Sabrina couldn’t help feeling he and his mother represented a threat to her future. It was his mother, after all, who had lied to Jake all those years ago. “His father never turned up?”

“No. He was a loser Sydney went to high school with, and when she got pregnant, he left.”

And that’s when she went after you
.
She took you away from me and our baby.

He kissed her again. And again. “You have nothing to worry about.”

Sure she did. He was leaving Sabrina’s bed to go to another woman and her child. It felt like history was repeating itself.

Nodding, she willed herself to play it cool because she’d put everything out there for him the night before. She’d not only given him her body again, she’d opened her heart, telling him she loved him.

He’d said nothing.

Sabrina rose and went to the bathroom, not realizing she’d put on the Wisconsin t-shirt he’d given her ten years ago until he said something. “It still looks better on you than it ever did on me.” His smile was bright, happy, but suddenly Bree felt her heart seized with fear.

She returned to the bed, sitting cross-legged, numb, and Jake leaned in, kissing the top of her head like nothing was wrong. “I’ll call later and say goodbye to Charlie. You behave. And don’t worry,” he said before dropping a kiss on her lips one last time.

Jake strode out of the room. He was always leaving and it was likely Bree was going to know how that felt over and over again. She could handle his work, that wasn’t the problem, but Jake was torn between two families, and Sabrina didn’t know how she felt about playing second fiddle to his ex-wife and her son.

She heard her phone buzz and glanced down to see she had fifteen text messages. Two were from her mother telling her they would get home when they could and the rest were from Cass, Jade, Kara, and Elena. Of course they wanted to know everything.

Looking at the puddle of red satin that was in the middle of her floor, Bree opened a group text, feeling more foolish than ever.

“So, how was it?”
Elena was the only one who hadn’t beat around the bush.

“Everything is fine,”
she wrote back. “
Nothing has changed.”

“Seriously?”
Elena shot right back. “
Awesome!”

“I guess.”
Bree responded.

I
n the weeks since he’d seen her again, Jake’s entire world had turned upside down. His priorities had shifted, but for once, instead of feeling off balance, he felt at ease. He was exactly where he should have been all along, in love with Bree. All the time apart, the years without each other and he still found his way back to her. When they were younger, their love was huge, explosive, and all consuming. This love was settled, wiser and incredibly intense. It had become part of him, making him feel whole.

There were probably reasons why they shouldn’t be together. But all the reasons in the world couldn’t stop what he felt.

He and Charlie had hatched a plan on the ride home from the dance that would show Bree how much she meant to him. He’d have to do a lot of the leg work from wherever he was with the team, but if he could get a little inside help, he could make this Christmas something really special.

Jake thought only of her eyes and her smile. How she laughed and cried. How she seemed to need him again. What he could do to make her happy.

When he had kissed her goodbye earlier that morning, Jake realized he didn’t want to be a part-time person in her life; he didn’t want to be a part-time father. Jake made a promise—he’d be there this time. She wouldn’t have to do it all alone anymore.