Page 17 of Holiday Flame

He shakes his head. “I’m still waiting for the punchline.”

“We”—I pause to restrain another laugh—“snuck into the house”—I let out a little snort—“like a couple of teenagers.”

“And?”

“We’re not teenagers.” A giggle escapes. “We’re grown ass adults.”

Remington shakes his head and rolls his eyes at me. But I don’t miss the hint of a smile playing at his lips.

His very strong, firm lips that are completely capable of giving me pleasure and commanding all my senses.

As if reading my thoughts, he gives me a playful push and I fall on my back. Easing the leggings down my hips, he smirks at me.

“Let me show what this grown-ass man wants to do to you.”

A knock on my bedroom door stirs me awake.

I groan. “Go away.”

“Come one, sleepy head,” Maverick calls out. “Emerson says we have to eat breakfast before we can open presents.”

A body stirs next to me in bed and my eyes fly open. “Fuck.”

Remington bolts up. Unlike me, he’s still mostly dressed. After he’d made me come with his fingers and mouth, I offered to return the favor last night, he insisted—once again—that he only cared about my pleasure. His could wait.

We’d ended up kissing and whispering back and forth, learning more about each other, for half the night. At some point we must have fallen asleep.

And now a door—without a lock—is the only thing standing between my brother and us.

“Jade,” Maverick calls out. I hear his hand take the handle.

“Just give me a minute,” I shout back. “I’m... Getting dressed.”

There’s a pause. “You’ll be out soon.”

“Yes, just… go. Go!”

“Fine. Sheesh.” He mutters something I can’t hear on the other side of the door as his footsteps move away.

“Oh my God.” I cover my face. My cheeks flush hot. “That was close.”

“It’s okay,” Remington whispers, grabbing his boots and pulling them on. He glances around the room. “I’ll sneak out the window.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” I whisper.

“You didn’t ask. I offered.” He leans over the bed and brushes his lips against mine. “Merry Christmas, baby.”

Despite the panic of my brother nearly finding us in bed together, I can’t resist the pull of giving him a kiss back. “Merry Christmas to you too.”

“I’ll call you later.”

I nod and follow him with my eyes as he picks up my discarded clothes and sets them on the foot of my bed. I can’t believe I spent the night naked in bed with Remington. Well, I was naked. He wasn’t. Still. Two weeks ago I could have never imagined. A week ago, I could have only hoped. Now, well, now I just feel incredibly lucky.

I hope I can get even luckier soon. Especially knowing who he is beneath that hard surface. He’s a good man. The kind of man who loves and cares for his mother. The kind of man who hears about a single mom struggling to make a good Christmas for her kids and insists on helping her out.

And he’s all mine. Well, mostly mine. I want him to be all mine. And not just in the way it started out. No, the more I know Remington, the more I want to know of him. The more I want to build something that lasts.

I wonder if it’s possible. If the rumors are true, he’s not really a relationship guy.

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