“Jackie says she’ll give you a call in a few days.”
I place my hand on my hips. “How do you know I was done with our call?”
He smirks. “I doubt you want Jackie to hear what I plan on doing to you,” he says right before lunging for me. He captures my mouth with his again and grips my hips with his hands, pulling me entirely into his body.
A tingling starts in my fingertips, moving up the length of my arms, and before I know it, it’s warming my entire belly. I intertwine my hands around Neil’s neck, anchoring myself to him and letting my fingers play in the long strands of his hair.
He walks us against a wall, and his hands begin to push up underneath the sweater I’m wearing, but I force myself to pull back.
“No, we can’t get too carried away right now. You said you were going to help me finish these cookies so I can mail them out first thing in the morning.”
“Did I say that?” He trails his nose down the length of my neck, stopping every inch or so to plant a kiss here or there.
“Y-Yes,” I manage to whisper. “Neil.”
He plants one final kiss on the same spot that always sends a shiver throughout my body before pulling back. “I did make you a promise. And I pride myself on being a man of my word.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
I pivot on my heels and head into my tiny kitchen, feeling him directly behind me. “It’s going to get hot in here. I suggest you take that off.” I nod in the direction of his body toward the coat he’s still wearing.
“Desi, I barely managed to keep myself from mauling you in your living room. If you want these damn cookies baked,I’d suggestyou choose your words more carefully.”
I smirk as I bite my bottom lip, staring at the warning gleam in his eyes. However, he does as I’ve said and removes his coat, carrying it out to the living room. Meanwhile, I take off the sweater, leaving me in a white camisole and jeans. Turning on the oven to let it preheat, I gather the ingredients from my counter.
“What’re we starting with?” Neil asks as he re-enters the kitchen.
Glancing over my shoulder, I take in the way he fills out the dark blue T-shirt he must’ve had on underneath the black sweater I saw peeking out under his coat.
“The chocolate truffle cookies because they take the longest, and I already prepared the dough for the gingerbread cookies. I’ve been letting it sit out since I got home from work. We’ll end with the chocolate chip cookies since those I can practically do with my eyes closed and one hand tied behind my back.”
I turn when I hear Neil make what sounds like a painful groan behind my back.
“Babe,” he says, approaching me and dropping his arms to my bare shoulders. He squeezes a little. “Now you’re talking about tying hands behind your back. You don’t want me to let you finish making these cookies, do you?” He lowers, dropping a kiss to the back of my neck.
I shiver and laugh at the same time. “My bad. I’ll try to be more careful about my wording as we work.”
“That’s all I ask. Don’t want you pissed at me because your orders went out late.”
I shake my head. “Maybe this will do the trick. Alexa, play my Christmas list.” It doesn’t take long for the air to fill with the sounds of Christmas music. I added everything from Mariah Carey to Michael Bublé to Donnie Hathaway and even some TLC in there. I love Christmas music, especially while in the kitchen creating.
“Okay, for these, I need you to stir together all of the dry ingredients,” I tell Neil.
“I don’t usually like being told what to do, but you … I’ll let you boss me around.” Leaning down, he plants a quick kiss on my lips.
We busy ourselves with stirring, mixing, and adding from one bowl to another. Truthfully, I could’ve done all of this on my own. Most of the time, I prefer to be in the kitchen by myself. However, with Neil, I don’t mind. His presence adds something that I never even realized was missing.
For the most part, he stands back and watches me as I work, which is what I prefer, though I don’t want him to leave. Even with my back to him and my attention on making the gingerbread men with my cookie cutter, I can feel his eyes on me. His gaze is like a caress all along the backside of my body. However, I don’t dare turn around to look at him. If I do, finishing these cookies and getting these orders out will be the last thing on my mind.
“You’ve got a lot done,” he says minutes later when I place the last batch of gingerbread cookies into the oven. He presses his front body against my back, wrapping his arms around me from behind.
“We got a lot done.”
He makes a disparaging noise at the back of his throat. “Let’s be real, Desi, you could’ve gotten all of this done without my help. Probably faster, too.”
Laughing, I turn to face him. “But it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun.” Reaching up on my tiptoes, I brush my lips against his.
“I know something else that’ll be fun.” The huskiness of his tone makes it clear what he has in mind.
