Page 5
Chapter five
Eric
I ’ve just gotten back into Denver after two grueling away games. Winning one and losing one—not bad, but I plan to analyze every pass I made and every shot I took so I can get better. That’s how the top athletes are. We never stop improving.
I toss my duffel bag into the entryway and shake off the cold. It’s late November, but Denver feels like it’s already in full winter mode, and the air bites at my skin. It feels good to be home. The thought shocks me. Honestly, I haven’t even started looking for a place to live. Something about living with Jessica feels comfortable, even as it is uncomfortable. Life is complicated.
As soon as I step inside, I’m hit with the warm scent of pine, cinnamon, and something sweet. It smells like… Christmas?
That’s when I notice the house. It looks like it’s in the middle of being transformed. Garlands wrap around the banister, twinkling with little white lights, and a wreath hangs on the front door. The place looks like one of those cozy holiday commercials, the kind that makes everything look way too perfect.
And then I see her. I’m so attracted to her, it’s like even looking at her gets my body responding. The way her hand felt on me the other day could have led to something hot and passionate. But she’d stopped it. I’ve never pushed a woman to do anything she doesn’t want to do. No matter how hard it is to rein in my desires.
Jessica’s standing on a step stool in the living room, hanging some kind of wreath above the fireplace. She’s in jeans and a sweater, her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, completely focused on her task. There’s tinsel scattered on the floor around her, and the sight of it makes me pause. The tinsel makes my heart squeeze. It’s the kind of decoration I haven’t seen in years. Not since my grandparents passed. Most people avoid it these days because of the mess, but my grandmother never shied away from it. I feel a pang of grief flash through me.
I watch her move the wreath around, fully in her element. For a moment, it’s like I’m on the outside looking in, seeing something I’m not sure I’m ready to join in on. Christmas is hard for me. And now, it’s all around me in this house.
She glances over her shoulder. In that moment of connection, I feel my heart jump. “Oh, you’re back,” she says casually, like I’m just some roommate to her who comes and goes like it’s no big deal. Not someone she kissed a week ago.
“Yeah, just got in,” I reply. I look around us. “What’s all this?”
“Holiday decorations,” she says, turning back to the wreath. “Kathy’s idea. She wants to host the family’s annual holiday party here this year. Apparently, it’s ‘neutral ground’ between her and Bill.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Neutral ground?”
Jessica nods, adjusting the wreath. “Their post-divorce tradition. It’s easier to host it here than at one of their houses. Did I ever tell you that their daughter, Laura, is my best friend?”
I jump at the chance to get to know her better. “Their daughter? No, I didn’t know that. But this,” I gesture around us, “looks like a ton of work. And you agreed to this just to be nice? What’s next? You’re going to pull out a Mrs. Claus outfit?”
She gives me a smirk. “You never know—if there’s one in a box around here somewhere, I just might put it on.”
“I could help with that,” I say to test the waters. It’s a flirty comment.
She tenses and doesn’t respond. Maybe she doesn’t trust me. I get it. Pro athletes have a terrible reputation with women.
I watch her for a moment. She’s back to acting like nothing is out of the ordinary, like she’s forgotten about my lips on hers entirely. If she has, why haven’t I?
“So, you’re turning the place into a Christmas wonderland,” I observe, leaning against the wall by the fireplace. I find myself wanting to linger, wanting to figure her out. Who kisses someone and then just ignores that it happened?
Jessica gives me a quick glance. “Of course! I like the holidays.”
I shrug and then lie, “Well, it doesn’t bother me to have all this stuff up.” Honestly, it is actually a little triggering to me. “Just don’t ask me to help you take it down. Everyone knows that’s the hard part.”
She makes a face, then smiles, clearly happy in her task.
The holidays used to mean a lot to me, but now they just feel like another reminder of the people I’ve lost. I try not to think about it too much.
“You don’t want to help?” she asks in a leading way, as if I don’t have a choice.
I hesitate. “I’m not really into the whole decorating thing. I don’t have a knack for it. Plus, I could use a shower and TV time—been a long week away.”
Jessica glances at me, fiddling with the red ribbon on the top of the fireplace mantle. “Right.”
There’s something in the way she says that one word, like she’d already decided who I am and that she knew I’d say no. It irritates me. I’m tired, sure. I’ve had a long week. But that doesn’t mean I’m not the type to help out.
“Alright,” I say, stepping forward. “What do you need help with?”
She looks genuinely surprised, her brow lifting slightly. “You don’t have to, Eric. I do understand you’ve been gone…”
“It’s all good. Just tell me what to do.”
Jessica looks at me like I’m barely an acquaintance and it awakens that primal part of me that wants to chase her and conquer her. I feel rebuffed, and I don’t like it. She points to the boxes stacked against the wall. “You can help me hang the garland around the windows. Just don’t mess up the lights.” She forces a smile. But it’s not the real type of smile she gave me before. This one is tight, small.
“Got it,” I say, grabbing a box.
We work in silence for a bit, which is probably for the best. I can feel the weight of the unspoken words between us. I wonder if she’s been thinking about the kiss as much as I have.
“Congrats on winning that game in Cali,” she says politely.
I nod. “It felt good. Any more community events coming up for me?” I try to make a joke, but it falls flat.
She doesn’t answer at first, then she says, “We do have holiday events coming up, Eric. I can’t change that.”
That’s it for me. She’s withdrawn completely. I think it’s best that I match her energy.
I finish hanging the garland and look at Jessica. She’s still working on the mantle, standing on the step stool, reaching up to try to secure some ribbon above the fireplace.
“I can do that for you—you look a little unsteady.”
“Unsteady? I may not be able to stand up in ice skates,” she says in a teasing tone, “but I can decorate a fireplace mantle just fine—”
Before she can finish, the stool topples to the side, and she loses her balance.
“Sunshine!” I lunge forward just as she falls over backward. I catch her in my arms, pulling her against my chest. Her hands grip my shoulders for balance.
For a moment, neither of us moves apart. I can feel her hands on my neck, her full breasts pressed against my chest, and it’s like we’re back in the kitchen when we had kissed. The last thing I want is to let her go.
“You alright?” I ask, my voice husky.
Jessica blinks up at me, her eyes bright. “Yes… I’m fine. Just clumsy.” Her voice is breathy, and it does something to me.
I should let her go. I should put her down and step back. But I don’t. Instead, I keep her in my arms for a moment longer, my hands resting on her waist, and before I can stop myself, I lean in. I give her space to meet me partway. And she does.
The kiss is different this time. It’s not hesitant or accidental. It’s deliberate. Slow. Her lips are soft, warm, and when she kisses me back, I feel like I’m on top of the world.
I feel her hands instantly push up my shirt in a bold move that makes my crotch come alive, my length starting to press against my pants. Her fingers trail along my skin and then down into the waistband of my pants.
The feel of her lips parting for me to let my tongue in removes the last of my resolve. We may just be roommates and stuck together here in this borrowed house, but I’m getting the message loud and clear: she’s just as into me as I am into her.
I wonder if she’s imagined this very moment as many times as I have since the kiss. I wonder if she’s been fighting her own attraction and realizing it’s pointless to try to fight it. Her lips on mine feel familiar. The curves I explored briefly only once in the kitchen suddenly feel like they’re mine to explore all the way. Her hips are pressed against me, her nipples hard and excited.
I break the kiss to pull my shirt off, watching as she runs a hand down my naked torso.
“I want you,” I say, impatient to be with her.
“Take me,” she replies.
Her hand drops down to give my cock a squeeze over my pants and then she strips naked, slow and sultry, seeing how aroused I am for her. She turns around and bends over, gathering her clothes, making me swear in need at the sight of her wet folds peeking at me.
“Stay there like that,” I murmur in a husky voice. I find my wallet and pull out a condom, slipping it on. I take my cock in my hand and stroke it over the sheath. I’m so horny for her. “So damn hot, Jessica.”
She smirks at me over her shoulder, reaching her arms out to brace against the back of the couch, knowing what we are about to do. “That’s ‘sunshine’ to you, remember?”
She spreads her legs just so, and I reach out my fingers to caress her ass and then down to her beautiful pink folds. She inhales sharply.
“Oh my God, yes.” Her moans make me lose my restraint.
I grasp her hips and line myself up, pushing in slowly, swearing at how good she feels wrapped around me. I must take too long, enjoying the slow entrance into her, because she backs up, swallowing me with herself all the way.
She cries out at the sensation. “Spank me, Gator. I think I was just very naughty.”
Then she pulls away and backs up into me. We find our rhythm like that; her putting just as much effort into our pleasure as I am. I grasp her breast with one hand and with the other, I take her own hand and place it on her clit. I want her to feel every bit of bliss possible.
She whines and tells me how good it feels. Over and over, we work together in sync until I start to see stars—I’m close. I can’t hold it in any longer.
“I want you to come in me,” she says.
Thanks to the condom, I can do just that.
I feel her shudder in her own release, and her head is thrown back as she cries out. My hands on her hips hold her steady as we both find the peak of pleasure together.
This isn’t how I expected things to go when I moved into this house. It’s better. And I can’t seem to stop wanting more.
Maybe it’s time to figure out what the hell is going on between us.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5 (Reading here)
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37