He gives me a small smile—the kind I’m so often giving him, the kind that says “I feel seen.”
“Yeah, maybe. We can take them out and look through them at some point over the next few days.”
“I hate that you’re leaving again so soon,” I say, “but we can make the most of the time you’re home.”
“By ‘make the most of the time I’m home,’ do you mean decorating for Christmas? Because,” he says, pulling me to him and leaning in, “that’s not exactly the way I want to make the most of our time together.”
My chest shakes with silent laughter. “I’m sure we can decorate first, andthenyou can have your way with me.”
“What about naked decorating?” he asks.
“Sounds like it would be cold.”
“I’ll keep you warm, baby.”
I roll my eyes and push at his chest but he doesn’t let me go. “You’re out of your mind.”
“Yes, for you.” He presses a kiss to my temple and then says, “Let’s take the tree up to the room and get it set up.” He walks through the kitchen to the small hallway in the back leading to the door to the garage. There, he grabs the tree that’s leaning up against the corner where he left it when we came in.
Throwing the six-foot tree over his shoulder, he walks toward the stairs. “C’mon. The sooner we get the tree decorated, the sooner I can get you naked.”
“Way to rush it,” I say, following behind him, but I’m pretty sure I want him as much as he wants me. Eight days away was hard, and we’re not even halfway through the season. At least my friends are pretty much all in the same boat, and once I finally tell the rest of them about Aidan and me, we can be a support system for each other while our men are away.
I allow myself a small, private smile as I follow him up the stairs, thinking about how frequently I used to tell myself that I was a strong, independent woman who didn’t need a man to be fulfilled. And while that’s true, I sure do like having him around,and I sure do like how he makes me feel. Not complete... but supported. Like this is a partnership. I’ve seen it with so many of my friends, but getting to experience it myself is new.
While he sets up the tree in the stand, I unpack the strings of lights and the boxes of ornaments. I can already tell that they’re all from one of the photos I sent him, just like the tree downstairs looks identical to another photo. I love that he wanted to make my Christmas decorating dreams come true, but that he also recognized I’d want to be part of it. And truthfully, I’m kind of thankful not to have to do itall.Downstairs probably took a team of people hours to create, but it would have taken the two of us days, and that’s honestly not how I want to spend the limited time he’s home.
He’s left just the right amount of magic for us to create together.
It doesn’t take long for our smaller tree to come together. Once it does, Aidan tosses the fuzzy white blanket that will be wrapped around the base of the tree to the floor. I bend over to get it set up, but he steps up behind me and his fingers curl around my hips possessively.
“This part, surely,” he says, his thumbs hooking into my leggings, “can be done naked.”
A huff of laughter escapes me. “I wondered how long you could be patient.”
“I’ve beensopatient, baby. Don’t I deserve a reward?”
I hum my agreement as he tugs the waistband of my leggings down over my hips and drops to his knees as he pulls them down my legs so I can step out of them. Then he turns me around and stands.
“God, I missed you so fucking much.” His words are half sigh, half groan, as he stares down at me, heat in his eyes, but adoration on his face.
“You missed me naked?” I say, smirking up at him.
He slides a hand up each side of my neck, cupping my jaw. “Hell yes. But really, I just missedyou. I don’t like being away from you.”
“I don’t like being away from you, either,” I say as my fingers find his belt and start undoing it while his lips meet mine in a slow, drawn-out kiss. But the minute his belt is unbuckled and I unbutton and unzip his jeans, pushing them down over his hips, he takes control. Kicking his jeans off, he drags my sweater up and over my head before tossing it away.
Then he clasps my wrists behind me, and his gaze rakes up and down my body while I stand in my bra and thong, shoulders back and tits forward. I’m wearing a sexy pink lace set he hasn’t seen yet, and it’s sheer enough to drive him wild. I even teased him with that information back in the Christmas tree lot.
“Fuck me, I missed this view.” He leans down to drag his lips along my cleavage, then bends down further to press his tongue against the fabric over my nipple. His hot breath and the friction from his tongue over the rough fabric have me biting back a moan, but when he clamps his lips around the stiffened peak and sucks me into his mouth, I can’t hold back any longer.
“Yes,” I hiss out. My hips press forward, toward him, my core clenching and my clit wanting the friction of his body. He switches to the other nipple and does the same thing, eliciting another moan and more pleading from me, which has him dropping to his knees to give my clit the same treatment.
Then he glances up at me, his full lips turned up at one side. “Tell me what you want me to do. I’m going to need a lot of directions.”
“Youneeddirections? Or you just want to hear me describe what I want?”
“Yes.”
