Christmas Fantasy

9

TEDDY LEANED her head against the passenger seat’s headrest and released a long pent-up breath-in relief, exhaustion and a good part frustration. Beside her, Austin was quiet as he pulled out of her parents’ driveway, the moonlight reflected through the windshield illuminating his pensive features.

“That was a disaster,” she said, shaking her head in disappointment.

“Not the entire evening,” he graciously conceded with a smile that wasn’t quite as sexy and breathtaking as usual. “I enjoyed watching the kids open their presents, and talking to your brothers and their wives.”

Her siblings seemed to like him, too, which pleased her. However, Teddy didn’t miss the fact that he had no compliments for her parents-not that they’d deserved any accolades after the way they’d grilled him. “I never would have thought my parents would behave so atrociously,” she said, her tone contrite.

He brought the car to a halt at a stop sign and glanced over at her, his gaze expressing an odd combination of understanding and regret. Reaching across the console, he gently brushed his fingers along her cheek. “I suppose they’re just concerned about who their little girl is getting involved with.”

Her skin tingled where he touched her, eliciting a sensual warmth that spread through her entire body. “As if they have any say in the matter,” she said, forcing an indignant note over the quiver of awareness infusing her voice. “If my parents had their choice, they’d have me married off to some stuffy blue blood, being a proper wife.”

“I can’t imagine it,” he murmured, a sly smile curving his mouth.

She exaggerated a shudder, adding to the humor of the situation. “Neither can I.”

They both laughed, his low, husky chuckles mingling with her lighter ones, the sound pleasant and very intimate in the close confines of the car. The lighthearted moment released some of the tension she’d sensed in him a half hour after arriving at her parents’. The evening had only gotten worse, and certainly more complicated than she’d expected.

Austin drove on, maneuvering the car through the streets of Pacific Heights. He wasn’t taking the normal way back to her condo, but she didn’t mind if he wanted to take a longer route, which would give her more time with him. It was Christmas Eve, and for the first time since she could remember, she dreaded being alone.

“Austin…” She fiddled with the strap of her purse. “I’m really sorry for my parents’ behavior tonight, and that you had to lie about owning your own landscaping business. I’ll be the first to admit that my parents can be judgmental, but they’ll come around.”

He glanced her way. “You planning on bringing me to another family get-together?”

Her heart thumped in her chest, and a flood of emotions shook her to her soul. There was no denying she enjoyed everything about Austin, from his humor and honesty, to the feminine way he made her feel. But he made her yearn for things that conflicted with everything she’d worked so hard to attain, and the strength of those feelings frightened her.

She gave a noncommittal shrug, which was the best she could offer him. “You never know.”

He stared at her for a long, intense moment, then switched his gaze back to the road. “Does it matter to you what I do for a living?” he asked quietly.

She glanced out her window to the darkness beyond, giving his question serious consideration. If she was honest with herself, she had to admit that on some level Austin owning Fantasy for Hire bothered her, because she disliked the thought that other women fantasized about him and lusted over that gorgeous body while he performed a sexy striptease for them. She was beginning to think of Austin as her fantasy, and she didn’t want to share. Jealousy was a foreign emotion to her, one she’d never experienced in a relationship with a man, but she quickly realized she wasn’t immune to the green-eyed monster.

So how did she answer his question without sounding like a possessive shrew? “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t matter to me what you did for a living. But I suppose I can learn to get used to you stripping for other women.”

“And what if I really did own my own landscaping business?” he asked, his voice slightly anxious. “Would that line of work make a difference to you?”

She studied his face, seeing the taut line of his jaw, the tense set of his shoulders beneath his cable-knit sweater, and the truth finally dawned on her. “You really are in that line of work, aren’t you? Along with Fantasy for Hire.”

He nodded, and turned onto another darkened street that climbed upward and overlooked Pacific Heights. “Yep. McBride Commercial Landscaping is a real, solid business. I’m not rich, but I’m successful enough to support myself, and I love my job.”

She tilted her head, fascinated with this facet of Austin’s life. “And Fantasy for Hire?”

“It’s been a lucrative business, and it helped to support me when I needed the money, but I’ve definitely outgrown it. I’m going to sell the business so I can devote my time to McBride Landscaping.”

The car rolled to a stop. Austin cut the engine and turned to look at her with searching eyes, as if gauging her reaction to his newest revelation. It struck her then, that as confident as Austin appeared, he harbored a few insecurities of his own.

“Why does what I think matter so much to you?” she whispered, breaking through the quiet that had settled in the car.

“Because this is who I am, Teddy,” he said, his warm gaze falling from her eyes, to her mouth, then back up again. “What you see is what you get, and I want to be sure you’re okay with that.”

Liquid heat pooled in her belly. “Yeah, I am.”

“I’m not some blue blood with a fancy investment-broker image, Teddy-”

She pressed her fingers to his lips to stop his words, and the jolt of electrical heat that passed between them made her shiver. “That’s probably why I’m so attracted to you.”

Gently, he grasped her wrist, lowering her hand so her palm pressed against his chest, so she could feel the steady beating of his heart. “And your parents?”

She understood the reassurances he was searching for. Her mother and father hadn’t issued full approval of Austin, and he wanted to make sure it made no difference to her. “Do you honestly think it matters to me what my parents think?”

His eyes burned into hers, hot and filled with an honest, primitive need that tapped into every responding nerve in her body. “I just want to be sure before we go any further.”

Knowing where the next step in their relationship would lead, an equal measure of excitement and apprehension swirled within her. “I’m…sure.”

The lazy, sexy grin that settled on his mouth was sheer male, and the dark look in his green eyes was very, very pleased.

Needing a moment to absorb what she’d just agreed to, she glanced around at their surroundings. Wherever he’d parked was pitch-black and deserted. They were alone, except for the breathless view of the bay below them and the star-studded sky above. A renewed rush of warmth seeped into her midsection.

“Where are we?” she asked, peering out the window.

His long fingers trailed along her shoulder and toyed with her silky hair. “It’s a secluded place that not many people know about.”

She cast him a teasing look. “And how do you know about it?”

He grinned, a wicked light brightening his gaze. “When I was in high school, I’d bring girls up here to make out with them.” He looked off in the distance, amusement in his expression. “One time, when I was sixteen and had just gotten my driver’s license, I brought a girl up here on a Saturday night. Not fifteen minutes later, another car pulled up, and it was Jordan and his date.” Austin chuckled, shaking his head. “He didn’t so much as get the chance to kiss his girl, because he was so furious at finding me up here, making out with my date.”

Teddy laughed at the fond memory he shared, reminded too much of how her own brothers had been with the guys she’d dated. Protective and ruthless. “It must be an older-brother thing.”

His thumb rubbed along her sensitive earlobe, then found the spot that made her shiver with pleasure. “You got caught necking, too?”

“No, never. I missed out on that particular fun.” She sighed with a small measure of regret, because she’d been too busy with debutante balls and country-club dances. And though she’d been rebellious enough to go along with the suggestion, no boy had issued the invitation. “I just meant that my brothers were overly protective of me, too. Who I went out with, where my dates took me, and all that stuff. Not that they had anything to worry about. The boys I was allowed to date came from prestigious families that were friends of my parents, and they wouldn’t have dared touched me the wrong way. I was deemed a ‘good girl,’ and my brothers made sure I kept that reputation.”

“Well, you’re all grown up, your brothers aren’t anywhere around, and I’m not one of those saps who come from a highfalutin family.” He leaned close, and her senses spun at the hot, hungry look in his eyes. “Wanna neck?”

Being a bad girl suddenly held enormous appeal. Feeling reckless, she met him halfway to the console. “Yeah, I think I do.”

The hand caressing her throat moved up and slid into her hair, threading through the warm strands. The last thing she saw was the sinful grin curving his mouth, then his lips covered hers and he was kissing her-long, deeply intimate kisses that brought her to a fever pitch of need in no time flat. Her body swelled with arousal, her breasts grew heavy, and an achy emptiness settled in the pit of her belly.

They made out like two lust-filled teenagers, both attempting to find a comfortable position that would allow them more freedom to use their hands without putting a crick in their necks. Austin managed to cup her breast in his hand, and when she shifted to move closer, his arm twisted awkwardly and fell away. She touched his thigh, but the other hand supporting her slipped off the console and she nearly bit his lip as the impact jarred her entire body.

A giggle escaped her. “This is crazy.”

He nuzzled her neck, his breath hot and damp against her skin. “But fun and kinda sexy, don’t you think?”

Delicious and thrilling, she agreed, if only her back didn’t ache from her awkward position. “I can’t get close enough,” she complained.

“Yeah, you can.” Moving back to his side of the car, he slid the leather seat back, making more room between him and the steering wheel. “C’mere, Teddy,” he murmured huskily, his eyes ablaze with a sweet, sexual promise that dared her to be just as bold. “I want you to sit on my lap so I can touch you the way I’ve been wanting to since the night of the Christmas party.”

His words made her shiver, made her melt, made her eager for what they both wanted. Judging the distance between them and deeming it as too far, she climbed over the console with his help, but not without whacking her leg on the steering wheel, losing a shoe on the trek and elbowing him in the ribs. They laughed at their bumbling, but all amusement ceased once she was straddling his thighs…their embrace so snug and intimate there was no mistaking how much he wanted her.

He skimmed her hips with his hands and smiled a roguish grin that told her he’d had way too much experience as a young teen at this sort of thing. “Close enough for you?”

“Yeah.” Her fingers found their way beneath the hem of his sweater. His flat abdomen clenched as she stroked his belly, luxuriating in his vibrant, muscular body. “Can I take off your sweater?”

“Honey, you can do anything to me that you’d like to,” he urged. “Be as bad as you want to be. I won’t tell a soul.”

Licking her dry lips, and enjoying the thrill of being naughty, she lifted the cable-knit over his head and spent a minute exploring his magnificent chest and the hot, tight feel of his skin all the way down to the waistband of his slacks. His hips rolled enthusiastically beneath her, but instead of giving him the attention he sought, she touched her knees, which bracketed his hips. Slowly, she skimmed her palms upward, dragging the hem of her knit dress up her thighs, tempting him with the lacy band holding up her silk stockings and a glimpse of smooth, pale skin.

His breathing deepened as he watched her brazen, shameless display on his lap, and she gently tipped his chin up with a finger so his eyes met hers. Not quite done seducing him, she grasped one of the hands cinching her waist and flattened his palm at the base of her throat, then guided his hot, callused fingers inside the low-cut collar of her dress.

Stopping just above where the upper slope of her breast swelled from her bra, she whispered invitingly in the shadowed interior of the vehicle, “Touch me the way you’ve been wanting to since the Christmas party.”

With a low-throated growl, he slipped the shoulders of her dress down, until the stretchy material tightened around her arms, and the front bunched around her waist. He didn’t bother with the back clasp to her sheer, lacy bra, and instead lowered the cups so that her breasts sprang free from the binding-firm, full and eager for attention. His hands shaped her, his thumbs rasped across her sensitive nipples, and then he dipped his head and took one puckered tip into his hot, wet mouth.

Moaning in pure, unadulterated pleasure, Teddy let her head drop back, arched her spine and clenched her fingers in his thick, soft hair. He teased the crest with his teeth, then soothed the gentle bites with the damp swirl of his tongue until her breasts grew swollen and heavy.

Her flesh thrummed. Her blood pounded. A sultry heat swirled within the car, making her skin slick, and his just as damp. Idly, she noticed that the windows were completely fogged, cocooning them in their own private world. The arousing, male scent of him filled every panting breath she gulped, and suddenly she wasn’t near close enough for what she needed. Gripping his bare shoulders, she rocked into him, so that the hard ridge beneath the fly of his pants pressed against the apex of her thighs, rubbing enticingly. She gasped at the erotic friction of wet silk against pulsing, aroused flesh. He groaned and grew impossibly thicker.

A ragged sob caught in her throat, and she grappled frantically with the thin leather belt at his waist, wanting to touch him, stroke him, feel him inside her where she needed him the most.

He caught her wrists, laughing harshly, stopping her before she attained her goal. She gazed down at him in confusion, finding nothing humorous about the situation.

His smoky gaze flickered over her, taking in her wanton display on his lap-the way the front of her dress was pulled low to reveal the pale curves of her breasts, and the hem that flashed a tempting expanse of thigh and held the promise of something far more alluring. She trembled, as if he’d physically stroked her in all those inflamed places.

Visibly drawing in a steady breath, he brought his gaze back to hers. “Teddy, honey, I want you so badly I can’t think straight. But I don’t have any protection with me, and I won’t risk you that way.”

She closed her eyes, ignoring the deep, internal throb demanding release, but her attempts failed. “You’re experienced at this sort of thing,” she said, frowning playfully at him. “Didn’t you come prepared?”

A rakish grin slashed across his features at her complaint. “Not to make love to you. When we do, I want a nice, soft bed beneath us, and hours to enjoy us being together, not a quickie in my car.”

She rolled her eyes in mock disgust. “What a time to be chivalrous.”

A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. Letting go of her hands, he nuzzled her neck, skimming his lips up to her ear. “You’ll thank me later, but right now, let me take the edge off for you.”

She opened her mouth to tell him no, that she didn’t want to experience that sexual release without him, but those clever hands of his were already rasping along her stockings and disappearing beneath the hem of her dress. He stroked the soft, sensitive flesh of her inner thighs, and the only sound that emerged from between her lips was a low, needy groan.

Her hips shifted, tilting toward him instinctively. His fingers leisurely traced the elastic band of her panties along the crease of her leg, brushed erotically over the strip of silk covering her feminine secrets, then finally slipped beneath that barrier to glide his thumb over that slick, aching bud of flesh.

A shock wave of pleasure rolled through her. She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out and squeezed her eyes shut to maintain some control. He made her wild. He made her shameless. Her body never felt so vibrantly alive, and the foreign sensation was as thrilling as it was startling.

“Look at me, Teddy.” Austin’s voice was dark and coaxing, gentle and reassuring.

She tried. Oh, Lord, she tried-barely managing to lift her lashes and meet his dark, hungry gaze. He sat back in his seat, watching her, his muscular body tense, his breathing just as erratic as hers as his fingers continued to ply a delicious, forbidden kind of magic.

She quivered from head to toe, and pressed her hands against his chest for support. Uncertainties assailed her. “Austin…”

“Shh…” Somehow, someway, he understood her fears of letting go. “I want to watch you, just like this.” He stroked her slowly, rhythmically, building the exquisite pressure. “You’re incredibly beautiful, Teddy, and very sexy…come for me.”

His words, his touch, the reverent way he looked at her, pushed her to the edge, then over that precipice. While he watched, she came undone for him, letting the climax roll over her in waves of intense pleasure that seemed to go on and on. A long, low moan ripped from her, and he groaned right along with her, the provocative sound setting off additional surges of sensation that extended the deep, internal shudders rippling through her body.

Satiated, she collapsed against his chest, burying her face in the crook of his neck as she struggled to breathe normally. The interior of the car was warm and humid from the heat they’d generated, and her breasts slid against his damp chest, arousing her all over again.

Austin adjusted the top of her dress, covering her, then smoothed his hands down her spine in a languid caress. “You’re incredible, Teddy.”

Smiling drowsily, she lifted her head and brushed her fingers across his lips, reveling in the contentment she felt with this man. “I think you deserve all the credit for what just happened.”

His grin was pure male satisfaction, and she discovered that she didn’t want this night to end. Not this soon.

“Austin, I know it’s Christmas Eve, and you probably spend Christmas morning with Jordan, but I don’t want to be alone tonight.” She swallowed hard. The admission cost her emotionally, but her need for him went beyond anything she’d ever experienced. “If you have a few spare condoms we can use, I have a nice, soft bed at home we can make good use of.” Her tone was light and teasing, but her insides tied up in knots at the thought that he might refuse her.

He smoothed her disheveled hair from her face. The undeniable need reflecting in his eyes eased her fears of rejection. The rakish grin tipping the corners of his mouth made her heart swell with powerful emotions. “The condoms are at home.”

She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, briefly considering her brazen request. “Maybe you could drop me off at my place, then go and get them, and a spare change of clothes?”

He stared at her, searching her expression-for what, she couldn’t be certain. “Are you sure about this, Teddy?”

For a moment, her heart faltered. Trapped by the hunger glittering in his eyes, her breath fluttered in her throat. He wasn’t asking for a lifetime commitment, she told herself, just the certainty that she was ready for a more intimate relationship. Adults indulged in mutual pleasure all the time, and she desperately craved that sensual connection with him.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” she whispered. Framing his face between her hands, she lowered her parted lips to his to prove just how certain she was about becoming his lover.

A rapid tapping against Austin’s window startled Teddy, and it took a few heartbeats and Austin’s comical expression for her to realize that someone had caught them making out. Horrified at the prospect, but grateful for the fogged windows which offered a modicum of privacy, she scrambled back to her side of the car. Her dress caught on the gearshift, and the vehicle rocked with her swift movement over the console. Finding Austin’s sweater on the floorboard, she tossed it at him.

“Put that on!” she ordered frantically.

“Kinda late for modesty, don’t you think?” he drawled, tugging the sweater over his head and adjusting it over his torso.

She glared at him, tamping down the bubble of laughter working its way up. The situation was hilarious, if not a bit humiliating, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of humoring him.

“Hey, kids, roll down the window,” a gruff voice commanded. “It’s past curfew, and I don’t think your parents would appreciate being called down to the police station on Christmas Eve.”

Austin did as he was instructed, rolling his window halfway down while Teddy gave the hem of her dress a fierce tug, stretching the material to her knees. “Good evening, sir,” he said respectfully to the uniformed officer standing outside the Mustang.

The cop crouched down, and a beam of light searched the interior of the car, bouncing from Austin to Teddy. Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment.

The officer grinned, clearly expecting teenagers, not two grown adults. “Considering you’re both consenting adults, I’m guessing your parents wouldn’t give a damn if you spent the night in the slammer.”

“Uh, no, sir,” Austin replied politely.

The cop snapped off his light. “I’ll give you five minutes for the windows to clear, then I suggest you take this to a private place,” he said, amusement obvious in his voice.

Austin nodded his gratitude. “We’ll do that, sir.”

The officer headed back to his squad car, and Austin turned and grinned impishly at her. “Well, you’ve just experienced the full effect of making out on a dark, secluded road.” He turned the ignition and put the window defroster on full blast. “That was probably just as embarrassing as getting caught by one of your brothers.”

Teddy groaned and slumped against her seat. “Thank you for the unique experience.”

Austin winked at her. “It was my pleasure.”

AUSTIN STUFFED a clean change of clothes into his duffel bag, then crossed the wooden floor of his room to the bathroom, the spurs he’d attached to his cowboy boots jangling with each impatient step. Grabbing his toothbrush and a few other necessities, he returned to the bed, tossed the toiletries into the duffel, then went to retrieve the most important item for his sleep-over at Teddy’s.

Just as he withdrew the unopened box of condoms he’d had stashed in his nightstand for the past six months, he heard a brisk knock on the open bedroom door. Like a kid being caught with something forbidden, the tips of his ears warmed, and he discreetly buried the box in his bag. His reaction was insane, considering he was a grown man, but there was something about Teddy that made what was going to happen tonight special. He didn’t want to spoil his own mood, or tarnish Teddy’s reputation, by enduring Jordan’s ribbing.

However, explaining the costume he was wearing was something he hadn’t considered.

Reluctantly, he turned to face Jordan, who was leaning against the doorjamb, his hands buried in the pockets of his robe.

A grin twitched the corners of Jordan’s mouth as he took in Austin’s cowboy attire, complete with Stetson, chaps and shiny silver spurs he’d bought to complete the Fantasy for Hire ensemble.

Jordan moved into the bedroom, curiosity brimming in his eyes. “I was expecting to hear Santa tonight, but the jangling noise I heard didn’t sound like Christmas bells, so I thought I’d better investigate.”

Austin zipped up the duffel, anxious to be on his way. “I’m sorry if I woke you up.”

“Where in the world are you going dressed like that on Christmas Eve?” Jordan’s amusement faded into a frown of disapproval. “Don’t tell me that you’ve got a gig tonight.”

Austin was beginning to feel like tonight’s “gig” would be the performance of his life. Slinging the duffel over his shoulder, he grinned at his brother. “Don’t wait up for me, pardner,” he drawled humorously, tipping his Stetson at Jordan. “I’ve got one last fantasy to fulfill, and I have a feeling it’s going to take all night long.”

A slow grin spread across Jordan’s face as understanding dawned.

Before Jordan could comment, Austin headed out the door and down the stairs. The metallic sound of the spurs’ rowels chinking against wood rang throughout the house.

Jordan stood at the top of the stairs, and called after Austin, “Be careful that you don’t hurt Teddy with those spurs!”

Austin chuckled. It was obvious that his brother adored Teddy as much as he did. Now it was just a matter of convincing Teddy how much she belonged in his life.