Page 64 of A Merry Irish Christmas
‘I can show you,’ he said, his eyes glittering with intent.
‘I do feel it’s something I should know, as an American resident.’
‘It’ll definitely come up in the citizenship test, if you ever decide to take it.’
Mary giggled as he grabbed her hand and tugged her back to the living room. He sat on the sofa, pulling her down beside him.
‘First base.’ He pushed his hands into her hair, framing her face as he bent his head to hers. Then he kissed her and – oh my God – he was the best kisser in the entire world.
‘I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,’ he said, lifting his head a fraction, still so close she could feel the moistness of his breath on her mouth.
‘I thought you were going to last night.’
‘I almost did. How did you feel about that?’
‘Disappointed.’
‘Yeah, you’re right.’ He nodded, pulling away. ‘Dick move.’
‘No.’ She grabbed his wrist, pulling him back towards her. ‘I was disappointed you changed your mind. Why did you?’
‘You were upset, vulnerable. It didn’t seem like a good idea.’
‘Well, I’m not upset now,’ she said, cupping the back of his head and pulling him towards her again.
He smiled, his eyes darkening before they fluttered closed and his mouth was on hers again, soft and tentative at first, almost pulling away between kisses but not quite, so that their lips were barely touching for a whisper before he leaned in to kiss her again, deeper each time, his mouth clinging to hers for longer. She shivered as his tongue traced her lower lip and she buried her fingers in his hair, holding him to her as their kisses became more heated and urgent.
‘See, this is much better than grumping along the beach on your own, isn’t it?’ she murmured as his mouth moved from hers to trail kisses along her jaw.
‘Infinitely,’ he breathed against her skin.
Just then his phone started buzzing, vibrating on the coffee table. They both glanced at the screen without breaking contact.
‘Fuck off, Olivia!’ they shouted at it in unison.
‘Are we still on first base?’ Mary gasped hours later, clutching Evan’s shoulders as his tongue swirled around her ear, his breath hot on her skin.
‘Uh-huh.’ His teeth gently nipped her earlobe.
They’d taken a break for dinner, eating bowls of velvety smoked salmon linguine washed down with champagne while watching Macaulay Culkin get lost in New York. Then they’d gone back to making out, like it was simply the next thing on the agenda. Mary thought this might be the best Boxing Day ever – it was all her favourite Boxing Day things with added kissing. Making out with Evan felt like being a teenager again, when the kissing was an end in itself and there was no other goal in sight.But then suddenly the kissing wasn’t enough and every nerve ending in her body was screaming for more.
‘How about now?’ she asked, climbing onto his lap and straddling him. His fingers dug into her waist as she parted his lips with hers and slipped her tongue into his mouth. He groaned, kissing her back fiercely, their tongues clashing together. She relished the rasp of his stubble against her skin as she ground into him. He pulled her closer into his body, so she felt his erection digging into her and she moaned in frustration at the barrier of clothes separating them. He felt so good – hard and hot for her.
‘You wanna try for second?’ he whispered, his breathing ragged.
Mary nodded.
‘This is second.’ One hand slid up to cup her breast, and she moaned softly as his thumb flicked across the nipple until it tightened to a hard nub. She leaned forward and kissed him again, and he slid a hand into her hair as his mouth opened against hers.
‘Mary?’ Evan said minutes later, coming up for air. His eyes were dark and hooded, but his hands on her waist were holding her firmly away from him now.
‘What?’ she whispered, dazed.
‘We should stop,’ he said, his voice hoarse and husky. But even as he spoke the words, he slid a hand up under her top to cup her breast and pressed a soft kiss under her jaw, as if he couldn’t stop himself.
She whimpered, rocking into him, and his fingers tightened on her waist as he nuzzled her ear. He groaned low in his throat as his fingers slipped inside her bra and encountered naked flesh. Mary arched into his hand, a tidal wave of sensation washing over her.
Then abruptly, Evan pulled away again. ‘We should definitelystop.’ His skin was flushed, his breathing heavy, and she saw the effort it was taking him to restrain himself. ‘Before this gets out of hand.’ His eyes burned into hers.
