Wrapped with a Beau, page 15
His smile reminds her of that moment before plugging in the Christmas tree, the startling magic of seeing every little rainbow bulb come to life all the way to the starlit top. He starts to go in for another kiss, his blue eyes fixed on her lips, but she brings a finger up to land on his Cupid’s bow.
“You should do this more often,” she says.
The corners of his mouth creep up. “What? Kiss you?”
She rolls her eyes. “No. Smile.” She brings her hands up to frame his face, letting her thumbs crook and stretch his smile a bit further. “You’re sexy like this.”
“I look like the Joker like this,” he says flatly, but his eyes are soft.
She shuts him up with another kiss, tangling her fingers in the hair at his nape to bring him closer. He obliges, hands splayed across her back, then moving down to squeeze her ass in handfuls. He smells like green apple body wash, but his jawline prickles with stubble that isn’t yet quite visible. Thrilled with her discovery, and more than a little curious how the friction would feel against her inner thighs, she caresses his cheeks.
“What are you doing now?” asks Ves.
“Admiring you,” she says frankly, this time kissing him with tongue. His swipes against hers in an exploratory taste, and his groan reverberates in her mouth.
“You taste like Christmas came early, Elisha,” he whispers, hot breath making her lips tingle and stomach fizz. Hearing the roughness of his voice, she can’t stop herself from grinding on his upper thigh, wedged between her own.
“You haven’t made me come yet,” she quips, rewarded with his flared nostrils and sudden, ragged intake of breath. She shakes her head. “That’s my spearmint mouthwash you’re tasting. But peppermint is the far superior Christmas flavor.”
“Don’t know about that. Another taste and I might be singing spearmint’s praises.” He says it in the same cool, unaffected way he says everything, but she knows his tells now. He’s teasing her, because that’s their thing, but he’s also letting her know that he wants another kiss. More than one if that look in his eyes is anything to go by.
She initiates another, and this time, when his hands graze her hips, she lifts one leg to wrap around his waist, hiking her tight dress out of the way. Without a word, he scoops her up behind her thighs, bracing her against the wall. He catches her gasp in his mouth as her breasts nestle into his chest, his straining erection positioned so, so close to where they both want it to be.
Too many clothes separate them. She whimpers, wanting even more of her skin accessible to his mouth. Ves is making her feel so good, nibbling and sucking at her collarbone until every single one of her muscles clenches around him. There’s no way she’s stopping this now. Propriety be damned.
She’s about to tell him she’s on birth control when, dimly, she hears a BANG BANG BANG! “I think someone’s trying to get in,” she says, wriggling down his body.
Ves takes a moment longer to come to, blinking several times before he takes a step back and drags his hand over his face. “This isn’t the way I imagined this going. I wanted to tell you . . . well, just that I’d be lying if I said I never wondered what this would be like.”
“You weren’t the only one.”
The knob jiggles, making them both jump. Another BANG!
“What the fuck,” she says, mouth dropping. “Just a second! I think the door is sticking!”
What? Ves mouths.
“It happens in winter,” Elisha says defensively, trying to unlock the door as quietly as possible. “The wood contracting or whatever. The point is, it’s a plausible excuse. I’d rather not explain why the door is locked. Oh! Hey, take off your coat.”
She practically pulls it off him while keeping the door shut with her foot. By the time she swings the door open, fake smile superglued in place, she’s confident she can get through this with minimum embarrassment. That is, until she sees who’s on the other side.
“Ellie!” Bentley exclaims in surprise. “What’re you doing in here? I was just looking for a place to hang our coats. The other room is full.” He peers into the room, all geniality dropping as soon as he spots Ves. With a dark expression, he says, “Oh, it’s you.”
Elisha hopes her voice is cool, calm, and collected. “We were actually just setting this up as an overflow room.” She gestures to the coat she’s holding. “I can take yours and Tori’s, too, if you—”
“No, you know what, I think Victoria’s probably ready to leave.” Bentley backs up. “We should get home while she’s still ovulating.”
Oh wow, just throwing that right out there, huh? Elisha isn’t sure whether wishing them good luck is appropriate considering he’s her ex and she’s certain Tori deserves better than him.
“Okay,” she says simply, not sure why Bentley looks momentarily disappointed. He recovers just as quickly, beating his retreat into the sea of people to seek out his wife.
“He was trying to make you jealous,” Ves observes.
“Trying and failing,” she counters with a scoff. “That ship has well and truly sailed. Actually, no, it’s sunk to the bottom of the ocean in the harbor, no survivors, no hope of salvage.”
Ves grins, grabbing her hip to bring her closer. “You’re a vengeful woman when you want to be.”
“Mm-hmm,” she hums. His eyes drift down to her throat and he swallows. She flashes a saber-toothed smile at him, shimmying to close the last inch between them. “It’s my best quality.”
“Well, maybe not the best.”
Intrigued, she tilts her head. “Oh?”
Elisha sucks in a breath when his hand slides up her arm, rounds her shoulder, then gently circles her throat for just a moment before cupping her jaw. His palm is firm and warm and delicious. She almost moans from the sexiness of it, the sudden shock of wanting him to squeeze, but not ready to ask him to.
There’s a fine tremble in her legs that wouldn’t let her move even if she wanted to, as his intense blue eyes pin her in place. He presses close, lips moving against the corner of her mouth. She feels rather than sees his mouth curl in a smile.
“But it is one of them,” Ves whispers.
Her breath catches.
She’s about to ask him whether he wants to finish what they started when the lustful expression wipes off his face and he smoothly takes a step back.
“Lisha, finally! I’ve been looking for you!” Solana elbows her way through the crowd, nearly upending the two chocolate martinis she’s carrying. Behind her follows Adam with two glasses of his own. “Candy Cane Olympics are about to start! You and Ves should join us at the starting line.”
“Thanks, babes.” Elisha accepts her glass, inhaling Baileys Irish Cream and chocolate liqueur.
Adam hands a martini to Ves. “It’s a weird Olympic torch relay thing. Only when they pass the ‘torch,’ or in this case, candy cane, the next person has to add their own onto however many are already hooked. Then they have to walk to the next person without dropping it or touching any of the other candy canes.”
“Everyone’s pretty tipsy, which makes it funny to watch, but somehow Grandpa Dave always wins,” Solana confides, grinning.
“That must be why the drinks are so strong,” says Ves. “Smart man.”
Adam laughs. “C’mon, let’s go watch Ben make an ass of himself. It’s just for fun, but man, he’s so competitive.”
Elisha raises an eyebrow. “He’s still here?”
Solana lowers her voice so the boys can’t hear. “Yeah, with a face like a fucking storm cloud. I feel awful for Tori, she’s wearing the prettiest dress but he’s barely paying attention to her. Did you see how unhappy she looks?”
“Uh, no, I’ve been—” Elisha fumbles, not sure she can trust her best friend to keep a straight face if she admits what she and Ves were just up to. “Busy helping Grandpa.”
Solana sighs. “Lisha, my darling, once again I remind you that I know all your tells.”
Elisha forces every muscle in her face to relax. “I’m not hiding anything.”
Solana lets a beat go by—just long enough for Elisha to think she bought it—before casually asking, voice dropping an octave lower, “So you and Ves, huh? Is his little lord a-leaping? His piper piping? His cock a-crowing?”
“Lana!” Elisha’s cheeks burn and she can only hope that whatever Adam is saying to Ves is distracting him from this conversation. “Please don’t refer to my sex life in ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ euphemisms.”
“Do you have another carol you prefer?”
“The one called ‘I love you but shut up’? Do you know that one?”
Solana smiles gleefully. “Can’t say I’m familiar, no.”
“Lana.”
“Fine, fine! Adam and I will get out of your hair.” With a long-suffering sigh, Solana throws back her drink and drags her boyfriend off to watch the inevitable chaos of the Candy Cane Olympics.
“Things aren’t going to be weird now, right?” asks Elisha when she and Ves are finally alone. With the game about to start, the crowd has thinned a bit.
“You mean since I overheard your best friend discuss my erection?” he asks dryly.
“She wasn’t talking about your erection, exactly—Wait, you still have a hard-on?” She lets her eyes drop to subtly gauge his . . . state. He wasn’t kidding. She can’t stop herself from smiling. “Oh.”
He levels an exasperated look at her, but his voice is fond, and just slightly rough as he says, “You look pleased with yourself.”
“Looks like I have reason to be.” She smirks, hot pride cascading through her like shooting stars, every tingle aiming for the frustrated nerves between her legs. She takes a sip of her chocolate martini, licks her bottom lip. “Maybe we should do something about that.”
It’s gratifying when his eyes flick beyond her, darkening with desire. A thrill races down her spine when he meets her gaze again, expression torn. It’s unlike her to suggest any sexcapades in places she could get caught, but for one wanton moment, she wants him enough to throw all caution to the wind.
“I will fuck you,” Ves promises. “But first, do you think it’s too late to sign up for that candy cane game? I’d like to see the look on Ben’s face when I beat him.”
“You mean it?”
Ves shoots her a devastating grin. “Which part?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ves
He never thought he’d say this, but Ves is actually kind of getting used to being in Piney Peaks. Not forever, obviously. But it’s a quaint little town, a vacation from the norms and routines that usually guide his days.
For example, when was the last time he just ambled anywhere in the city? It’s always point A to point B in the most efficient way possible. He takes the subway everywhere with his AirPods in, the latest podcast prattling away in his ears, studiously avoiding eye contact.
But here, he can’t so much as walk out his front door without someone waving at him, saying something jovial and silly, like Nice weather we’re having, huh? when the temperature is in the single digits and Ves has zero inclination to shiver through an outdoor chat. He can’t even head down Main Street without someone recognizing him as Maeve’s nephew and offering their sympathies.
If he thought his new fame as Came to Sleigh’s trivia secret weapon was too much before, it has nothing on the attention he receives after being crowned the Candy Cane Olympics champ. And even that pales in comparison to the wildfire gossip that spread after Marcy and Bibi caught the blushes and open affection between him and Elisha last night at the holiday party.
So he avoids Main Street entirely and meanders down the winding lanes that caught his eye his first night here. The bookshop is his first stop, an indie painted a Shire green with spellbound spines handpainted in glorious gold Gothic lettering. Across the storefront windows is a mural of books of varying heights, a renowned fantasy title on each spine. The front door is between A Wizard of Earthsea and Alanna: The First Adventure. With a smile, Ves steps inside to meet his people.
Fantasy has always been there for him. Even long after he discovered that, try as he might, there was no magical portal at the back of a wardrobe to take him away. Even when his parents fought, even if he was sent to his room for no reason other than to get out of the way, his books were always there. And when he felt most alone growing up, he knew it was between the pages where he could always find a family.
Ves peruses the latest middle-grade fantasy, finding his own titles among the Hs on the shelf, before moving on to the adult section, walking out with the latest Jemisin, Bardugo, and Schwab.
In a vintage candy store lined with enormous glass jars full to the brim, he buys Christmas ribbon candy, soft and chewy caramel, and several scoops of gummies. It’s the same place he bought the chocolates for Elisha’s mother, and the owner, an apple-cheeked elderly lady with pince-nez and several sweet stories about Maeve, is thrilled with his return and insists on giving him free samples of pistachio-and-rose Turkish delight.
His stomach grumbles as he passes a blue-painted toy shop. Small children and their parents are pressed close to the picture window, their breath fogging up the glass as they watch an electric train chug resolutely around the tracks, disappear beneath a snow-covered tunnel, and emerge on the other side with an exuberant choo-choo! The locomotive is black, with a red nameplate that glints gold on the turns, reading piney peaks express, while the boxcars that make up the body and the caboose are the same bright, candy-apple red.
The set is detailed and expensive with a whole Christmas village and tiny figurines. More of an adult indulgence, really, but it doesn’t stop the kids’ wide-eyed wonder or the way they pull at their parents’ hands to go inside. He can’t remember if he ever tugged on his parents to get his way. Ves watches the children’s enraptured faces, their parents’ fond and not at all impatient expressions, and his heart lurches.
“Oooh, doing your Christmas shopping early?”
“Window shopping,” he replies without turning. He would know that voice anywhere. Now that he knows what her soft gasps and breathless sounds of pleasure sound like, there’s no way his mind can expunge them. “How do you sound so perky after the number of drinks I saw you consume last night?”
Elisha laughs and comes to stand next to him, crunching her way across the fresh snowfall looking very sweet in pink booties, blue jeans, and a pink-checked blazer. She has a Nikon camera hanging from a strap around her neck. “Mom asked me the same thing when she came downstairs and saw that I was already up.” She flashes him a cheeky grin. “Guess it’s my superpower?”
“Maybe.”
Doubtful. Because when he sees her, it’s like the overcast gray of the world rolls back to reveal a literal ray of human sunshine. That’s her superpower.
Her dark hair just brushes her lapels, falling over the apples of her cheeks as she peers into the window. The bright lights dart across her face, speckling it golden. Without thinking, he reaches out to tuck her hair behind her ear. She stiffens slightly, then relaxes, giving him wide eyes and a faintly confused smile.
With his leather gloves on, it’s a clumsier tuck than he thought. It takes him a couple of attempts to successfully get all her hair, and bafflingly she keeps still, letting him finish. Except for one moment when she actually leans into his touch, infuriatingly close, and gives him those storeroom eyes, all but pleading for him to be tender in other ways, too.
His heart trips over itself. Several times, like a Slinky tumbling down a staircase. And when he lets his gloved fingertips linger over her cheekbones, she bites her lip. By the time he’s done, her mouth is as pink as her cheeks.
If only he didn’t have his gloves on.
The yearning is a swift, lethal punch. He wishes he’d taken them off first, because now he can’t stop wondering if there would have been a tiny spark if he had only touched her with his bare hand. A day ago, his head would have written it off as static electricity, but today, he knows that his heart wouldn’t be able to deny his feelings for her.
He tries to ignore how something as simple and innocent as her wide-eyed stare makes his cheeks tingle. It’s nice to know he’s not the only one affected. The tension is palpable, but in a good way, like either of them could go in for a kiss right that second.
“Let me guess, you like the train and the little model village,” she says.
He drops his hand down to his side. Is her voice oddly hoarse? Maybe she’s coming down with a cold. It wouldn’t surprise him with today’s weather forecast. See, even now, her blazer is unbuttoned. No hat, no mittens. He bites back what he wants to say. Why is she so reckless? Why does he care?
“I’m that predictable, am I?” he asks instead of what he really wants to know.
She hums under her breath. “Yes, but you surprise me from time to time.”
His heart stirs. He’s about to promise that he’ll do it more often from now on, but he stops himself just in time.
That’s not something he can promise, is it? Not in good faith, anyway. He knows himself and even though he’s gone a little out of his comfort zone while he’s been here, he’s still the same old Ves, with the same flaws that were dealbreakers for Claire and so many other girlfriends over the years.
He may have fit in at trivia and at the Chocolate Mouse, but this isn’t his world. He needs to remember that.
Elisha points at a snuggly-looking brown teddy bear with a red cardigan. “I have one just like that.”
With relief and gratitude for her change of subject, he falls into their familiar banter. “Pride of place in the center of your bed?” he teases.
She snickers. “Don’t you worry about what’s on my bed.”
“Impossible. My curiosity is piqued,” he drawls. He gestures at the camera. “What’s that for?”
“Oh, Piney Peaks always looks so pretty after it snows, so I thought I’d take some pictures for our database. Productions won’t come if they don’t know what we have to offer.” She holds the camera and pretends to snap a picture. “Click! Spotted in the wild: a New Yorker acclimatizing to the magic of a small town and unwillingly enchanted by local toy shop.”
