Page 42 of Holiday Home 4

Swinging her arms around his neck, she pulled him into her mouth. Sticking his spoon into his ice cream, he extended the container to his side, then set his free hand on Avril’s hip as he leaned into her. The heat of their tongues rapidly melted the cream in her mouth, and then she had full use of her tongue again. Coiling it around his, holding him to her lips, she didn’t release him until they were both equally out of breath. It was messy, passionate, and satisfying—a perfect summation of his feelings about Avril.

Avril’s eyes shone like a pair of emeralds that had infiltrated the stars as their mouths parted. Like Anna, she didn’t unwrap her arms right away. That kept their mouths close, nearly touching, their breath hot against the other’s face. They each trembled with desire, worked up enough that it felt inevitable that things would escalate.

It didn’t.Again,Avril’s non-response surprised him. She didn’t order him to strip; she didn’t invite him to strip her. He got a few more quick kisses, and then she let go of him.

“You’d better drop that twenty in that tip jar, sir,” she whispered, grinning.

That part, the grin, confused him even more. If she’d been upset about something, unusual as it might be to see her upset about something, he would have at least understood why she didn’t stay with him. Yet, as she moved back around to the otherside of the counter, clearing her throat and pointing at the tip jar, he was mired in confusion.

“I’d hoped you’d stay over on my side a little longer,” Liam eventually said once five hundred andtwentydollars now awaited the morning crew, deciding to say it straight up. “For a lot longer, potentially.”

“I’m at work,” Avril said, leaning over the counter with a smile. “We can’t fuck while I’m at work. You’ll get me fired!”

So, she’d really brought him hereonlyfor the ice cream? Accepting that was like trying to swallow a brick. It felt so off from the woman he knew, enough that it shouldn’t be possible unless he’d fallen into an alternate universe when he wasn’t looking.

“But we can make out?”

“Sure,” Avril said. “We can do that plenty. That’s normal workplace behavior.”

Is it?he thought dubiously. While it might be slightly more acceptable to employers, most probably didn’t like seeing their employees lock lips for prolonged lengths of time during their shifts.

“But no sex?” Liam asked, trying to wrap his head around this new angle of Avril’s scheme.

He’d graduated from Scheming 101. He’d forgotten that Avril had graduated from far more advanced courses.

“No sex,” Avril confirmed. “Can’t be doing that, not while I’m on my shift.”

“And… when does your shift end?”

“When I take off this apron, lock things up, and we head back to my apartment for some leftover paella.”

“I… see.” But he didn’t see, not really. The storm clouds weren’t parting, allowing him to glimpse the clear blue sky. “I was hoping to see you inonlythat apron. Is that also forbidden?”

Avril pursed her lips, briefly thoughtful. “Maybe the top half can come off. A compromise for you, so you don’t keep pouting.”

“I’m not—!”

He cut himself off. He might be pouting; it was hard to read his current suite of emotions. After learning about these unpleasant stipulations, he didn’t know what kind of expression he now made.

“Admittance is the first step,” Avril teased, picking up her cone and cleaning up its sides before it started dripping onto the counter.

“Whatever,” he said, grabbing another bite of his ice cream. “So, no sex tonight. Kind of unexpected, coming from you.”

“I live to be unexpected,” Avril grinned. “Besides, we both know your dick got plenty wet yesterday. I bet you could use a day of recovery.”

“I’ve got a whole week of it coming after tonight,” he growled in response. But he also clutched what Avril had just let slip. Even though she’d acted like sheknewwhat he and Anna had gotten up to, she was seriously underestimating her best friend. After all, his dick had gotten “plenty wet” more recently than yesterday.

Plenty is correct,Liam thought, fondly remembering what Anna had done to lubricate his cock only a couple of hours ago.

“So, youaremad about that message Tess put in our group text!” he accused, letting the fact that he’d been the one to send that message stay unstated. “Why are you taking it out on me?”

“Mad? Who’s mad?” Avril began finishing up her single scoop of ice cream. Meanwhile, Liam had pretty much forgotten about his. “Why would I be mad? I was the one who helped you land that sexy, sexy professor, remember? Things are going great, I’d say.”

“Except right now, where you’re cutting me off from getting to fuckyoursexy ass.”

“You can’t go a single weekend without churning my insides, Liam?” Avril asked, batting her eyelashes. “Are you that addicted to me?”

He could have denied it, but what was the point? The lie would be as unbelievable as an adrenaline junkie proclaiming that his new favorite sport was mini golf. Such a lie would get him nowhere. So, instead, Liam finally pursued an answer to that question he’d been wondering about for the past few weeks.

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