Page 26 of Merry Little Sugar Rush
And when I handed it to her that Monday she returned to school? She hugged that reindeer to her chest and said it was the best reindeer ornament she’d ever seen and would keep it forever.
I had forgotten all about this damn reindeer…until now.
“Well, yeah.”
I look up from the gift I had made her when I was eight or nine years old and stumble to find the right words. “You did say you’d keep it forever.”
She flashes a sweet smile. “I did, and I will. It was the best gift to get after having the stomach flu for three or four days.”
I hand it over to her and watch as she takes the first ornament to the tree and hangs it right in the middle at shoulder level. “I feel like I can slay dragons now. That’s prime placement, Easy-Bake.”
“It is, but now I need to move it because your head is swelling and there’s no room for that here, Burkey Turkey.”
I bark out a laugh and make my move as she reaches for the ornament, playfully ready to move it to a new position. Wrapping my hands around her wrists gently, I pull her back, making sure my reindeer stays right where it is. Joy wiggles and twists her arms to try to dislodge my hold. All that seems to do is brush her perfect ass against my groin.
Instinctively, I wrap my arms around her frame and pull her back against my chest. Her back presses to my chest, and a wave of desire rushes through my veins. I can feel my cock getting hard, and even though I should put some distance between us, I can’t seem to make myself move.
Joy holds completely still, her body pressed firmly against mine. She breathes in deeply and slowly lets it out. If she can feel my growing erection, she doesn’t let on, but honestly, there’s no way she can miss it. It’s not likely I smuggled a baseball bat into the apartment, and if I did, she definitely would have seen it.
Holding her against my chest feels…right.
Should it?
I’m not sure, but I don’t hate it. Joy has always been my friend, but now, all I want to do is kiss her lips and get veryun-friendly, if you know what I mean. Or would that be too friendly? Hell if I know, but I crave more from this woman than I’ve ever needed before.
Just as I’m trying to figure out how to casually get us out of this position we’re in, she starts to turn. I go to drop my arms but pause when I feel hers wrap around my lower back. Now we’re standing chest to chest, and I can see the rapid rise and fall of hers as she greedily sucks in shallow breaths.
A shiver sweeps through her. “Are you cold?”
Slowly, she shakes her head, keeping those mesmerizing eyes locked on mine.
My throat is thick, and it’s suddenly hard to breathe with her in my arms like this. It’s comfortable and familiar in a way I’ve never experienced, and frankly, I don’t want to stop.
I clear my throat and decide to man up and ask the burning question. “Is it weird I want to kiss you?”
“No,” she replies softly, her eyelashes seeming to flutter as she closes her eyes for a brief moment. “If I’m being honest, I’ve been hoping you’d kiss me since you walked in the door.”
My chest seems to swell with excitement as my eyes zero in on her mouth. Her tongue slips out and slides along her plump lips, ensuring all blood in my body starts to move south of the beltline.
I ignore the way my pants feel a little too tight in the crotch area and just submerge myself in this moment. It probably sounds juvenile or silly, but everything around me fades away. The holiday music, the twinkling lights of Joy’s tree, everything. The only thing left is us. Together.
The moment my lips brush against hers, gentle and slightly hesitant, I realize instantly this isn’t just any kiss. The mere touch of our lips together is like a lightning strike, a hard punch to the solar plexus. It steals my breath, my sanity, and every bit of composure I have to keep this in check. First kisses should be PG, but what I’m feeling is on the complete opposite on the rating scale.
Joy mewls against my lips and opens her mouth. The moment she does, my tongue slides in, tasting her for the first time. She tastes sweet, like sugar and spice, and I’m certain I’ll never get enough of her.
Her hands grip the back of my hoodie, as if anchoring herself to me. As I gently deepen the kiss, my hands travel to her neck, my fingers sliding up into her hair. It’s just as silky and soft as I imagined, and suddenly, all I can envision is seeing that hair splayed across a white pillowcase.
Pushing those images from my brain, I slow the kiss and pull back, watching the pure bliss as she smiles. Her eyes are still closed, and it’s as if she’s replaying every moment of our first kiss in her head. Yes, first kiss, because now that I’ve had a taste, there’s no way I won’t want to kiss her every chance I get.
Joy clears her throat and opens her eyes. They’re still glossy as she murmurs, “I wasn’t expecting that.”
I don’t have to ask her to elaborate. “I wasn’t either.”
Her cheeks darken as she gives me a shy grin. “I liked it.”
“Me too,” I confess, already replaying it in my own mind.
With Herculean strength, I release my hold on her and take a step back. If I were to look down, I’m sure she’d be able to telljust how much that kiss affected me, so I quickly start running math stats through my head, trying to curb my erection.
