Page 13 of Christmas for Keeps

We stayed that way until Emory kicked back to life and barked, “Don’t let me keep you, then. I know my way out.”

After the door slammed shut, neither Zach nor I moved.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“My neighbor who’s been torturing the shit out of me since I got here. He used to live on the other side of town but moved over here a year ago. He’s tried everything to get into my pants, but maybe he’ll stop now. Since I have such a cute boyfriend, maybe he’ll understand I’m not interested.”

“I see.” Turning so I could see his face, I asked, “So have you two ever… you know?”

“God, no.” He sounded disgusted.

“Good.”Wow, why did I say that? It isn’t like I have a claim on Zach anymore.

“Emory is not my typeat all.”

Still giddy from the kisses, I hesitated a few seconds before saying, “You told him we’re boyfriends.”

“I know.”

“But we’re not.” Our words had an awkward, clipped rhythm.

“You’re not mad, are you? Maybe we could be boyfriends emeritus.”

I swallowed hard. “I’m not mad. As long as… well… I hope he leaves you alone now.”

“You kissed me, Con.”

I gave a weird, two-note laugh. “You kissed me first.”

“Yep.” His lips curved into a shy smile. “I did.”

“Did you mean it?”

“Yes.” His eyes glimmered in the flickering light of the fire, and his voice was breathless. “Did you?”

Did I ever! And now I want more.“Yes, and I liked it.”

“Me too. It was awesome.”

“Yeah.”

His smile broadened. “Know what?”

I quirked an eyebrow.

“I want another one.”

For a second, we were still. Then our lips crashed together, and we threw our arms around each other. Caught in a frenzy of want that had been lingering for years, we held on for dear life, moaning through wild, wet kisses. He drew away from my lips long enough to nuzzle my throat, then purred when I nibbled on his earlobe. The drag of his scruff against my stubble made my dick twitch as we went back to each other’s mouths.

“Oh, baby,” he whispered between kisses. “Love it.”

“God yes!”

Zach pushed against me, his hard cock igniting waves of electric desire. I was hard too, straining against my jeans, and we hummed while we ground against each other.

“You’re so beautiful,” he mumbled, sneaking a breath.

Not much blood was left in my brain by then, but enough remained for me to know what we were doing. Suddenly nauseous and wondering why he would want to even touch me after what happened, I fought an urge to run out into the snow and down the icy roads back to Boston. Instead, I placed my hands against his chest and pulled free from his embrace. “Zach? We should talk. Okay?”

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