“Merry Christmas!” her coworkers called on their way out of the office.
Michelle looked around frantically for her desk calendar. She shouldn’t have been surprised that the holiday was on Monday. It was the Friday before, and the company she worked for was generous in their holiday time.
“Janey called. She asked me to remind you today was a half day and you need to, and I quote, ‘Get your ass out of that office before I send Jake to get you.’ Happy Holidays! I’ll see you in a week,” another coworker told her quickly before moving along for the exit.
She looked at the file open on her computer and sighed. There was still more to do. Another knock on the door sounded, and she couldn’t help the eye roll. “Let me guess, Janey sent you with some threat that she would whip my ass raw?”
The person cleared their throat. “No. I just came in to wish you a Merry Christmas,” her boss, Kerry, told her. “You know, every night when I leave you are still here. Every report you submit? Is perfect. I assume it was perfect hours before you finally submitted it. I appreciate your hard work, but it sounds like I’ve been neglecting my worker. Michelle… go home. Whatever you have pulled up on your screen? It can wait.”
Her face burned, her throat was dry, and she was pretty sure her mouth hung open. When she didn’t speak because she didn’t think she could form a coherent word, she sat and stared.
“Okay… how about this. Go home, Michelle. That’s an order. If you don’t, I’ll have to stay here with you. If I stay, my wife will come over here and whip both of our asses raw, like you so eloquently said.” Kerry narrowed his eyes at her. “Please don’t make her come up here. I would really like her to stay in the kitchen where she is baking me my favorite pie. It’s the one thing I ask of her. Her only request is that I come home on time.”
“Yes, sir.” Michelle giggled at his pleading eyes. When he crossed his arms and stared at her, she moved her attention to the computer. She saved and shut down her files before turning off the computer itself.
“Phew, I was worried I’d lose out on my pie. Merry Christmas, Michelle!” Kerry told her, and she would have sworn she saw a pep to his step that she’d never seen before.
Michelle grabbed her phone and tapped on the screen.
Michelle Harper: Got the message Warden. I’m on my way out now.
Janey McCleod: Good. You work too hard. I hear Jake’s coming over tonight. Go get yourself some.
Michelle laughed at her friend’s text as she changed windows to text Jake.
Michelle Harper: Can’t wait to see you later. I’m on my way home now.
She gathered her things, and as she walked out, she noted that once again she was the last to leave. Michelle was a perfectionist. It was both a good thing and a bad thing. Hearing Kerry tell her his opinion of her work felt great. It was also a reminder that she needed to live life a little. Her boss wasn’t a hard-ass, and he wanted her to live too.
Sure, that isn’t exactly what he’d said, but that was what Michelle heard. She used to not mind the long hours. But that was before.
Before Jake.
The need to see this thing out with him—whatever it was—was a priority. It was easy to excuse her behaviors when there wasn’t anyone in her life, but it seemed that the tide finally changed.
That thought alone brought a smile to her face. Maybe it was the Christmas cheer in the air, or maybe it was the fact that she would see Jake in a few hours, but the snow covering her town shone with a renewed brilliance.
“Merry Christmas,” a random person said with glee, pulling Michelle back to the present.
She called back her greeting and stopped short. “Shit. Christmas.”
A mother walking by gasped and covered her child’s ears as she shot Michelle a dirty look. “Oops, sorry!” she told the pair.
Looking around at the shops, her mind raced as she considered what to get Jake. Sure, she didn’t expect him to get her anything, but there was no way she couldn’t get him something. Her eyes scanned over to the local brewery they’d met at for their first date, and her mind devised a plan.
Almost an hour later, she found Jake’s car parked in front of her house. She pulled into the garage quickly and gathered her bags but left his gift hidden.
“A man could freeze to death waiting on his woman to come home,” Jake told her from his spot on her front porch.
“How long have you been out here?”
“Too long,” he said with a shiver.
Michelle unlocked the door and let them in quickly. She was dying for a taste of him, but it was clear that he hadn’t expected her to take a detour on her way home. “I thought you were coming by at six?”
“I was… that was until this beautiful woman said she was on her way home.” Jake rolled his eyes and added, “Big fat lie that turned out to be.”
Michelle turned from the closet and swatted his arm. “How was I supposed to know you were coming over early?”
Jake grabbed her arms, and she toppled into his chest. His body was cold from the time spent waiting on her, but the smoldering look in his eyes warmed her. “Easy, you should be missing me as badly as I’ve missed you. Elle, I couldn’t wait until six to see you.”
His lips took hers in a panty-soaking kiss. Unlike the rest of his body, his tongue was hot to the touch as it ran along hers. It became a dueling dance that ripped moans from deep within them.
Michelle’s arms ran up his chest and wound around his neck. She pulled him into her body, needing to feel him everywhere. Jake’s hands ran up and down her sides until he slipped them over her butt, squeezing her cold cheeks. His erection prodded her stomach, telling her without words how much he wanted her.
Jake spun them and pressed her against the wall. His hands released her bottom and lifted her into his arms with dizzying speed. Michelle locked her ankles behind his back and held on.
Inhaling deeply, she breathed in Jake and the cologne he wore. The mix was intoxicating. This man drove her crazy on so many levels.
“I mention how badly I missed you?” Jake whispered against her neck.
Michelle moaned, and shivers of pleasure ran down her body. “Nope.”
Jake’s chuckle wound in her belly, making it flip this way and that way. His soft lips returned to hers. The pace was more controlled, but the effect as erotic as the last kiss they’d shared. Her back pressed against the hard wall as his hips held her up. Jake’s hands ran up her sides, and his thumbs stroked the edges of her aching breasts.
She needed his touch. Michelle needed him to soothe the ache, to shatter her and put her back together.
Her mind drifted to worrying, reminding her once again that he held the power to break her.
“Hey. Come back to me, Elle,” Jake whispered, and his hands stilled.
His eyes bore into hers, and she saw his own war with his emotions. She put her head on his shoulder and took whatever he gave her. Her head popped up when he suddenly moved with her in his arms.
“Shh…” he said and pressed her head back to his shoulder.
Jake sat on the couch with her wrapped around him tightly. Her heated core was very much aware of his erection pressing through the fabric, trying to reach her center.
He didn’t try anything though. His sigh of contentment only caused her to burrow in further. After a moment, his lips pressed against her head. “How was your day, beautiful?”
“Good,” she said and told him a little about the work she had done.
Jake’s chuckle rang throughout her home and made her smile. She had just finished telling him about her boss’s last words and laughed at being kicked out of the office.
“Workaholic, you.”
“Am not,” she protested without any true spirit.
“Yeah you are. I like it though. You’re a hard worker. There’s nothing wrong with that.” He ran his hand along her hair and hugged her. “Just please remember, life is too short. There’s no reason to go overboard.”
Michelle almost protested his words if not for the “life is too short” comment. “You must miss her like crazy.” The words were out before she even considered them. His body froze and hers tensed in reaction. “I’m s—”
“Shh… there’s no reason to apologize or whatever you were about to do. Yes, I miss her, but it doesn’t hurt like it used to. I think she would want me to find happiness.”
Another kiss was placed on her head. It seemed that each time he did it, she fell for him a little more.
“If it were me, yes, I would want you to find happiness…”
A shiver, that had nothing to do with the passion she felt for Jake, ran down her body. His hands ran up and down her arms. “Let me get a fire going. It’s cold in here, and the last thing I want is for you to get sick.”
“You don’t want to play doctor?” she teased.
His eyes darkened and a mischievous smile filled his face. “Baby, I’ll play doctor, teacher, soldier… anything your dirty mind can come up with. Let’s keep it at play.” Jake winked and settled her on the couch next to him.
She watched him move around her home. He was comfortable here. He belonged here, and she hoped to see him here more often.
During one of their nightly chats, he’d told her that after losing Emily and the baby, the memories of their dreams had drowned him with more sorrow than he could bear. He’d sold most of their belongings and moved into a small studio apartment to escape the constant reminder of what they’d lost.
Michelle could only guess how hard the holidays were for him. “Jake?”
“Yeah, baby?” he asked as he prodded the fire to life.
She took a breath and hoped for the best. “Um… do you have plans?”
“My plans were to spend time with you,” he said, and his confused eyes met hers. “I’m sorry, I came over here assuming you didn’t have anything until I came over.”
She watched him stand, tension tightening his body. “No! That’s… I’m happy you’re here.”
Power vibrated through his body. “Talk to me, Elle.”
Michelle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and bit down on her lip. “I meant for the holiday weekend.”
“My family doesn’t live near here anymore, so the only engagement I have outside of spending time with you is going over to Eric’s for Christmas dinner. Why?”
“Okay. Janey asked me to come over too.”
Jake crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”
Michelle didn’t know why she was having a hard time asking him this. “I…”
“Spit it out,” he said after a few moments passed.
“I’m trying!” she mumbled. “How… how would you feel about going back to your place for an overnight bag?”
His eyes softened, and some of the tension in his body visibly released. “Okay.”
“Okay?” she asked, echoing him.
Jake smiled at her and nodded before checking the fire.
“If you want to do that now, I can get dinner started early?”
“Sounds good,” Jake said and stalked toward her. His arms caged her in, and her heart slowed as his lips dove in for hers. This kiss was filled with promises. It was also too short. She wanted more and found herself whimpering when he pulled back.
She sat on the couch staring at the flames until the sound of her front door shutting snapped her out of it. Michelle moved to her kitchen with a huge smile plastered on her face.
Their original plans included her making dinner, but now that Jake would stay the night, she was both nervous and excited. They hadn’t been able to seal the deal since their first try when Bobby had decided to come into the world. Since then, she’d shaved every single day, making sure her body was ready.
As she pulled out the pots and pans she needed for lasagna, she considered jumping in the shower. She startled when the front door opened again. Michelle wondered if Jake forgot something. She couldn’t be sure since she had been in a fog while he put on his shoes and coat.
“Hello?” she asked as her eyes darted toward her knives. She took a step in their direction when no one answered. Her heart raced as seconds ticked by slowly. “Hello?” she asked a little louder, but her voice shaky.
When a large figure appeared, she screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Elle?” Jake called out as she dropped the knife on the counter. “Baby? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He walked the few feet to her and wrapped his arms around her.
“Fuck, Jake!” she finally yelled when she could find her voice.
Jake pulled back and looked at her with amusement. “Why, Michelle Harper, I don’t think I’ve heard you curse.”
“You scared the living shit out of me! I should cut you!” she threatened, the latter coming with a chuckle.
“I’m really sorry, Elle. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he told her and pulled her back against him.
Michelle pushed against his chest. “I thought you were going to get your things? I didn’t expect the door to open so soon.”
“I did.”
“You did what?”
His hand cupped the back of his neck as his eyes darted toward the stove and back to her. “I did go grab my things.”
“Jake, you told me where you live. How did you grab your things so fast? You’re not Superman or The Flash.”
His cheeks flushed, and she noted his hesitancy to answer. “I really hope this doesn’t make me sound like a jerk. Um… my bag was in my trunk.”
She couldn’t help but stare at him. “In your trunk?”
Jake shrugged and stared at her chin. “I really enjoy spending time with you, Elle. With the weekend here, I packed a bag just in case. I wasn’t planning on pushing you into anything that you weren’t ready for. I just figured this way I could spend as much time as humanly possible with you. You can send me home now if this is too pushy. I’m sorry.” Jake stepped back and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m screwing this all up. This is too much, way too fast…”
She watched in shock as all the words tumbled out of his mouth, and he took another step to leave. A bubble of giggles formed in her belly before she was full-on cracking up.
“Wow… now your laughing at me. Great, maybe you should have just stabbed me with the knife after all,” he said, pointing at the offending object.
“No, Jake!” she managed to say before bursting into another fit of giggles.
His expression was clearly not one of amusement. He turned and began walking out of the kitchen. Michelle rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. When he stopped, she moved to his front and cupped his face.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh at you.”
“Yeah you did.”
She took a breath to help calm another fit of giggles threatening to burst through. If she laughed again, she didn’t think she would see Jake again, and that wasn’t okay with her.
“Please stay?” she asked, hoping the simple statement would work.
“So you can laugh some more?”
She narrowed her eyes on him. “No. Look, I wasn’t expecting any of this to happen. I’m flattered you were hoping to stay. Apparently, great minds think alike. I just didn’t expect your flustered words. They were something I could imagine myself saying was all. Our roles were reversed. Now, please stay with me?”
“Only if you feed me,” he joked.
Michelle laughed and placed a chaste kiss on his lips before returning to the stove. She watched Jake walk out of the kitchen before carrying a small duffel bag into her room.
When he returned, he offered to help her cook. They worked side by side, and she realized that while she enjoyed cooking, she loved doing it with Jake even more.