Page 22 of Starts With a Bang

“Color me curious,” Sven said. “Tell me more.”

Next thing I knew, I was blurting out the ugly details. Sven looked more intrigued with each new twist and turn.

“Sounds fa la la la fabulous, baby. I’m in.” Sven hooked his elbow through mine and tugged. “Let’s work out the details someplace quieter.”

I went willingly because to do otherwise would cause a scene, and I wanted to avoid drawing attention to us. I’d set him straight as soon as we were alone. Sven led me through the kitchen and turned left into the mudroom, where he snagged his coat off a hook before heading out the side door. He slid his arms into the sleeves as he walked. The sun had dipped behind the trees, and nightfall was fast approaching. The cool air slapped my brain awake, and I dug my feet in.

“Hey,” I said. “We need to talk.”

Sven spun around and kissed me hard enough to knock me back a step. His lush mouth lingered, and his lips coaxed mine to move. Sven growled sexily when I responded and slipped his tongue inside my mouth when I opened for him. One of his hands gripped the hair at my nape while the other slipped under my sweater. Bells and alarms were going off in my head, but I ignored them. I rested my hands on his waist and tugged him closer. Curious fingers caressed my belly, and I forgot to fretabout the extra weight I’d packed on over the last two years. My blood was heading south, and I struggled to remember what exactly I’d wanted to say to him.

Sven broke the kiss and stared at me with heavy-lidded eyes. His shiny lips beckoned me to dive back in, but I resisted temptation. “Consider your debt paid.”

“I thought I’d get my choice of pucker.”

Sven arched a brow and smiled. “And you will for two whole weeks while we’re in Vail.” He slid a hand into my hair and raked his fingernails over my scalp, sending a jolt of pure lust to my balls. “I’ll agree to this crazy scheme on one condition.”

“Name it.”

“Nothing is off-limits between us. I’m not going to Vail to jerk off in the shower while fantasizing about you. We’ll be in the shower together. There will be jerking, sucking, and fucking each other. In the shower. On the bed. Anywhere we feel like it. You’ve been edging me for two years, and it’s time for you to pay up. This trip is about you and me. Not your loyalty to my brother and certainly not the ghost of husbands past. You and me.” Sven cocked his head slightly to the side. “What do you say?”

This was the moment I needed to come to my senses. I should’ve let Sven know how much I appreciated his willingness to help but explained that I couldn’t ask him to sacrifice two weeks of his life for this farce that Kerry and Keegan had cooked up. He’d miss the holidays with his own family. Instead of pointing out any of those things, I slid my hands inside his coat to rest them on his hips.

“Nothing is off-limits.” The words were more than an agreement; it was permission I gave myself to kiss Sven like I’d wanted to every day since he stepped out of my van two years ago.

Sven

The familiar opening of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” chimed through my Bluetooth speakers. I shimmied my shoulders as I waited for the Christmas diva’s vocals to begin, then sang the first few lines with her as I studied my outfit choice in the full-length mirror.

“Perfection,” I declared.

The fitted emerald-green cashmere sweater showed off my biceps and toned chest. The soft, shimmery knit ended an inch above the waistband of my winter-white jeans. The length registered somewhere between respectable and flirty, and the peekaboo of golden skin invited a man to kiss me there before exploring lower. Not just any man though. I wanted the one Icouldn’t get out of my head. The trip to Vail meant more to me than an opportunity to live out my sexual fantasies about Dom. I wanted to prove to him we could have something truly special. Our charged chemistry hadn’t dissipated one bit in two years. It had intensified until it became a living thing, feeding off our energy and growing stronger every time we were in the same room. I had two weeks to win Dom’s heart and present myself as a worthy partner to his parents.

That meant I’d needed to gather as much information about his family as possible. With Dom working insane hours to tie up his cases before we left, I’d had to get creative. Lucinda was an excellent source of information since she knew Dom’s parents and had stayed in touch with them after they moved. She wasn’t as helpful with the aunt, uncle, and cousin since they lived in Fort Collins. She’d repeated the few things she’d learned from Molly Beth over the years.

The Carmichaels were much wealthier and ran in a different circle than the Babbs. I got the impression that the sisters’ relationship was strained before Dom and Emerson’s divorce and had only gotten worse since then. The Carmichaels’ social media accounts portrayed a perfect couple living a life most would only dream of, but I wasn’t buying it. Janet Carmichael’s posts were more curated than the Instagram influencers who pedaled sponsored products. John Carmichael looked miserable in every photo. His deer-in-the-headlights stares and phony politician’s smiles made me cringe. I’d made the mistake of looking up Dom’s ex-husband’s social media profiles to see what kind of guy his parents expected for their only son.

Emerson Baker-Babb—it annoyed me he still used Dom’s last name—was everything I wasn’t: educated, pedigreed, and a faithless bastard. But he was gorgeous, even if he lacked any fashion sense. Dom must’ve loved Emerson a lot at some point, and I’d wondered if he preferred his men to dress moreconservatively. I knew my overt sexiness pushed Dom’s buttons, but would my wardrobe embarrass him in front of his family? I’d worried about it more than was healthy when I could’ve just asked him. Dom was a straight shooter and would’ve answered honestly, but I didn’t ask because I feared the answer. I packed extra options instead because it was easier.

I turned to the side and made sure my new jeans with the hefty price tag framed my ass like the advertisement claimed they would. I made another quarter turn and stared at my reflection over my shoulder. Hell yeah, they did. Money well spent. I mean, the thousands of squats and hours of weightlifting at the gym should probably get some credit for my pert round ass. “I’d do me,” I said.

“Quoting that line fromSilence of the Lambswhile shimmying to ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ is next-level narcissism.”

Shrieking, I spun around to face Dom with hands clutching my chest to keep my heart from beating its way loose. I didn’t ask how he’d gotten in because I’d texted him the keyless entry code when I thought my last appointment at the salon was going to run late. But I’d made it home in time to shower and get dressed after all. I silenced my phone and slid it into my pocket.

“I still can’t believe you talked me into watching that movie after I avoided it for years.” I still had nightmares months later.

“You made me watchThe Devil Wears Prada, so…”

Dom remained leaning in the doorway, wearing a smirk on his ruggedly handsome face. Green eyes traveled the length of my body at a glacial pace, and he raked his bottom lip between his teeth. I was unbelievably happy to see him and more than a little relieved. I’d wavered between thinking the trip had just been a fantastic dream and worrying Dom would change his mind. But he was in my room, looking more delicious than any man should while wearing a chunky cable-knit sweater. Domwore the look better than Chris Evans inKnives Out,and that was saying something.

Then again, considering our destination, maybe I should’ve been more worried than horny. “I don’t want to be an accomplice to murder.”

Dom’s gaze snapped up to meet mine, and his brow furrowed in confusion. He shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs. “Say what, now?”

I marched toward him with a purposeful stride, stopping only when the toes of my brown leather calf boots nudged against his sneakers. I placed my hand on his chest and patted him while explaining my train of thought.

“I haven’t seen that movie,” Dom said. “But thanks for the compliment.”

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