Page 22 of A Candy Cane Christmas
His mouth curved into a smile, tantalizing, red lips shimmering with moisture as I lowered my head and captured his mouth in a kiss.
I groaned as his taste hit me, all sweetness and peppermint, his lips all soft and pliant, while his stubble scratching my skin gave the kiss a bit of a bite. I tightened my grip on him, lost in a sea of impressions. His tongue licking at the seam of my mouth, hot, wet, and insistent, challenging me to deepen the kiss. His hands roaming over my back, dipping beneath the hem of my Henley. His fingers leaving burning paths along my skin. His hard cock pushing against my thigh, my cock throbbing in response, sending wave after wave of want through me.
It lasted an eternity, yet was over far too soon.
“Sorry,” Luci wheezed, gasping for air. “That was…”
“Incredible,” I whispered, the smile on my face so wide it almost hurt.
“Yeah.” Resting his head against my shoulder, he let out a little sigh.
For a while, we just stayed like this, locked in a tight embrace, our breaths slowly syncing, hearts hammering in our chests. It was peaceful. Exhilarating. Until my stomach rumbled again, and Luci laughed.
“You know, the McDonald’s thing was meant to be a joke, but I think I really do need to feed you.”
“I might have skipped lunch today,” I admitted. “My coworker was sick, so I was manning the bookstore alone, and for some reason, half the campus decided to stop by today.”
“You work in a bookstore?” Luci asked, pulling back a little to look at me. “That’s so cool.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I’m incredibly lucky because Linda and Joseph let me live here rent-free and help with my tuition, but… I don’t know. I never want them to think I’m a freeloader. So, I work at the campus bookstore part-time to support myself and Hazel. Once I finish college and have a stable job, I’ll have to negotiate paying rent and possibly paying them back for everything they did.”
Luci nodded. “I get that, but they’re Hazel’s grandparents, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, they’re Josie’s parents.”
“And you said Josie died?”
I nodded again, biting the inside of my cheek to squash the grief and pain flaring up inside me. “She did. A drunk driver hit her on her way back from prom.”
“Oh wow. That’s horrible. I’m so sorry,” Luci said. “I can’t imagine how devastating it must’ve been for you and Josie’s parents. But… that’s kinda the thing. They lost their daughter, and Hazel is the last living piece of her they still have, so… it makes sense that they do everything they can to support you. Both of you.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “They’ve supported us from the very beginning, you know? Before Josie died. And they have stepped up even more since. Without their support, I definitely wouldn’t be living in a nice, spacious two-bedroom apartment.”
Luci chuckled. “The joy of second-hand nepotism. You do know you could’ve warned me that Hazel’s grandparents are my landlords, don’t you?”
My cheeks heated. Honestly, I’d completely forgotten that Luci would already know them. But it made sense since Joseph liked to show the apartments himself. They were old-school like that, wanting to know the tenants.
“Sorry?”
Luci giggled. “You can make it up to me.” He wagged his eyebrows, and mirth danced in his eyes.
“Yeah? How?” I wasn’t exactly sure if I was prepared for his answer. It was for sure going to be something overly flirtatious or sexual in nature. Nothing I was ready for, but at the same time, Iwantedhim to flirt with me.
Knowing he really wanted me, a twenty-one-year-old single dad with no experience with men and no real concept of having fun and living a little.
“By feeding me,” he said, cackling when he saw my surprise. “Sorry, but you should see yourself. I’m not going to make you comfortable again by suggesting you blow me or fuck me on a canvas in a sea of paint.”
Uh… what?
“See?” Luci nodded at my face. “Too much too soon. And I really am hungry. So, we can either go out and grab dinner, we can order in, or we can cook ourselves.”
My mind was still busy trying to come up with an image of a naked Luci, lying on top of a white sheet, paint running all over his body, dipping into his navel, running through the dips of his abs, pooling on his groin.
Had Hazel tampered with the thermostat again? Because it was getting hot in here.
“Theo?” Luci waved a hand in front of my face. “Did I break you?”
“Kinda,” I said, my voice all rough and raspy. “Da—lmatian. The image of you naked in a sea of paint is… uh… something.”
