Page 15 of The Naughty List

Stupid hands. Why did they have a mind of their own?

His lips were firm and soft at the same time, taking, demanding, and Holly found herself kissing him back, meeting his tongue thrust for thrust.

Her mind went blank as she lost herself in him, all sensible thought flying from her mind. She couldn't think. Her mind had stopped working, going totally blank at the onslaught of his unexpected actions. All his caustic words and rudeness were forgotten, driven from her mind by his demanding kisses. It didn't matter. Her body knew what it wanted, and it wanted him.

Her nerve endings began to buzz with a raw energy, and she felt herself spill over with longing. She moaned into his mouth, pressed wantonly against him, and the hand that had been on her neck slid down to cup her breast. The towel dropped to her waist as he moved back, baring her to him, and Kris groaned, tweaking and caressing her aching nipple to a stiff peak.

That wasn't the only thing that was stiff.

Holly gasped as she felt his erection hard and heavy against her belly. His mouth moved across to her ear, then down her neck to her collarbone, kissing and nibbling, and his hands slid down her sides before resting at her hips, nothing but the thin towel, where it was trapped by their bodies, between them. She ground against his rigid length in a desperate plea for friction. God, had she ever wanted anything this much?

But then Kris tore his mouth away from her and swore. “Jesus, what am I doing? You're too damn gorgeous for your own good, and you're the last person I expected to find myself attracted to,” he muttered, their heavy breaths loud in the quiet hallway.

Holly flinched and belatedly found the strength and willpower to push him away, grabbing at the towel to cover herself again as best she could.

Too bad it was after she'd made a fool of herself.

“It seems you have a talent for both saying and doing the wrong thing, then,” Holly retorted, trying to hide the sting of his words. He didn't want her.

“You must be so disappointed that your plan backfired, and you bumped into me instead of one of the others. What were you doing?” he asked derisively, spearing her with a look that instantly cooled whatever heat had been between them just moments before. “Hoping to catch Jaxon or Nick in your web of seduction by strutting around half-naked? It would never have worked, you know.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Holly lifted her chin and spoke with a boldness she was nowhere near feeling. “I do actually have more sense than to think I could turn the head of a gay man.”

Kris stared at her, his expression at first confused, then his eyes widened, and he threw his head back and laughed.

“I’m not sure what’s so funny,” Holly said primly, when he’d reigned in whatever he found so hilarious. Whatever it was, she didn’t appreciate him laughing at her expense.

Not that it mattered. Kris didn’t even seem to hear her. He shook his head and dragged his fingers through the hair that Holly had been sifting hers through just moments ago. “God, I’m not falling into this trap,” he growled viciously before pushing away. Then he speared her with a contemptuous look that left her feeling wilted and stormed off.

Holly stayed right where she was, panting and befuddled for several long moments before she managed to pull herself together and dived back into the guest room.

She still couldn’t believe that had happened. She’d been all in, and Kris had just been playing with her. How much further she might have allowed him to go if he hadn’t so brutally rejected her when he did?

All the way.

And what the hell had he meant by implying she was trying to trap him?

Whatever it was, it didn’t sound very flattering.

Holly didn’t have time to dwell on her confusion… or the arousal that thrummed between her thighs. Jaxon would be waiting for her. This was humiliating enough without having him ask questions. Or worse, coming to see where she was. So instead, Holly pushed it all aside, quickly got dressed, and prayed Kris wasn’t in the kitchen when she went for breakfast.

What the hell was he doing here in Nick and Jaxon’s house again, anyway?

CHAPTER NINE

Despite the disastrous start to the day, Holly soon found herself having fun. She put the interlude with Kris behind her and chalked it up to experience.

After a morning packed full of shopping, they stopped at a tiny, hidden tearoom that served the most delicious seasonal pastries.

"Would you believe me if I told you I once took a class on French pastry making?" Holly confided as she devoured a buttery, flaky cinnamon and orange zest swirl.

"Really? How did that go?" Jaxon asked, eyes twinkling like he knew a secret.

"Let's just say my croissants were more like crispy triangles than flaky crescents," she admitted, a playful grin spreading across her lips.

"Sounds delicious," he teased, playfully nudging her foot under the table. The warmth of his leg brushed against hers, where they sat side by side on the enclosed end of a semi-circular, high-backed booth that hid them away from the rest of the room, sending a shiver up her spine that had nothing to do with the cold outside.

"Maybe I'll let you try one sometime," she joked back, daring him to accept her challenge.

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