His patience is at an end. He doesn’t know her story yet, but one thing is for sure, Hallie Boudreaux is in sore need of some discipline. Unfortunately, that job will fall to her uncle as her relative. All Troy can offer at this juncture is a stern lecture. A wave of resentment festers within him directed at Hallie. He was already feeling like an old man around her, but he hates that she’s turning him into her father.

He shuffles them to a nearby doorway, out of the path of the other partygoers, trapping her against the closed door. He presses in close, allowing his towering body to try to intimidate Hallie into compliance.

“Now, I’ve had enough. I have no idea what happened in your past that makes you think acting like a brat is acceptable, but here’s your wake-up call. You are on dangerous ground with me, Hallie. We’re leaving.”

They are in a silent showdown of wills, staring into each other’s eyes as the group of teenagers she had been socializing with walk by, taunting them. “Hey, look at the lovebirds! They’re standing under the mistletoe. You guys better kiss or you’ll have bad luck.”

Troy’s gut lurches. Hallie’s eyes widen. As if they choreographed this moment, they each slowly look up to confirm the validity of the teenager’s taunt.

When their eyes meet next, he expects to see fear or anger. Those would be preferable to the confused longing reflected in her green eyes. It’s only there briefly, but he’d seen it. It’s a stupid tradition. It means nothing. He should walk away. He will walk away.

And then she licks her lips… slowly… sensuously. It’s an invitation and one he is helpless to resist. His brain shuts down, turning the moment over to the rest of his body. Their eyes are locked, and he watches for even a hint of fear… a hint that she doesn’t want this. What he sees instead is eagerness as her kissable lips part as excitement jumps in her eyes.

Suspecting he will never have this opportunity again, Troy closes the distance between them, lowering his lips to hers. The kiss is gentle… chaste even, right up until he feels Hallie’s arms circling his waist, tucked under his suit jacket, his dress shirt the only fabric preventing skin on skin connection. When she hugs him to her, Troy’s control slips and the kiss turns to pure passion. He can taste the liquor on her tongue as she uses it to invade his own open mouth. The effects of her intimate proximity has him pressing his body into her own, trapping her against the unforgiving closed door. The added friction of their pressed bodies has his cock growing thick with desire to plunder her sexy body.

The kiss is too short. The hoots and catcalls of the surrounding teenagers remind Troy they have an impressionable audience. With great effort, he pulls out of her warm embrace, taking a few seconds to burn the memory of her flushed face into his memory to call up later when he has time to think things through more clearly.

He briefly contemplates apologizing, but he’ll be damned if he’s going to apologize for something that felt so perfect. It would have been a lie anyway. He’s not sorry at all. Cupping her face gently in the palm of his hand, he tries to regain control over the moment. “Hallie, honey. Open your eyes for me.”

She takes a few long seconds before she complies. He’s relieved to see the heat he’d felt in her still smoldering in her bubbling green eyes. “That’s my girl. It’s late. Let me get you home. I don’t want to piss your uncle off on Christmas Eve.”

At the mention of her uncle, the fire in her eyes begins to douse, returning her to reality.

“You’re right. We should go.”

His body is still pressing into her. He sees a flicker of recognition as she acknowledges his hardness pressing into her with a slight shudder. He finally steps back, willing his dick to retreat before other party patrons notice. Troy grasps Hallie’s hand in his own and leads her the short distance back to where Traci stands holding their coats, a smug smile on her face. He purposefully avoids meeting his sister’s eyes as he grabs Hallie’s coat first, holding it out to assist her in getting it on before grabbing his own coat.

Troy needs a few minutes in the cold Colorado air to put out the flames Hallie Boudreaux had lit. “You ladies stay here. I’ll get the car and bring it around, so you don’t have to walk through the snow in those ridiculous things you two call shoes. I’ll be right back.”

And with that, Troy stalks out into the winter’s night, determined to stay out there as long as it takes to get back into control before he has to see Hallie again.

Chapter Eight

Hallie has been showered and dressed for over an hour. Not even the lure of Aunt Gina’s coffee and baking cinnamon rolls has managed to convince her to leave the relative safety of her bedroom this Christmas morning. She had slept fitfully, waking often to the memories of the intensity of Troy’s chocolate brown eyes after their shared kiss the night before. She’d had a few drinks so she’s sure her memory is playing tricks on her. She’s told herself a hundred times that it was just a kiss. It didn’t mean anything.

The problem was, her mind can repeat that it was just a kiss all it wants. Her body knows the truth. The night before, the three occupants of the car had been silent for the short drive to Aunt Gina’s from the Community Center, each lost in thought. Always the gentleman, Troy had walked her to the front door, yet he hadn’t lingered for longer than it took to drop a quick kiss on her cheek and quickly retreat. Only after the front door had closed behind her did she admit to herself how much she had been hoping for a second taste of his demanding lips when he walked her to her door. Thankfully, her aunt and uncle had been in bed, so she wasn’t subjected to well-meaning questioning.

Unable to wind down, Hallie had tossed and turned for hours until she had finally given in to the urge to pleasure herself around three this morning, hoping to help her body release the tension it had been carrying since Troy had primed her and then left her wanting more.

Her reaction to their kiss and even the fact that she’d masturbated doesn’t scandalize Hallie. It’s the vision that had taken hold as she rode her fingers to orgasm that has her shaken even now in the light of day. She’s consumed with a mental image of Troy pulling her over his lap to deliver a bare bottomed spanking just before plunging that hard cock she had felt through their clothes into her waiting pussy. Knowing she will be seeing him this morning; her body is betraying her as she can actually feel the skin of her ass and upper thighs tingling with anticipation; a phenomenon that honestly just pisses her off. Clearly all of this talk about spanking in this damn town is starting to affect her.

A soft knock on her closed door drags her out of her tortured thoughts. “Come in.”

Aunt Gina sails in with a cheery greeting, “Oh good, you’re up.”

She deposits an armful of folded clothes on Hallie’s dresser before coming to wrap her arms around her only niece. “Merry Christmas, Hallie. I’m so happy to have you home with us so we can have a real Christmas celebration. It just wasn’t the same celebrating without you these past few years.” Hallie can see the mix of sadness and love in her aunt’s eyes.

“Merry Christmas to you too, Aunt Gina. It’s great to be here with you and Uncle Adam.”

Gina pulls out of their hug to scurry around the room, putting clothes away in their proper place. “Aunt Gina, I told you. You don’t need you to wait on me hand and foot. I can do my own laundry and I wish you’d let me do more of the chores around here. I’m not here on vacation you know.”

“Oh no you don’t. You are still recovering from the accident and anyway, I love having someone to take care of. You are like the daughter your uncle and I could never have.”

Hallie can see tears threatening to stream down her face, so she backs off. Her aunt continues on. “So how was the party at the community center? You stayed pretty late, so it must have been fun.”

Hallie had been hiding to avoid answering these exact probing questions. She doesn’t know what to make of the events the night before herself, so she sure as hell doesn’t want to talk about them now.

“Oh, it was fine. The decorations were amazing, and I could have gained ten pounds just eating all of the sweets they had on display.”