I don’t argue; I just answer him with a ragged plead.

He uses his foot to shove my legs apart further, and then he’s pressing against me. He has one hand on my hip now, pulling me back into him. The other is flat on the wall beside my head. He presses against my entrance, and he plunges inside with no warning. I cry out, feeling the exquisite burn a he stretches and fills me. A strangled cry leaves my throat and I feel my entire body heat from head to toe.

“So fuckin’ sweet,” he rasps.

“Harder, sir,” I beg. “Fuck me harder.”

“Shit, Jaybird,” he growls.

He splays his hand out on my hip and moves it up over my belly, pressing it there, and using it to drive his thrusts. Our skin slaps together, our panting is loud and erotic, and our bodies are feeding off each other, with such need and want. My body tightens around him, and his hand leaves my belly to smooth back around to my bottom. I clench harder, getting closer and closer.

“I’m going to come, Muff, oh God.”

Just as I feel the first explosive pull of orgasm rip through my body Muff brings his hand down over my ass again. The sting of pain does something to me, and I come like I’ve never come before.

“Holy, oh, God, Muff, oh, God, fuck,” I scream, feeling my knees wobble.

Muff wraps an arm around me to stop me from falling, and he pumps in and out of me desperately before joining me in release with a ragged, feral hiss. I feel his body tense and explode, and he spurts deep and hard inside me. For long delicious moments we come together, shuddering and jerking as each last bolt of pleasure is ripped from our bodies. Muff drops his head into my shoulder, and his skin is covered with a fine sheen of sweat.

“Well fuck,” he murmurs. “That was hot.”

“Someone likes the chase,” I say, turning and pressing my nose into his neck and breathing him in. Muff smells better than Christmas. Better than a newborn baby. He smells all man, and it’s a smell that isn’t easily replaced.

“Says she.” He chuckles. “You little minx.”

“My knees are about to give way...”

He leans back slowly, and then he swoops down, lifting me up into his arms. He carries us both to the room, and when we get in we see the glimpse of the big spa in the bathroom. Our eyes meet at the exact same time.

“Hell yeah!” he grins.

Hell yeah, all right.

Chapter 4

Mistletoe

Janine

“Tell me how you got tangled up with that asshole of a man?” Muff says, filling his palm with soap and pressing it to my hair.

“He was all I knew. I didn’t have a great childhood. My mother loved me, as you have seen, but she was poor. We spent a lot of time on the streets. I was working at a bar, trying desperately to make a life for myself, and that’s where I met him.”

I take a wobbly breath and continue.

“He helped me one night when a group of men were getting a bit too touchy. I fell for him at the time, he was a bad boy, and he saved me. It didn’t last long. He soon became abusive and cold. He was a monster.”

“So why did you stay?”

I sigh. “The house my mom was renting was his. If I left...it meant she would’ve been back on the streets. I couldn’t do it, so I stayed. It was awful, but she meant too much to me.”

“Takes a brave fuckin’ person to do something like that.”

“Yeah, maybe. Wouldn’t we all do that for our family?”

Muff shakes his head, and continues lathering the soap. “No. There are plenty of people who would hurt their families to get what they want. Hogan is a perfect example of that.”

“He was a monster,” I whisper.

“Yeah, that about covers it.”

“I’m not ungrateful for the life I had. I was safe enough, and Ebony had a roof over her head and food in her belly. He never hurt her. He did love our daughter. Maybe not enough, but he did. And besides, I met Serenity there. If none of that happened, I wouldn’t be here now. So there’s always a reason for things.”

“That’s a damn fine outlook to have on life, Jaybird.”

“Yeah, well, I’m a glass half-full kinda girl.”

He chuckles. “Close your eyes.”

I close my eyes and he rinses the soap from my body and head. I groan with delight as his fingers graze over my skin.

“I’ve never met someone like you, Jaybird.”

I open my eyes, wiping them with the back of my hand. I stare at the man in front of me, with his different yet stunning looks, and I know I feel the same about him. I’ve never met anyone like him either.

“Have there been many women?” I ask.

Muff’s eyes grow a little sad. “I had one, a long time ago.”

“What happened?” I say, feeling my heart flutter.

“She cheated on me with my best friend. I saw them in the room, on my bed, fucking. It burned something inside me, and I just never found anyone again. Maybe I wasn’t looking. Either way, I was protecting my heart.”

“Why are you letting me in then?” I say, searching his face.

“Because there’s something damned beautiful about you that I’ve not seen in a woman for such a long time.”

I swallow, and bite my lower lip. “Well shit, now I feel all mushy...”

He chuckles softly, swiping my cheek with his thumb. “So you should. You’re changin’ me.”

“Muff, can I ask you something?” I say, filling my palm with soap and leaning forward, placing my hands on his gorgeous chest.