What Money Cant Buy Ch 09

I wake wrapped around my darling on Christmas morning, and I bask in the glow of her.

I could die happy, right now.

Things have been really good since we got back from Spain. I'm trying to figure out my shit, but I think the threesome was good for us. I realized how much I just want her, and I think Francesca was able to relax about us, too. We talked the next day, and Francesca admitted she was relieved that I didn't have sex with Susanna, but she was also really glad that we did it. She said it made her feel sexy and worthy of me. I insisted that she didn't have to offer a threesome for that, and that I was the one who was playing outside of my league. We agreed to disagree. We rehashed the night and Francesca excitedly told me what it was like for her to be with another woman.

She blushed so much just recounting it for me. My timid Francesca.

I can't help but smile at the memory, and I want her to wake up. I squeeze her tightly and she stirs, turns to face me, and smiles. "Happy Christmas," I tell her, then pull her in for kiss.

"Oh, look! It's snowing!" Francesca sits up and gazes out of the window with wonder. My gaze stays on her. She's gorgeous in the morning. Her hair curls gently around her shoulders, her cheeks are pink, and her eyes are bright from a good night's sleep. She is the most natural like this, her most beautiful self.

Damn, I want her.

"Happy Christmas, darling," she murmurs to me, and bends down to kiss me gently. I pull her on top of me and my hand slinks to her arse, diving beneath the t-shirt of mine that she's wearing.

"I want to unwrap my first present," I groan, pressing my erection against her.

She chuckles and teases me, "Always so eager," her knees straddle my hips and she kneels over me. I'm lost staring at her yet again. "Well?" she challenges me sexily as she plays with the hem of the shirt she's wearing, exposing her little white panties, "Aren't you going to unwrap me?" She bites her lower lip, her eyes dark and hooded.

"Mmm," I groan, my hands finding her hips. I let my thumbs glide over her thin white panties, "I've been awfully good this year- I want to savor my reward," I tell her. My hands glide beneath her t-shirt and over her firm belly. "Oh man, St. Nick is looking out for me," I joke, and am rewarded by a fantastic giggle. I grin- I want more laughs from her. I whip her shirt off and flip us so that she's pinned beneath me. I grab her wrists and pull them up over her head, holding them in one hand. I let my stubble trail along her neck, tickling her and making her laugh again. I bring my other hand to play with her exposed breast as I trail my chin down her body to her tummy.

God, she smells so good in the morning.

I reach her belly and blow a raspberry with my lips, and she tries to squirm away from me as she laughs, but I hold her down and blow again. "REGGIE! STOP!" She screams through uncontrollable laughter.

"I'm just playing with my present," I quip, using my fingers to tickle her side and eliciting another round of laughter from her. I grin against her skin and enjoy watching her squirm.

I stop my fingers, giving her a brief pause to catch her breath. I'm mesmerized by her gorgeous chest heaving up and down as she sucks in air. "I thought you were going to play with me," she murmurs, her voice heavy with longing, and I'm pulled from my trance.

I raise an eyebrow at her, a slow smile spreading over my lips. "Oh baby, I'm just getting started," I plant a soft kiss on her belly before kissing and nipping my way to her breast with my mouth. I suckle on her tiny nipple and groan as I feel it lengthen and harden under my ministrations. She moans and arches her back to press against me. I bring the hand not holding her wrists slowly down her side as I shift to her second nipple. I use it to pull her panties down slightly, giving me free access to her worship-worthy center. I let my fingers tickle her there as I breathe against her nipple, "Is this what you had in mind?".

She groans and nods furtively, her eyes shut and her mouth gaping. "Yes," she says so quietly I can barely hear it. I grin salaciously as I slide one finger into her wet slit and swirl it around. I return to her nipple, my tongue matching the swirling motion of my finger and she moans deeply.

Fuck, this woman is sexy.

I add a second finger and curl it up to find her spot. When I do, I bite down on her nipple. "Mmmm yes!" she groans, tugging her arms, but I hold them tight above her. It stretches her out and gives me unfettered access, which is turning me on intensely. I return to her other nipple and suck and lick it as I pump my fingers, drawing her orgasm closer and closer. She is whimpering and wiggling beneath me, but I use my body to pin her still and continue torturing her slowly. "Reggie, I want to cum," she whines, but I continue the slow onslaught.

"It's my present, I get to play how I want," I murmur against her nipple, but then I bite down, and she moans again, and I feel her start to tighten on my fingers. She's close. I slow slightly and drag my tongue over her nipple once, twice, then three times. "Mmm, I love these tits," I praise her as I kiss across her chest and lick the other in a similar manner. "I love this pussy," I bring the palm of my hand down against her and press her clit as my fingers dance inside her. She is panting and pressing against my hand, absolutely desperate to cum. "And you know what else I love," I whisper, blowing on her wet nipples.

"Ughhhhh...." Francesca lets out as her head falls back and she arches even further off the bed. I speed up slightly, bringing her to the edge.

"I love watching you cum," I finally say before putting her nipple between my lips and slowly dragging my teeth across it. She bucks and cries out as she desperately cums around my fingers, her juices squirting into the palm of my hand. "That's right, baby," I coo as she comes down, gasping and sweating. I remove my fingers and bring my hand to my lips to lick up her juices. "Mmmh," I murmur, and her eyes observe me, her lids heavy.

"Get inside me," she says roughly. I smirk but release her hands, which quickly find their way to my knickers, sliding them down. I sit up to tug them all the way off and her panties quickly land on the floor with them. I take her wrists in my hands again and pull them back up over her head. I'm loving this fantasy of her being my present, and I want to be able to do exactly what I want. Right now, what I want is to sink into my favorite place. My free hand grabs her hip and I line up my cock and slide into her welcoming folds, groaning as I do. "It's a perfect fit," I tease her, "No returns or exchanges needed." She rolls her eyes and I press sharply into her again, causing them to roll into the back of her head instead.

"Fuckkkk..." she groans as I shift, exploring her walls while my cock is sheathed within her.

She's on the naughty list for sure.

"You like that, you naughty girl?" I pull out and plunge back into her, eliciting another guttural cry. "Mmmh, naughty girl likes it rough," I groan and wrap my free arm around her and start really thrusting in and out, hard and without abandon. I squeeze as I pull her onto me frantically, losing myself as I pump within her. She's muttering something but I'm in a haze, unable to hear or see anything clearly. All of my attention is on the feeling of her walls clinging to my cock as I take her for my pleasure. I kiss her neck and bite her shoulder and feast on my perfect woman. I feel my balls start to churn and speed up, pounding her into the sheets. I lift my face to kiss her and I feel her tighten around me- it pushes me over the edge and the cum shoots up my cock and into her, painting her inner walls a thick white. I feel her convulse under me as her orgasm begins. I try to keep pumping but can barely think straight- I settle for holding myself up so I don't crush her in the middle of her pleasure. She shakes and stiffens and calls my name as she's overcome with feeling. She finishes and I collapse on top of her. "Best. Christmas. Present. Ever." I mutter before rolling over and pulling out.

Francesca covers her snatch with her hand to stop my jizz from spilling out, still panting. "I'm sure 15-year-old Reggie wished pretty hard for a gift like that," she quips and gingerly makes her way to the bathroom to clean up.

"I think 15-year-old me would have had a heart attack if he woke up to you in his bed," I call to her in the bathroom.

"I'm sure you would have managed just fine," she says as she comes back into the room, a mischievous smile on her lips.

She moves toward the closet and I jump out of bed and block her from entering. "Wow, wow, I'm just getting started," I say, wrapping my arms around Francesca, "You can't get dressed yet- I just unwrapped you."

She laughs and kisses me, but brushes me off, "Rose and Cheryl will be here in 20 minutes, and I need to start breakfast." She kisses me again then pulls away, and I release her, pouting. "Besides, don't you want to open your

real

present?" she asks me, a glint in her eye.

I continue pouting, "All I want for Christmas is you," I sing petulantly.

She grins as she pulls on panties and a bra. "Well, in that case, I guess I can give your other gift to someone else... Ben, perhaps? Or drop it off at a homeless shelter?" she says quizzically, her finger on her chin as if she's deep in thought.

I shake my head and hold my hands up in defeat, "I didn't say that..." I mutter and she laughs her glorious laugh.

"Well, then, you'd better get dressed!" She throws a fresh pair of knickers at me. I grab her and kiss her again, dipping her slightly. I release her and begrudgingly pull the knickers on. "There's the boy who made it onto the nice list," she praises me, and I smile.

We'll see how long I can keep from being naughty.

We finish dressing and make our way to the kitchen, where Francesca takes out the cinnamon rolls that she prepped last night after dinner. We had a great Christmas Eve, just Francesca and I. She didn't want to go and see her father and her aunt is coming to town tomorrow, and I rarely see my family, even over the holidays. It was actually kind of nice that neither of us had anyone, and that we got to be together. Francesca cooked a delicious dinner and we watched Christmas movies curled up on the couch under the lights of our tree. It was the kind of Christmas I've always wanted, and it helped me resolve some lingering feelings about our future. If it looked anything like last night, I would be sickeningly content, just like this.

The flat buzzer pulls me from my thoughts. "They're early," I say as I stand to let Cheryl and Rose in and unlock the door, "Good thing we got dressed." I wink at Francesca and she laughs. I put some Christmas music on the stereo, return to the bar and watch Francesca work. We chat until Rose and Cheryl bust through the door, a few gifts in hand and snow coating their shoulders and hats. "Happy Christmas!" I say as I rise to help them with their bags and plate of Christmas cookies. They shed their layers and reciprocate the greeting, each of them kissing my cheeks then making their way over to Francesca to do the same.

"It smells wonderful, Francesca," Cheryl says kindly, "I brought some of my mother's classic Christmas sweets." Francesca takes the covered plate from her and thanks her.

"How was it with your family?" I join the conversation, sitting back at the bar.

"It was lovely, thanks for asking. My uncle has been doing better, and everyone was in high spirits and excited to meet Rose," Cheryl replies as she settles next to me.

"Cheryl's family is so sweet! It was a delight to meet the lot and get to experience all of her traditions. Her family is huge, and they all were so genuinely happy to be there! She has like, 25 cousins." Rose jumps in, "Francesca, it was so cool, they have fondue at Christmas! You would have loved it."

"How interesting, isn't that a German tradition?" Francesca asks Cheryl, who nods and explains that her grandparents are from Germany. "Well, it sounds like you have a lot of love in your life, Cheryl," Francesca smiles at her, but there is a hint of melancholy in her voice. It's a feeling I can understand- I've always wanted to have a family like that, and I know Francesca spent her life longing for it, too.

I get up and circle the table, then wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head as Cheryl responds. "Yes, lots of love. And chaos. But it's a grand time. You and Reggie should have joined us," Cheryl tells her, genuineness pouring from her.

"No, Rose needed a chance to meet your family. But thank you again for inviting us, and spending this morning here," Francesca relaxes against me.

"We had a lovely Christmas Eve, just the two of us," I offer and squeeze my girl.

My family.

"I'm sure you did," Rose replies in a teasing voice as she smirks, "It all worked out, since Christmas morning isn't big for Cheryl's family."

"It would have been strange to not see you on Christmas," Francesca says as she steps away from me and hugs Rose, "I'm so glad you're here."

Rose scoffs and hugs her back, "Don't be ridiculous, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Plus, I would miss the cinnamon rolls," she laughs, and squeezes Francesca hard.

"Well, they still have quite a bit of baking time," Francesca apologizes as she pulls away from Rose.

"Perfect, we can exchange gifts!" Rose squeals and grabs the bags she came in with, then drags Francesca to the couch. Cheryl and I follow, chuckling. Rose has such a childlike wonder about her, and I think how hard Francesca must have worked to allow Rose to be so carefree. It baffles me, honestly. Rose runs to the tree and fishes out the present I bought her, and one for Cheryl. I'm settling in next to Francesca as Rose hands me a gift box. "From Cheryl and I," she says before sitting next to me. "Reggie, you first!" she instructs. Francesca rolls her eyes, but she's smiling lovingly at her sister.

"Alright, let's see what we've got here," I say as I tear into the wrapping. I pull out a guitar strap with the words "Love, love, love. That is the soul of genius" scrawled on it. It's a quote from Mozart that my godfather used to say to me all the time when he was teaching me to play, something I'd mentioned it to Cheryl in the past. I'm absolutely floored and smile wide. "Bloody hell, this is brilliant! Thank you so much!" I have a hard time holding my emotions in check as I hug Rose then Cheryl. "Seriously, this means a lot. Thank you," I tell them. It is a wonderful gift.

"You're welcome, love," Cheryl says, shooting me a kind smile. I explain the significance to Francesca, and she gushes over the gift. Rose opens hers from me, a dress that Cheryl told me she wanted, and then hers from Francesca, which is a book about the history of British art. She seems thrilled with both. Cheryl opens her gifts as well, a new watch and a recipe book that Francesca made for her- she's been teaching Cheryl to cook for the last few months.

Francesca opens her gift from Cheryl and Rose, and it's a pair of earrings in the shape of dangling whisks. "I love them," she tells the girls with a wonderful smile plastered on her face.

I get up and grab her gift from me from under the tree and hand it to her. "Happy Christmas, darling," I say and watch as she dives into the wrapping. She pulls out the chef's smock that I had personalized with her last name-

Chef Kane

. "For when you're the boss," I say, and she looks up at me with a shy smile.

"Oh, Reggie, it's brilliant. Thank you," she says before she kisses me. She stands and unbuttons it to pull it on. "It fits perfectly! I love it," she's grinning.

"It suits you," I tell her, and she grins.

"It's your turn," she says, grabbing the last gift from under the tree and handing it to me. I open it eagerly and see two records, the first is

Can't Get Enough

by Barry White, with our song, and the second is

Some Girls

by the Rolling Stones. I flip it over, and sure enough,

Miss You

is on the album. I love them; The Stones one reminds me of the first night we really got to know each other. I can't believe she thought of this.

"Oh, Francesca, I love them! Thank you, love. I'm going to play one right now!" I kiss her deeply before standing and wandering to the record-player. I file the Barry White record and put on the Rolling Stones.

Miss You

crackles through the surround sound, and I force Francesca up to dance with me. Cheryl and Rose join us, and we dance until the timer goes off for the cinnamon rolls. "Thank you, baby," I murmur, kissing her again.

"I love you," she says quietly, a huge smile on her face, then slides away from me to get breakfast out of the oven.

Rose joins Francesca in the kitchen, and I sit with Cheryl. "Tell me about your trip! How was it?" Cheryl prompts. I've wanted to talk to Cheryl about my fight with Francesca. I look over at her, and she's deep in conversation with Rose.

I guess now is as good of time as any.

"Let's go put my new strap on my guitar and I'll tell you about it," I say. We head toward the music room and I start talking. "It was amazing, but near the end I said something to Francesca about returning for a honeymoon one day, and she told me she never wants to get married," I say, breathing a sigh of relief. It feels good to final get it out.

"Oh. Like, never?" Cheryl says, the surprise evident in her voice. I nod. "Are you sure? I mean, maybe she'll change her mind?"

I nod again. "I was thinking that, but then she was talking in her sleep, and I think she feels really strongly about this. I don't think I should get my hopes up."

"Wait, were you thinking of proposing?" Cheryl asks, her eyes lighting up.

"No, I mean, not for a while. But I want to marry her, some day. I'm having a hard time adjusting to this, I guess," I reply, running my hands through my hair. It definitely feels good to discuss this a bit.

"I see. Yeah, that would freak me out. So, this is it for you two, huh? Are you okay with that?" she asks, hitting the nail on the head.

I shake my head, my thoughts spinning. "Honestly, Cher, I don't know. I... I wanted to have a family, you know? And this feels so final, like an end to that dream. But then, on the other hand, I'm unreasonably happy, and she already feels like my family, so I guess it doesn't matter? I have no idea," I mumble and start to take off my old strap.

Cheryl furrows her brow. "Yeah, that makes sense. You are trying to imagine a different future for yourself, and that's hard. Give it some time. If you weren't going to propose, then there's no rush. Just take some time to reevaluate your priorities. See if you can come to terms with it," she advises.

"You're right, I know you're right. I just... I wanted to show her that ultimate commitment. Let her know I'm hers and know that she's mine. You know, one day," I sigh, exasperated.

"Oh, Reg," she says, pulling me into a hug, "You idiot, don't you already know that?"

I pull away, slightly stunned. "I mean, I want her to choose me, forever," I try to clarify.

She raises an eyebrow at me but studies my face and hers softens. "Maybe you just need to recalibrate your idea of the ultimate commitment. I mean, right now, you choose each other every day. That's something," she says, rubbing my arm.

I can't help my smile. "That's true," I murmur.

She frowns. "Reggie, with how you grew up and your family... you're a bit immature. I don't mean that to be insulting... but you may be holding onto this idea of marriage desperately and without reason. I think you need to realize that you don't have a good barometer for these things. Maybe you could reach out to a therapist to talk this out?" I can tell she is nervous as she speaks, and I can't lie, it stings.