A Christmas Wish: Dane Read Free

Charlotte.” His stare was intense as he told her what was in his heart. He needed her to believe him, and was never quite sure she did. But her cheeks flushed with pleasure at his words and her lips parted, begging him to take them—to kiss them.
    He had no choice but to give in. She was his greatest temptation. He kept a solid grasp on her wrists, knowing if she touched him it would end all too soon. And then he took her mouth in a deep kiss, mimicking the lovemaking that was to come with every thrust and slide of his tongue.
    She whimpered and shifted beneath him again, taking a little more of him inside her. He grit ted his teeth as she clamped around him and then he pushed forward until he was embedded inside her to the hilt. She was so tight. So hot. And he held still so he wouldn’t spill himself too soon.
    Dane’s head dropped down so they were forehead to forehead and he released her wrists long enough to entwine his fingers with hers. They’d never be closer than they were at this one moment. Time and space seemed to stop altogether as he looked into her eyes and saw his future.
    “Please,” she begged, tightening her legs around his hips.
    He groaned and began to move, incapable of denying her anything. They held onto each other as if their lives depended on it. He wanted to be gentle—smooth—in his lovemaking, but they were both too caught up in the sensations, all but crawling inside of each other with their need to find completion.
    The world grew still and silent around them, only the sounds of flesh against flesh and soft sighs and moans could be heard over the thundering of their heartbeats. He felt her tighten around him, her grip like a vise, as she screamed out his name in a climax so intense he could do nothing but follow after her.
    Dane didn’t know how long they lay connected and completely spent, but when she shivered from the cold he realized maybe they’d been wrapped in each other longer than he’d thought.
    He pulled from her body and she gasped at the separation, and then he rolled them so they lay on their sides, facing each other. He pulled the comforter around them like a cocoon and they burrowed inside.
    Her eyes were heavy with sleep and he brushed the hair back from her face before kissing her softly on the forehead.
    “When are you going to marry me?” He hadn’t planned on bringing it up, but after the experience they’d just shared he needed to know. He was tired of sneaking around in the dead of night, hoping for stolen kisses and fast couplings. He wanted someone to talk with at the end of the day and someone to wake up to in the mornings. There would never be anyone else for him. Charlotte was the one. The only one.
    She sighed and her hand rubbed soothingly against his chest. “I told you I would marry you, Dane , and I meant it. But there’s no need to be in a hurry. We had a lot of years apart, and we’ve gotten to relearn each other over these past few months. And you and Jayden are still getting to know each other too.”
    He felt her hesitation at the mention of Jayden, and he knew that was the reason she wouldn’t commit to a wedding date. He and Jayden had gotten off to a rocky start. Dane couldn’t blame his son for resenting him. Hell, he resented himself for not being there for the first nine years of Jayden’s life, and he would have moved heaven and earth to change the past. But it couldn’t be changed. All they could do was move forward.
    “I want to be a good father to him,” he confessed. “I can’t tell you how badly I want that.” His words caught in his throat and he had to swallow a couple of times to keep his eyes dry.
    “Oh, baby,” she said, “I know that. But he needs more time. You’re doing what you can, and things are easier now between the two of you.”
    “What happens if things are never easy between us, Charlotte? Do we put our lives and happiness on hold? Do we prevent the chance of having more children and growing as a