Page 9 of The Bad Boy's Secret Santa

“Really now?”

“Really,” Piper chimes in, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. The graze of her fingers sends a jolt of electricity up my arm. I suspect she felt the shock too, or she wouldn’t have yanked her hand away like she’d just touched a live wire.

“Well, what do you know about that.” Frank looks down at the book he’s holding. “Say, you any good at funny voices? I need someone to narrate the part of a rowdy reindeer.”

“Eli’s allergic to children,” Piper says, that playful look challenging me to prove her wrong. At eighteen, the last thing I could think about was starting a family. I was too angry at the world. Too selfish. But now that I’ve had some time to grow the fuck up, the idea of children appeals to me. EspeciallywithPiper.

“I love children.”

“Then meet me over there in five,” Frank says, waving his book toward the children’s section. A dozen colorful bean bags are circled around a single chair, half of them occupied by four- and five-year-olds.

I finish filling out the check and hand it over to Wanda.

“He was proud of you, you know,” Wanda says. “Your uncle.”

“I doubt that.” I don’t mean to say it out loud, but the words slip out of their own accord.

“He talked about you all the time.”

The admission causes a squeezing in my chest, but I can’t pin the emotion. I don’twantto figure it out. So, I focus instead on the reading corner. “I better get my best reindeer voice prepared.Keep me posted on that summer reading program. I’d love to hear how it goes.”

“You’re good,” Piper says, her words a smooth accusation as she follows me across the library.

Halfway to the reading corner, I reach for her hand and tug her into a row of fantasy novels. It’s not the secluded corner we used to make out in, but it’ll give us a minute or two of privacy. Maybe she’s pulled back in time with me, or maybe she’s been flirting today for a reason. Either way, she doesn’t flinch when I cage her in against a bookshelf. “What makes you think any of this is an act, Pipes?”

“It’s not?” Her voice is raspy, her eyes hooded.

I drop my gaze to her lips, wanting nothing more than to capture them with my own. I trace my thumb along her jaw, dipping it beneath her chin to tilt her face up. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

“Like you’ve hung up your bad boy leather jacket and switched it out for a nerdy blazer instead?” she teases, staring at my mouth. Daring me to prove her wrong.

“Is that what you think, Pipes?” I lean closer, lowering my mouth a feather’s width from hers. Our breaths mingle, and I catch the familiar scent of peppermint. My dick twitches, the primal side of me roaring to life in a heartbeat. She parts her lips, darting her tongue out to wet them. Her breathing is heavy, causing her tits to rise and fall rapidly. Another inch closer and they’d be pressed against me. It takes every ounce of restraint to keep myself under control as I say, “Because you’re wrong.”

I push off the bookshelf, leaving her breathless in the fantasy aisle. The truth I hide from her is that I’m breathless too.

Chapter Six

PIPER

“Piper, can I get you anything to drink sweetie?” Glenn Archer, the VFW commander, asks. I had reservations about attending the VFW Christmas party. I only served three years in the Army and got out the minute my enlistment was up. I was barely old enough to drink. I never went down range. It’s a little intimidating being in a room full of military veterans who’ve been through combat.

Except, itisa little like being in a room full of grandpas. That part I kind of love.

“Thanks. I’m still working on my punch,” I say, holding up my plastic cup.

I scan the room, hoping to spot a newcomer who might be my intended Christmas miracle. Except, the only men close to my age are here with their wives.There’s still a few days before Christmas.

But when I try to picture who this handsome stranger might be, the only vision I can seem to conjure is Eli reading to a room full of four years olds. The once notorious bad boy has seriousdad potential. I’ve made a point of avoiding him since we left the library yesterday and refused his invitation to pick me up for the event.

Damn you, Eli. I’m all scrambled in the brain—and in other places, too. What part of me thought it was smart toflirtwith him? He still owes me an explanation. Ishouldbe mad at him. And even if I can’t bring myself to hate him right now—I can’t seem to remember why I should—I know one thing for certain. Eli Winchester is quicksand.

Notmy one true love.

But he does give the best orgasms, and itisChristmas.

“We’re really glad to have you here tonight,” Glenn adds, making me feel instantly guilty for zoning out.Get it together, Piper.

“I’m honored to be here.” I glance at the empty serving table in back reserved for dessert. “I’d offer you a cookie, but?—”

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