Three Nights Before Christmas: A Holiday Romance Collection Read online

  I fucking love this girl. And I’ll barely last a minute after she gets her mouth on me.

  Put some red lipstick on, I reply.

  I’m halfway home when she sends me a selfie of her mouth, with her pink tongue flicking out to lick the tip of her middle finger and her full lips painted a dark velvety red. Holy shit. Next time I need to stroke one out, I’ve got a picture to help me along.

  I take it as a good sign that when I don’t wait for the elevator and use the stairs, instead, my thigh doesn’t give a single twinge. I text her on my way up, and a second after I pound on her door, she opens it wide—looking sexy as fuck in red heels a mile high, her dark hair loose around her shoulders, and wearing a short Santa robe in red silk edged with white fur…and probably something beneath it designed to drive me wild. Whether lingerie or her naked body, both will do the same thing.

  Abruptly her eyes widen. The sultry smile she greeted me with rounds into an surprised O. “You’re in uniform!”

  “Yeah.” Her hungry gaze is suddenly all over me and my dick’s getting even harder. “You like that?”

  Breathlessly she nods. “I didn’t know how much. Oh my god.” Stepping closer, she runs her fingers down the front of my uniform shirt. “I wanted this to be a Christmas fantasy for you. But it might be my new fantasy, instead.”

  “You think this doesn’t fit some of my fantasies, too? I don’t always play good cop.” I shut the door behind me, leaning back against it. My voice is rough as I say, “You look like you’re looking for trouble, ma’am. And I sure as hell would love to see you on your pretty knees in front of me, sucking me off as hard as you can.”

  Mia stills, her cheeks slightly flushed as she looks up at me. “Is that what you want for Christmas, detective?”

  “No. Because it’s only Christmas Eve, angel.” I thread my fingers into the long tumble of her hair. “And unless you want to spend it handcuffed to your bed, you’d better get on your knees.”

  “That’s not really a threat,” she whispers breathily. “It sounds like another fantasy.”

  Yeah, it does. How about— “I won’t be in that bed with you.”

  Instantly she sinks to the floor, her fingers tugging at my duty belt. I catch her hand and guide it to my straining zipper, where my dick’s about to bust through my uniform pants.

  “Don’t waste time on any of that shit. Just take out my cock and suck it, angel.”

  Her fingers eagerly tug down the zip. I groan as the rough slide teases my shaft, and the pressure of the zipper and fabric on my constrained dick eases.

  At the sound of my groan, she pauses. “You’re all right?”

  “So damn right. You touching me feels so fucking good.” I stroke my thumb along the bottom curve of her mouth, smoothing away her frown. “Don’t you worry, Mia. I held out for a month. And if I wasn’t sure of being all right, I’d hold out for another month.”

  She nods and focuses in on my cock again. Biting her bottom lip in concentration, she fumbles trying to work my shaft out of my briefs and through my open fly, and every moment is sweet delicious torture. Knowing she’s never done this before. Seeing the flush of arousal over her skin and the hardness of her nipples beneath that red silk. Watching her mouth and her expressive features move from frustration when she says I’m too big to drag through the opening, to concern when I help her and she seems to think my erection will break from a little rough handling, and finally triumph as the thick length juts through, curving upward like it’s reaching for heaven.

  Heaven reaches for my cock, instead. It’s not the first time this month that Mia’s seen or touched my dick, but she was always careful not to go too far and risk hurting me. She’s always so damn careful with me.

  This time she doesn’t hesitate. Her gaze is rapt as her soft hands stroke my shaft, fingertips tracing the heavy veins, driving me to the edge in seconds.

  Her red lips part on a moan when her fingers slide over the tip, slicking through a pearled bead of pre-cum. Her eyelids go heavy with need and she moves all at once, gripping my cock to hold it steady and dragging her hot pink tongue up the underside of my shaft, finishing with a languorous slide around the rim of the crown.

  “Ah fuuuuuck,” I groan, sagging back against the door, letting the solid wood take my weight. “No need to tease, angel. Those tips you read in that article? Just skip to the one where you’re sucking. I’ve wanted this for so fucking long, I’m going to come real fast. But at least it’ll take off the edge for what comes next.”

  Like a kitten she rubs her cheek against my erection, her voice husky when she asks, “What comes next?”

  “Your little virgin pussy finally taking every inch of this big thick cock.” Another drop of pre-cum beads at my cock slit and I almost fucking lose it when she daintily sips the drop away, then moans and goes back for another long lick. Harshly I tell her, “But only if you suck the first round of cum out of me, angel.”

  Her innocent mouth opens wide. Those red lips take me in, her tongue stroking the underside of my dick—and all the while she’s looking up at me with those pale blue eyes.

  “Mia. That’s so damn good.” A groan rips from my chest like a chainsaw and I battle the need to ram my cock past those fuckable lips. Where my control comes from I don’t even know. “Oh Christ, yes. As deep as you can.”

  She draws back for a breath first, a crimson lipstick stain ringing my shaft about an inch past the thick crown. And my sweet virgin must have learned something from those videos, because she can’t take much more of me on the second try, but it doesn’t even matter. She gets her hands in there, squeezing and stroking, caressing every inch of my shaft while she sucks so hard on the thick head that it hurts in the best fucking way I’ve ever known.

  “Look at me, Mia,” I command hoarsely and her eyes lock on mine again. “I’m going to come. You want to back off?”

  Without letting my cock slip from her mouth, she shakes her head, and that simple answer has me groaning again, my dick about to explode.

  I wrap my right hand over hers, urging a harder stroke. She breaks away and gasps for air and gets right back on there, sucking wildly, her tongue rubbing the sensitive underside of my cock’s fat head like she knows just what I need to take me to the edge, but it’s her soft hungry moan that sends me flying over. The fingers of my left hand tighten in her hair as I start coming, and if feels like my entire fucking soul empties into her mouth with every hot spurt of cum. She tries but can’t take it all, and what she can’t swallow overflows the corners of her swollen lips, and it’s the hottest, sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

  My chest heaving, I ease out of her incredible mouth. Cupping her jaw in my palm, I swipe my thumb through the mess on her chin. “I think this is the dirtiest thing you’ve done now, angel.”

  She chokes a little, then laughs merrily. Grinning, I drag her up against my chest and kiss her, tasting me and tasting her and together it’s the best flavor I’ve ever known. Her legs twine around my hips, and I feel her pussy against my bare cock—she’s wearing panties but is so hot and wet she’s scorching me right through them.

  Her arms link around my neck. “And it was all right?” Her gaze searches mine. “No pain?”

  “Not a bit.” Which means we both know what’s coming next. And I’ve wanted this for so damn long that I’ll be ready to come again within minutes. “I’ve got condoms over at my—”

  Three insistent raps hit the door against my back. Mia abruptly freezes, then giggles, burying her face in my neck to muffle the sound.

  Still holding her, I push away from the door. “You expecting anyone?”

  “Maybe a delivery?” She slips out of my arms and puts her eye up to the peephole. Her entire body stiffens. “My father.”

  His assertive knock comes again.

  Still whispering so that she can’t be heard through the door, Mia says, “They’re mad that I’m not coming tomorrow. We don’t project the image of the perfect Bennet family when I don
’t visit during Christmas.”

  “Yeah, Christmas ought to be about image,” I say dryly, tucking away my cock. “Go get dressed. I’ll let him in. You want me to get rid of him, too?”

  It doesn’t surprise me when she says, “I can do it,” because she never passes off her problems to anyone. She rises up on her toes and presses a kiss to my lips. “I’ll be right back.”

  I watch her run off, then glance down to make sure I don’t have cum smeared all over the front of my uniform pants. At some point, Bennet was going to find out about me and his daughter, and I suppose that now is as good a time as any. Still, what we do behind this closed door is none of his damn business.

  When I open the door, Bennet’s eyes widen in surprised recognition but he immediately makes the wrong assumption—though an understandable one. His gaze goes to the number on the door and back to me. “Detective Matthews! I was looking for my daughter but I must have the wrong apartment number.”

  “No,” I tell him, swinging the door wider to invite him in. A pair of black leather gloves are clutched in his hand, and he’s dressed like he’s on his way to some fancy function, a nice suit with a long overcoat and gray scarf that lays perfectly around his shoulders instead of tucked inside his collar—and I never understood that shit. A scarf doesn’t do any damn good unless it’s around your neck. “This is Mia’s place. She’ll be out here in a minute.”

  And he’s still trying to make sense of this. Maybe because I’m in uniform instead of casual clothes, so he assumes I’m on duty.

  “Did something happen to Mia?” His gaze darts around the decorated apartment as if looking for signs of a break-in, his forehead lined with concern. “Is she all right? You should have informed me that she was in trouble.”

  “I’m not in trouble.” Mia answers him as she returns along the hallway, wearing black leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. She changed out of that sexy Santa robe but must not have looked in the mirror. And one glance at her, at the long hair tangled by my hands, her swollen lips free of lipstick but still stained red, and it’s real damn clear what I was doing over here.

  Bennet stiffens. His shoulders go rigid beneath that undercoat and his jaw whitens. It’s with visible effort that he unclenches enough to greet her with, “Mia, there you are,” followed quickly by a furious glance in my direction and an icily polite, “If you can leave us alone so that I can speak with my daughter, detective?”

  “You can stay,” Mia says to me. “My father won’t be here long.”

  He doesn’t like that a bit. But he’s trying to hold it in—maybe because he realizes that an explosion won’t help him get what he wants from her. Instead he offers, “I see you’ve done some decorating. Very festive.”

  “It is.” She rises on her toes to give him a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, Father.”

  He doesn’t miss a beat. “My Christmas would be merrier if you were staying at home.”

  “It will be merry if I don’t stay at home, too.” She crosses her arms over her chest, not a sign of softening on her beautiful face. “And I would rather be here.”

  “I understand you want to run away from all the privilege you’ve known and pretend you’re not a Bennet.” The fucker could give a masterclass in guilt induction. Long-suffering exasperation and disappointment fill his reply, yet his expression maintains some stoic shit that makes him seem like a saint for putting up with Mia’s nonsense. “But you have responsibilities as a Bennet, Mia—”

  “I spent all of today at the shelter. Jason, too. Funny we didn’t see you there.” She gets that dig in. “And I’ll be at the New Year’s gala.”

  “Responsibilities as a daughter, not to the foundation.” He quickly changes course when it’s clear she isn’t having any of that shit. “Your mother and I allowed you to pursue your career, pointless as it is, and we supported you at every turn—”

  Her incredulous laugh interrupts him. “You tried to talk me out of it at every turn! But I’m done talking. I wish you would hear that. I’m done trying to be the daughter you want.”

  He shoots a poisonous glance in my direction. “So you can be something else for him?”

  Exactly what he means remains unspoken. But I hear the words all the same. Slut, whore. And I’d love to break his teeth for it. I know damn well that would only serve him, though. There’s a shit storm coming for sure, and the only way to weather it is to stay squeaky clean.

  So I say easily, “I’m pretty sure ‘girlfriend’ is the word you’re looking for.”

  But Mia also heard what he didn’t say. Bright spots of anger appear on her pale cheeks. Voice shaking with her raging emotions, she tells him, “You need to go now.”

  He opens his mouth to argue. No, none of that shit.

  “I suggest you leave the premises, Mr. Bennet.” I’m in uniform, so I’m real fucking polite, opening the door and holding it wide. “I would hate to issue a trespassing citation to a pillar of the community.”

  The insult of me literally showing him the door paints his face a dull red. Agitatedly slapping his gloves against his palm, he stalks toward the doorway, with Mia following right behind as if to make sure he goes through it—or maybe to kick him through. She looks pissed enough that she might.

  Abruptly he stops right in front of me, gets up in my face. “You think I’ll let this betrayal slide? You were supposed to watch her. Not take advantage of her. You’re finished, Matthews.” Cold anger seethes in his quiet threat. “I’ll have your goddamn badge.”

  I know he’ll try. “You won’t get shit from me.”

  “Why would you do anything to him?” Confusion mixes with outrage in Mia’s voice, with the outrage taking over as she adds, “I’m the one telling you to go! Cole has nothing to do with this!”

  Without taking my eyes off the fucker in front of me, I tell her, “He thinks I’ve been doing a favor for him.”

  “A favor I wouldn’t have asked if I’d known the sort of man you are—promising to protect her, claiming that Jason is her only visitor, but all the while preying upon a confused and vulnerable young woman.” His chin lifts, smug aggression all over his face. “Obviously you have concealed the truth about your true nature from your superiors. But I see what kind of scum you are, Detective Matthews. Soon everyone will know it.”

  And maybe do a lot of fucking damage with his lies. But I’m not going to smash my fist into that face and do some damage of my own. Instead I smile and aim right where it’ll get me the biggest reaction. “At least I’m not the kind of scum who uses his daughter as bait when he’s making a deal. Is that why you don’t want anyone touching your little girl’s pussy? You’ve got to keep it nice and fresh.”

  His eyes widen. Fists curling, he chokes on his rage. “I ought to—”

  “Go ahead,” I urge, my breath hissing through bared teeth. “Take that swing. I’d fucking love to haul you in for assault. It would be the best goddamn Christmas present I ever had.”

  Jaw clenched, Bennet stares at me for a long second before abruptly stepping back, flicking his hands down the front of his coat like we just had a brawl and he’s smoothing everything back into place. “Make certain to enjoy your Christmas, Detective Matthews. Because you will not enjoy any day following it. You are finished. No one in the police department will stand by your side. By the time I’m done, you won’t even find work as a security guard.”

  And the best response to that shit is no reaction at all. I just wait, holding the door open, as if nothing he says can touch me.

  But it’s not what touches me that I ought to be worried about. Because he glances back and says, “Merry Christmas, Mia. I pray that you’ll see the sort of man you’re throwing your life away on—and hope to see you tomorrow.”

  “Just go,” she says thickly.

  My chest suddenly tight as fuck, I swing the door closed behind him. Because he can’t do shit to me. Maybe ruin my name and take my job, but it’ll be nothing. Not compared to what I’m see
ing now.

  Looking painfully uncertain and small, Mia stares at me, her eyes glittering, lips trembling. And she asks, “Is it true?” Her voice catches on a shuddering breath. “Did you agree watch me and report back to him?”

  12

  Mia

  I know the answer even before Cole tells me. Because his face goes white, his features suddenly taut with strain—an expression I’ve seen before, when he was in agonizing pain. His dark eyes search mine, like he’s looking for something to say, but there’s only a yes or a no.

  The sour lump of betrayal lodged in my chest suddenly moves up into my throat. “You did,” I whisper brokenly.

  As if my devastated reply shatters the fear holding him silent, abruptly he shakes his head. “I agreed to,” he says in a raw voice. “But I never intended to really do it. And I never followed through. I swear it, Mia—”

  He reaches for me but I back away, afraid that if he touches me the brittle control I have over myself will simply splinter apart. His face goes bleak, his dark eyes suddenly empty.

  His hand drops to his side, and he swallows hard, says thickly, “I swear it, angel.”

  I believe him. Or maybe I want to believe him. Because my father also said— “But you reported that Jason visited me?”

  “I didn’t. I never said a damn thing. I don’t know how he knew.” He rakes a shaking hand through his hair. “Maybe the chief told him that just to give him something. Because that’s all this ever was, Mia. He went to Chief Jackson, and it was easier and smarter to let him think we were doing him a favor than to tell him to fuck off. Though that’s exactly what I wanted to do.”

  I know my father. I know Chief Jackson. That sounds like both of them. And Cole… a ‘fuck off’ sounds just like him, too.

  When I don’t answer, despair carves austere lines into his face and he hoarsely starts again, “I swear, angel. He came to us with that bullshit, and we pretended to play along. The chief can corroborate—”

  “I know,” I interrupt him in a strained whisper, my entire body stiff, my arms wrapped around my stomach. “I know how my father is. And I know you wouldn’t do it.”