Page 46 of A Christmas Bargain

He watched me as I took a sip, then raised his glass to his lips which I wanted to have back on mine.

“So.” I cleared my throat. “There’s this thing called pacing.”

He laughed loudly, tugging me against him in a side hug. “Yeah. That’s, uh, yeah. Let’s slow this down.”

“I believe I was the one who intended to savor it all.”

He raised his glass to mine for a toast. “And I was the one who said there’s no need to rush.”

“What about Naomi?” I asked.

“She’s sleeping over at my sister’s.”

“You mean the sister at the bar right there, who hasn’t stopped looking at us since we sat?”

He smiled in their direction before he swooped in for another kiss. “Yeah. That sister. Naomi’s in good hands with Nicky for their movie night.”

“Let me guess…” I tapped my finger on my chin. “Home Alone?”

“Gee, how did you know?” he joked dryly.

I smiled, humored by this shared annoyance of her references to that movie. It started out as cute, but Naomi was such a stickler and kneweveryline by heart, so it was hard to even speak about it with the know-it-all.

“Last winter break, I flew her to New York to see all the buildings that they had in the second movie,” he admitted.

I snuggled in, lulled by the slow circles he idly traced on my shoulder as we sat so intimately close.

He talked more about Naomi, then I asked questions about him. I offered stories about myself, too. For the next hour and a half, we managed to change the pace of the night. We kissed here and there, almost as if we had to check and make sure that we’d taken that step. But we ate, and talked, and got along as seamlessly as we always did.

Once desserts came and then the bill, too, we got up to leave. I was under no illusion that the night was over, not with the lines we’d crossed.

And I wasn’t alone in that thought. We left the restaurant hand in hand, but when we reached his SUV, he tugged on my hand until I faced him.

“Are you still planning to savor every second?”

I nodded, backpedaling as he walked me toward his car. My back hit the side. With him caging me in, we met in the middle.

He lowered to kiss me at the same time I reached up to loop my arms around his neck to hold him close.

Under the dark sky dotted with stars, we lost track of time—leisurely or rushed—as we kissed and kissed.

Then in the car, still holding hands, we shot each other knowing looks that signaled lust.

Back at his house, I didn’t see much of his land again. We were right back to it, where we’d left off, kissing like there was no tomorrow. Every press of his lips against mine was hotter thanthe last. Each time he held me closer, I felt like I was constrained from really feeling him.

Groping and struggling to shed our clothes, we got into his house and refused to back up.

“I thought you said we should pace ourselves,” he said, out of breath as he guided me through his dark house.

“Uh-huh.” I tugged hard at his shirt as he reached for my dress’s zipper. “Faster.”

“What about savoring?—”

I kissed him hard as buttons gave way on his shirt. “Next time,” I mumbled in protest. Next time, because I was that confident that once wouldn’t be enough. Next time, because this was so hot and frantic that neither of us would be able to last.

Finally naked, treated to the glorious expanse of his taut skin stretched over so many muscles, I shivered in delight. He raked his hungry gaze over me too, taking in every revealed inch of my body. Holding my hand, he led me into a huge bedroom.

“I intend to savor everything you can give me,” I told him.

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