Chapter 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

December 24 th

8:38 P.M.

“I can't believe he went to bed so easily,” Jessica whispered as she carefully closed the door to Freddie’s bedroom. “Last year he insisted he was going to stay up all night to catch Santa in the act. I let him lie on the lounge room couch and then carried him to bed once he fell asleep.”

All things considered, Freddie was doing well in the face of yesterday’s events.

Of course, she didn't think her son was going to escape from the ordeal unscathed, after all, he’d had a gun pointed at him and been told he was going to be killed. But she’d made an appointment with a child psychologist to make sure he could work through his feelings with a professional, as well as talking through it with him herself.

Last night, they’d come back to her house after giving the police their statements. Freddie had said yes when she’d offered to spend the night in his bed with him, and even though she’d told him he could go back to his parents’, or sleep in her bed, or on the couch, Donovan had decided to sleep on the floor of her son’s room .

Jessica was pretty sure the idea of letting either of them out of his sight terrified him.

She knew the feeling.

When Jana had had her and Freddie on the roof, ordering them to jump to make it look like a murder-suicide, she hadn't just been scared for her son and herself, but Donovan, too. When the dangerous woman realized he was never going to love her, she would have wound up killing him, too.

“He’s a great kid, the best,” Donovan told her, pulling her into his arms.

They would still be spending the rest of Freddie’s winter break together, it would just be at her place rather than his penthouse. She was looking forward to the next couple of weeks when she would have nothing to do or worry about but spending time with her son and boyfriend. Spending Christmas Day with anyone other than her son would be weird because the last five years it had just been the two of them, but she was excited to share the joy of tomorrow morning with Donovan, and then have lunch with his family. Already she liked his parents, and now she’d get to meet his siblings, too.

“He is the best,” she agreed, resting her head on his chest. “You ready to go play Santa with me?”

“Can’t wait.”

Together they set about placing Freddie’s gifts under the tree and in his stocking. They ate the cookies, making sure to leave plenty of crumbs behind to add to the aesthetic, and drank the milk. They snapped the carrots in half and gnawed on the ends while she got out some glitter and shrugged into her coat.

“What are the sparkles for?” Donovan asked.

“Magic left behind by the flying reindeer,” she explained with a wink.

Outside, they sprinkled some glitter around the house, Donovan even threw some up into the plants and trees surrounding the house so it looked like it had all landed there as the reindeer flew over and landed on the roof.

Once they were back inside, Jessica found herself yawning. While there hadn't been time yet for her to process what had almost happened yesterday, her focus had been on her son and his needs, the mental strain was weighing on her.

“You ready for bed, beautiful?” Donovan asked, helping her out of her coat and locking up behind them.

“Mmhmm, but I'm not quite ready for sleep.”

“Oh no? And what do you want to do before sleep?” Donovan stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, drawing her against him as his lips touched a kiss to the sensitive spot behind her ear.

“I think you can use your imagination.”

“Thankfully, I don’t have to use my imagination, I have you here in my arms, mine to touch, to hold, to pleasure,” Donovan murmured, touching more kisses to her neck.

“Yours,” she agreed, wondering at how easy it had been to jump all in to this relationship when she’d been so sure she would never trust a man again.

It was all Donovan.

He made trusting him so easy.

Yesterday, he hadn't hesitated to run right toward danger for her and her son. If that didn't tell her everything she needed to know about him then nothing would.

Picking her up, Donovan carried her into her bedroom, then took his time stripping her clothes off her. Each brush of his fingertips against her skin had heat growing inside her. By the time they were both naked she felt like she was about to burst if he didn't hurry up and get himself inside her.

“You ready for me, green eyes?” he asked as he backed her up to the bed and lay her down.

“Ready,” she answered breathily, greedily, ready to take everything he would give her.

“Perfect, because I'm dying to taste you, touch you,” he murmured, his breath warm against her most sensitive flesh when he settled between her legs.

The first stroke of his tongue had her hips flying off the bed. A chuckle rumbled through him, vibrating around her bud when his lips closed around it and he began to swirl the tip of his tongue around it, making her moan as sensations built .

It didn't take long for those sensations to mount and then explode inside her in a rush of pleasure that stole her ability to think. Before it could return he was there, thrusting into her, his fingers working her bundle of nerves, sending her first orgasm spiraling into a second one as she came all over again in a wave that seemed to go on and on forever.

But amazing as it was, when Donovan settled above her, his large body carefully balanced over hers, pressed close enough for her to feel every inch of him but not crushed by his weight, it was so much better. This man had come barreling into her life out of nowhere, helping her learn to trust again. In his arms she felt cherished and protected, she could take care of herself and her son, but it was nice to have someone there on her side to have her back.

This was definitely the best Christmas ever.