Christmas Showdown by MacKenzie McKade

Not for
TJ, but for yourself?”
    “You,” she whispered. “From the first time I
laid eyes on you.” The truth tumbled from her mouth before she
could censor her words.
    Pupils dilating, the heat in his eyes
softened into a sultry gaze that played cat and mouse with her
emotions. Her heart rate and breathing quickened. Slowly he got to
his feet. For the briefest of moments, she felt the urgency to run,
not sure whether into his arms or from him. As he closed the
distance between them, she swallowed hard. It made her
self-conscious, but once their eyes met she couldn’t look away.
    “C’mere.” He stabbed his fingers through her
hair to cup the nape of her neck and pulled her so close their
bodies touched chest to chest and hips to hips.
    Kelly pressed her palms against his chest.
“Tell me that everything will be okay?”
    He brought her lips nearer to his so they
lightly touched. “Darlin, it will be more than okay.”
    When his mouth slanted over hers, Kelly cried
out at his hunger—a kiss so blatantly hot and consuming it shook
her down to the root of her soul. A rumble rattled in his chest,
rising to a low hum as he pressed through the seam of her lips and
deepened the caress.
    This time when his hands slid beneath her
shirt, he pushed the material up in a hurried manner, forcing her
arms up as he jerked it over her head. When the shirt fell to the
ground, his palms smoothed over her bare flesh until she felt the
clasp of her bra release. Then he guided the scrap of cotton down
her arms until she stood before him topless.
    His nostrils flared. “They’re even prettier
than I remember.” He cradled the heavy globes in his hands.
“Fuller, more luscious. Even your nipples.”
    Trey gliding his thumbs over the taut peaks
sent shards of electricity through them, splintering through her
swollen breasts. She breathed in the shiver that raced up her
back.
    “Naked. All of you.” His deep, sexy voice
laden with lust sent goose bumps across her skin.
    Before she changed her mind again, she
reached for the button of her jeans and wedged it free, her zipper
following. Gaze locked on his, she pushed her pants over her hips,
taking her panties with them, working them down her legs and
stepping out of them. His eyes darkened. Then he swept his arm
behind the back of her knees, raising her and cradling her against
his chest. Without speaking, he carried her to his bedroom, setting
her gently on the big bed before he returned to lock the door.
    Pivoting, he stood unmoving and stared at her
with such intensity she felt the burn. “I’ve dreamt of you lying
here—in my bed. Your red hair feathered against my pillow.”
    And she had dreamt of this moment too.
    As he approached, a tightening quaked low in
her belly. Moisture dampened her thighs, making her slick with
need. It had been so long. With each step that brought him closer,
her body reacted, warming and tensing, waiting for that moment they
would join. Erasing the last two years as if they’d never
existed.
    Before he reached the bed he stripped his
shirt off, revealing large biceps, sculpted shoulders, and muscular
abs that rippled down into the waistband of his jeans. His pants
hung low and her pulse pounded as his skillful fingers unfastened
them, revealing a raging erection, long and thick, narrow hips, and
strong thighs.
    The man was perfection.
    “Bend your knees and spread your legs.”
    His command made her gasp. Another flood of
desire released between her now trembling legs. But she hesitated,
feeling self-conscious.
    “C’mon, darlin’, I want to see all of
you.”
    Easing her knees up, she slowly parted
them.
    Staring, Trey growled. The low rumbling sent
chills up her spine. But when he climbed up on the bed, positioning
his head between her thighs, a whimper rose in her throat.
    “Trey?”
    “Shhh, darlin’. I need to taste you.”
    As he kept her gaze trapped with his, he
smoothed his warm palms up her rib cage, seeking her firm,