Page 30 of It's Mother-Pucking Christmas!

“Thank you,” Ryder said as she hugged him again.

“I’m saying goodbye from thirty feet away!” Granny Murray hollered while Hudson sighed and gave Ryder a salute.

“Oh my god,” I said when we were on the quiet, snowy street, snow falling softly around us. “I am so sorry about that. Theyare… They area lot. That was a lot to dump you into the first time.”

But instead of showing annoyance, he brought his arms around me, pulling me close to him.

“That was, no lie, the best night of my life, Dakota.”

I wrinkled my nose. “You’re going to go complain to all your Icebreakers teammates that Arctic Avengers fans were awful to you, and the girl you were with just abandoned you with them, and she sucks for that.”

He leaned in. Hesitated. “No, I really like you, Dakota.” Then his lips brushed mine, gently then more insistent.

I sank into him as he kissed me like I was the princess he’d been searching for on an epic quest. It was a perfect Hallmark kiss in the snow under the warm glow of Christmas lights.

“You’re amazing,” he whispered. “You’re what I’ve been searching for my entire life.” His eyes were brilliant like starlight.

“I am?”

Ryder leaned in to kiss me again, heavier this time.

I wanted to say “fuck,” but his tongue was in my mouth, and I didn’t want him to complain about curse words. I wanted him to keep kissing me like that.

Steam clouded around us. He cupped my face, peppering me with kisses, nuzzling my neck, his large hands squeezing my waist, drifting down to my hips while I wrapped my arms around his neck, wanting to feel him everywhere.

“I take it,” I whispered against his mouth, “you’re not going to not-so-subtly ask me if we can fuck in the back seat of your car.”

“I don’t”—he tipped my head back to deepen the kiss before continuing—“sleep with girls on the second date.”

“Too bad.” I felt cold and bereft when he released me—and mad I’d pushed too much.

I wrapped my arms around myself as his knees bent slightly so he could pick up the bag of food.

He cupped my chin and leaned in for one more panty-melting kiss. “But,” he said, taking a step back, “I’ll definitely bend you over and take you after the third date.”

“You—I—” I gaped at him there in the cold.

He winked over his shoulder, swinging the paper sack and whistling “Happy Holidays” as he headed down the sidewalk, one hand in his pocket.

Cocky bastard.

Gracie was in the kitchen,eating mac ’n’ cheese and hiding from family members wanting to know when she was going to start popping out babies because she wasn’t getting any younger.

“Oh!” Gracie almost dropped the fork. “I thought you were Granny Murray.”

“Just ignore her if she tells you to stick anything up your vagina. It’s a trap.” I sat down in the banquette next to her and grabbed a spoon.

“I stuck it under the broiler,” she said as I dug into the lobster mac ’n’ cheese.

“I fucking love cheese,” I mumbled around the hot pasta.

“I figured you’d have something nicer to put in your mouth than this,” my cousin teased.

I swallowed. “He left.”

“Oh no. Ryder’s not mad, is he?” Gracie asked anxiously. “Hudson said he looked upset earlier because of our family.”

“Fuckers. No, thank god.”

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