Holiday Hookup

by Misty Dawn

  My buzz had worn off from our pizza dinner wine, after the exercise of getting the wood from the garage and lighting the fire in the fireplace. Still, it was hard to deny how sharp Leo's jawline was and how sexy his thin scruff made him look. I watched every movement he made, everything was smooth and confident, his charm oozing through every bone in his body even though we looked like little kids, wrapped up underneath blankets, watching the snow outside.

  "Never have I ever shoveled a driveway," I said, eyeing Leo with curiosity. To imagine him shoveling his long driveway would be comical, yet, with arms like that, not entirely unpleasant.

  He frowned. "Once," he said, taking a small sip of his red wine. He smiled, closing his eyes, hugging his knees to his chest. "When I lived in a small house at the end of my time at college. My buddies and I had to shovel out the driveway to get to class."

  "I'm sure that was fun," I answered, the tip of my finger toying with the rim of my glass.

  "There was whiskey involved," he said, wincing. "Too much whiskey."

  I laughed.

  "Okay," he continued. "Never have I ever…had to leave my car somewhere in the middle of a blizzard."

  It was my turn to frown. "Oddly specific," I said, taking a sip of wine. "Okay, never have I ever gotten slightly drunk with upper management."

  Leo smirked at me. "Oh, so that's what I am to you?"

  I nodded very seriously. "Yes sir," I answered. "I'm probably making a terrible impression on you."

  He stared at me, before leaning in towards me slightly. He was close enough now that when he shifted his body, his knee grazed me own. "Quite the opposite," he told me, cocking his head very slowly to the side. It was like he was inspecting me, his eyes grazing across every inch of my face. The wine had brought a rosiness to his cheeks. I could tell he felt just as buzzed as I did. "You're making a very good impression on upper management."

  His voice was stern, yet quiet, and the way he said the words caused the hair on my arms to stick up on end. I wrapped the blanket around me tighter and adjusted how I was sitting, feeling suddenly conscious of my own body. "Is that so?" I answered nervously.

  "Your turn," Leo said, leaning back, holding his glass steady in his hands. His eyes never left my face, it was like he was making a decision that I didn't understand. Awkwardly, I looked away, towards the window.

  The darkness outside had illuminated the snow outside. It was beautiful, the crystal whiteness of the frost creeping up from the edges of the window, the snow, finally slowing to a steady flurry falling to the snow-covered ground. It was a wonderland.

  I finished off my wine and left my glass on the hearth, standing up, my blanket still wrapped around me, to walk towards the window. As I approached it, I felt the cold radiate through the glass, filling the room slowly as the heat leaked out from the fireplace. Still, I was drawn to the beauty of the landscape outside and I stood by the window, aware that Leo's gaze had followed me.

  "Never have I ever seen something so beautiful."

  "Me neither." His voice was oddly close, and I spun around to find him right behind me. He had left his blanket abandoned on the floor, and inexplicably, I let my own fall to puddle around my feet. I knew what was happening, even though everything about this was wrong, I felt powerless to deny the tug I felt towards this man.

  He took another step forward, his face now directly above my own. His stature was all more apparent to me now, but there was nothing I could do. I was frozen in time, watching his green eyes travel down my face, locked in on my lips. I could feel each breath he took, each one quicker than the last, full of nervous energy that matched my own.

  I felt like my heart was going to fall into my stomach, and I told myself to walk away, to turn around, to find a room and stay in it because kissing the property and operations manager was a horrible, horrible idea, but I was too close to be rational.

  He leaned first, dipping his face down to meet mine. He smelled of wood, of musk, of man, an intoxicating cocktail of his person. Gently and excruciatingly slowly, his lips found my own, so delicately, at first I wasn't sure if they were there at all. He was tasting me, and I him, letting our lips touch for just a moment, before he pulled away.

  Leo blinked, as if he was coming to, then shook his head. "I'm sorry Missy," he said. "I've had too much wine."

  He turned, but I'd finally found my body again, and I reached out, my fingers closing around his wrist. He stopped in his tracks, looking at me over his shoulder, his face shadowed by the lighting from the fire. "It's okay," I told him. "Never have I ever had an almost stranger kiss me like that."

  "Me neither," he said. He tugged free of my grasp and went back to the fire, getting underneath his blanket. I stayed where I was, even though I was starting to get cold, wondering what the hell was going through this guy's mind.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Leo

  I kissed her. Fuck, that was stupid. I'd spent the past few hours staring at this woman, every single detail of her face, my eyes traveling over those lips, wondering if they were as soft as they looked. I just couldn't help it anymore. That look in her eyes she got as they traveled towards the window, towards the snow outside.

  I knew it was wrong to kiss her, but I just needed to, just once, to see how she felt. I'd surprised her, and I shouldn't have. This was unprofessional on a whole different level, and I needed to think rationally about the consequences.

  Except, when I heard her footsteps behind me, and watched her slowly sink down with her blanket next to me, all of that went out the window. She was close, her knees next to my thighs, and I didn't dare look at her, opting instead to look at the fire.

  "What was that?" she asked me.

  I turned my head, and there she was, her gorgeous freckled face illuminated by the red glow of the fire. Her hair had dried from the shower, slightly wavy, falling down her shoulders. My t-shirt was massive on her, the neck hanging loose so I could see her smooth skin beneath her collarbones. Just lower, I saw the outline of her stiff nipples, and realized she wasn't wearing a bra. God damn. My eyes drifted up, back to her lips. All could focus on was how fucking soft and perfect she'd tasted, even just for a second.

  Our eyes met again, a clash of brown and green, meeting somewhere in the middle and connecting, like a match and a striker, there was some kind of fire growing in my belly. A hunger I couldn't place.

  I felt her hand find the top of my shoulder, apprehensive and unsure. I was still as a statue, feeling her trail her thin fingers across my sweatshirt, before she found my neck. She felt my stubble, and I felt the chill from her skin. She was patient with her curiosity, her fingers finally finding my jawline. I nuzzled into her hand, closing my eyes for a minute, my middle still warm from the wine.

  "Missy," I said, a tone of warning in my voice.

  "Mmm?" she answered in a playful moan and my cock twitched, surprising me once again. I opened my eyes. Her eyelids were heavy, she watched me, my reaction to her touch. She knew how dangerous this was…and yet…

  "I want to kiss you again," I told her.

  "Then do it," she said, and I wasted no time. This time I kissed her harder, more hungrily than I had the first time. Our lips crashed together and her fingers found the back of my neck, pulling me deeper into her mouth. There was no mistake in her kissing me back this time. This was different, the complete opposite of my apprehensive peck by the window.

  I found her waist, and let my fingers curl around her side, underneath the blanket, feeling her wide hips and the curve of her ass. Our lips met over and over, breathlessly eager to taste more of each other. She was intoxicating, the tang of the wine on her lips, her breath, sweet and warm.

  I went deeper, letting my tongue play out on her lips, and she opened her own mouth wider, coaxing me in to explore her. My grip tightened on her waist as I pushed back against her. She responded with a squeeze at my neck, pulling me into her, even though I wasn't sure how much closer our mouths could get.

  My hand gra
zed up the side of her, finding her back, her spine underneath my massive t-shirt, until I found her neck. I threaded my fingers through her hair, as my tongue found her own. The kiss was wet, messy, and greedy, and I felt her push against me once more, pressing my back deeper into the grate of the fireplace.

  Then, there was a shatter, and she pulled back, looking at the fireplace, her eyes wide, lips swollen pink, looking positively upset.

  "Oh!" she breathed. I was pleased to hear her breathless.

  "What?" I asked, sounding winded myself.

  "The glass," she said, pointing. The wine glass had broken, shattering across the grate, towards the fire. I waved it away and straightened, eager for her warmth back on my mouth. "Leave it," I told her, my eyes focused on her swollen lips.

  I dove back in. Every time our lips connected was another surge of energy in my chest, soaring through my body, like an electric charge. I wondered if she felt it too. My cock was certainly not oblivious to any of this, and I stayed semi-hard beneath my jeans. Missy pulled back from me, her eyes the color of honey, a mixture of her brown and the reflection of the fire behind me. I was suddenly sweating, all that friction had really done me in.

  "What're we doing Leo?" she asked me, suddenly looking a little concerned. Her hunger had wavered, and she brought her eyes down to my hand at her waist. I pulled it back.

  "I don't know," I told her, leaning back against the hearth. "But I like it."

  I looked at her again, as she wrapped herself in her own blanket, the sensation of her lips still on my own. I was disappointed that she was gone, the warmth around me had faded and even with the fire, I was bone cold. "I'm sorry if I crossed a line," I said.

  She shook her head. "I told you, I liked it."

  "I did too," I said. Her face was screwed up in concentration, as though she were weighing her options, building a pro and con list in the middle of our make-out session. I craved her, every movement she made was perfectly adorable.

  "But…" she said softly.

  "But…I'm the boss, or something cliché?"

  She smiled, pulling her knees up to her chest, making a little fort with her blanket. "This feels reckless," she told me.

  "I understand," I said, standing up, looking at the glass by the fireplace. "I better get a dustpan," I told her. "Last thing we need is shards of glass hanging around. Y'know, with you being so reckless and all."

  She laughed. "Leo?" She called after me as I headed towards the kitchen. I turned back, chin to my shoulder.

  "Yes?"

  "Why don't you bring more wine back?"

  I frowned. "I thought you didn't want to be reckless?"

  "I said this feels reckless," she answered. "I never said I didn't want to be reckless." She sighed. "I'm taking a leap," she said. "Just like you told me to."

  It shot through me, the words. The possibility of her wanting this as much as I did. I hurried through the kitchen to grab more wine and a dustpan.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Missy

  This was stupid and I was sure of it. Still, I don't remember anything in my entire life every feeling this good, this right so soon with another person. There had been lots of forced dates, awkward kisses, horrendous flirting throughout my twenty-three years of life. But kissing Leo was in an entirely different category. I could barely find the words to explain what his lips and simple touch had done to my body. I'd never responded that way to a kiss before.

  I was really asking for it now, curled up by the fire, wanting more wine in my body to just build up the stupid courage to kiss him and keep kissing him. Wanting Leo felt wrong, and kissing him felt downright dirty, but there was no denying our chemistry or sexual tension from the moment we met.

  If I was going to kick the goody-two shoes image aside for one night, tonight would be it. What happens during a blizzard, stays with the blizzard…or something.

  Leo returned, somehow looking sexier then when he left. His hair was ruffled slightly to the side, and from the fire light I could still make out the pink around his mouth. I longed to taste him again, but I wanted this to last. So I could remember it after I left. Because this could never happen again.

  "Vino," he said, his hand clutched around a new bottle of red. He put it down on the hearth, along with a new glass, and generously poured more for each of us. I felt new courage with my Merlot, but not enough to push it to the side and pounce him.

  "Cue the recklessness," I said, cocking an eyebrow at him as he sat down.

  "Take it away," he said playfully, taking a sip from his glass.

  "Truth or dare?" I asked impulsively.

  "Are we at a sleepover?" Leo asked very seriously.

  "Truth or dare," I pressed on. Even if this was to just be a one night thing, I still wanted to know more about the man. Maybe that was a mistake.

  "Fine," he sighed, "Truth. I'm not buzzed enough for a dare yet."

  I smiled at him. "Why did you kiss me?"

  "Easy," he said smoothly. "Because you're beautiful and…there's something here," he said, pointing between us. I blushed, looking down at my glass. "Don't you think?"

  I nodded.

  "Truth or dare?" he asked me.

  I looked up at him, tugging my bottom lip between my teeth. "Truth."

  "Who were you talking to on the phone when I found you?"

  The question I'd been dreading, or one that I hoped wouldn't come up in conversation. Conrad. "A friend," I told him.

  "A boyfriend?"

  "Why do you care?" I laughed. "Not a boyfriend. More like a…"

  "Fuck buddy?"

  I frowned again. "Do I come across as that kind of girl?" I asked self-consciously, imagining myself returning the very clothes I sat in to Leo at the mall in a few days. Anxiety ripped through me like fire.

  "No," he said. "Not in the least. I just can't imagine the poor sap who wouldn't come rescue you in the snow. Must be an idiot."

  "It was shitty outside," I told him, feeling slightly defensive.

  "Still," he said. "Didn't sound like he even wanted to try."

  I sighed. "I guess. So I hook up with someone when I'm feeling lonely. Does that make me a bad person?" I asked him. For some reason the mention of my crappy hook-up buddy situation made me feel humiliated. That I let myself stay in that type of relationship because I was lonely. Desperate. It felt pretty sad.

  "No. It makes you human," Leo answered, taking another sip of his wine. He was watching me, and I hated how he was watching me, those deep green eyes boring into me like they were trying to read my soul. "You deserve better than that though, you know."

  "Well, I suppose you have all sorts of women through this house," I said to him very matter-of-factly. How could he not? The man might as well have been a supermodel.

  He laughed at my words. "And that's absolutely no where near to being true." I looked at him skeptically. "I'm serious, Missy. I work too much to be some kind of wild bachelor. I understand what it feels like to be lonely." He looked away from me, towards the fire. His spectacular profile was captivating. My fingers remembered exactly what the sharp jawline felt like, the sharp stubble beneath my fingers. I longed to touch it again, but I had to show some restraint.

  "Is that what you meant before when you said money isn't everything?" I asked.

  Leo shrugged, looking away from me. "I suppose," he said. "Right now, work is all I have. I imagined more for myself at this point in my life. "

  "Like?"

  His eyes returned to mine. "Like, a family. Marriage. Lord, even someone I could consider a companion. Work is great, but…"

  "It get lonely," I said. We both paused, sitting in the silence of the room, listening to the soft patter of the snow outside. "Well, I'm glad I'm not alone tonight." My words left my mouth without any thought behind them. It was the truth. I was glad I wasn't trapped at the mall. I was even glad I wasn't sitting at home in my apartment by myself. I certainly was glad I wasn't with Conrad. This. Right here, felt like the right place to be
.

  "Me too," Leo said. His hand found mine. It was an oddly intimate thing, in front of the fire, his hand on my own, not quite holding it in the traditional sense, but caressing it. His touch was gentle, something I hadn't expected from his demanding demeanor. I found it endearing as hell.

  "Truth or dare?" I asked him.

  "Dare," he challenged me.

  I breathed, sucking in what I was certain would be my last breath.

  "Kiss me," I told him. "Please."

  That was it. He was the one to pounce. Blankets, wine, fire, forgotten, he clutched his hands around my face and pulled, and I followed, our lips meeting once again, like they were always meant to be here, fused together in this erotic dance. We devoured each other, insatiably locking lips, teeth, tongues, hands frantically finding their way across chins, necks, shoulders, tangled up in hair. It was so fast and so fiery, I lost track of where we were, until suddenly somehow, I felt us both topple sideways and land somewhere on the floor.

  I didn't care. I kissed him like I'd never kissed anyone in my entire life, like I'd never be able to kiss him again. I wanted him like nothing I'd ever wanted before. My hands found his shoulders, his sides, his waist. I tugged his shirt from his pants and pulled. It made its way over his head to be discarded on the floor a moment later.

  He did the same to me, tugging on my massively large shirt, revealing my bare skin and breasts. He was so engrossed in the kiss he hadn't even noticed until his hands trailed carefully up my sides, rough fingers finding my goose bumped skin. He paused before cupping my mounds of flesh, his thumb finding my sensitive pink nipple.

  I moaned into his mouth and he pushed upwards, showing his pleasure at the sound I was making. Suddenly I was the one laying on the floor and he was over me, looking ravenous as he broke away from my mouth. I knew this was the point of no return, as his eyes left my face, traveling down my neck, over my tits and down my belly.