Hungry.
I back her gently against the counter, her hands sliding into my hair, tugging just a little. Enough to make me groan.
A new warmth enters the room behind us.
Grayson.
He doesn’t say anything. He just comes up behind Rilee, brushes her hair from her shoulder, and presses a kiss to the back of her neck.
Her breath catches.
My hand’s on her waist.
Grayson’s mouth trails down her throat.
And her hand?
Her hand moves to the front of Gray’s sweats, rubbing slow, sure strokes that make his jaw lock and his breathing go ragged.
“Fuck,” he mutters, pressing harder into her.
I claim her mouth again, one hand sliding beneath the hem of her hoodie, fingers tracing bare skin while Grayson palms her hip from behind.
It’s chaos. It’s perfect.
Until—
“Oh!”
My mom’s voice is sharp and shocked.
We all freeze.
She’s in the doorway, eyes wide as dinner plates, holding a tin of peppermint bark.
No one moves.
Grayson steps back like he’s been shot.
Rilee covers her face with both hands.
I stare at my mom, still caged around the girl I’m wildly in love with, and say the only thing I can think of.
“…want some cocoa?”
She blinks once. Then pivots. “Nope. Not seeing that. Didn’t seeanything.”
And walks straight back out.
Chapter Forty-Six
Rilee
The house is dark and quiet, the kind of stillness that only comes after way too many carbs, three Hallmark movies, and enough family energy to emotionally short-circuit a small country.
But I can’t sleep.
Not when I know they’re all downstairs.