Page 22 of Unruly Kris

“Shit, if getting your ass kicked gets you off that badly, I’m definitely your girl.” Cath chuckled as they exited the store and headed for the Subaru.

“Damn straight.” Kris gave her a smile that made her flush with warmth, the affection in his eyes was almost staggering to her. “You know I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing you say that.”

Cath played coy as she opened the SUV’s hatch and began to load their purchases. Bending low she made sure he had a prime view of her body as she stretched out to put the bags inside. She felt his gaze sweep over her and drew out the process of standing up fully, instead choosing to take her time organizing the shopping bags in the trunk. “What? That I can kick your ass? I thought you’d have realized by now that was a given.”

“That you’re my girl.” Kris lifted the last of the bags into the trunk and waited for her to shut the hatch. He pulled her close and wound her arms around his neck, tucking her inside his leather jacket. Cath leaned up and kissed him, letting him press her back against the SUV’s hatch as they got caught up in the moment. Even after five months, Cath was sometimes shocked at how intensely she felt it when he kissed her, like the world stopped for a moment and all that mattered was being in his arms. She wasn’t some fresh faced ingénue; she’d been in love before, but it had never felt like this, euphoric and heady, and leaving her hungry for more of him all the time. Half the time, it left her feeling like she’d won the lottery, and the other half of the time it scared her to death.

With a reluctant sigh, Cath broke away gently, knowing that if she hadn’t been keenly aware that they could wind up the front running story on TMZ, she would have stayed in his arms like that for hours contentedly. She detangled her arms from around his neck, shifting them so that she could grab the collar of his jacket in her fists and steal one last quick kiss. “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here and go home to where we don’t have an audience watching us.”

“For once, you won’t get a word of disagreement out of me.” He turned and headed for the passenger side of the SUV.

Cath followed and opened the driver side door then leaned on it, resting her chin on her arm as she gave him a cheeky grin. “That just may be a Christmas miracle in itself.”

16

Later that evening Cath found herself hunkered down on the couch while Kris sorted through the collection of holiday movies available for them to watch. With the critical eye of a connoisseur, he flipped through the list, dismissing Home Alone as “too kiddish,” A Christmas Carol as “overdone” and White Christmas as “just plain sappy.” Cath watched amused as he scrolled through the selections with a dead serious look on his face, scrutinizing their options like it was a professional responsibility.

She leaned over and swiped the bowl of popcorn off the coffee table, settling it on her lap and popping some of the kernels into her mouth in impatience. “Kris, just pick something please or I swear I’m going to eat this whole bowl of popcorn myself in the meantime.”

“I never take movie choices lightly.” His gaze roamed over the list on her television as he spoke. “It’s all about the right movie, for the right viewing experience and the right mood.”

“That’s a load of bullshit.” Cath said cheerfully, setting the popcorn aside. She slid over to where he sat and rested her head on his shoulder.

He tapped a finger off her nose playfully in censure and switched streaming services to see what the other options available were. “Hey, I don’t knock the way you choose your guns on the field, don’t knock my vast expertise of all things movie related.”

“Vast expertise?” Cath rolled her eyes in jest and needled him playfully. “You can’t be serious.”

“I totally am.” He tapped his temple “I’m like an encyclopedia babe –”

“Of hot air,” she teased, grabbing the popcorn and flicking a kernel of popcorn at him. Seeing it coming, he ducked his head and caught it cleanly in his mouth. Cath hid the fact she was slightly impressed behind a scowl and turfed another kernel at him, hitting him cleaning in the center of the forehead with her improvised weapon of choice.

“I’m serious. I have a foolproof science.” He insisted. As usual refusing to let the point he was trying to make go. “It’s never failed me on dates be–”

Cath raised an eyebrow, watching as he ducked his head awkwardly, catching himself before he could finish his sentence. “It’s never failed me on dates before”She waited, holding in her laughter, watching as he tried to figure out how to extract himself and move the conversation on. After a moment she decided to let him off the hook gracefully. She rested her hands flat on his chest in a placating gesture. “Kris, relax. It’s not like I didn’t know you’d slept with half of Hollywood before we got together. Everyone’s got a past, yours is so colorful it’s neon, and it’s all public domain. I’d never hold that against you.”

“It’s more like a third actually, even I have some standards.” He ran a hand across the back of his neck, and she couldn’t help noticing the color creeping into his cheeks. “I’d chalk it up to being young, rich, and dumb, but the truth is I enjoyed every minute of it, probablywaytoo much.”

“Again, not new information, I have eyes and the last time I checked my sight was perfect. I didn’t come into this relationship blind,” she reminded him. “Although, if you want to keep going on the subject, I do enjoy watching you stick a very expensive shoe in your mouth.”

“I’m one hundred percent certain I can find much more enjoyable things to do for you with my mouth.” He trailed his lips along her ear and shoulder, pausing to tickle the skin at the base of her neck, causing her to shiver.

She playfully pushed him away and he caught her hand, pressing kisses to her wrist and arm. She let him draw her in again, and he resumed his casual progress, pushing the strap of her tank top out of the way as he teased her skin. Cath was about to settle in and enjoy the sensation when something on the television caught her eye.

“Oh!” She gently disengaged from his arms and reached for the remote as he made a noise of dismay. “That one, it’s the perfect movie for tonight!”

“What?” Kris leaned back against the couch and surveyed the screen. “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? Seriously?”

“Absolutely, it’s hilarious.” She clicked the remote and set the film up to begin. “When I was at the academy, it was the annual Christmas tradition in my squad to watch it to celebrate our winter exams ending. We used to drink our way through it and come out the other side absolutely blasted.”

“And you sayIconsistently surprise you with the things I say.” He shook his head. “It’s hard to picture you blasted, even when we’ve been out drinking together you always seem so… controlled.”

“Are you kidding me?” Cath laughed, waving the remote in her hand like she was gesturing to a bullet list. “Between formal parties, promotions, retirements and the military ball, I’m pretty sure Special Forces has turned drinking into an elite art form. What you’ve seen is years and years of survival training, not to mention a lot of mornings I’d rather not remember.”

“I see you awful mornings and raise you A-List parties,” Kris pointed out as he stole a handful of popcorn. “Hollywood likes to pre-drink before you pre-drink and the parties are… a hell of a lot of fun to be honest. I haven’t been to one in a long time though.”

Cath swiped her mug of eggnog off the coffee table and took a sip, then set the mug back and leaned into him, nuzzling her face in his neck. “Why not?”

“I found better places I wanted to be.” He pulled her across his lap and draped her legs over his. “And much better company to spend my nights with.”

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