LENA
Ithought he’d be here by now.
Maybe I should go back downstairs? What if he’s waiting for me, hoping I’ll surprise him and drag him into the pantry?
Do I have a thing for pantries now?
There’s just something intimate about the closed space and the fear of getting caught that makes my heart pound.
Fuck, I think I have a thing for pantries.
As I’m debating pantry-based jobs I could look into, my doorknob turns with a small squeak. My breath pauses in my lungs as it opens a few inches.
Through the darkness, Gavin’s broad shoulders appear in the opening, and a small whimper of excitement escapes my throat.
He puts a finger over his mouth, quickly sneaking into the room and shutting the door. “There’s no lock,” he hisses softly.
“It’s fine.” I wave him toward me as I flip the covers back on the opposite side of the mattress. “Everyone’s asleep anyway.”
He hesitates at the foot of the bed, his frame caressed by moonlight from the window. “I shouldn’t have come,” he mutters, pulling at his hair.
I roll my eyes even though he can’t see it. “Get your ass over here. No one is going to come into my room, and it’s not like you can sleep past five a.m. anyway. We’re going to wake up early for our Christmas-morning coffee.”
With a weary sigh, he crawls up the bed and drops to his back, an arm slung over his face. “This was an awful idea.”
“It’s an excellent idea. Best idea I’ve ever had.” Crawling over him, I straddle his hips and shove my arms under his, curling toward him in a hug. “I missed touching you today,” I admit as he strokes a hand up my spine. “You were right there, and I couldn’t.”
His deep, quiet moan vibrates against my ear. “That’s been my life for the last ten years.” When his hand makes another pass up my back, he slides his palm under my shirt, and my eyes fall shut.
“Gavin.” My hips wiggle against him involuntarily, and I whisper my thoughts before I can overthink them. “Can we have one more time?”
His other hand comes to the back of my head, tangling in my slouchy bun. “I must be going straight to hell because that’s all I can think about.” His fingers wander along the waistband of my pajama pants. “Even though I know you’re leaving, I’m still craving you like it doesn’t matter.”
My chest shrinks at the thought of me leaving.
Wilhelmina is my home. I have friends, jobs to apply for, a house I’m renting.
Things are tethering me there, but none of them make me feel the wayhedoes.
The ache intensifies in my chest as I try to breathe in all the way. But when I do, no air comes to my rescue. All I can inhale isGavin.
He’s everywhere. My lungs, my heart, my head, all the way to mybones.
And even though it terrifies me, I need more.
I skate my lips over his neck, and when I bite down lightly, his hips shift under mine. Sliding down an inch, I leave a kiss on the hollow of his throat.
His grip tightens on my waist. “Lena, baby,” he whispers as I scoot further down his body. He tosses a hand over his face and mumbles, “What are you doing?”
I drag his shirt up his taut stomach, fingers gliding over the tattoos across his body. He’s all dark lines and shadows, but I know they’re there as I trace his fox tattoo. “I want to taste you. Can you be quiet?”
Warm hands cup my face until I lift my head. “No, I can’t be quiet,” he whisper-yells. “Especially if you keep going.”
My mouth waters, heat pooling in my core. I drop a kiss right above his waistband, running my tongue along the edge of it, and his low rumbling growl resonates around the room.
“Do you want me to stop?” I whisper, letting my lips sweep over his skin.
His breath is ragged as he brushes a thumb gently over my cheek. “Ishouldwant you to stop. But fuck, that’s the last thing I want.”
