Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Rosie

“ L et’s see the kilt.”

“Right now?” Alexander crossed his arms over his chest, annoyed.

The fire crackled behind us, and night had blanketed the back garden, though the moon shone a bright path across the inky surface of the water.

“Aww, are you a sore loser?” I asked, laughing at the disgruntled look on his face.

Not only had Alexander lost, but I’d wiped the table with him.

“I am not.” Alexander sniffed.

“Either you can go put your kilt on or I can go into great detail about just how much of a startlingly bad loss it was for you. I mean really just an absolute embarrassment?—”

“Och, fine.” Alexander trudged away and I laughed. Wandering across the room, I plopped on the couch in front of the fire. Music pulsed low in the background, and I thought once again, just how much I loved this room. I honestly didn’t really want to leave. If I had a pile of books with me, I’d curl up right now and read.

Or.

Or …

Or.

My mouth went dry as Alexander exited his bedroom in only his kilt and nothing else. Walking around the back of the couch, he came to stand in front of me, that scowl still stretched across his face.

My entire body heated.

The man was seriously built. And he wasn’t getting those muscles from working on computers all day. Clearly, all the work on his house had paid off because the dips and valleys running down his abs were seriously impressive.

“Like what you see?” Alexander’s voice was low, his accent delicious, and his words hung in the air between us. The energy of the room shifted. Desire pooled low inside me, and I wet my lips.

“Um, of course. You’re very well formed.”

Well formed? I’d just made it sound like he’d hatched from an egg.

Alexander seemed to read my embarrassment because his lips quirked as he moved forward. Surprising me, he dropped to his knees in front of me, nudging my legs open, and I gaped at the incredible image of a hot Scotsman in a kilt kneeling at my feet. The fire danced in the background behind him, casting warmth and shadows across his skin, and he tilted his head at me.

“Would you like to see more of these?” Alexander flexed an arm muscle and twisted to point at his shoulder. “I know you have a thing for them.”

I mean, I wasn’t going to lie. Based on how ripped he was, I could definitely get on board with having a shoulder fetish.

“Gee, and I left the alien at the shop. I didn’t think to bring your blow-up doll with me.”

“He is not mine,” Alexander hissed, and I laughed as the scowl returned to his face. “Now that you have me like this, what was your plan?”

“Um.” Panicking, I tried to straighten up, but he held my legs down with his hands. Hands that I desperately wanted all over my body. Could I just say that? We were meant to be just friends with benefits, weren’t we? Wouldn’t it be perfectly natural to explore what that meant? Preferably naked and sitting on his lap?

“Rosie?”

“Yes?”

“I’d very much like for you not to be wearing these anymore.” Alexander toyed with the button of my jeans, and I blinked at him before lifting my hips so he could unbutton and slide my pants and underwear down my legs. Hitching me forward on the couch, Alexander looked down at me sprawled before him .

Before I could start to feel awkward, a look of wolfish desire crossed his face.

“Beautiful,” Alexander said. He stroked my thighs lightly, nudging my legs wider. “Do you know one of the things I love about being a software engineer?”

“What?” I bit my lower lip as he stroked higher. “What’s that?”

“After we build everything up…” Alexander stroked higher, running a hand across me, and my hips bucked involuntarily toward him. “We have to make it come undone.”

Dear God, he was going to be the death of me, wasn’t he? This man was going to ruin me for all others.

“Why…why would you do that?” I moaned, arching my back and dropping my head against the cushions.

“Because we have to see if we built it right.” Alexander leaned forward and blew a hot breath across the skin. “And the only way to do that is to try and ruin it.”

I’d been right. He was going to destroy me for all other men. When he dipped his head and took a taste of me, I was already gone, so close to going over the edge that I mewled in distress as he licked and suckled me. A fine tremor worked its way up my body, and I could feel the pleasure radiating across my body, as though it was pulling from every molecule, and centering at my very core where Alexander feasted leisurely like he had all the time in the world to make me forget that any man other than him existed.

When he brought his hand up, touching me, the ball of lust exploded, and I convulsed around him, digging my hands into the couch and holding on as I bucked against his face, riding the wave of pleasure that vibrated through my entire being. Trembling, I blinked up at Alexander, eyes hazy with lust, and watched as he lifted his kilt and rolled a condom on.

Holy hell, this was happening.

And I wanted it to. I wanted this man inside me, next to me, around me, any which way I could have him.

Holding my arms out to him, I allowed him to turn my body the other way on the couch, so I was lying flat, and he tugged my shirt over my head.

“And then you know what happens next?” Alexander asked, trailing his hands up my sides. I lifted my back a bit so he could unhook my bra and shivered when my breasts sprung free.

“What’s that?” I closed my eyes briefly as his hands found my breasts, rubbing and caressing, his touch both gentle and demanding, as he rocked himself softly against my core. I could feel how hard he was for me, and my entire body shivered in anticipation about having him inside me.

“We do it all over again.” Alexander’s voice was husky at my ear as he nibbled against the delicate lobe.

“Why?” I asked, arching against him as he explored my body like he was memorizing every curve. Realizing I could be doing the same, I reached up and wrapped my arms around his back, loving how hard his muscles were underneath my hands. Tracing the ridges of his shoulders, I lifted my hips against him, needing the pressure of him against me.

“Because we have to see if we can put it back together perfectly. And then we test it again.” Alexander’s lips were at mine, and he sunk his teeth into my lower lip, just as he angled himself forward and slid inside me.

“Yessss,” I breathed against his mouth, my hips jerking as he seated himself deeply, filling me.

“And again.” Alexander rocked against me, his motions almost lazy as he took my mouth, dipping his tongue inside to play with mine.

“And again.”

“Oh,” I gasped against his lips as pleasure rose once more.

“Over and over. We build it up and take it apart. We make it come undone. Over. And over and over again.” Alexander increased his pace with his words, and my body fixated on that point of desire that was growing at my core. His words became hypnotic and all I could think about was the building of pleasure and the coming undone, and just how damn good it felt. Dipping his head, he abandoned my mouth briefly, kissing his way across my breasts, leaving slick heat in his wake as he licked and suckled. Every time he pulled out, I hated it, and when he drove back in, my muscles clenched more tightly until I closed my eyes and the only thing I could focus on was this tiny pinpoint of pleasure threatening to claw its way out of me. By the time his mouth found mine again, his lips hot, his breath coming faster, I was ready to explode.

“Come undone for me, sweet Rosie, so I can put you back together again.” Oh God, that sounds good coming out of his mouth…with that amazing accent.

At that, pleasure shattered through me and I fell limp, unable to do anything other than experience pure ecstasy, while my muscles convulsed around him and he found his own release.

Wedging himself into the crack between me and the couch, Alexander propped his head up on one hand and looked down at me. The fire reflected in his eyes, and his lips were still damp from my kiss.

“I…” The word came out as a rasp, and I had to clear my throat. My entire body was buzzing, tingling with awareness, and at the same time I felt so languid and relaxed that I never wanted to move from this space. “I have a newfound respect for software engineers.”

“Are you saying that you didn’t respect us before?” Alexander pressed a kiss to the side of my breast.

“God no. The worst. Ew.” I squealed when he bit me. “Ow! And bitey. I had no idea you all were so bitey.”

“Do you want to know something else about us?” Alexander asked, rolling on top of me again. My eyes widened as I felt him against my thigh.

“What’s that?”

“We work long hours and we’re very thorough.”

With that, he dipped his head and captured my lips in a searing kiss.

And I was lost.

Lost to this man.

Lost to this place .

Lost to this new life I’d discovered for myself.

Nothing before or nobody after would ever make me feel the way he did in this moment. Appreciated, admired, lusted after. It was a heady feeling, and I lost myself to the new idea of being with someone who took joy in bringing me pleasure.

Merry Christmas to me . And then I could think no more.