“Then don’t let go,” she whispers.
I don’t.
Not ever.
I lean in and kiss her.
The second our lips touch, everything inside me ignites. Her hands slide up my chest, over my shoulders. She rises onto her toes, pressing her body into mine, and I grip her waist, pulling her closer, deeper.
The kiss is slow only for a heartbeat. Then Lucy makes this soft, breathy sound into my mouth, and my restraint fractures. I kiss her harder—hungry, controlled only by the thin edge of wanting her right, wanting her safe, wanting her always.
The snow drifts around us beyond the truck bay. The twinkle lights glow off the chrome. Her fingers in my hair pull a low groan from my chest I can’t contain.
She tastes like cocoa and winter air and every soft thing I thought I’d lost.
“Lucy…” I murmur against her lips.
She shivers. “Don’t stop.”
I don’t. I kiss her again and again—slow, then deep, then desperate—until I’m not sure where she ends and I begin. Myhand slides along her spine, guiding her closer until she’s flush against me.
Every part of me is burning for her. We break only when a small tug pulls at my sleeve. Holly stands next to us, blinking up with starry eyes and pure triumph.
“So…” she announces loudly, “does this mean Miss Lucy stays forever now?”
Lucy’s breath catches. Her hands loosen around my shoulders, but she doesn’t step away. I look at Lucy. She looks at me. And something settles in her gaze—peace, certainty, something fierce and bright and so damn right it knocks the wind out of me. She nods. Small. Soft. But solid as bedrock.
“Yes,” she says gently. “If that’s okay with you two.”
Holly shrieks with delight and launches herself at Lucy, hugging her with full, unfiltered kid joy. Lucy hugs her back, laughing breathlessly, cheeks flushed from kissing, eyes glowing with something I can’t look away from.
When Holly releases her, Lucy turns to me.
Her voice lowers. “I meant it.”
My heart feels too full for my chest. I pull her in again—not for a kiss this time, just to hold her. Snow falls behind her. The truck lights gleam. The firehouse hums with warmth and life around us. And Lucy… Lucy feels like home in my arms.
Holly wraps her little arms around both of our legs. “Best Christmas ever,” she declares.
She’s right. But what she doesn’t know—what I know as I bury my face in Lucy’s hair and breathe her in—is that this isn’t just Christmas.
It’s the beginning of everything.
“Let’s go home,” I utter against her ear. “I need to show you how much you mean to me.”
“But Holly–”
“Holly is getting picked up for a sleepover in ten minutes.”
“Oh–” her eyes grow dark and hooded with the promise of more.
Ten minutes later we’re stumbling into my cabin.
“Come here, beautiful.” I slide the chair in my living room back, patting my lap.
A small smile spreads across her lips before she stands and walks toward me. I force her onto my lap, her hot center rubbing against my straining dick through the denim. I push my fingers into her hair, tugging as I pull her lips to mine. I start soft and slow, and her arms curl up to my shoulders, kneading my back, whispering around the nape of my neck.
She moans into my mouth and rocks her pussy into me. I press against her lips with need as my kiss grows hungrier. I devour her, taste her, lick at her mouth, and take her in. I want to own her, be inside her, on top of her, all around her. “You’re so beautiful. So sweet and sexy.”
