A Barker Family Christmas

by Juliana Stone

  “It’s a surprise,” she answered, glancing over her shoulder.

  “But your shoes.”

  “I don’t need ‘em.”

  His eyes smoldered. “What the hell are you doing?” he whispered into her ear, his warm breath rolling over her flesh.

  “What do you think I’m doing? It’s almost midnight and it’s time for you to practice some of that multi-tasking.”

  “You want us to multi-task here in The Grill?”

  A thrill shot through Billie. Damn right. “That would be right, Mr. Forest, because I’m all about getting me some sugar.”

  Chapter Nine

  Logan learned early on in his relationship with Billie, never to be surprised at anything she did. The girl was always up for something and didn’t know the meaning of the word no. You couldn’t put boundaries on this Barker—or any of them for that matter—because she’d smash through them anyway. When Billie set her mind on something, there was no stopping her. And right now? Logan had no desire to stop Billie at all.

  They wove through the crowded room, and he nodded to a few guys who were well on their way to a Christmas Eve hangover. Jake Lawrence asked him a question about a Harley, but Logan shrugged and didn’t bother to answer. He had other things on his mind. Like his wife.

  Billie led him to the other side of the bar and down the hallway past the kitchen. He knew that Duke’s office was back here but they moved past it, which he supposed was a good thing. Logan wasn’t exactly sure the burly bar owner would appreciate him getting busy with his wife in his office.

  “Billie, where the hell…”

  But she shoved open the last door and pulled him inside. It was dark and he banged his knee against something sharp.

  “Shit, sorry,” Billie said. “Hold on. Don’t move. Oh and lock the door.”

  “Billie,” he said, smiling into the dark.

  “I mean it, Logan. Stay still or I’ll…”

  “You’ll?”

  But she didn’t answer him, or if she did he couldn’t hear because it sounded as if a bunch of cans fell over and his woman swore a blue streak. By now he’d figured out that they were in the storage room and like a good boy, he locked the door and waited. He had to give his woman props. She was determined to make that midnight deadline.

  He heard the buzz of voices from the bar. It was faint in this room, but there nonetheless. The only thing separating him and Billie from about two hundred people was a small hallway and a door.

  There was something hot about that, and his groin tightened as his heart sped up.

  Logan thought of another night. Another time when he and Billie had gotten busy in the parking lot of the community center. It was Halloween, if he wasn’t mistaken, and that night had cemented his need for her in a way that he’d not seen coming.

  And it was still there. Burning hot. Burning only for Billie Jo Barker.

  Suddenly the room was flooded by light, and he had to blink a few times in order for his eyes to adjust. When they did his eyes widened.

  “Holy hell,” he said roughly, taking a step forward.

  “Stop right there,” Billie said, lips shiny as she gazed across the narrow space at him. Her hair was all over the place, that shiny mouth was as red as a cherry, and Christ, her red bra barely covered her breasts. As if that wasn’t sexy enough, she wore the smallest pair of red boy shorts he’d ever laid eyes on. Period.

  Logan was hard and ready. Hell, he’d been ready for hours now. All those teasing looks and the sexual innuendo while watching her play darts had been hard to take. But this here, right now?

  He stepped forward and she shook her head, hands up, stance wide as she squared her shoulders.

  “Take your clothes off, Logan.” She licked her lips. “Before you move another inch.”

  His hands were on his fly before she finished speaking. Shit. Boots first.

  Logan shucked his boots quick as you please, and in less time than it would take to walk across the room and plant a kiss on those delectable breasts that begged for his mouth, his slacks and V-neck were on the floor.

  “Boxers too,” Billie said, voice throaty and sexy as all hell.

  Logan stared at her, a wicked grin on his face. “What if someone walks in?”

  “Didn’t you lock the door?”

  “Well, yeah, but…”

  “Do you care about any of that right now?”

  “No.” Hell no.

  “Then off with the boxers.”

  He reached for the waistband. “I’m going to have to call you Bossy Billie.”

  “I like that.”

  “I figured you would.”

  He tossed his boxers onto the floor beside his clothes. Her eyes were on his for the longest time, and then she let them slide over his body until she reached his aching cock. Billie licked her lips and by then Logan was so tight he thought he might explode.

  “Touch yourself,” she whispered.

  Logan loved this side of her. “That sounds naughty.”

  Her smile widened and he glimpsed the tip of her pink tongue. “I know Santa isn’t fond of naughty girls, but I’m hoping that you are.”

  His blood ran hot. “Is that even a question?”

  “I asked you to touch yourself, Logan. You’re the one not listening.” Her eyes sparkled. “You’re the one being naughty.”

  “And what part would you like me to touch, exactly?”

  Billie’s eyes snapped back up to his, and he groaned at the look in their depths. She was as hot and horny as he was.

  “The part that’s saying hello to me,” she whispered, cheeks flush and chest heaving. How could Logan say no to that?

  His hands slid across his thighs until he gripped his erection. His hold was tight. Strong. And sure it felt good, but not nearly as good as it could. He wanted something a little more delicate. He watched her carefully, turned on at the sight of her squeezing her thighs together.

  “Are you wet?” he asked roughly.

  He was rewarded with a cheeky grin. “Not nearly enough.”

  She was a crap liar and he knew it.

  Logan began to slowly stroke himself, eyes burning into hers as she slowly reached behind herself and unclipped her bra. Too bad. He was looking forward to taking her clothes off himself.

  The bra slid down her body and as she tweaked the rosy nipples that were standing at attention, he gritted his teeth and continued to stroke his cock. Fuck. His balls were tight, his skin itchy and hot and he wanted to be buried inside her so badly that it hurt.

  “Not fair,” he managed to say, sweat now glistening on his brow.

  “Oh,” she said softly, bending over in what had to be the best stripper dip he’d ever had the pleasure to witness. Who the hell knew? “What’s not fair, Mr. Forest?”

  “You’re all the way over there.” God. How much longer was he going to have to keep this up?

  “Patience is a virtue.” She was facing him now, fingers toying with the lace edge of her barely-there panties.

  “I’m not a virtuous man,” he replied hoarsely. Her fingers disappeared underneath her panties and she spread her legs a bit more, gyrating slowly, eyes on him. He knew what she was touching and he was dying for a taste.

  “You’re killing me,” he said.

  “Good.” There was that slow grin that he’d been waiting for. She was close.

  Her breasts bounced as she bent over once more and this time when she straightened, the panties were gone. There under the harsh light from the overhead luminescent bulbs, Logan Forest nearly lost his shit.

  Chest tight, he froze. Billie Jo had come into his life when he’d not been expecting it, and he’d known on some level right from the get go that she was the only girl for him. But right now, staring across this space at her, he knew whatever they had would transcend time. She’d given him her love. Her body. A son. And he…

  “I love you.” The words fell from his lips in a quiet whisper.

  “I know,” she breathe
d at him. She exhaled a shaky breath and slowly turned around so that he was presented with a view that would make any man weak in the knees.

  Billie’s body had changed after Abel. She had more curves and her ass…

  “Logan.” Her voice broke and he was behind in her in a second. His hands caressed their way up her back and around the front so that he was able to cup her breasts. Fingers kneading her nipples, he bent forward, teeth nipping at her earlobe.

  “I’m going to show you exactly how much I love you.” His cock slid between her legs, teasing the swollen flesh that was there, and she arched back against him.

  He slipped two fingers inside her and groaned. She was so wet. So open and ready for him.

  “Now, Logan.”

  She didn’t have to ask twice. He bent her over a bit more so that she could use one of the storage shelves for leverage, and with one hand at the small of her back, the other on her hip to hold her steady, Logan thrust into her.

  “Oh God,” she whimpered. “It always feels so good.”

  “That’s what a guy wants to hear,” he said roughly. Quickly they found their rhythm and Logan couldn’t lie, the sight of Billie bent over beneath him, whimpering from the pleasure he was giving her, was an image he’d take to his grave.

  He continued his long strokes, feeling her muscles bunch and then subside as he held them both off. Once. Twice. And then three times.

  “You’re killing me, Logan,” she gasped. “It’s there. So close.”

  They were both hot and sweaty and the sounds of his thighs slapping against her ass as he upped the tempo was loud in the confined space.

  “Say it,” he growled into her ear. His thrusts were feverish and the shelving unit began to rock in earnest. He was tight and ready and so was she.

  “I’m coming, Logan.” She whimpered. “I’m coming for you.”

  He bent forward even more, and she turned her head so that he could capture her mouth in his as they came together. Her inner walls clamped tight around his cock and she screamed into his mouth, biting his bottom lip when her body began to convulse. They shattered against each other and after a few moments he brought them back.

  Logan released her mouth and slid his tongue over his, tasting Billie and blood.

  “Sorry,” she gasped.

  “No you’re not.”

  She turned in his arms and reached for him, planting the sweetest kiss on his mouth. Her tongue swept into his mouth, tangling with his once more. It was the kind of kiss that made him grateful. The kind of kiss that was full of promise. And it was the kind of kiss he had every intention of tasting again.

  “Merry Christmas, Logan,” she murmured against him, shivering.

  “Are you cold?”

  “A little. I should get dressed.”

  The door juggled behind them and Logan whipped his head around. “Give us a minute,” he said sharply.

  There was a pause, and then he heard someone clearing his throat. “I’d appreciate it if you could grab me the can of pickled beans for the bar. You know, when you get a chance.”

  “Sure thing, Duke,” Logan replied, reaching for his clothes.

  “Oh my God,” Billie squealed. “I can’t believe we almost got caught having sex.”

  He arched a brow at his wife, appreciating the view as she shimmied back into her bra and panties.

  “I can’t believe we just had sex in the storage room of The Grill. You know that everyone’s going to know exactly what we were doing in here, right?”

  She giggled. “Do you care?”

  “Not one bit.”

  She kissed him once more as she slid the dress up over her hips. “Just don’t forget the beans.”

  “Got them.” Logan grabbed a jar off the shelf and followed his wife back out into the main room. Of course, everyone knew exactly what they’d done. How could they not? Logan Forest was sporting the kind of grin that any guy would recognize, and Billie, well, she looked as if she’d had a big heaping spoonful of sugar.

  He followed her back to the bar where he set down the jar and grabbed his coat from the stool they’d vacated earlier. Billie slipped her feet back into her heels and grabbed his hand.

  They shouted goodbye and Merry Christmas to all the guys on their hockey team, and Logan glanced at his watch just before they left. It was twenty past twelve. Officially Christmas Eve.

  And he had his wife all to himself at least until breakfast.

  “Let’s go,” he said, stepping up the pace a bit.

  “What’s the rush?”

  “I don’t think you got enough sugar.”

  So Logan made it his business to give his wife all the sugar she could handle.

  Which was a lot.

  Chapter Ten

  Christmas Eve…

  Morning came slowly to New Waterford, as it tended to do this time of the year, with shorter days and longer nights. Heavy snow clouds filled the sky doing their best to blot out the sun, but to no avail. Bright rays reflected off the snow like diamonds, and even though the air was sharp and the wind biting, it did nothing to dampen the spirits of the townsfolk.

  The Michigan residents were used to the cold and snow, and at this time of the year it did nothing but add a little bit extra something that made the Christmas holidays special. Music was piped along the sidewalks, the stores were festive, and more importantly, everyone had an abundance of Christmas spirit.

  As the Mayor of New Waterford made his way downtown to his office, he shook off the cold, satisfied with the year that was almost behind him.

  The economy was picking up, new families were moving to the area, and the waterfront development had brought much needed tax dollars pouring into the town’s coffers. All in all a great year.

  Mayor Holbrook paused in front of one of several boutiques in the downtown core and perused the items displayed. He made a mental note to stop in before it closed at noon to pick up a little extra something for his wife.

  He inhaled a crisp shot of winter air and hummed Little Drummer Boy, a smile planted firmly on his face. Always a favorite, the song made him feel like a kid again. Even though the cold penetrated to the bone, and the wind had picked up something fierce, there was a buzz in the air. An excitement that had been building for days.

  He knew more than anyone that Betty Jo Barker and her fiancé Beau Simon were the reason. Their not-so-secret wedding was the talk of the town, and if the influx of visitors to New Waterford was any indication, it was going to get more than a little crazy.

  He shook his head. In his mind there were a lot more important things to do than to try and catch a glimpse of a celebrity. The whole thing was silly. Beau Simon and the rest of his clan were no different than normal folks. Other than real estate of course—no one he knew owned million dollar mansions. Oh, and the Hollywood thing. But still. He didn’t understand the fanaticism of some of the townsfolk. Even old Mrs. Jensen, the tailor, couldn’t stop talking about Beau when he’d picked up his suit the day before.

  “Oh my goodness, that Beau Simon is just so blessed handsome.”

  “Yes, I suppose he is.”

  “Do you think he’s as handsome in person?”

  “I don’t rightly know.”

  “Well didn’t you meet him when he was here for the charity ball game?”

  “I guess I did.”

  “Well?

  “Well what?”

  “Honestly, you men are infuriating. Never paying attention to detail.”

  The entire conversation had been exasperating.

  “Good morning, Mr. Holbrook.”

  Taking off his hat, he glanced over to his assistant surprised. “I thought you were off today, Mrs. Hodges.” Goodness. Had he forgotten to tell her to take the day for herself and her family?

  “Oh I was,” the woman said with a chuckle. “But I thought you’d need me for at least a few hours.”

  “Oh? Why is that?”

  “Well, I’ve been on the phone with the Sheriff’s offi
ce trying to rustle up some more officers for traffic duty. The overtime will be steep, but heavens, Pastor Vickers was nearly rear-ended this morning.”

  “I see,” Mayor Holbrook replied, rubbing his temples.

  “Even with the extra security hired by Betty Jo and the Simon family, things are getting a little out of hand.” The woman frowned. “I’ve heard rumors that the wedding’s been moved from the church out to White Haven. Do you know anything about that?”

  Of course he did, but Mayor Holbrook wasn’t about to share that information with anyone.

  “Not to my knowledge,” he replied, glancing away quickly. He might be somewhat of a politician, but the Mayor was a crappy liar.

  The phone rang just then and Mrs. Hodges paused before answering. “I guess it’s just a rumor then. But it’s exciting all the same.” The woman was practically trembling. “Just imagine, Beau Simon and his brothers in town for Christmas. Oh and that rascal Cooper Simon, I wonder if he’ll be here? And that Betty Jo. She always does something scandalous. I can’t wait to see her dress. It’s going to be a Christmas Eve this town will never forget.”

  Mayor Holbrook tweaked his mustache and sighed. “Mrs. Hodges, you have no idea.”

  It was a Barker affair. What else was new?

  By the time Billie reached White Haven, she’d gone from mild concern to growing unease. Traffic through town had been brutal. There was a large number of residents milling about the streets, and a number of faces that Billie didn’t recognize.

  Some of them pointed at her vehicle as she drove by. Some of them even started running after her (until they realized she was the wrong triplet), and some had just snapped away as if they had every right to take her picture.

  She may or may not have flipped her middle finger. She may or may not have done it more than once. Seriously. She’d almost run over one of them.

  Billie pulled up to the gate leading to Shane’s estate, maneuvering past several groups of photographers lining the road. Guess they’d figured out the wedding was going to take place at Shane’s. A tall man she didn’t recognize approached her vehicle and she rolled down the window, grimacing at the blast of cold air.