The Christmas Cookie Crush (Arcadian Falls Christmas #4)

Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Austin

If I had any doubts about the wisdom of getting a hotel room for Nora and me to spend time alone, they’re thoroughly erased now.

This is clearly what we need. We’ve been building a connection, but this is what we need to cement it and deepen it. She needs me to show up for her like this so she fully trusts that I’m serious. About all of this—her, us, now, the future. Everything.

It might be premature to make solid plans for the future, but I want what we have to last. I want more than just a couple of weeks while she’s here on break. I want to start something that has a chance of becoming more.

After my conversation with my grandparents yesterday, I’m feeling more secure about my own future. And that makes me feel better about wanting to plan for the future with Nora.

Of course, I’ll wait until after Christmas, when things will be calmer and her going back to school is closer, when we’ve had more time to grow something and planning our next steps is a logical thing to do. Right now, we’re still in the one-day-at-a-time stage. Planning what to do tomorrow or the next day is about as far ahead as we’ve discussed.

Knowing what my future holds helps me feel more settled, though. Which makes it easier to exist in the current state of uncertainty with Nora.

When everything is one big question mark, it’s more difficult to know which way to turn. With something to hold onto, to keep me grounded, I feel more confident in my decisions.

Maybe I can provide that for Nora too. I know she feels unmoored—or very soon to be unmoored, at least. If I could let her know that she can at least hold onto me, maybe that will help her with her decision making as well.

But all those worries are for another time. Because tonight, I have Nora all to myself for the first time ever.

I’m jittery with anticipation and arousal, my dick half-hard in my pants at merely the thought of getting her alone. Of getting unfettered access to her skin. The memory of making out with her in my car has been enough to fuel my fantasies the last couple of nights, resulting in some extremely thorough showers yesterday and today.

Thankfully, check-in goes smoothly without even needing to wait. And then we’re in our room.

I hold open the door for Nora, and she wanders inside, trailing a hand over the standard hotel bedspread then moving to the window and peeking through. “We have a stunning view of the parking lot.”

Chuckling, I set our bags down at the foot of the bed. “I didn’t plan on spending a lot of time looking out the window.”

She turns, her hands clasped behind her, blinking at me with a faux-innocent expression on her face. “Really? What did you plan on spending a lot of time doing then?”

With a laugh, I cross the room and reach for her.

Her smile turns mischievous, and she lets me pull her close, sighing when I cover her mouth with mine.

I tug her hat from her head, tossing it aside, wanting to run my hands through her hair.

She unzips my coat in one quick tug, then slides her hands inside, and I suddenly want to rip off all our clothes, even while wanting to drag this out to make it last as long as possible.

Still. At the very least, we can take our coats off.

I shed mine, my mouth never leaving hers, then reach between us to undo the belt on her coat and push it off her shoulders. She helps, letting it drop to the ground behind her, then wraps her arms around my neck. My arms go around her torso, pressing her body against mine as tightly as I can.

We fit together so perfectly, especially when she’s wearing those heeled boots. It puts her at the perfect height so I only have to bend my head a little to kiss her, the length of her body flush with mine.

I’m fully hard now, and when I press my dick against her belly, she kisses me harder, her tongue teasing at my lips.

I take her cue and deepen the kiss, my tongue tangling with hers. She slides one hand down my shoulder, then down between our bodies. It takes me a second to realize what she’s doing at first, until her hand glances over my dick. I grunt involuntarily, my hips flexing, needing more.

She drags the back of her fingers up my inner thigh, once again grazing my dick, and I do my best to press into her touch, but it’s gone again too soon. After the third time, I realize she’s teasing me, only offering light, grazing touches, and I’m torn between doing the same thing back to her or gripping her ass and grinding against her to show her what I really want.

When she does it again, though, my instincts take over. My hands slide inside the back of her pants, encountering bare skin that makes me groan into her mouth as I grip the round globes of her ass and squeeze, pulling her belly tight against mine.

She gasps, and I take advantage of the slight break in the kiss to suck her lower lip into my mouth and bite down. When she moans, I squeeze her ass once more, rocking into her again before taking a step back.

She’s breathing as hard as I am as she stares at me, seeming to devour me with her eyes as she gulps air.

My grin feels wicked as I slowly remove my shirt, tossing it away, uncaring where it lands. Her eyes darken at the sight of me shirtless, and she takes a half step closer.

I close the distance between us, my hands going to the hem of her fluffy sweater. She lifts her arms, helping me get it off, revealing a cami beneath. And when I lift that, my brows pull together in confusion. There’s only one set of straps on her shoulders, but her boobs are covered by fabric when I lift the top up.

She giggles, reaching down to tug the elastic band around her rib cage up as well, and the whole thing comes off together, leaving me blinking at her naked chest, slightly stunned. “Built-in bra,” she clarifies, reaching for me.

Her skin is smooth and silky under my hands. “I could just pet you for hours,” I murmur, dropping a kiss on her shoulder.

With her head tilted to the side to let me kiss and nip my way along her neck and collarbone, she grins, her hand running up and down my side. “Hmm. I could get on board with that.” She slips her fingers inside the waist of my pants. “I think these should come off, though.”

“Oh yeah?” I lift my head and arch an eyebrow.

She nods, her plump lower lip caught between her teeth.

Leaving my belt in the belt loops, I shove my pants down and step out of them, leaving me only in my black boxer briefs and socks.

Nora devours me with her eyes, and I have to remind myself to breathe at the look of hunger on her face.

It’s amazing to me that this beautiful, feisty woman is here with me. Like this. Standing there topless, unashamed and gorgeous, looking at me like I’m something special.

“God, you’re beautiful,” I breathe, unable to help myself.

She reaches out a hand and trails it down my torso. “So are you.”

That makes me chuckle, but I don’t protest. Instead, I slide my fingers between hers and reel her in, needing to be close to her.

Once she’s flush with me again, I kiss her mouth, her jaw, then gently bite her earlobe like she did to me the other night, gratified when she gasps and shivers in my arms. I guide her back toward the bed, and we climb on together in a tangle of limbs, giggling. When she collapses on top of me, my laughter dries up. I push the hair out of her face, staring into her eyes, full of gratitude and happiness that we’re here together. That I get to be with her. That she wants to be with me.

A tiny thought about the future tries to push its way in, but I don’t let it, choosing instead to stay focused on the present. This is what matters most right now. We’ll figure out the rest together later.

She holds my gaze at first, but then her eyes flicker down to my mouth, and she kisses me. As we’re making out, I hook a hand around her leg, pulling her up so she’s straddling me. And when she grinds down on my dick, I groan with pleasure.

Dear god, she could make me come in my pants so easily, it’s not even fair.

I roll us over so she’s on her back, and I’m kneeling between her knees. When I reach for her pants, she lifts her hips, making it easier to peel them off her. “Good thinking wearing stretchy pants today,” I murmur as I toss her pants over my shoulder. They hit something with a thunk, and she covers her mouth and giggles, but I don’t care where they are or what they hit. Nothing sounded like it broke, so I’ll straighten anything that’s off-kilter later.

She’s left in only a scrap of lacy blue fabric, and I sit back to admire the sight, running my hands up and down her thighs, reveling in the feel of her skin under my palms.

“You really are going to pet me all night, aren’t you?” she murmurs, grinning.

I shrug, returning her smile. “Probably. I was planning on doing more than just that, though.”

“Oh, yeah?” she asks, mimicking her earlier question. “Such as?”

I hum, bending at the waist and capturing one of her nipples in my mouth. She gasps, arching her back when I flick it with my tongue. Since she seems to enjoy it so much, I adjust my position, stretching out so I’m lying on my belly, one arm propping me up so all my weight isn’t on her, the other hand caressing her side, plumping her breast, finding her hand and holding it, all while toying with her nipple with my mouth.

Her fingers squeeze mine when I find them, only relaxing when I release the first nipple and move to the second. Then her fingers tighten again, her nails digging into the back of my hand when I bite down gently, applying more pressure until she hisses, and says, “Ow!” Then I back off, licking it to soothe it before sucking on it again. She likes teeth to a certain extent, but there’s a clear limit. Good to know.

I glance up from time to time to catch a look at her face—her head pressed back into the pillows, mouth open, and she’s squirming under me.

Then she withdraws her hand from mine, bringing it to my face. “Come here,” she whispers, using both hands to guide me up her body until we’re lined up, face to face. She brings her knees up, cradling my thighs, and I feel the heat of her pussy through the thin pieces of fabric separating us.

I let out a shuddering breath as I settle between her thighs, kissing her lips like she wants.

“I want you,” she whispers against my lips.

“I want you, too,” I tell her.

“Get the condom.”