A Sweet & Merry Christmas Read online

She turned to see Mason with his arms wrapped around Jess’ shoulders, his cheek laid on top of her head while he smiled at Brandy. Holding out his other hand, he reached and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her into an embrace, slipping his arm around her shoulders, too. “Hey Mason,” she said fondly. “I brought both the truffles and custard-filled cupcakes for you. Just you, mind,” she scolded, looking over where Slate was standing, a cupcake already in his hand. He shrugged, shoving the cake into his mouth and holding out his hands in a ‘who me’ motion, and they all laughed.

  A couple hours later she was sitting on a stool at the bar, resting her elbows on the edge. Merry had set a perfectly dirty martini in front of her a few minutes ago and she sipped it gratefully. Looking down the bar, she saw Jess in deep conversation with Tug and smiled. Those two were the biggest jokers in the room, and seeing them having a serious discussion was a mystery. She heard the stool on her other side pulled back, and turned to see Slate seating himself. Nodding at him, she picked up her glass and looked back at Jess, freezing when both she and Tug were staring at her.

  Quickly turning back to Slate, she caught a look of amusement on his face and he shook his head at her. Picking up his beer, he paused with the edge of the bottle at his lips and asked, “Why don’t you just tell her how you feel, sweetheart?”

  Brandy looked down at the bar top and shook her head. “She’s not the girl for me, unfortunately.” She looked up, using the mirror to watch Jess, smiling softly at the play of emotions across the woman’s face.

  “You can’t know that if you haven’t made your play, woman.” He caught her eyes in the mirror. “You could talk to her tonight, I set the bedroom in the back aside for you when you started drinking, so you ain’t going anywhere any time soon, sweetheart. Tug’s got your keys and he’s under orders to keep you safe, which means you don’t leave until he says so. You could invite her to the back…just sayin’.”

  “I don’t want to lose her friendship.” She shook her head. “It’s not worth the risk.”

  He held out his left arm, pushing his shirt sleeve up to his elbow and smoothed his skin with his hand, drawing her attention to the tattoo there. “Never let your fear decide your fate,” he said, reading the words inked on his skin next to a beautifully detailed compass. “What if you’re wrong, sweetheart? What if you could have both?” he asked, looking past her, then back at her face. Smiling, he stood from the stool and in a sing-song voice said, “I know something you don’t know.”

  “What?” she asked and then balled up her napkin, throwing it at him as he walked away without answering her question. “Asshole,” she called after him and heard a snort of laughter behind her.

  Turning she saw Mason had walked up and was standing between her and Tug. He didn’t look at her directly, like Slate had, he caught her gaze in the mirror. “Thanks for this, babe. It’s been a good night.”

  “Yeah, it’s been fun to watch everyone open their gifts, and have a good time.” She fingered her new earrings. “Who knew Red had such good taste in jewelry.” She tilted her head, looking at him. “Did you like your boots? I have the receipt, if you want to return them.”

  He shook his head, reaching out to pat the back of her hand lying on the bar top. “They fit perfectly, babe. Thank you. Boots are a pain in the ass to buy, mostly because I just fucking hate shopping. I couldn’t have asked for a better gift.” She smiled, and they both turned to look across the bar when shouts of laughter erupted near the pool tables.

  “Looks like Mica’s cleaning up again. Poor Digger, he won’t have any money left after tonight.” She smiled, peeking over his shoulder to see if she could catch a glimpse of Jess, but Tug was standing alone now. Sighing, she leaned on the bar and picked up her glass. Taking a drink, she met Mason’s gaze in the mirror again. “It’s been a good party, Mason.”

  He nodded, pushing away from the bar. “Yeah, brothers and friends are important. It’s good to remember that, keep ‘em close, and Christmas gives us a good excuse.”

  She watched him stalk over towards where Mica was schooling one of the Rebels in the fine art of eight-ball. The tall biker was standing close to Mica, but with a glance to his president, Digger stepped away, nervously twisting the stick in his hands.

  Mason stopped short of where they were playing and he leaned against the wall, his eyes hungrily following every move Mica made, his body language loud and clear. Brandy shook her head, the man had it bad for her. None of the Rebels she’d talked to knew why he didn’t just make a move, because they were all relatively sure Mica’d be open to an offer from the authoritative biker.

  He was influential and powerful, and Brandy thought he’d probably be dominant in bed. But, she mused, maybe that was what kept Mica separate from him, her history might not lend itself to exploring that side of things again…not just now, but maybe ever.

  Holding her hand over the top of her glass when Merry would have refilled it, she turned on the stool, leaning both elbows on the wooden edge, surveying the room. There were little groups of men scattered throughout the bar, without exception they all wore leather or denim vests with a variety of patches sewn to the material. Most had the name of the motorcycle club at the top of their back, and the emblem that represented the club just below that. Some of the men had town names across the bottom of their vests, and some had other words like ‘Prospect’, ‘Gypsy’, or ‘National’ that designated their position in the club.

  She saw Tug was now seated in a booth by himself and climbed off the stool, walking over and sitting beside him. He scooted over to give her room, sliding his arm across the back of the bench and curved it around her shoulders. He hugged her tightly for a minute, loudly kissing the side of her head, then he sat back and looked down at her. “Having a good time, pretty lady?”

  “I am,” she said with a smile. “What did you get from your Santa?” She patted his thigh and leaned into his side, relaxing in the safety of his embrace.

  “Got a new wallet. It’s pretty cool, lookit.” He shifted, pulling the wallet from his back pocket, twisting the chain that attached to his belt loop out of the way, showing her the tooling on the leather.

  Smiling she nodded, “Who was your Santa?”

  “Tats,” he laughed. “The man did good, but he got shortchanged, his Santa got him fringed gloves. Can you see that man wearing fringed riding gloves?”

  “Oh no,” she said with a grin. “Who was his Santa?”

  Tug laughed harder, “Me.”

  Throwing her head back and laughing hard, she told him, “You are an evil, evil man.” He nodded in agreement and picked up his beer, taking a drink.

  She felt a pressure on her side and turned to look, seeing Jess squeezing onto the bench beside her. “Scooch over, woman,” Jess said, pushing on her hip with her own. Tug shifted, and Brandy moved with him, making room for Jess at the end of the seat.

  Tug complained, “There was a whole other seat over there, girl. You didn’t have to work so hard at squishing me.”

  Wrapping her hand around Brandy’s wrist, she pulled her hand over, threading their fingers together. “Yeah, but then I couldn’t sit next to my hero.”

  Tug nodded, “She was damned fierce in the lot, wasn’t she? Ready to take that fucktard on all by herself.”

  “She was,” Jess agreed, her hand helping warm Brandy’s suddenly-freezing fingers. “She got right up in that dude’s face. Called him out for picking on little, old me.”

  Brandy turned her head back and forth, following the conversation with a grin on her face.

  “Not the smartest thing she could have done,” he said, leaning forward to look across Brandy at Jess. “But fierce. Protecting her own. Gotta respect that, right?”

  “Yeah, she was protecting me,” Jess said, a note of surprise in her voice that made Brandy wonder how much she’d had to drink so far tonight. “Does that mean—Tug, does that mean I could be hers?”

  God, I wish, she thought, licking her lips.

&
nbsp; “Might do so, little one,” he said softly, turning to look into Brandy’s face. “Might mean just that, honey.”

  Jess leaned into her side, and Brandy shivered at the contact, her breath rapid and shallow and she bit her lips, closing her eyes. She felt an absence on her other side, and opened her eyes to find Tug extricating himself from the booth, climbing over the back of the high-backed bench. He smiled at her and nodded as he swung his legs over, leaving her and Jess sitting alone in the booth.

  Resting her head on Brandy’s shoulder, Jess wiggled in the seat, making herself more comfortable and opening her mouth in a wide yawn. “I’m getting tired,” she complained, “Mica had us in the office early today, getting a presentation ready for some douche that didn’t even show for his meeting.” She yawned again, and Brandy made a sympathetic noise. She didn’t think she could speak coherently right now if she’d tried.

  “Tug said we’re staying here tonight,” Jess rubbed her cheek up and down on Brandy’s collarbone, lightly smacking her lips before yawning again.

  Nodding in agreement, Brandy was acutely aware of every inch of Jess’ body that was touching hers. From the soft skin between her fingers, the pad of her thumb tracing slowly back and forth across the sensitive inside of Brandy’s wrist, to her strong arm draped across Brandy’s thigh. Jess’ hip, pressed against hers where she rested on the seat, the heat from her body where her side lay along Brandy’s ribs. Jess’ head softly resting on her shoulder, her hair tickling the bare skin of her neck and jaw.

  “Do you know which room Tug meant?” Jess asked quietly.

  “Yeah,” she whispered. “Want me to show you?”

  Slowly peeling herself from Brandy’s side, Jess stood but kept their hands twined together. Nodding, she said, “Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”

  Brandy looked up at her, wondering if Jess knew what she was implying, and then the woman smiled at her and she knew…knew that this feeling was happening on both sides, that Jess wanted her, too. Standing, she looked down at Jess, raising her unencumbered hand to cup the face she’d wanted to touch for so long, leaning in to dust her lips gently across Jess’. Pulling back to gauge the reaction, she was gratified to see Jess’ eyes closed, lashes resting on her cheeks, lips parted in a smile.

  Walking towards the door set in the wall behind the bar, Brandy became aware of a stillness in the bar, and she turned to see many of the men were watching them. Slate raised two fingers to his brow, saluting her with a grin before he turned back to the group of men he was standing with. After his acknowledgment of their departure, the noise level gradually rose to normal levels again. Then they were through the door, and Jess was closing it softly behind them, shutting out the sounds from the party.

  Is this really happening? she thought, remembering her lapse in the shop that afternoon. Then she felt Jess’ hand cupping around her arm, sliding up and down slowly, sensuously touching her and affecting her equilibrium. “Brandy?” she heard the question in Jess’ voice and answered her softly.

  “Yeah?” I’m so off balance, she thought. I just want to love her.

  “You want this, right?” The hesitation and uncertainty in Jess’ tone nearly broke her heart, and she quickly turned, dropping Jess’ hand to cup her palms to both of the woman’s cheeks.

  “Oh, yeah, I do. More than you know.” The last syllables were spoken on an outrush of breath against Jess’ lips, then she brushed her mouth across softly, gently. Keeping the kiss slow, exploring the taste and feel she’d longed for, she paused to drag her nose up Jess’ then back down, and then hungrily captured that addictive mouth with hers again. She smiled when the lips parted effortlessly underneath the gentle pressure, and taking advantage of the opening, she dipped her tongue inside, twisting and twirling with Jess’. She groaned at hearing now desperate gasps for breath that came from the woman she wanted for her lover.

  Stepping back, she reached down, clasping Jess’ hand again and drew her up the hallway to the first door on the left. “Bedroom,” she said, hearing the catch in her own voice.

  Leaving the light off, she closed and locked the door behind them, pulling Jess towards the bed sitting in the middle of the room. Tugging her shirt off, she tossed it onto the chair along the wall and reached out to grasp the hem of Jess’ shirt, pulling it up and off.

  Stepping closer, she pressed her body against Jess, gasping as the woman’s hands wrapped around her, unfamiliar but so familiar fingers unfastening her bra so that it fell loosely down her arms. Dropping it to the floor, she slowly and carefully removed Jess’ bra, trailing her fingers and thumbs across the now-exposed breasts, pulling and tugging on already erect nipples. Moving closer again, she kissed Jess, their naked torsos rubbing and pressing against the other.

  In the low light cast underneath the door from the hallway, Brandy could barely see Jess’ face, but could still read the lust written there, and she sighed. “Jess, baby,” she said, feeling the sudden motionlessness as Jess stilled underneath her hands. “I don’t want to lose your friendship.”

  Clearing her throat, Jess said hesitantly, “Okay.”

  The single word didn’t give Brandy enough to go on, and she repeated herself. “I can’t lose you as a friend, you mean too much to me.”

  Jess turned her head to the side, and Brandy could only see portions of her face, the angle of her cheekbone, the downturned edge of her mouth. Lifting her hand, she trailed her thumb across Jess’ lips, leaning in to kiss her softly. “I want this, so much. God I want it. But I want to be able to keep you in my life more.”

  “So you think this is a one-time thing?” The words and tone were harsh, and Brandy dragged in a painful breath. Jess continued, “Brandy if this is the alcohol talking; then we can just share a bed like we’ve done in the past. Nothing has to happen, baby. Not if you don’t want it.”

  Shaking her head, Brandy rushed to reassure her, the words stumbling off her tongue. “No, no. I want this. I’ve wanted you for so long…wanted this. I just don’t want to ruin what we already have.” She wrapped her arms around Jess, pulling their bodies close, palms slipping up and down her back.

  Jess lifted her head, looking at Brandy steadily. “You already have me.”

  Burying her head in Jess’ neck, she took a couple of unsteady breaths, senses stolen by those four words.

  Unfastening the closure on Jess’ pants, Brandy pushed them down her thighs, taking her panties with them. They both laughed when her legs were shackled by the jeans because they’d forgotten the existence of her winter boots, and Brandy knelt on the floor beside the bed, slipping them off.

  Moving to sit on the edge of the bed next to Jess, she watched as the pants were discarded, then her own hands slowed as Jess crawled up into the bed, wagging her naked ass back and forth temptingly. Shaking her head in amusement, Brandy rushed to disrobe and slid up into the bed beside Jess, shivering as their skin met and brushed against each other all along their bodies.

  Brandy trailed her fingertips up Jess’ stomach, looking down to see the stark contrast between her dark and Jess’ light skin, rapt at the sight as her hand slid up and up, the edge of her palm grazing a soft breast, fingers spreading wide to cup and caress. Jess moaned softly and Brandy moved to capture her mouth again, eating down the sounds Jess made as she touched her, discovering all the places that made her lover crazy with desire, the things that set her twisting underneath Brandy’s hands and mouth.

  She slipped her leg between Jess’, pressing hard against the apex of her thighs, encouraging Jess to thrust and rub as she wanted…needed. Brandy kept her hands and mouth busy stroking Jess’ breasts and neck, trailing kisses up her jaw to bite at her lips until she was breathless and crying out from the teasing touches and the friction against her clit.

  Sliding down Jess’ body, she moved between her legs, kissing down her chest and soft belly. Drawing a laugh when she dipped her tongue into Jess’ bellybutton, she nipped and bit from hip to hip, her hands pressing those pale thighs ap
art. She shifted Jess’ legs, propping her heels on her shoulders, pushing them wide, so she was open to her.

  Running her hands along Jess’ inner thighs, she trailed her fingertips from the back of her knees up to where her legs joined her body, following every touch with a slow lick and a soft, sucking kiss. Using her thumbs, she spread the bared pussy and darted her tongue just inside the entrance, lapping and nibbling, working her way up and down, taking her time to bring Jess to the edge of orgasm several times. Brandy’s fingers plunged deep, dragging the sweet wetness she found there up to where her mouth waited, sucking, and nibbling on Jess’ clit.

  Feeling Jess’ hands smoothing across her forehead and cheeks, she lifted her gaze, looking up along Jess’ body to see her face, eyes wide and unfocused, mouth open with groaning, panting breaths and Brandy smiled. Dropping her face back to Jess’ pussy, she buried her mouth, using her lips, tongue, teeth, and fingers to urge Jess to that place of stillness just before the explosion. That instant where the chasing…the frantic seeking is over, and all that’s left is to ride the roller coaster down.

  Feeling that moment when things began to crash in on Jess, she thrust her fingers in deep, curling and twisting them inside her lover, her tongue stroking rapidly across the perceptibly thrumming clit under her mouth. She heard Jess’ voice calling her name, the sound hanging on the air and without thought she pushed one hand down underneath her own body, fingers finding her clit. Tugging and pulling, hips pumping and thrusting against the mattress, she came hard, hand trapped between her heat and the softness of the bed, lips and other hand still working Jess’ pussy, drawing out both their climaxes as far as possible.

  Resting her cheek against Jess’ thigh in the aftermath, she licked her lips as she watched the tension leave her lover’s features. In the low light she saw as Jess slowly gained the loose, relaxed look of a well-loved woman, and Brandy smiled again. I love how she looks right now, in this moment, she thought. Moving up in the bed to lie beside Jess, she pulled the woman into her side, arranging her head and rolling to press her lips against Jess’ forehead.