On the bright side, there was a cheerful wreath on the front door and another hanging above the faux fireplace. James saw me noticing. “I bought two at the lot when we were there last weekend—to support the school.”
James might not have a bookshelf or a suitable set of knives yet, but he was connected to the town in other ways. Maybe I could be more hopeful?
Ugh. I needed to squash that.
By the time James drove up my driveway, we were already kissing. The dogs barked and yipped around us as we continued touching one another, carrying our bags into the house. Once inside, I kicked the front door closed and immediately felt James’s large body pushing me up against it. His fingers journeyed underneath my sweater to touch the bare skin of my torso, creating goosebumps along my spine.
I pulled myself away from him just long enough to feed the dogs and get them settled for the night.
In my bedroom, I found James lying against the headboard in nothing but his boxer briefs. Soft light from two candles shadowed across the white walls, and he seemed okay with the fact I could see his features clearly. It wasn’t a spotlight, but it was something.
As I quickly divested myself of my clothes, he did the same with his boxers. Undressed, his rock-hard erection beckoned me across the room. I approached him from the foot of the bed, crawling my way up as I ran my lips and tongue along his calves, his knees, his quads. My fingernails raked through the wiry hair of his inner thighs before I leaned down to take him in my mouth. I moaned in appreciation of his thickness, and he responded by arching half a foot and shuddering.
“Not gonna last,” he gritted out.
I pulled off for a moment and winked. “S’okay. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Licking a stripe from the root of his shaft to the tip, I engulfed him again. Deep throating was not a particular skill of mine, so I positioned my grip around the bottom to jerk him while I focused my attention on the head. James placed a hand on my hair to help guide me into the rhythm he needed. A minute later, he came down my throat with a shout.
I flopped down next to him, running a finger through his chest hair. He bent his elbow and threw an arm over his eyes. “Just gimme a sec to recover and then I’m definitely returning the favor.”
“Yeah you are,” I said with a grin.
He breathed out roughly. “I don’t know why I’m so surprised by how amazing this is with us. In the bedroom. I don’t have a ton of experience, Marley, but this is next level. Like, the best I’ve ever had.”
“Did you think I’d be bad in bed?” I said indignantly.
“No. You’re sweet and adorable, and I thought you’d be like that. And you definitely are. But Marley, you’re also so goddamn sexy. I knew it would be good, but I don’t think I was prepared for this level of epic. And fuck me for that, because you never cease to amaze me. Surprise me.”
I could forgive James for assuming I’d be “sweet” and “adorable” in bed. After all, I was the woman who’d spent the entire month in fashion-forward-grandma holiday sweaters. I imagined many people would make that mistake. But I also liked being in control, even if being with James had me on the edge of losing my mind. In more ways than one.
“Maybe because we’ve been friends all these months, you got used to seeing me as not bedroom material. I’m glad that, with this, the transition has been seamless.”
“Marley, seamless doesn’t even begin to describe it. When you put your hands on me, it’s like I’m being touched for the first time.”
I chuckled. “Okay, Madonna.”
He didn’t laugh back. Instead, he positioned himself on his side, head resting on his fist. He reached out two fingers to run them softly along my cheek, following the line of my body down my neck and chest, before coming to rest on my hip. His eyes blazed with intensity, and I realized with alarm what was about to happen.
“I’m being serious. When we’re together, skin to skin, it’s like I’m more aware of myself—in a good way—than I’ve ever been. I really think I might lo—”
“James,” I interrupted. “I believe you promised me a return of favors.”
He flinched at my obvious shutdown of his words but recovered quickly, seeming to understand I wasn’t ready to hear them. Rolling on top of me to deliver an absolutely filthy kiss, he then started working his way down my body.
He did, in fact, return the favor. Payment in full. One hundred percent satisfaction for all parties involved.
Chapter sixteen
James
Thedogshadworkedtheir way into the bedroom during the night, and I woke up to Bambi’s wet nose nudging my hand while Oscar gave Marley similar treatment on the other side of the mattress.
“I guess our long weekend is over,” she muttered, stumbling down the hall to the bathroom completely naked. It would be nice getting her moved into her mom’s old bedroom, since it had the ensuite.
After taking a moment to enjoy the view of her bare ass, I pulled on pajama bottoms and went into the kitchen to start coffee. Looking across the counter, I saw two additions to the living room I hadn’t noticed last night in our haste to get to the bedroom. We never had come out for dinner.
On the bookshelf, I discovered a brand-new holiday picture frame containing the photo Marley and I had taken at the #colemancreekholiday selfie wall. The evidence that she’d made room for me here, among priceless objects that told her family’s history, humbled me. The second thing I saw was a seven-foot noble fir in the corner. It seemed impossible I’d missed it, considering it dominated the space.