Christmas Bytes Read online

  Jayce looked at her as well, eyes enraptured by her bare breasts. She allowed him to lean forward to cup them, thumbs brushing against her hardened nipples.

  They managed to divest themselves of the rest of their clothing and fell back into kissing and touching each other wherever they could reach.

  This was madness. Lucy knew that they both were keenly aware of this. They just couldn’t seem to manage the will to stop the pull of their bodies toward each other.

  As the kissed and touched, they rolled around the floor of his living room, bumping into furniture. At one point, they knocked over the Christmas tree he had in one corner of the room. The tree toppled, thankfully away from them, as the light and ornaments bounced around them.

  They both paused, only for a moment, to laugh together at the craziness. Before long they resumed their kissing and touching.

  Somehow, Lucy had ended on top, and she was relishing the feel of him beneath her. She couldn't hold back anymore. Moving her way down his body, she hooked her fingers in the band of his briefs, to pull them off as moved her way toward his feet. He sprung free and she got an eyeful of a mouthwatering cock.

  She was a big believer in seduction and in both partners giving equally. But right now, she was too wound up and impatient for foreplay. She straddled him again, the wetness from the tip of his cock brushing her thigh. Grabbing onto it, she relished the velvety hardness in her palm, and watched as his throat convulsed at her touch.

  “Lucy!” came his voice, raw and ragged. A darkness came into his eyes that only excited her more. He clamped onto her hips again and seemed to hold on for dear life. She stroked the generous length of him and continued to watch the look of torture play across his features.

  She had left her panties and stockings on. The former were becoming soaked with her own arousal. Astride one of his thighs, she lowered her body down and let her sex grind against it to find some relief. Her intention had been to continue to play with him, while pleasuring herself with his thigh, but he had other plans.

  She saw the moment he registered that she was rubbing her drenched and swollen core against him. Looking into her eyes, he reached a hand and touched her pussy through the fabric of her panties. His own eyes widened and his nostrils flared at the contact.

  “Fuck,” he breathed fiercely. “You are so fucking ready for me.”

  Lucy couldn't speak. She could only moan her agreement.

  “Tell me what you want darling,” he implored her. It looked to her as if restraining himself was coming at a cost by the way a muscle in his jaw jumped. His eyes were serious and intent on her expression. “If you want to stop, you need to tell me now.”

  “No. I don’t want to stop,” she shook her head. She ran a thumb over the head of his cock, which was still in her hand, and spread the moisture of his precum around in a lazy circle. “I want you to fuck me.”

  Lifting the same thumb, she brought it to her mouth and sucked the glistening wetness from it. In a flash, Jayce had them flipped before she could even register what had happened.

  Jayce leaned over her, expression lustful and wanting. The glow of the Christmas lights was all around her, haloing her, and the moment felt positively magical and impossibly erotic. He had reached down and removed her panties from her when he had flipped them over, and he now lay a bare hand against her hot flesh.

  Lucy wanted to weep at the contact. It felt so good to be touched intimately again.

  He cursed at the feel of her against his palm. His fingers began a steady exploration of her folds, all the while his throat and jaw convulsed with the effort to control himself. Writhing and arching her back in pleasure, she held onto his arms and she let herself succumb to the sensations he was stirring with fingers until she couldn’t take it any longer.

  “I – I’m ready,” she panted. Breathless in her wanting. “I’m so ready… Please.”

  “Please what darling?” he asked as he trailed kisses along her jaw. A teasing note in his voice.

  Lucy swore she would make him pay for that.

  “Please fuck me,” she said fiercely. “Fuck me now Jayce.”

  His pants were, thankfully, close by and he reached into a pocket. He slipped the condom on with quick efficiency.

  Her commanding tone had seemed to have an effect on him like she could not believe. All playfulness vanished and he adjusted himself until he was situated where he needed to be between her thighs. The thick, blunt head of his cock nudged at the folds of her slick entrance and she moaned in anticipation.

  Digging in her nails into his backside, just a little, caused him to surge forward, filling her in one thrust. She cried out in ecstasy as he shouted, hoarsely. He dropped his head between the cradle of her neck and shoulders and breathed deeply. Seeming to need a minute, he reached his hands up and reverently cupped her breasts again. He teased the taut peaks until they were pink and swollen, before leaning down to soothe the tender flesh with his mouth. He sucked on one nipple first, lashing it with the attention of his tongue, before letting it pop out of his mouth to tend to the other breast.

  After a moment, he began to move his hips again.

  Lucy urged him on by matching the rhythm of his thrusts and raising her hips to meet his. Faster and faster the pace went until they were both covered in a fine sheen of sweat and breathing hard. She was feeling deliciously filled by him and the friction of his thrusts was satisfying the bone-deep craving she’d had for physical intimacy. It wasn’t enough to make her cum, but she was ok with that. She knew all too well that there was more to sexual gratification other than lots and lots of orgasms.

  She could smell their combined arousal and she dragged in greedy breaths, feeling drugged by the heady scent. Urging Jayce on, she bit into his shoulder and licked the salty flavor of him. He had jumped a bit when she had done that and she was more convinced than ever of her theory about him. She bit him again, a little harder this time, and dug in her nails into his deep enough that she knew little half-moons would be left there for a while.

  Jayce spasmed and jerked, head tossed back as he shouted at the ceiling. She could feel the heat of him as he came and she felt an afterglow of satisfaction and having had that effect on him.

  She rubbed her palms across his back and shoulders, crooning nonsensical words of comfort. He lay atop her, propped on his elbows and careful not to crush her with his weight. His mouth continued to lazily pepper her neck and shoulders with kisses and she basked in the attention.

  Confusion came over, slowly, when she realized he was trailing the kisses lower and lower. When he reached the soft flesh of her belly, she finally asked what he was doing.

  “I came,” he told her matter-of-factly, “And you didn’t.”

  “Yeah, bu –,”

  “I really want you to at least let me try Lucy,” he looked at her earnestly and placed a tender kiss on her inner thigh. “Please?”

  She had started to tremble again at that last kiss on her heated skin. Part of it was the reaction of her body awakening and perking up again at the idea of more pleasure. Part of it was because she was confused by her own feelings about this situation. About this man… She decided to follow her gut.

  “Alright. Yes.”

  Jayce

  They lay in dazed contentment. His bicep pillowed Lucy’s head and her soft hand lay, fingers splayed across his chest. The fingers curled in and he could feel the edges of her nails scrape smoothly across his skin and crisp chest hair.

  Jayce wasn’t usually sappy, but he felt as if there was a slightly magical feel and tenuous harmony that clung to the air in the aftermath of what they had just done. They were surrounded in the soft glow of the colored Christmas lights. They were strewn about them and it only added to the fragile peace with Lucy that he felt currently.

  “Where did you learn to tie knots like that?” her voice murmured quietly. It was a miracle that they hadn’t broken the strand of lights. They had first used them on her… And then they had been used
on him

  “Why?” Curiosity piqued his interest. It had been an impulsive move on his part, but her reaction had been well worth it. She had moaned and thrashed about more wildly than before.

  It had been a beautiful sight.

  “Well,” she turned her body and face more toward him, and she looked up at him beneath her lashes, “They were pretty good. Not flawless, but better than what the average person can usually do.”

  “Are you some kind of knots expert in your spare time?” he teased. “The banking life not so thrilling on the days when you’re not getting kidnapped?”

  Lucy’s face turned down, away from his gaze.

  Shit. He mentally kicked himself. There he went opening up his trap and ruining the moment. Of course, he shouldn’t have brought up the circumstances that had brought them together this night.

  “I guess,” she hesitated. “I guess I could be considered a knots expert. Came in handy when I was a dominatrix.”

  Jayce was stunned. No smart-ass comment forthcoming. Silence stretched.

  Is she joking? He, admittedly, didn’t know her well enough to know.

  “When you were what?” He tried going for a more curious tone, not wanting her to think he was judging her at all.

  “A dominatrix,” her voice stronger now. More confident. “Ex-dominatrix now, I guess. I got out of the business a little over a year ago.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Absolutely.” She gave him a perplexed look. “Why would I lie about something like that?”

  “Oh... Wow,” was all he could think to say. She leaned up on one elbow to look at him and he was sure there was a stunned expression on his face.

  “Don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical to judge me?” she said stiffly, a frown creasing her brow.

  He sat up quickly, still on the floor, and he leaned his back against the couch. “Hold on there. I’m not judging. Just took me by surprise. It’s not every day you meet someone that’s a dominatrix”

  “Ex,” she said flatly.

  “Ex,” he corrected to indulge her, raising his hands up in supplication. “I’m not judging. In fact, I’d like to ask you for the same courtesy…” he took in a big breath. Hesitation was plaguing him but he forged ahead, “I want to tell you what I was doing at the bank tonight.”

  “You don’t need to tell me,” she huffed. “The only reason a thief breaks into a bank is to steal cold hard cash or to commit a data breach and steal customer’s personal information.”

  “But I came from the vault,” he pointed out. Jayce tried to bite back the frustration in his voice. He had put her through a lot this evening. “There’s no money or codes kept in the vault.”

  The air of righteousness left Lucy and her facial features relaxed. There was still suspicion in her eyes, but Jayce got the impression she was more open to hear him out now. She had been so eager to condemn him most of the night that he had not thought telling her the truth an option. But she had been willing to share something about herself, something he wanted to know more about.

  So maybe he should be more open and share with her as well. It would be a first for him.

  At that moment, a rumbling growl came from Lucy’s stomach. He raised a brow and looked pointedly at that region of her body. Her soft curves and belly were wrapped up in the plaid sofa throw he had pulled over their naked bodies earlier. With the Christmas lights tangled around her feet and sparkling tinsel in her hair, she looked like a vixen that should grace the cover of an erotic, holiday themed, paperback novel.

  “Hungry?” he grinned at her, keeping his thoughts to himself.

  “Someone kidnapped me before I could have dinner,” she cocked her own brow back at him and looked at him archly. She was teasing him and Jayce found that he liked it.

  “Touché.”

  All too quickly, her expression sobered and the playfulness vanished.

  “What did you steal from the vaults Jayce?”

  Chapter 5

  Lucinda

  He gave her an assessing look.

  “If you let me buy you dinner,” he started hesitantly. Lucy was about to point out his obvious deflection when he continued. “I will tell you. Would you hear me out and not run?”

  Lucy was at a loss for words, for once. Is he being serious? She wasn’t sure. The thought occurred to her that he must surely testing her. But for what reason?

  “Yes. I’ll hear you out.”

  They walked down a deserted sidewalk to a 24-hour diner Jayce had said was right around the corner from his loft. There was a crisp coldness in the air and she was glad that he had taken her hand closest to him and tucked it into the pocket of his hoodie.

  He had dressed them both in his cozy sweatpants, long-sleeved thermals and hoodie sweaters pulled over. Lucy had tied the sweatpants with double knots to keep them from sliding off her hips. She had been enveloped in his scent, masculine and spicy, when first putting on the clothes and had trouble not recalling their passionate escapades on the living room floor.

  When she had come out of the bathroom dressed in his things, Jayce had looked at her oddly. There had been a sparkle to his eyes, but the tightening of his mouth left her confused. He was a bit difficult to read at times. Something that was new to her.

  “There will be snow by the end of next week,” he observed conversationally. His comment brought her out of her reverie, and she looked around her.

  “That’s shame,” she said wistfully.

  She had grown up in southern California. Her travels with Granite Forge Bank had already taken her on several trips around the country, but this was her first time traveling with for her job during the winter months. She was still too new to the company to take the holidays off. Before, as a dom, she had usually taken the month of December as vacation and stayed with her parents. If she had a boyfriend at the time, she would split the holiday between his parents and hers.

  “I won't be here to enjoy it. I fly out on Tuesday. Doesn’t snow like this in Cali.”

  There had been a subtle tightening to Jayce’s hand when she had mentioned her flight.

  She stopped in her tracks, forcing him to stop along with her, and he turned his face to her. There was a questioning look.

  “Will I be making that flight Jayce?”

  “I wouldn’t be dressing and feeding you if you weren't.”

  The diner was retro-themed and Lucy was ecstatic on the inside. Move over IHOP!

  She had never been in a diner like this before and it conjured up all the novels and movies she had ever encountered with scenes that took place in one.

  They took a booth by one of the windows facing the street. Steaming cups of coffee in hand they both looked out onto the sleepy town of Alta Vista and sat in companionable silence. The forecast of snow was not the only thing she could feel trembling in the air. Lucy imagined that they could both feel the tingle between them. Since leaving the apartment, there had been an unspoken and tenuous truce she felt vibrating between them.

  There had been several times on the walk to the diner when Lucy could have snatched her hand from his a booked it to run screaming into the night. She could have shouted for help and made a scene. Drawn people to their windows with her supplications.

  “I came to Alta Vista to help a friend,” he started. Lucy tore her gaze from the sleeping town and tuned to him. She had been so caught up in the peaceful aura between that was between and all around them that she had almost forgotten what the circumstances that led to the here and now. Almost.

  Instead of scoffing and making her incredulity clear, she raised a brow at him. She was used to voicing her thoughts. But, making her opinions known so far hadn’t worked with him. Or with other people for that matter.

  “I owe this friend everything,” he said, still looking outside. “Brought me up and out of a life of poverty and mediocrity. He made me who I am today.”

  Jayce looked at her then. She could see the turmoil of memories and convictions swir
ling in the depths of his eyes and expression.

  “He made you a thief?” Lucy hedged.

  “I made myself into a professional thief,” he parried. “Martin showed me the possibilities of other paths other than the traditional four-year university degree. He didn’t coerce me into it. In the end, it was my decision to make it my vocation.”

  “Your vocation is stealing from innocent people,” Lucy hurled at him in a lowered voice. Aware that they were not quiet alone in the diner. Her anger was flaring again. This time at the mane Jayce considered his mentor. “That’s not a job or a profession. It’s a life of crime pure and simple.”

  “It’s not simple... I won't lie to you and say that I haven't stolen from innocent people,” he leaned forward, making sure her attention was on him “In the past. Not anymore. Believe it or not, it does weigh on my mind.”

  “Oh, I'm sure the all the money you've stolen helps console you at night.”

  “Like whipping old men’s asses for cash is any more dignified?” he retorted, eyes blazing in anger. “Where do you get off on judging me for stealing from the one percent that can spare it? I said I didn’t judge you before about being a dominatrix. And that is true. To each their own... It’d be nice if you practiced a little of what you preach.”

  Lucy couldn’t help the gasp of hurt that escaped her. She shouldn’t have been surprised. Not really. In the past, people that she had told what her job was had first acted with open-minded curiosity. It had never taken long for them to make assumptions or snide comments when it had suited them.

  Immediately after that comment, he looked contrite. He opened his mouth –.

  At that moment, their waitress came up to their tables with their orders. The plates, loaded generously, were steaming hot and smelled delicious. Jayce sat back as they were set before them and some of the defensiveness in his posture seemed to leave him.

  Lucy’s stomach made its hunger known but her emotions were in knots, making her hesitate to reach for her fork just then.

  “I’m sorry,” Jayce murmured. His own fork picked at his omelet without bringing a bite to his lips.