by Livia Grant
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-meant 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 finally 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.”
“Well that’s good. You were too thin when you got here. I’ve been trying to fatten you up, young lady. You ready to come out and start your day? Traci and Troy are going to be here any minute.”
Oh goodie. Just what she needs, the man himself here to confuse her more than he already has.
Hallie answers truthfully. “Well, I could use coffee, that’s for sure.”
The ladies join Adam and they spend time chatting over coffee and rolls, meant to tide them over until they eat the full brunch in a couple of hours. Hallie is just finished helping her aunt by putting the large ham in the oven when the doorbell rings. While Uncle Adam heads to receive their guests, Hallie takes the stick of lip-gloss out of her front jeans pocket. She’d done it subconsciously and quickly shoves it back in her pocket when she realizes what she’d done, angry with herself for feeling nervous.
She takes a deep breath, hoping to calm herself so her guests never suspect how nervous she is to see the tall, handsome spanker. Yes, that is how she vows to think of Troy from now on in an attempt to remind her body how much she doesn’t want to be attracted to a barbarian who thinks it’s okay to light up a perfectly good ass.
Her resolve crumbles the second she turns to see him walking confidently into the room. His presence commands her full attention, his eyes trained on her as if to assess how she is doing this morning. He must approve because his face li
ghts into a broad smile that has her knees feeling weak. She’s luckily close enough to the island to nonchalantly reach for the counter to hold herself steady.
Had he kept his distance, all would have been fine, but he circles the end of the island stopping first to hand a bottle of wine to Aunt Gina, hugging her back when she throws her arms around him to deliver a big hug. Their eyes meet over her aunt’s turned back, proving she has his full attention. The second he is out of Aunt Gina’s hug, he continues forward to scoop a panicking Hallie into his arms for a similar greeting, although Hallie is pretty sure he hadn’t allowed his hands to rest against Aunt Gina’s ass during their brief hug.
Hallie pulls back far enough to look up into his mischievous eyes. He’s in no hurry to release her. “Good morning, sunshine. How did you sleep?” Did he have a camera in her room or is it just her own worry making her feel as if he knew exactly how she’d slept?
“Oh, I slept like a baby. How about you?” Two can play at this game as Hallie lifts her right leg until her knee presses up against the package between his legs. She knows she struck gold when she hears his sharp intake of his breath followed by a long, quiet groan. She smiles up at him sweetly.
After a long exhale, he answers her quietly. “Honestly, I didn’t sleep all that well. I felt a bit like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning so he could see what presents he might find under the tree.” Was it her imagination or did he squeeze her ass on the word present?
“Well, sorry. I didn’t have time to go out to get you the new bike you asked for.”
The look on his face is playful. “How did you know I wanted a bike? Oh well, I’m sure we can come up with an alternate gift.”
She’s thrown off by his bantering and even more flustered by the fact that while he’s moved his hand to her back, he continues to hold her against his body, forcing her to crane her neck to look up into this playful eyes. Troy had been dangerous last night. This playful Troy is lethal.
Hallie is saved by Uncle Adam stepping into the kitchen. Troy releases Hallie quickly, stepping back trying to put distance between them.
“Merry Christmas again, Traci and Troy. We’re so glad you could make it.” Uncle Adam has moved to hug Traci before shaking Troy’s outstretched hand. “Who’s ready for some eggnog?”
“Now, Adam, isn’t it too early for eggnog? It’s not even noon yet.”
“It’s never too early for your eggnog, Gina.”
Memories of wonderful Christmases past flood Hallie. “Is it Nana’s recipe? She used to make the best eggnog.”
Gina smiles sadly. “Of course. Mom always did have the best recipes. You know what else I remember?” Gina has moved to the entertainment center in the alcove and a few minutes later Christmas music fills the space. Songs Hallie remembers listening to as she baked Christmas cookies with her Nana and mom in Baton Rouge what seems like a lifetime ago. She loses herself in her memories until she senses Troy nearby again.
“Everything okay?”
She feels a tear trekking down her cheek and swipes it away, hoping not to bring the mood down. Troy moves closer, replacing her own fingers on her cheek, taking on the job of tear swiper. She wants to be angry with him for overstepping his bounds. They barely know each other, yet she can’t be angry because it just feels too good to have someone actually giving a shit about how she feels.
He is still waiting for her answer. “I’m fine. It’s just this music. It’s special. My Nana, Aunt Gina, Mom and I used to bake Christmas cookies every year. We called it ‘cookie day’ and we would bake non-stop from sun-up to sundown, drinking eggnog, singing these same Christmas carols over and over and making treats we would pass out to neighbors and friends. I just haven’t thought about cookie day in a long time.”
Aunt Gina is there, scooping her into her arms and the two women spend a few minutes hugging, grateful they have each other again, but mourning the loss of their Nana and Gina’s older sister. It’s Traci, not Troy, who joins the women in the kitchen and Troy eventually heads out to the living room with Uncle Adam, eggnog in hand.
* * * * *
Troy is disgusted with his own lack of self-discipline. He hadn’t slept well the night before, running over in his brain the twenty reasons why being attracted to Hallie Boudreaux was a bad idea. He had coached himself endlessly as he took his shower, resorting to lecturing his reflection in the mirror as he shaved about how he was going to keep his distance from her today. He’d had to lie to Traci and tell her he’d been on a cell call when she’d asked whom he had been talking to in the bathroom this morning.
He’s relieved his sister finally stopped trying to psychoanalyze him last night when they returned to her house after taking Hallie home. Traci had tried to pump him for what he was thinking… what he was feeling… It was the first time he had ever been personally aware that his sister was indeed a therapist. Now today, he doesn’t like the way she keeps looking at him as if she can read into the depth of his internal struggle where Hallie is concerned. The fact that she is smiling like the cat who ate the canary when the women join Troy and Adam in the living room tells Troy she is enjoying watching him torture himself.
Troy had wanted to exchange gifts quietly with his sister at her house before coming to the Newberry’s, but Traci had put her foot down, insisting they open their gifts as a group. Luckily, Troy does have an awesome gift for Hallie, something he is pretty sure she might have had to leave behind on her escape to Colorado and is most likely missing. He wishes now he had brought more than a bottle of wine as a gift for Gina and Adam as it feels rude to be sitting around to open gifts empty handed for the hosts.
Adam takes charge. “It’s time for opening gifts. I’ll go first. Gina, I’ve been dying to give this to you. It took all of my self control to keep it a secret.” Adam hands a small box to his wife who looks surprised.
“Another gift? I thought… well… you gave me a gift last night.” Troy can see Gina blushing pink and he can only imagine what kind of a gift Adam had given his wife in private that elicits a blush like that. At least that explains why Adam had been anxious to pawn Hallie off on Troy and Traci so they could have the house to themselves.
“Now, just get opening this, will you woman?”
Gina opens the box and must look at the contents for thirty seconds before letting out a wail of a cry. “Oh Adam, you didn’t? New York, really? You know I’ve been wanting to get back east for a visit. And you’ve already bought the plane tickets and everything?” Gina is so happy she has launched herself into her husband’s beefy arms.
Troy and Hallie’s eyes meet across the coffee table between their couches, and he can see happiness in her eyes for her aunt and uncle.
Troy decides to jump in with the next gift giving opportunity. “I’ll go next. I hope you like what I got you, Traci.” He gets up to hand her the rectangular box wrapped in silver paper. Everyone watches with interest as Traci opens the box and squeals.
“Troy, this is awesome, but you spent too much!” She pulls the Macbook Air out of the box, showing the slim laptop off to everyone in the room. Her eyes seek out his own. “Seriously. You need to take this back. This is too much.”
“Trace, I know your old laptop died and you’ve been getting by with an old desktop, but that’s crazy. You need this for your work. I know you’re still working on the paper to present at next year’s conference and going to the library in Denver for research. You need a laptop.”
Troy doesn’t miss the look of panic on his sister’s face before she replaces it with a strained smile. He’ll have to ask more about that later when they are alone.
“I’m not taking it back, sis. It’s all yours.”
She launches herself up and into his lap, hugging her brother tightly. “You really didn’t need to do that, Troy, but thank you. It is an awesome gift.”
When his sister heads back to her own love seat, Troy gets up and walks to Hallie to give her the gift he had wrapped for her in the same silver pap
er. He had briefly considered taking it back this morning because after last night, it seems a bit much, but he knows it is the perfect gift for her and he just can’t miss seeing her face light up like he knows it will when she opens it.
She looks confused when he holds out the gift to her. She looks up at him from her perch below. “What is this? You never should have gotten me a gift… I mean… I didn’t have time…”
“Hallie, it’s okay. I didn’t expect to get a gift from you. I just saw this while I was out shopping for Traci, and I knew the second I saw this that I had to get it for you.” She still hasn’t reached to take the gift so he leans down to place the package in her lap before returning to his own seat on his couch to watch her open his gift.
It takes her Uncle Adam urging her on to get her to pick up the package and gingerly start to unwrap it. He knows the second she realizes what she holds because her eyes fly up to meet his own. As if she had been mistaken, she peeks under the wrapping again, before raising her surprised eyes to his.
All she can say is “No way.”
Troy smiles broadly. “Yes, way.”
Traci is curious. “What is it Hallie? He wouldn’t tell me what he got you.”
She repeats with an extra flare. “No. Fucking. Way.”
It’s Uncle Adam’s turn to inject. “Hallie Marie Boudreaux. I am not going to have that kind of talk in this house. I’m about at the end of my patience, young lady.”
“Sorry, Uncle Adam.” But Troy doesn’t think she looks very sorry. A quick vision of draping Hallie across his knee to make her sorry invades, but he tamps it down quickly. The fact that can never happen is reason number one on the list of twenty reasons why Hallie is off-limits for him.
Aunt Gina prods her, trying to smooth over the unwelcome tension in the room. “Show us what it is, honey. We all want to see.”
Hallie opens the box in her hands and takes out the iPad tablet. Troy had made sure it was charged and he can see her slide to unlock the front screen. She sits there silently flipping through apps and screens for a few minutes, telling Troy she’s obviously used one before. He wishes he could see what she is looking at on the tablet, because when she finally does look up, he can see tears streaming down her face. He smiles a supportive smile.
