Decked Out with Ivy (Red Maple Falls #13)

Chapter 15

Cody pulled back from their kiss, looking into those stunning eyes that brought him calmness, joy, and warmth. It was her. Ivy. His Ivy.

She was a breath of fresh air after countless years with callous, self-important people he couldn’t seem to get away from. She was everything he wanted to be and everything he wanted to surround himself with. Being with Ivy, celebrating her adorable Christmas traditions, was as if the boulder on his chest had been lifted. The air was sweeter and easier to inhale. The days were filled with anticipation and laughter.

She was his Clarice. Clarice saw beyond the flash of Rudoph’s nose just as Ivy saw beyond the flash of his lifestyle. None of that mattered to her. She didn’t care about Cody, the actor. She cared about Cody, the man.

California was where he had lived his entire life. But now he knew it was never really home. Home was a place where he could dream about going back to whenever he wasn’t there. He never had. He didn’t even miss his bed.

The only place he dreamed about going back to was Ivy. If he left, he knew that ache people talked about would be there. Even a day on set was too much time away from her.

“Is that a yes?” he asked. “You want to do this for real?”

She bit her swollen lips, her eyelids heavy with desire. “Yes.” That single word was the lights on the Christmas tree, the sparkle in tinsel, and the rich deliciousness of hot chocolate.

He dipped his head, capturing her mouth. Electric current swirled inside of him, a desperate need to be inside of her consuming him.

The fireplace crackled, the fire casting a warm glow across the room. Grabbing a blanket off the couch, he lay it on the floor and lowered her to the green and red plaid fleece.

He could have carried her to the bedroom, but making love to her in front of the fire seemed right. Her hand caressed his cheek, holding his face as her tongue darted into his mouth, splitting his lips and finding his. She moaned, the sound vibrating between them as he slid his hand beneath her shirt.

She arched into him as he rubbed his thumb over the thin lace of her bra, feeling her nipple bead beneath his touch. He loved how reactive she was to him, how she curved toward him, begging for more without ever using words.

She hooked her fingers into the hem of her pajama shirt and pulled it over her head. Her chest rose and fell, heavy with her breathing. She reached for him, but he wanted to take her in and savor this moment. Firelight and Christmas lights glimmered across her skin, highlighting the sexy curve of her waist, the eager twist of her lips, and the white lace that covered her breasts.

He wanted to remember this moment—wrap it up tightly and store it in the back of his mind, so he could unwrap it any time he wanted.

When she reached for him, he went without hesitation, meeting her kiss with the need and desire coursing through his veins. Her fingers dove into his hair, pulling him close, moving beneath him and grinding against his growing erection.

“I need you,” she said, her mouth brushing his. She clawed at the waistband of his pants and fumbled with the button, managing to pop it open. Her hand slipped into his pants, and she took his cock into her palm. Her fingers curled around his rock-solid length, running up and down with a fevered frenzy that had him closing his eyes against the onslaught of pleasure. “Please,” she cried, devouring him in another kiss.

He shoved his pants down, kicking them to the side. Tearing his mouth from hers, he wrenched her pants down and tore them from her legs, adding them to the pile. He swallowed at the matching white lace panties that left little to the imagination.

Yanking the lace aside, he grabbed her thighs and tugged her to him. His tongue swiped at her clit. Her hands slammed into the floor, her body bowing into his mouth as he tasted her sweet heat.

Sex had always been a means to an end for him, searching for a moment of pleasure in a cold world, but with Ivy, he didn’t want this to end. He wanted to ride this wave with her, meeting her at the top, and crashing to earth together every single time.

Her legs jerked, her hands lacing into his hair, before her thighs pressed in on him. “Cody, please. Need. You. In me.”

He slashed his tongue across the swollen bundle of nerves and dragged his mouth up her body, pressing kisses along the way until they were face to face. Desire mixed with pure joy as her hand lifted to his cheek. He felt like their two souls connected, leaving little doubt in his mind that she was the one.

“Thank you for sharing Rudolph with me,” she said, and her words froze him in place. In the middle of riding a wave, she stopped to thank him. No one ever cared about anything other than what he could give them. No thank yous… just take, take, take, and here she was, using this moment to show him appreciation. Putting her own needs aside to do so.

He saw her heart through her eyes, saw a future and a love that would put every romance movie ever made to shame. He didn’t want to break from this moment. He wanted to stay here for eternity, basking in her beauty, both inner and outer. But her hand wrapped around his cock, swiping the tip through her slick heat.

“Condom,” he managed to say and went for his wallet, but she grabbed him, holding him in place.

“I’m on the pill. Please. I need you now.”

“I’m clean.”

“I trust you.”

He laced his fingers through hers, holding her arm above her head. She stroked him, guiding him, and he thrust. She cried out, and he moaned at the intensity of sensations rushing through him. She felt like heaven. She felt like home.

His fingers tightened around hers. Their lips came together, and their bodies moved as one, a beautiful dance of give and take.

It didn’t matter what movie role he got next and where that set would be. All that mattered was he had someone to come home to. Someone who knitted adorable Christmas sweaters, who wore ridiculous Santa hats, and who gave him the best present of all.

She gave him back Christmas.

Her muscles tightened around him, her breaths came in ragged gasps, and he kissed her harder as they both crested the wave of pleasure together.