Welcome Home for Christmas Read online

  “You had sex?” Julie asked.

  “Quiet,” Allison warned again.

  Julie pulled Allison into a hug. “I knew it. I knew you two had chemistry. This is so wonderful,” she said. “You deserve this.”

  “It’s just for fun, really,” Allison said again. “Nothing serious.”

  Julie cocked an eyebrow. “With you everything is serious.”

  “Not this time.”

  And Allison deserved a little fun in her life. She’d worked hard all year, given everything she could to everyone but herself. She’d been a good girl and Santa needed to deliver the goods—literally.

  “You’re so thinking about doing him right now,” Julie accused, clucking her tongue.

  “Not true.”

  But yeah, that was exactly what Allison was thinking.

  —

  On Thursday night, Allison glanced at the clock. It was a quarter past six. She’d gotten home from work, changed clothes, and slipped into her sex-me panties. Then she’d poured herself a glass of wine to relax, because sleeping with a guy when she didn’t know his entire life story yet was still awkward for her. She didn’t even know what time Troy got off work or if he’d come straight over. If this were a real relationship she’d know these things. She sipped a little more of her wine.

  Her doorbell rang at five minutes to seven. By that time she’d drunk two full glasses, enough to make her have that floaty, wonderful feeling.

  She hurried to open the door and met Troy’s brown eyes. He gave her that floaty, wonderful feeling, too. She couldn’t wait to get him in her bed again. It was all she’d been thinking about since he’d proposed their new arrangement yesterday at lunch.

  He smiled back at her, dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a red sweater. His dark hair was combed neatly and his face was clean-shaven. Sexy, but not the look of a man who was about to tear her clothes off and ravage her body.

  “Hi,” Allison said. She heard the slight slur of her voice and giggled. Maybe she shouldn’t have finished that last glass of wine.

  “Hi yourself, beautiful,” he said. Then he lifted his arm and glanced at his watch. “You ready?” he asked.

  “Ready?”

  “Yeah. I’m taking you out tonight, remember?”

  Allison shook her head. She remembered that she and Troy were getting together, but he hadn’t said anything about going out. She looked down at her outfit and back up at him. “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “The Seaside Christmas flotilla,” he said. “All of the boats in Seaside are going to be dressed up in their best and I thought it might be romantic to go see.”

  She lowered her eyebrows. “I thought you were anti Christmas.”

  “That was until I met you. You and Christmas are growing on me.”

  “Aww.” Allison gestured for him to come inside. “Just give me a few minutes so I can change clothes. I kind of thought we would be staying in.” And she hadn’t considered that Troy would try to be romantic. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

  “Sure thing.” He walked over and took a seat on her couch. His large-framed body overtook half of it.

  She looked longingly at the space beside him, wishing she could curl up in his arms. “I’ll be right back.” She hurried to her bedroom and pulled on a silky gold blouse and a pair of jeans. She ran a comb through her hair, powdered her nose, and nodded at her reflection in the mirror.

  “I’m ready,” she told Troy as she stepped back into the living room. She grabbed her purse and coat and followed him out the front door.

  “I didn’t think romance was part of the deal,” she said, sitting beside him in the truck.

  “We really didn’t detail what the deal would look like. But when I heard about the flotilla, I thought it sounded like something you would love.”

  She smiled at him. “It’s nice that you thought of me.” She’d expected when they made their arrangement that his main thought would have been about having sex with her. What guy didn’t have sex on the brain at all times? And theirs was such a limited time. They had tonight, tomorrow night, and then it would be Christmas Eve. “I love the Christmas flotillas here,” she said.

  “And you weren’t planning on going this year?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “For some reason it just didn’t occur to me. I’m glad you thought of it, though,” she said. “I would have been disappointed had I missed it.”

  “Well, the next couple days is all about satisfying you. That’s the whole arrangement.”

  Warm tingles ran through her. She liked the sound of that.

  Chapter 12

  The air was cool as Troy stood shoulder to shoulder with Allison at the pier. Yes, this was definitely romantic. He had to give himself points because he’d never considered himself a romantic guy. If he had only two days, though, he wanted to do his best by Allison. She’d indicated that she hadn’t had the best dating experiences in the past. Even though theirs was a temporary relationship, she deserved a little something special. Troy wanted to show her that there was somebody out there who could treat her well.

  A little bit of jealousy signaled in the back of his mind. Slow down, Troy, he told himself. Don’t start getting real feelings for the pretty redhead.

  Too late.

  “It’s beautiful out here.” Allison hugged her arms around her body.

  He glanced over and, yeah, his view was beautiful, too. Gorgeous actually, and he doubted she even knew it. There was a blanket of stars accentuating the twilight-colored sky. The boats on the water were all lit up in festive colors, and music filled the air along with the busy chattering of adults and excited squeals of children gathered around for the occasion. Christmas in Seaside was spectacular. Almost as jolly as Christmas in Paradise Point.

  A little homesickness rode up inside him. He’d always loved the holidays in Paradise Point. His family usually took great care to make sure all their businesses celebrated properly, over and above what everybody else was doing. Troy’s father had been the biggest fan of Christmas there had ever been. In fact, his father had often dressed up as Santa Claus and allowed many of the Paradise Point children to climb aboard his lap and offer up their deepest desires freely. Funny how Troy was going to find himself in the same position this weekend, thanks to Allison.

  He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the railing along the view of the water. “Strange how our paths never crossed until now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I grew up only thirty minutes from here. You and I could have run into each other on any given day over the years.”

  “That is funny,” she agreed.

  The wind off the water blew her hair around her face. Some part of him wished that he had run into her sooner. Maybe they would have dated for real. There had been a time in his life when he’d been interested in finding a nice girl to settle down with. That had been just wishful thinking on his part, however. He’d met a lot of nice girls that he’d considered spending more time with, including Jess. But he was restless, always restless. And he’d broken too many hearts over the years. He didn’t want to break Allison’s, too.

  She pointed at one of the boats on the water. There, on the front of the boat, stood someone dressed up as the Grinch who stole Christmas. She covered her mouth with one hand as she laughed out loud.

  He chuckled along with her.

  “That costume would suit you better than the one we have prepared for you on Saturday.”

  “You’d find me irresistible in any costume I wore,” he promised.

  “You’re very sure of yourself, aren’t you, Mr. Matthews?”

  “Oh, I am. I’m willing to bet that you’re having a damn near impossible time resisting me right now,” he said, winking at her. He was enjoying himself as he flirted. Angling his body toward hers, he lowered his voice, “I’m having a hard time keeping my hands off you as well, you should know. I know how hard it is for you not to react to my touch,” he tease
d. “But we’re in public right now, so you gotta try, Ms. Carmichael.”

  She swatted his shoulder.

  “You know it’s true. I’m your aphrodisiac.”

  Her eyes widened, but she didn’t deny it. For some reason he had the special sauce that turned her on. “The flotilla is almost done,” he said. “I was thinking about taking you out for coffee, but I could take you home instead.” He waggled his eyebrows and this time she landed a playful punch to his stomach. He caught her hand before she pulled away and held it, looking deep into her eyes. “I’m only partially teasing,” he said, watching her neck muscles tighten as she swallowed.

  “I have coffee at my house,” she said, which was pretty much an invitation for him to come over. And if he came over, the last thing on his mind would be caffeine.

  He released her hand, but held her gaze. “A cup of coffee would really hit the spot.”

  It was on from the moment Allison locked her front door behind her. Troy pulled her into his arms and didn’t plan on letting go anytime soon.

  She moaned against his lips as he kissed her, first softly and then slipping his tongue into her mouth. She tasted so damn good, like every fantasy he’d ever had rolled up into one delicious treat.

  “I was beginning to worry this wouldn’t happen tonight,” she whispered breathlessly against his cheek as his hands moved down her sides, lingering at the curve of her waist.

  “Oh, it’s happening,” he said. He was so hard right now that if he didn’t unbutton his jeans soon, he was going to blow a hole in them.

  As if reading his mind, Allison’s fingers trailed along his waistband, pausing at the button. She undid it, then pulled the zipper down.

  “Can’t even wait until we get to the bedroom, huh?” he said, gently leading her in that direction.

  “Mmm.”

  They entered into the darkness of her bedroom and Troy pulled his shirt over his head. Her fingers trailed along the hard muscles of his chest and then she leaned forward and flicked her tongue against his nipple. He clutched her body as arousal surged inside him. She continued to kiss and lick along his chest, sinking lower and lower, following the thickening path of hair on his body until she was on her knees and her mouth was lined up with his lower half.

  Oh fuck. He hadn’t been that good this year; not enough to deserve a present like this. Allison’s gaze met his, daring him to tell her to stop. Instead, he closed his eyes and groaned as she took the length of him in her hand, squeezing softly. Then she opened her mouth and took him in, sucking and twirling her tongue until he could barely stand.

  “Baby, you are amazing,” he said, pulling her back up just before his knees gave out. Then he twisted her around and led her to lie back on the bed. Troy reached for a condom in the pocket of his jeans and tore the wrapper in half. He slipped on the rubber and climbed over Allison, hovering over her body, again wanting her more than he wanted his next breath. He wanted to kiss, wanted to touch, wanted to taste.

  He. Wanted. Her.

  For a moment he froze. He was developing feelings for this woman. This was about so much more than just sex. Yeah, he wanted her body, but it wasn’t just the physical that had him crazy for this woman below him.

  She lifted her pelvis to press against him. “I want you,” she said, her voice a desperate whisper. “Now.”

  Think with your head later, his dick begged. There was a gorgeous woman asking for sex and he was the right guy for the job.

  Troy mirrored her movement and pressed back into her. “You got me, baby.”

  —

  Allison’s world was spinning out of control and she was loving every second.

  She clawed at the muscles that lined Troy’s back. The man was one big muscle, the biggest being his heart, with a close second being the part of him nestled between her legs. He pushed his way inside her and she saw a blur of color behind her eyes. She held on as he slid up and down, pushing in and pulling away, over and over, building the climax inside her until she was writhing beneath him. She didn’t want it to be over just yet; didn’t want this moment to end.

  She dug her nails in, resisting her orgasm, but the pressure inside was like a volcano, hot and liquid.

  “Come on, baby. Let go,” Troy whispered, hitting that spot deep inside her with such precision.

  “You first,” she said, her voice hoarse.

  He groaned. Then his mouth went to her ear and he nibbled the sensitive skin there softly.

  She almost lost it, but she held on to Troy. Then she angled her head and kissed his neck, reaching her hand down to cup that butt of his.

  “Fine, you win.” He pushed harder, harder, harder still.

  Allison squeezed her eyes closed, on the verge of breaking. Then his moans built, climaxed, and started to come down. She gave herself permission to finally let go as well. She’d never shared an orgasm with a man before. They held on to each other as they rode the tsunami-sized wave of pleasure they’d built up. It finally left them limp in each other’s arms. She was so relaxed that she never wanted to move again.

  “You all right?” he whispered into her hair.

  She laughed softly. “Are you kidding?” She tipped her head back and looked at him. “If I had bones, I’d be climbing aboard to do that again.”

  He kissed her forehead.

  It was a simple move, but she stilled against him, caught off guard by the gesture. Not sexual at all, but sweet. A kiss on the forehead was intimate in a way that was different from the intimacy they’d had when they were naked and writhing.

  She watched him. His eyes closed and there was a soft smile curving his mouth. Her heart did a tiny somersault in her chest, and, oh, no. There were those thoughts she usually wrestled against once she started dating a guy.

  Maybe this time things would last.

  Maybe this guy was different.

  Maybe this guy wouldn’t break her heart into a million tiny little shards.

  Maybe her mother will approve of this one.

  Troy’s left eye cracked open. “You’re staring at me.”

  “How did you know?” she asked.

  “Sixth sense. All cops have it.”

  “Really?” She rolled into him and propped herself up on an elbow.

  “No. I just thought it sounded cool.” He grinned.

  His sister-in-law was right. He was always playing. A big kid at heart. And he would play her, undoubtedly, if she let him.

  “Do you still want coffee?” she asked.

  “No. It’ll keep me up all night.” He tightened his arms around her, pulling her toward him. “And I have other ways of staying up all night.”

  “Again?” she asked, surprised that her body readied at the suggestion.

  “And again. And again.” He kissed her. “And again.”

  —

  Allison awoke on Friday morning to the sound of someone’s deep breathing beneath her. A man’s breathing. Her cheek was pressed against Troy’s chest. She’d fallen asleep somewhere between rounds of sex. Nestling against him, she listened to his rhythmic heartbeat. And then those pesky thoughts returned: She could get used to this. What if they didn’t part ways after the weekend was over? What if this was leading to something real?

  Troy stirred beneath her. She opened her eyes and lifted her head.

  Reaching with a finger, he smoothed the hair away from her face. “Even more beautiful like this,” he whispered.

  “Doubtful.”

  “It’s true. What time is it?”

  She glanced over at her nightstand. “Six a.m. Morning time.”

  “I’ve got to go to work,” he said, starting to move his limbs.

  She pulled her body away from his, rolling onto her back. He got up, fully naked and seemingly unconcerned about it. Why should he be? He was male perfection. Except…“What’s that on your, um, on your…?”

  He looked back and followed her gaze to his ass. “Oh, yeah. That.” He nodded, bending to retrieve his jeans. “It’s
a tattoo of a bullet hole.”

  She raised her brow. “Bullet hole? Is that somehow meaningful to you?” she asked, unable to keep herself from smiling. She was always smiling around him.

  He stepped into a pair of boxers and pulled a T-shirt over his head. “Yeah. Every time I see it, it reminds me not to lose bets when I’m drunk. My brothers are evil.”

  Allison threw her head back and laughed out loud. “I would love to meet your brothers one day.”

  Troy shook his head. “I think it’s best if I keep you far away from that crowd. It’s bad enough that Rhonda got a hold of you and told you all my secrets.”

  Allison’s eyes moved to his butt. “Is that why they nicknamed you Bullet?”

  Troy grinned. “That’s a family secret. I’d appreciate if you kept this tidbit to yourself. I know how girls talk. If you tell Julie, she’ll tell Lawson. Then all the guys at Heroes will get a kick out of teasing me next time I show up at the bar.” He crossed the room toward her. “Can I trust you with my secrets?” he asked, lowering his voice.

  She nodded.

  “Can I see you tonight?”

  She didn’t even hesitate. “Yes,” she said as if she’d been waiting for him to ask. “Another romantic outing?”

  He shook his head. “Not necessarily. How about I pick you up at seven? I have somewhere I want to take you.”

  “Where?”

  “My place,” he said. “It’s a fixer-upper house that I’m kind of proud of. I want to show it to you.”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  He stooped and kissed her mouth, following the kiss up with another kiss on her forehead. There was something about that forehead kiss that made her melt.

  “See you tonight.” He straightened, waved, and left her a big pile of mush alone in her bedroom. Satisfied mush.

  She heard the front door close behind him and let out a long sigh. She had to go to work today, too, but she didn’t mind. She’d gotten only a couple of hours of sleep and she wasn’t even tired. Instead, she felt energized, alive. And she was seeing Troy again tonight.