A Million Kisses or More Page 15

  “I haven’t really made any,” she admitted. She usually spent the holiday with her grandparents but they were taking a cruise this year so she hadn’t really thought about Thanksgiving at all. “Why?”

  “Well, I was wondering if you’d like to spend it with us,” he said and she swore she could see color creep up the nape of his neck.

  “With you and Jolie?” she asked, her stomach fluttering madly in nervousness and delight.

  “Yes,” he said and she almost let out the breath she had been holding. But then he quickly added, “And my parents and brothers and sister-in-law. My little sister if she makes it home from college. My aunt and uncle and my cousins. And maybe a few friends and co-workers.”

  “Do you think that would be a good idea?” she asked, glancing at Jolie even though the little girl had no idea about what had happened just a few minutes before.

  “I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Jolie beamed. “You can make pie.”

  “Only if you help,” she said, the tension of the unanswered question tightening her spine. Focusing on baking involved, she said, “We can make pumpkin pie, apple pie, mincemeat pie – whatever the heck that is, the works.”

  “Oh, now you have to come,” Harrison said from the stove, scraping some burnt eggs onto a plate. Looking at the plate with a grimace, he picked it up and dumped the contents into the trash can before he went back and started on a second batch. “Mom usually just orders the food so having homemade pies is going to be a treat for everyone. Are you sure it isn’t too much work?”

  “As long as Jolie helps, I’m sure we’ll manage….” Her words trailed off as she thought about his confession. “Wait, do you mean your mom orders all of the food or just the pies?”

  Looking at her over his shoulder, he admitted, “All of the food. She’s an awful cook.”

  Catching her lower lip between her teeth, she considered the wisdom of her next words before she spoke them anyway, “We could make dinner. Well, I can make dinner.”

  He spun around at that, his lips parted in amazement, “You can do that?”

  Honestly, she had no idea. Her forte was desserts but she was willing to try, especially if it meant impressing Harrison’s family. Of course, if she failed, she might alienate them to the point of no return and they’d ban her from dating their son.

  Jesus, he was nearly thirty; he could date whomever he chose.

  “Absolutely,” she said with such conviction, she almost believed it herself. How hard could it be? Throw a turkey into the oven, make various side dishes, which she’d have to look up online, and hope everything came out at the same time. “How many people are we cooking for?”

  “Well….” He paused, mentally adding everyone up. “All together, maybe… fifteen? Twenty?”

  Her stomach dropped to the floor and if she hadn’t already been sitting, she was fairly certain she’d be on the floor with it. Keeping her smile locked in place, she squeaked, “No problem.”

  It was going to have to be a huge turkey and she was going to need to make lots of side dishes.

  Turning back to his second attempt at making eggs, Harrison let out a massive yawn, reminding Ana that he should be sleeping. Standing up, she went over to the stove and grimaced when she saw the mess in the pan. “How on earth did you manage to burn and undercook the eggs?”

  “I have no idea,” he said with another yawn.

  “Well, I’ll get you something edible and then I’ll tuck you into bed,” she crooned, pushing his hair out of his eyes and seeing the dark circles beneath. “Jolie and I can figure out the Thanksgiving menu.”

  “Ana, you’ve gotten just as much sleep as me,” he protested even as he let her lead him over to the table and set him down next to Jolie.

  “I’ll have a cup of coffee or something,” she said, waving away his concerns. While she’d be tired, she didn’t wield a gun for her job. Plus, she’d be able to go to bed early since she didn’t work that night. Turning back to the counter, she sighed as she grabbed a few boxes of cereal and set them on the table. Since there were already bowls and milk on the table, she sat down and poured some sugary cereal into her bowl.

  Poor Harrison was practically falling asleep where he sat, even though he tried valiantly to stay awake. Even Jolie noticed, saying, “Daddy, you need to go to bed.”

  “Yeah,” he murmured, his eyes heavy as he gave a sleepy smile. It was amazing to Ana that he had had so much energy just a half hour before when he was screwing her on the table but now he was the walking dead. He managed to stand up but then he seemed to forget what he was doing as he stood there and blinked.

  Without a second thought, Ana stood up as well and wrapped an arm around his waist. His arm came down heavily around her shoulders as she smiled at Jolie, “I’ll be right back, sweetie.”

  “Good night, Jolie,” Harrison managed, bending down and placing a sweet kiss on the top of his daughter’s head. If it weren’t for Ana, he probably would have stayed there and slept the day away. “When you’re done, you can watch some cartoons, okay sweetie?”

  Jolie gave him the sweetest smile as she nodded and went back to her breakfast.

  “Come on, handsome,” Ana grunted, taking more and more of his weight as she ushered him out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his room. As soon as the door closed, he suddenly spun them around until her back was against the door and his body was against hers. She was too lost in his kiss to question his astonishing burst of energy. His fingers slid into her hair until he was cradling her skull and then his lips were on hers. When he kissed along her jaw, she gasped, “Harrison.”

  Instead of answering, he devoured her neck before unbuttoning her shirt and slowly kissed his way down her body. Her legs turned to gelatin and if it weren’t for the door behind her, she would have fallen to the floor. Harrison’s lips were hot against her skin as he kissed her ribs, her stomach. She felt him tug at her pants and when they were at her feet, he growled, “Step.”

  Somehow she found the strength to lift her legs, first one and then the other, letting him strip her bare. His strong hand wrapped around her ankle, scorching her with its heat. Slowly, oh so slowly, he dragged his hand up her leg, trailing wet, heated kisses behind. When he reached the juncture of her thighs, he buried his nose against her sex and inhaled deeply. Putting her leg over his shoulder, he clasped her ass and pulled her body towards him as he buried his tongue in her pussy.

  The things he did with his tongue… the things she felt…. She was pretty sure what he was doing was illegal but, god, it felt fucking amazing. Burying her fingers in his thick hair, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, absorbing every sensation of his tongue on her sensitive sex. His unshaven jaw rasped against her tender flesh, burning her skin raw with pleasure the likes of which she had never experienced before. She knew she’d be sore afterwards but at the moment she wanted more. He pushed a finger into her, a second, a third, until she was stretched out before him and nearly mad with passion. Her hips jerked against his face, looking for that tiny little something that would push her over the edge.

  He was marking her, claiming her as his, and she didn’t care because she was his, had always been his. When she came, she had to press her knuckles between her teeth to keep from screaming and waking the dead.

  As he stood up, his body moved against hers until his face was right in front of her. With his mouth glistening, he kissed her hard, almost punishingly, before he pulled back and growled, “You’re mine, Ana.”

  “Yes,” she gasped, unable to catch her breath, tasting herself on her lips after Harrison’s bruising kiss.

  He studied her face and after a moment, he turned his head away and said in a soft voice, “He talked about you, you know.”

  “Lies and exaggerations,” she blurted, her heart fluttering madly in her chest. Trying to ignore it, she concentrated on his pulse, the strong, steady rhythm pounding along his throat.

  “I thought he had made you up,” he continued. Faci
ng her, he added, “The way he talked about you… I thought you couldn’t possibly exist.”

  Tilting her head back, she arched an eyebrow in a silent question. Cupping her cheek, he smiled at her, a smile tinged with sadness and regret. “Whenever anyone asked him when he was going to get married, he always said, ‘I’m waiting for Annie.’ It became a family joke only it’s not funny anymore because you’re Annie and I’m not willing to let you go.”

  “I’m yours, Harrison,” she whispered, turning her head slightly to kiss his palm while still holding his eyes. “I think I have been since before we met. I just hadn’t known it because, well, we hadn’t met yet.”

  He smiled at her but the sorrow was still in his eyes and she didn’t understand. But then he yawned and shook his head, dispelling the moment. “I should get some sleep. If you want, I can drive Jolie over to my parents so you don’t have to watch her.”

  “Harrison,” she scolded. “I love watching her. It’s really not a problem.”

  “I do appreciate it,” he murmured, pushing himself away from her and stumbling over to the bed. Like a shadow, she followed after him, unable to stay away. She was completely naked and spent while he still had his clothes on and yet it felt right. He made her feel like a goddess, worshiping all of her body with all of his and one day she would banish the shadows and doubt that lingered in the back of his eyes.

  While she was tucking in the blankets around him, he gave her a lazy smile, “I wish you could join me. I like waking up with you in my arms.”

  “Me, too,” she managed, though she was sorely tempted to climb between the sheets and join him there anyway. Brushing his hair out of his eyes, she studied his handsome face and wondered why the fates decided to bring him into her life now instead of at a more opportune time. Pressing a kiss against his forehead, she let her lips linger a moment as she simply breathed in his warm, masculine scent. Wanting to know how much of the earlier conversation he had overheard, she asked, “Harrison?”

  “Hmm?” he murmured, his eyes closed, his breathing deep and even.

  “It’s nothing,” she murmured, chickening out. “Get some sleep.”

  “He’s right, you know,” he mumbled rolling onto his side so he was facing her. “You do have a very sweet pussy.”

  “Harrison!” she gasped in a loud whisper, her cheeks on fire even though he unknowingly answered her question. “Is that what this was all about?”

  “I’m a jealous beast,” he muttered, his voice trailing off to nothing as his eyes slid closed.

  Ana pressed her lips together to keep from laughing even as she pressed another kiss against his hidden dimple. His answer was sweet but it was ridiculous because there was no reason to be jealous; she was his. “I’m going to take another quick shower and then spend the day with Jolie.”

  “Thank you,” he said, but the words came out slurred.

  Closing her eyes against the onslaught of emotions this man was generating within her, she gave him one last kiss before she left, gathering up her borrowed clothes along the way and heading to the bathroom. After taking a quick shower and getting dressed, she headed back downstairs.

  “Hey, kiddo,” Ana called out as she walked into the living room. Jolie was laying on her stomach with some cartoons playing on the television. At the sound of Ana’s voice, she looked up and gave a brilliant smile and Ana almost felt like her normal self. “It looks like it’s just you and me today. How do you feel about making fairy wings?”

  *****

  Harrison listened to the shower, imagining the water sluicing over Ana’s naked skin. It had been cowardly to feign sleep after taking her so fiercely against the door but every time he looked at her, Asher’s voice filled his head. He shouldn’t have paused outside of the kitchen when he went to check on Jolie. Then he never would have heard his cousin’s words. Once he realized there had once been something between Ana and Asher, he had raced up the stairs, thrown on some clothes, checked on Jolie, and raced back down. He had arrived just in time to hear her tell his cousin that she would have been worth the wait and that she was unbelievably happy with him. It had eased some of the jealousy that had brewed within him.

  Harrison also remembered the first time Asher had talked about her because it had ended with Asher getting a fist in his face.

  “I just met this incredible girl, Harry,” Asher said, leaning back in the chair and putting his feet up on the table. Taking a sip of his beer, he continued, “She’s gorgeous, with legs that seem to go on forever and breasts that would make a grown man weep.”

  “Great,” Harrison replied without enthusiasm. Having just recently moved back home and into an apartment, he was still trying to adjust to his new life as a single father. He didn’t have time for his cousin’s latest conquest, some poor girl who didn’t know that Asher enjoyed the chase and the surrender but nothing more.

  “I swear this girl has more passion in her blood than any of the dozens of women that I’ve been with.” At Asher’s words, Harrison rolled his eyes. He didn’t doubt the numbers, he just didn’t want to hear about them. Despite Asher being a year older than Harrison, his cousin was still a player and would probably always be a player. It didn’t hurt that his cousin had the uncanny ability to make money in whatever venture he undertook. With unimaginable wealth, Asher enjoyed a plethora of willing bed partners and Harrison couldn’t imagine any woman being able to tame him. “But here’s the pisser, Harry. She’s sixteen years old.”

  The beer he had just swallowed shot out of his mouth as he stared at Asher. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

  “I wish I was,” Asher said with such sorrow, Harrison almost believed he was sincere. “The most gorgeous girl in creation is….”

  “Is fucking jail bait,” Harrison growled. Asher opened his mouth, undoubtedly to extoll this child’s virtues when Harrison held his hand up. “If you say one more word, I will arrest you.”

  “I haven’t slept with her,” Asher pouted. “Even I wouldn’t go that far. But the moment she turns eighteen….”

  Before he knew what he was going to do, Harrison was out of the seat and Asher was on the ground cupping his jaw that Harrison had slammed his fist into.

  Harrison stared up at the ceiling, flexing his fingers as if it had been just moments ago he had punched his cousin and not six years. He should have punched Asher again. Hell, the next time he saw his cousin, he just might do that. But that didn’t stop the residual doubt from asking why. Why would Ana choose him over his cousin? She was the one woman who might actually be able to tame Asher and yet she wanted him, a middle class cop with a young daughter.

  Punching his fist against his pillow, he squeezed his eyes shut and told himself not to dwell on what ifs, not when Ana was with him. Now that he knew she was Annie, he remembered a second altercation he had with his cousin from about three years before. Asher had come over in a foul mood and started throwing back beers as if they were water.

  “I’ve waited three years for her,” Asher growled. “And the little tease still won’t spread her legs for me. I’m going to have her on her back….”

  He didn’t have the chance to say anymore because he was on the floor, glaring up at Harrison. “Why the fuck did you punch me?”

  At the time, Harrison hadn’t known why he had punched Asher, only that he had felt it was absolutely necessary. He was definitely going to have to punch Asher the next time he saw his cousin.

  Chapter 9

  Sitting on the floor in Harrison’s living room, Ana helped Jolie put the finishing touches onto the costume. After making the wings last week, Ana thought it would be fun to go full on fairy so she bought a sparkly dress at a consignment shop on Tuesday. As soon as Jolie woke up Saturday morning, Ana had her put it on and then she did the girl’s hair and makeup. There was plenty of glitter and Ana hoped Harrison didn’t mind the sparkles. With the wings, Jolie looked like an adorable fairy and Ana didn’t think it was possible for the girl’s smile to get any bigger.
Her own heart swelled with emotion to see such happiness in Jolie.

  Watching Jolie as she spun around the living room, getting glitter everywhere, Ana knew that she always wanted to be a part of the little girl’s life. Somehow, as she was falling in love with Harrison, Ana had fallen in love with his daughter. How was it possible to love a child so much? How was she going to survive a year without them?

  How was she going to survive a year without the feel of Harrison’s body over her, in her? She had thought she knew what to expect but a dildo just could not compare to a living, breathing, warm man. His weight drove him deeper than anything she had ever tried and it felt… it felt incredible. It was little wonder why all of the coeds went a little insane when it came to sex, even if they had never had sex with Harrison. Even if she had known what she was missing, she was glad there hadn’t been anyone before him. Still, going back to a cold and inanimate object was going to suck, at least for the year she was away from Harrison.

  “Next Halloween, I want to be a zombie fairy,” Jolie sung, dancing around the living room. “How cool would that be?”

  “It’d be pretty cool,” Ana agreed, a pang of conscience hitting her in the solar plexus because she wasn’t going to be around. Well, she could fly back for the weekend. It would be worth it. Hell, if she could, she’d fly back every weekend but that wasn’t practical. She was only an intern and she had her budget planned down to the last penny. Holding her smile in place, she added, “I’ll keep an eye out for vintage dresses when I’m in California. I’m sure I’ll be able to find the perfect outfit.”

  Jolie’s smile faded a little as she plopped down on the couch next to Ana. Heaving a sigh, the little girl met Ana’s eyes, “I wish you weren’t leaving.”

  “Me, too, sweetie,” Ana agreed, leaning her head against the couch and smiling at Jolie. “But I’ll be back in no time. The year will fly by and when I return, you’ll be another year older.”