Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
I swallow hard at the sight. She’s glistening, still wet and swollen. She’s perfect. “Is that a yes?” I ask, just to be sure I’m not misreading the very clear signs. I run a gentle finger up her slit, and it makes her hips jerk forward.
“Okay.”
I’m on my knees before she finishes the word, kissing the inside of her thigh. Her hands fly to the lip of the counter, gripping the edge as I get closer. She smells so fucking good. Like her signature orange Creamsicle scent and sex. I’m just about to take my first taste when Valen’s palm smacks against my forehead, stopping me. I practically growl at the interruption.
“Do you hear that?” she whispers in a panic.
“Yeah, it’s the sound of all my blood rushing back to my—”
She mashes her hand over my mouth. “I’m serious.”
Then I hear it. A car door slams, and then another, followed by the sound of faint voices.
Valen’s shocked eyes shoot to mine. “Oh my God, move.” Her hand drops from my mouth as she slides off the counter, her pussy narrowly avoiding my face as she does so. I stand, watching her with far less panic and a lot more irritation. They choose now to save the day? Less than an hour after I finally got Valen underneath me? I stand, grabbing my sweats off the back of the chair and pulling them on.
“My clothes,” she hisses, referring to the ones scattered around as we both scan the room for evidence of our transgression.
“You’re also not wearing pants,” I point out helpfully.
Valen takes off for the stairs faster than I thought her capable of, snatching her bra off one of the steps just as I hear the beeping sound of the code being punched into the lock.
“Surprise!” Shayne yells, holding up two bags of what I’m really fucking hoping is food. Thayer is right behind her, shaking the snow out of his hair and closing the door. “Your rescue crew has—” Shayne stops short and looks around, taking in the state of the place. “Where’s Valen?”
Thayer’s eyes bounce from the pile of blankets in front of the fireplace to me before narrowing with suspicion.
“Fuck if I know. She’s hiding around here somewhere.”
“What’d you do to my best friend?” Shayne asks, her tone accusatory. She probably suspects I pissed her off somehow. Thayer probably suspects I fucked her. They’d both be right.
I hold up my hands in surrender. “I was a perfect gentleman.”
Unconvinced, she walks past me and stands on the bottom step, peering up the staircase. “Valen! I’m here to rescue you!”
Avoiding Thayer’s probing stare, I crane my neck to see up the stairs, half-expecting Valen to still be half-naked and guilty-faced. But she appears at the top of the steps clothed and collected.
“Oh thank God,” she says dramatically. “I thought you were going to leave me here to die.”
“We tried calling you guys,” Shayne explains.
Valen bounces down the stairs and into Shayne’s waiting arms. They hug like one of them just got back from war instead of being separated for a couple of days. Valen is the first to pull away, sticking her finger in the bag before peering into it. “Do I smell pancakes?”
“That depends. Do you forgive me for the worst Christmas ever?”
Quite the opposite if you ask me.
“Hand over the pancakes and we’ll call it even.” Valen plucks one of the bags from her grip and they both walk back into the kitchen. “Besides, it wasn’t that bad, all things considered.” She meets my eyes for a split second as she says it.
Shayne raises a brow. “Wasn’t that bad?” She feels Valen’s forehead with the back of her hand.
Valen realizes her mistake, but she recovers quickly. “Compared to spending the holidays with my mother? Even Holden can’t be worse than that.”
Shayne snorts out a laugh. “Aw, leave him alone.” She wraps her arms around me before standing on her tiptoes to pat the top of my head. “He can’t help it that he requires the attention of a six-week-old puppy.”
“Valen gave me lots of attention,” I tease, earning a glare that would have most men cowering in fear.
“Those might need to be warmed up,” Shayne says, ignoring me. “We stopped at the bottom of the mountain like an hour ago. You guys eat. I have to get the rest of my stuff.”
“I’ll help,” Thayer says, heading up the stairs behind her.
“What are you doing?” Valen hisses once they’re out of earshot.
“What?”
“Don’t act stupid. Valen gave me lots of attention,” she mocks. “I thought we agreed not to say anything.”
“Chill out and think for a minute,” I say, moving closer. I slide my hand up the back of her thigh and under her shirt. “I always talk like that. You are the one who’s acting differently. If anything, you’ll be the one to give it away.”