Page 22 of Accidentally Under Your Tree

"You're welcome."

I held her gaze as I lifted the liquid to my mouth, taking a sip as she took a drink of hers. The delicate muscles of her neck flexed.

What I wouldn't give to scrape my teeth up the tender skin of her throat—

"Good morning," Jim—herdad—greeted us.

Somehow, I didn't sputter my coffee in my surprise, instead I swallowed way too much, and it burned the entire way down. I blinked back the tears filling my eyes.

On the plus side, my erection had practically deflated.

"Morning," Lizzy chirped, her shoulders rigid. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine. Thanks for brewing coffee, sweetheart."

"Sure thing!"

"Mornin', Will."

I nodded my head once. "Jim," I groaned, my throat still burning.

"I see you met Lizzy."

"At the bar," she explained, then a little too quickly she added, "lastnight."

"Is that where you two ran off to?" He directed the question to me.

"Yup." I coughed once into my fist. "Nice place."

"It is. That Ben is a smart young man. You all doin' the Christmas Tree Decorating Contest today?"

Lizzy shifted her weight to one hip and raised an eyebrow at her dad. "You think Mom and Rose would sit this out?"

"Them? No. But you do some years."

"I'll tag along."

"Wait…" I scowled into the middle distance, the inkling of a memory tickling the back of my mind. "Would there be a vision board for this? Something to do with… What is that ballet?"

They exchanged a vexed glance before answering in unison, "Swan Lake."

Jim shook his head. "There are so many feathers in my basement."

"And other design elements," Rose said through a yawn. She padded barefoot to kiss her dad on the cheek. "Morning, Anne."

Lizzy blinked, her mug paused on the way to her lips. "Good morning."

"What about your young man? No kiss to start his day?" Jim asked. He might have been joking but judging by Rose's deer-in-the-headlights expression, she had experienced the same jolt of terror that I had.

"It-it's okay," I stammered. "We already did, in the bedroom."

She tilted her head saying without saying,What the fuck?

"Not likethat," I rambled on.

Jim's eyebrows shot up.

"You know, not likethat."

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