Page 46 of Wrapped with a Beau

“What are you doing now?” asks Ves.

“Admiring you,” she says frankly, this time kissing him with tongue. His swipes against hers in an exploratory taste, and his groan reverberates in her mouth.

“You taste like Christmas came early, Elisha,” he whispers, hot breath making her lips tingle and stomach fizz. Hearing the roughness of his voice, she can’t stop herself from grinding on his upper thigh, wedged between her own.

“You haven’t made me come yet,” she quips, rewarded with his flared nostrils and sudden, ragged intake of breath. She shakes her head. “That’s my spearmint mouthwash you’re tasting. But peppermint is the far superior Christmas flavor.”

“Don’t know about that. Another taste and I might be singing spearmint’s praises.” He says it in the same cool, unaffected way he says everything, but she knows his tells now. He’s teasing her, because that’s their thing, but he’s also letting her know that he wants another kiss. More than one if that look in his eyes is anything to go by.

She initiates another, and this time, when his hands graze her hips, she lifts one leg to wrap around his waist, hiking her tight dress out of the way. Without a word, he scoops her up behind her thighs, bracing her against the wall. He catches her gasp in his mouth as her breasts nestle into his chest, his straining erection positioned so, so close to where they both want it to be.

Too many clothes separate them. She whimpers, wanting even more of her skin accessible to his mouth. Ves is making her feel so good, nibbling and sucking at her collarbone until every single one of her muscles clenches around him. There’s no way she’s stopping this now. Propriety be damned.

She’s about to tell him she’s on birth control when, dimly, she hears a BANG BANG BANG! “I think someone’s trying to get in,” she says, wriggling down his body.

Ves takes a moment longer to come to, blinking several times before he takes a step back and drags his hand over his face. “This isn’t the way I imagined this going. I wanted to tell you... well, just that I’d be lying if I said I never wondered what this would be like.”

“You weren’t the only one.”

The knob jiggles, making them both jump. Another BANG!

“What the fuck,” she says, mouth dropping. “Just a second! I think the door is sticking!”

What? Ves mouths.

“It happens in winter,” Elisha says defensively, trying to unlock the door as quietly as possible. “The wood contracting or whatever. The point is, it’s a plausible excuse. I’d rather not explain why the door is locked. Oh! Hey, take off your coat.”

She practically pulls it off him while keeping the door shut with her foot. By the time she swings the door open, fake smile superglued in place, she’s confident she can get through this with minimum embarrassment. That is, until she sees who’s on the other side.

“Ellie!” Bentley exclaims in surprise. “What’re you doing in here? I was just looking for a place to hang our coats. The other room is full.” He peers into the room, all geniality dropping as soon as he spots Ves. With a dark expression, he says, “Oh, it’s you.”

Elisha hopes her voice is cool, calm, and collected. “We were actually just setting this up as an overflow room.” She gestures to the coat she’s holding. “I can take yours and Tori’s, too, if you—”

“No, you know what, I think Victoria’s probably ready to leave.” Bentley backs up. “We should get home while she’s still ovulating.”

Oh wow, just throwing that right out there, huh? Elisha isn’t sure whether wishing them good luck is appropriate considering he’s her ex and she’s certain Tori deserves better than him.

“Okay,” she says simply, not sure why Bentley looks momentarily disappointed. He recovers just as quickly, beating his retreat into the sea of people to seek out his wife.

“He was trying to make you jealous,” Ves observes.

“Trying and failing,” she counters with a scoff. “That ship has well and truly sailed. Actually, no, it’s sunk to the bottom of the ocean in the harbor, no survivors, no hope of salvage.”

Ves grins, grabbing her hip to bring her closer. “You’re a vengeful woman when you want to be.”

“Mm-hmm,” she hums. His eyes drift down to her throat and he swallows. She flashes a saber-toothed smile at him, shimmying to close the last inch between them. “It’s my best quality.”

“Well, maybe not the best.”

Intrigued, she tilts her head. “Oh?”

Elisha sucks in a breath when his hand slides up her arm, rounds her shoulder, then gently circles her throat for just a moment before cupping her jaw. His palm is firm and warm and delicious. She almost moans from the sexiness of it, the sudden shock of wanting him to squeeze, but not ready to ask him to.

There’s a fine tremble in her legs that wouldn’t let her move even if she wanted to, as his intense blue eyes pin her in place. He presses close, lips moving against the corner of her mouth. She feels rather than sees his mouth curl in a smile.

“But it is one of them,” Ves whispers.

Her breath catches.

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