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Alice

A fter she got the lasagna ready, she joined Taylor on the couch to watch their third Christmas carol for the day. Although she didn’t pay too much attention, her mind was on what was going to happen later. A small part of her second-guessed herself, but she was just excited.

Going into a new year and getting her life together as a non-virgin sounded like something she was excited to do. And while this isn’t how she had ever dreamed it would go, it could’ve been a lot worse. A decent, handsome, kind guy. Yeah, a lot worse.

The only thing she was worried about was how easily her feelings spun out of control. She had to find a way to keep those locked down tight. This was just for the couple of days he was here. After this, she would go back to her townhouse in Glendale, find a real job, and maybe, for once, could live the life other people made look so easy.

She just needed to try harder.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Taylor asked from the end of the couch, and he lifted her feet and put them in his lap.

“Nothing, I’m just a little in my head.”

“How long till the food is ready?”

“The lasagna has probably another thirty minutes and then I just have to throw together a salad.”

“Why don’t you go up and relax and let me take care of everything else?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep,” he said as he set her feet on the floor before standing. He offered her a hand, pulling her from the couch. “Go. Pamper yourself, do whatever you want to do, and I’ll come get you when it’s all ready.”

She allowed him to pull her to stand. She closed her eyes and took a moment. When she opened her eyes, he was there, looking confident and charming, and she just wanted to kiss him... So, she did. Reaching up on her toes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her in close as he opened for the kiss.

Kissing someone had never felt this easy before. No awkwardness, just contentment. But that contentment was starting to be replaced by lust.

Fuck.

She couldn’t believe she would do this.

Taylor’s hand slid down over her ass, giving it a tiny squeeze, and pulled away.

“We’ll get back to that later. Now, I have some things I’d like to take care of.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Okay,” she said as slowly made her way to the stairs. Once she was at the first step, she turned to him.

He just smiled at her and pointed to the stairs. She shook her head and made her way up. Once at the landing, she looked down at him, and he was still smiling up at her.

“Keep going,” he said, pointing to the hallway. “I’ll come and get you when everything is ready.”

She went up to her room and shut the door. She let her back fall against the wall, and she squealed and flung herself on the bed. The idea that she was just about to have sex with an NHL player—not only that but lose her virginity to him—was not anything she saw happening. But here it was, and she was ready. Being a twenty-eight-year-old virgin did raise eyebrows in the dating world. Losing it like this was a pretty amazing way to get her new life started.

She lay there in her bed with a grin. Getting up, she went to her drawers to find some cute but also sexy pajamas, then settled on a slinky, soft purple sleep set that said Bite Me on the butt. She could do this. She would put a soft pink cardigan with it and feel sexy and comfortable with whatever was happening.

She made her way into the bathroom and stopped dead in her tracks. There on the bathroom counter was her dildo. She had put it there when she thought he was gone. And thinking back, she hadn’t used the upstairs bathroom all day... but he had. Dropping her head in her hands, she groaned.

But... he had made this proposition after he saw it, so maybe it wasn’t all bad. Still, she took it and went and stashed it under her pillow. She didn’t need him seeing it for a third time.

She was showered and shaved and curled up in her bed with a book when there was a gentle knock at her door.

She hopped out of bed, collecting herself before answering the door.

There was Taylor. His hair was swept away from his face like he had just run his hands through it. He was wearing his Magic hoodie, with his name and number and gray sweatpants. Alice fought the impending swoon because he looked so good.

“Shall we?” he asked, putting his arm out for her.

She looked at his arm, then up at him through her lashes. Giving a small nod, she slipped her arm into his as she bit back a smile.

As she came to the landing, she peered down into the living room.

It almost took her breath away. More Christmas lights were strung up all over. The whole room twinkled with the combination of colored and white lights. On the coffee table were two plates of pasta and salad, along with a bottle of wine and glasses and two tall taper candles. And on the TV was the start screen for The Muppets Christmas Carol .

She was going to cry, and she sucked in a breath to push away the tears.

“What do you think?” a gentle voice said behind her.

When his hand found the small of her back, the tears threatening to pour down her cheeks made their exit. At least she didn’t have any makeup on.

She turned to him, and concern took hold of his features.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing... absolutely nothing.” She took it all in. “It’s perfect.”

“Shall we?” He gestured toward the stairs.

They made their way to the couch. He pushed play before uncorking the wine and pouring each a glass.

She couldn’t help but laugh to herself. The mixture of lights and the elegant dinner served while watching The Muppets was too much.

He smiled at her.

“This is perfect, really. I can’t imagine anything better.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“How could I not?”

They ate and watched the movie, one glass of wine turning into two, turning into cuddling on the couch. She felt so good with his arms around her. Nothing this new had ever felt this comfortable before.

“I’m really glad you ended up here.”

“Me too,” he said as he kissed her head.

She scolded her traitorous heart for swooning.

As the movie ended, her nerves twinged, and she was in no hurry to get off the comfy couch.

“What is your favorite childhood Christmas memory?” she asked.

“Hmmm... I think it’s pretty stereotypical for a ten-year-old boy, but the year I got a Playcube. I must have played Monsters of the Realm for weeks. Growing up, my life consisted of hockey and video games. Socializing was never something I was good at, but I could kick ass on the ice and in video games.”

“You seem pretty good at socializing to me,” she said, looking up at him.

“Yeah, I’ve gotten better at it over the years, but I’m still not very good at it, and it takes a lot out of me. During the season, I rarely leave my house unless it is hockey related.” He tightened her hold on her, and she relaxed into him. “What about you? What is your favorite memory?”

“It’s probably the first Christmas we spent in this cabin. Christmases here were magical as a kid. The first year here was also the first Christmas we were all together. It’s quite a change for a kid to go from only being her and her mom to having a brother and sister. We did the mixed family well. He’s my dad, and they’re my brother and sister. It just works. I think this is where I figured out we were actually all going to get along.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked, letting her know he was listening, which meant a lot. “I guess I didn’t realize he was your stepdad.”

“Yeah,” she said, tracing his hands wrapped around her waist. “He adopted me when I was ten, so he’s just my dad. And Isabelle and Aiden are my siblings.”

“How do I keep forgetting your brother is a team physician?”

“I don’t know how... I sure don’t forget,” she said before taking the last sip of wine from her glass.

“Why do you say it like that?” he asked with a small chuckle.

“I don’t know.” She sighed, setting down her empty wine glass. “Sometimes being the unimpressive Wagner gets old.”

“What? That’s nonsense. You impress me,” he demanded.

“You’re sweet,” she said, taking his hand again. “I think it’s part of the reason I like this cabin so much. Here, we’re just family, and our jobs and everything else don’t matter as much. It’s been like that since our first Christmas here. I still remember when my dad gave me this amazing art set. I knew he understood me at least a little. Lots of people don’t get me... I’m a lot.”

“You’re the perfect amount,” he said, kissing her head. At that, there was no stopping her heart. All that was left to do is enjoy the ride.

Next stop: heartbreak, but it would be fun getting there.

She leaned over and kissed him. Part of her wanted to pinch herself because she wasn’t sure how any of this was possible? How was she sitting in her dad’s cabin, making out with Taylor Campbell, just about to have sex with him for the first time?

His hands wrapped around her waist as he reached for her. Alice sank her hands into his soft hair and pulled him close.

He moved over her and laid her back before settling over her. The weight of his hard body on her soft body was intoxicating. She was on fire for this man. Slipping her cardigan off her shoulder, he kissed it. His gentle kiss on her shoulder and cock pressing into her core had her body ablaze.

Then his hand came up and cupped her breast over her tank top, and she moaned. She thought about being embarrassed, but then Taylor let out a groan of his own before slipping that hand under her shirt and squeezing the nipple.

“I fucking love these tits,” he said, pulling back. He lowered his mouth and sucked a nipple into his mouth, and she had never been this turned on.

She had fooled around before and gone pretty far with Steven, but nothing ever felt like this. He pulled back again, and she sat up slightly and slipped her tank off before reaching for the hem on his T-shirt. He followed her lead and pulled his shirt over his head.

Her core pulsed at the sight of him. His muscular chest and arms, the way his hair fell around his face, the heat of his brown eyes devouring her, it all fucking worked. All of it. And it was all turning her on. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back down on top of her. The feel of his bare skin on hers had a release already building in her. How was that even possible?

He groaned and rocked his hips into her. Even though their bottom halves were still clothes, her pajama shorts and his sweatpants didn’t block much sensation. It had her body convulsing and moaning.

He grinned against her mouth, moved his lips down, and kissed her neck while his hand slowly slipped into the waistband of the sleep shorts. Her entire body was lit up like the Christmas tree lights all-round the room.

She widened her legs to make space for his searching hand. As he cupped her sex, another groan escaped his mouth as he slipped in a finger.

“Fuck, Alice, you are so wet,” he said as his fingers explored her slit, smearing the wetness all around.

Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to answer him, but no coherent words would come out with his fingers doing what they were doing. She just moaned and rocked her hips on his hand.

She closed her eyes as his fingers slowly moved in and out of her. Then he slid them up and worked circles over her clit. Her body tensed, and her eyes flew open, connecting with his. His gaze set her burning for him. It was amazing. The light reflected in his eyes, casting this sexy glow onto them.

The way he was looking at her was more than she could bear. But then his fingers moved over her clit in a way that made her entire body convulse. His eyebrow cocked like he had just figured out a puzzle, and he added more pressure but continued to touch her the same way.

“Oh my god,” she gasped out and squeezed her eyes shut as the most powerful orgasm she ever had took over. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she rasped out as wave after wave of pleasure pulsed through her. His hand kept up milking every last ounce of pleasure from her until her body collapsed on the couch.

“Oh my god,” she lay there, panting, hands covering her face.

“Doing okay?” he asked as he pressed a kiss to her hand.

“Yeah... great... That was maybe the best orgasm of my entire life, so, yeah, I’m doing okay.”

“We’re just getting started,” he said, maneuvering to stand from the couch before turning to her and offering her a hand.

She allowed him to pull her to standing, even though part of her still wanted to melt into the couch, but the promise of more spurred her on.

“Your bed or mine?” he asked in a rumble she almost didn’t recognize.

“Mine,” she said as he took her by the hand and led her upstairs.