Chapter 8

The tree stood a solid twelve feet tall in an open space on the opposite wall of the hearth. They cleared away all the tables and chairs except for one large couch and the coffee table with all the ornaments already laid out on it, thanks to Donna.

“This place looks amazing,” she said again, spinning around. “I never thought I’d see it decorated again.”

“I’m glad you didn’t tear it all down and throw it into the hearth,” Danny commented as he dragged another box filled with Christmas lights down the hall. “I half expected you to throw something at me, too.”

“I still might,” she teased and held up a strand of lights, draping them around her neck and shoulders as she untangled the plug from another strand. “Thanks, by the way.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, then straightened with his hands on his hips. “Wait, for what?”

She chewed her lip as she fought the lights and let out a cry of triumph when the plug came free. “For cleaning up my mess. You didn’t have to do that, really. I’m still embarrassed you saw it all,” she said and cleared her throat as her cheeks warmed.

Danny set down his strand of lights and held her face softly in his hands. He didn’t say anything, but the serenity that filled Mel was enough to tell her nothing she ever did could embarrass her in front of this man. He kissed the top of her head and, lights and all, pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly. They stayed locked together until Xena head-butted Mel and they staggered backwards from the force, laughing as the other two dogs bounded into the living room.

“Right, I guess we should get this tree decorated,” she announced roughly and went back to the lights.

“I meant to ask you,” he said as he worked on another strand and finally managed to plug them in. “Damn, this strand is out.” Mel clicked her tongue, gave the strand a good shake, and the lights flickered back on. “Really? Just like that?” he asked with a laugh, scratching his forehead.

“Just like that,” she said. “You were saying something?”

He rolled his eyes but started laying the lights on the lower branches of the trees, working his way around the front. “I was going to ask if you knew the guy in town who wears a baseball cap? Pretty thick beard?”

Mel pushed her tongue behind her upper lip in thought and frustration as she grumbled curses at the lights. “Doesn’t sound like anyone I know. Why? Looking for a date?” she joked, and Danny tossed pine needles at her.

“No, he stopped to talk to me while you were lounging in the snow and looking at trees.”

“Eh, there’s always people passing through for the festival.”

“Which is another reason you should consider opening the inn again,” he suggested quietly.

She removed the light set from around her neck and laid it out for him, not bothering to respond. They worked on the lights until the tree was covered with mismatched white, red, and green strands, covering the tree from top to bottom. As they moved onto the ornaments, Mel nibbled at her lip, knowing Danny was right about opening again for the holidays. The inn wasn’t completely broke, but she knew the profits they’d made during this time, and having that money in the bank again wouldn’t be a bad thing.

“You think I should?” she asked a while later, standing back to stare up at the tree.

Danny hung another silver bauble on a branch and shrugged one shoulder. “I mean, look at this place. You know how many people would love to spend their Christmas vacation in a cozy inn like this? You’ve got so much potential, and you’re not taking advantage of it.”

Mel sank onto the couch with her head in her hands, torn between doing what she should and avoiding so much commotion around what she still considered the worst day of the year. Granted, with Danny around, he was steadily changing her opinion of it, but it was still hard to think of being so happy on a day when she’d lost the last part of Robert she had. Without meaning to, her hands slipped to her belly, wondering if there was ever a chance for it to be filled with a baby again when Danny started humming Christmas carols under his breath as he hung more ornaments up. Mel tilted her head, watching his broad-shouldered body move, how his jet-black hair caught the glow of the lights, and the smile lighting his eyes. The sudden image of her with Danny, marrying him, pregnant again, even being happy again flashed before her. She shook her head quickly to force the thought away.

But why? You want him and you know Robert would want you to be happy again, so what’s really holding you back?

Mel lifted her head, and the guilt she thought was always there, stopping her from moving on without Robert, was absent. For the first time in three long years, she wasn’t angry at Robert for leaving her, wasn’t wallowing in sorrow at the loss of his presence. Danny had pulled her out of the darkness, and as he stood by the tree, humming horribly off-key, Mel knew exactly what she wanted, and this man was it. All of it.

Pure, undiluted want spiraled out of her chest, pooling low in her belly as she stood and cleared her throat. “It’s been a long day. I think I’m going to go take a shower,” she announced lightly.

Danny nodded as he hung another ornament. “You sure? I could use a little more help.”

“I’m sure,” she said and sidled towards the stairs. Xena perked her head up to follow, but Mel shook her head and flattened her hand at the floor. Xena groaned as she laid her big head back down on her paws, watching curiously as Mel climbed the stairs to the third floor.

She walked into her room, leaving the door open, and undressed slowly, wondering about the best way to give Danny the hint. Smirking, Mel let her sweater fall to the floor along with her jeans, but when she unhooked her bra, she tossed it casually out the door and over the balcony railing to land in the vicinity of where Danny worked on the tree.

“What the hell?” she heard him mutter, then dead silence.

She slipped out of her lacy, black panties and tossed them over next, and then walked to the bathroom and turned the shower on hot. She left the bathroom door wide open, and once the water was the perfect temperature, she stepped inside, closing the shower door to keep the steam in, and waited. The hot water eased her tense muscles, coiled tightly in anticipation of actions she hadn’t performed in three years. Her eyes slipped closed, and she tilted her head back on a sigh as the water weighed her hair down over her shoulders, warming her scalp and heating the rest of her body, but it wasn’t just the water that made her blood boil. She’d be a liar if she didn’t admit to dreaming about Danny the first night he came to her inn. Imagining his hands running delicately down her arms then harder as he possessed her soul…

A sharp intake of breath caused her eyes to open, and she saw Danny’s silhouette on the other side of the glass door. She swiped her hand at the steam, and her mouth fell open at the intensity of the desire in his eyes, the longing in the way his hands curled instinctively at his sides. With a set jaw, he took a step closer to the shower and Mel slid the glass door open a few inches, inviting him in.

He swallowed hard and tugged at the back of his t-shirt, dropping it to the floor at his feet. Mel’s chest tightened at the sight of his bare skin, her fingers itching to run down his muscles and the light dusting of dark hair leading a trail even lower. His hands moved to his jeans, undoing them in a fashion that almost had her begging for him to hurry as impatience budded between her soft folds already growing slick with want. He shoved his jeans and boxers down as one and stepped out of them to reveal a swelling erection. Mel licked her lips, wanting to grip him firmly in her hands and smooth that drop of pre-cum around the silk skin. Danny straightened, throwing his shoulders back as she observed his strapping form from head to toes. Every pulse of his engorged member ignited another flame of desire within her, and she opened the door wider.

His neck muscles visibly tensed, Danny stalked to the shower and stepped in under the spray, sliding the door closed behind him. Mel turned her back to him, her breaths shaky at his overwhelming presence behind her. She didn’t even know where to start, or how, but the moment Danny’s fingers caressed her shoulders, a sigh escaped her lips and she lost all sense of anxiety.

He gathered her long tendrils of hair and draped them over one shoulder as his lips skimmed the soft flesh at the base of her neck, sucking where it met her shoulder. Goosebumps broke out on her skin despite the heat of the water, and her head fell back against his solid chest, succumbing to his ministrations. Each fluttery touch of his hands made her thirst for more, leaning into his massaging fingers. They gripped her upper arms, massaging down to her palms as his lips traced her flesh to her ear.

“Is this what you want?” he whispered, words harsh with need.

“I want you,” she replied and shifted against his body. She ground her ass against his pulsating shaft, loving its hardness pressed against her, wanting her.

Danny’s hands tightened their hold as he ground against her, slipping easily across her skin from the water. “I’ve been dreaming about this since the first time I saw you,” he admitted. His hands glided across her skin to her belly then higher. They cupped each breast, massaging firmly, and Mel shuddered. “About touching every last inch of you. Of watching your face as I make you come.”

She whimpered at the promise and reached back to hold him, aching until she did so. He was solid in her hands, and the guttural curse she drew from him brought a wicked grin to her lips. “Would it be wrong if I dreamt about the same thing?”

He grunted and removed himself from her hold. “You first,” he growled and tugged her nipples until she arched her back on a cry.

Mel’s body quivered under the assault of insane passion coiling tighter and tighter within her body until she feared she’d lose control. Danny sucked her earlobe, licking the soft skin before he trailed lower, delighting her with each new brush of his lips against wet skin. She craved his touch lower, much lower, and as if reading her mind, one hand slipped from her swollen breast to the cleft between her legs. A moment of anxiety filled her until his fingers delved through her wet curls and he ran his whole hand against her velvet curtain.

The shock of pleasure from that single touch danced like electricity across her body. “Danny,” she pleaded as his hand slid back up, cupping all of her in his palm.

“What do you want?” he murmured in her ear. “Tell me. Tell me what you want.”

“Make me feel again,” she whispered. “Remind me what it is to be a woman in the arms of a man she wants to possess her body.”

Danny’s palm moved against the swollen pearl of nerves as his fingers spread her dripping lips crying out for his touch. He cursed when he barely breached her sheath and she cried out, moving her hips lower against his hand. All sense of control disappeared as his finger swirled, spreading her lips wider before he twisted two fingers within her, penetrating her as deeply as he could.

Mel’s mouth fell open in a silent moan as his thumb pressed her clit and his fingers thrust to a steady rhythm. His fingers rolled her nipple as her hand reached up to hold her other breast, desperate to be consumed by this man. With her inner muscles trembling, Mel braced for the orgasm, but before it hit, Danny slipped out and spun her around. His lips slanted over hers, capturing them hotly before she could protest. His tongue flirted with hers, impaling her mouth as his fingers had her hot depths. Her arms reached up around his neck, dragging him closer as she smashed her breasts against his chest, her nipples hardening even more against his bare skin. He backed her up to the small bench seat in the shower and sat her down, his lips never leaving hers.

He pulled back, and Mel tried to drag him back, but his deep-throated chuckle met her silent question. His hands massaged down her thighs to her knees, and he spread her legs, opening her. Mel’s chest heaved, her breath coming in little gasps at the way his chestnut eyes darkened with desire at the sight of her swollen, dripping womanhood. As the water poured over his back and shoulders, Danny lowered his mouth and dominated the delicate folds of flesh. Her hands slammed into the shower wall beside her and the glass door as his tongue lapped and penetrated, exploring every inch of her heat. When he sucked hard on her clit, her eyes slipped shut and she struggled to breathe. His hands held her hips steady, keeping her firmly planted against his ravaging mouth.

All Mel could do was embrace the tidal wave of crushing pleasure ripping through her body as every muscle tensed in her body. Her back arched, and she gripped the back of Danny’s head with one hand, holding him even closer as she rode out the fierce orgasm threatening to tear her apart. Each limb gave out, one after the other, until she was nothing but a gasping puddle in Danny’s arms. She fell forward into his waiting embrace, and he held her close, kissing the top of her head as she caught her breath.

Danny reached behind him and shut off the water. He scooped her weakened body into his arms and set her on the rug outside the shower. Without a word, he wrapped her in a towel, drying her off for the most part, and quickly did the same to himself before he picked her up again and carried her to her bed.

Words failed her as he laid her out and his towel slipped to the floor. If he was swollen before, she wasn’t sure what to call him now, but God, did she want him—all of him—moving within her. His Adam’s apple bobbed as his eyes lingered over her body, reddened from the hot water. How he’d managed to control himself until now was beyond her, but from the trembling of his fingers, he wouldn’t hold out much longer. Mel’s lips lifted in a crooked smile as she presented her body to him, moving one edge of the towel and then the other until he saw all of her.

Mel spread her legs while her hands cupped her breasts, kneading them. He licked his lips and lowered his mouth to her right ankle, kissing her as his fingers massaged the sole of her foot. He moved higher, his lips leading the way as he licked around her knee, eliciting another gasp from Mel. Her hips lifted, a silent invitation, but he moved up her body, unhurried. She chewed her lip when his burning heat pressed against her inner thigh, so close. Reaching down, she held him in her palms and let her hands glide down his length, catching him off-guard as she cupped him with one hand and stroked with the other.

His back stiffened, and he knelt on the bed between her legs as she grasped him tighter, pushing beyond the base to the hidden length within his body. A shiver ran over his skin, and Mel swung her legs around until he bobbed within reach of her lips. Licking them as he watched, his chest rising and falling hard with each sharp intake of air, she closed her moist lips over his crown and sucked hard. Danny’s hand fisted in her hair as his head fell back with a rumble of pleasure vibrating through his body. Mel’s tongue flicked against the softness of his crown before she drew more of him in. As she moved her mouth, going further up his length each time, he continued to throb and swell at her touch. The hand in her hair shook, but she didn’t stop. Her pace increased, and he cursed louder until he pulled back from her grasp.

With one smooth move, he pinned her to the bed, spread her legs with his knee, and pressed his silky tip against her lips. Their eyes met, and time slowed. Mel’s nails dug into his shoulders, and she lifted her hips as he lowered his mouth to hers. The salty taste of her on his tongue spurred her desire even more, and when he finally filled her, they moaned as one at the sudden connection.

Danny seated himself deep within her and held himself there, letting her adjust to his size and to having a man stretching her again. She licked his tongue, sucking on it hard, and his hips pulled back only to thrust back harder and deeper. Their lips locked, and Mel moaned into his mouth with each glide of his hardened length penetrating more than just her sweet depths. He caressed her soul, her heart, stole it piece by piece as he possessed her. But Mel wanted more of him. She wrapped one leg around his waist and, hoping she hadn’t lost her touch, rolled them to the side until she straddled him, never losing rhythm.

“Not so out of practice after all,” he grated as she circled her hips and his eyes rolled back.

“Maybe not,” she replied on a breath.

His hands snaked up her body, cupping her breasts as she rode him hard, rubbing her clit until the edge of a deep abyss leading to what she so desired drew closer. Danny sat up suddenly, changing the angle, and a choking moan at the impossible fire consuming her body echoed out of her lips. He held her ass with one hand, driving into her until his guttural growl joined her cries. They shook together in the throes of passion, clinging desperately to each other before they fell back to the bed in a heap of tangled limbs.

Their breaths mingled between them until Danny stretched up and kissed her forehead, her nose, and finally, her lips again. She laughed quietly and snuggled even closer against his chest. She expected guilt to follow, but a wonderful sense of belonging, of home, settled over her, and Mel kissed Danny’s chest and up to his lips, where she sucked hard on his bottom lip.

“You gotta give me a minute here,” he said with a grin, showing that damn dimple she was quickly starting to love.

“Maybe we should eat,” she suggested. “I have French fries.”

His eyes widened then softened as he kissed her again, as if afraid any minute now, they’d wake up and this would all be a dream. The same fear tugged at her mind, but they were wide-awake and she lay in the arms of a man her heart told her she was falling for.

“Fries sound great,” he agreed and helped Mel get up from the bed. He glanced at the door and sighed. “Were they there the whole time?”

Mel grinned at the three furry heads staring at them from the doorway. “It’s normal. Don’t worry, they won’t try to hump you anytime soon… hopefully.”

“Hopefully?” Danny repeated, his voice raising a few octaves. “They could take me, too. Damn big enough.” Mel only laughed and strolled to the closet to find something semi-decent to pull on for after-sex fries with Danny.

***

The fire crackled in the main hearth of the inn as Danny and Mel lounged in front of it, eating their fries and sipping on whiskey. They’d gathered up blankets and pillows to form a makeshift bed so they could enjoy the decorated Christmas tree and the roaring fire.

Mel lay in Danny’s lap, her head resting on his thigh as he ran his fingers through her damp hair. When he’d seen her bra sail over the railing, he wasn’t sure what he expected, but making love to her in a way that left him breathless and wanting to do it again was not even close. Her body was more perfect than he’d first assumed from his brief glimpse the first day they met. Even her pale stretch marks from her first pregnancy were beautiful. He wanted to run his fingers over them as an image of her pregnant with his child rose to mind. His hand stilled in her hair, and he swallowed hard. What was he thinking? They barely knew each other, but he could picture their future together, here at this inn, the one he was no longer going to buy.

“What are you thinking about?” She reached up to cup his cheek.

He leaned into it, kissing her thumb when it passed his lips. “You, amongst other things.” He leaned down to kiss her.

“Don’t think too hard,” she said, her eyes narrowed. “You’re not regretting what we did, are you?” She hesitated, but he kissed her deeper, letting his tongue slip into her mouth until she moaned.

“No, never,” he promised and leaned back against the pillows. “Are you?”

“Not even a little,” she said. “There’s no guilt, no worry. All I feel right now is the strange sensation that I’m home.”

“You are home,” he teased, but she shook her head.

“No, this is different. This inn has felt empty for so long, quiet and lonely even when there were people in it, but now,” she took his hand, entwining their fingers, “now, it’s not. I’m home again, and it’s because of you walking through that door.”

Danny’s heart swelled as he squeezed her hand. “Is it weird for me to say I feel the same?”

Her crooked smile was soft as she shook her head. “No, I’m just not sure where we go from here and so fast. This doesn’t feel too fast to you?”

He shrugged. “This feels right. My gut’s telling me this is where I’m supposed to be, so this is where I’m going to stay, by your side, until you try to get rid of me.” Danny dug his hole deeper with every promise he gave her without telling her the truth, but he wanted to be sure that when he did tell her the truth, there wouldn’t be any backlash from his company. The last thing he wanted, besides hurting Mel, was to have the investors make her life miserable for not agreeing to sell.

Mel scooted even closer in his lap, and his t-shirt she’d thrown on inched higher up her bare thigh. Danny’s arousal swelled beneath his jeans, and her eyes narrowed as she licked her lips. His hand crawled down her side, his gaze fixed on hers, and reached the hem of the t-shirt. Slowly, he slipped his fingers under the fabric, searching for her soft, black curls. Her nipples hardened, and his mouth watered to suckle at her breasts, teasing her so closely, but he had other matters to attend to first. With one finger, he teased her nub, rolling it and rubbing it until her breathing became erratic and she lifted her hips. Watching her eyes darken, his fingers slipped lower, loving how swollen her lips were from his touch, and when they parted, revealing her creamy warmth, his body reacted in kind. His erection pressing painfully against his jeans, Danny used his fingers to spread her wider, his hunger growing as her lips parted and her back arched. She cupped her breasts in her hands on a quiet moan, and he could resist no longer.

As his tongue penetrated her mouth, claiming it without mercy, his fingers plunged deep and her knees fell open. Her hands squeezed her breasts, tugging at her nipples as he fingered her, stretching her as he thrust his tongue faster into her mouth. She met him with the same frantic pace as his pinkie rubbed another spot, curious about what she might want. Spreading her wetness first, Danny tentatively shifted his fingers, filling her in more ways than one. Mel’s eyes opened wide in surprise, but she sucked hard at his bottom lip and he moved his hand faster. Her quiet whimpers ignited a biting need, and just as she screamed out her pleasure, her back arching in his lap, his instinct to dominate flooded his veins.

Quickly, he removed her shirt and stood to shove his jeans from his body as she lay before him on the blankets. He breathed in deeply through his nose as she struggled to recover from the last orgasm, but her eyes darkened until they were darker than the sea. She spread her legs wide and beckoned him to her with one hand.

Danny fell to his knees and covered her body with his. There was no guiding hand needed as he pressed his wet tip against her slick folds. He clasped her hands tightly in his, lifting them over her head, and thrust in to the hilt. There was no pause to adjust. Danny plunged within her fiercely, each withdrawal dragging a shuddering breath from him and a gasp from the woman clasped in his grasp. The burning fire in him needed to be quenched, and driving Mel to scream his name was the only way. Her legs wrapped around his waist, the heat from her body scorching him and urging him on even faster. She met each deep drive with her hips raised, taking him in even deeper and holding him tighter. When her muscles seized, he sank within her one final time as she clenched his hands tightly. Their mouths struggled to form sounds as the rippling taste of ecstasy consumed them. He poured himself into her, a brief flash of her pregnant belly appearing before him as he did so.

Sated, Danny pulled back, biting his cheek as the last tendrils of the orgasm made him twitch against her thigh. His eyes slid down her sweat-slicked body to her swollen, wet folds and he grinned, satisfied at his full possession of her. Mel draped an arm over his body and curled into his chest.

“You’re going to ruin me for all other men,” she whispered as her lips lifted against his skin.

“Not if we stay together,” he said as his fingers slid up her arm. “I wanted to ask you something, and you can so no, but I really think you’d enjoy it.”

She lifted her head, her hand tightening against his chest. “You’re not into weird shit, are you?”

“What? No,” he said and laughed. “No, I was planning on spending Christmas day elsewhere and want you to come with me. I think spending a holiday away from this inn would do you some good.”

“Is that right?” she sighed, leaning back on his shoulder. “I’m not going to the city.”

“Not the city,” he corrected. “My parents still live in the small town I’m from in Iowa. I’m heading out Christmas Eve morning, and I know they’d love to meet you.”

She stiffened against him, and he chewed the inside of his cheek. “Meeting the parents. That’s a… that’s a big step, isn’t it?”

“Not like that.” He held her hand, kissing her knuckles. “I haven’t been home in a long time, actually, and they always tell me if I ever meet someone who could use a place to stay for the holidays where the fire is lit and the whiskey is good, I should invite them, so I’m inviting you.”

The only sound for a long time was the wood crackling in the hearth. Danny almost opened his mouth to tell the truth, but when they had that conversation, he didn’t want it to be right after sex. If anything, that would make her feel more used than him finding an excuse to stay at the inn.

“Can I think about it?” she finally asked.

“Of course. You have almost a week, but you should do it, for your sake.”

“There’s that voice again,” she teased and tilted her face towards his. “Always bossing me around.”

“It’s for your own good,” he replied and kissed her.

“You know what else is for my own good?” she said, hopping to her feet. “Jacuzzi tub.”

With a growl, he clambered to his feet and followed her sexy rear as she squealed in delight at what was to come. Danny would worry about tomorrow when tomorrow came, or the next day, or the next. For now, he was going to enjoy his time with Mel and simply being the small-town guy he was.