Page 56 of Christmas Coffee

Celyn watches intently, his eyes flicking between my chest and my face. Celyn stiffens and looks up at me. “Nova, I need to tell you…”

“It’s all right.” I know what he’s going to say and I’m okay with it. He’s too old and I’m too young. He wants permission, my permission. It’s why he asked before he kissed me. I want to make him feel more at ease, and if he wants me, I want there to be no doubt about how I feel about him. I hold my arms out to him and Celyn nestles back into the spot where he was before, but now there’s bare skin and slick satin.

“Nova, I need to tell you—”

“It’s all right, Celyn.” I feel his eyes close against my flesh like he’s warring within. “There’s still a lot to say, and I trust you. It’ll be all right.” I don’t think he’s going to move, but after a moment, his hands slip up from my waist and splay across my back, making me lean into him.

Celyn presses his mouth to my skin, to the spot just below my throat and leaves a kiss. His hot lips move again, trailing down toward my waist one kiss at a time until he’s caressing my curves. He loosens the rest of the top and pushes it to my waist, and then unfastens my bra, removing it completely. I’m bare, with my back to the frosted glass and feel completely exposed even though no one can see inside. I want to ask him what he thinks of me, if he likes what he sees, but I don’t have to speak.

“You’re so beautiful, so amazingly stunning.” He hesitates before touching me. My breasts ache for his hands and his mouth, and it takes so much to not lean into him, to wait for him to do what he wants.

Celyn dips his head and slowly moves his lips over the swell of my chest. My back arches into his kiss and when he flicks my sensitive skin with his tongue I gasp. My hands are in his hair, pulling him to me, wanting more. My body is humming, wanting to get lost in him, hoping he doesn’t stop. His mouth moves over me in slow, deliberate strokes, sucking, tasting, and teasing until I’m gasping his name over and over again.

Between kisses, he lifts his head and confesses, “I love it when you say my name.”

His mouth is on me again, moving in a seductive pattern, caressing me, teasing me. My body grows warmer as my head become lighter. Sparks shoot through me with every touch of his lips and when his fingertips move across my bare skin, desire pools within me, dark and demanding. Gasping, I wrap my legs around his hips and desperately want to ease the heated pulsing building within. His hands are on me, his lips taking me higher than I’ve ever been, as I claw at his sweater, wishing it weren’t there.

I can’t help it, I beg him, “Celyn, please. I want to be with you. Please, Celyn.”

He pulls back and looks into my eyes. His hands cup my cheeks as he smiles at me, “I love it when you say my name.”

I smile wickedly at him and beg, “Please, Celyn.”

A bright smile fills his face and he laughs, “God, I love you, Nova.”

I tense and blink, the seduction haze clearing slightly at his words. Celyn’s smile falls as his eyes fill with panic. He didn’t mean to say that. His gaze darts to the side, avoiding me. Holy shit. Did he really say that? Does he love me? Why didn’t I notice until now? From the way he looks anywhere but at me, I know it’s true. The confession slipped off his lips—he never meant to tell me that tonight.

I place a few fingers on each cheek and lift his eyes to meet mine. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” He’s visibly upset. “Nova, this shouldn’t be, none of it should be—” He’s about to pull away again. I feel his apprehension overpowering his feelings, rising to the surface like a caged animal about to break free.

“And yet, here we are,” I say, cutting him off before he can move, before his guard shoots up again and I never get back in. I smile at him, letting the words fall freely, “Celyn, you’re not the only one who fell hard.”

Hope dances in his eyes as he looks up at me. “What are you saying?”

“I love you, too.” I sit there, feeling more exposed than I have in a long time, when Celyn reaches for me. He wraps his arms around me and holds me tight.

He whispers up at me, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Celyn sweeps me up off the counter and lowers me to the beanbag chair. He slowly, carefully, removes every stitch of my clothing, kissing me as he does it. I look up at him, still fully clothed, still wearing that dark blue sweater that feels like it’s made out of baby unicorn fur.

My voice is soft, careful. I still worry he’ll say no, but I ask anyway, “Be with me?”

In response, he pulls off his clothes and grabs the blankets as he lies next to me. “Are you cold?”

I shake my head and reach for Celyn, pulling him to me. He doesn’t hesitate. He returns to worshiping every inch of my body. We’re tangled together, slick skin covered in sweat, losing ourselves to lust-filled love as the night gives way to morning.