Page 27 of Biker Under My Tree

When we finally pulled back, we were both breathless, and our lips were swollen. I giggled softly, and my voice was breathless as I teased, “I think that was more than two kisses.”

Bones chuckled, and his lips brushed over mine one last time. His hand gently cupped the back of my head. “Yeah, but who’s counting?” he murmured.

Before I could respond, a voice called from the kitchen door again. “Are you going to answer the damn door?” Wick asked, his voice impatient.

Bones muttered a curse under his breath, and I pulled out of his arms. I quickly finished pulling on my pants. I could feel the heat of his gaze on me as I moved, and his eyes tracked my every movement.

Bones found his pants, and I watched him slip them on, though it seemed like he wasn’t in any hurry to finish getting dressed. As I grabbed my bra and shirt, I moved faster than him, already feeling the urgency to get to the door before Wick and the others decided to break it down.

I fastened my bra, tugged my shirt on over my head, and glanced over at Bones, who still only had his pants on.

Bones strutted into the kitchen, his steps slow and confident. He was clearly unbothered by his state of half-dress.I moved to the doorway of the kitchen and watched him unlock the door.

When he swung it open, Wick’s voice rang out, full of amusement. “Well, hot damn,” he hooted. “Looks like your Christmas tree surprise plan worked.”

I felt my cheeks burn at the sound of Wick’s laughter from the living room, knowing full well what he was laughing about. Bones wasn’t exactly subtle, and now it looked like the whole crew was going to get an idea of just what kind of night we’d had.

Wick, Nut, and Bonnie sauntered into the kitchen, and all three looked a little too amused for my liking. Wick and Nut made a beeline for Bones, each giving him a fist bump with wide grins.

“Way to go, brother,” Wick said with a smirk and shot me a glance that was full of mischief. “Glad to see you finally got around to unwrapping a little something extra this holiday.”

Nut laughed and nudged Bones with his elbow. “Looks like Christmas came early.”

Bones flipped them both off.

Meanwhile, Bonnie gave me a knowing look, and her eyes glinted with humor. She didn’t say a word, but her raised eyebrow was enough to convey what she thought about the situation.

I took a deep breath and told myself not to be embarrassed. Sure, it was a little awkward—okay, a lot awkward—but I figured it was better to get the teasing out of the way now rather than let it drag on.

Wick wandered over to the living room, and his eyes zeroed in on the Christmas tree. “You didn’t even put a single ornament on the tree!” he called out, laughter booming through the house.

My cheeks heated again, but I managed a small laugh and shrugged it off. Bonnie bumped her hip into me and shookher head as she let out a chuckle. “Get it, girlfriend,” she said, laughing as she shot me a wink. “Guns and I barely finished a slice of pizza before we got, uh, distracted.” She cleared her throat with a grin and pulled her apron over her head.

I chuckled and felt a little relieved that Bonnie was so relaxed about it. She wasn’t giving me a hard time—just a little friendly teasing. Knowing Bonnie, she probably saw this coming long before I did.

Nut looked over at the two of us and crossed his arms with a sigh. “See, this is why I need to get myself an ol’ lady. Sure, they can be a pain in the ass, but I think I’d be willing to overlook that if it meant a warm body every night.” He shook his head, and looked at Bones and then me, as if he was seriously considering following our example.

“Guess you better put yourself out there, Nut,” I teased and earned myself a half-serious, half-amused glare from him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “Easier said than done.”

“Am I making a coffee cake today, or are we going to help Nut find an ol’ lady?” Bonnie asked and grinned as she tied her apron behind her back.

“Coffee cake would be a hell of a lot easier,” Bones snickered.

“Coffee cake,” I agreed, “and we need to get the delivery ready for the coffee shop.”

The sooner we got that delivery packed and loaded, the sooner I could move on to the week’s mountain of orders. We all pitched in and worked like clockwork.

Bones, Wick, and Nut grabbed the boxes, and I showed them how to arrange the cookies carefully so they wouldn’t break. Cheryl liked to freeze her cookies and pulled them out as needed to keep them fresh throughout the week.

An hour later, we had everything boxed up and loaded into the back of the van along with her regular order. Wick hopped into the passenger seat after calling shotgun.

But as I was about to head back inside, Bones reached for my hand and pulled me around to the back of the van. He pressed me gently against it, and with a soft look in his eyes, he glanced around to make sure Bonnie and Nut had gone inside.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice low and warm.

I tipped my head, a little surprised. “Um, yeah? Was I not supposed to be?”