“Oh god, Theo, stop,” I cry, my arms straining against the bonds of the lights. “I’m going to…Theo I have to pee!—”
He chuckles darkly from behind me, his teeth grazing over my shoulder sharply, but he doesn’t stop. I buck against him; he doesn’t understand. Oh god, this is so embarrassing. I squeeze my eyes shut and fight the feeling. Oh god, oh god—
“Good girl. Don’t fight it, Noelle.” His words are barely audible through the whooshing in my ears. I start to shake uncontrollably. Ooooh god, it’s happening—
“No, no no,” I moan, and then my body explodes, coming so violently that I scream, and I bury my face in the mattress to muffle the sound and to hide my embarrassment as something gushes out of me. Theo pounds into me, harder than before and my body just keeps coming, my release tearing through me. I think I might be dead. “Ohmygoooodd.”
“Goddamn, such a good fucking girl,” he groans out on a guttural growl. And then I feel him come, pulsing inside me as he empties deep into me. He presses his mouth against a spot directly between my shoulder blades, his chest heaving against my back as he shakes through his own orgasm. I’ve never come so hard in my life, little lights are dancing at the corners of my vision.
I can’t catch my breath, and I’m so embarrassed I could cry. But then one of his hands is tipping my face toward his, and he seals his mouth over mine in a voracious kiss.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, mortification burning my cheeks. I can feel the wetness beneath my hips, my thighs. I groan from the embarrassment.
“Sorry?” he asks, still catching his own breath. “For what? I’m so fucking proud of you.”
“What?” I whisper breathlessly, still mortified, but now confused, too.
His brows pull together and he drags his mouth over mine again. “Angel, you just came so hard you squirted for me. You’ve never done that before?”
I shake my head. I didn’t just pee? Oh thank fucking god.
Theo quickly unwinds the lights from around my wrists and pulls me up. I’m shaking from head to toe, and he gathers me into his arms, holding me tight against his chest. “You beautiful, wonderful thing. You’re fucking perfect.”
And then he wraps me in the comforter and sets me in the chair across the room with a tall glass of water as he strips the bed, lays down a few towels, then remakes the bed with clean sheets.
“Merry fucking Christmas to me,” he chuckles as he leads me back to the bed, then climbs in beside me, pulling me close again. I laugh, shaking my head, but as soon as my cheek rests against Theo’s chest, where I can hear his heart thudding a steady cadence, I’m asleep.
Chapter Twenty
Noelle
There was nothing in life that would have prepared me for waking up the next morning to the aftermath of sleeping with my best friend.
Theo and I have slept together too many times to count for it to be appropriate, honestly. Since we were kids, we’ve had sleepovers. Obviously they stopped for a time between middle school and graduating high school, but I can’t count the times we’ve fallen asleep together on the couch, watching movies or whatever sports game was on TV. Study nights that went late. In our college years—and admittedly even after—we went home together after parties or late nights out at the bar and crashed in the same bed to sleep it off.
Not once has it ever been awkward… well, for me at least. He’s always been my safe space, my rock. Even if we have always bickered like an old married couple and tormented each other mercilessly, he’s just always been…my Theo. My best friend, my confidant. My person, I guess. Our friendship has always just been easy, and the occasional sleepover with him was just a normal thing. I thought so, anyway. Looking back on thenumerous times it’s happened over the years now, I’m sure if these feelings he’s finally revealing go back as far as he says they do, things had to have been at least a little awkward for him.
But waking up, naked and sore and deliriously sated, next to an also naked Theo…yeah, I could get used to this. I’m laying facing him, one of his arms draped over my waist and our legs are tangled together like a pretzel. He’s a furnace, and I’m a little shocked at how well I slept, because I’m fairly roasting now that I’m awake. And I have to pee.
The light filtering in through my bedroom window is muted and gray, which means it’s either very early, or still snowing. I can only imagine the amount of snow piling up on his car, in my driveway… the roads are probably a hazard to be out on if it is in fact still snowing.
As carefully as I can, I manage to unwind myself from him and slip out of bed. Tiptoeing to the dresser, I pull the first long sleeved shirt I find out of the drawer and shove my head and arms into it. It’s one of my dad’s old shirts that I’d pilfered when Mom had finally gone through his things and decided what to get rid of, and it’s far too big on me, so it hangs halfway down my thighs and the arms are about four inches too long. It’s a burgundy red, basic Glidden brand shirt with a pocket sewn into the left side and there’s a hole in one of the armpits, but it’s my favorite. It doesn’t smell like him anymore, but sometimes I take it with me to Mom’s and spray it with his cologne that I know she has tucked away in her bathroom.
I pluck a pair of tall socks out of the top drawer—Christmas themed fuzzy socks, Val would be so proud of me—and I hop on one foot, then the other, to shove my feet into them. Glancing over my shoulder at Theo, I ascertain that he’s still sleeping soundly, then sneak out of the bedroom to the bathroom, then make my way out to the kitchen, where I start a large pot of coffee to brew.
Once it’s ready, I pour myself a cup, spritz a little chocolate flavored whipped topping on it, then dust it with cinnamon. Walking over to the living room window, I look down at the crumpled, tangled mess of lights that Theo used to tie me up with last night, and my body burns all over again. Good lord the man’s game is top tier.
Outside, the world is nothing but a blanket of white. Everything is covered in over a foot of snow, and even the street doesn’t look like it’s seen a snowplow yet. I glance at Theo’s car; there’s no way it’s going to make it across town.
I bite my lower lip. Guess he’s stuck here with me for a little longer. I shiver with anticipation at the thought of being snowed in with Theo for who knows how long.
At the sound of my bedroom door swishing open, I turn, glancing over my shoulder as he emerges. He’s in nothing but his black boxer briefs, his long, trim legs encased in the stretchy black fabric. His hips and waist are trim and narrow, his chest widening slightly. His shoulders are wide, lean muscle shifting as he reaches one arm up to scratch at the back of his neck as he walks toward me. He truly is beautiful.
He whistles long and low as he reaches me, his gaze traveling out the window along the snow-covered street. “I hope you have food in the fridge, I don’t think we’re getting out of here today.”
I laugh, nodding as I turn back to the window. “Guess it’s a good thing I went grocery shopping the other night, huh?” He steps up behind me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders, and rests his chin on the top of my head. I sigh, leaning back against his chest, careful not to spill my coffee still clutched between my palms. I press a kiss to the forearm that’s crossed over my sternum. He shifts, lowering his head so he can graze his lips over the spot behind my right ear, and I can’t help the smile that pulls at my mouth. My voice is barely a whisper as I say, “Good morning.”
“Hmm,” he murmurs low, squeezing me just a little tighter. “Merry Christmas.”
