Maisie laughed and walked toward him, put her hands on his chest. “I think you actually owe me a session.”
His hands went to her hips. “Is that so?”
Nodding, Maisie ran her hands over his pecs to his arms, upand down, watching his face, his eyes. “Shirtless would be best. Lighting-wise.”
One side of his mouth tipped up. “Yeah?”
Trying to keep her expression serious, she nodded again. “Absolutely. I want to capture your best… side.”
Nick bent, brushed his lips over hers slowly, then pulled away. “And which side would that be?”
Pursing her lips, Maisie dropped one hand but trailed the other down his arm as she began walking around him. “Let me just check.” Her hand moved up his back muscles, down over his ass, around to his hip, back up over his arm, until finally she was standing in front of him again. This time, when she set her hand on his chest, she felt his deep inhales and exhales.
Maisie shook her head as the air between them thickened with mutual desire. She reached out for the hem of his shirt, began pushing it up. “I’m sorry. I can’t make an accurate assessment with this in the way.”
Eagerly, he reached around and tugged the shirt over his head, tossed it carefully to the floor. He eyed her up and down, stopped when their eyes locked.
“Technically, that’s my shirt, so you should take that off too. For accuracy.”
“You gave it to me.”
He nodded, put his hands to the hem of the oversized jersey. “And it’s yours. But right now, it needs to go. For lighting purposes.”
The jersey had barely cleared her head before he fused his mouth to hers, one hand tunneling into her hair even as he tugged her against him. Skin to skin, she lost her ability to keep playing, to do anything other than kiss him and touch him and show him how much she wanted him. His hands were everywhere and hers were just as wild. He was used to being in control but this time, Maisie wanted him to let go, let her take over. She needed him to crave herthe way she did him. So that when they were apart, he’d miss her just as much as she knew she’d miss him. Like a piece of herself.
His palm curved over her ass but she pushed back, met his gaze, and was pleased to see his filled with something much stronger than simple affection.
“Maisie,” he whispered, his voice hoarse and husky. “You make me lose my mind.”
She nodded, trailed her nail from one side of his collarbone down the center of his chest, to the button on his jeans. “That’s what I want. You don’t need to think. You just need to feel.”
He started to pull her close again, but Maisie resisted, lowering herself to her knees, the audible groan of untethered desire that left him better than any Christmas gift she’d ever received.
LATER, TANGLED TOGETHER INher bed, Nick’s fingers drew feather-light circles on her lower back. Even their breath was intertwined because they were facing one another, their legs woven in and out of each other in a way that made her feel like they were one person.
“I got you a present,” she said around her dry throat. She needed water. When she regained the use of her limbs, she’d grab that and the presents.
“And it was amazing,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Maisie gave a sleepy laugh. “Not that. When I can move again, I’ll get it.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything. My key chain is perfect.”
“I’m glad you like it but this is something more meaningful. It’s nothing big. But you’ll like it.”
“Okay, now I know you’re not talking about—”
Maisie laughed, pushed at his chest, and untangled herself. Grabbing one of the T-shirts he’d thrown over the chair in the corner of her room, she covered herself and went to the kitchen first.Grabbing a bottle of water, she then picked up the presents from where she’d tucked them behind the tree and went back to the bedroom.
Nick was sitting up, leaning against the headboard. His dark hair was sticking up and out; his beard looked like she’d run her fingers through it because she had. A little shiver of joy ran up her spine, seeing him with the blankets around his waist, his chest and abs on display and most of all, his eyes watching her as if he more than liked what he saw. She was definitely plummeting into the more-than-like territory.
“That’s three presents,” he said.
She flopped down on the bed beside him, setting her bottle of water on the nightstand. “Oh good. You can count.”
His laugh was loud and filled her chest with a different kind of joy. Setting the presents down, she shared the water with him first. When they’d done that, she pointed to the presents but he eyed them warily.
“You don’t have to give me anything.”
