Page 11 of Hot & Bothered

When her second orgasm finally waned, she realized she’d closed her eyes again. Jace relaxed beneath her, and when she blinked her eyes open and glanced down at him, she found him smiling.

She smiled back, a heated flush of shyness making its unwanted way into her cheeks and chest. She was fair-skinned, which meant he could easily see the pink hue to her cheeks and breasts.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” he mused, his voice like rough whiskey that made her pussy flutter around him. “And a fucking goddess when you come.”

She bit her lip and glanced away, her hair tumbling over her face. Slowly, she rolled off him and made her way to the bathroom, where she tidied herself up. When she returned to the bedroom, he got out of bed, a cocky grin on his face, and went to dispose of the condom.

He was back in bed with her, hauling her back against his chest in a under a minute.

“How does your family spend Christmas day?” he asked, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

She sighed and snuggled into his arms, smiling at just how content she felt. “Pretty lazy and low key. It’s just the three of us. So we stay in our pajamas all day drinking coffee with Bailey’s, listening to Christmas music and opening gifts. We have a rule—my parents and I. Our gifts for each other must be under fifty dollars and handmade.”

“Oh, wow!”

She shrugged. “My parents are …”

“Loaded?” he finished with a chuckle.

“Yeah. So, there’s not much that we need. Christmas has always been about spending time together. Not aboutthings. We also do a lot of volunteer work around the holidays—well, all year—but especially around the holidays. And we donate money we would spend on each other to worthier causes. We know we’re privileged, so we don’t take that for granted.”

“That’s really cool. What have you made for your parents this year?” He squeezed her tighter.

“Well, I learned how to crochet a few years ago, so I made my mom a scarf and matching gloves in her favorite color—olive green. And for my dad—who is an avid fly fisherman, well, any kind of fishing, really—I took a fly-tying course and made him a bunch of really neat flies.”

“That’s really fucking cool,” he said, his tone conveying just how impressed he really was. “I’d love to see some of these flies. I’ve been fly-fishing with my dad before, but we always just buy our flies. I think learning how to make your own would be really neat.”

“It was finicky at first. My first few were total crap, but once I got the hang of it, it was actually really fun.”

He released her and helped her roll over so she was facing him. Brushing the hair off her face, he cupped her cheek. “I really like that tradition you have with your parents. Where you spend your time rather than your money.”

She smiled. “Me, too. Boxing Day—so tomorrow—is when we see family. My uncle Ron has a big open house that we go to every year. His wife makes a giant pot of chili, and another one of chowder, then everyone just comes and goes as they like. They get anywhere between twenty and eighty people over the course of the day. Luckily, their house is massive and can sustain it.”

“Oh, wow!”

“What about you?”

He rolled over onto his back and tucked his hands behind his head. She snuggled into his chest, resting her head on his pec. “My sister has a couple of kids now, so it’s all about them—which I love. My parents, sister and I don’t buy each other anything anymore. I just buy for my niece and nephew. I’ll head over to my parents’ house around two o’clock. We’ll open gifts with the kids, then have dinner. My mum always goes overboard with dinner. Turkey and every side dish imaginable.”

“I’m allaboutthe side dishes. I will honestly admit that I have eaten an entire family-sized serving of stuffing on my own in my apartment for dinner—on more than one occasion.”

He snorted a laugh. “I love that. Then she sends us all home with leftovers to sustain us for a week. But I’m beckoned back a few days later to pick up my turkey potpies and my turkey soup.”

“Let me guess, you can eat an entire pie in one sitting?”

“Have done—more than once. Then I have a second dinner later.”

It was her turn to snort.

“Hey, I’m in training. Gotta keep the muscles fed.” Playfully, he brought his right bulging bicep to his mouth and gave it a kiss.

Peyton rolled her eyes. But she secretly loved his playfulness. “When do you start work again?”

“Tomorrow, unfortunately. Day shift. I’ve got two of ‘em. Then two nights. Then I’m off for four.”

She nodded. “My best friend’s husband is a cop. I’m familiar with the rotation.”

He reached down and pinched her butt. “Cheeky.” Then he grabbed his phone from his nightstand to check the time. It was eight-fourteen. “What time are your parents expecting you?”

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