“A pact… the One?” Dumbfounded all I could do was stare at Eli as his face flushed red.
“Yeah… my parents and grandparents showed us what love was… we wanted that. We wanted what they had and decided to… uh… wait.” He rolled to his back and ran his hand over his short hair. It stood up in places from where I must have gripped it during sex—
“No way.” — I shook my head — “There is no way you were a virgin. The stories… your skills… Eli Angelo, you’re a player.”
“No, I’m not.” Eli’s voice was weary. “I’m not what everyone thinks I am.”
I sighed. “Who of us is?”
“As for my skills…” Eli went up on one arm and leaned his head on his hand so he could look at me. He remained silent as his fingers began running over my skin. “I said I waited. I didn’t say I was a saint.” His wicked chuckle had my body responding to him instantly.
“No… you’re not,” I groaned as he began manipulating my nipples into hard peaks.
“There are videos… and books… and make-out sessions.” Eli accented each phrase with a pinch and twist of a taut nipple. “I know what I like. What turns me on. Do you, Sunshine?”
“You,” I screamed as his fingers strummed against my clit and caused pleasure to shoot through me.
I’d like to say I realized what Eli’s admission meant and that I understood the tightness in my chest, but Eli and I sank into each other with a passion I couldn’t have imagined. The initial pain for me and the first experience for him over with, we explored how good it could be with another human being.
Several hours later we both fell into an exhausted sleep fueled by too much alcohol and possibly too many orgasms.
Chapter Seven
“Clara…” The sound of my name being called pulled me from one of the most delicious dreams.
Snuggling into the warmth surrounding me I tried to sink back into the dream but then I heard it again, “Clara… I love you, Sunshine…”
Love? Who loved me? My sex dreams had always been about hardcore fucking… not love. Because why else would I be hearing those words but in a dream?
My brain struggled to come online and I felt like one of those old computer operating systems as it chimed and booted up. I was just too warm, too relaxed, too… sore?
Flashes of memory whizzed by so quickly my brain rebelled and my head throbbed. I moaned in agony and something strong and masculine tightened around me.
“Merry Christmas, Sunshine,” an extremely familiar voice mumbled into my hair as he pulled me into his chest tighter.
Eli’s cock pressed into my ass and pushed back into him unconsciously as heat spiraled inside of me. The man had the audacity to chuckle and pinch my nipple.
“Let me bask in this first, Sunshine. I’ve never woken to such a delicious woman before.”
Jerking out of Eli’s arms my adrenaline shot through my system and fear squeezed my chest causing my heart to beat too fast and my lungs to strain for air. I panted for breath as I lunged from the bed and began to frantically search for my clothes. I tugged on my shirt when I found it first.
“What’s wrong?” A very sleepy and sex tousled Eli sat up in the bed. The blanket had fallen away when I’d made my frantic dash for my clothes and he was sporting a very impressive morning hard-on which had me stopping for a brief moment as I debated getting back into the bed.
“Eli! You going to stay in bed all day? We have breakfast on the table.” A female voice drifted softly through his bedroom door and I turned to stare at the door like it was the portal to hell.
“Who is —”
“My mom,” Eli groaned. “She always does a huge Christmas breakfast so we can skip lunch and have an early dinner,” he explained as heat spread over my chest and up over my cheeks.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” I chanted as I turned back to the task of finding my clothes.
When I found my jeans, I pulled them on and shoved my feet into my boots next. I didn’t take the time to find my underwear and simply stuffed my bra into my jacket after I shrugged it on.
It wasn’t until I rushed to the door that Eli started struggling to get out of his bed. “Clara… Wait!”
I didn’t wait. Fear was controlling me. Everyone I’d ever cared about had left me and I wasn’t going to do that again. A plan began to form in my mind as I rushed down the stairs. It wasn’t until I reached the bottom that I noticed the large group of people sitting at a dining room table in a room which was open on the side facing the stairs. They all stared… some in shock and others with knowing smirks.
“Clara!” Eli shouted from the floor above as he skidded to a halt while doing up his jeans. He quickly joined me on the stairs and turned his head toward the room full of people.
A grin spread over his face as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Merry Christmas. Family” — Eli motioned to the beautifully decorated table full of food surrounded by his family — “this is my girl, Clara Wood. Sunshine, this is my family.”
“Oh…” A woman dropped a plate to the table and rushed to the foot of the stairway. “You must join us, sweetheart. We are so happy to have you.”
“Clara, this is my beautiful mother. She’s the one who taught me manners,” he joked as he pressed a kiss to her temple. “She’s also an amazing cook.”
Mrs. Angelo reached up and grabbed my hand so she could pull down the remaining stairs and into a huge hug. “Welcome to the family, sweetheart,” the older woman whispered as if she was choked up.
“Eli, you going to bring
