Chapter 8

EIGHT

Ginger

It’s the day of the holiday party, and I can’t stop thinking about the kiss.

For two days, that moment has been playing on a loop in my mind. The warmth of his lips, the way he stepped close to me under the mistletoe, how my heart raced like it was about to burst out of my chest. I’ve been floating on this strange, giddy feeling ever since, and no matter how much I try to focus on anything else, all I can think about is Kip .

And his kiss.

And the fact that he’s my secret admirer. He’s the man who wrote me such sweet words, who made me feel special and seen and beautiful. I know it.

I’ve been helping set up for the party all day, but my mind keeps drifting. Every time I pass the mistletoe, my stomach flips, because tonight… tonight is the night.

Will he show? Will he admit that he’s the one who has been sending me letters?

It’s almost 9 PM, and the party is in full swing, with people milling about, grabbing hot chocolate and other treats, and looking at the little vendor tables. But I’m standing here, waiting. Waiting for Kip to show up, waiting for him to kiss me again.

I already know it’s him. I knew the moment I saw how he reacted to those guys flirting with me. The jealousy in his eyes, the way he stepped in without hesitation—that’s when it clicked. The guy I’d been hoping for, the guy I’d been falling in love with through words, was Kip all along.

Now, I just need him to show up.

I glance around the town square, feeling that familiar twinge of nerves. The twinkling lights, the smell of cinnamon and pine, the sound of laughter and Christmas carols—it’s all perfect. But my heart is pounding, and I can’t focus on any of it. All I care about is him.

I check the clock again. Two minutes to nine. My hands are sweaty, and my heart is racing. I’ve never been this nervous in my life.

And then, I see him.

Kip walks through the crowd, looking as nervous as I feel. His dark hair is a little messy from the cold wind, and his strong jaw is clenched like he’s trying to steel himself for something. He’s scanning the space, and when his eyes land on me, his whole body seems to relax, even if it’s just for a moment.

He starts walking toward me, but before he can get too far, I do the only thing I can think of—I run.

I don’t wait for him to reach the mistletoe. I don’t care about anything else in this moment. All I care about is him. I run across the square, my boots slipping slightly on the icy sidewalk, and when I reach him, I leap into his arms.

He catches me, his eyes wide with surprise, but I don’t give him time to react. I press my lips to his, and everything else falls away. The music, the people, the noise—it’s all gone, replaced by the warmth of his kiss.

His arms tighten around me, holding me close, and I can feel his heart pounding in his chest. When we finally pull apart, I’m breathless, and I can see the shock in his eyes.

“I love your letters,” I whisper, my hands still resting on his shoulders.

He blinks, looking like I’ve just knocked the wind out of him. “You... you knew?”

I smile, my heart swelling with affection for him. “I figured it out the other day when you got all jealous about those guys talking to me. Plus, when I showed Saffron the stationery, she told me that you were the only one to buy it in the last few months.”

His brow furrows. “They were hitting on you.”

I roll my eyes, laughing softly. “They were just talking to me. You didn’t need to scare them off.”

He shakes his head, a small grin tugging at his lips. “Trust me, they weren’t just talking.”

I tighten my hold on him, and uncertainty flashes across his face.

“Are you disappointed?” He whispers, and I bite my lip, feeling the butterflies in my stomach fluttering wildly.

“Well... I was kind of hoping it was you.”

His eyes widen.

“Really?”

“Yeah, why are you so surprised?”

His finger absently runs across the scars on his face, and my heart hurts.

“I don’t mind your scars. I like them. They make you look like a badass. Plus, it means that you can scare off any guys who try to flirt with me.”

“Damn right,” he growls, and I giggle.

He smiles at me softly, his whole face softening, and I can see it then. He loves me. He would do anything for me.

“I’ll always protect you, Ginger.”

“I know,” I whisper, and for a moment, we just stand there, staring at each other.

The space feels small, like it’s just the two of us, and I can’t help but feel like everything has been leading to this moment.

“I can’t believe you figured it out,” Kip says, his voice low and a little shy. “I thought I was doing a pretty good job of hiding it.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “You were... until you weren’t.”

“Yeah, I was starting to crack. It was hard being close to you, but not close enough,” he says with a chuckle, but then his expression shifts, turning more serious. “I wanted to tell you. I just... I didn’t know if you’d want me.”

I feel my heart ache at the vulnerability in his voice. How could he ever think I wouldn’t want him? Kip has always been the one I wanted, even when I didn’t know it was him behind the letters.

“I’ve always wanted you,” I whisper, my voice trembling with emotion. “You don’t have to hide from me, Kip. I like you... and your letters.”

His eyes widen at my words, and before I can say anything else, he kisses me again, pulling me closer, his lips soft and warm against mine. It’s perfect. It’s everything I’ve been dreaming of.

But then a shiver runs down my spine, the cold seeping into my bones from standing still in the cold, away from the heaters and crowd. Kip pulls back, concern flickering in his eyes.

“You’re cold,” he says, his voice soft as he starts to shrug off his coat.

I laugh, shaking my head. “I have a better idea for how you could warm me up,” I say suggestively.

His eyebrows lift in surprise, but then a slow, hopeful, smile spreads across his face. “Oh yeah?”

“Uh-huh,” I nod, biting my lip as I take his hand and start leading him toward the parking lot. “Let me tell you about it on the way to your place.”

The cold winter air hits us as we step away from the buildings, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve never felt warmer in my life, because tonight, I’m with Kip.

We can’t stop smiling at each other as we make the short drive to Kip’s house. He lives on the outskirts of town, next to his business, Semper Fly.

“I should have taken my car so you don’t have to drive me back to town,” I say as we pull into his driveway.

“That old thing might have never made it all of the way out here,” he grunts, and I laugh.

“It’s actually been running pretty smoothly lately!” I tell him, and he shakes his head.

“No, it hasn’t,” he grumbles quietly and it clicks then.

“Oh. My. God,” I gasp as I turn to face him. “You’ve been sneaking around and fixing my car!”

He blushes, actually blushes, and clears his throat.

“Yeah, I didn’t want you driving around in an unreliable car.”

“How many times?” I ask him, my mind racing as I try to remember all of the times when my car wouldn’t start or when it seemed like it was starting to act up and then magically was fine.

“I don’t know. A few.”

“It had to be more than just a few! I mean…” I trail off as I count in my head. “Jeez, Kip, it had to have been like once a month for the last six months at least.”

“It’s not a big deal,” he grumbles, and I shake my head.

“Yes. It is. That was so… amazing of you. You’re so sweet, Kip. Thank you.”

He nods, and we stare at each other in the dark cab of his truck. I’m not sure who moves first, but soon we’re both leaning over the center console, our lips a breath apart.

“Ginger...” His voice is low and rough like he’s holding back.

I don’t wait. I can’t.

Without thinking, I reach for him, my hand sliding up his neck as I lean over the console. I feel the warmth of his skin beneath my fingers, the roughness of his jawline, and before I know it, my lips are on his.

The moment our mouths meet, it’s like everything else falls away. The world outside the truck disappears, leaving only the heat of his kiss, the way his lips move against mine with such intensity it makes my head spin. He kisses me back, his hand tangling in my hair as he pulls me closer, and it’s like we’re both caught in this moment—wild, breathless, unstoppable.

I don’t think I’ve ever wanted someone like this, felt this kind of urgency. My heart is racing, my whole body trembling as I press against him, deepening the kiss. His lips are soft, warm, and when I feel his tongue brush against mine, a shiver runs down my spine. I can’t get enough of him. I never want this to stop.

Kip groans softly against my mouth, and the sound sends a jolt of electricity through me. His other hand slides to my waist, gripping me firmly as he pulls me even closer, like he’s afraid I’ll slip away. But I’m not going anywhere. I want to be right here, in this moment, with him.

I shift in my seat, turning toward him, my hands roaming over his chest, feeling the solid muscle beneath his shirt. He’s strong, every inch of him, and it drives me wild knowing he’s holding back for me, controlling that strength even as the tension between us builds.

“Kip...” I whisper against his lips, my breath ragged, my heart pounding. His name comes out like a plea, and he responds by kissing me harder, deeper, his fingers tightening in my hair.

I don’t know how long we kiss—seconds, minutes, it could be hours for all I know. Time doesn’t seem to matter when I’m with him like this, lost in the feel of him, the taste of him. The windows of the truck fog up, the world outside blurring into nothingness as we lose ourselves in each other.

When we finally break apart, we’re both breathless, our foreheads resting against each other as we struggle to catch our breath. My lips feel swollen, tingling from the heat of the kiss, and my heart is still racing in my chest.

Kip looks at me, his eyes dark with desire, his breath warm against my skin. “I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” he murmurs, his voice rough with need.

I smile, my fingers still tracing the line of his jaw, my own desire mirrored in his gaze. “Me too.”

For a moment, we just stay like that, our bodies pressed close, the heat between us still simmering. I can feel his heart pounding against mine, and there’s a part of me that wants more. I decide to listen to that part of me.

“Let’s go inside,” I whisper, and he nods.

We climb out of the truck, and he rushes over to my side, helping me down and taking my hand as we head up to the front porch.

He unlocks the door and ushers me in ahead of him. I scan his place, as I take off my jacket, hat, and mittens, taking in the mostly bare living room and kitchen.

“Nice place.”

“Thanks.”

He turns on some lights, and I wander further into the house.

“Want the tour?” He asks, and I nod. “Well, you’ve already seen the living room and kitchen.”

I nod. “Very nice.”

He takes my hand, and we head down the long hallway.

“This is the guest bathroom,” he says, nudging the first door open. “And this is the first guest bedroom…and the second,” he says, pushing open the next two doors. “And this… is my room.”

I step into his room, and the tension between us grows as I wander closer to the king-size bed. The bed is neatly made, the corners of the dark blue comforter perfectly folded down, and I wonder if that was a habit that he always had or if he picked it up in the military.

“I like it.”

“You can change anything that you don’t like about the house,” he says instantly.

I laugh, thinking that he’s joking, but I turn to see him watching me with a serious look on his face.

“Wait, what?”

“Ginger,” he starts, his voice low and rough. “I need to tell you something.”

I nod, starting to get nervous as he shifts. He looks so anxious and I wonder what it is that he has to tell me.

“I... I’ve been falling in love with you,” he tells me, the words coming out in a rush, like they’ve been trapped inside him for too long. “For a long time now.”

My eyes widen, but not in shock.

“I love you,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper. “I just needed you to know.”

“I do know,” I tell him. “I know, and I love you too. So much.”

“So much?” He asks quietly, and I nod.

“So much.”

For a moment, there’s silence. Then, without warning, he leans forward, his lips crashing against mine in a kiss that’s filled with everything—every unspoken word, every emotion we’ve both been holding back all these months.

It’s soft at first, tentative, like we’re testing the waters, but then something shifts. His hands tangle in my hair, pulling me closer, and I feel the heat between us ignite like a spark catching flame. I kiss him back with everything I have, pouring months of longing into every movement, every touch.

My body presses against his, and I feel him groan against my lips, the sound sending a rush of heat through me. His hands slide down to my waist as we deepen the kiss, my heart pounding in my chest. He feels so good, so right .

We break apart for air, our breaths coming in ragged gasps, and when I look into his dark blue eyes, I see everything—desire, love, tenderness, all mixed together in a way that makes my heart swell.

“I love you, Kip,” I whisper as his forehead rests against mine. “I think I’ve loved you from your first letter.”

We kiss again, slower this time, more deliberate, like we’re savoring the moment. My hands roam over his chest, and I feel his pulse quicken, the heat between us growing with every passing second. I wonder if he can feel me trembling slightly as my fingers tighten in his shirt.

The kiss deepens, passion flaring hot and fast between us, and I lose myself in him—his touch, his scent, the sounds he makes as he holds me close. Nothing else matters. It’s just us here in this moment, and I never want it to end.

Kip’s hands slide down to my hips and toy with the hem of my sweater. I hum against his lips in agreement and a moment later, he’s slipping the soft wool sweater over my head and tossing it aside. We stare at each other, both of us breathing hard. The lust is palpable in the air around us, and I feel like I’m burning up alive as he stares at me.

“I want you so fucking bad, Ginger,” he whispers, and I swallow hard and nod.

“I’m yours. Take me.”

That’s all it takes and it’s like a flip switches in Kip. He takes charge. There are no more soft kisses; it’s all passion. I can taste his desperate need for me on his lips, and it drives me wild.

“Naked,” he grunts at me, and I nod, scrambling to push my plaid leggings down my legs and kick them off. My thick wool socks follow, and then my panties.

“Bra,” he orders as he drops to his knees at the edge of the bed.

I arch, reaching to unhook my bra, and his big hands grip my thighs, yanking me to the edge of the mattress. I blink, my brain trying to keep up with everything that he’s doing.

“Kip,” I breathe a second before he leans forward and buries his face in my pussy. “Fuck!” I shout, my bra long forgotten.

He’s so enthusiastic as he licks me, practically devours me, and all I can do is lay there and let him have his way with me. So many emotions and feelings are building inside of me as his tongue licks over my clit, sucking the little pearl into his mouth.

“Kip! Oh, God,” I gasp, moaning his name as his fingers spread me wider.

“So damn sweet,” he moans against my core, and I grip the bedspread beneath me tighter as his tongue licks down to my opening, licking up more of my juices as he goes.

“Oh!” I gasp as his tongue wiggles into my snug hole just a little bit.

“So tight. Gonna have to loosen you up,” he murmurs, and I nod desperately.

“I need you,” I beg, and he runs a finger between my folds, the digit swirling over my clit and driving me wild. “Please, Kip,” I pant. “Don’t tease me.”

I love seeing this confident side of him: how he’s taking control, how needy he seems to be to have me, and how he looks and touches me like I’m something precious.

We lock eyes and stare at each other as he slowly works one thick finger into me. I wince at the sharp string of pressure as he stretches me and he swallows hard.

“Are you a virgin, baby?” He asks, his voice low and guttural.

I nod silently, and he closes his eyes for a moment.

“Were you saving yourself for me?” He croaks, and I nod again. “Thank fuck. I was waiting for you too, baby.”

I want to ask if that means that he’s a virgin, too, but before I can, his mouth is back on me, and I forget about everything else.

His mouth loves my clit while he adds another finger, stretching my pussy wider. He works them in and out of me slowly, and a pressure starts to build low in my stomach, coiling tighter and tighter until it snaps.

“Kip!” I cry out as I fall over the edge, riding his fingers as my orgasm flows through me.

“Fuck, that was so fucking hot,” he groans, and I look down to see him licking his fingers clean.

I sit up, intending to return the favor, but before I can, Kip grabs me and moves me to the center of the bed. He strips quickly, and I can only stare at his perfect body as he joins me in the middle of the bed.

“Sorry. It’s not pretty to look at,” he whispers, and I blink, looking up at him with confusion.

“What?” I ask, and he looks away from me.

“The scars,” he says, and I blink, taking him in again.

“These?” I whisper, my fingers stroking over the raised red lines on his face, down his neck, and down his chest to his shoulder.

“Yeah,” he chokes out.

My fingers trail lower to the other scars and bumps on his hip, and I look up at him.

“Bullets and an IED,” he tells me without me having to ask.

“I’m sorry that you went through that,” I whisper, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to one scar and then the next, and then the next.

“Ginger,” he says, and I can hear the doubt in his voice.

I’m no stranger to being self-conscious. I’ve always been a bigger girl, and I’ve had to work to be confident in my own skin.

“I love your body. You look like a warrior. You are a warrior,” I tell him as I continue to trail kisses across the scars. “Look at how strong you are. How brave.”

I kiss lower, pushing him onto his back as I settle between his thighs. His cock is hard and resting against his flat stomach, and I place a kiss next to his belly button.

He sucks in a sharp breath, and I smile up at him as I wrap my hands around his dick.

“I might not be good at this,” I warn him.

“You’re doing amazing already,” he says hoarsely, and I smile.

“I’m not really doing anything,” I point out and he swallows hard.

“You’re sitting next to me, naked, with your hand on my cock. I’m about two seconds from coming,” he says, and it’s the biggest ego boost that I’ve ever gotten.

“Have you thought about me, about us, doing this before?” I ask him as I lean down and swipe my tongue over the tip of his cock, licking up the drop of precum there.

“Only every single day for the past year.”

“And what do I do in these fantasies?” I ask him as I trail my tongue down the underside of his cock.

“Fuck, Ginger,” he groans, and I grin.

“Uh huh, but how do we fuck?” I ask him, and he stares down at me with fierce eyes.

“Every way. There’s not a single thing that we haven’t done in my head,” he tells me, and I nod.

“You’ll have to make a list so that we can get to all of it.”

“A… list?” He asks, his eyes going hazy as I wrap my lips around him and start to suck his cock.

“Hmm,” I hum around him, and his thighs tense.

“Fuck,” he grits out, his hand coming up to tangle in my dark red hair.

I take more of him, all of the way until he bumps against the back of my throat. His length is starting to swell on my tongue already, and I swallow around him, wanting to taste his release.

“Ginger…baby…,” he pants, and I wrap my hand around the length that I can’t get in my mouth, working him in time with my mouth. “Ginger. Ginger!” He shouts, his hand tightening in my hair.

A moment later, his salty release coats my tongue, and I hurry to swallow it all down. I sit back on my heels and watch him as he catches his breath. Finally, he opens his eyes and looks right at me.

“I love you.”

He says it so fiercely, and I nod. This man loves me with every fiber of his being. And I love him.

“I know. I love you too. Now make me yours.”

He moves, rolling me under him, and I spread my legs wider for him, offering him all of me.

“You’ve been mine since you stepped foot in this town. You’ll always be mine,” he tells me as he starts to push into me.

“Yours,” I agree, my body already starting to race for my release as he slowly bottoms out inside of me.

I don’t even feel when he takes my virginity. All I can feel is his love for me. All I can focus on is him.

He kisses me, his hands on my breast, in my hair. It’s like he can’t stop touching me, even as he makes love to me. I wrap my legs around his waist, clinging to him as my orgasm brews inside of me. He kisses me, whispers that he loves me and I come undone.

“Kip!” I scream as I come, and he groans my name as he follows me over the edge.

I’m not sure when he moves, but a moment later, we’re lying on our sides facing each other, both of us still panting and flushed.

“So that’s one fantasy,” I tell him and he huffs out a laugh.

“One down. A million more to go,” he whispers, and I smile as I cuddle into his side.

I just need to close my eyes for a moment. That’s what I tell myself as I nestle against him and slowly let sleep claim me.

I feel Kip kiss my forehead right before I drift off.

“Merry Christmas, Ginger,” he whispers, and I smile as I fall asleep.