Lone Star Christmas Mission (Hard Justice #9.5)

Chapter Nine

Cash lay curled up on the sofa with Kayla and stared at the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. The fully decorated tree that Kayla and he had done shortly after they’d arrived back from their hellish ordeal with Harvin.

At first, it had seemed like a strange thing for Kayla to want to do, but she had requested it right after they’d showered, washing away the blood that’d gotten on them during the attack. Cash had been pleased to hear her ask for such a thing since he’d been bracing himself for her to deal with the flood of emotions that had to be going through her.

But the flood had stayed quiet.

And together, they’d decorated every single inch of the tree.

Then, they’d both given into the adrenaline crashes from hell and had cuddled up on the sofa. Kayla had fallen asleep, again something he hadn’t expected, but he was damn glad she had. He only hoped that she was having peaceful dreams and not the shitty nightmares that Harvin and his kin had given her.

Cash figured some nightmares were going to be inevitable, but there were some big-assed bright spots, too. The last Santa hostage was alive. Yeah, he was in ICU and would likely need lots of rehab and PT, but the signs were good that he would eventually recover.

There was a bright spot for the three teenage girls, too. They were all safe and sound back home, where they’d be having Christmas with their families. It was truly a miracle that they’d all three come out of the ordeal with only minor physical injuries. Just some cuts and bruises. Of course, like the Santa hostage, it would no doubt take them a while and some therapy to deal with the mental stuff. Harvin had left them with a shitload of memories that could follow them forever.

Still, they were alive, and Harvin wasn’t.

Harvin’s four hired thugs were dead, too, thanks to the three that Jericho and Rafe had shot outside the store. Kayla had taken care of the fourth one, and whether it had occurred to her or not, once again she’d saved herself.

Cash hoped that gave her strength to get through the next couple of days.

As if she’d sensed he was thinking about her, Kayla stirred, and her eyes opened. She was smiling—something he was damn glad to see—and her smile got even wider when she looked at him.

“It’s not a dream,” she muttered.

“What do you mean?” he had to ask.

“You. This.” She fluttered her hand toward the tree. “Us. We’re alive, and we have a Christmas tree.”

There was so much enthusiasm in her voice. Actually, there was downright joy in that tone and expression. Her face was bright and happy, and he forced himself not to think of the bandage on her head from Alvin’s attack. In fact, he forced himself to focus only on her.

Not a hard task.

Kayla was her usual stunning self. She might have argued with him about that assessment since she had on no makeup, and her hair had dried at some odd angles since she’d fallen asleep while it was still damp.

“It’s Christmas,” she murmured, and again, there was that joy.

And it was infectious since Cash was starting to feel it as well. In fact, he was starting to feel a lot of things, some that he probably shouldn’t, but it was hard for his thoughts not to turn dirty with Kayla pressed against him like this.

It was more than the body to body contact, though. It was the way she was looking at him. Straight in the eyes, and she wasn’t trying to inch away. There wasn’t a trace of panic in sight so, Cash tested the waters, ready to pull back if necessary.

He brushed his mouth over hers. “Merry Christmas,” he murmured.

Cash might have eased back to gauge her reaction, but Kayla slid her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him to her for another kiss. It was long, slow, and incredibly hot.

Kayla seemed to pour a whole lot of emotions into that kiss. Maybe because she had no choice about that, not with the old heat between them generating some new fires. It was the same for him. Cash put some emotion into it, taking a risk and hoping that the risk paid off.

It did.

Kayla made a silky sound of pleasure and just kept her mouth on his. Since that was a really good sign, Cash ran his tongue over her bottom lip and went French with the kiss. His reward was another of Kayla’s moans and more flames to that growing fire.

Kayla moved, turning so her body was fully pressed against his. And his dick certainly appreciated that. Still, Cash tried to keep himself in check since he knew Kayla could put an end to this in a blink.

But she didn’t.

She kept up the kissing and added some touching, too. She slid her hand down his chest. Then under his shirt. Her fingers played with the muscles on his stomach. And his chest. She lit fires along the way.

And need.

Plenty of need.

Again, Cash tried to rein things in, but Kayla didn’t make that easy. He got a flash of memories. Not of the attacks. But of their intense making-out sessions when they’d been teenagers. Those sessions had been sweet torture with a whole lot of pleasure.

But not full sex.

That hadn’t happened until they were adults, but before that, there had been times like this. So many kisses. So many touches. And, yeah, more than an orgasm or two from what turned out to be hand jobs. Cash was considering going for that now, but Kayla took matters into her own hand.

Literally.

She ran her palm past the waist of his cargo pants and into his boxers.

Cash cursed and jolted but in a good way at her touch. The pleasure fired through him, and he instantly wanted more. He wanted to give more, too, so he shifted enough so that he could slip his hand under her top. Since she wasn’t wearing a bra, he was able to slide his fingers over her nipples.

Kayla gasped, and it was a familiar sound. All pleasure. So, Cash gave her more. He shoved up her top and replaced his fingers with her mouth.

It was the right move.

She cursed him but in a good, dirty way, and while he tasted every inch of her breasts, she got her hands on his hard-on. Familiar territory for her, and she obviously remembered the terrain . She gripped and touched, sliding her thumb over the tip of his erection.

Cash didn’t have the breath to curse her, and the heat was growing by leaps and bounds. So was the urgency building inside him so he did a turnabout fair play move. He moved his hand into her shorts and found exactly what he was looking for.

She bucked against his fingers and began fighting to get off her clothes. Those clothes were the enemy now, and she clearly wanted to be naked.

He helped with that.

Mindful of her stitches, Cash eased off the shirt. Then, the boxers she was wearing.

“I want you naked now,” she insisted, yanking off his shirt and going after his zipper. “And you’d better have a condom.”

“In my wallet,” he managed to say.

Kayla took that as a personal challenge, to get the condom and take off his pants at the same time. Since the need was pushing hard for this to happen now, Cash helped with that. He got the condom, tossing his wallet to the floor, and then seconds later, his pants and boxers ended up there as well.

Despite that urgency, Cash studied Kayla’s face while he got on the condom. At least that’s what he tried to do, but she began a frantic flurry of kissing and touching. The woman was clearly on a mission for this to turn into full-blown sex.

And Cash was more than willing to make that happen.

He shifted again, moving her on top of him so she could stop if the panic came. But there was no panic in her expression or in her moves. She took him inside her and rode him hard and fast. Just as the heat and need were dictating.

She anchored her hands on his chest, lowering her head to kiss him while she thrust onto him. Over and over. Faster. Then, even faster. Until Cash felt the need clawing its way to the finish.

Kayla did some finishing.

He felt the climax ripple through her, saw the glow of pure pleasure on her face, and that was all Cash needed. He let go, letting his own climax consume him as he pulled Kayla into his arms.