“Did not.” Jack held a blown-up present to shield him from my wrath.
I swatted the darn gift out of my way and got ready to jab him in the middle of his chest.
“Did too, you son of a b—” I tripped over a wire.
I screamed and fell straight toward Jack. His face came closer to mine as he caught me in his arms, but he lost his balance from his damn hairy feet. We both toppled over into the snow. A fluffy white cloud surrounded us in the aftermath, right in the middle of his stupid blow-up mayhem.
Those toasty brown eyes peered up into mine while I was on top of Jack. I wasted no time and grabbed him right by the green suit while pulling his face closer to mine. Jack Timber would hear me, and he’d listen good.
“I hate you, and you despise me. That’s how it’s always going to be...” Our noses brushed, and his breath was hotagainst my lips. “But I won’t let you steal Christmas ideas from me. Admit your truth, Jack. Did you take my idea?”
“The only fucking admission I hate to make is how much I shouldn’t like my best friend’s daughter on top of me.” Jack stared at me with heated intensity. “That’s the goddamn honest truth, Elle.”
I blinked several times and realized Jack had his hands on my thighs, which were on either side of him. He had nowhere to go, trapped underneath me. I straddled him and couldn’t understand why the hell he felt so damn good, flush up against me with my tits pressing into his solid chest. I was extremely aware of how close he was.
My belly coiled, wrung tightly and dispersed a pent-up heat throughout my body. The fiery warmth went straight down to my toes, but my cheeks burned something awful. I was ignited by this goddamn man, who got on my every nerve and made me want to choke him—to smother him with my lips, which were much too close to his. A spark flashed between us, a forbidden electric current because Jack Timber was off-limits. He was my dad’s best friend and the enemy who I had never wanted to have anything to do with until this moment. The exact instant I wanted to kiss Jack.
“Mommy? What are you doing?” my daughter asked.
I gasped.
I let go of Jack’s dumb costume, and the back of his head hit the snow. White flakes fell onto his face, and he let out a curse. But I couldn’t breathe; I couldn’t fucking move.
“Ah, nothing...” I fumbled to formulate words. “Except stealing some candy.”
I reached into Jack’s pants pocket to grab some candy canes. My hand fumbled around until I grabbed onto a candy stick bigger than my hand—I couldn’t even wrap my fingers all the way around it—and it grew in my grasp. I had snagged his dick.
My eyes went wide.
Jack grinned up at me. “The candy canes are in my other pocket, Elle.”
I gasped and blushed as bright as a damn tomato baking out in the sunshine, completely embarrassed and flustered by the size of Jack. I had no fucking time to consider how I felt and took my hand out of his pocket. All I knew was I loathed him for letting me touch him, and I wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
As I sat up straight, Jack grabbed my wrist. He reached into his pocket to retrieve the candies for me, and I yanked them away from him. Without another thought, I rolled off him, completely surprised by whatever the hell had happened between us only seconds ago. In an instant, I regretted everything, and I wanted to take it back. I wasn’t supposed to feelanythingfor this miserable man, and he shouldn’t have a hard-on for me in his pants.
Oh, yuck. Gross!
But nothing about Jack Timber had been disgusting. He had been way too damn good.
I shot up out of the snow and headed toward our property line. I didn’t want to cross that boundary again because going onto the enemy’s territory had cost me. I had to ensure I didn’t make that mistake a second time.
“Keep your scheming off my property, Timber.” I glared over my shoulder.
“You got it,” Jack grumbled as he got up and brushed snow off him.
“Come on, Faith...” I guided her back to safety and handed her a candy stick. “Here’s your candy cane.”
I won this time against grumpy Jack Timber.Next time?I might not be as lucky.
My heart beat erratically, pounding while my cheeks flushed. I didn’t want to think about that unbearable man anymore. I slammed my door and tried to shut Jack out, but he wouldn’t leave my mind. Especially his cock, which had been the biggest dick I had ever experienced in my life.
SEVEN
Cold Hard Fact
Jack
Goddamn insufferable woman. She’d be the death of me. Christ.
