Page 83 of Peppermint Bark

A laugh that his mother hadn’t heard in a decade.

He kissed me again and shifted away. “But first, I need to feed you.”

“No, I’ll be fine,” I shook my head vehemently, wrapping my hands around his shirt to tug him back. “We can keep —”

“I’m starving but didn’t notice until …” he leaned down to kiss my stomach, murmuring to my belly. “Thank you for telling me what she needs.”

I sighed, shifting towards the edge of the bed. “Fine, I’ll run down to the restaurant for sandwiches. Do you want coffee?”

“I like everything about that plan except you leaving.” He pulled me back between the pillows and pressed me into the mattress. “Don’t move.”

He lifted the phone on the nightstand. As I took the receiver, his hands grazed my ankles and his eyes met mine. When I nodded shyly, he tugged my leggings to pull them off.

“Room service,” the voice said as Alex’s hands traced up my calves.

“Yes, I’d like to order coffee,” I said. He held up two fingers as his lips pressed into the inside of my ankle. “Two, with cream and sugar.”

“We’ll send up a carafe.”

Into my calf, he murmured, “Appetizer.”

My head felt cloudy at the feel of his lips. “And, uh, a charcuterie board?”

His mouth moved up to my knee as his fingers trailed inside my thigh, and he said with a cocky grin. “What are their specials?”

I glared at him — or as close as possible with his hands tracing circles inside my legs. He barked out a laugh of pride at the effect he had on me.

“A burger and a pizza, please,” I said into the phone as Alex’s hands reached my panties. My hips jerked as his thumb swirled over the bundle of nerves that was now my clit, and any words being spoken were overpowered by the feel of his hands exploring the soft fabric.

He poured lube on his fingertips and met my gaze for approval, then moved my panties to the side, running a slick thumb over my center.

“Order dessert, Grace,” he said, voice quiet and firm as my decisionmaking ability disintegrated.

“Dessert,” I breathed into the phone, only able to repeat his words. As the staff member listed options, he wrapped his hands around the edges of my panties and met my eyes with a question. When I dipped my chin, he slid them down my legs and tossed them over his shoulder.

His mouth grazed from my knee up my thigh with tender kisses. After a breath-stopping crooked smile he lowered his head, placing a scorching kiss a few inches higher. I lost my breath, restraining a desperate moan into the phone.

His finger dipped inside me, my panting breaths coming in faster as electricity pooled in my belly. He moved his mouth back to nip my thigh, “Apple pie, Grace. A la mode.”

“Apple pie,” I repeated into the headset as his tongue licked inside me. My legs fell open and my head tilted back, “with vanilla ice cream, please.”

“Great.” The voice sounded uncomfortable, like he was trying to get off the phone. I wanted to get off too. “Anything else?”

Alex’s palms spread my thighs wider as he kissed my clit. My hip thrust into his face with a frustrated grunt. He chuckled, his tongue flicking and teasing me.

“Leave it in the hall, thank you,” I cried before slamming down the receiver in abject horror. Before I could formulate the words to chide him for embarrassing me, his mouth slid around my clit and his finger moved back inside me, making my hips shoot up. The cry that I’d been holding back finally escaped, resonating between my ribs, echoing in my chest, tingling in my nipples and fluttering in my stomach.

“So polite,” Alex murmured. His mouth traced the seam of my thigh, teasing every nerve. “Losing your mind, but still saying please and thank you. Are you going to be that polite with me, Grace?”

“Please,” I whimpered, wanting his mouth back where it belonged. Threading my hands in his hair, I tried to pull him back but he resisted, smirking up at my frustration from between my legs, opening them wider and teasing his fingers back inside.

“Please what?” he asked in feigned confusion.

“Please put your mouth back.”

“Where?”

“On my — on my clit. Please, Alex.".

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