Page 47 of Wrapped with a Beau

She’s about to ask him whether he wants to finish what they started when the lustful expression wipes off his face and he smoothly takes a step back.

“Lisha, finally! I’ve been looking for you!” Solana elbows her way through the crowd, nearly upending the two chocolate martinis she’s carrying. Behind her follows Adam with two glasses of his own. “Candy Cane Olympics are about to start! You and Ves should join us at the starting line.”

“Thanks, babes.” Elisha accepts her glass, inhaling Baileys Irish Cream and chocolate liqueur.

Adam hands a martini to Ves. “It’s a weird Olympic torch relay thing. Only when they pass the ‘torch,’ or in this case, candy cane, the next person has to add their own onto however many are already hooked. Then they have to walk to the next person without dropping it or touching any of the other candy canes.”

“Everyone’s pretty tipsy, which makes it funny to watch, but somehow Grandpa Dave always wins,” Solana confides, grinning.

“That must be why the drinks are so strong,” says Ves. “Smart man.”

Adam laughs. “C’mon, let’s go watch Ben make an ass of himself. It’s just for fun, but man, he’s so competitive.”

Elisha raises an eyebrow. “He’s still here?”

Solana lowers her voice so the boys can’t hear. “Yeah, with a face like a fucking storm cloud. I feel awful for Tori, she’s wearing the prettiest dress but he’s barely paying attention to her. Did you see how unhappy she looks?”

“Uh, no, I’ve been—” Elisha fumbles, not sure she can trust her best friend to keep a straight face if she admits what she and Ves were just up to. “Busy helping Grandpa.”

Solana sighs. “Lisha, my darling, once again I remind you that I know all your tells.”

Elisha forces every muscle in her face to relax. “I’m not hiding anything.”

Solana lets a beat go by—just long enough for Elisha to think she bought it—before casually asking, voice dropping an octave lower, “So you and Ves, huh? Is his little lord a-leaping? His piper piping? His cock a-crowing?”

“Lana!” Elisha’s cheeks burn and she can only hope that whatever Adam is saying to Ves is distracting him from this conversation. “Please don’t refer to my sex life in ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ euphemisms.”

“Do you have another carol you prefer?”

“The one called ‘I love you but shut up’? Do you know that one?”

Solana smiles gleefully. “Can’t say I’m familiar, no.”

“Lana.”

“Fine, fine! Adam and I will get out of your hair.” With a long-suffering sigh, Solana throws back her drink and drags her boyfriend off to watch the inevitable chaos of the Candy Cane Olympics.

“Things aren’t going to be weird now, right?” asks Elisha when she and Ves are finally alone. With the game about to start, the crowd has thinned a bit.

“You mean since I overheard your best friend discuss my erection?” he asks dryly.

“She wasn’t talking about your erection, exactly—Wait, you still have a hard-on?” She lets her eyes drop to subtly gauge his... state. He wasn’t kidding. She can’t stop herself from smiling. “Oh.”

He levels an exasperated look at her, but his voice is fond, and just slightly rough as he says, “You look pleased with yourself.”

“Looks like I have reason to be.” She smirks, hot pride cascading through her like shooting stars, every tingle aiming for the frustrated nerves between her legs. She takes a sip of her chocolate martini, licks her bottom lip. “Maybe we should do something about that.”

It’s gratifying when his eyes flick beyond her, darkening with desire. A thrill races down her spine when he meets her gaze again, expression torn. It’s unlike her to suggest any sexcapades in places she could get caught, but for one wanton moment, she wants him enough to throw all caution to the wind.

“I will fuck you,” Ves promises. “But first, do you think it’s too late to sign up for that candy cane game? I’d like to see the look on Ben’s face when I beat him.”

“You mean it?”

Ves shoots her a devastating grin. “Which part?”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ves

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