Page 24 of Their Christmas Miracle

Holly

Oh, God. I can’t believe how turned on I am right now. Wetness pools between my legs. My core aches, teased awake by the feel of Josh’s hard on against my belly. He’s pushing me back now, backing me up, tugging my clothes as his hands slide over my arms, my back, my ass, my thighs.

Something hard digs into my side — the breakfast nook’s counter. I gasp, accidentally breaking off our scorching kiss.

My eyes flutter open and, for a moment, we just stare at each other. Josh’s mouth is parted, his breath coming as hard and fast as mine.

Something — concern? — flickers on his eyes, but then he presses his mouth closed. His jaw bunches. He grabs my waist, lifting me onto the counter with a soft growl.

The jarring shock when he sets me down makes me gasp again. And that sound makes Josh’s nostrils flare. He draws a deep breath and then shoves my skirt all the way up my thighs. His eyes slide down and his lips parts as he runs his gaze up my thighs, staring for a moment at the tattoo on my thigh.

“It’s—” God, I have to swallow in some air “—it’s an elf.”

His eyes flash up to mine.

Strange, I’d thought they were just brown. Plain, mud-yuck brown. But they’re not. This close, I can see all sorts of amazing colors in those irises: specks of green and yellow and gold and honey. I get lost in them for a moment.

“You know…from…Lord of the Rings?”

Hey, maybe he gets lost in mine, because we’re like this for at least a minute — panting, his hands gripping my crumpled skirt, my hands grabbing the back of his neck.

“I think you’re an elf,” he whispers.

“What?” I blink up at him, trying not to give him a confused look. I fail, obviously, because he drops his eyes and starts backing up.

---