A Christmas in Connecticut Read online

  “It’s adorable! Have you made others?”

  “Yeah, I’ve had a few for sale at the store, they sell pretty quickly.”

  “You should totally build more and put them on Etsy…I’m serious.”

  “Maybe,” Jack replied.

  “Anything else you like to do?” she asked. Her eyes filled with curiosity.

  “I like to read.”

  Claire nodded as she continued to eat. “Like what?”

  “Oh…I don’t know…most anything, except romance.” He made a face.

  “Hey…no judging romance readers. And besides, I don’t think you’re their demographic,” she said with a smirk.

  “Probably not,” he replied. “Are you?” He smiled up at her.

  “Well…” She began to chew on her bottom lip. Jack found it to be completely adorable.

  She cleared her throat. “I didn’t always appreciate romance books. I used to think they were just fluff.”

  “And now you don’t?”

  “Nope. I like the message of hope and love conquering all.”

  “And the sex.” Jack smiled slyly at her.

  “Well, yeah…there’s that.” Claire’s cheeks were turning red. She cleared her throat before continuing. “I started reading to someone…Ruthie Blum at our local retirement home. I started reading to her when I was in high school. I’ve been reading to her at least once a week for over eleven years now.”

  “Let me guess, Ruthie likes romance novels.” Jack smiled.

  Claire’s face brightened. “She does.”

  He loved how much her face came alive while telling him this.

  “At first the books were the typical, bodice-ripping, historical romances…they were steamy but fairly tame. And then a few years ago she began to follow a couple of new authors that write romantic comedies. But the sex…oh my god! Some of them are practically x-rated!”

  Jack laughed out loud. “What’s Ruthie’s reaction when you read those parts?”

  “She usually will say ‘oh my’ or ‘can you imagine?’”

  Jack leveled his eyes at her. “Well? Can you imagine?” He watched as her face went from light red to crimson. He smiled.

  “Don’t try to embarrass me, Jack.” She smiled before taking a sip of wine. “But I do have a funny story to tell. Ruthie used to listen to audio romances while in the common rec room. While it was the tamer bodice rippers no one minded. A few of the other residents would even listen with her. But one day she decided to start one of her new romcoms…well…when the other residents first heard the words c-o-c-k and p-u-s-s-y they were horrified. Ruthie was banned from playing anymore of her books in the rec room.”

  Jack laughed hard as he imagined this happening. He found it adorable that Claire couldn’t say the words aloud, but instead spelled them out. “I really wish I could have seen their faces.” He was still chuckling.

  “I know. Me too actually.” Claire giggled.

  “Do you still read to Ruthie?”

  “I do. I actually began go more often after I loss my parents. I love Ruthie, she’s been a good person to talk to. So, it’s been a two-way street for both her and I. Her niece is reading to her while I’m gone. She’s got tons of extended family, so I don’t worry too much about her.”

  They continued to talk as they finished their meal. Jack really liked the person he was getting to know. He was already thinking ahead to when they got back to her place. But where am I going with this?

  They split a dessert of tiramisu and some coffees before making their way back to Claire’s. Jack’s heart was racing, and he felt a lump in his throat. He reached over and took Claire’s hand in his as he drove. It was warm and soft. She gave his hand a little squeeze in response. Jack’s core jolted in response, and he drove just a bit faster.

  Chapter 9

  They were back at Claire’s; she’d invited Jack to come inside for a nightcap.

  “I’m just going to get comfortable,” Claire called out as she headed down the hall.

  “Sure, I’ll get a fire started,” Jack responded.

  “Perfect,” she said, before disappearing into her room.

  What are you doing, Claire? There’s no road to a relationship here, she told herself. But her body wanted more. A lot more. Jack looked so sexy tonight. His V-neck sweater over a t-shirt and corduroy pants looked good on him. She took off her shoes and replaced them with some fuzzy socks. She switched out of her sweater and pulled on a sexy silk t-shirt. As she checked her face in the mirror, she fluffed up her hair with her fingers. Here goes nothing.

  “Hey,” Claire said, entering the room.

  Jack was tending to the fire that was roaring pretty good. He’d removed his sweater and his well-muscled arms were displayed nicely in a t-shirt. He looked over at her and smiled, replacing the fire-poker in its stand before taking a seat next to her on the couch.

  “This is nice,” he said as he leaned back.

  “It is,” she replied, not sure where this was all leading, but hoping it was leading to something nice. “How about some hot chocolate?” She thought she saw a small look of discomfort come across his face.

  “Got anything else?”

  “Bourbon.”

  “Sounds good, on the rocks if you have ‘em.”

  “Sure do,” she said. “Be right back.” In the kitchen, she poured two bourbons over ice and returned to sit next to Jack on the couch. It felt good to be close to him. He smelled good…clean mixed with that guy scent. This time, it was Claire who proffered the toast. “To new beginnings,” she said, and clicked her glass against his before taking a sip. The smoky bourbon warmed her insides as it went down.

  Jack put his arm around her, his hand on her shoulder. She was glad she’d removed the warm sweater; between the fire and Jack touching her, she was overheating…fast. He began to rub her shoulder lightly as they sat quietly, nursing their drinks. Claire closed her eyes as her body responded quickly to his touch.

  She opened them and looked at Jack. It only took a second before he brought his hand to her chin and gently placed his lips on hers. At first the kiss was feathery soft and gentle like a whisper, but it slowly built up, becoming more intense, almost urgent. Her insides were melting quickly. She slowly slipped her tongue into his mouth; she heard him groan. He pulled back and looked at her, his blue eyes tender and warm; he drew her in again, kissing her passionately, his tongue now finding hers. Jack gently ran his hands through her hair, stroking her softly as his mouth kissed hers.

  Claire let out a soft sound when his hands ran over the outside of her top, along the sides of her breasts. He trailed a finger across them, to her nipples, which even through her clothing were rock hard. He slowly drew circles around the erect nipples with his finger, causing Claire’s desire to go from zero to sixty in a heartbeat. His hand drifted down the front of her and then rested on her leg before moving to the inner portion of her thigh. He ran his fingers over the material of her pants, stopping when they got to where her panties began.

  Claire was going mad with desire. She softly ran her hands through Jack’s hair, pulling him in close while they kissed. She felt his hands gently tug her shirt from her pants, soon touching her bare skin underneath. It felt as if her heart would burst with need. He stopped kissing her and looked her in the eyes as he slowly pulled her shirt off over her head. He then unhooked her bra, finally freeing her breasts. His hands soon found them, gently cupping each one before bringing his mouth to a nipple, softly flicking it with his tongue as he sucked. Claire was now moaning loudly, clutching his hair with her hands.

  She brought his face up to hers, kissing him while running her hands over his body. She stood up in front of Jack, letting him undo the button of her pants and then slowly unzip them, all the while holding her gaze with his sexy eyes.

  “Do you want me to continue?” he asked, his voice low and husky.

  All Claire could do was nod in assent, her throat too dry to speak.

  Jack pulled
her pants down, allowing Claire to step out of them. He pulled her hips, which were level with his mouth, closer to him and ran his hands along the silky front of her dark blue panties, slowly sliding a finger just on the inside of them. He looked up at her as he found her most sensitive area. His fingers began to explore, slowly working through her folds. Claire’s head tipped back. She gripped his shoulders with her hands while Jack gently pulled her panties off. She looked down at him as he stared at her naked body.

  “You’re beautiful, Claire. Simply beautiful.” He ran his hands along the curve of her hips, brushing gently against her center. He stood up and pulled his shirt off, revealing a toned and sexy body.

  She let out a small whimper at the sight of him and wrapped herself inside his arms as they continued to kiss, running her hands over his broad shoulders. It’s been too long. She nibbled and kissed his neck, inhaling his scent. She soon moved to his ear, running her tongue along its lobe, gently sucking on it. “Maybe we should go to the bedroom,” she whispered.

  At that exact moment, Jack’s phone buzzed. He quickly glanced at the screen.

  “Shit, it’s Beth—Tyler’s out of town, I have to take this—it could be an emergency.” He put the phone to his ear. “Beth…is everything okay? What? Now? Okay, we’ll be right over…I’ll bring Claire, she’s here with me.”

  “What’s going on?” Claire asked, her body melting to feel him against her.

  “Pippa’s in labor…we gotta go.”

  “What?!? Now?!?” Shit! “Great timing, Pippa,” Claire grumbled under her breath as she grudgingly got dressed. Her body was not complying with the new agenda; she was completely hot and bothered and did not want to be putting clothing back on. She hadn’t had sex in over six months and her entire being had been looking forward to a happy release with Jack. Instead, she would be helping Pippa push out puppies. Even Pippa had gotten some more recently than Claire. Fucking dog.

  “How’s she doing?” Jack asked Sheila. He and Claire had rushed over as soon as Beth had called. He kneeled next to the whelping box, stroking Pippa softly on the head.

  “She seems okay. She passed the sac about 30 minutes ago. According to Dr. Sheehan, the first puppy should arrive within the hour…if not we need to get Pippa right over to her. Here, you’ll need these,” Sheila said.

  Claire took the plastic bag of supplies from Sheila’s hands and looked through it. “What’s the dental floss for?” she asked, her brows knitted down. We’re not cleaning the dog’s teeth, are we?

  “I thought you would know,” Sheila said; a look of worry covered her face.

  “I uh…didn’t use floss with Snickers,” she replied. Shit, I don’t remember reading about floss when I Googled this whole thing. Panic gripped Claire’s chest and throat. I’m in way over my head. She looked over at Pippa, who was giving her a side eye glance. Even the dog knows I’m a fraud.

  “What did you tie off the umbilical cords with?” Sheila’s voice was climbing a few octaves.

  The umbilical cords? Claire felt clammy and nauseas. “We…uh…we just used some thread.” The back of her neck prickled with sweat. “What are the scissors for?” Claire was afraid to ask. She was hoping they were to cut the floss with.

  “It was on Dr. Sheehan’s list…she said we’ll need to use them if Pippa doesn’t chew through the cords.”

  Oh my god! Please chew through the cords, Pippa. She looked over at Jack, who was giving her a quizzical look.

  “Oh look! Here comes a puppy!” Sheila’s shriek cut through Claire’s foggy haze.

  Claire’s gaze went from Pippa’s face to her bottom half, and she saw, to her horror, the head of a puppy pushing out…a slimy covering over it along with some pink tinged liquid oozing out. It was the last thing Claire remembered.

  “What’s happening?” Claire tried to sit up but felt woozy. Jack’s face appeared in her sight.

  “You passed out.” He placed a bag of ice on one side of her forehead. “You hit the corner of the whelping box; you’re going to have a nice size goose egg. Hopefully you don’t have a concussion.”

  Claire reached up to the bag of ice, cradling it to her head. “How’s Pippa?”

  “She’s on her second puppy. Everything’s going okay. I looked over the instructions from the vet and can help Sheila with everything. You just stay lying down.” He gave her a kiss on the forehead before returning to the whelping box.

  “It’s a girl!” Sheila cried out. “Oh Pippa, I’m so proud of you,” she gushed. “Jack, let me get a pic while you cut the cord.”

  Claire felt like she was going to be sick at just the mention of the cord being cut. Good idea to just stay lying down, she thought. She closed her eyes and soon nodded off.

  She woke to Jack softly calling her name. “I want to make sure you don’t have a concussion,” he said as he looked at her.

  “I’m sure I’m fine,” she replied. “But my head sure does hurt.” She tentatively rubbed her hand along the lump that had formed.

  “Let me get you some aspirin,” Jack said. “I’ll be right back.”

  “How’s Pippa?” Claire croaked out.

  “She’s doing great,” Sheila responded. “She had three puppies, two girls and one boy.” Claire could hear the pride in her voice.

  “That’s good,” Claire said. Jack handed her some aspirin and a glass of water. He helped her sit up so she could take it.

  “I’m going to stay with you tonight…you need to be woken up every few hours to be sure you’re not concussed.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary,” Claire said, but her insides warmed at the idea.

  “It’s that or I’m taking you to the hospital to be checked out.”

  She smiled up at Jack, the memory of his touch still fresh in her mind. “In that case, I’ll take door number one,” she said before laying her head back down.

  Claire climbed into bed. She’d changed into her pajamas before letting Jack into the bedroom. “Where are you going to sleep?” she asked, her eyebrows raised slightly as she pulled the covers up around her waist.

  “In the guest room,” he replied, nudging his head towards the hall. “I’ll come wake you up every three hours…just to be sure you’re okay.” He crossed his arms as he leaned against the door jamb.

  “You could sleep in here,” Claire said. She would love to have his gorgeous body next to hers, even if they would not be having sex.

  “Put all of that on hold…I won’t be able to help myself if I’m lying next to your beautiful and sexy body.” He came over to the bed and brushed the hair from her forehead. “It would be torture not to touch you…I want to wait. If you’re feeling better tomorrow, we can pick up where we left off.”

  Claire nodded her head. Her entire core had lit up at the thought of his hands on her body. “Okay,” she squeaked out. She scooted down into the bed, her head on the pillow, the quilt pulled up to her chin.

  Jack leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “Good night. I’ll see you in a few hours.” He snapped off the light and left the door half open.

  She could hear him close the door to the guest room. Because of a dog, she had a lump on her head and was going to bed sexually frustrated. “Thanks, Pippa,” she grumbled as she tried to sleep.

  Chapter 10

  Claire awoke the next morning to the smell of coffee and bacon. She slipped into a robe and walked to the kitchen. Jack was in a white t-shirt and jeans, his back to her, cooking eggs. “Good morning,” she said as she walked towards him.

  “Hey, good morning. How do you feel?”

  “I feel okay…a bit of a headache,” she said, gingerly touching the knot on her head. Thank you for staying last night…I really appreciate it…and…you certainly didn’t have to cook me breakfast.”

  “No need to thank me, I wanted to. It was my pleasure to stay here…I wouldn’t leave you alone.” He turned the stove off, turned and embraced her. His muscular arms around her felt like heaven first thing in the morning.
She buried her nose into his chest…he smelled good, not like cologne…just that man scent.

  “Here, sit down and let me get you some breakfast. Here’s some coffee.” He set a steaming hot mug in front of her. “I talked to Sheila, she said Pippa and the puppies are doing great.” He handed her a plate of eggs and bacon and gave her a big smile. “It’s going to be fun watching those pups grow.”

  Claire didn’t really care about Pippa and her puppies right now…all she could think about was getting naked with Jack. She took a bite of the eggs. “These are good, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, it’s one of the few things I can cook.” He kissed her on top of her head before sitting down next to her. “I was happy you had everything in the fridge.”

  Claire had expected they might spend the night together and had stocked up on some breakfast items. She hadn’t expected Pippa to ruin those plans.

  “Why do you think you passed out?” Jack asked before taking a bite of eggs.

  “I kind of am squeamish about blood and stuff,” she said.

  Jack just nodded as he looked at her. They ate for a few minutes in silence.

  “I’ll be back tonight after I close up the store. I have everything we’ll need to put up your tree. Also, I can bring dinner if you want me to.” He looked at her as he bit into a piece of bacon. His hair had a sexy, tousled look to it.

  “That would be nice,” she felt her cheeks get warm as she imagined picking up right where they’d left off before the Pippa induced interruption.

  “Great…I’ll pick something up at Jenny’s. I think you’re okay to be alone. I haven't seen any evidence of a concussion.”

  “So, I’m good to resume my normal activities, doctor?” She gave Jack a wink.

  “That would be my professional opinion, but then again…I might have a conflict of interest with the patient,” he replied, smiling at her.

  It was a smile that shot through Claire’s core, making her wish she could just pull him to her bedroom and…ravish him.