Page 99 of When in December

I was transfixed by the way his lips curved. He took a gamble—or maybe it was already obvious what was going to happen between us by the way our chests touched and our eyes wandered to exactly what we wanted but were too afraid to say. He reached out to tilt my chin back down, aligning my lips with his. I didn’t resist.

Aaron Hayes was holding me the way I’d always wanted for years, and I’d let him do it all night if he’d allow it. Just like this.

“I don’t want to be alone anymore,” he whispered. “I’ve realized I really suck at it.”

“Then …” I took a deep breath. The words were perched on the edge of my lips, ready to slip free, but hesitant.

Aaron reached up, running his thumb along my bottom lip, as if it would coax them out.

“Then, don’t be,” I whispered. “You don’t have to be alone.”

Not anymore, I corrected.Not for now.

The words made his breath go uneven, which was good because I wasn’t feeling so steady myself. Even less so when he was kissing me.

I felt the power of it, my lips opening in a shallow gasp. Aaron took the moment to sweep in, tasting me, claiming and teasing all at once.

I arched. I didn’t want any space between us other than the fabric of our clothes, which felt thick and overbearing.

“Yes?” He asked me, making sure we were on the same page. His hands were already trailing back and forth over my body.

“Yes,” I whispered, leaning back in to tilt my mouth over his skin.

“My little homemaker wants to devour me.”

“More than anything.”

I let my hands drift down from where they stalled against his chest. My palms slipped over his navel where his shirt had ridden up. I gripped the hem.

He grumbled, looking down at me with pained desire. “I think I want to let you.”

“I want to see you,” I whispered against his mouth.

He scraped his teeth against my neck as he finally found the small white ribbon holding together my wrap dress. He toyed with it, waiting to pull and let the fabric fall away.

I shivered.

“You’re still dressed,” I whispered.

He breathed into my ear, “Then, undress me, angel.”

twenty-two

. . .

Poppy

My entire bodyshook with the anticipation of what was happening.

This cannot be happening,my brain screamed.

It was though. It really was.

My gaze was unwavering from Aaron as he took a few steps back to give me a better view. Lifting my hands to my lips, as if to hide my amusement of how we were going about this whole thing, I barked a laugh that did not sound dainty in the slightest.

But I didn’t tell him to stop.

I wanted the exact opposite of him stopping.

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