Page 128 of The Duke Who Saved Christmas
I laughed, sliding my fingers through his hair and down to the back of his neck. “Then why don’t you show me, Your Grace?”
He took my earlobe into his mouth and grazed his teeth over it, making me shiver. “Get ready to drink up. It’s going to be a long night.”
***
There was a hickey on my boob.
Don’t ask me why that was the first thing I noticed upon waking up in an empty bed, but it was.
And, as I prodded and poked at the girls, it was clear that it wasn’t the only one.
When the hell had Thomas leftfourlove bites on my boob?
What was he, some kind of titty vampire?
Thank God they’d be hidden by all my clothing, at least.
Speaking of… WherewasThomas? There was no sign of his clothing or his phone or watch, and the side of the bed he’d slept on was cold.
Had he fucked me and run?
If so, I was going to whip him with some tinsel. Maybe even strangle him with it. I’d have to see how I felt upon laying eyes on him.
I dragged myself out of bed with a groan and fumbled in my drawers for some clothes. It was barely eight-thirty in the morning, and since my plans for today involved decorating the forest in the town hall, I really needed to get myself up and moving.
I pulled my jumper over my head and headed downstairs with a yawn, scratching my hip. Voices came from the direction of the kitchen, so I headed there and froze in the doorway.
Why was Thomas drinking tea with my grandpa and parents?
“Sylvie!” Mum jumped up and wrapped me in her arms before I’d fully comprehended exactly what it was that I was seeing. “Good morning, darling! I missed you!”
“Mum.” I hugged her back absent-mindedly. “You’re here earlier than I thought.”
“It’s going to snow again,” Dad said, stirring his tea while reading the paper. “So, we set off early. Have to say though, I didn’t expect to find the duke boiling the kettle when we arrived.”
Hello to you, too, Dad.
My cheeks burned. “Um… I didn’t expect that either,” I replied, escaping Mum’s tight hug.
Gramps eyed me mischievously. “Don’t worry, Birdie. I’ve already told him he has to take responsibility for you.”
Of course he had.
Look at Mister Matchmaker over there…
“This isn’t the seventeen-hundreds, Gramps,” I replied. “Besides, if anyone here needs to take responsibility, it’s Mum and Dad for raising Hazel the way they did. That, or they’ll end up with only one daughter.”
Mum wrinkled up her nose. “Are you two fighting again? This close to the wedding?”
Thomas nodded slowly. “That’s why I’m here. It was to make sure Sylvie didn’t go on a murderous rampage last night.”
“Is that what you kids call sex these days?” she asked dryly, depositing me in the chair next to Thomas at the kitchen table and ignoring my coughing at her words. “Forgive me, Thomas, but I’d have pegged you for being the victim of one of Sylvie’s murderous rampages, not the person who’d stop one.”
“That’s fair,” I replied. “So would I.”
“And the rest of the village,” Dad added, then slowly peered up at us both. “The last I knew, you two couldn’t stand the sight of one another.”
“Well.” I scratched the side of my neck, turning away. “This and that happened, and—”
