Didn’t know her last week? Fuck. I’ll never forget her for the rest of my life.
“For my Christmas gift this year, I wanna know what it’s like to kiss you anytime I like.” I nibble on her proud chin. “And if you’re feeling extra generous, you could put the elf suit on and bend over.”
She rolls her eyes. “You wanna kiss me all the time? Anytime?”
“Mmhm.” And I always was one of thosego get emkinda guys, so I suckle on her bottom lip and swallow her breathy, deliciously sexy sigh. “It’s what I wrote on my wish list this year.”
“You want to kiss in public?” She pulls back just far enough to show off a pair of dazzling, dancing eyes. “Where other people will see us?”
“Mmhm. My mom always said I was handsome, so let’s not pretend it’s embarrassing to be seen with me.”
She snorts. “Your mom certainly held a high opinion of you… according to you.”
“Uh huh. So, we got a deal?”
“Carter will be at the festival.” She drags her bottom lip between her teeth, not-so-subtly sucklingmeoff the swells. “I’m not sure where you’re from, but here, brothers and sisters don’t kiss with tongues.”
“Who gives a fuck what Detective Droops-A-Lot thinks?” A little on the audacious side, I slide my hand down and give her ass a gentle squeeze. “You don’t want him. Therefore, his opinion doesn’t matter.”
“And what of his opinion on the heist trio case?” She grabs my jaw between her fingers and pushes me back half an inch, searching my eyes. “That’s gotta matter, at least a little.”
“Not a single fuckin’ bit.” I dive in and nip at her smiling lips. “But since I care about you and your working reputation, what if we compromise? I get to kiss you anytime I like, and I might even touch your butt on the odd occasion?—”
Her eyes narrow.
“But I won’t be openly gross in front of your other boyfriend, since you feel weird about kissing your brother with tongue.”
Her cheeks fire with a delicious ripe blush.
“However,” I continue. “We are, in fact, double dating with Nick and Mel. Thus, I suggest to the court that holding your hand could totally be something brothers and sisters do in public.”
“Dean—”
“And swallowing your tongue could be something I enjoy when Detective Dumb Shit is otherwise occupied.” I surprise her by snatching the whiteboard, then flipping it over, I pull the marker from my pocket and scribble.
I’ll hold your hands, they’re just like ice.
Dropping a kiss on her stunned lips, I hand the board back and step around her, faster than she was expecting, forcing her to grab onto the porch railing or risk falling on her face.
“Head on over to Mel’s. Get your girly wedding stuff organized while I finish loading up the car.” I swing the front door open and pause on the threshold, turning in place and waiting for her dazed eyes to drift across and meet mine. “I’ll kiss you some more when you get back.”
THIRTEEN
ANNA
“They’re looking at me weird.” For the first time,ever,someone other than my dad or me drives the Road Runner, and even with Dean’s injured arm, he manages the gearstick smoothly, pulling into a space surprisingly close to the park in the middle of town.
Fairy lights dangle all over, filling the night sky with a rainbow of glittering color, and children race through the shadows while their parents waver between their desire for a fun evening and their desirenotto lose their kids on a bitterly cold evening.
An established Douglas fir spears thirty feet toward the clouds, creating the town’s centerpiece and the perfect canvas for the countless lights strung in preparation for tonight.
It’s beautiful out there, even before the tree is lit, but all I can focus on is the soft leather of the seat beneath my butt, and the violent trembling of my hands. The vicious thrumming of my heart. The slick of anxiety swirling in my belly.
I focus on the latter most of all.
“Everyone knows the sound of my car.” Shivering, I peek across in the dark and draw an aching breath. “They know I’m here, so now they’re staring.”
“Nah. They’re looking atme.” He cuts the engine and twists to meet my eyes. “Some strange motherfucker is driving Anna Maxwell’s Road Runner. They’d rather assume I stole it than accept you handed the keys over.”
