Three Little Words

My jaw clenched, pounding her for all I was worth, when I felt that electric zap shoot down my spine straight to my balls, my heart pounding, I gave her one good hard thrust and froze.

Wrapping her in my arms with her legs squeezed around me, I took her mouth in a blistering hot kiss as I felt myself exploding and shooting off inside her as she clenched herself around me with her whole body shaking. Both of us breathless, with me still pulsing deep inside her, as I brushed back the hair from her eyes, I couldn't believe she'd ever want to give this up, when what we had just felt so undeniably good. Whenever we were together like this, it felt like we were made for each other. And I know she had to be feeling it, because I sure as hell was.

I reached up and uncuffed her, hoping she wouldn't bolt, race back to her room and lock the door behind her. But thankfully she just curled in close stroking her fingernails over my beard, not saying a thing. And that had me worried, because normally we talked whenever we got together, well at least after we'd had some fun in bed. Not usually about business, but just about what was going on with us, because we both really cared about each other too, at least I thought we did.

Finally she looked up at me. "I'll stay with you tonight, and then I'm taking the train home tomorrow. And I'm sorry, but I think this is going to have to be it for us."

I blinked, not even sure if I'd heard her right. I couldn't believe what she'd just said, that she actually wanted out. I knew she cared, and that she looked forward to us getting together as much I did. And now because I told her how I felt, she thought I'd stepped over the line of this, friends with benefits thing she thought we had going on. And because I'd committed the cardinal sin of admitting that I loved her, she wanted to end it?

There was no way I could let her walk out without even trying to see if we could make it work. Two years we'd had together, doing everything we could think of to stay in touch; texting, sexting, late night calls on the phone, always with lots of teasing; the anticipation almost killing us until the magic happened every time we got together like this.

Cupping her face in my hands, I looked into her eyes, not ashamed to beg if I had to. "Can't you stay and give us a week, Giselle, just a single week together? You told me yourself that your office is closed until the New Year. So all I'm asking for is these seven days. And you'd be doing it for us, not just for me; to see how good we'd be together, just being a couple. And after the holidays are over if you still want to end it... if that's what you really want... I guess we'll be done."

GISELLE

Staring into his gorgeous blue eyes, so full of hope, I felt so selfish. I knew he needed to move on, find someone younger, someone he could plan a life with. And sadly for both of us, I knew that it could never be me. But I also knew that until I let him go, he'd never leave. I'd been fooling myself for the last two years, thinking we could have a little fun together every few weeks, and just head back home, happily sated until we saw each other next time. And with no strings or promises, it was only meant to be a little stress reliever and a nice break from the everyday for both of us.

But he wasn't the only one who'd broken the rules we'd laid out. I knew I loved him enough, to finally face the fact that it was time I let him go.

So I felt I had to be honest, and tell him it was over. But he was so determined, I knew he'd put up a fight. Problem was I had a pretty strong feeling that if we did stay together for an entire week over the holidays, once it was over, it would be almost impossible for us to just walk away and get on with our lives and put this all behind us.

Running my fingers through his hair, as he nuzzled my neck, making me shiver, I thought back, remembering the moment we first met in Florida.

It was a few weeks before Christmas and I was attending a big construction industry conference. When the meetings had finally ended on the last day, back at my hotel, eager to cool off and unwind, I'd slipped into my bathing suit and went down for a swim. After a few laps, I swam across the pool to get a drink at the swim-up bar, and there was Rory on a bar stool, with his long, toned legs dangling in the water in bright yellow board shorts, looking hot as sin. He was just so good looking, with a body that made we want to drool. Tanned and beautifully muscled with a nice smattering of golden blond curls trailing enticingly from his sun-bronzed chest down into his shorts. He quickly had me wondering what it would feel like to follow that path with my tongue. Though I was the never the type to just hop into bed with a guy, he sure had me tempted.

Once I'd stopped gawking at him long enough to pull myself out of the water, standing beside him dripping wet in my little white thong bikini, I looked up at him and asked about the empty seat beside him. "Is this seat taken?"

Slowly raking me over from top to toe, he flashed that killer smile, that I've grown to love and said, "It is now." And right then and there, the way we smiled into each other's eyes, like we were sharing a naughty secret, I had a feeling that it wouldn't take long and we'd be getting pretty cozy.

And no surprise I was right. Sitting at that bar for hours, we laughed together so hard and I knew it had nothing to do with the drinks and everything to do with the chemistry that just seemed to flow between us.

Coming on evening, when he cupped my chin in his hand, and touched his lips to mine, I remember how hard I swallowed, realizing just how much I wanted him. I didn't know his name, where he came from, or a single thing about him. But I knew one thing, I wanted him enough to take a chance and just go for it. Never much of a risk taker until him, he had me so wrapped up in his charm, I knew I couldn't say no, even to myself, I wanted to be with him so badly.

The moment we got into his room, and he took me up against the wall, and we almost kissed each other senseless, I just gave in, deciding this would be one of those memories that I'd look back on for years. The time I hooked up with a gorgeous stranger I'd met in a pool bar, who'd almost had me coming the moment we stepped into his room.

Then I remembered he did the sweetest thing. Expecting him just to toss me over his shoulder and carry me into his bedroom, he looked into my eyes and asked, "You haven't had too much to drink, have you?"

Smiling, I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. I switched to tonic and lime hours ago."

He actually breathed a pretty loud sigh of relief, making me laugh. Then I touched my lips to his and got lost in kissing him all over again, realizing that in addition to being the hottest man I'd ever met, he was also a pretty sweet.

That first night we shared was so good, when we woke up together in the morning, naked in his bed we took one look at each other, started grinning like idiots, and went at it all over again. Until finally we collapsed after nearly wearing each other out.

And we had loads of fun with the mini bar. When I noticed they had little bottles of Bailey's, my favorite liqueur, flashing me a devilish grin, Rory twisted off the tops of all four bottles and used two of them to paint me, so he could have the pleasure of licking it all off, nearly devouring me with his mouth. And of course, I had just as much fun, when I dribbled it all over him, and took my time, sliding my tongue over him to make sure I got every last drop, especially what was coating his big, hard delectable erection.

Then for that whole day, we never left his bed. We just grazed on stuff he'd ordered from room service whenever we were hungry, and made out almost non-stop until eventually we dropped off to sleep wrapped in each other's arms.

When I woke again the next morning, with him sound asleep and yet amazingly still rock hard pressed up against my backside, I looked at the clock, shocked when it dawned on me that I had to leave or I'd miss my flight home. Panic stricken, I hopped out of bed, scrambled around and found my bathing suit, and struggled to pull it back on, while he looked over at me bleary eyed, scrubbing a hand over his face, he asked, "Hey, where are you going?"

I took one last look at him, gloriously naked in bed, sad to think that our fun was over. "I've got to go or I'll miss my flight home." But I still wandered back and took a moment to kiss him goodbye and whisper against his lips, "Thank you for a wonderful couple of days."

Then when I turned to leave, he called out, "Wait, what's your name?"

I looked back, shrugged, and asked him, "Does it really matter?" Thinking I'd never see him again, I thought it best if we parted the way we'd started; just two strangers madly in lust with each other. Because wow, those hours we spent in his bed had to be the hottest thing I'd ever lived through. And I knew I'd never forget him, or what we'd shared together.

But then a few weeks later, just after the New Year, manning our company booth at the big Home Show in Toronto, I couldn't believe my eyes when my naughty little hook up, that I'd been trying hard to put behind me, strode right up to me. Flashing a devilish smile, his eyes glittering with amusement, he said, "Hey there. I'm interested in looking at some windows."

Then he handed me his card, and when I read, 'Rory McLean, President, McLean Custom Home Designs,' I felt so shocked, I'm sure my mouth fell open as I just stood there staring at him.

I had no idea that he was in the building industry, and could be a potential client, which meant I should never have gone anywhere near him. But somehow, when he took me aside, he managed to get me to agree to have dinner with him after the show closed for the night.

No surprise, as soon as we'd eaten, we wound up in a nearby hotel, back in bed together. And after we finally managed to come up for air, we decided we enjoyed each other so much that it might be fun, if we were very discreet, to keep seeing each other on the sly after that.

But since we live about five hours driving distance apart, with Rory in Toronto and me in Montreal, we've only been able to meet about once or twice a month, usually mid-way around Kingston. Though we keep in touch as often as we can, since we've become so close, sometimes calling texting or emailing each other even a few times a day.

I knew one thing for sure, though, if I had any idea how young he was when we first met, I probably would have sat somewhere else at that bar in Florida, and we never would have gotten started.

*****

But with the hopeful way he was looking at me now, I knew I owed him this week, even if only to properly say goodbye. So I touched my lips to his, sighed and said, "We can spend a few days together, but I've still got to keep an eye on things at work, so I can't be away too long."

His lips curling up in a smile, he shook his head. "I happen to know for a fact that you never go anywhere without your phone, laptop, and your tablet, so you can keep an eye things from here, just as well as you can from home. So, let's give each other this week together and see how it feels."

I knew I couldn't win, so I nodded and gave in. "Okay. But you have to promise that when I leave to go home, it'll be over and you'll move on."

RORY

I had no intention of moving on, so I didn't promise her a damn thing.

But now that she'd said yes, and agreed to spend seven whole days with me, I wanted to pump my fist in the air. And I just hoped that it would be enough to make her realize that what we have together is a lot more than just sex. Because I'm so crazy about her, all I have to do is see her text and I can feel my heart starting to pound, happy to read anything she'd decided to send me, even if she's just saying hello.

When I got her home, she smiled and murmured, "Nice wreath," when she saw the big evergreen wreath I'd fashioned out of cedar branches, that was hanging on the front door with a big red velvet bow at the bottom, circled with pine cones. I thought it looked pretty festive, even if the house was nothing special.

But when we got inside, the way she looked around wide-eyed at my simple little bungalow, I had to fight hard not to laugh. The place looked pretty dated, like something out of the seventies, and she probably wondered if this was my style. Though at least I'd gone to the trouble of tearing out the putrid avocado green shag carpet that someone thought at the time looked pretty good covering all the floors, even in the bathrooms. And luckily I'd discovered once I'd torn it out, that the ugly green wall-to-wall was covering some pretty decent looking hardwood floors.

The only reason I'd bought the place was for the property it sat on; four unspoiled acres of beautifully forested land, with a little creek running through the back, only a half hours drive from the city.

Once we'd got our coats off, thrilled to finally have her home, smiling, I pulled her into my arms, kissed her and whispered against her mouth, "Do you know what we're going to do now?"

She smirked, running her hands up and down my back. "I'm guessing it involves getting naked."

I shook my head. "No. I think you'd better keep your clothes on, unless you want to freeze your pretty ass off, because we're going out in the bush to find us a Christmas tree."

She looked so surprised that I couldn't hold back, and this time I laughed when she said, "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. Every year since I was kid, my family and I would go out and cut our own tree. And I thought it would be nice for our first Christmas if we went out and found one together."

Frowning, she looked down at her stylish knee-high black leather boots, then back up at me. "But I don't think I'm dressed for it."

"No worries. I've got some of my mother's things here, that you can wear. And she won't mind, believe me. She's such a shopaholic she doesn't even know what she's got. She just sold her house. And since her condo wasn't quite ready to move in she decided to head to Arizona to spend Christmas with her sister, and I offered to hold onto her things until she comes back in the spring."

"You didn't want to fly south and spend Christmas with your mother?"

Thinking back on the last time I went, I had to force myself not to shudder. "I tried it a few years ago. And believe me, once was enough. My aunt lives in a retirement community, made up mostly of a lot of older ladies. Bingo's big with her crowd, and so's having dinner at four in the afternoon, though they like to get to their favorite restaurant even earlier, to get in on the early-bird specials. But at least I learned how to play canasta and mah-jong, not that I think I'll ever have a reason to play again."

Smirking, she stroked my cheek. "Bet the ladies were happy to have you join them, though."

I laughed, remembering the fuss they'd all made over me, being the only young guy there. "Yeah, my mother seemed pretty pleased that I went. But even she said it wasn't really something she imagined I'd want to do again." And she was right about that.

Going through my mother's things, I found Giselle some fleece-lined boots, a cute wool hat and a pair of matching red mittens, along with a warm white sweater, to wear under her leather coat. And once she was dressed and she'd tugged the hat on, I just had to pull her in for a kiss. She looked so adorable all bundled up, though thankfully it wasn't too cold out, so we could wander around for a bit.

The nice thing about having a property that backed onto a ravine with nothing behind me for miles, the air was so much cleaner and fresher than in the city, and it was nice and peaceful, too.

The air was so still we could hear the leaves and fallen branches crackling beneath our boots as we made our way through the woods. We could even detect the sound of a little black squirrel scurrying up a tree, even before he started squawking at us, as he watched us approach him.

I had put some peanuts in my pocket, like I always did whenever I went out for a walk. After I'd set down my bow saw, I made a little clicking noise with my tongue, and tossed a peanut over by the tree. He sat watching us carefully for a second, to see if it was a trick I guess, then he shot back down, picked up the peanut, stuffed it in his mouth and hightailed it back up again. And we both laughed at how fast he'd moved to get at that peanut.

His tail twitching, he kept his attention trained on us as he peeled and ate it. And when I tossed another one at the bottom of the tree, no hesitation this time, he scurried back down and took that one, too.

Smiling, Giselle looked fascinated, as we watched the little guy getting closer and closer each time, especially since she lived in a condo in the heart of the Montreal, where she'd rarely get a chance to see any wildlife. I gave her a handful of nuts and said, "Make that clicking noise, and see if he'll come a little closer."

I don't know how long we hung around playing with the thing, but it felt nice just to be communing with nature, and not worrying about anything else. And by the time we'd offered him the last few peanuts, he'd gotten brave enough to take them right from our hands, which thrilled her.

"It really is nice out here," she remarked, watching him scurry back up the tree as I took her hand and started walking us out deeper into the bush.

Looking across at her I smiled. "That's why I picked this lot, thought it would be the perfect spot for my dream home."

"Wow, you're building a house out here?" She looked surprised glancing around, because I hadn't told her yet.

I laughed. "Yeah, that old bungalow's coming down as soon as soon as I can get the new one up. I'll have to show you the plans to see what you think."

She nodded thoughtfully but didn't say much. But secretly I was hoping she'd want to be included, and this house would be for the both of us, providing we even made it through the week together before she decided to leave.

It turned out to be a beautiful day, especially for so late in December on Christmas Eve. And though there was a nip in the air, it wasn't too cold, probably because of the sun shining down on us through the bare trees. And with only a dusting of snow on the ground, I decided it was a perfect day for a walk in the woods to find just the right tree with my lady at my side.

While I was looking around for one that looked full and healthy, tugging at my hand, Giselle stopped us in our tracks and whispered, "Look," pointing across the creek where a deer was getting a drink of water. "Isn't it beautiful?"

I nodded, but didn't say anything, hoping we wouldn't spook her and make her run. She was a pretty young white-tailed doe, who didn't seem to notice she had an audience.

But then she lifted her head and watched us for a minute, and I guess deciding that we didn't pose a threat she calmly turned and disappeared into the bush.

"Wow. I've never seen one that close before," she said, giving my hand a squeeze. "Now I can see why you want to live out here. It's amazing to be in the middle of all this, and yet still be so close to the city."

I nodded, taking it all in, the trickling creek and a few birds chirping in the trees, the only sounds we could hear. It was definitely a nice respite from the noise of the city.

Then I smiled when I caught sight of a little grouping of blue spruce, with one that looked to be the perfect size to fit in the corner of my living room. We wandered over to check them out. "What do you think of this one?" I asked, running my hands over a nice full one, with no gaps in the branches that stood about seven feet tall.

Leaning close she smiled, breathing in its scent. "I think it's perfect."