Thankful For Her Page 5

  “Right there, baby,” she says, gripping my hair and holding me in place. Autumn has grown to demand what she needs and I’m more than happy to oblige.

  After Christmas we moved into a house right next door to my dad, got married, and had our first baby. We named our little girl Ariel after my mother, and she’s the center of our world.

  It was a whirlwind at first, but it’s all been like a fairy tale. It was right from the very beginning, and I knew Autumn was my destiny. My father has since divorced Porsha, and she’s completely out of our lives. I had hoped when we had Ariel things would change, but they didn’t. She’s got a new husband on the other side of the world, and Autumn made peace with her not being a part of our future. Maybe one day she’ll come around, but none of us are holding our breath or waiting around for it to happen.

  “Cock. I need your cock, Hunter,” Autumn whines, and I kiss her pussy one last time before I give her what she wants.

  “Fuck,” I hiss as I push inside her tight folds. “Goddamn, you’re virgin tight every time.”

  “Stop it, Hunter. You talk like that and you’re going to get me pregnant again.”

  I give her a wicked smile and she moans. “That’s the idea, angel.”

  “The doctor just released me this week. You’re not supposed to cum in me this soon.”

  “You’re saying the words, but your legs wrapped around me are only getting tighter,” I say, leaning down and sucking her nipple into my mouth.

  “Oh shit, that feels good,” she groans as her hips rise. “It feels good when you do it inside me.”

  “I know it does, angel. I don’t want to pull out,” I say, kissing between her tits. “Don’t make me.”

  I look up at her and she whines as she pulses around me. She’s about to cum just thinking about me getting off in her.

  “I’m close,” I tell her, trying to hold back. But her pussy is so wet and so tight I can’t wait much longer. “Tell me where you want it.”

  “In me,” she moans as her thighs tighten and she arches her back.

  Her pussy clamps down on my cock, and there’s no way I could pull out even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. I hold myself deep as I cum at the same time she does. Thick pulses of cum throb into her, and her greedy pussy drinks it up.

  “Angel,” I groan as I bury my face in her neck and hold her close.

  Her legs fall from around my waist as her orgasm leaves her spent and weak. She giggles when I kiss her below her ear, and her hands drift up and down my back.

  “I could sleep like this,” I mumble against her skin, and I feel her laugh again.

  “This is how you slept our first night together,” she says. “You were smothering me, but I didn’t want you to move.”

  “It was the best dream ever,” I say, leaning back and looking into her eyes. “And it came true.”

  I kiss her lips softly and think about how lucky I am. Lucky to have found her and lucky that she felt the same way I did.

  “You and me forever,” she whispers and touches my face. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

  “My favorite day of the year.”

  Epilogue

  Autumn

  A little over a year later…

  I carry our daughter Ariel down the stairs. It’s so early on Christmas morning that everyone is still asleep. Hunter offered to get her, but he was up with our son Charlie last night so I said he could go back to sleep. He made some disgruntled protests, but I scratched his back for a second and he was out cold.

  We’ve come next door to stay the night at Neil’s house since my parents are doing a Disney cruise with the twins as their gift this year. We could have just walked over, but I wanted to cuddle up in PJs around the fire and watch Christmas movies together. Plus, Neil always gets so sad around the holidays, and we wanted to be with him as much as possible. I know the pain of the loss of half his family will never be healed, but he’s immersed himself in our lives and the lives of our grandchildren, and it feels as though that gives him some purpose.

  Ariel pulls on my hair and then giggles. She’s going to be mischievous, just like her father. I can already tell. She blows a raspberry at me as I walk into the kitchen and heat her up some breakfast.

  The sun isn’t even up yet as I place her in her booster seat at the table and she starts eating. Ariel is almost two. She’s still not entirely sure what happens on Christmas, but she looks adorable in her little Santa pajamas.

  I start the coffee and wait for some liquid heaven to brew as I talk to her about what we’re going to do today.

  “When Grandpa gets up, he’s going to take you outside to build a snowman. Then we can open presents and have chocolate chip pancakes.” Her eyes light up and she nods in agreement, and I can’t help but think how happy I am.

  When I take my first sip of coffee, I’m startled by a sound at the front of the house. I place my mug down on the counter and glance back at Ariel before checking to see what it was. There’s a wreath on the front door that keeps falling off, so I’m sure that’s what it is.

  I round the corner and when I see Hunter standing there in the dim light, I’m confused. I reach over and switch on the lamp before I turn around to face him.

  “Hunter, baby, what are you doing out of be—” My words are cut off by the scream building in my throat.

  It’s not Hunter standing in front of me. He looks almost identical to my husband, but his eyes are different. He’s built exactly the same—tall and broad shouldered—but I stand there frozen as I look at someone who could be his twin.

  “Who are you?” he asks, his voice stern and cold. Nothing like my Hunter’s. “Why are you in my house?”

  “Your house?” I almost shout, hoping Hunter hears me. “Who are you?” I throw back at him.

  “I’m asking the questions, little girl.” He takes a step toward me, and this time I do scream.

  He stops in his tracks and he holds his hands up defensively. “Wait, calm down. I just need to find my—”

  “Vance, you’ve scared her.”

  From out of the shadows behind him comes an older woman with gray hair and eyes that look exactly like my daughter’s. I’m frozen still as I look between the two of them. All the words I want to say as I stare at them are stuck in my mouth. It’s impossible, but I’m seeing it with my own eyes.

  The woman comes closer and I don’t move. I’m trying to process what’s happening. I’ve seen their pictures, but this can’t be real. Before I know what’s happening the woman is taking my hand and looking down at the diamond on my left ring finger. The diamond that Hunter gave me on Christmas day when he proposed. The one he said was his mother’s.

  “I hated leaving this behind,” she whispers as she looks at the stone.

  Just then, thunderous booming comes from behind me and I flip around to see Hunter and Neil standing at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Mom? Vance?” Hunter whispers, his face white as a sheet.

  Neil falls to his knees beside him, putting his hands to his mouth.

  The room is utterly silent as the truth of what’s in front of us is revealed.

  To be continued… Christmas 2017

  Noelle's voice has captivated Alex, and she's become his greatest obsession. Since he hired her to read audiobooks, listening to her is the only thing that makes his lonely world bearable. Thank God she's never seen him. His scars would only scare her away.

  Alex has starred in every fantasy Noelle's had since she first heard his voice over the phone, and reading erotica samples to him only fuels her desire. Listening to him on the other end of the phone is the best part of her day, and she's willing to do anything to please him.

  On Christmas Eve a storm comes through, sending Noelle in search of her reclusive boss. Once she's at his cabin with no place to go, there's only one way to keep warm.

  Warning: This is the sweetest, cheesiest, most Christmassy book ever! It's filled with late-night confessions, dirty deeds, and a lifetime of love. If yo
u love this time of year, I've got some cheer for you!

  Copyright © 2015 by Alexa Riley. All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to riley_alexa@aol.com

  http://alexariley.com/

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Edited by Aquila Editing

  For everyone who has an inner Buddy The Elf… Happy Holidays!

  Chapter 1

  Noelle

  “‘Please,” she begged. “I need to feel you inside me now. It’s been too long.” Annabelle pleaded with Sam before taking matters into her own hands, grabbing his hard cock and guiding it to her wet pussy. Wanting to make them whole once again, to never be apart from the only man she’d ever loved. Would ever love.

  “I’ll give you what you want. Just give me what I want,” Sam demanded, pulling back just a little from her, the head of his cock barely touching her opening. She knew what he wanted, and she was sick of fighting these feelings. She’d find a way to make them work, no matter how different their worlds were.

  “I love you. Only you.” She gave him the words he wanted because they were true. She knew it down to her soul.

  Samuel thrust home into her welcoming body, his hard cock just as hungry for her as he was.”

  The heavy breathing through the phone pulls me from my narration “Mr. Lockwood, are you okay?”

  “Alex,” he grunts, sounding irritated with me. “Say it.”

  “Alex,” I whisper. He’s been correcting me for months now, but for some reason I always still say ‘Mr. Lockwood.’ It reminds me of who he is—that he isn’t a friend I’m talking to on the phone. He’s a client and nothing more, no matter what my late-night fantasies tell me.

  I hear a grunt, then the line goes quiet. I wonder if he’s mad at me, and I inwardly curse myself. I had steady work before I started narrating books for his company, All for You, but with him offering me more and more projects, he’s been my only client for well over two months now. It sounds silly, and I’m sure I can get more projects elsewhere, but I like working for him. He handles things a little differently than most clients I work with, but I like his way. Seems I like a lot of things about Alex, despite knowing very little about him.

  The silence hangs in the air as I wait for him to speak again. His words do things to me. Things they shouldn’t. I’ve somehow latched myself onto him recently. Waiting for our daily calls has now become a little bit of an obsession, one I’m sure my mother would tell me was just as unhealthy as my lack of a social life.

  “Hmm,” I mumble, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. I can’t bear the tension, but all I hear is his heavy breathing, something that reminds me of the many erotica books I’ve read. The hero would breathlessly pant into the heroine’s ear after a hard round of sex. It’s a sound I’ve never actually heard myself, but I find myself imagining what it would be like if Alex made the sound in my ear, his body on top of me.

  “I think that’s enough for today,” he finally says, his deep voice rolling over my skin like a warm rough caress, like it always does when he speaks to me. If anyone should be narrating a book, it’s Alex. He has a voice like I’ve never heard before, and I’ve heard many in my line of work. Voices that are supposed to be the best aren’t anything special compared to his.

  “Okay, Mis— Alex,” I correct myself quickly, once again making myself look like an incompetent fool who can’t remember anything. “I’ll have the Scott book sent over this afternoon. Just a few more touches and it will be finished. Then I’ll start on this new one, if you liked the sample I just did.”

  Alex likes to do the samples over the phone and also likes to check in daily on my project status, something that’s not normal with audio work. Almost everything could be done over email, but Alex says he likes to do it this way. For what he’s paying me to voice audiobooks, I’m happy to jump through hoops for the projects. Okay, that’s only partially true. I would jump through the hoops, but our phone calls mean more to me than just work.

  Sometimes our calls dip into personal life, mainly about me and my life. Every now and then, I find myself rambling on, and he just listens. Maybe he’s really polite and feels sorry for me for having to carry on conversations with someone who is virtually a stranger. Though he doesn’t feel like a stranger anymore.

  “That sounds perfect. I have a lot going on tomorrow, so I want this taken care of tonight and off both our to-do lists,” he says, slipping back into business talk. It’s crazy how he does that. Sometimes I wonder if maybe he has a crazy sex life, because my narrations always seem to run on the dirty side and they never affect him.

  I usually end up in a pile of goo when we we’re done, with hard nipples and wet panties. We’d hang up and I’d have my hand down my pants before the line even cleared. It wasn’t narrating the books that turned me on. I’ve been doing romance narrations for years. Normally I did them alone so no one would hear. But somehow, reading aloud to Alex has me beyond turned on. It could be that the pieces he selects for samples are always the dirtiest parts, or it could just be him.

  I told myself it was because Alex was playing with me. I thought maybe he even had a little crush on me like I did him, but after time went on, he never seemed affected. He never tried to be more friendly to me like I was with him, and after a while I thought maybe I made it up in my head. My mother always told me I live too much inside myself, and it seemed to have happened again. I’d built something up in my mind that wasn’t really there. Worse, the thought of not having this interaction anymore was terrifying in some weird way.

  “Okay. I’ll send the file right over.” I try to keep my tone just as causal as his, but I’m still chewing on the fact that he has a lot going on tomorrow. It’s Christmas, so I should expect him to be busy. All I have planned is a TV dinner and Netflix.

  “Have a merry Christmas, Noelle.”

  “You too, Alex.” I hit End on the call, promptly wanting to disconnect from him. I drop the phone onto my desk and bring up my emails. I want to go ahead and send the file, but my internet won’t connect. After restarting the modem and my laptop, I make my way over to the window while everything reboots.

  It really is a perfect Christmas Eve. Snow has already begun to fall, and the Christmas lights on my tree behind me reflect in the window. It’s as if they’re mocking me. My house is decorated like I’m hosting a Christmas party tomorrow. There isn’t a spot that isn’t covered in some kind of Christmas decoration. Why I do this to myself, I have no idea.

  I’m an introvert and always have been. I made a couple of friends in college, always preferring to have my nose deep in a book. But since then they’ve dropped off one by one, slowly losing contact over time. No one wants to be friends with the girl who rarely leaves the house.

  Who knows where my parents are this time of year. No one likes to travel more than they do. I still have no idea how I came from such social butterflies. I like things small and intimate, and I always wanted to spend a Christmas like that with my parents. When I was a kid, my mom would go all out, kind of like I did in my own home, but she always filled the day with people I hardly knew.

  It’s almost laughable now. I hate how she’d do that, but now here I am in a house all made up for Christmas and not one soul to spend it with. I’m not sure which is worse.

  My mind wanders back to Alex, wondering what his plans might be. Would he ha
ve a special person to spend his Christmas with? The thought sends an irrational surge of jealously through me.

  Maybe I can come up with a reason to get in touch with him, or just call to wish him a merry Christmas. I chastise myself for the silly idea. Considering how fast he got off the phone moments ago, he probably has plans tonight.

  Growling at myself, I pull my hair from my ponytail to relieve some of the tension I’m feeling.

  Pull it together, I tell myself. I’ll finish this project for Alex, get into my Christmas pajamas, eat those cookies I spent all day baking and decorating, and watch my favorite holiday movies. I will not let myself have a pity party.

  Available NOW!

  Full Length Novels: For Her Series

  Everything For Her

  His Alone

  Claimed… Coming March 27th 2018

  Novellas in the For Her Series

  Stay Close

  Hold Tight

  Don’t Go… January 22 2018

  Single Titles

  The Virgin Duet

  Owning the Beast

  My New Step Dad

  Their Stepsister

  Snow and Mistletoe

  Ps. You’re Mine

  Trailer Park Virgin

  Guarding His Obsession

  Beauty in Winter

  Curvy

  Untouched

  Growling For Mine

  Holding His Forever

  Tempting the Law

  Paid For

  Shielding Lily

  Wanting My Stepsister

  Stealing Christmas

  Paying Daddy’s Debt

  Her Touch

  Devotion

  Flight Risk

  Taking What’s Owed

  Unexpected Claim

  Runaway Mail-Order Bride

  Thankful for Her