My eyes widened in surprise. I didn’t think we were anywhere near that phase of our relationship, but I’d been playing with the idea of inviting them, too. “We’d love that. Are you sure it would be okay?”
He caught my hand and pressed a kiss to the center of my palm. “Nothing would make either of us happier. Also, I’m proud of you for having the courage to hang all of Katherine’s decorations. I think it means you’re healing.”
“It’s all thanks to you,” I whispered, leaning forward to kiss his mouth. “I know Christmas is still three weeks away, but being with you has helped to put me in the Christmas spirit.”
“Really?” He smirked against my lips and I felt him waggle his brows against my forehead. “Do you want to be put on the naughty or nice list?”
I grinned deviously. “I think that’s up to you to decide.”
“I can manage that.” Winding his arms around me, he pulled me into his lap so I was straddling him and brought his mouth back to mine.
I melted into him, twisting my fingers into his hair and kissing him back hungrily. The soft noises he let out turned the blood in my veins to fire, and I suddenly felt far too hot.
Dropping my hands, I grabbed at the hem of my T-shirt to lift it over my head. Jacob’s fingers closed over mine a second later, taking over and running his fingertips along the sensitive skin on my belly and lower back before finally freeing me from it.
Our lips parted for the fabric to pass between us, and he pulled back even farther to rake his gaze down my exposed torso. He groaned, toying with the straps of my bra before moving his head forward to plant the softest kisses along my collarbone and neck.
While he seemed to have made it his mission to drive me mad with need, I reached for his shirt and tugged it over his head. My hips rolled against his, feeling him harden until it was like I was grinding against a metal pole in his pants.
Bubbles of euphoria traveled through me on each pass of my already very sensitive clit against him. Running my fingers lightly across the lean muscles in his arms and back, I felt him shiver against me.
It was clear he wasn’t in any rush, but I supposed we didn’t have to be. I was enjoying every second of it, and while I wanted him more than anything, I could wait. My nerves were on high alert, and with the fire crackling behind us, the music flowing, and the Christmas lights blinking, it felt like every sensation was heightened.
I tangled my hands into his hair again, gripping it softly to get him to drop his head back. When he did, his lips were swollen from our earlier kisses and parted, his eyes half-lidded but filled with so much emotion.
We locked eyes for a moment before moving our mouths forward together. Meeting in the middle, our kisses were far more urgent and passionate than before.
Jacob’s arms wrapped around me, his fingers climbing up the vertebrae in my spine until they reached my bra. He undid the clasp, dragging the straps down my arms and tossing the thing far, far away.
In the back of my mind, I hoped the bra hadn’t landed in the fire. It wasn’t a particularly sexy one, even if it wasn’t a nude-colored, cotton device, but it was one of the ones I owned that skirted the comfy-sexy line quite well.
It was soft enough not to hurt, had enough support without making me feel like I was going to drown in my own boobs, and the black padding wasn’t so thick that I felt like I’d stuffed a sock in there. Ahh well. If it’s ruined, it’s ruined.
I definitely wasn’t breaking off that kiss or that moment to check on my bra. Forgetting about it for the moment, I pressed my chest against his and moaned when my puckered nipples brushed against his warm skin.
My hips sped up and I could feel an orgasm building. If we kept going like that, it was going to happen before he even took my pants off.
His hands gripped my hips and stilled them. Then he banded one strong arm around my back and reached out with the other. The blanket I’d been snuggled underneath earlier was only just within his reach, but he snagged it with the tips of his fingers and spread it out—sort of—behind me.
Lowering me slowly while balancing his weight on his knees and mine in his arms, he laid me down on the blanket. I stared into his eyes, not blinking as he placed a large hand in the center of my chest and drew it slowly down.
He held my gaze but brought his head to my chest, licking and nipping while I stroked his hair and arched my back. I wished I could do more for him, but I couldn’t reach any of those parts. I would get my chance later. Making him feel everything he made me feel was one of my favorite pastimes and one I always insisted on no matter how long I had to wait for it.
When his lips had traveled down to the waistband of the sweatpants I’d only just put on, I lifted my ass and he rolled them off. My panties went with them, and the small bundle was dropped next to us.
Jacob knelt between my legs, that lock of hair over his forehead and his eyes absolutely burning into mine. I’d been grappling with an admission I needed to make, but as I stared up at him in that moment, I knew he wouldn’t run from me if I said it.
Many men might’ve taken off for the hills if a woman told him she loved him after only a couple of months, but not Jacob. He wouldn’t be scared off if I told him the truth.
Because it was the truth. I absolutely, irrevocably loved him more than I had loved anyone before. More than I had ever thought I could love someone.
I loved Jacob Parker. Now I only had to figure out how to tell him.
Chapter 38
Jacob
Laurie naked, her body bathed in firelight and her eyes intent on mine, was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. It had to be one of the most erotic too, but that wasn’t the thought my mind had gotten stuck on.
The thought I’d gotten stuck on was how the hell I’d become the lucky son of a bitch who got to undress her, who got to make love to her while wrapping Christmas presents, and to wake up with her in the morning.
My body was so desperate for hers that my muscles were trembling, but I held myself back to commit that moment to memory. She was gorgeous and so damn sexy and mine.
I wanted to kiss every inch of her, and so that was what I did. Starting at her feet, I placed small kisses on the soles and worked my way up. Her ankles, calves, the backs of her knees, and the insides of her thighs got the same treatment.
She moaned when the next obvious destination for my mouth was her silky wet slit, but I moved on to her hipbones instead. I trailed my lips between them before moving up to her belly button. From there, I made a straight shot up to her chest.
I’d only just kissed every part of her bare torso, but I loved the noises she made when I sucked on her nipples. They drove me nuts, but it was so worth it.
My mouth closed around her hardened nub, eliciting a throaty, raw moan that made me release one of my own. I felt her move her legs farther apart when one of her thighs hit mine. Her fingers tightened in my hair and she shivered beneath me.
With my hips within her reach, she pushed down my sweatpants and lifted my underwear over my fully grown dick. Using her toes to push them all the way down, she kicked them aside and wrapped her legs around me.
Her eyes were bright but calm when I looked into them. “Have you been tested recently?”
“We had a health day at the office a few months ago. Why?”