Page 16 of Naughty Santa

As soon as she got back to the general area of Joe’s fly, Paris noticed that there was a much more noticeable prominence there now. She also noted that his hands were gripping the edge of the counter a little harder now, evidenced by the white knuckles. When she got to his face, his jaw was clenched, and his cheeks were a little flushed.

“Are you okay?” Paris asked.

“Not really.”

She swallowed hard. “Oh. Sorry.”

He looked at her for a long moment. “When I said I can’t, I meant that I can’t get naughty with you.”

“Oh.” Paris frowned, then shook her head. “No. Actually saying ‘I can’t’ in response to my question means you can’t give me a good reason why we can’t get naughty.”

He nodded. “You’re right. Wrong answer. I can give you a reason.”

“And?” she prompted.

“I can’t go there. I have this problem.”

Her eyes flew back to his fly, and she gave him a cheeky grin. “Not as far as I can tell.”

Joe coughed and shifted while she met his gaze again.

Was she embarrassing him?

God, he really was a nice guy. Most of the men she’d met in L.A. wouldn’t have blinked twice at the things she was saying, this kind of flirty exchange of sexual innuendoes fairly normal.

Joe was undeterred, however, in giving her his reason. “I have this problem where I fall in love and then get my heart broken when the woman realizes she doesn’t want to be here long-term. And I’m not leaving North Pole. So getting involved with a California girl who’s already planning her exit seems like a really bad idea.”

Okay. Well, that was ridiculously sweet and…God…hot.

Paris kept her gaze on his as she set her plate to one side. “Actually, that is what’s perfect about this.”

“It is?”

“You already know I’m leaving,” she said.

“Which makes it really stupid to ignore that and get all wrapped up in you, doesn’t it?” Joe persisted.

Paris smiled and took a step closer to him. “Haven’t you ever had sex just for sex? A casual fling? A one-night stand?”

She glanced down to see his hands gripping the counter again, as she stopped right in front of him. They weren’t quite touching, but she was definitely in his personal space.

He smelled as good as the sauce.

Like Guy. That’s what the cologne would be named if it smelled like Joe.

Wood and fresh air and snow. Did snow have a scent?

Joe shook his head slowly, his gaze on her mouth again. “No one-night stands. Like you said, just girlfriends.”

She reached out and put her hand on his chest. It was hard. Hot. His heart was pounding.

“So you’ve never just had hot, sweaty, rock-your-world sex because it would feel good and be fun? Without worrying about things like introducing her to your parents and if you both like kids and dogs and finding out what her ring size is?”

Again, he shook his head.

“Oh, Joe.” Paris stepped even closer, that very nice bulge behind his zipper pressed against her stomach. She slid her hand to the back of his head, tangling her fingers into his hair. “You really need to. At least once. And I’m the perfect choice. I can tell you exactly what I want sexually. Plus, I’m leaving soon and can buy my own rings. Really, when is a chance like this going to come up for you again?” With her heels on and him leaning a little, she only had to go up on tiptoe to put her lips next to his. “You really should take advantage.”

Then, she kissed him.

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