Chapter 11

December 26th

9:35 a.m.

Waking up on Boxing Day morning and seeing Sam Payne in my bed was better than I could have ever imagined. Lying against my pillows, his dark hair tousled and his eyes heavy-lidded and sleepy, he was fucking beautiful.

"Morning," he murmured softly.

We smiled at one another, and I knew we were on the same wavelength. All the shit we'd been through—we could put it all behind us because we were here now, together. And that was what mattered.

Stroking my fingers through his hair, I lowered my head to press a kiss to the tip of his nose. "Hey. Happy Christmas. I realised I forgot to say it to you yesterday. Also…I know we didn't get each other gifts this Christmas, but we'll make up for it next year. Promise."

"Next year." He bit down on his lip, unsuccessfully trying to hide the smile overtaking his face. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too."

The smile he was biting back turned into a smirk. "But we did get each other a gift."

"What?"

"I got to unwrap you. That was a gift."

A laugh burst from my throat. "True. Unwrapping you was the most fun I've had unwrapping any present, ever."

"My thoughts exactly." Sam gave me another sleepy smile, reaching out and running his hand over my chest, circling my nipple. "I could get used to this."

"Mmm. Same." Pressing against him, I let him feel the evidence of what he was doing to me. He groaned, rolling onto his back and taking me with him.

His hands ran down my back and over my ass, and then he aligned his mouth with my ear. His words were quiet, and there was an almost wistful tone in his voice. "Can you imagine waking up like this every morning?"

Yeah. I could.

* * *

December 27th

9:25 p.m.

We spent the entirety of the rest of our Christmas break together in my flat, getting properly reacquainted. Sam didn't even bring up going back to his student house or Olivia and Luke's place, and there was no way that I was going to suggest it. I was more or less certain that we both felt like we had so much time to make up for. In between discovering each other's bodies, we spent hours talking, getting to know each other again, catching up on the years we'd missed. We'd both grown and matured, but he was still the same Sam I'd once known and different at the same time. Getting to know the man he was now was a privilege I'd never take for granted.

I was stretched out on my sofa, legs kicked up on my footstool, while Sam lay across the length of the sofa, his head resting on my thighs. Die Hard played on the TV, although neither of us was paying it much attention. As my hands idly slid through his hair, I was struck by how content I was feeling right at that moment. Maybe it was because of our shared history, but him being with me felt so comfortable, like we'd been together for years rather than just a few days.

"What's up?" His head twisted, and he looked up at me.

"Huh?" My eyes flicked to his.

"You stopped." He gestured to my hand, still caught in his hair.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." I resumed sliding my fingers through the dark strands, and he smiled.

"What were you thinking about? You had your thinking face on."

"My thinking face?" I raised a brow, eyeing him. He looked so fucking gorgeous at that moment, with the soft golden glow of the Christmas tree lights highlighting the planes of his face, making his eyes shine as he gazed back at me. Running the fingertips of my free hand across his jaw, over the light dusting of stubble, and then onto his cheek, I returned his smile. "Yeah, I was thinking, I guess. I…I was thinking about how well you fit here. How it feels like we've been doing this for a long time already."

His smile widened. "I feel the same, Ry. This, what we have now…this is…" His voice trailed off, and he bit his lip, staring up at me through his lashes.

"This is right. As it should be," I finished for him.

"Yeah. So right." Lifting his body into a seated position, he straddled me, tipping his head forwards. "So. Fucking. Right," he repeated in a low murmur against my ear between pressing soft kisses to my skin, then tugging my lobe between his teeth.

A groan fell from my lips. "Sam. You drive me fucking crazy. We should celebrate our new beginning."

"We've been celebrating all of Christmas." Even as he said the words, his teeth were scraping along my jaw, and he ground down into me.

"Hmmm. It feels like you might want to celebrate one more time—at least." Sliding my hand between us, I palmed his hardening cock through his borrowed joggers.

He pushed into my hand with a gasp against my skin. "I wasn't complaining." He lifted his head, his gaze connecting with mine. A seriousness stole over his expression despite the lust in his eyes. "I'm so glad I have you back. And getting to do this with you—" He ground down on me again, and I thrust my hips up, my dick hard and ready for him. "—this is more than I could've ever hoped for."

"Me too. So much more. Now that you're back in my life, I'm not letting you go again."

Our lips met in a hot, hungry kiss that made my head spin. It had never been like this with anyone before, not even close, and I knew with absolute certainty that we had the beginnings of something special. Samuel Payne was back in my life and finally mine, and he was here to stay.

When we finally pulled apart, Sam's eyes met mine again, his pupils blown. "I want you so much."

"Want me to fuck you?" I suddenly wanted that, more than anything. Needed to feel what it was like to be inside him.

"Fuck," he groaned, his head falling forwards as he ground down again. "Yes."

In under five minutes I had a hot, naked Sam straddling me, hard and leaking, opening himself up with his fingers, while I rolled a condom over my aching dick and tried not to come at the sight in front of me.

"I'm doing that next time." My voice was breathless.

"I've got no problem with that." Lifting himself onto his knees, he stared down at me, his eyes dark and hot. "Ready?"

In reply, I wrapped my hands around his hips and pulled him down onto my dick, slowly and steadily, until I was all the way inside him.

He felt so good. I was temporarily speechless. Stroking one hand up his back, I tried to convey everything I felt with my gaze.

"Ryan," he whispered.

"I know."

We began moving in sync, slowly, almost lazily, Sam rolling his hips down over and over, while I thrust up. Even at the slow pace, I could feel my climax building, and when he began moving more urgently, and I met him thrust for thrust, it was all over. The feel of his hot cum on my skin and his soft moan into my throat sent me over the edge. Holding him tightly, I filled the condom, throbbing inside of him while he panted against me.

We remained there for a while, wrapped up in each other, just enjoying the closeness. Eventually, though, we had to move. When we'd cleaned up and taken our places back on the sofa, I pulled him into me, wrapping my arm around him. Die Hard was still playing on the TV, and I tried to pay attention to it, but the man next to me was too distracting.

"Sam?"

When he turned to me, I leaned forwards, kissing him softly. He responded straight away, and the kiss deepened as I pressed him down into the sofa cushions. His cock was rapidly hardening against mine, and I got a hand down between us, wrapping my fingers around his length.

"Fuck, Ryan." His head fell back, and I nipped at his exposed jaw. "Let's take these celebrations to the bedroom."

"Mmm. Yeah," I agreed, stroking over his cock and feeling him shudder beneath me. "Tonight, I want you inside me, in my bed."

I didn't even notice the snow beginning to fall outside the windows again, gradually blanketing the streets with a layer of white. The only thing I saw was Sam.

"Whatever you want, I'll give it to you," he murmured, kissing up my throat as I backed him into the bedroom. He lifted his head, his eyes lighting up with sudden amusement. "Don't you know? I'm the Christmas gift that keeps on giving."

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." I pressed my smiling mouth to his.

"Make me."

In response, I shoved him onto the bed. He soon forgot all about talking.