On Comet Page 4

  With my back to the door, I let the water run over my body, easing sore muscles, and preparing me for the fact that it was only Wednesday.

  I straightened at the touch of fingers gliding down my spine.

  "You didn’t call no-tag-backs," came a gentle whisper into my ear as Cee’s hands wrapped around my hips and pulled me back against his erection.

  "Maybe that’s because I’m the only one you better be tagging back," I replied simply, because I was confident that there wasn’t anyone else.

  "All true." Cee’s hands smoothed over my belly, his fingertips tracing each undulation of my body before capturing my breasts. His thumbs and index fingers, his magnificent fingers pinched my nipples lighting a raging inferno in my pussy. My body relaxed at the feel of Cee’s warm breath cascading over the side of my neck before he rose to drag the tip of his tongue along the back of my ear.

  "Oh fuck, Cee," I groaned and began to rub the crease of my ass along his length. "The things you do to my body. The way you make me feel."

  "I’ve only just begun," he replied with a matter-of-fact tone. His breathing hitched at the feel of me against him before responding with his own moves. Wrapped in his muscular arms, my body became an extension of his and we swayed in rhythm, locked together in a sensuous ballet. My skin heated further with the feel of his hands on me, massaging me, caressing me as he peppered kisses over every exposed inch of my skin that he could reach. If my body was an orchestra, then Cee was its conductor, and he guided me through a recital perfectly.

  Cee moved me closer to the shower wall and I braced myself against it as he gently bent me over. His strong hands roamed my shoulders before he dragged his fingers down the length of my back. His warm breath returned against my face and his day old stubble tickled my ear. "You’re my one, Vixen. God, I need you."

  I exhaled sharply as Cee gently eased a finger inside me and then his face withdrew to plant a trail of kisses down the center of my spine. He withdrew his finger before kneeling behind me and pulling my hips back to him, bending me over further. Cupping the globes of my ass with his hands, he spread me open to ease his reach before leaning forward and sucking hard on my pussy.

  "Holy fuck," was all I could muster before his teeth tugged at my clit. I rose up on my toes and bent even further. Tingles ran from my shoulders to my fingertips, mirroring the rivulets of water rolling over my skin from the shower and my eyes fell shut as my brain attempted to process the waves of emotion shooting through me. I needed this man. I wanted this man like this every morning for the rest of my life.

  "Fuck me please," my quiet plea spilled from my lips as I felt my orgasm starting to build.

  Cee worked a finger back inside me and redoubled his attack on my clit. The man’s oral talents were none other than god-like and I wanted this feeling he gave me to never end.

  His other hand pushed down on my lower back, locking me in place, making me his. Wanted. Taken. Shudders ran through my body at the thought that he owned me. My man selfishly saw to my needs and before we were done in this shower, he would scatter my parts to the wind.

  And I would love him for it.

  Yes, love.

  My body tensed as waves of need crashed through me. I needed him inside me; I wanted to feel him come.

  "Take me, Cee," I commanded. "Make me yours."

  Cee stood quickly and his hands framed my hips before I felt the tip of his cock at the entrance of my pussy. His big body was bent over me, sheltering me from the rain, his warm breath returning to my face. "I want this every morning, Vixen. I want to explore all of you, to make love to you—beginning now," his deep voice fell over my ears, as sensual as his movements before he straightened and took ahold of my shoulders for leverage.

  Cee slammed into me with one long and glorious stoke, burying himself fully inside of me and forcing me to rock forward on my toes. "Fuck you’re tight, Vixen," he groaned. I pressed against the wall, pushing back against him, willing him even deeper inside me.

  Cee withdrew, turned me around so we were face to face, before sliding back in, his motions now at an accelerating pace. His breathing became ragged and his hands eagerly roamed my body. He slammed against my clit with each thrust and I clenched my pussy walls tightly around him when I felt the head of his cock swell with desire.

  "I’m going to come," Cee groaned loudly and redoubled his efforts. Our sounds of sex rose to a crescendo drowning out the shower, echoing in the small cacophonous space.

  Driving into me one last time, Cee planted himself in me and emptied, possessively wrapping my body with his and lifting me off of my feet. My core suddenly tightened and I flew apart with the increased pressure against my clit. Tingling waves flowed over my skin and pin points of light danced in my vision. As the remnants of my orgasm scattered to the wind they were replaced by intense feelings of belonging, belonging to this man, belonging in his life.

  I became a rag doll in his arms.

  Cee spun the shower knob to off and lifted me in his arms. Grabbing towels from the counter he carried me to the bed. I watched the overhead lights pass by before tucking my face to his chest.

  We reached the bed and Cee spread a towel out before placing me on it. He padded my skin with the fluffy Egyptian cotton. Then taking the second towel, he blotted my hair dry before wrapping my head tightly and tucking the end.

  I grabbed his hand as he stood to move to the bathroom for his own towel. His eyes returned to me sparkling with a new brilliance. A possessiveness I would never grow tired of. I tugged on his hand for support and pulled myself into a sitting position and buried my face against his abs. My hands wandered the crease of his chest reveling in the muscles’ strength, their hardness, their power. Lightly stroking his skin, my fingertips danced over nipples causing his cock to grow hard.

  I raised my eyes to him before wrapping his size with my hands and beginning to stroke him.

  Cee’s knees buckled slightly and his hands framed the sides of my head. "Haven’t you had enough," he asked, the sparkle in his eyes darkening with desire.

  "There’s just one more thing I need to do before we leave today. Something I promised myself I would do before the end of the week and I’m running out of time."

  A wary look crossed Cee’s face at my words, unsure of where I was going with this but at the same time, certain he was going to enjoy it. "And that would be?" He drew out the words slowly, his adorable smirk returning to his lips.

  I pulled Cee down onto the bed before pushing him into a lying position on his back. I wrapped his cock with my hands, and then throwing my leg over him, placed his cock at my entrance. Bracing myself across his chest, I lowered myself onto his dick watching his eyes go round with a renewed need. I laid against him and whispered in his ear. "I always wanted see what it was like to be On Comet."

  Nine

  Cee

  I handed Vixen a mug of coffee, the smell of peppermint wafting up from her cup was soothing. Although I didn’t like any of that frou-frou stuff in my cup, I liked the smell of it. And well…the taste of it on her lips after she’s had a sip.

  I stared out my living room window, the sun hadn’t even begun to rise yet. "We’re ready right? Tell me that we’re ready."

  "We’re so ready. We’re going to kick ass." Vixen looked one hundred percent confident.

  "Worst case scenario, what if we don’t?"

  "We will."

  "But—"

  Vixen cut me off. "No buts. We will."

  I returned my focus to my window, the light shimmering down, was that mixture of moon and sun. A war of Mother Nature’s greatest with tones of yellow and silver rising while shades of deep purple and navy blue lingered in the sky. Together the colors created hues of red in streamers splashed in front of me.

  Vixen moved in and stood behind me, "My grandfather used to tell me before we went out on his boat, ‘red skies at night are a sailors delight; red skies in morning, sailors take warning.’ What do you think that means now, we’re
not exactly sailors?"

  Vixen studied the red sky. "Thank god Orlando is inland."

  I stepped back and looked at her, she was smiling. "I love you, you know that?"

  "So I hear," Vixen replied cheekily.

  I couldn’t get over how everyone had stepped up, from maintenance to accounts receivable, from stock room to managers, they had all put forth Herculean efforts to get to this day. It was now time to execute the plan, and in 72 hours, we would know, win or lose. Would Noel's still in business or be closed forever?

  While Noel’s was important to me, it took a back seat to Vixen. Vixen was my one. I could no longer live without her.

  We had the best sex imaginable several times a day, every day this week. Was it selfish that I secretly hoped that she was already pregnant? Sure. But we were going to be together, forever, it was only a matter of time anyway.

  I stepped back from the window, "You ready to head in?"

  "Yes. I’m excited." Vixen was practically bouncing.

  Anyone driving near Noel’s knew something was up even if they had missed the flyers, the billboards, or the advertisements strategically placed during nightly shows, and on local favorite websites. Traffic was moving at a snails pace.

  I inched over to my right and took the exit ramp onto Sandlake Road. My heart picked up its pace as I inched closer.

  Vixen reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of sunglasses and slipped them on. "It’s like the bright lights of Broadway met New Year’s Eve in Time Square, isn’t it?"

  "Yeah." It wasn’t poetic or inspiring but at that moment it was all I could think to say because I was speechless. "I can’t believe you got all of this together in one week."

  "We got this together. This is a we, Mr. Cee."

  I pulled into my spot in the employee parking area. I raced around to help Vixen out of the car but let’s be honest she was not the type of woman who would ever need help. I just wanted her to know that I was there for her.

  Wrapping her small hand in mine, we headed for the back entrance. Mike from Maintenance opened the door for us before we reached it. "Welcome."

  "You’re here early."

  "We all are." He pointed his hammer toward the store floor.

  "All?" I asked.

  "Yeah, see for yourself."

  Vixen and I moved inside. "I thought all those cars must belong to people you had hired not Noel’s employees. Secretly I was a little worried about where they were going to park."

  Vixen squeezed my hand. "Oh ye of little faith, when are you going to learn that I have everything taken care of?"

  "Good morning Mr. Kringle, Miss Brenna."

  "Good morning."

  "It’s a great day."

  "Morning Cee, Morning Vixen," Mary said.

  As we walked through the store, eager faces in their standard Noel’s uniforms of red vests and red ties were busy with last minute work. Some were polishing glass displays, some were filling cases. But no one was too busy that they couldn’t stop and say hello or good morning. Cee smiled, this was how Noel’s used to be, the store he remembered from when he was a kid. The one he wanted to leave to his children some day.

  "Orange juice or mimosa?" A server in a red cummerbund walked around holding a tray with champagne flutes.

  "No thank you, we’re good," Vixen answered then turned to me. "We have several servers walking around on both levels all day today and throughout the weekend. Most of the time they will be offering samples from the bake shop and candy department."

  "Genius. You’re a genius, have I told you that?"

  "No. But no time like the present to start." Vixen smiled. I did a quick scan of the area to make sure no one was watching then pinched her butt. "Oww. Keep your hands to yourself mister."

  "Not on your life." Static crackled over the speakers and then holiday tunes started wafting over the air. "So what else do you have planned that I know nothing about?"

  Two different local morning shows will be filming from the store today. We have given free rein to a few radio shows and television stations to park their vans and broadcast live as well. We have pretty much blanketed the area with flyers and have promo spots running anywhere and everywhere that we can."

  "Wow, you thought of everything haven’t you?"

  "Oh just wait. Just after lunch the Orlando Suns and their cheerleaders will be here to sign autographs and pose for photos."

  "Suns as in the NFL team?"

  "Yep. On Saturday we have the NBA Orlando Lightning and on Sunday is our MBA team the Hurricanes."

  "Vixen, you’re incredible."

  "Keep going." Vixen laughed.

  "Amazing, sexy, most adorable"—I wrapped her in my arms—"woman I have ever met, no wonder that I fell for you." My stomach let out a loud grumble just at that moment.

  "Speaking of sexy." Vixen patted my stomach. "Let’s go get you something to eat."

  Ten

  Vixen

  Friday was a tempest. Saturday was a tornado. And Sunday was a typhoon. All weekend there had been activities, professional sports teams, and local celebrities. I glanced over at Cee as we sat in the conference room, Nick, Mary, and the other department heads all gathered round.

  The company accountant had been up here all weekend running a tally as employees closed out their registers.

  "Let’s break it down folks," Barney the CPA said.

  Really? How about skip that bullshit and just tell us the final total? Of course, I didn’t say that.

  "In three days Noel’s brought in more than they had so far the entire year." Everyone in the room gasped at that announcement. "Granted there are still a few weeks left before the money is due. However, our inventory is low. If we pay all of this to our tax lien we won’t have the resources to purchase new merchandise." Several people groaned.

  "Whoa." I stood up. "Did you not hear Barney, we did more in one weekend than we have done all year? We still have a couple more weeks.”

  “Yeah but the shelves are looking bare,” The manager of the jewelry department stated.

  “This is December, we are known as a holiday store, let’s put our skills and services to use. Next weekend we are hosting a pet parade. Let’s feature our own reindeer. I paused at the sound of Cee laughing. Great, now I was remembering our discussion about our names, several people followed my gaze and were now looking at Cee as well. "Can we get back on topic? We have two weekends left. We’re are going to be offering reindeer rides."

  "Like hell we are," Cee muttered.

  I scratched my nose with my middle finger. "Moving on. This week I’d like to move a few employees over to the candy shop and bakery. We can make up boxes of our famous chocolates and that will help fill shelves. Add boxes of candy with a bottle of perfume to make the gift a larger sell." I continued going through my ideas for the following weeks before sitting back down and handing the floor back to Barney.

  "Well, as I was saying, in one weekend we were able to do more than we had done all year. More than anything we generated a new interest in Noel’s."

  Sliding one hand under the table, I gripped onto Cee’s thigh. He didn’t jump so I inched my fingers up toward his lap. But he grabbed my hand instead and held it firmly nestled in his hands.

  "Does anyone have any questions?" Barney asked. When no one replied, he wrapped up. "Okay. Then, I think we’ve got this." Everyone cheered and I glanced over at Cee’s father, Nick and saw a tear in his eye that he was refusing to let fall.

  Nick stood. "I don’t know how to thank you, all of you. Needless to say that this wouldn’t have been possible without all of us working together. Each of you are an integral part of the Noel’s family. But I would be remiss without saying thank you to my son, he was here from the crack of dawn to midnight refusing to let this store, his legacy die. And of course to Vixen, you were just the splash we needed in so many ways. You gave us new life here at Noel’s and in the Kringle family." Nick was staring at Cee now, not at me. "Thank you from the bott
om of my heart." Nick wiped away that stubborn tear that had now billowed down his cheek. "Go home, all of you. Mary and I have rearranged schedules somewhat and we are not opening until noon tomorrow. I better not see a single person here much before that. Now go."

  I pushed back my chair and then we all stood around saying goodnight, giving hugs, and secretly praying that we continued to flourish over the next two weeks.

  Cee wove his finger through mine and led me through the store. I thought that we were headed out but instead he led me to the stables.

  "Why are we going here?"

  "I wanted to check on something real quick. Jake went home a long time ago and since we are coming in late tomorrow, just need to make sure all is secure."

  "Oh, okay." I stayed in the doorway as Cee moved toward Rudolph’s stall.

  "Come here." He waved me closer. "Do you remember when this is where we thought the magic began?"

  "Yes?" My reply was definitely more of a question. Cee answered my question by bending to one knee.

  "I was wrong. This…right now is when the magic begins. You and me, forever. Will you marry me?"

  I bit my lower lip, it was the only way that I could control the emotions that were running through me. I was feeling so much, all at once. I nodded.

  Cee pulled out a red box and opened the lid. Inside was a ruby surrounded by diamonds on a diamond eternity band. "I hope you like it. I just couldn’t see you wearing plain ole white."

  I laughed at him referring to a diamond as plain ole white. "I love it. You’re right, a ruby is absolutely me." I held out my left hand and Cee slipped the ring on my third finger.

  "Let the magic begin," Cee said as he stood.

  "It’s already started.”

  Epilogue

  Vixen

  Three years later…

  I sat in the backseat of the car, one hand on my purse and the other on my stomach. "Can you go any faster Nate?"