Page 151
Story: The Playbook Complete (Vegas Aces Complete Series Box Sets #5)
Christmas looks awfully different this year…in the best way I could imagine.
We spent Christmas Eve with my mom and dad, and Travis’s parents made the trip out to be with us, too. It was a wonderful night filled with family and laughter, and we just got back home. Travis’s parents are staying in the casita that formerly belonged to me, and they’ll give us privacy during Christmas morning so we can create our own traditions as a family of three.
In the car on the way back home tonight, Harper said, “It’s so weird that this is my family now.”
Her words echoed around the car, and Travis murmured something about how blessed we are despite how we got here.
But I can’t stop thinking about her words.
So much has changed in the last nine months, and she’s still mourning the loss of her parents. As blessed as I feel to be where I am now, her parents had to lose their lives for us to get here.
The thought of it makes me sad, but rather than dwell on the tragedy of it all, I have to look at the bright side.
I now have a girl who’s a daughter to me and who brings so much joy to my life. I have Travis, the man who loves me like nobody else ever has. We may not be perfect, but we’re family. And on this Christmas, I’m grateful for every second we have together.
As we walk into the house, I can’t help but cherish the moment. The smell of fresh pine fills the air as the twinkling lights on the tree cast a warm glow over the family room.
The family room. The room where family gathers.
Harper runs over to the tree, her eyes bright as she surveys the gifts already wrapped and sitting beneath it.
“Are you excited for Christmas morning?” I ask as I saunter up behind her and place a hand on her shoulder.
She covers my hand with hers and squeezes, and when she turns to look up at me, her eyes are shining. She nods. “I know my mom and dad would have wanted me to be happy, and that’s why they gifted me with the right mom and dad for me.”
I wrap my arms around her and kiss her cheek. “I love you, Harps.”
“Right back at you, Harts,” she says as she squeezes me and we cry together for a beat as the realization hits me that no matter what comes our way, we will face it as a family because that’s what we are now. A family with an unbreakable bond forged through tragedy and love.
Travis joins us by the tree and wraps his arms around us both. “I love you both so much,” he says softly. “This is going to be an amazing Christmas.”
We tuck Harper in even though she’s excited for Santa to come. Neither of us is clear on whether or not she still believes, and neither of us wants to be the one to ruin the fun, so we both just go with it. We place more gifts under the tree once she’s asleep, and then we head up to bed ourselves.
Travis leans over and runs his fingertips along my thigh as his lips find my neck in the dark. I tilt my head to give him more room to kiss my neck, the anticipation growing between us as his fingertips glide along my leg until he reaches the hem of my shorts. He teases me as he moves his hand up further, playing with the hem of my panties before removing his hand and pulling me closer against his body. He wraps his arms around me, and I shift into him as his mouth finds mine.
His hand slips under my shirt and I feel his rough palms on the soft skin of my back before he slides his hand up my torso and his palm lands on my breast. His tongue batters against mine as he massages my breast, the rough palms pure heaven against my nipple, and I moan into him as my body starts to move all on its own, my hips crashing to his even though we’re locked in a tight embrace.
He moves with me as I feel his own desire starting to grow thicker and harder between us. I run my nails along his back, and he grunts softly before he pulls away from me and lifts my shirt over my head. He buries his face between my tits then moves between them, sucking one nipple into his mouth before moving to the other as I reach for his boxer briefs. I run my hand along his hard cock on the outside of his boxer briefs, and he groans with need.
I pull at the waistband of his briefs then slide my hand inside, and I fist him as he keeps sucking on my breasts. One of his hands slides down into my panties, and he pushes a finger inside me before I even see it coming.
“Oh!” I cry out as I start to move my hand up and down his shaft.
“Keep doing that,” he whispers, and I chuckle as I move my hand faster up and down his cock.
My pussy is dripping with need for him as he fingers me while sucking on my nipple, and then he slips another finger inside, spreading me wide as my body starts to tremble.
He pulls his fingers out of me and pulls off his boxer briefs before he yanks my panties down my legs. His lips crash back to mine, and our tongues tangle as he positions himself between my legs.
He fists his own cock and slides it through my wet heat for a beat before he pushes himself inside, and then he starts to grind against me.
“Oh, God, yes,” I moan, and he picks up the speed as we find a fast rhythm together. I wrap my legs around him, and he uses the headboard as leverage to push harder and deeper into me.
I lose my mind as I bask in the feel of him, of this moment, of the two of us doing this thing our bodies were made to do. I roll my hips as he thrusts, both of us edging toward the release we crave even though we’ve had sex nearly every night for the last month.
It keeps getting better. I keep falling harder.
If this is really what love is like, I don’t ever want it to end.
And if it’s just some dream, I don’t ever want to wake up.
But this is my life now, this passion and lust mixed with adoration and love, and it’s that thought as he fucks me deep inside that makes me lose all control.
Shocks of pleasure course through me and my body jerks as I fly headfirst into my climax. He follows right behind me, a soft growl escaping him as he starts to come, too. His mouth collides down to mine as he fights his way through the pleasure, and when we both finish, he’s still kissing me as we bask in the warmth of the afterglow.
He stays inside me a few extra beats, and I feel his cock twitch as we both come down from the height of pleasure, our kiss extending a little longer in a sweet and loving show of affection after the hot way he just railed the hell out of me.
Eventually he pulls out, and we lie together a few quiet beats before I get up to clean myself up.
I get dressed, and then I collapse into bed and fall fast asleep.
I’m pulled out of that deep sleep by what I think is an earthquake at first, but I quicky discover it’s just Harper jumping on the bed.
And my first thought is that I’m grateful I had the foresight to get dressed after we had sex last night. The last thing this child needs is to be scarred for life by waking her parents up on Christmas morning only to find them naked.
“Wake up, wake up, wake up!” she sings. “It’s Christmas morning!”
I pull the covers over my head as I groan, but she’s not so easily deterred.
“Come on, Harts! Let’s see if Santa came!”
Oh, Santa came last night, that’s for sure…
I peek out from under the covers and see her dark hair flying around her shoulders, her blue eyes bright with anticipation. Her cheeks are rosy and she looks excited.
I nudge Travis, who has also pulled the covers up over his head, and he groans.
“We need coffee first,” I tell Harper, and she grins.
“Already beat you to it. I turned on the coffee maker and already checked out what’s under the tree.”
“So did Santa come?” I ask.
“You know he did,” Travis mutters, and I giggle.
“How do you know?” Harper asks, narrowing her eyes at us.
“I peeked earlier,” I lie.
“Yeah you did,” Travis says, finally moving the covers as he grins and holds his hand up for a high-five.
“You’re such a perv,” I mutter to him, but my thoughts went exactly the same direction.
Harper’s too caught up in excitement to hear us. “Come on!”
“We’re coming,” I say. “Give us five minutes.”
“Ugh fine!” she groans as she races out of the room.
“Five minutes is enough to make you come again,” Travis mumbles.
I giggle as I reach out a hand to him. “Come on. Our girl is waiting.”
We head downstairs, grab a cup of coffee, and meet Harper by the tree. She digs in right away, paper flying in every direction as she tears into her gifts with abandon.
I think Travis bought every single thing an eleven-year-old girl might enjoy, but he saved the best gifts for last.
He hands me a large box, and when I open it, I find the word Family cut out in script from a piece of wood and painted white.
Another box has a necklace with the same word inside. “I wanted to get you something that represents what we’re creating together, and nothing captures that better than family.”
Tears fill my eyes as he clasps the necklace around my neck. “Thank you,” I whisper as I touch the letters there, so thankful that this is where we landed.
I pick up the gift for him from me and hand it over. “I didn’t know what to get you,” I say softly.
He tears off the paper and opens the box. A smile tugs at his lips as he lifts the leather-bound journal out of the box. “Woods Family Adventures,” he reads from the cover, and he grins.
We exchanged gifts with family on it without ever talking about it, and the meaning of that isn’t lost on me.
All three of us had different needs when we created this family, and somehow we ended up in a place that’s perfect for the three of us.
The theme continues as Harper opens two canvas prints to hang in her bedroom. One is a photo of her with Caroline and Simon, and the other is a photo of her with Travis and me from that day we went to the zoo. She holds the photo of her parents tightly against her chest, and somehow it fills me with hope. We’re going to be okay because we have each other now.
“Open this one!” Harper says, running over to me with a box.
“Oh, it’s so light,” I say. I read the tag. “To Harts from Harps and Travis.” I glance up at the two of them who are both looking at me hopefully, and then I tear off the paper.
When I lift the lid off the box, I find some papers inside. I read the top aloud. “Petition for Adoption.” Heat pricks behind my eyes as I glance up at Harper and Travis. “Are you serious?”
“I want you to officially be my mom,” Harper says quietly.
Travis presses his lips together and glances away as if this is all a little too overwhelming for him, and when his eyes meet mine again, I see why. His are shining as much as mine are.
I brush away an errant tear that escapes.
“We already are a family, but this is something Harper and I really want if you want it too,” Travis says, his voice raspy with emotion. “Allen put this together for us. All you need to do is sign, and then we have a family visit and it’ll be official.”
“Oh my God, yes,” I practically yell. I grab Harper into a hug. “I love you so much, ladybug.”
“I love you, too…Mom.”
My chest feels tight as I squeeze this little girl with all my might.
Harper scampers off to check out her haul, and Travis walks up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Merry Christmas, Mrs. Woods,” he says, his voice low as he drops a soft kiss to my neck.
I turn around in his arms to face him and press a kiss to his lips. “Merry Christmas, Mr. Woods.”
We spend the day eating cookies, watching movies, and reveling in the warm feelings of family.
It doesn’t get any better than this.
Table of Contents
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- Page 151 (Reading here)
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