Chapter Twenty-Six

Mark

“ G od, I’m so full,” Olivia murmurs, leaning back in her chair with a satisfied sigh, resting her hand on her round stomach.

“You ate half the turkey,” Henry says, arching his brow at his wife. “I’d be surprised if you weren’t.”

“Don’t judge me,” Olivia retorts, narrowing her eyes at him. “I’m eating for two.”

“Are you sure it’s not five?” Henry teases.

Olivia twists in her chair, her eyes turning to slits. “Are you judging what I eat?” she asks, her tone menacing.

“Of course not,” her husband replies, his eyes widening a little. “You want dessert?”

She leans back in her chair with a knowing smile, lifting her head in a nod before he heads toward the freezer, grabbing a tub of ice cream out of it.

I can’t help but make a face. Who the hell eats ice cream in winter?

“And I want it in bed,” she says simply, heading toward her room .

“Yes, dear,” Henry mutters, grabbing a bowl and two spoons before joining her, leaving Holly and me alone out here.

“That man is whipped,” I say with a shake of my head.

“He’s in love,” Holly replies as she tilts her head back. “I’ve witnessed it for years how in love those two are, and it sucks that I still don’t have that.”

“You will,” I reassure her, watching as she turns her head, those caramel eyes locking onto mine.

“Yeah?” she asks, her voice tinged with doubt.

“Yeah, Bambi,” I say, swallowing the rock lodged in my throat. “You have Ryan, right?”

Holly’s eyes flicker away, her smile fading. “Yeah,” she laughs softly. “Right.”

My brows dip at her expression, and I lift myself out of the chair with a groan, completely stuffed from the turkey we just devoured, but if I know anything about this girl—and I like to think that I know quite a lot—she’s going to want a sweet treat.

“You want me to make you some hot chocolate?” I ask her, glancing down at her smile, widening at my words.

“You’d do that for me?” she asks, her brows lifting in surprise.

I’d do anything to see you smile . I clear my throat, lifting my shoulder in a shrug. “Of course,” I tell her. “I know how much you love sweet things.”

“You gonna make the real stuff?” she asks, wagging her brows as she follows me into the kitchen .

I look over my shoulder, a smirk tugging at my lips. “With horrible, bitter dark chocolate and everything.”

“I can’t wait,” she says, her voice dripping with warmth as she wraps her arm around mine, leaning into me. I glance down at her, and I can’t help but laugh at the sight of the thick, green, and red Christmas sweater scattered with snowmen. How does she still look so effortlessly beautiful?

I think back to the day I met her. I had no fucking clue that she’d be this important to me, that she’d mean this much to me, make me this… happy. She’s brought so much light into my life and made me feel things I never expected. Even if she leaves with Ryan and I never see her again, she’ll always be etched in my memory and heart.

I really did not know what hit me the day my eyes landed on hers.

I tear my eyes away from her and open the cabinets to grab the saucepan and a bar of dark chocolate covered in a thin layer of dust. I shake my head with a smirk. It figures these people would prefer the cheap, sweet stuff.

“Make sure you put a lot of sugar in it,” Holly tells me with a smile as she leans on the kitchen counter.

I glance down at her in fucking awe of how gorgeous this woman is.

Her smile.

Her eyes.

Her plump, pink lips.

Her cheeks flushed pink from the cold.

Christ.

This girl is so breathtakingly beautiful.

I busy myself with heating the milk, trying to get thoughts of Holly out of my mind. Won’t work, though. Hasn’t since she entered my life. I grab the chocolate, breaking it into chunks before adding it to the milk and stirring until it melts, then sweetening it with a generous amount of sugar.

Once I’m done, I pour the hot chocolate into a mug and hand it over to Holly. “Careful,” I tell her. “It’s still pretty hot.”

She takes a tentative sip, closing her eyes and letting out a soft, satisfied moan.

“Good?” I ask, my lips tugging at the sides.

She nods, opening her eyes. “So good I’m considering kidnapping you just to make this for me forever.”

I let out a laugh, noticing some hot chocolate lingering on the corner of her mouth, and gently wipe it with the pad of my thumb.

Her lips part, and our eyes lock, the distance between us shrinking. I swallow hard, my thumb lingering on her lips, and before I can talk myself out of it, I trace her plump bottom lip slowly. She sucks in a breath, making my head dizzy.

I should pull away.

I need to pull away.

But she’s right fucking here, so close, so beautiful I’m losing my goddamn mind, and I can’t find an inkling of willpower in my body to step away from her.

“Mark,” Holly whispers, her voice barely more than a breath .

I trace my thumb lightly across her lips again, my heart pounding. “Yes, Holly?” I ask, hyper-aware of how close we are right now.

Her eyes flicker upwards quickly, then back to mine. “Look up,” she says softly.

I manage to tear my eyes away from her and glance up, seeing the mistletoe hanging directly above us. My brows furrow. When the hell did that get there?

I glance back down at Holly, seeing her eyes hooded as she takes another small step closer to me, erasing any distance that was previously there as she places her hands flat against my chest. Fuck. “You know, they say it’s bad luck not to kiss under the mistletoe,” she says.

My body sings. I can’t think. Can’t breathe. Can’t do anything but stare down at her. My heart races, her touch sending a jolt of warmth through me. I want to kiss her so fucking badly, but my mind is screaming all of the reasons I shouldn’t.

And unfortunately, I choose to listen and take a step back, my hand dropping from her face.

“Holly, this is… no,” I say, my voice strained as I shake my head, trying to steady my racing heart.

Her face falls, her cheeks flushing a deeper shade of pink. “Oh,” she says, her voice trembling slightly, “I’m sorry. Of course you’re not attracted to me. I don’t know what I was—”

“Stop,” I say firmly, her eyes snapping to mine, slightly widened at my sharp tone. “Don’t ever insult yourself like that. You’re beautiful.”

“I am?” Holly asks, her brows knitting together .

I nod, letting out a hard breath. “So fucking stunning, sometimes I can’t believe you’re real,” I admit, running a hand through my hair in frustration.

Her chest rises and falls with hard, heavy breaths. “But you still don’t want to kiss me?”

I almost laugh. She has no fucking clue how much I want to kiss her. It’s all I can think about. All I dream about.

“You have a boyfriend,” I remind her and myself.

“Ryan is not my boyfriend,” Holly says, stepping closer.

My jaw tightens. “He might not be your boyfriend right now, but you like him and—”

“I broke up with him.”

Her confession catches me off guard, hitting me like a ton of bricks. “What?”

“I ended things with him,” Holly says. “On our date.”

My mind races, spins, flips. She’s not with him. She’s not with anyone . And here she is, standing right in front of me, looking up at me with a look that says she wants me.

“Why?” I ask her. She liked the guy. Went on multiple dates with him. Wanted him to text her. What the hell changed?

A slow smile spreads across Holly’s face, and she rises onto her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around my neck. My hands instinctively move to her waist, pulling her closer, my heart pounding in my chest. “I guess I want my dating coach more than my date,” she says, her voice teasing .

“Dating coach, huh?” I smirk, my fingers tightening on her waist as I draw her even closer. “Is that all I am?”

“Depends,” she shrugs, her lips just inches from mine. “Do you want to be something else?”

I laugh softly, my heart racing. “So many things.”

“Yeah?” she asks, her breath warm against my lips. “Like what?”

“I want to be the guy who kisses you,” I confess, my voice trembling with desire. “I want to touch you, to know what you sound like when I’m buried deep inside you, I want to wake up next to you, to date you, to take care of you… I want everything with you. But a kiss is a good start.”

Her eyes widen a little, struck by my confession and I get it. I did a really good fucking job at keeping my feelings for her buried deep inside. But fuck if I’m going to deny her anymore. Not when she’s right here, looking at me with those gorgeous eyes of her, wanting me, and finally fucking single.

“We are under the mistletoe,” she points out with a smile that makes my body burn.

“And you mentioned it would be bad luck not to kiss, right?” I ask, my voice dropping to a husky whisper.

“Extremely,” she replies, her eyes shining.

The need to kiss her is overwhelming. My hands grip the hem of her sweater, my restraint hanging by a thread. “Tell me this is a bad idea,” I beg.

Holly shakes her head, her gaze remaining on mine. “I think this is the best idea I’ve ever had.”

That’s all I need to hear. I cup her face with my hand, my thumb brushing gently against her skin. Leaning in slowly, I give her every chance to pull away if she wants to, but she doesn’t. Her eyes flutter shut as our lips meet in a kiss that starts soft and tentative but quickly becomes heavy and charged.

Christ.

Her lips are warm and incredibly soft, moving with mine in a way in sync. The world outside seems to disappear as the kiss deepens, and I lose myself in her touch, in her sweet taste, feeling as if everything that came before led to this. To her.

She moans into my mouth, making my cock harden against my jeans.

Fuck. Is this what kissing feels like? I haven’t kissed anyone in a long time. Haven’t wanted to. But my god, there’s no way a kiss has ever felt like this.

“This,” Holly mumbles against my lips. “This is it.” Her hands tangle in my hair as she pulls me toward her.

“What?”

She groans—actually groans—and tugs on my head, pressing me closer against her. “Just shut up and kiss me.”

A laugh bubbles out of me and I lift her up, placing her on the counter and stepping in between her legs. “Bossy,” I murmur, tugging on her bottom lip with my teeth. “You gonna be like this in bed?” I ask her, my lips making their way down her exposed neck, hot and smelling like a gingerbread cookie. “Ordering me around?”

She whimpers. Fuck me . Sweet, soft sounds leave her lips as she tips her head back, giving me better access. “Maybe. ”

I chuckle against her skin, my hands landing on her thighs, clad with thick jeans, wanting to feel her skin, wanting to see her. “Please, sweetheart. We both know you’ll be happy to get on your knees if I ask you to.”

She shivers.

Actually shivers at my words, and fuck me, I’m so hard it aches.

“Please,” she begs so sweetly, so softly my head spins. “Take this off,” she mumbles, lifting my sweater with desperation. Absolute pure fucking need.

I want that. Want to strip off my clothes and hers and spend hours mapping out her body with my fingers and tongue.

“We’re in the kitchen, sweetheart,” I remind her, arching a brow as she tries to remove my clothes.

“And?” she replies with a shrug.

“And your friends could walk in any minute,” I tell her with little conviction, unable to resist her touch.

“They won’t,” she says, her hands landing flat on my stomach, running over my skin, making me suck in a hard breath.

“But what if—”

“Please, Mark,” she says again, eyes locking with mine as she grabs my belt in her hand. Oh fuck . “I need you so bad.”

My vision blurs, my head is dizzy. Never wanted anyone as much as I want her.

“I don’t have anything,” I say, my breath coming out choppy and heavy. “I never would have thought this would happen. ”

She shakes her head, and I begin to think she’ll call this off. Smart. We probably shouldn’t do anything if—

“I’m on the pill.”

Christ.

A thick groan escapes my throat as I clutch her thighs, spreading them wider. “Are you asking me to fuck you bare?” I whisper the words against her sensitive skin, warm and sweet and fucking delicious.

She chuckles, the vibrations tingling my lips on her neck. “Telling, kinda.”

“Telling, huh?” I ask her with a smirk, slowly lifting her sweater up, up, up, until it’s completely off. My eyes zone in on her pretty, perky tits bobbing free.

Oh fuck.

I didn’t prepare for this.

Haven’t been with a woman in over five years, and she just might be the death of me.

I groan at the sight, wanting to cup them, lick them, suck them. Sweetest tits I’ve ever seen. Prettiest fucking woman I’ve ever seen. Fuck, is this actually happening?

There’s no going back now.

I run a hand through my hair, gripping her thigh. “You’re too young for me,” I mutter, knowing she deserves someone else, someone better, but wanting her all the same.

“Hardly,” she replies with a shake of her head, her brown hair spilling over her bare chest.

I give her thigh another squeeze, slowly lifting my hand. “And too fucking good.”

She parts her lips, heavy breaths leaving her as she spreads her legs a little wider. “I can be bad. ”

I let out a laugh, my heart hammering against my chest. “You’re too fucking perfect,” I tell her, shaking my head. “You shouldn’t be with someone like me.”

Holly lifts her hands from the kitchen counter and wraps them around my neck. “You’re the only one I want.”

God. Those words. They cave my chest in and make my heart pump to life. “Out of all the men in New York?”

She shakes her head, a smirk tugging at her lips. “Out of all the men in the world,” she clarifies, her big eyes sparkling. “I’d choose you over anyone.”

Fuck.

I lift my hands to wrap around her ass and lift her off the counter, and carry her toward the living room, dropping her onto the couch, and crowding her a second later. “I’d choose you too,” I tell her, cupping her face and looking into those eyes that sucked me in since the day she entered my bar. “No doubt. First pick.”

She smiles so brightly, makes me feel alive, butterflies fluttering around in my stomach and shit. All the fucking feelings, I feel them. Right here. With her.

“Even though I’m too young?” she teases, tilting her head.

Little shit. I chuckle, my eyes dropping to her sweet tits. “Might be fucked, but hell fucking yes.”

“Even though I talk too much and never shut up?”

I shake my head. “I love your voice, Bambi. Never stop talking.”

She grins. “Good, because—”

I arch a brow. “Maybe stop talking right now.”

She lets out a laugh and I don’t waste any more time, diving in to capture her lips once again. My hands run up her body until I finally cup her breast, rubbing the pad of my thumb over her hard nipples I can’t fucking wait to put in my mouth.

“Fuck,” she moans, tipping her head back, breaking apart from my mouth. “That feels so good.”

“You feel perfect,” I mutter, running my hands over her face, her hair, her lips, her tits. All of her. “You look so fucking perfect.”

She lifts her hips, grinding on my cock, our jeans a thick barrier that does nothing to make my cock harden at the feel of her warmth.

A rough noise leaves my throat. “Stop grinding on my dick, or this will be over before it even begins.”

She whimpers, rolling her hips to thrust against me again. “It aches.”

Fucking ditto.

“Yeah, baby?” I ask her, pressing a kiss to her sweet lips. “How much?”

“So much,” she whines, locking eyes with me. “Please touch me.”

“Fucking gladly.”

I lift onto my knees and tug her jeans and panties down, throwing them across the room, sucking in a breath when I finally see her.

Fuck.

The sight of her pretty pussy makes my head feel like it’s going to explode. Or my cock. One of the two. Both, maybe .

She parts her thighs a little, and my nostrils flare when I see her gorgeous, dripping-wet pink center, practically screaming for my tongue.

Shuffling back, I grip her thighs in my hand and spread her wide open, staring at her for a second before I dive in and fucking eat .

Christ. I’ve been fucking starving my whole life and didn’t even know it.

“Fuck,” I mutter against her, parting her with a slow, languid flick of my tongue. “You’re dripping all over my tongue, sweetheart.”

Gripping her thighs, I wrap my mouth around her, sucking her into my mouth, flicking my tongue over her sweet, swollen clit until her body sings for me, hips moving out of control, her hands tightening on my hair, letting out soft moans that make my cock harden to the point of physical pain.

“I’ve thought about this so many times,” she admits, catching me off guard. I lift my head, seeing her tits rise with each breath she takes.

“You have?”

She lifts her head, her cheeks flushing, which is funny, considering I have my head between her legs and the taste of her pussy all over my tongue.

She nods slowly. “I’d… touch myself, imagining it was you.”

Fuck me.

The visual of this girl circling her pretty little clit to thoughts of me makes me groan, wanting, needing to be inside her .

“Like this?” I ask her, circling her clit with two fingers so slowly her hips rock, wanting more,

“Mmmm, yes,” she whimpers.

“Christ, I want you,” I murmur, eyes fixed on the way her hips roll and thrust against my fingers.

“Then have me.”

A chuckle rolls out of me, and I pull my hand away, taking off the rest of my clothes, her eyes widening at the sight of my cock in my fist as I stroke it to the sight of her.

My sweet, innocent Holly widens her legs even more, playing with her nipples as she makes room for me, craving me inside her body.

It’s been way too fucking long, and I have no doubt this won’t last long when I lean forward and position my cock at her entrance, slowly rubbing the tip over her wetness.

Oh fuuuuck.

I underestimated how fucking good this would feel.

I’m not even inside her and I have to grind my teeth and clench my fists to keep from exploding right fucking here.

“Put it in me,” she murmurs, shuffling down on the couch so she brushes against the tip of my cock.

Seeing how needy she is makes my body shake, and I finally thrust the tip in.

A moan escapes her when a couple of inches enter her, and fuck, fuck, fuck , this feels so fucking good.

I thrust slowly into her, heavy, labored breaths leaving my throat with every inch I push inside her, feeling her wrapped so fucking tightly around me, hot and wet and fucking perfection.

“God,” she moans, tipping her head back when I thrust to the hilt. “You’re so big. I can practically feel you in my throat.”

Squeezing my eyes closed, I beg myself to have some control and restraint before I come from her words alone. “I love when you talk,” I tell her. “But you seriously need to stop before I come.”

She chuckles, running her tongue over her lips. “I kinda want to see that.”

I thrust into her, groaning at the feel. “Rather fuck you first.”

She moans, her tits bouncing with every thrust. “Yeah,” she pants. “That.”

“Fuck yourself on my cock,” I tell her, gripping her hips. “Move your body. Take what you need from me.”

She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me closer, bringing her lips to mine, moaning into my mouth when she grinds her clit against the base of my pelvis.

“God, you taste so fucking sweet,” I murmur against her lips, pumping my cock into her. “You taste like my own version of heaven.”

She pulls back and smirks. “Your version?” she asks, breathlessly.

I nod, bringing our foreheads together. “Where only you and I exist.”

Another sweet moan leaves her. “I want to go there.”

“We’re right here, baby,” I say, grabbing her hips before flipping us over so she’s straddling me now, my cock driving into her. “It’s you and me.”

She lifts off my cock, dropping back down, her tits bouncing in my face with her movement. “Just for tonight?”

“For as long as you’ll have me,” I correct her, clutching her face in my hand.

She smiles at my words, slowing the movement of her hips as she wraps her arms around my neck, leaning in until our lips are stacked. “Forever?”

I smile back, finally having everything I’ve ever wanted in my arms. “I love the sound of that.”