Page 119 of Holidating
“Are you okay?” he laughed.
Scrambling into his lap, I said, “Yes.”Kiss. “I.”Kiss“Am. And I’d be even better if we could lose some of these clothes.”
Andy’s eyes squeezed shut. “That’s… um…”
Uh oh. “Don’t you want to?” I whispered. A little wave of insecurity splashed over me then. Although Andy had the flushed, lusty look of a turned-on guy. And I loved that look. The face that said:You have my complete and undivided attention.So I didn’t really know why he’d hesitate.
He flopped backward on the bed. Instead of looking me in the eye, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I just spent the evening hoping you could recover your appreciation for the male species. So it seems wrong to pounce on you the minute you’re feeling okay again.”
I leaned onto one elbow, looking down on him at close range. “The malegender. You are not a different species,” I teased him. “Even if you all act like it sometimes.”
But he did not smile. “Sorry,” he murmured. “Not thinking too straight right now. I just don’t want you to hate me tomorrow. Because it wouldn’t be worth it.” He reached for one of my hands, taking it between his two, kissing my palm.
I admired his long fingers. There was affection in his touch. I’d been basking in it all evening, whether I’d realized it or not. “I’m never hating you tomorrow,” I told him.
In answer, he pulled me closer, until my head came to rest on his chest. His long fingers skimmed my hair. I had only an oblique view of his face, and he seemed to be thinking hard. Maybe too hard.
“You said something tonight about receiving a gift,” I prompted him. “That there was something a little magic about receiving something from another person. That it was bigger than the thing itself.”
He chuckled. “Sounds like something I might say to a pretty girl I was trying to impress.”
I picked my head up. “I think it worked. And if I tell you one more time that you’re thinking too much, will you believe me?” I hiked myself up farther onto his chest, looking down into his face. And then I waited to hear his answer.
CHAPTER 12
ANDY
I opened my eyes and looked up into Katie’s stunning face. Her smile wasn’t naughty like it had been before. It was happy. Somehow, on this bonkers night, I’d made her happy. And no matter what happened next, that felt like a big victory. I tugged her head back down on my chest. Her silky hair brushed my chin, and her sweet, fruity scent was doing a number on my self-control. “I’ve been told that before,” I said.
“What?”
“That I think too much.”
“There are worse complaints.”
“Mmm,” I said, kissing the top of her head. We were basically living out part of my fantasy life right now. Katie Vickery was lyingon my bed. My desk lamp cast a yellow glow onto the wood paneling. From where I lay, it felt as if we were the only two people in the world. Seriously, Katie lying in my bed didn’t make sense under any other construction of reality.
She sat up a little bit and finished unbuttoning my shirt. Then she kissed my neck, just below my ear. “You know better than to argue with a girl who’s undressing you, right?”
“Yep,” I said immediately. Because I am not an idiot. Ask anyone. I was going to let this happen. Because if I didn’t, I’d regret it for the rest of my life. And everyone in this bed was there willingly, and nobody was drunk. Check and check.
“This dark blue is a great color for you, by the way.”
“Thanks.”And thank you, Delia. I grinned, wondering what I would find to say when she called tomorrow to ask how my date went.
“…And your smile is hot,” Katie said, finishing the buttons.
“Youreverythingis hot,” I said, sitting up. I ditched the shirt. And what the hell. I ditched the t-shirt beneath it, too.
Katie’s eyes flared. And then she lowered her head, and began kissing all the recently exposed skin that she could reach.
“Arrraaahhhrrrgh,” I gasped. Because I’m sexy like that. And because she’d begun working open my belt. And just theproximityof her hands to my groin had me throbbing.
I reached for her, finally allowing myself to run my fingers down the sides of her satiny dress, past her waist, which fit entirely into my two hands. I stopped when her hips slid into my grip.Yesss. She felt amazing. And then she yanked on my pants, and my boxers, too. I lifted my hips and let it all fall away.
Oh hell, pinch me. I wasnaked with Katie Vickery. Except for my dress socks. Because dress socks looked great on a naked guy.
Fail.
