Page 93 of Christmas Criminal

I shrug. "We can both be sweet. There's room for both of us to hold the title."

She laughs, shuffling over to me and leaving a kiss on my jaw that sends a shiver all the way down my spine and right back up. She isn't wearing anything under that damn T-shirt, and I can feel her breasts pressing against my chest through the thin fabric.

I thought I might calm down by now. That the frequency with which we've been fucking would let me go half an hour without popping a boner around her.

Apparently not.

So I bend her over my kitchen counteragain.

Apparently I really am coming for Christmas.

After a lazy dayof food and fucking, we drag ourselves into the shower to get ready for Christmas Eve dinner at Noelle's mom's house. It's a low-key affair, according to Noelle, but she wears a pair of leggings and a sweater so soft that I have trouble keeping my hands off her.

We stuff the presents back into the Santa sack to bring them over for Christmas morning, but I let Noelle arrange them under her mom's tree. She glares at everyone, but I'm confident that inside, my little Christmas elf is enjoying herself.

Helen does a stripped-down version of seven fishes–she gets a pre-packed plate from the grocery store, so all she really has to do is throw it in the oven–and the girlsoohandahhover the Christmas cookies I decorated, and roll their eyes at the ones Noelle very obviously did. She only grins at their reactions.

Christmas music plays in the background, and I'm just content to be a part of a Christmas Eve like this.

I feel like a kid again, when these traditions were just something I had to get through in order to get to the presents portion of Christmas morning. Except now I have a new appreciation for them. Noelle's family isn't flashy about the holiday, but theyaretogether. And mostly happy about it.

In the years since my mom died, I've joined other families for Christmas. Friends or girlfriends whose families took pity on the kid without one of his own. I've had amazing Christmases and I've had so-so ones, but it feels like there's something more to this one.

It feels a little bit like home.

And that feeling hits me again. The one that tells me I shouldn't get used to this.

I rub the tightness out of my chest as Noelle refills my wine and returns to the couch, a grin on her face as she leaves a kiss on my cheek and takes the spot on the floor at my feet, resting her own glass on the coffee table in front of us. Her mom is next to me, still picking at her dinner because apparently that's how she eats, according to her girls–all the time and everything, but in bird-sized bites. Christina is on the couch adjacent to us, her cast propped on the arm and her phone in her hand.

"Dad says he's excited to see us tomorrow," Christina says, a smile on her face as she glances up at everyone.

Noelle's scoff carries enough weight for the both of us. "I bet he is."

Christina gives her a look. "He's only going to stop by for a little bit, so you can go hide in your bedroom if you're really that opposed to seeing him."

"Thank you. I'll definitely take you up on that offer."

Christina rolls her eyes. Helen sighs. "We're all going to have a very nice holiday. Whether or not your father shows."

Christina's eyes lock on Noelle's. "At least Father Christmas will be coming."

"Christina!" Noelle snaps, reaching over and slapping her on the cast.

"You realize I have a cast there, right? That felt like a light breeze lifting my hair."

"Well, I don't want toactuallyhurt you on a holiday. That's Dad's job."

Christina's nostrils flare.

"Girls!" Helen says. She turns to me, shaking her head. "Every year, it's the same thing. I swear, their relationship hasn't changed since they were five and nine."

Both girls turn to her, grinning proudly.

"Consistency is key," Noelle says, mock seriously, and I get the feeling they've hadthisconversation before, too.

Christina nods in agreement. "You can't always rely on motivation, but as long as you've got consistency, you'll see success."

Helen rolls her eyes. "Motivational posters from a science teacher they both had."

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