I could feel the movement of their kiss against my skin, and it was almost as though I were part of it. And then Declan twisted his head and took my mouth, sliding his tongue inside me and lighting me up.
As Declan kissed me deeply and I felt Erik’s hard body pressing into me, I might, possibly, have made a desperate sound in my throat. Whatever it was, it made Declan pull back and I tried to grab him and pull him back towards me but I was too slow.
He blinked at me, a slow smile pulling at his lips.
“I never thought—” he said, and then kissed me again, and then turned to kiss Erik again. It was as though he couldn’t doit enough, couldn’t feel us pressed against him hard enough to believe we were actually there.
As I let him kiss me and watched him kiss Erik, I wanted to cry with how happy I felt. I must have made another noise because both of them looked at me, their lips red and puffy from all the kissing, Erik’s dark eyes glazed.
“What is it? Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’m very happy. This is the best Christmas ever.”
Declan frowned as though he’d forgotten what Christmas was. “Oh yeah, what day is it?”
“Um…” I did the maths in my head. “Christmas Eve?”
I looked at Erik, as though he was the one who would know for sure. He gave a soft chuckle and said, “Yes, it’s Christmas Eve.
Declan’s face fell. “What’s the weather like?”
I eased back as the mood suddenly dipped. The heat that had been scorching me from the erotic tangling of limbs faded, so I stood up, clambering off the couch. I went to the front door and opened it.
A swirl of chilly air blew in and wrapped around my legs. Outside, the world was white and glittering.
“It’s stopped snowing,” I said, and slammed the door shut. “By the way, Erik, did you lock your front door last night?”
He shook his head. “I never lock it. People don’t come this way so I never bother.”
Declan had gone still, looking into the mid-distance. I stood, feeling awkward and wishing I hadn’t got up because then I’d still be pressed against both of them.
Erik turned to Declan. “What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“We talked about you not cutting yourself off. Sonny and I want to know what you’re thinking and feeling. We want to knowyou. Don’t freeze us out.”
Declan took a big breath. “I just realised that I need to go home by tomorrow. My mum has arranged a whole family Christmas and we need to be there.”
“You can go home,” said Erik. “Sonny said it’s stopped snowing. I could probably drive you over there today, if we took it slow and careful.”
“No!”
Erik reached up and cupped Declan’s face, looking deep into his eyes. “It’s okay. We’ll be safe. If you want to get home—”
“No, I don’t want to go. I-I mean I want to be there tomorrow, I guess. I love my parents and my mum’s put so much effort into this Christmas, and I know she’s done it for me but— I want to stay here for as long as possible.”
Erik stroked his fingers over Declan’s cheek, across the stubble that had grown over the past few days.
“Okay. How about you call your mum now and tell her that you’ll be there tomorrow morning? We can spend the day and night here, and I’ll drive you over tomorrow once the snow has started to melt a bit more.”
Declan nodded and stood up, using the arm of the couch to help him.
It was impossible not to hear what he said, when he called his parents. I sat beside Erik on the couch while Declan stood in the kitchen, as though that would give him any privacy, and we listened in silence, not touching.
When Declan said, “Yeah, we’ll be there tomorrow, Mum. Sonny’s been salivating over your Christmas pudding,” I leaned over and whispered to Erik.
“Lilian makes the absolute best Christmas pudding. It’s so alcoholic, you can’t breathe anywhere near an open flame for hours after you’ve eaten it.”
