Second Chance Christmas by Ellen Butler

Author:Ellen Butler [Butler, Ellen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: entangled publishing, Flirt, Ellen Butler, romance, short story, christmas, Holidays, friends to lovers, army, military, Pentagon
ISBN: 9781622663804
Google: QabqAQAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 18761416
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2013-11-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

After dinner, we worked around each other like a professional dance routine. I cleared the table and wrapped up the food while Colton rinsed the plates and loaded the dishwasher. He playfully flicked my bottom with a kitchen towel as I leaned past him to put away the corkscrew.

“Yipe.” I jumped and grinned as his laughing eyes caught mine.

Decorating the Christmas tree was like our final year together. Colton’s long fingers patiently untangled the inevitable mess of lights, and I strung them along the spiny branches. Together we debated where to hang each ornament.

Colton tended to group them all together in the front. “This is what you see when you walk into the room.”

Whereas, I insisted they spread around to the sides. “Look, if you sit on the couch all you get is green tree. You have to hang some here for the couch people.”

“Couch people? What the hell are couch people? Are you hosting sofa aliens that will go nuts if the ornaments aren’t spread evenly across the tree?”

“Smart ass.” I rolled my eyes.

He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me down to the couch, onto his lap, where he proceeded to tickle me. “What did you call me?”

I giggled and tried to twist away, but his strong hands held me tight. “Stop it. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Pfft. You can’t hurt me.”

“You’re upsetting the sofa aliens.” I laughed harder.

“Beg for mercy.”

“Never!” I wheezed breathlessly.

“Beg for mercy.” He slid a hand under my silky blouse and tickled my belly.

“Mercy! Mercy!” I cried.

He immediately stopped his onslaught. My breathing took a few minutes to get in order, but my heart continued to pound as Colton’s humorous demeanor turned serious and his chocolate gaze melted my bones. I froze, unable to turn away, as our game instantly morphed from playful to erotic. His touch turned firm and glided along my torso, stroking the soft flesh below the bra line. For once, libido overruled my good sense and instead of pushing him away, I shivered with anticipation.

Unhurriedly, he eased down to graze my lips. The contact electrified me, sending zings throughout my body, making me tremble. A delicate sigh escaped as his teeth nipped along my jawline before returning to my mouth, this time applying gentle pressure. I opened for him and quietly moaned as his torrid tongue swept along mine, tasting and exploring. My hand glided along his velvet-soft clipped hair, and he shuddered. The tender and undemanding kiss warmed my body and created a molten glow in my nether regions. Eventually, it drew to a close and we broke apart. Silent, we gazed, trying to gauge the other’s reaction. My breath slowed to normal and Colton pulled away.

“Some things never change,” I uttered and touched my swollen lips.

“You’re not going to slap me, are you?”

“Smart ass.”

“Gotta put those extra brains somewhere.” He flashed a smile.

We were pathetic. Neither one of us knew what to do about the kiss. It was so different from Saturday’s near miss, full of hormones and regrets.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.