Page 76 of Wrapped with a Beau

Elisha’s room is opposite his and her door is wide open, offering him a tantalizing peek at her inner sanctum. Without stepping all the way in, he pokes his head through.

Her walls are dove gray, bed linen a pristine white and perfectly made. Her quilt is a pale shade of rose, matching the curtains, which are thrown wide open to let every bit of sunlight in. Even now, the last of the daylight spotlights her bed completely. He smiles, imagining her sprawled out like a cat.

“Wanted proof about the whereabouts of my teddy?”

He turns when he hears her teasing voice. “Maybe.”

“I told you not to worry about what’s on my bed,” she retorts, taking a step closer until they’re both standing on opposite sides of the doorway. Her fingers play with the pearls around her neck.

“How was your trip?” he asks, even though what he really wants to do is grab her and kiss her senseless. “I still can’t believe your work ethic in agreeing to do this on a weekend.”

“It was super cool that I got to take a little field trip a couple towns over and speak to their tourism office. They heard about what I’m trying to do here and they wanted to chat about how we could work together. Greg was Greg. He wasn’t thrilled about local assets being ‘let loose’ for community outreach, but Danica was the one who arranged it.” She rolls her eyes. “No one asked him to come, though. He naysayed the entire time and complained about giving up part of his Saturday.”

“Fuck him. Once everyone sees Piney Peaks star in Sleighbells again, you’ll be overrun with interest,” says Ves.

She lights up. “You’re that confident in this town?”

“I’m that confident in you,” he corrects. He enjoys the way she ducks her head, hiding her pink cheeks from him but completely unaware of the way the color spreads to her upper chest. He wants to draw his tongue across her collarbone, see how far down the flush will go. See her wearing those pearls and nothing else.

She cocks her head. “You know, you ask me about my day more than any of my exes ever did.”

“To be fair, you haven’t had that many, have you?”

She laughs. “I don’t want you to be fair. I want you to take the compliment.”

“Consider it taken.”

Their eyes meet. “I, um, just wanted to say something,” says Elisha. “I know it’s just for a night or two until Damian leaves, but I don’t want to... do sexy shenanigans... in my parents’ house.”

“I want to stay respectful, too,” says Ves, relieved they’re both on the same page. This is one less thing to fret about. The last thing he wants to do is repay Anita and Jamie’s kindness by having sex with their daughter while they sleep just a few doors down. “Wait, did you just say ‘sexy shenanigans’?”

She scowls. “I expect some disrespectful things to happen the second he leaves, however. Like, the very second.”

God, she’s perfect. Sweet as buttercream but tough as his shitty cookies when she wants to be. “Agreed,” he says.

“But.” She tilts her face up to his. “Kissing is allowed.”

He bends until their noses brush. “Noted.” And then his lips descend on hers. He gives her kisses like flurries, soft and unhurried, wrapping an arm around her waist to glide his thumb under her shirt. She moans into his mouth, giving his tongue a quick, hard suck that makes his hips buck.

“Is inviting you to New York for a dinner party Arun is throwing also allowed?” he asks when they finally part for air.

“Ask me and you’ll find out.”

“Would you like to come to a party with me on December nineteenth, Elisha?”

She grins. “I would. My ex-boss from Atlanta is in the city and emailed me to meet up, anyway.”

“Wanted to make me work for it first, though,” he says wryly.

“Ves, if I wanted to make you work for it, I would have wrung way more concessions out of you first.”

“Minx.”

“You secretly enjoy it,” Elisha says, undulating her hips against his.

“Only because I would happily give you whatever concessions you wanted. Even”—he leans closer—“sexy shenanigans.”

She bites her lip. “Like what?”

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