What was even happening?

Jace Kilpatrick was kissing her. That was what was happening. Was it real? It couldn’t be. It was a dream. It had to be a dream. A dream she never, ever wanted to wake up from.

The thing was, Adele had been dreaming about this man for years. Six freaking years of imagining what it would be like to kiss him, and her imagination had never come close to what was happening now.

It was slow and tender at first, soft kisses against her lips, gently nibbling. But then his free hand landed on her hip, wrapping around her waist and pulling her body flush against his. The movement surprised her, and her mouth opened on a gasp. It was then that he took full advantage of that opened mouth.

The second his tongue touched hers a moan escaped her lips. It was a long, low moan too, one that should’ve been embarrassing, but as her greatest fantasy had come to life, she didn’t care in the slightest. In fact, her hands moved up to the back of his head, the blanket around her shoulders falling to the floor as she wound her fingers in Jace’s hair. She held his head to hers, matching him kiss for kiss, their tongues tangling, breaths mingling.

One of his hands made its way to the back of her head, pulling out the hair tie and letting her hair fall down and around her shoulders. And then his hands were in her hair, tilting her head to the side as he slanted his mouth over hers and deepened the kiss.

God, this was unreal. It was like he was swallowing her whole.

He shifted against her, his erection pressing into her thigh. Even in the overwhelmed state she was in, there was no doubt in her mind that he wanted her.

Before she knew it, he had her backed up against the counter. Both of his hands dropped to her waist and he lifted her up to sit down on it. Her legs wrapped around him automatically, ankles locking at his back.

His hands moved up to her head, cradling her jaw as he pulled away. His eyes were filled with the kind of passion that made her stomach fill with a million butterflies. He was looking at her. Really looking at her. It wasn’t a trick of her imagination or an illusion from the flickering candles around them. The desire was real and glowing in his eyes.

“Del,” he whispered as his thumbs traced over her skin. “What are your instincts telling you? Tell me what you want.”

“Everything, Jace. I want everything and I want it now. Please don’t stop.” She was sober enough to say yes and mean it, but just tipsy enough to let her true desires fly off the tip of her tongue. She had no idea what was going to happen after this, and she didn’t care. She wanted this moment with him, wanted everything he’d give her for as long as he’d give it to her.

As for her instincts? Well, they were giving her a green light. She wasn’t going to second-guess them for even a moment. She’d waited too damn long and was done denying herself what she’d wanted for all of these years. There was no stopping for her, because there was no part of her that wanted to stop.

Her hands went to the hem of his shirt and she tugged up. He let go of her face and helped her strip him of one the barriers between them. He then returned the favor, pushing his hands under her shirt and lifting it over her head.

The air in the kitchen was a little chilled, but it didn’t affect her. Not with Jace so near and the current fire that was coursing through her body.

Adele wasn’t sure what she enjoyed more: getting to put her hands on his chest, feeling his skin under her palms; or the way he was looking at her. She was wearing a black lace bralette and yoga pants, and he was looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his life.

He reached up to her neck, tracing one of the lacy straps down and to the center of her chest. The material made a deep “V” which showed off a rather impressive amount of her cleavage.

“I’ve been thinking about your breasts all damn day,” he said as he found one of her nipples through the material. His thumb gently rubbed over the puckered bud, such a small movement, and yet she felt it with a jolt between her legs. But that jolt was nothing, nothing, to the sheer sensory overload of what happened next.

Jace’s head dropped, and his mouth covered her breast, sucking her nipple through the lace of the bra. Adele’s hands slammed down onto the counter, gripping the edge for dear life as her back arched and her head fell back. Another of her long, low moans filled the kitchen.

He moved his mouth to the center of her chest, burying his face in the depths of her cleavage, licking and nibbling before moving over to the other nipple, and showing it the same attention as the first. She had no idea how long he spent admiring her breasts, but it was some time before he started to kiss his way back up her neck and he found her mouth again.

“I want to explore every inch of you,” he told her between kisses. “It’s almost hard to figure out where next. Almost.” His fingers hooked in the tops of her yoga pants and he pulled them down. “Lift up.”

She did as she was told, hoping beyond hope that his next destination was where she thought.

Once her pants and socks joined the rest of their clothes on the kitchen floor, he leaned past her, grabbing the candles closest to them and moving them to the other side of the counter. Once he was centered between her legs again, he gave her another long, lingering kiss.

“Lay down, Del,” he whispered against her lips.

Again, she did as she was told, sucking in a shallow breath when the cold marble hit her overheated back.

“Another thing I’ve been thinking about all day.”

Goosebumps broke out across her skin as his hands moved over her body. First, he traced his fingers over the tattoo at her side, then over and down to her belly, before coming to a stop at the top of the very same red lace panties he’d seen her wearing that morning. But his hands skipped over them, running down her thighs, over her knees, and to her calves. He pulled her legs up, placing her feet flat on the counter, her toes just going over the ledge.

Running his hands back up and along the inside of her legs, he stopped when he got to her knees, pushing them wide.

All Adele could do was watch him. Watch as his gaze lingered between her spread thighs. Watch as his magnificent chest rose and fell, his breaths unsteady. Watch as he continued to touch her.

This…this was happening. This was really happening.

His hands were at her sides again, and he lightly traced the lace at her hips, before slowly moving in. One of those cocky grins was spread across his lips, one of those grins that she hated that she loved so much, “Let’s see how wet you already are.”

The sensation of his fingers skimming over her was too much. As much as she didn’t want to miss a second of this, she couldn’t stop herself from closing her eyes. Her back arched as he pulled the material to the side and slid a finger inside of her.

“Fuck, Del.”

Her eyes snapped opened. The cockiness from just moments ago was gone, now replaced by a raw and real hunger.

His finger disappeared, and she felt the loss of him. But the loss wasn’t felt for long. He dropped down between her thighs, his mouth replacing his hand.

“Jace.” She gasped his name, her eyes closing again as he licked and lapped at her.

His strong, calloused palms gripped her thighs, the pressure not enough to keep her from moving, but enough to feel her move. The scruff of his beard abraded her sensitive skin in the most delicious way. It took the man no time at all to find her clit, showing the little bud the perfect amount of attention.

The onslaught of pleasure was more than she’d ever known and she was pretty sure she was going to float away on it. Reaching up and over her head she grabbed onto the other side of the counter, holding on for dear life.

She wasn’t sure how much more she could take of this, but at the same time, she never wanted it to end. How could something be too much, and yet not enough? The quickening in her belly was getting stronger and stronger. Pressure building…climbing…and then her orgasm slammed into her.

“Jace!” This time his name on her lips was a scream so loud that it echoed through the entire cabin.

He didn’t let go of her, his hands tightening on her thighs as she writhed around, his mouth continuing to move over her, bringing her down with slow, twisting laps of this tongue.

Breaths unsteady, heart beating erratically, she slowly unlocked her death grip on the counter. Moving her hands to the back of his head, she wound her fingers into his soft hair again. His mouth moved away from the center of her as he pulled her panties back into place. Then he moved to her right thigh, gently trailing kisses along the inside of it, and then doing the same thing to the left.

Adele gently tugged on his hair. “Come here,” she whispered before letting go, and slowly sitting up.

Her legs fell to either side of his hips as he stood. Their arms wrapped around each other, and he pulled her into his solid chest, both of them surrounding the other in their embrace. His mouth found hers again and she could taste her pleasure on his tongue. She wanted to touch him everywhere, but the best she could do in this position was to explore his back.

“I need to be inside of you,” he told her between kisses.

“And I need you inside of me. Just give me a second to remember how to walk again.”

He smiled against her lips. “No need. Wrap your legs around my waist.”

She didn’t hesitate for a second, doing as he’d told her while his hands slid under her bottom and he lifted her up. He didn’t stop kissing her as he carried her through the kitchen and into the living room.

When he got to their cozy spot in front of the fireplace, Adele unwound her legs from around his waist and she slid down the length of his body. His erection pressed against her thigh, that need of his to be inside of her evident.

She pulled back just slightly, grabbing his hand as she sat back on the blankets, pulling him down with her. He settled between her spread thighs and she pulled her knees up, cradling his hips as he started to move between her legs. There was something almost delicious about the weight of him on top of her, something that made her body writhe in pleasure beneath him.

Adele’s hands returned to their exploration of his back, but needing to get to some unchartered territory, she slipped her hands under the waistband of his sweats to find his perfect bare ass.

She tightened her grip, firmly pulling him down as she pressed her hips up, his erection now aligned with the spot she very badly wanted him to be. His hips started to move harder, thrusting against her.

Tired of the barriers between them, Adele pushed his pants down, moving her hand between their bodies to find his hard cock. He groaned against her mouth as she wrapped her fingers around the length of him, stroking from base to tip. She’d always thought he was packing, but seeing was believing…or in this case feeling. The man was not small by any means.

She wanted him inside of her. Now.

His mouth left hers, his ragged breath hitting her lips. “I can’t handle much more of that.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Her thumb rubbed against the tip of his cock and his body shuddered. “Fuck me, Jace.”

Of all the things he’d ever heard come out of Adele James’ mouth, “fuck me, Jace” had to take the cake. But it would’ve taken a much, much stronger man than him to say no…or a stupider man.

Jace was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.

“Well, you’re going to need to stop stroking my cock. Otherwise, there will be no fucking.”

Adele did let go…after another long, slow stroke that had him pulling a shallow breath in through his nose.

Sitting back on his ankles, he took just a moment to look at Adele laid out in front of him. She was absolutely stunning. Black and red lace, skin glowing from the fire, hair down and surrounding her head on the pillow, legs spread, lips swollen, and hungry eyes devouring him.

Good Lord, even without her touching him he was starting to doubt his staying power, something that had never happened to him before.

But before they could go any further, he needed to get rid of the last of their layers. He started with himself first, pulling his sweats off and tossing them to the side. Then he divested her of her panties, hooking his fingers in the lace at her sides and pulling them down her legs.

“Sit up.” He held his hand out to her and this time there was no hesitation when she put her hand in his and let him pull her up. Once she was upright, she lifted her arms as he stripped her of the last piece of clothing between them, adding it to their second pile of the evening.

He leaned in, hands going to her head, cradling her face as he crushed his mouth to hers. And then they were horizontal again; his hips cradled between her thighs, her breasts pressed against his bare chest, her hands on his back, nails digging into his skin.

He moved down, admiring her now naked breasts with his mouth, tasting her nipples. He was right; everywhere he’d tasted of her was better than those cookies. There was nothing that compared to the sweetness of her skin, or to the pleasure he’d wrung from her between her thighs. She was the best damn thing he’d ever had on his tongue. Just the thought of her cries of pleasure had him getting more and more desperate. But he wanted to feel her come around him this time, squeezing his cock.

Kissing his way back up her chest, it wasn’t until he was about to notch his cock to her entrance that he remembered a very important missing element. An element that in all of his years of having sex he’d never once forgotten.

This woman was taking all sanity from his brain.

“Dammit.” He wrenched his mouth away from hers, now panting like he’d just run a marathon. “I need a condom.”

He was just about to pull away from her body—the very last thing in the world that he wanted to do—when her legs wrapped around his waist, holding him in place.

“Don’t…Jace. Don’t go.”

“Del, we can’t—”

“I…I’m on the pill,” she interrupted him. “And I’m clean. If you are too…”

Jace’s heart was now pounding in his throat. Was she serious? “I had my physical in October, clean as a whistle.”

“Then we don’t need it.”

“You’re serious?”

She reached up, her hand cradling the side of his face, her thumb rasping against the stubble on his cheek. The tender gesture in and of itself almost got to him, but it was her words that did him in.

“I trust you.”

Three words. Three little words. Who knew they could make him feel so damn much? She’d said earlier that trust was necessary for her to have sex. But this went beyond that. Adele trusted him with her body in a way that he’d never been trusted before. And, he suspected, in a way that she’d never trusted before.

Unable to hold back for even a second more, Jace lowered his head back to Adele’s. Covering her mouth with his, he thrust his tongue past her lips just as he slid inside of her.

She gasped, her back arching as her nails dug deeper into his skin. He held still, waiting for her to adjust around him…and giving himself a second to adjust to being inside of her. But those seconds felt like forever, the need to move becoming a desperation clawing to get out of him.

He rested his forehead against hers, trying to keep his self-control in check until she was good. “Are you…are you okay?”

She tilted her head, her mouth grazing his before she nipped at his bottom lip with her teeth. “Yes.”

Oh, thank fuck.

He started to move slowly, pulling out of her before thrusting back in. Adele’s legs were still very much wrapped around him, and it didn’t take long at all for her to find the rhythm and match her movements with his. They rocked together, picking up speed and intensity. Every time he thrust back into her it was with a little more force.

“You feel so damn good,” Jace said as he started to kiss his way down her neck.

“So do you.” Her words came out on a low moan as he opened his mouth at the base of her throat, sucking on what appeared to be a rather sensitive spot. But that low moan got louder and higher as one of his hands came up to her breast, his fingers finding her nipple and lightly pinching. “Jace!”

Her back arched and her nails scratched down his back, causing way more pleasure than pain. She was wild and abandoned in his arms, uninhibited in a way he’d never seen before. It was the sexiest damn thing he’d ever witnessed.

So this was everything? He wanted more. He wanted it all.

Moving his hand from her breast to between their bodies, he found her clit with his fingers, adding pressure to the tiny bud.

“Oh, God!” Her legs dropped from around his waist as she planted her feet at his sides and started to thrust her hips up. “Jace!”

He was pretty sure he’d never get over the sound of his name on her lips when she came. To hear her pleasure as her body pulsed around him, the scent of her in his head, her taste on his tongue. It was the most intense thing he’d experienced in his life. So intense that there was no way he could’ve held back his own release from taking over. He let go, letting it pull him under, falling with Adele.

The only light illuminating the bathroom was that of the small flickering flame from the candle Adele had brought with her. She stood in front of the mirror, naked, and staring at her reflection. It might be chilly what with the power still out, but the air felt good on her overheated skin.

She’d just had sex with Jace. Really gooooood sex. Actually, freaking amazing sex. Best sex of her life.

It was hard to worry about the ramifications of what had just happened when she could still feel the rasp of his scruff between her legs, or his mouth on her sensitive nipples. Reaching up, she traced her swollen lips with her fingertips, a satisfied post-orgasm smile turning up her mouth. The smile just grew bigger as she finally noticed the mess of her hair that was tangled all around her head and shoulders.

In an attempt to tame it, she ran her fingers through the strands as her mind wandered and spun, reliving it all. At the center of all that chaos in her head was the certainty in what had just happened. She’d followed all of her desires when it came to Jace, one of the biggest being the decision for unprotected sex.

She had no regrets. She’d meant it when she said she trusted him, because she did. Well, trusted him with her body that was. Her heart was an entirely different matter, and it was going to stay locked away.

She decided right then and there that she was going to enjoy every last second of whatever she got with Jace. For six years she’d wanted this man, and now she finally had him. She knew that it wasn’t about taking what she could get, this wasn’t about getting the scraps he offered—because they soooooo weren’t scraps—or settling.

Not even a little bit.

Instead, this was about making the most of whatever this was, for however long she had it. For however long she had him. And then maybe when it did end, she could move on. Put this fantasy behind her. Put this crush behind her. Or maybe there was no way to get Jace out of her system.

She’d find out in the end.

Overheated skin now very much cooled down, Adele started to feel the cold air moving over her body. She needed clothes…and she wanted to be in Jace’s arms again. Before they’d both retreated to their respective bathrooms to get cleaned up, Adele had gone to the kitchen to grab her clothes from the floor. With a smile, she extracted Jace’s T-shirt from the pile, slipping it over her head.

Needing more layers, and wanting clean ones at that, she headed for the bedroom with her lit candle in hand. When she stepped off the pilled bathmat, her feet hit the cold tile, making her shiver again. The hard-wood floors of the bedroom weren’t that much better in the warmth department. Deciding that socks where priority number one, she found another pair of thick fuzzy ones, pulling them on before grabbing a pair of panties. These ones were satiny, navy blue, boy shorts with white lace.

Something jumped and fluttered in her stomach as she grabbed the candle again and opened the door, walking out into the hallway and heading for the living room. Her eyes landed on Katie first—the dog hadn’t budged from her spot beneath the mound of blankets on the sofa— before she sought out Jace. He was once again kneeling in front of the fireplace, poking things into place before adding another log. He was only wearing his sweats, his chest and back bare. Adele could just see the scratches she’d left on his shoulders.

Her stomach did that jumping and fluttering thing again, something that just intensified as he looked over his shoulder and at her. She stopped a few feet away as his eyes moved over her body. He started at her fuzzy socks, passed over her bare legs, and then went up to her eyes.

“No pants?” That talented mouth of his split into a grin and she had to remind herself to breathe.

He’d just been inside of her, and her ability to get a hold of herself seemed to be worse than before. “No shirt for you again?”

“You stole it.” He stood, closing the space between them. He grabbed her hips and pulled her flush against his body. “Not that I’m complaining,” he said before he leaned down and kissed her.

Well, that was one thing settled: whatever this was between them wasn’t over. Thank. God. Giddy relief washed through her, before it morphed into something hot and needy. Not all that surprising as Jace’s hands were sliding down to her bare thighs, and then back up again, lifting the material of the oversized shirt.

“What do we have here?” he asked as his fingers traced over the silky material of her panties.

“Something new for you to strip me out of later.” She snuggled closer into his chest, pressing her nose to his skin and breathing deep. He smelled like soap, sweat, and sex. A little salty, but clean and warm…and delicious. Oh-so-delicious.

“Well, then I can’t wait for later.” He nuzzled the top of her head.

“Me either.”

“But before we can get to later, we need to talk,” he said as his hands moved from her bottom and up to her waist.

Adele’s stomach flipped uncomfortably. She knew this conversation was necessary…didn’t mean she wanted to have it. But she forced herself to pull away from his chest and look up into his face. “What do you want to talk about?”

His hands tightened fractionally on her hips. “For starters? What just happened.”

“We had sex. Great sex.”

A small huff of laughter escaped his lips, lips that for a moment turned up at the corners in a rather self-satisfied smile. “That’s a fact.”

“Well, for as long as we are here together, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t repeat it. A lot.”

“I’m one hundred percent on board with that plan.” He nodded slowly, looking serious again. “But what happens after we aren’t here?”

“Jace, I don’t have any expectations outside of this cabin.” And honest to God she didn’t. She’d never in her life thought that a future with this man was even in the realm of possibility. She knew better.

“So what? What happens here stays here?”

She wrinkled her nose at the tagline. “This isn’t Vegas.”

One of Jace’s hands left her side and he held it in the air. “There’s been drinking,” he put a finger up, “good eating,” he added another finger, “stripping, and what I would qualify as gambling with cards.” He finished as he added fingers three and four. “Might as well be.”

“Fine then, let’s just enjoy the time we have, while we have it. And when we leave, we go back to how things were before.”

“Is that possible?

Not. A. Chance. “Yes.”

“What about Logan?”

“What about him?” Adele shrugged. “There’s no reason he or anyone else in my family needs to know about this. You said it, what happens here stays here.”

“Vegas rules apply.”

“Vegas rules apply,” she agreed.

“Okay,” he nodded, as his hands drifted back down to her bottom, his palms opening up to get a handful of each cheek. “Now that that’s settled, what do you want to do now?”

“Well, we do still have another round of gin to play to break that tie.”

“And winner gets?”

Adele didn’t hesitate, mainly because she knew exactly what she wanted for later. “To choose who’s on top.”

Jace’s hands tightened on her ass, squeezing just enough to make her gasp. “Deal.”

It wasn’t until after a dinner of club sandwiches and potato chips that they finished playing their last round of gin. Jace lost. Didn’t matter to him though, because Adele chose the same thing he would’ve picked: her on top.

He held on to her hips as she rode him, hard. Back arched, breasts bouncing, and thighs gripping his sides. He could watch her move over him for hours…days…months…years. God, she was amazing.

Afterward, they’d built up a nice little bed in front of the fire with pillows and soft, thick comforters. Then there’d been one last bathroom break for Katie before they’d all laid down to go to sleep, Katie snuggled up at their feet right in front of the fire.

It was pretty quiet; the only sounds were those of the subtle cracks and pops as the flames consumed the fresh logs that had been added to the fire. Both he and Adele were buried beneath a pile of blankets. He had his arms wrapped around her, holding her close. He usually wasn’t much of a cuddling guy, but with her, he couldn’t stop touching her.

The only clothing on her body was his T-shirt that she was wearing again, and those silky panties. So much of her was easily accessible, a fact that made him beyond happy. He trailed his fingers up and down her back in soft little strokes, a shiver running up her spine and causing her to shudder against him.

“You cold?”

“No. I’m nice and toasty. That just feels really nice,” she whispered sleepily.

“You feel really nice,” he said as he kissed her jaw, reveling in the warmth of her body against his, and the simple perfection of the moment.

Jace couldn’t remember the last time in his life that he’d been this content. Maybe because he never had been.

The thought made him both oddly uncomfortable and at the same time desperate for the contentment not to end. It was like the snow had brought a magic spell with it, settling around them, covering them. But sooner or later, that snow was going to melt.

This thing that had happened—that was happening—with Adele was unexpected in every way possible. He didn’t know what it was, but he did know that he was going to appreciate it while it lasted. He’d enjoy whatever time they had together, make every second count.

It was then that he had the overwhelming desire to make this Christmas one he’d never forget, and more importantly, one she’d never forget either.

Adele fell asleep first, but he wasn’t that far behind her, his mind already made up on at least one thing that the next day would bring.