“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Making sure these damn things aren’t expired.”
I groaned and would have been embarrassed if he didn’t start laughing. “Still got a good year left on them. We’re good.”
He tossed the box onto my nightstand and then returned to the bed with the condom next to my head. “I’m guessing youdon’t get into that box very often,” he said in a husky voice inches from my face.
I slowly shook my head. “There aren’t a lot of rich city boys that make their way out here.”
“And rich city boys are the only ones you’ll let take you to bed?”
I licked my lips. “You’re the first.”
Something in his eyes, dark and predatory, turned my body into a raging inferno.
“Good,” he growled. His mouth slammed against mine. This time, it was all about possessing. Letting me know exactly who was in control.
There was never any doubt in my mind, but he seemed determined to get the message across.
I heard the condom tear open and opened my eyes. He quickly rolled it on and then supported his weight above me. His gaze bored into me.
“Look at me,” he demanded.
My eyes locked onto his.
When he slid inside me again, I cried out at the sensation. He felt incredible, perfect, like he’d been made specifically for me. The Santa hat bobbed with his movements, and despite the overwhelming pleasure coursing through me, I couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re never taking that off,” I breathed.
“Never?” He thrust deeper, making me gasp. “Even when I go back to New York?”
The mention of him leaving sent a sharp pang through my chest, but I pushed it away. I didn’t want to think about that. Not now. Not when he was moving inside me like this, making me feel things I’d never felt before.
“Especially then,” I managed. “I want every woman in Manhattan to know you belong to someone in the mountains.”
Something flickered across his face, too quick for me to interpret, but then he was kissing me, deep and demanding. I lost myself in the moment and decided not to think about any of that.
He set a rhythm that had me arching beneath him, desperate for more. Every thrust sent waves of pleasure through me, building and building until I thought I might shatter from the intensity of it. My nails clawed down his back. He winced but seemed to like the pain and set a punishing pace. His hips ground against mine, hitting my clit in just the right spot.
“Merry fucking Christmas,” he growled against my ear. The combination of his words and the ridiculous hat and the way he was moving inside me sent me over the edge.
I came apart with a cry that probably woke half the lodge, my body convulsing around him as pleasure crashed over me in waves. He followed seconds later, his own release tearing through him as he buried his face in my neck.
We lay there afterward, breathing hard, the Santa hat somehow still clinging to his head. I marveled at how right this felt. How perfectly we fit together.
“I can’t believe you’re real,” I whispered.
He tensed slightly beneath me. “What do you mean?”
I propped myself up on my elbow to look at him. “I mean, a week ago, I was convinced my life was falling apart. Everything I cared about was slipping away, and I felt so helpless to stop it. And then you showed up, and suddenly everything feels possible again.”
The expression on his face was unreadable. “Sylvie.”
“I know this is crazy,” I continued, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. “I know we barely know each other, and you have your life in New York, and I have mine here. But I can’t help feeling like maybe this is happening for a reason. Like maybe you’re exactly what I needed.”
He was quiet for a long moment, his fingers stroking through my hair. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft. “You deserve so much better than what you’ve been given.”
“I have you,” I said simply. “Right now, that feels like everything.”
