“Great. Then we can go on our third date without feeling guilty. Let me finish frosting the cake.”
“I’ll help.” In a few steps, he’s by my side. “What’s this about wanting it to snow?”
“Then we can be stuck here together.” I dab his nose with the frosting tipped spatula.
He wipes it off with a finger and licks it. “You sure you want to go on that walk in the deep snow? I hear there’s a blizzard out there.”
“I don’t know, maybe sitting by the fire’s a better idea. How about a game of Scrabble? That’s third date worthy.”
“Uh, Scrabble? I’m thinking strip poker.” He dips his finger in the frosting and smears a line across my lips. “We have to get these silly elf costumes off somehow.”
Of course, I lick my lips and catch his finger, nipping him. “How about a twist?”
“What kind of twist?” He arches an eyebrow, but he’s grinning and I can tell he’s game.
“Not only does the loser remove an item of clothing, he has to lick frosting off the winner.”
“Lick frosting? Lucky I work out.” Ben’s lips moisten and I can see the wheels turn in his brain. “From where?”
“Wherever the loser wants. You have a deck of cards around here?” I take the bowl of frosting and place it on the coffee table in front of the fire.
“I’m sure we do,” Ben says, scrounging through a wooden chest. “Scrabble, the original Monopoly, oh, here you go, cards. How about one more twist?”
“Two twists? Sure.” I arrange myself in front of fire, warming my face and hands.
“Truth or strip. Either you answer a question and it has to be the honest truth, or you take off a piece of clothing and lick frosting from the winner.”
Hmmm … What is it he wants to find out about me?
Aloud, I say, “Sure. I have nothing to hide. Deal.”
“Five card draw okay with you?”
“Sure, we can skip the betting since no one is folding. That okay with you?”
“No folding. I agree. Truth or strip and lick.”
He settles on the Navajo rug and shuffles the cards on the table. Despite the silly elf outfit, one I want to rip off him as fast as possible, he’s the epitome of stud, but more than that, he’s a considerate man and nothing like the arrogant athlete he seemed to be when I first met him.
I love this real Ben better, the one who holds back, whether he’s teasing or controlling himself. Whatever happens, this isn’t going to be a casual hookup. How can it be when I’m falling for him?
He even chopped down a tree for me. Silhouetted in front of the fire, surrounded by all things Christmas, how can I not wish this meant more?
Whatever happens, this day’s already the best in my entire life. What could go wrong?
Ben’s eyes glisten as he passes out the cards.
I peek at my hand. Crap, it’s a mixed bag of nothing. I look across at Ben, but he’s keeping a poker face, devoid of expression.
“Give me three.” He throws three cards in the muck pile and I hand him three. So, he has to have at least a pair in there. Darn.
I discard four cards and keep my king. Much improved. Satisfied, I place my cards on the table. A pair of kings should be high enough to beat whatever pair Ben has.
“Truth or strip and lick.” Ben grins and slaps his hand on the table. “Three of a kind beats your king pair.”
“Strip.” This is easy for now. I take off the pointy elf hat and set it on the table. I dab a piece of frosting on his nose and kiss it off.
“That’s too easy,” Ben says. “I think the winner should get to pick where the loser licks.”
“Then the winner has to be wearing less. I couldn’t find an uncovered surface.”
“We’ll have to fix that.” Ben deals the next round and again I lose. A two pair to a high card queen. Off go my elf boots. This time, I spread frosting on his neck and run my tongue slowly up the side of his throat. I finish with a suck and I can feel him swallow.
“My turn to deal.” I pass out the cards, and ha, ha, Ben throws off his elf jacket without even throwing cards in the muck pile. Guess he wants to lose.
He eyes me lasciviously before spreading frosting around my thumb. What the heck? I giggle at how silly he’ll look sucking my thumb. So unsexy.
But my laughter chokes when he wraps his hot tongue around the tip of my thumb and draws his lips back, while gliding his tongue around in slow motion. When he moves my thumb in and out of his wet, hot mouth, both nipples tighten and peak, begging to be included in the action.
He finishes with a nibble and the wicked boy, he brushes the back of his hand over my pebbled nipples and says, “Oh, sorry, excuse me.”
Damn. He knows I’m aroused. I try to peek at his crotch, but he slides his legs under the coffee table and shuffles the card deck.
Soon, I’m down to the dress and tights, and Ben is bare-chested. He’s licked the inside of my wrist and nibbled behind my ear. Meanwhile, I’ve sucked each of his tight, knobby nipples and licked a line down his belly. We’re both breathing hard and flushed in front of the fire.
My breasts are aching to be touched, and he’s so aroused, he looks like he has a huge cucumber stuffed in his stretchy green elf pants. I’m not sure I can control myself should I lose the next hand. Besides, I only have the tights and dress left. Even the belt’s gone.
Ben stretches both arms over his shoulders to further tease me with his stunning physique. He rakes me with his fiery gaze. “Next hand I win, you’re going to have to start telling the truth.”
“How about you?” I swallow the drool collecting in my mouth, knowing he’s right. Once I lose those tights, I have nothing under my skirt. No panties available. After all, when you’re at a dream cabin with a man, who has time to do the wash?
Ben stares hard at me as he shuffles, once, twice, cutting it thrice.
I swallow and consider. Do I dare take off my tights or should I go for the dress and expose my boobs? How about him? Did he have briefs or boxers under those elf tights?
He deals and at least my hand is promising. I exchange a single card while Ben has to draw three. My heart leaps at the thought of exposing Ben’s most tremendous asset. I have my best hand so far, three threes and two aces.
I slap my hand on the table. “Full house.”
“Same here.” Ben smugly spreads his cards on the table. “And I believe I win.”
“No, I have aces, you only have two eights.”
“Ah, but my three fives beats your three threes.”
“No, but my total point value’s higher.”
“Doesn’t work that way, Miss Brittzen.” He grins gleefully. “The three of a kind determines the winner. Take it off.”
I swallow a groan. Top or bottom? Where would I want his lips and tongue? The greedy girl in me says both. Take it all off, but then he’s at an advantage, and the only place I want to spread the frosting is still covered by those darn green tights.
“You could go for truth,” Ben says helpfully, shuffling the cards as if he doesn’t care either way.
Well, heck, if he doesn’t care, then I’m not exposing myself.
“Truth,” I declare
“Are you dating anyone right now?” he asks, still shuffling the cards.
“No.”
“Good.” He deals the next hand.
I grin at my cards. Not bad. Not bad at all. I might have gotten him, finally. Oh yes, that cucumber looks so worth it. Yum.
I hold onto my cards and watch him exchange all five of his. Ha, ha.
“Straight flush wins.” I put out my hand as he spreads his mish-mashed set. “Truth or strip?”
“What do you think?” He wiggles his eyebrows and dips his thumb under his waistband. Lifting it, he peeks inside and smiles.
My heart’s leaping and bounding and every finger of mine tingles. My mouth is wet and I grab the bowl of frosting, ready to launch at him with the spatula as soon as he lets loose.
“Tr-truth?” I drop the crock bowl with a thud on the table. Has he gone shy on me? Hasn’t he had tons of women before? I’m sure he’s not shy with them. A spurt of green pickle juice crawls up my throat. Why does he choose truth at the moment of truth?
“Fine then. Truth” I skewer him with narrowed eyes. “Do you want me to be your girlfriend?”
His mouth rounds and his eyes pop like he got caught with his pants down. For several excruciating seconds, he doesn’t answer. He blinks as if he’s thinking of an answer.
“Forget it, you don’t have to answer.” I pick up the cards and put them back in the box. “Let’s take our walk.”
“Wait.” He grabs my hand and pulls me toward him. “You want the truth?”
“Yes, but only if it’s what I want to hear. I don’t want to ruin the evening. We were having so much fun.”
“Come here.” He places me in his lap, arranging me so I’m on his thighs and not touching his erection which has faded somewhat since I asked him for the truth.
I can’t help but cuddle into his arms. Whatever his answer, I’ll always treasure this time with him. It was only pretend anyway. I shouldn’t have let my imagination get carried away. It’s not really Christmas Eve. We’re not really in love. We’re just two acquaintances helping each other out.
“Brittney.” He clears his throat and brushes my hair from my face. His dark espresso eyes are large and dilated, the flames from the fire dancing in the depths. “I’ve never had a girlfriend before. If I ever want one, it would be you.”
“But …” My traitorous voice catches in my throat. “You don’t want one.”
“I’m not in a place in life where I can settle down. Too much is uncertain.” He continues to caress the side of my head.
An unwanted tear threatens to trail down my cheek, but I’m not going to let him think he has me in his back pocket. I swallow hard and push against his chest, more to steady myself than anything else. “I don’t have time for a relationship either. I’m too young and have a business to run, well at least I have to answer in court. I’m being sued for the data breach.”
“Seriously? That’s so unfair. What happened to Shopahol and Mississippi Online?”
“They have agreements with the customers absolving them. I’m just a small company and I never had a lawyer draft me terms and conditions.”
“You’ll beat this, Brittney. I’ll help.”
“How? The only thing I can do is declare personal bankruptcy. The actress has lawyers, I can’t even afford Owen. That’s why your brother’s putting on that benefit concert for me.”
Ben’s face tightens at the mention of his brother. “I’ll help you. I’ll do product endorsements after I get drafted.”
“I’m not your worry.” After all, I’m not even good enough to be his girlfriend.
“But you are.” He rubs my back and presses my head against his shoulder, caressing the back of my neck. “I want to worry about you. I want to be the one you turn to, not Nash. He’s a womanizer.”
“And you’re not?”
He stiffens under my gaze, and I know I’ve gone too far. But I don’t much care. It seems the getaway is over and all our problems have caught up with us.
“I never led any woman to believe she was more than a hookup.”
“Is that what you think I am? A hookup?” I push away from him and stumble to my feet.
“No. You’re my friend.”
How much worse can this get? I’ve been friend-zoned—not even hookup territory.
“Well then, let’s have a friendly cleanup of the kitchen. Wouldn’t want to leave a mess for whoever’s renting this cabin after us.” I pick up the frosting bowl and march back to the kitchen barefooted.
The record player stopped sometime during our strip poker game, and the pile of records lie mute on the turntable. The aroma of food has turned into stale smoke, and the cake sits listlessly on the stand half-frosted. I might as well toss it since we dirtied the frosting with our game.
I cover the cake and push it aside. I plug the sink and turn on the hot water, not minding the tears dripping down my face. Why am I so emotional? It’s not like I wanted Ben for more than a hookup. Even worse, I only wished to flaunt him to Lacy. But it looks like I’m not going to even get bragging rights. Why did he change strip to truth?
No, I can’t blame him. I was the one who asked that stupid question. I could have stuck to the casual. Do you want to hook up? Do you like my dress?
But I had to go and ask him if he wanted me to be his girlfriend. It wasn’t fair of me to spring that loaded question on him, except he’d hinted about it earlier, hadn’t he?
The bubbles build up in the sink, and I wipe my eyes before I have to wet my hands. Even though I feel a presence behind me, I ignore it. This house is full of memories, and it’s probably my imagination. For a while there, I thought I belonged here, cooking in this kitchen, sitting on the rug in front of the fire, and snuggling in the four poster bed. I even wanted Grandpa Powers to come back and rest in the recliner next to the antique radio. But I’m not a member of the Powers family. I should leave well enough alone.
I pick up the pile of plates and before I lower them into the water, a pair of hands takes them from me.
Ben puts the plates back on the counter and turns me around to face him. “I didn’t tell you the truth.”
“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“You have a right to know. We’ve been messing around, kissing, holding hands, even licking frosting off each other. I don’t want to mislead you.”
“None taken. I’m good.” I hug my arms and hold on tight, wishing a hole would open up under me and swallow me.
“You are good. Too good for a hookup.”
“Please, spare me. Okay? I get it.”
He dips a large finger over my lips. “Let me finish.”
“Sure, okay.” Why is it men assume I have no feelings, that I can take whatever they dish out? Just because my IQ is over one-hundred-fifty doesn’t mean I’m a robot only here to solve problems or make them happy.
It takes a moment before I realize what Ben’s saying.
“I didn’t tell you the truth, because I’m afraid you’re the one. Maybe I’m scaring you away. Maybe you won’t want to be here when I tell you how I really feel.”
“Wait, wait, back up. I’m the one for what?”
His face is pained, his eyes troubled and his brows scrunched. He swallows deeply and his hand trembles when he takes mine and squeezes. “The woman meant for me. The one I’ve been looking for all my life, not daring to believe she exists. The one I’ll love forever.”
What? My jaw slackens and my heart speeds as everything tilts on its axis. “You’re afraid I’m the one?”
“If you don’t want to be mine, yes.”
“You never asked.” Could it be possible he’s falling for me too?
“Would you say ‘no?’”
“No, no.” I shake my head. But when he lowers his gaze, biting his lip, I add quickly, “I mean I wouldn’t say ‘no,’ not that I don’t want to be everything you mentioned.”
“Wait, too many negatives.” He holds both my hands and raises them to his lips, kissing them. “All I know is when I’m with you, I’m happy. I hope you feel the same way about me.”
“I do, Ben, except when you’re being grumpy.”
A tiny smile lifts his lips. “Then I’ll try not to be grumpy. Will you put up with me and be my sweetheart?”
“Sweetheart? What year is this?” Even though I complain outwardly, I’m beyond elated. Ben wants me for his own.
“Sorry, it’s this house. We seem to have traveled back in time. The thing is, I can’t think of a future without you. I’ll do anything for you, and I’ll protect your heart. Just say you’ll never turn your back on me.”
“
Oh, Ben. I feel the same about you. I want you to be happy. I want you to be loved and feel secure with me. I’ll never turn my back on you, and I’ll try not to hurt you. I never want to lose touch with you, even though I know you’ll be gone after the holidays.”
“I don’t want to leave. I’ll try to get drafted locally.”
“You won’t be able to help it. It’s the life of an athlete. You can be drafted by any team or traded anywhere.”
“No matter where I go, I’ll always want you. But I see this isn’t fair for you.” He takes a deep breath and huffs. “I haven’t exactly proven to be good boyfriend material.”
“I’ve never had one, so how would I know?” I feel him backing away. Despite trying to stay positive, I can’t help the feeling that Ben and I are doomed before we even start.
“You’ll know if I’m good enough.” His eyes study me a moment before he pulls me into his arms and crushes my lips against his. I gasp as he sucks my breath away, his lips and tongue stealing the very thoughts from my brain.
Before I’m aware, he’s picked me up from my feet and is taking me across the cabin. Heat flares from my chest and radiates against his hot, bare skin. Coils of desire twist and turn in my belly and suddenly, the velvety dress feels too heavy.
Ben kicks open the bedroom door and places me on the four poster bed without breaking the kiss. His hands are all over my body, and this time, he’s not holding back. His palms massage over my breasts and I feel full and content, loving and drugged, while his lips drag down my neck, nibbling and kissing a trail of tingles.
I squeeze his shoulders and neck before scraping him with my nails lightly, drawing goosebumps on the way down. When I reach his crotch, I press my hand against his length, stroking him through his elf tights, eliciting a deep groan.
He lifts his head so he’s gazing into my eyes. “Shall I show you how I feel about you?”
“Yes, please,” I give my consent. “I want to show you, too.”
I wriggle my tights down as he drags my dress over my head and shoulders. Holy moly, I’m lying on his bed, fully naked and exposed to the only man I’ll ever love.
Santa's Pet Page 19
