Naughty but Nice: A Best Friend's Dad Christmas Romance Read online

  I kept my face carefully guarded. I didn’t want to discuss any future plans yet, until I talked to Penny alone. She still had to return to school at the end of her break, and then finish up her college career. I loathed the idea of being apart, but I didn’t want to be the reason why Penny didn’t finish college.

  “I’m going to go lay down for a little bit,” Penny said. She slid off the barstool next to Nikki while grasping her cup of coffee. “I didn’t sleep all that well last night.”

  Her eyes caught mine then. Desire spiraled through me, knowing she hadn’t slept well because we didn’t want to push anything further on anyone. I had resisted the urge to point out that she no longer needed to sleep in the guestroom, now that everyone knew about us, but neither one of us wanted to upset them any further. It was fresh and fragile.

  Penny brushed by me in the direction of the guestroom. I watched her go from the corner of my eye while I poured myself a cup to go.

  “Gabriel.”

  “Yes?”

  Nikki tapped a fingernail against the side of her coffee cup. “No matter how you two feel about one another, I won’t see her not finish college for you, or anyone.”

  “I wouldn’t let her do that,” I said, turning to face Nikki fully. “I know how important it is.”

  “Yes, I know, but I know my daughter is in love with you. I worry that she might not be able to navigate through a relationship easily while trying to focus on her studies.”

  She had a good point there, even though I didn’t want to admit that age did factor into that portion of everything. I knew how to balance a life from years of doing it. Penny had little experience in maintaining a relationship, while also following her own goals.

  I smoothed a hand over my jaw to make sure that I had gotten every bit of stubble, then, I met Nikki’s eyes. “I promise to talk with her about it. You don’t have to worry about any of that. I have no grand plans on keeping her against her will when you go back to New York.”

  “Very funny,” Nikki muttered sarcastically. “Joke all you want. I’m still going to be concerned about my daughter’s well-being.”

  “I would be concerned if you weren’t,” I said. “I have to get going. What are you planning to do this morning?”

  “Maybe do a bit of shopping. I’m not sure yet.”

  “Well, have a good day, either way.”

  A ghost of a smile touched Nikki’s lips then. “You as well. And don’t think that I won’t be keeping tabs on you.”

  “I’m aware of that,” I replied as I walked out of the kitchen.

  The second that I entered my office, Neil barged in quickly with concern flickering in his eyes. He ran a quick and assessing gaze over me before letting out a small, relieved breath.

  “No bullet holes in you,” he said. “How’d the conversations go with Penny’s mom?”

  I slipped out of my coat and draped it casually across the back of my chair. Then I sat down and powered on my computer with the intention of playing catch up on work from the past few days since I had left.

  “It took a little convincing, but she’s willing to concede that her daughter is an adult that can make her own decisions.”

  “I’m glad to hear that man,” Neil said genuinely. “If she makes you happy, then I want you to be happy.”

  “I’m happy,” I said. “For the first time in a long time.”

  “Alright, enough of this girly feelings shit,” Neil said, standing up to leave. “Get back to work Bradley.”

  I laughed and bid him goodbye before immersing myself in the hundreds of emails glaring at me from my computer screen. I spent the next few hours rifling through what I needed to get through before picking up my phone to call Penny. My dick ached in my pants while I tried to remember the last time we had even been close. It had been a few days since the roof top. That was when everything had gone awry for a short period of time.

  Penny answered on the second ring.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s me,” I said. “Is everyone gone for the morning?”

  There was a moment of shuffling around on the other end of the line.

  “Yes,” Penny said. “Alyssa went out to meet up with Scott. My mom just left a few minutes ago to have lunch with a friend here in Chicago. I’m about to jump in the shower.”

  I hardened instantly at the thought of Penny wet and naked in the shower. I powered my computer back down while I grabbed my coat.

  “I’m coming back,” I said. “I’ll be back there in fifteen minutes max.”

  “Are you sure?” Penny asked, baffled. “I mean, we have all the time in the world. It’s not like we have to sneak around anymore.”

  “That may be true, but I need you. I need you right now. I’ll be there soon. Don’t even bother getting dressed.”

  The fifteen-minute drive back to the condo was pure agony. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat while I stared out the window moodily at the traffic that only worsened because of the lunch hour. I opened the passenger door before William could even put the SUV into park.

  “Thanks, William,” I said shortly. “If I need anything, I’ll give you a call. Not sure if I’ll be heading back out.”

  William nodded at me. “Sounds good, boss.”

  The smell of fresh soap filled my nostrils the second I walked in through the front door. Tossing my keys, wallet, and phone carelessly on the little table next to the door, I hurried down the hallway while I loosened my tie.

  Penny sat on the edge of my bed with a bottle of lotion in hand. All rational thought left my brain when I took in those long, toned legs that peeked out beneath the towel that was wrapped around her securely. Her long blonde hair was still tangled from the shower.

  “Wow,” she breathed, shaking her head at me. “That was fast.”

  I tossed my tie to the floor, and I closed the bedroom door shut to lock it. Penny swallowed thickly as she slowly stood from the edge of the bed. Desire sparked in her eyes as I loosened the cuff links at my wrists before working on the buttons of my shirt. She waited motionlessly next to the bed while I undressed with confidence.

  The second my erection was free from the tight confines of my boxers, I let out a relieved groan. I kicked away my pants and boxers while Penny slowly unwrapped her towel from around herself with a mischievous smile tugging at her lips. My lips were on hers the second that the towel dropped to the floor around her bare feet.

  Our naked bodies pressed up against one another’s—all hard lines and soft curves. Desperation filled me while I ran my hands along every inch of her, absorbing the softness of her smooth skin. We tumbled sideways into the bed in a tangle of legs and arms. I pulled her body up against mine to center ourselves on the bed.

  I kissed every inch of her skin that I could, while Penny squirmed beneath me in pleasure. Our moans were growing increasingly loud and frantic, and her hands tugged at my shoulders in wordless need. I sucked a taut pink nipple between my lips, teasing it. Then I eased my hard cock into the slick and hot core of her.

  We both let out a satisfied groan. My hips jerked in response to the need to move against her amazing body. I strained to keep the pace slow, to savor the feeling of her underneath me, now that we had all the time in the world to explore each other. I gritted my teeth in effort as I tried to pull myself back, but Penny’s thighs squeezed my hips tightly. She arched up to push herself against me with a trembling gasp.

  I couldn’t think past the heat and tightness that bore down on my erection. I braced myself against the mattress to pound into her, until I felt those tight muscles spasm with the beginning phase of an orgasm. The rest of the world faded away. The only things I could concentrate on were the sensation of Penny arching up against me with a sharp cry of pleasure and how those muscles milked me into my own soul-shattering release.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR – PENNY

  Nothing in the world would ever replace the feeling of Gabriel pressing up against me intimately. The realization washed over m
e while I clung to his shoulders to ride out the pleasure pulsing through my body. He consumed me in every sense and surrounded me with strength and warmth.

  He collapsed against me with a sated groan. The tips of my fingers and toes continued to tingle from the aftermath of our lovemaking. I strained my ears out of habit to hear if Alyssa was nearby before it hit me again that we didn’t have to worry about it any longer. Even if Alyssa found it weird, she accepted the relationship because she just wanted us to be happy. I wanted to cry with relief because it meant that I could have my best friend still. I also had my mother’s acceptance. Everything would work out just fine.

  “You okay, Penny?”

  “I’m more than okay,” I said, threading my fingers through Gabriel’s dark locks of hair. “I’m just relieved, you know? Everything worked out.”

  Gabriel lifted his head from where it had been nestled against my neck to gaze down at me. A relieved smile tugged at his lips, too.

  “Me too. But we still need to talk,” he said.

  I smiled up at him, not willing to let him roll away just yet. I wrapped my legs tightly around him to keep him pressed up against me. I savored the feeling of his hard body lying flush against me, skin on skin, with nothing in the world separating us.

  “Talk about what?” I asked.

  “For starters,” he said, tracing my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “We have to talk about what we both want and expect in the future.”

  “What do you want?” I asked him.

  Gabriel gazed down at me for a long time while he thought about the question intently. He rested on his forearms so that both of our bare chests touched one another. It brought him even closer to me, something that I gladly accepted.

  “I want to be with you, not just now and not just in bed. I want a real relationship. I want to go places together, do things together. I want all of the mundane everyday life things with you. All of it,” he said.

  “I want that too Gabriel, more than you know,” I answered him.

  A smile graced my lips as I rolled over to drape myself over his bare chest. I could feel the pounding of his heart slow back down to a calm and steady rhythm beneath the palm of my hand.

  “I have to give it to you,” I said. “Convincing my mother was going to be one of the most difficult things to do about this, but you managed to ease her worries without too much effort.”

  Gabriel shrugged. “I reminded her that once upon a time, she knew the type of man I am. That eased her concerns about our relationship because she knew I was going to take care of you, no matter what happened.”

  “You are?”

  “Of course, I am,” he said, circling an arm around my back protectively. “I don’t want to think about you going back to school at the end of this break, but I’m willing to make it work if you are.”

  “Absolutely,” I replied and traced a finger down the center of his chest. “It’s going to be hard to leave at the end of the break. I don’t want to go back to school after everything that has happened.”

  “You have to go, though. I am not going to deprive you of your degree. Our relationship will be here when you’re done.”

  “What do we do in the meantime, then?” I asked.

  Gabriel pressed a kiss against the side of my head with a smile. “Well, I’m buying you a brand-new phone. We can call and text every single day if you want to, until you’re done with school in May. I can even come out for a weekend here and there if you don’t have exams scheduled.”

  “There is spring break, too,” I said. “It’s for an entire week in March. Not long like winter break, but I could come here to Chicago to stay with you if that is possible.”

  “Hmm.” His fingertips trailed up and down my spine. I let my eyes slipped closed at the contact, my senses being lulled to sleep from the simple touch. “Maybe a trip to somewhere nice and warm would be better. It’s rarely springy around her in Chicago in early March.”

  “What are you thinking then?

  “A nice sandy beach in Hawaii,” Gabriel said, sighing. “That sounds better to me than anything else. Digging my toes in the sand, watching you play in the sea with a bikini on. That’s an ideal type of spring break vacation for me.”

  I opened my eyes to gaze up at him. “What about Alyssa? I don’t want her to feel like the odd man out throughout this.”

  “Alyssa already has plans for spring break. That’s why I’m suggesting Hawaii.”

  “She does?” I asked, propping myself back up. “What are her plans? She hasn’t said a word to me.”

  “California with Scott,” he said. “She told me about it just yesterday. The two of them plan to fly to California to spend some time together there, since both of their breaks are at the same time.

  I studied Gabriel’s face intently. “And you’re okay with your daughter dating? There was this big thing about it for a long time, according to Alyssa.”

  “It’s not easy letting your kid go out on their own,” Gabriel said. “She’s always going to be my baby girl. No matter how old she gets, I still see a little girl. That’s how your mother sees you, too. It doesn’t matter if you’re an adult at this point—we still see our babies.”

  “The protective father,” I said, grinning. “That’s very nice of you to let your daughter do what she wants to do. I think Scott will make her happy. She rarely spends time with guys, so I think this one is special.”

  “It sounds like it. I promised that we would all go walk the mall one last time before it closed early tonight.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  We spent the rest of the morning cuddling together in bed. We even squeezed in a quick lovemaking session, before the sound of Nikki and Alyssa’s voices broke through the silence of the condo. I slipped into a sweater in time for Gabriel to open the door to his bedroom. He kissed me one last time on the lips before we both walked down the hallway in the direction of the living room.

  I stopped in surprise to find a Christmas tree in pieces on the ground with boxes of ornaments scattered about. I looked over at Alyssa as she shrugged out of her coat with a grin.

  “Found the decorations,” she said. “They were locked up in our storage attic thing upstairs. We haven’t decorated the condo yet. It’s time to get in the Christmas spirit.”

  I glanced over at the calendar that was nailed into the wall over Gabriel’s desk. Christmas was in three days. I had lost track of time with everything that happened in such a short amount of time.

  “Sounds good to me,” Gabriel said, grabbing the bottom piece of the tree. “What time are we meeting Scott at the mall?”

  “At four,” Alyssa said, and she glanced at me. “Are you coming too, Penny? It’d be nice if you came along to meet him, too. Now that you’re my new stepmom.”

  I laughed at that. “Very funny,” I said, smiling. “But I’d love to come along.”

  We spent the entire afternoon hanging up decorations. The condo looked like a Christmas parade float by the time we finished emptying out all the boxes together. Bidding my mother, who looked quite content wrapped up in a blanket with a book, goodbye, I followed Gabriel and Alyssa out of the condo to meet William downstairs. We drove to the mall in silence with Gabriel seated in the front seat. He kept our affection tucked away when we met up with Scott, out of respect for Alyssa who was still adjusting to our relationship. He didn’t want to overwhelm Scott, either, upon first meeting him.

  I hovered back while Gabriel and Scott got to know one another as they walked through the mall. To my surprise, and relief too, Alyssa hooked an arm through mine as we walked along behind the two of them.

  “This is going to sound strange,” she said over the Christmas music blaring in the mall. “But I’m glad that you were able to convince my dad to come out here to meet Scott. He never does things like this.”

  “I didn’t convince him,” I said, shaking my head. “He wanted to come out here of his own accord”

  Alyssa sent me a pointed
look. “My point exactly. Even if this is going to take some time for me to get used to, I can’t sit here and tell you that you haven’t done some good for my dad. He’s happy, and that’s all I care about.”

  “We really do love each other,” I said. “I hope you know that. I wouldn’t ever try to intentionally hurt either one of you.”

  “I know that.”

  Alyssa’s eyes focused on the Starbucks on the bottom floor. She nudged me gently in the ribs to nod down at it before tapping Scott on the shoulder to get his attention.

  “How about some Christmas Mocha Lattes?” she suggested. “I’m in the mood for one. Anyone else?”

  “Absolutely,” Scott said, smiling. “How about you, sir?”

  “I’m right behind the both of you,” Gabriel said with a smile. He waited for Scott to take Alyssa by the hand before coming up to me. “Let’s get some coffee. What do you say?”

  I smiled up at him. Christmas lights were twinkling in I’m right there with you.”

  He leaned down to press his lips against mine in a soft kiss that instantly sent my stomach soaring in various directions. He pulled back to rest his forehead against mine while whispering, “I love you, Penny.”

  I rested my hands on the tops of his broad shoulders to feel the lingering wetness of melted snowflakes. “I love you, too, Gabriel.”

  EPILOGUE

  GABRIEL

  ONE YEAR LATER

  Christmas music played cheerfully from the living room when I stepped inside the condo after a long day at the office. The dim, festive lights, coupled with the smell of sugar cookies, washed over me pleasantly as I set my briefcase down. I hung up my coat up next to the door while I listened to the conversation in the living room. A smile graced my lips as the stress from the day finally fell away from my shoulders.

  It seemed to do that every single day now when I stepped through the front door. Seven months ago, I had stood in the crowd with Nikki, proudly cheering Penny on as she received her diploma from the Dean of her college. Four years of education were behind her, and I’d never felt prouder of her. It was also that same month that I had insisted on Penny coming to live in the condo with me while she took a few art and literature classes here in Chicago. Those few months we had spent apart were physically painful for the both of us. Neither one of us wanted to go through it again, so Penny had enrolled in a few classes at my encouragement, to keep herself busy while I worked at the office throughout the week.