Merry Mix-Up (Holiday Hearts)

11. Jade

11

JADE

M y hands must've been clammy when I pulled Newt away from the door to the kitchen where I had the dress all laid out. It was almost completely basted together in preparation for stitching, and I had more than enough thread to finish what I needed to do tonight, but I had to have an excuse yet again. Pretending to be my sister sucked so badly. I wanted to be myself and just relax and let my guard down, but the fa?ade wouldn’t be over until Amber came home and did what she should have been doing all along.

"I told you we're so busy with the dress." Flopping down on the couch, I tried my hardest to hide my shaking hand and fluttering heart. It wasn't just butterflies because Newt was around, though he did do that to me.

He sat down next to me and draped an arm along the back of the couch coolly, then reached up and brushed a few strands of hair out of my face. The black was already fading a little, though thankfully, Amber had been able to remove all of the color. My hair felt brittle now too, which disappointed me. I had to make an appointment at the salon for an oil treatment to fix it or I'd end up with a pixie cut because of breakage. Amber owed me big time after this.

"Well, I figured you ladies could use a break from all the hard work. Besides, I haven't met Jade officially yet, and if she's working so hard on my sister's dress, I figured it was only natural. How long will she be gone?" His hand trailed down the side of my face and my arm to my hip, and he slid closer to me. I had a feeling his question about how long she'd be gone had more to do with how long we'd be alone than it had to do with his wanting to meet "Jade".

"Oh, I don't know. A while…" I started to relax a little. I'd have to figure out a way to make sure he never found out that "Jade" hadn't really gone for thread. The twin swap was getting harder and harder to keep up with, but I could manage it as long as he wasn't suspicious.

"Well, we can chat about wedding stuff. Or we can do something else…" One of his eyebrows lifted, and he grinned at me, but after the last time and how Amber really freaked out about my flirting with him, I still felt like putting the brakes on this thing was the best idea.

"Did you secure the lodge for the party?" I asked, knowing we had selected the old game lodge on the outskirts of town for the bachelor party and wedding. It was the only place that hadn't been booked for Christmas Eve yet due to the expense of heating the place. The rental fee was astronomical, but of course Newt came to the rescue. It was booked for Saturday, last we checked, so I wasn’t sure Newt would be able to get it.

"I did," he said, winking. "The family who had it booked for their family Christmas party was pretty stubborn, but when I promised to build them a heated lanai on the back of their house to use year-round for all gatherings, including a swimming pool with a hard cover to serve as a floor so they'd have more space, they went for it. Then I rented them the hotel ballroom and we got the lodge."

"Oh, my God, Newt," I gasped, shaking my head. "That will be a fortune." I couldn’t believe him at all. If he were doing something like this for me, I'd have told him it was way too much and he was insane. It probably would even be a turn-off. But seeing him do it for his sister just shocked me so much, I didn't know how to respond.

"Naomi is my sister, Amber. She's only getting married once in her life—hopefully. She wants a magical Christmas wedding, and I'm giving it to her. Money is nothing but a tool to make things happen. I have it. She wants things. I make them happen." He retracted his hand, but it lingered on his thigh, only inches from returning to my knee.

"You don’t think she should learn that to get things, you have to work hard?" Arms folded across my chest, I studied his expression thoughtfully. He really didn't have to think about money at all anymore, though he knew the value of hard work. A lanai on the back of someone's house would be twenty grand, which wasn't something just anyone could afford. But to him, it was probably pocket change.

"Naomi has worked so hard her whole life. I'm not giving her a free ride, Amber." I winced when he said her name again and almost told him to stop saying that, but he kept talking and I listened. "She will go back to her life of hard work, though I don't want her to have to. She's just getting the wedding of her dreams because of me."

I felt foolish for protesting his lavish treatment of his sister, but I didn't get a chance to say anything else. My phone started chirping and I didn't know where it was. "Hold that thought," I told him, jumping up to find it. I looked around the living room and realized it was coming from the kitchen, so I walked in there to search. It stopped ringing for a while, then started again, and I finally found it under the sheets of pattern material next to the basted fabric.

It was Amber, and my heart nearly stopped. I swiped to answer and prayed Newt didn't ask who it was.

"Now is not a good time," I mumbled, but I couldn't just hang up. I walked into the living room on my way to the bedroom, and Newt smiled at me.

"Who is it?" he asked at the same time Amber spoke.

"Jade, my God—Hey. Is that Newt? What the hell, Jade? He's not supposed to…" I pulled the phone away from my ear and covered the microphone.

"Uh, be right back, okay? It's Jade."

Darting into my bedroom, I put the phone back to my ear to hear Amber finishing her lecture. "And I told you it was off limits."

"Listen," I hissed, "he's here to check on the dress and talk about the bachelor party venue. What was I supposed to do, kick him into the snow? God, you don’t know everything." I sighed hard and rolled my eyes. I stood with my back to the door, hunched over, trying to listen for any movement in the living room while getting rid of my sister.

"Well, I'm telling you if the town starts talking about?—"

"They're not, okay?" I was nervous Newt would hear us bickering, and the only reason I was so defensive was because of guilt. I knew she was right, but I liked spending time with him.

"Fine, but?—"

"Everything okay?" he asked, and I straightened and the hairs on my arm stood on end.

"Yeah, okay, Jade. Alright, tell Mom I love her." My rushed words must have pissed Amber off, but I didn’t care. I ended the call and turned my phone off and turned around to face him. My hands were shaking again. He looked concerned, and I didn't know why I was panicking so much.

"Jade's stuck at Mom and Dad’s… Snow and all." My hands were sweating and my pulse was racing. I came so close to getting busted.

"I thought she was getting thread…." His eyebrows went up and he walked toward me, taking my phone from my hand and setting it on my dresser. He kissed my knuckles, and my belly knotted.

"Uh, craft store is on that side of town… Why are you prying?" I asked, trying to sound playful and not snarky.

Newt placed one of my hands on his shoulder, then the other. Then he wrapped his arms around my body and pulled me closer to him until our bodies were touching. "That means we're alone for the night?"

Warmth started to thaw the icy chill anxiety had on me. I let the tension out of my shoulders and back and smiled at him. "For the night?" I asked. "You planned this, didn't you? Probably thought you'd have a threesome with twins…" My cheeky smirk made him chuckle, and he ground his pelvis on me.

"You wouldn't throw me out with the roads like this. Would you?" Newt leaned down to brush his lips over mine, and his eyes caught my gaze, as if asking permission.

"I could never…" I breathed, realizing where this was quickly going.

"We could order takeout later," he said as if reading my mind. "And watch some movies after…" He leaned in this time, his lips lingering on mine, teasing me or maybe himself, I wasn't sure. "Or…" His hand slid down to my thigh, then under the hem of my T-shirt, making my breath catch when his fingers touched my skin. "We could have our own private movie marathon."

I bit my lower lip, trying to resist the whimper. This man made me want to melt into a puddle. "Well, since you put it like that…" I purred, running my fingernails down the back of his neck. "I guess we can have our own private screening." I nipped at his jawline and felt his low groan vibrate through him.

Newt scooped me up in his arms, carrying me to my bed, but not before kicking the door shut. He laid me down gently, but there was nothing gentle about the way he undressed me, as if he couldn't get my clothes off fast enough. My heart pounded in my ears, my entire body on fire for him. I touched my clit while he tore his own clothes off and then joined me in bed. He was already hard, just the insinuation that we’d have sex enough to arouse him.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered, trailing his fingertips along my collarbone and down to the swell of my breast. "I've been thinking about this all day."

"I… I've been thinking about it too," I confessed, my cheeks flushing crimson. "About you, I mean."

He grinned, his eyes dark with desire. "I'm glad to know I'm not the only one."

It wasn’t a lie, either. Newt was the only thing I could think about. I couldn't focus or concentrate. I’d made so many little mistakes on the dress and had to redo things. And every time my phone rang, my heart jumped. It was fear that Amber was calling to chew me out or flutters hoping it was him. My adrenal glands were getting a big workout this month.

Newt leaned in, his lips brushing mine, his tongue teasing my bottom lip. My body arched toward him, wanting more. His hands cupped my breasts and his thumbs brushed my nipples, sending electricity straight to my core. I moaned and tangled my hands in his hair to pull him closer.

"I want you, Mav," he growled, the hunger in his voice making my sex throb.

"God, I want you too," I panted, lifting my hips as he slipped his hand between my thighs, his fingers finding my slick folds. "Please…"

He kissed me again as his fingers dipped through my slit and the moisture my body was making. "You're so wet," he said, his voice a low growl, as if he couldn't believe his luck.

“Newt,” I breathed, arching toward him. I couldn’t get enough of him, couldn’t get close enough. He teased me for a few more moments, his fingers dancing over my swollen clit before he inserted two of them inside me. I gasped and my head lolled back.

What followed was an erotic blur of sensations. Newt's lips on my neck, the wet sounds of his fingers inside me, the ever-increasing tension building in my core. His thumb found my clit and rubbed it in such a way that made the pressure within me coil tighter and tighter, like a coiled spring. I was so close, I thought I might explode.

"I'm… I'm…" I panted, my fingers digging into the sheets.

"That's it, baby," Newt encouraged, his voice a soothing rumble in my ear. "Let go for me."

A white-hot sensation coursed through me, and I cried out, my body shuddering around him. Newt didn't stop there, either. He kept up the pace, his fingers and thumb working in tandem, sending wave after wave of pleasure through my body until I was a quivering mess beneath him. I convulsed and whimpered, gasping for breath, twitching up off the mattress as he finger fucked me.

When my orgasm subsided, I was left panting, my chest heaving. Newt crawled up the bed and looked down at me with dark, hooded eyes. He leaned in, his lips brushing mine, his tongue teasing my bottom lip.

"Wow," I breathed, my entire body tingling.

Newt chuckled with a self-satisfied grin on his face. "I’m not done yet."

The anticipation of what he’d do next had my heart racing all over again. His gaze left my lips and rose to meet my eyes, his own still swirling with that same unreadable heat. Slowly, he reached out his free hand and brushed a stray strand of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. His touch was like lava, making more warmth pool in my groin.

“What’s next?” I asked, still partially breathless.

Newt didn’t utter a word in response. Instead, he dipped his head and lavished my kiss-swollen lips with his tongue, swirling it around in delicious circles before biting my lower lip and tugging it. His fingers were not idle either, massaging my entrance, spreading me open invitingly. I let my body go limp as he rolled to his back and took me with him. I had no choice but to straddle him, and as I did, he slid into me with force that had me seeing stars.

“Oh, God,” I groaned. My eyes fluttered shut and I sucked in a breath.

Newt's hands gripped my hips, guiding me as he thrust upward. "Ride me," he growled, and I did as he said. I rocked my hips, meeting his every thrust.

The headboard slammed against the wall, the bed creaking under our weight.

"I can't… I can't," I panted, every muscle in my body tense, ready to fly apart.

"That's it, baby," he grunted, his hips grinding against mine. "Come for me again."

In a matter of seconds, I shattered apart, crying out his name as the second orgasm crashed over me, ten times stronger than the first. Newt's grip on my hips tightened as he groaned, burying himself deep inside me one last time before quickly lifting me so his cock slid out. His warmth spewed onto his chest and belly, then puddled under his stiff cock, and I felt dizzy, lightheaded from the intensity of it all.

It was strange how one minute, I could feel so anxious and uneasy about things and the next, I could not give a single damn about it. I dropped to the bed next to him, panting, and he took a deep breath and blew it out.

“Right back… Then give me twenty and we can go again.” He got up and headed for the bathroom, and I snickered. For an old guy, he had stamina, at least. I could get used to this.