Spicy with a Side of Cranberry Sauce (7 page)

“Then just let it be. I know you’re angry. And that you won’t tell me why. Frankly it’s not really any of my business. But please just let them be happy, Mason. Please.” She knew she was pleading, and she knew he hadn’t told her the real reason he was angry. Their being here couldn’t be that much of a deal for him. His parents hadn’t been together in over a year, and from what Martha had said, Mason was no big fan of his dad. But she didn’t know what else would explain his anger.

She picked up three cans of fruit cocktail and headed to the pantry. She couldn’t open the door with her hands full. Mason came to the rescue and opened it. The hinges creaked softly.

“Thanks,” she said.

He remained silent as he walked back to the island and grabbed more supplies. He stacked them neatly on the shelves, and she picked up the turkey pan. It had been on top of the fridge.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Why is it I’m always apologizing around you?” he said.

“Well, if you weren’t such an ass about everything, there’d be nothing to apologize for.” She grinned at him, and he laughed.

She reached up to put the turkey pan back and felt Mason’s eyes on her from behind. Her stomach muscles tightened. She was standing in the spot of their first kiss. Their
only
kiss, she reminded herself. The turkey pan started to slip from her fingers as she let her mind wander.

He sucked air between his teeth, and then he was inches behind her.

“Let me help you with that,” he said. He slid his fingers along the edge of the tin and pushed it safely on top of the fridge. With her luck, she would have dropped it and woken the whole house. Mason’s fingers gripped the fridge above her head as she splayed her hand on the side of the stainless steel.

“Shit,” he whispered.

She pushed back against him. But this time it was in desire, not anger. She couldn’t help it. From the minute he’d released her on the dance floor, she’d ached to be in his arms again. He groaned and leaned in against her. The soft hair of his chest tickled the back of her neck. She could see his elbow in her peripheral vision. She shivered as he lifted her hair and kissed her shoulder.
Yes
, her body screamed even as her brain urged caution. She didn’t know how he’d react this time, and she wasn’t sure she could take his rejection again, even though she knew it was stupid to pursue this thing with him. She had to be careful.

She’d never been very good at careful.

He stepped closer, sliding his leg between hers until his foot stopped at the edge of the fridge. Her bottom rested on the top of his strong thigh. His tongue swirled against her skin as he clenched her hair in his hand. She groaned, completely at his mercy and loving it. Still using one hand to keep from face-planting into the fridge, she slid the other down beside her and massaged his thigh.

He moaned her name and tugged at her earlobe with his teeth. Amy was glad for his leg keeping her upright as his mouth returned to her neck and locked on gently, sucking, nibbling. She moved her hand up, gliding it between them and cupping his erection. The leg between hers buckled, and she tightened her thighs around it to keep them both from falling.

Mason pulled back from her, slipping his leg out from between hers and releasing his grip on her hair and the fridge. She turned to face him. His pupils were dilated, his lips parted, his breathing fast and shallow. The hard length of him tented the front of the soft pants. He wanted her. Just as much as she wanted him.

“What do you say we take this upstairs?” she whispered. Why had she suggested that? It was clear that even though he wanted her, he was pushing her away at every turn.

He leaned over and clicked off the kitchen light. “That’s a very bad idea.”

His words said one thing, but the fingers trailing up and down her body told a different story. She wanted him. More than she’d wanted anyone in a very long time.
Screw it
. They were all adults. She wasn’t going to deny herself his touch any longer. And she was going to force his hand. He had to make up his mind. Now. Yes or no. Maybe wasn’t on the table anymore.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to hers. When she licked across his bottom lip, he opened his mouth. Whatever he was afraid of, they could deal with it later. She wouldn’t let his fear get the better of him. He cupped her ass through the thin cotton of her shorts and lifted her in his arms. Keeping her mouth locked on his, she crossed her ankles at the small of his back.

She swirled her tongue inside his mouth, plundering, exploring. Even as he kissed her senseless, he carried her across the kitchen to the stairs. He took one step up and stumbled. Amy released her grip on him and slid down his body, breaking the kiss. Standing on the step above him, she stared straight into his eyes. She could still see the wariness mixed with longing there.
Come on, Mason. Choose.

She ran her hands through his thick curls. His goatee and shadowed beard left her skin raw from his kisses. But she didn’t care.

“Screw what happens in the morning, Mason.” Moving closer, she caressed his lower abdomen, just above the waistband of his pants, searching for what she really wanted. And waiting for him to stop her. But he let her push him and turn them both so that his back was to the opening of the stairs. If she took him up to the bedroom, he might keep thinking too much.

He shook his head. “I can’t just ignore what—”

She silenced his protest with a kiss and hooked a leg behind his, lowering him to sit on the second step. He pulled away from her and held her wrists in his hands.

She pouted, and he smiled. Pouting never worked on her, but it seemed to soften him right up. He pushed his fingers against her palms, and she tugged her hands free. When she shimmied out of her shorts and panties, his eyes widened.

“What are you… We can’t. Not here.”

She grinned. Oh, yes, they could. And she would show him just how good breaking his rules could feel. He licked his lips and looked at her as she pulled her tank top off and tossed it on the floor. He closed his mouth and stopped breathing for a second.

“God,” he whispered.

She stepped closer and straddled his hips. Her knees rested against the hard wood of the stairs, and she sat down on his thighs. The soft fabric of his pajama pants caressed her legs, her sex. He wrapped his arms around her, running his fingers up and down her back.

Yes.

He’d decided. She lifted herself to her knees and pulled at his bottoms. He thrust his hips up so she could remove the last piece of fabric daring to separate them. She gazed at his cock. The pink skin was heavily veined and begging to be sheathed. It reached for her, tall and searching between their bodies.

He held her hips, keeping her from sliding down his hard length the way she wanted to.

“Condom.”

Shit. She knew she’d forgotten
something
. If they went in search of one now, he’d no doubt let his mind take over again. She bit her bottom lip, delighted when his eyes zeroed in on her mouth.

“I’ve always used them. Never once without them. You?” he asked.

She nodded. “Always. And I’m on the pill.” Which she pretty much always remembered to take. She smiled. Could they really do this?

He shifted, seeming to take her at her word, and guided the head of his cock to the heat of her entrance.

“You sure?” he said.

If he expected her to stop once she was committed to something, he had a lot to learn about her. She nodded and moaned at the stretching warmth as he pushed the head of himself in just a little. The feeling of skin on skin was intense. She’d never realized how different it would be without the latex.

“Shh,” he whispered, capturing her lips with his as he flexed his hips, sending that delicious length farther into her. She lowered her pelvis, delighting in the feel of him. She kissed him again and again, keeping her mouth fused with his to stop from crying out as he filled her fully.

She rocked gently against him, and he groaned into her mouth.

“Hush,” she admonished and bit his lip. His hips jerked beneath hers. Oh, he liked that. She moved her head to the side, kissing and nibbling his chin, biting harder when he gasped and moaned. The rough stubble against her lips and tongue overwhelmed her with sensation. She kissed her way down his chest as she began lifting and lowering in a fast rhythm. She’d wanted him from the minute she’d looked up at his bearded grin and bright blue eyes.

He clamped his mouth shut on another groan.

“Good boy,” she whispered against his nipple. She took it between her teeth and moved her lower jaw from side to side. He thrust up hard, holding tightly to both of her ass cheeks as he pounded into her. She licked his nipple, then closed her mouth around it and sucked hard.

He groaned again, and she tried to stop, tried to still their movements and contain her gasps of pleasure. She was so close to the edge and feared she might scream. It had been too long since she’d tried to be quiet while having sex. But his fingers dug into the flesh of her ass, moving her in a faster rhythm. She closed her lips around the other nipple, using her right hand to play with the one she’d left.

“Amy…I’m…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence. He clamped his mouth shut against his screams. He orgasmed, thrusting into her again and again. She rode him as he quivered beneath her. He slammed her down hard onto him, and she bit his nipple to keep from crying out.

Mason held his breath, trying to bring his heart rate back to normal. He exhaled hard, fearing he might explode. Amy’s head rested against his sweaty shoulder, her blonde hair sticking to his bicep. He moved his hands gently up from her rear to the small of her back. She squirmed in his arms.

“Shh,” he whispered against her hair. He kissed the top of her head, and she sighed. He wanted to stay like this through Christmas, but that wasn’t possible. She seemed to sense him getting ready to pull back from her and tell her what a horrible lapse in judgment he’d had. And that it wouldn’t happen again.

He had never before broken a promise to his mother.

Amy sat up in his arms and smiled, and he forgot all his declarations that this had to be a one-time deal. That they couldn’t continue. He didn’t do relationships, after all. She kissed the tip of his nose, then nuzzled the side of his neck. She licked his earlobe, and he jerked inside her. Her muscles clenched around his shaft.

“That didn’t take long,” she said against his ear.

Excuse me?

She laughed a little, the movement surrounding him with warmth again, and he forgot to be offended.

“I meant seducing you…not the sex.” She rose onto her knees and slowly pulled herself from his arms and into a standing position.

She’d set out to seduce him? Since when? She’d been jumping down his throat at every turn since they’d first been in this kitchen together. He just couldn’t get his bearings with her. Everything was so damned topsy-turvy. She padded across the tiles toward the island, and he tracked her every movement in the dim light. Her rounded butt looked even better out of her jeans, and it swayed with every step she took, begging to be touched. His gaze traveled down her legs to her petite, highly arched feet. They were smaller than they’d seemed in her biker boots. His perusal continued up to her backside and the curve of her lightly tanned hips, along her back and to her slender shoulders where blonde hair danced over her skin. She snatched a few paper towels from the holder and turned toward him.

Uh-oh, he’d gotten caught staring. He returned his gaze to her face. She didn’t seem to mind being stared at. After handing him a paper towel, she cleaned her legs and the juncture of her thighs, and his cock threatened to come back to life. He looked away before he lunged at her again. She bent to slip her pink panties and shorts back on. He wiped himself quickly and then pulled on his pants. Even the soft fabric chafed against his sensitive skin. They tossed the paper towels in the garbage.

“So,” she said. He handed her the tank top she’d been wearing, and she put it on. Such a shame to cover up those perfect breasts. “I guess if we want to cuddle, we should probably do that upstairs, huh?”

How did he tell her that would be an even worse idea?

“Right, there’s not going to be any cuddling, is there?”

Jeez, she was perceptive. Or maybe he was just too easy to read. Why did he lose his cool so much around her?

“Uh,” he said.

“It’s okay.” She reached up and brushed the curls from his forehead, then kissed him. He tried to keep the kiss sweet and light the way she’d started it, but he was licking the salt from her lips and drawing her into his arms a second after her lips touched his. They held each other tight as their tongues swirled together.

She was the one to break the kiss, pulling back from him and stepping out of his arms. Amy grabbed him by the hand and led him to the stairs. He’d never be able to look at them the same way again. What would his mother say if she knew? God, she’d expressly told him to leave Amy alone, and he’d gone and screwed that up big-time. But he let Amy lead him silently up the stairs anyway. She stopped outside his door and pushed her body against his once more.

She looked up at him and released his hand to run her fingers through his hair. She grinned and licked her lips, then gave him a peck on the cheek.

Night
, she mouthed to him.

“G’night,” he whispered back. She padded the few feet down the hall to her room without another word or a glance behind her. He’d never had a woman clear out so quickly after sex before. He turned and smacked his face right into his door. Biting his lip to keep from swearing, he turned the handle and went into his room, then closed the door behind him. He looked at the clock. It was nearly three.

No doubt Mom would come in to shake him loose by seven at the latest. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his nerves the way his breathing and heart had slowed back to normal. But he didn’t feel normal. Nothing could be normal about this situation. He’d just had amazing sex on the staircase of his childhood home. What the hell had he been thinking? He hadn’t. For the first time in his life, he’d ignored common sense and possibly his conscience.