Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

ASHER

T he change in mood is abrupt. One moment, I am kissing and touching my virgin. Now, Mom is staring at me with tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“It’s that awful man. You were right. I think he’s gone on a bender.”

“Derek?” I snap. “What now?”

“He’s at the church, wrecking the decorations. He’s got some men with him.”

“What the fuck ?” I snap. “Why won’t he just leave us alone?”

“Where are you going?” Mom calls as I storm toward the stairs.

“Where do you think?”

“Wait for me, Asher,” Holly yells.

The church is near Mom’s place—why she loves living there so much—and we get there before the cops. Two staff members stand off to the side, anxiously wringing their hands as Derek and two other drunk assholes stomp around on the greenery, kicking up decorative gifts, upturning the sleigh. One punches a hole through Santa’s wooden face, and the other two and whoop.

A few teenagers hang around on their bikes, all with their cellphones out, recording the chaos.

I throw the car door open, livid. Who the fuck do they think they are?

This is my mother’s safe place. After so many years of struggling to get her mind and body in order, she finally found it here.

“Derek,” I roar.

He turns. In the semidarkness, he’s never looked more ghoulish. His two buddies are bigger, glassy-eyed.

“This is the one,” Derek slurs, clearly drunk. “The one who thinks he’s some tough guy. The one who ruined my life.”

They stumble toward me. I clench my fists, trying to breathe slowly.

Beside me, Holly whispers, “Careful, Asher. There are three of them. Wait for the cops. I don’t want anybody to get hurt.”

“It’s not me you have to worry about.”

“And look who’s here!” Derek yells, gesturing wildly at Holly. “Come to rub it in my face, have you, big man? You got the girl. I got shit . Is that it?”

“Derek,” Holly says in a calm tone. “Please, just think about what you’re doing. The police are on the way. You don’t want to make this worse than it already is.”

“I would’ve treated you right,” Derek snaps.

“We don’t even know each other ,” Holly seethed back, losing her temper.

“Don’t shout at me, bitch,” Derek bellows.

I step in front of Holly, somehow restraining myself, not tearing his limbs off and beating the other two with them. Nobody talks to my Snowflake like that.

When he steps forward, I almost growl. It’s only Holly’s touch that stops me. “Don’t. I can hear sirens.”

She’s right. Sirens pierce through the air.

“You hear that?” I bark at Derek. “Those kids have got you on video, you dumbass. You’ve lost your job, and you’ll have to deal with a run-in with the law. And for what? All because you couldn’t take no for an answer.”

“All because of you …” He looks bitterly at Holly. “What did I even see in you? What’s the matter with me? There’s nothing special about you. I saw something else: what you could’ve been for me if you’d seen how decent I was trying to be.”

“Nothing special about her?” I interrupt. “That’s where you’re wrong. I call her Snowflake for a reason. She’s the most unique, special woman I’ve ever met. If I could be with her, I’d consider myself the luckiest man alive. She’s the sweetest gift any man could ever want.” I raise my voice, emotion making it husky. “If I had the privilege of making her mine, I’d wake up every day with a smile on my face, knowing I’d done something right. If being with her didn’t wreck our worlds, I’d go to the tallest rooftop and roar like a goddamn cliché. She’s mine, Snowflake’s mine! ”

I point my finger at him. His two buddies cringe away, but I can’t stop.

“If I had the chance, I’d tell her I loved her every day. I’d get down on one knee and make an honest woman of her. I’d support her as she followed her dreams, knowing she’d always do the same for me. We’d build a life and be happy. We’d have our ups and maybe even our downs, but we’d get through life, savor it, and relish it —together .

“No, Derek,” I go on. “Wanting her wasn’t your mistake. Believing you could have her was. Her heart belongs to me. Just like mine belongs to her.”

The police car pulls up on the lawn. The church officials point to Derek and his gang.

I stumble away, my head feeling light with all the feeling, the truth of it finally free.

Holly throws herself at me. When I catch her, she kisses me with more spirit than Christmas could ever have.

The cops take Derek and his goons away.

On the way home in the car, Mom mutters from the backseat, “That was beautiful, Asher.”

“It really was,” Holly murmurs.

She sounds less carefree than Mom. I’m sure she knows by now everything I said can only ever exist in a hypothetical world that has already ended. The snow globe has shattered. Tomorrow, I’m going to tell Dan I’m leaving.

It’s like Holly reads my mind. She touches my hand. “We’ve got the rest of the night. That’s more than some people will ever have.”

I hold her in bed, listening to her sleeping breaths, determined to stay awake all night. I’m like a kid who wants to hear Santa sneaking down the chimney, except I’m not waiting for my gift. She’s here, in my arms.

I kiss the top of her head. Her breath hitches.

A smirk touches my lips. “Are you pretending to be asleep?”

“I can’t stop thinking about that speech,” she says quietly.

I chuckle in the dead of the night, safe knowing that Derek and his idiot buddies are in cells to sober up. With the morning seeming a long way off, it’s surprisingly easy to laugh, even if it’s another betrayal.

“It wasn’t a speech .”

She sits up, her hand over my heart, looking me in the eye. “It was. I’m never going to forget it.”

“We’ll have to soon,” I tell her.

She shakes her head. “Even when you … I won’t forget it.”

“When I go. You can say it.”

“I can’t. I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Something special happened this Christmas,” I whisper, tenderly stroking my hand over her cheek and hair. “When I came home and saw you, I didn’t believe you were the same little Tarantino I’d left behind. You’ve changed me, Snowflake, in our short time together. But soon, I’ll go back to the way I was.”

“Maybe this—us—maybe it’s made you more emotionally available. You said I melted your snow.”

“I did?”

“You texted it,” she says with a grin.

“It’s easier to be cheesy over text.”

She laughs sweetly. “Tell me about it, but maybe I’ve melted you now.” She playfully tickles me. “You’ll be able to move on?—”

“No,” I cut in. “Don’t say that. Don’t even think about it. There’s no moving on from you. Tomorrow, I freeze up again. How’s that for cheesy?”

She laughs as I tickle her. We roll over, and then my lips find hers. She sighs and slides her hands over my neck, down my back, under my shirt. I groan as my body responds to her touch, my cock thickening, precome kissing my end already.

She shifts her body against mine and wraps her legs around me, her heat grinding against my member through our clothes. I should stop. Letting her go will be much more difficult if we cross this threshold.

I can’t.

Instead, I slide my hand up her thick thigh and press my touch between her legs. She gasps, staring wide-eyed at me. A laugh escapes her, but this one is breathy. “Have you been watching me this whole time? Don’t you close your eyes when we kiss?”

“I don’t want to miss a single moment,” I utter.

She lets her head fall back, presenting her neck. I kiss her tender skin, rubbing her folds through her clothes.

“I want this,” she whispers. “I want us. Don’t think about tomorrow.”

“Are you saying what I think you are?” I say eagerly.

She drags her fingers through my hair. “You know I have no experience. I want you to lead the way.”

My steel aches in response to her words. My balls are full; my wood is pulsing.

“I need to see your body.”

I claw at her clothes like a bear claiming its mate. She raises her arms and lets me pull her shirt over her head. I tear off her bra, then push her breasts together, sucking her nipples, massaging her curves. She moans and shivers as I rub her folds at the same time.

Then I slide my hand into her pants and her underwear. I rub her gem with my thumb. The tone of her moans changes, becoming more insistent.

“Fuck. You want it so badly,” I groan.

“Just keep the light off.”

“What?” I lean up, staring down at her. “Why would you say that?”

She looks suddenly unsure. “I don’t know.”

I lean over and switch on the lamp, admiring the soft yellow light dancing over her voluptuous body. “You know you’re beautiful.” It’s not a question. “Every curve. Every inch. You’re perfect, Snowflake. Let me show you how perfect you are.”

I kiss down her body, over her soft stomach, then pull down her pants and her underwear. Her pussy glistens, wetness clinging to her lips, her bud looking deliciously eager for attention.

I sink my hands into her skin, kissing around her entrance, licking her folds, then her gem, making her sizzle with the buildup. Her whimpers urge me on. My mind empties of everything else. The snow-globe effect is back.

She tastes amazing, and her response is even better. She shudders and digs her fingernails into my shoulders as I lick her, stroking my tongue up and down her folds, then feasting on her. She grinds her hips against me.

“You’re so …” I lick faster. “Damn …” I lick harder. “Beautiful.”

She moans, pushing her hips against my face. I slip my finger into her slit and swirl it in greedy circles, addicted to her wetness, her heat. She pumps her hips, fucking my finger, bouncing on it.

“Asher,” she gasps, her bliss seizing her entire body.

I finger fuck her eager hole, leaning back so I can watch her, her breasts shaking. She stares down at me with wide, fascinated eyes, like she’s shocked by how much ecstasy she’s capable of feeling. Her body makes gorgeous wet noises as I pump my hand, the heel of my palm pressing against her clit.

Finally, she collapses with a drawn-out moan.

“Do you believe you’re beautiful yet?” I say.

She smiles down at me, her breaths coming in pants, her eyes hazy. “You’re starting to convince me,” she says breathlessly.

“Look what you do to me,” I groan, standing, tearing at my shirt, then my pants.

She sits up, her hand covering her mouth. My cock springs free from my waistband, precome dripping from my tip.

“You make me so fucking hard,” I whisper, stroking my hand up and down, spreading the wetness all over myself. “You make me wild.”

“Look at you,” she groans, shuffling to the edge of the bed. “I must be pretty sexy, huh, if I can do this to you?”

I love how complex she is—never black and white. She oscillates between confidence and uncertainty with a grace that comes naturally. She gently wraps her hand around my shaft, stroking, moaning, and looking up at me as if to ask if she’s doing it right.

“Oh, fuck ,” I grunt. “That feels so damn good.”

“Like this, baby?”

“Yeah, Holly. Oh, seriously. That’s … fuck …”

She moves her hand faster. I stumble back.

“I want you so bad. Lie on your back. Open those perfect legs.”

“Like this?” she whispers, doing as I say, making a V of her legs and presenting her glimmering haven.

I take a moment to look at her, snapshotting her thickness, her desire. Then I climb onto the bed, laying my body gently against hers, reaching down and gripping my rod while guiding my head to her core.

She kisses me on the neck as I stroke up and down her pussy, grinding over her clit, her lips, her slit.

“Be patient with me,” she says softly.

“Always,” I grunt.

I can’t let myself think about how absurd that is. Always . After tonight …

Yet there’s no such thing as “after” when I flow into her sheath. Her warmth tightens around my shaft, caressing my tip and then my spear as I glide in deeper. She bites my lip, clutching my shoulder. I slow down slightly.

“Don’t stop,” she murmurs.

I’m on the edge of losing control, but I remember this is her first time. She wants me to lead the way.

I push into her as gently as I can when every instinct is roaring to claim her. She squeezes her thighs tighter around me. When her slit clings onto the base of my shaft, I pause, finding her lips.

“You feel so big,” she moans. “So … Oh, it’s so good. So … fucking … good …”

“Your pussy is amazing. Perfect, just like the rest of you.”

She smiles as I slide out and then push back in. Her hands fall to my sides, finding purchase on my waist as she moves her hips in time with my thrusts.

We disappear into the movements. When her moans lose any sign of discomfort, I shift my hips faster, driving into her inexperienced slit, leaning back so I can watch her tits sway and watch her eyelids flutter open and closed.

“Oh, oh.” She gasps. “You’re so deep.”

“You feel fucking sensational.”

“Yeah?”

“You look it too.”

“Oh, Asher.”

“Snowflake

She grabs the back of my arms, caressing my muscles. I plant my fists on the mattress so that I can pump my hips faster and harder. My crown hums with precome, threatening an explosion.

She bounces eagerly, beautifully, captivatingly. There aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe how flawless she is.

“Believe you’re … sexy … yet?” I gasp, barely able to speak.

She smiles but can’t maintain the smile when so many pleasurable moans are escaping her. “Yes, yes, yes.” After a pause, she says, “Let me show you.”

She grabs me and rolls over. I laugh as she ends up on top. She grips both my hands and then shifts back and forth.

“Show me,” she whispers. “How to … ride you…”

I slide my hands over her hips. “You’re doing a damn fine job.”

“Like this?”

I guide her hips, then let out a shuddering breath when her tunnel glides down my dick at the exact right angle, her tightness caressing me, her soaked warmth making me burn with desire.

“Like that ,” she says, beaming, moving her hands to my chest to hold herself steady.

She bounces up and down as I greedily sink my hands into the mounds of her ass. I press and massage her roundness, driving up at the same time as she sits down. We meet in a place of glorious, aching ecstasy.

Her breasts bounce, but it’s even more appealing to look at her face, at her flushed cheeks, and into her confident eyes. She owns this moment, riding it for all it’s worth.

I sit up, kissing her breasts, tasting her skin and her sweet sweat. We rock together.

Then she bites down on my shoulder, her orgasm turning into a muffled scream. I spread my hands over her back, holding her as she crescendos. My rock-hard cock throbs as my seed rushes up, erupting out of my me. We finish as one, connected, belonging …

As we roll over, and I wilt inside of her, I remain inside, feeling her warmth and mine, holding onto our last few moments together.