Page 78 of The Forever Christmas Tree

“I’m starting to like Laura a little bit more,” he said with a smile.

“You should.”

Deep inside, he knew this was a mistake. Continuing this relationship, which wasn’t really a relationship, was a sure road to disappointment and worse. If he had a lick of sense, he’d end things now with a kiss good-bye. It’s been fun. Sayonara.

But his desire for Wendy overrode everything, especially something as boring as common sense.

With a sudden burst of joyous laughter, he twirled her around to whatever song the band was playing. He couldn’t tell for the buzzing in his ears. She was laughing joyously, too.

“Merry Christmas to me!” he said, taking the key in hand. Then he put a fake doleful expression on his face, just like Harvey when he was up to no good. “But I don’t have a present for you. Well, actually, I do, but it’s not wrapped.”

“Maybe I could grab a hank of red ribbon off one of those wreaths on the way out, and I could tie a bow on it for you.”

He winked at her. “That’s a promise I’ll hold you to, sweetheart.”

Getting to know you, all over again . . .

Never, back in Coronado, when she’d been contemplating this visit back to Bell Cove, had Wendy imagined anything like this happening.

Oh . . . My . . . Goodness! Be . . . Still . . . My . . . Hormone-hammering. . . . Heart!

Can a person faint from lust overload?

She was standing in Laura’s bedroom being undressed, piece by agonizing piece of clothing, by Ethan, who whispered praise at each bit of skin he uncovered. When he was down on one knee, tugging off her silky scrap of bikini panties, he looked up at her, lazily, through half-lidded eyes, with those wonderfully long lashes, and groaned. “You make my balls sweat.”

“You romantic, you!” she countered. “But that’s good because you make my bones melt.” And a certain part of my body might be sweating, too.

Grinning, he gave a brief butterfly kiss to the crisp curls of her mons, then stood, still fully clothed, and surveyed her, head to toe, in her strappy silver high heels and nothing else. He nodded his approval, then ordered, “Don’t move.”

Stepping back, he began a slow striptease of his own for her. Oh, not the Magic Mike or Chippendale type. Just a removal of one item of clothing after another, with teasing slowness.

Is there anything sexier than a man taking off his cuff links and placing them carefully on a dresser, holding my eyes the whole time, alerting me to his carnal intentions?

Once totally nude, he walked up to her, so close she could feel the heat coming off his skin. His expression was serious, but he seemed to be happy. At least, his penis was happy.

He placed his fingertips on the pulse in her neck, or maybe he was touching her scar. He had a fascination for that war wound of hers. There were others, less conspicuous. Would he notice them?

Then, he trailed his fingers upward, running the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip, then tracing the seam of her mouth, parting her for a kiss. She was more than ready to comply and reached out to put her hands on his shoulders.

“No,” he said, placing her arms at her sides. “My game. My rules.”

Okaay.

With his fingers tunneling her hair, he bit her bottom lip gently, then not so gently, as his tongue invaded her mouth. At the same time, his hands began to search for all the pleasure points on her body, old and new. When he found them, he made a rough sound of triumph deep in his throat, then moved on in his agonizing exploration.

Each caress of his hands, each lick or suckle of his mouth inflamed her, moving her further and further up the scale of arousal. When his thumbs flicked her nipples, then he took them into his mouth, one after the other, her mewling sounds turned to incoherent pleas.

“If you don’t end this soon,” she gasped out, “I just might scream.”

“I feel like screaming, too,” he said and lifted her off the floor by the waist and walked them to the bed where she landed on her back with her shoes on the floor. Before she had a chance to blink, or question what he was up to, Ethan parted her legs with his knees and knelt, exposing her to his close scrutiny.

“Oh, no! Oh, wait! Ooooh!” She tried to sit up, to no avail.

He gripped her ankles and raised them to rest on the edge of the bed, still in those silver high heels. Then he spread her even wider and made love to her there where liquid pleasure pooled, just for him.

His ragged breath against her was the only indication that he was as aroused as she was.

Her inner walls fluttered, then morphed into soft spasms that had her tensing her legs and undulating reflexively against his mouth which was wet with her. She was too far gone to be embarrassed. The sweet burn became a flickering flame as he cupped her bottom tipping her up, and his tongue found and lightly worked her clitoris.