Page 41 of Welcome Home for Christmas
She shrugged and gestured for him to turn. Then she set the alarm and they left. Five minutes post-sex and they were in her car. Troy wasn’t quite sure what to think about that.
“So,” he said, breaking the silence.
“We don’t need to talk about it.” She glanced over. “I know what it was. It was sex between two adults. That’s all.”
He nodded. Those words should’ve been music to his ears, except it felt like a kick to his nuts. The alpha male in him needed her to at least label that sex in the-best-sex-of-my-life, knocked-my-socks-off category.
“So about Saturday. We’ll attend Mercy’s Place in the afternoon. Then we can return home, freshen up, and go to my family’s party. We’ll probably stay there for a couple hours and then be done.” She turned down his road. “Which house is yours?”
“All the way down. Last one on the left.”
“You can pick me up at a quarter to three for the thing at Mercy’s Place. Thanks for doing that again.” She was talking a mile a minute, consuming the space between them.
He laid a hand on her forearm as she pulled into his driveway. “I enjoyed tonight,” he said, taking on a serious tone. “A lot. And I don’t have any regrets, either,” he said.
The muscles of her neck constricted as she swallowed.
“You knocked my socks off, baby.”
She opened her mouth, but her objection paused on her lips.
“I can only call you that in bed, I know.” He swept her hair behind her ear.
“And I doubt we’ll find ourselves in that situation again.”
He nodded—another kick to his nuts. “That’s too bad.”
“Because after Saturday we’ll be over,” she told him. Her chin lifted just slightly as his hand lingered on the wisps of hair framing her face.
“So you keep reminding me. But there are a whole lot of days between now and then.” Troy leaned forward, keeping his eyes on hers, wanting to kiss her again. He really wanted to carry her inside and discover her body again, in his bed this time. He couldn’t get enough of those little noises she made when he touched her. He leaned in and brushed his mouth over hers, keeping the kiss sweet.
“G’night.” He opened the car door and stepped out. Then she backed up her car and was gone. He felt oddly alone as he entered his house and locked the door behind him. Maybe he would’ve liked to have held her a little longer after sex. Maybe he would’ve liked to even watch her fall asleep on his arm. Not his usual MO.
He walked down the dark hall and laid down in his bed. Alone. This was his usual MO. It didn’t suit him tonight, however. Not one freaking bit.
—
Troy got to work at zero seven hundred the next morning, walked into his office, and stared at the newest little Christmas tree decorating his desk. This one was fiber optic, with colorful wires rotating colors.
Troy slid his gaze over to Griffin, who was working at his desk and pretending not to notice that Troy had entered the room. Instead of scooping up the tree and planting it in the trash can or on the opposite side of the room this time, Troy moved it to the corner of his work area and sat down. The tree could stay. He was feeling a little bit merrier this morning, thanks to one cheerful redhead.
Griffin turned and looked at him after a moment. “That’s a change.”
Troy shrugged one shoulder and pulled some overdue paperwork in front of him. “I’ve realized there’s no fighting Christmas. It’s too powerful.”
Griffin laughed. “Especially in Seaside. These are some Christmas-loving people around here.”
Troy nodded. “And, since I’m going to be playing Santa at Mercy’s Place on Saturday, I kind of have to adjust my attitude.”
Griffin leaned back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest as he laughed. “You? Santa?”
“The usual guy broke his leg.”
Griffin laughed some more. “And how in the world did you get reeled in to doing it…? Oh, wait. Allison reeled you in, right?” He nodded to himself, tapping his pointer finger on his chin thoughtfully. “And you couldn’t tell her no because you have a little thing for her.”
Troy kept his eyes on the paperwork.
“So it’s true. You like her.”
