Page 52 of It Happened Duo
I missed him, his rich scent, his body, and our nights together—and apparently he did too, since something was knocking at my back.
“No, Rex. You need to save your energy.”
He growled again, caressing a hand down my body.
“If you won’t behave, I’ll get out of this bed.”
His hand snapped back up into place, and he tightened me to him.
After a minute, I sighed and whispered, “I’ve missed you, too. But you were such an asshole.”
“I know,” came his reply.
It didn’t take long before I heard his heavy breathing, showing he’d drifted off to sleep. It took me a little while longer, though. A vision came to me, where I was walking in a field of snow at Christmas time wearing a bridal gown.
What did it mean? What did he want? What didI want?
Would he be the same old Rex, trying to get me into his scheme for marriage just so he could remodel his precious building? Or did he have a change of heart?
The picture of a white wedding dress in the snow kept nagging me as I tossed and turned beside him all night. Was it a sign? Could Rex and I find some way to make this work? Could this be my last Christmas as a Miss?
27
THE BEST PRESENT
REX
“I can thinkof much better ways to use my tongue.” I winked at Chelsea, standing next to her in front of the dresser in her room. Clearly feeling much better, I believed my fever broke, but she had to be sure.
“Stop. This is serious. You landed on our doorstep with a fever last night. Now put this under your tongue, hold it there, and quit talking.” She stuffed the glass thermometer just so in my mouth, unusually grumpy for my typically sunshiny lady.
I took it out again and tried hard to make her laugh. “You’re really turning me on, taking care of me like this. Remind me to buy you a nurse costume. I can see this fantasy playing out really nicely for me.” I popped the stick back under my tongue and wiggled my brows. Her head cocked at me with crossed arms told me to be serious.
“You’re making some big assumptions there, considering we haven’t talked yet.”
I was. Hell was waking up next to Chelsea on Christmas morning hard as a rock and not being able to do anything about it, since she insisted we talk, and that I shouldn’t exert myself until my fever was gone. I willed the mercury to stay in the normal range, while my stiff cock twitched, dying to be inside of her again.
It was early morning on Christmas, and no one else in the house stirred but us. Waiting the few minutes for the thermometer to register and not being able to talk to Chelsea or touch her was extremely painful.
When time was up, she removed the implement from my mouth, inspecting it with laser concentration. “Wow, Mr. Buchanan. Looks like you’ve made a miraculous recovery overnight. You’re back to normal temperature. But you do still have a cough, so take it easy today. Don’t overexert yourself with strenuous activities.”
“Yes, Nurse Chelsea.” I grabbed her and dipped her, eager to taste her again. “Does this count as strenuous?” I nuzzled into her cleavage, kissing and drawing my lips across her skin.
“Oh. That-that should be fine,” she sighed as if I took her breath away.
I brought her upright, continuing to pursue with kisses from her neck to her earlobe, delighting in her quick breaths turning into tiny moans. “And this—is it too much?” I kissed the sensitive spot I knew well under her ear.
“Stop, Rex. We need to talk. Your kisses are confusing the situation.” She broke out of my reach.
“I disagree. My thoughts and intentions are clear as day, after I spent the better part of the past two months living under a dark cloud of shame and guilt. Fuck, Chelsea, if I could take back that night on the rooftop, I would. Who the hell did I think I was then? Yes, I’ve always been a bit of a spoiled billionaire, but your face when you gave back the ring broke me. Killed me. Stabbed me in the heart.” I jabbed my chest for extra measure.
“Good, because you hurt me so much that night.” She brushed a tear away.
“Baby…” I stepped up to her and cupped her cheeks, re-familiarizing myself with the depths of her green irises. “I can’t stand the thought of how badly I hurt you, but I think that night was necessary to wake me up to the man I’m supposed to be.With you.”
She sputtered, more tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “Your words sound good, and I want to trust them.”
“You can. But if I need to prove myself to you again, every single day I will. Tell me what I need to do. I’m not in charge of Buchanan Energy now. I’m so far removed from the building, I don’t care about it anymore. My stress level has returned to normal. I can go back to doing what I love with my real estate investments. You’ll find I’m a different man, but with the same heart that beatsonlyfor you.” My lips claimed hers with gentle persuasion. But only one lingering kiss. I couldn’t be bullish about this. I needed patience to bring her back around to me.
