One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

VAUGHNHADBRACEDhis hands on either side of the doorjamb and the moment Sierra opened the door, he wanted to pull her into his arms. He had only been gone five days, but he’d missed her like crazy. It never mattered how exhausted he was after long days of meetings and conference calls, and visiting with Zara, he’d always gone to sleep thinking of Sierra.

Damn, if she wasn’t beautiful, standing there bathed in the glow from the foyer’s lamp. His eyes took a leisurely sweep of her. She was wearing a pair of dark slacks and a plaid print blouse. She always wore stylish blouses and they fitted perfectly against the shape of her full breasts. She was wearing light makeup, if she was wearing any at all, and her hair flowed around her shoulders.

He exhaled a deep breath before his emotions got the better of him. “Hello, Sierra.”

“Vaughn.”

With greetings out of the way, they both stood there, staring at each other. He wanted to kiss her. Bad.

“Please come in,” she said at last, stepping back and breaking the intense silence between them.

He entered her home, closed the door behind him and turned to face her. The main reason he didn’t pull her into his arms right then was because he wasn’t sure if Teryn would pop up at any moment. He recalled over dinner the little girl saying she got to stay up late on Friday nights.

“Is Teryn asleep?” he asked, talking in a low voice, just in case she wasn’t still up.

“No. She’s not here. One of her classmates had a sleepover birthday party. I’ll pick her up tomorrow evening.”

That meant they were alone. That knowledge sent sexual excitement and anticipation curling low in his stomach and down, throbbing heavily in his groin. Not able to contain himself, he reached out and tugged her close, wrapping his arms around her waist.

He’d told her what he wanted and why he was there...and she had opened the door. But first he needed to tell her something. Looking deeply into her eyes, he said, “I missed you this week.”

“Really? Is that why you didn’t call?”

He could tell from the way she broke eye contact with him that she hadn’t meant to say that.

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted to hear from me or not. I thought maybe I’d worn out my welcome on Sunday.”

She looked back at him and he saw vulnerability in her eyes. “If you honestly thought that then why are you here now?”

The answer to that was easy. “I couldn’t stay away.” Unable to help himself, he lowered his mouth to hers in a deep, seductive and thorough kiss. Moments later he pulled back, wanting her to get prepared before he went in full force. She stared up at him. They both took several breaths, and he lowered his head to kiss her again.

This time he kissed her with all the passion, need and desire he’d held back the first time. His tongue immediately went inside her mouth to reclaim her.

While she said she wasn’t ready to get seriously involved with anyone, her body told a different story. The bottom line was that they were already involved and she would eventually realize that. Desire clutched hard at his insides and when she leaned into him, he was certain she could feel his erection pressing against her.

Sliding his hands up from her waist, he cupped the back of her head to deepen the kiss. He loved kissing her and could tell by her response that she liked being kissed by him. Her lips were perfect. Where his were firm and strong, hers felt soft and gentle.

He might be devouring her, but returning his kiss, she was just as greedy. That made him wonder about all the passion she’d been holding back. From their last encounter in her office, he knew that she was a passionate individual. He couldn’t help but wonder if she really knew the extent of her sexual hunger. He had a feeling he was just scratching the surface and there was a lot to be discovered.

Vaughn broke off the kiss and was breathing hard, trying to catch his breath, and he saw she was doing the same. He also noted the deep, dark glaze in her eyes.

“You’re good at this, you know,” she whispered.

He leaned in and nibbled around her lips. “Good at what?”

“Kissing.”

“I’m glad you think so.” The way he saw it she was just as good. He loved her taste and the way her tongue would mate with his.

When her arms slid around his neck, he knew she was ready for another kiss. This time he intended to give her a kiss she’d never forget. Lowering his head, he took her mouth again and his hands were on the move. He wanted to touch her, feel her all over as their mouths mated vigorously.

He heard her tiny whimpers but he didn’t let up. He could kiss her for days, hours. Hell, he could kiss her until every single ship docked at the pier went out to sea and returned home again.

When he felt his control slipping, Vaughn pulled back. He wanted her so bad he was tempted to strip off their clothes, lower her to the floor and take her right here and now. But he couldn’t do that. Fighting for the little control he had left, he whispered against her moist lips, “Your office or upstairs?”

Vaughn waited for her response and knew whatever she decided would be a turning point in their relationship. He figured she knew it as well and that was the reason for her pause.

Finally, when he thought he couldn’t handle the silence any longer, she whispered, “Upstairs, but...”

His brows rose. “But what?”

“Tonight, I don’t want more than just the moment, Vaughn.”

Reaching out, he caressed her cheek with his finger. “Are you sure that’s all you want, Sierra? You deserve so much more.”

“The moment is all I can handle.”

He didn’t say anything, searching her face, then said, “What if I said that I hope to persuade you otherwise?”

She leaned in and rested her forehead against his. “You’ll probably be wasting your time, Vaughn.”

“I won’t be wasting it, Sierra.”

He then swept her up into his arms.


VAUGHNPLACED SIERRAon the bed and stepped back to look at her. He’d pictured this very scene so many times in his mind and now that it was happening, he felt fire blazing inside of him, he was that overheated, that aroused. From the way her eyes gave him a slow, sweeping perusal, he knew she hadn’t missed a thing. Especially his solid, hard erection.

He was determined to show her—with time and patience—that this single moment was not all she could handle. She could handle him. He couldn’t think of any other woman who could—or who he would want to—handle him. Sierra Crane had, without even trying, done something no other woman had been able to do, make him want more. He was practically burning for it, and he intended to make her want more as well.

Retracing his steps to the bed, he drew Sierra into his arms and captured her mouth in another scorching hot kiss. With their mouths connected, he felt a flood of sensations invade his entire being, taking over his senses and making him feel crazy with need.

Her hands had a tight grip on his hair, keeping him in place as she held his lips to hers. With her possessiveness spurring him on, he kissed the hell out of her.

When he ended the kiss and stared into her eyes, he felt how his heart rate...as well as the size of his erection...had increased. He moved away from the bed, glad to see her flowers were still blooming as he took his wallet and phone from his pants pocket and put them on her dresser beside the vase.

Glancing over at her he saw the way she was looking at him, and actually felt the intense heat they were generating. Feeling overheated, he began stripping off his clothes. Vaughn saw her eyes widen when he eased off both his pants and his briefs.

He got a condom packet from his wallet and strolled, naked, back to the bed. “Have you ever put a condom on a man before, Sierra?”

She gave a negative shake of her head. He offered the condom to her. “Do you want to try it, cherie?”

She looked at the packet and then back up at him. He released his breath when a slow smile spread across her lips. “You trust me to do this?” she asked.

“Yes, I trust you to do that.”

He knew he was taking a risk, knowing her touch might drive him right over the edge, but he was willing to take the chance. He’d never allowed any woman to sheath him before, but he wanted her to be his first.

She carefully opened the packet and pulled out the condom. She studied it, and then she stared at his penis as if trying to figure out how it would work.

“Hold the tip of the condom between your forefinger and thumb and then roll it over the full length of me,” he instructed huskily.

She nodded and followed his instructions. He drew in a sharp breath the moment she touched him, and she glanced up at him. “You okay?” she asked.

He clenched his jaw, fighting for control. “Yes, I’m okay,” he said, when he really wasn’t. She had him in her hand and took her time to put the condom on him, making sure she was doing it correctly.

Sweat broke out on his forehead because even though she had put the condom on, she still held him in her hands.

“I didn’t think it would fit,” she said, as if in awe.

“I knew it would.”

And then she began running her fingers along his shaft, drawing circles around the condom tip and then dipping a finger lower to caress his balls...while staring up at him, holding his gaze.

Jesus, did she have any idea what she was doing to him? He noticed her breathing had changed. It was coming out harder and her cheeks were even flushed.

When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he reached out for Sierra and pulled her up against his torso and covered her mouth with his. At that moment the only thing he could think of was stripping her naked and joining their bodies...but not before he tasted her all over.

He released her and asked, “May I undress you?”

She nodded silently.

He started with her shoes, noticing she had such small, pretty feet. He loved the red nail polish on her toes, which matched the red on her fingernails. Sexy. Fiery hot. Too tempted to stop, he lifted her leg and pressed the sole of her foot against his groin, loving the feel of it there.

Vaughn felt the moment his actions made her shudder. Leaning in he kissed her again, loving the way she tasted and the way she was clinging to him, her mouth reciprocating his kiss.

He pulled back and quickly removed her blouse and bra, seeing the twin globes for the first time. He felt a tingling sensation in his lips with the need to devour her breasts, taste them, suck them, lick them all over.

Unable to help himself, he leaned in and captured a nipple between his lips and began sucking on her breast.

“Vaughn...”

He loved the way she said his name, the breathless wonder of it all. He eased her on her back and removed her pants and panties. She wore pretty lacy panties that matched her bra, but her panties weren’t the main thing on his mind at the moment. What they’d been shielding was.

When he saw her, totally naked before his eyes, he let out a possessive growl. Her feminine scent encompassed him, took over his senses, drove him to reach out and cup her hips, tilt her upward toward his mouth as he leaned in to bury his face between her legs.


SIERRASHANDSGRIPPEDthe bedcovers. Just like she hadn’t expected Vaughn to ask her to sheath him, she hadn’t expected this either.

He’d spread her legs wide and rested them on his shoulders. Seeing what he was doing while feeling the impact of his tongue inside of her was driving her crazy. He held her thighs steady, although she couldn’t help but thrash about. And when she felt him tonguing her clit, licking it and sucking it, she couldn’t stop her hips from lifting, wanting more.

She didn’t know a man’s tongue could go that far inside a woman. As he pushed her to release, she moaned feverishly while grinding herself against his mouth.

Sierra screamed his name when her body exploded into an orgasm that was even more powerful than the one she’d had that night in her office. Before the spasms ceased, he lowered her legs from his shoulders to straddle her.

She gazed up at him, and with what sounded like a roar, he entered her, burying himself deep. He began pumping his hips, thrusting hard inside of her. Instinctively her hips arched up and her inner muscles clamped down, trying to hold him inside, and pull everything out of him.

“Sierra...you are killing me.”

He was killing her as well. She doubted he knew how good he felt inside of her, how hot she was for him and how he was making her hotter still. It was as if that orgasm didn’t happen just moments ago, and her body was already paving the way for another.

For a minute she thought he was about to pull out of her when he thrust back inside and began pounding harder. The pleasure was almost too much to bear, she felt it everywhere.

Thrashing her head against the sheets and pillows, she wanted him to take even more. All they had was this moment and if this moment couldn’t last, she intended to get everything that she could out of it.

On and on, he kept a vigorous pace, an even rhythm that sent intense need throbbing all through her body. The sinfully erotic movement of his hips as he thrust nonstop inside of her made her feel as if a live wire was sending stimulating currents all through her.

His pace increased and just when she thought he couldn’t possibly go any deeper inside of her, he did. He managed to strengthen and lengthen his thrusts, feeding a sexual hunger she had never experienced before. Now she felt like she was drowning in the very essence of Vaughn Miller. His masculine scent and his ability to pleasure her were almost more than she could handle.

Suddenly, she felt it. Convulsion after intense convulsion wracked her body and the full impact of pleasure with an orgasm that was so strong made her feel light-headed. She felt like a lit powder keg, headed for ignition with no way to put out the spark.

When she looked up, she saw Vaughn staring down at her. Throwing his head back, he roared and it felt like his body detonated on top of hers.

She felt every single tremor that passed through him. The intensity of his release made her come again. Even when their bodies should have been winding down, aftershocks consumed them. Holding her tight, he remained planted inside of her until their spasms subsided.

Sierra had never experienced anything like that before, where although satiated, her body had wanted and needed more. The orgasms had been the most intense and profound she’d ever known.

She met Vaughn’s gaze and she wondered if the degree of pleasure had been the same for him. When he whispered her name and then leaned in to kiss her, the intensity of it made her want him again.

This was just supposed to be for the moment, but Sierra had a feeling sharing this one time with him was not going to be enough.