“Theo—” I hiss on a whisper between my clenched teeth, my face flaming at his bold, dangerous words. Butterflies erupt in my belly though. Because good lord, I want that. Yes please.
He chuckles, quiet and low and it sends shivers along my spine. His hands span my waist, settling between my ribs and my hip bones, and he squeezes once before stepping around me.
“I’m going to head home,” he announces to the room. Everyone turns toward him, and they all in turn give him good-bye hugs and final ‘Merry Christmas’ wishes. He turns towardme then, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. “The snow is still coming down pretty hard. Want me to give you a ride home? You’ve had several glasses of wine.”
“Oh, what a good idea,” Marnie says, nodding along with Mom.
“Thank you, Theo,” Mom said, patting his arm with a smile. “You’ve always been such a good boy.”
I roll my lips in between my teeth to keep from laughing out loud. I choke on the laugh though, coughing for real this time when his eyes find mine. The mischievous twinkle is gone from his eyes and that heated, burning gaze is back in full force.
“Come on, you lush, let’s get you home before you turn into a pumpkin.” His tone is teasing, but that look in his eyes is anything but. It makes me shiver again.
I cock one hip out and tilt my head up to look at him, my brows raised. “I’m no Cinderella.”
He steps closer, our family blissfully ignorant to the heat and tension radiating between the two of us. “Is there a princess that gets tied up and spanked for her smart mouth?”
“I’m not sure Disney would sanction that—”
He grips the point of my chin between his thumb and pointer finger, pushing my head up further. I can feel my pulse fluttering wildly in my neck, my chest. My breaths are choppy, though I’m trying my damndest to keep it steady. “I have a better way to handle this smart mouth, Noelle. By stuffing my cock between these lips and fucking your throat.”
My eyes widen and my mouth drops open in surprise. I lick my lips, my heart beating like a fucking drum in my ears. I’m both nervous and outrageously turned on at his filthy threat. Instinctively, I clench my thighs together to relieve some of the ache he’s built there.
And, being the smart-ass that I am, I whisper, “Prove it.”
Chapter Sixteen
Theo
The smile that pulls at my lips at her taunting whisper is wolfish at best. The woman has no idea what’s waiting for her when we get to her place. And she’s just given me the go-ahead.
Noelle Compton is mine tonight.
Fucking finally.
“Good night, family,” I call over my shoulder, pushing Noelle away from me before anyone sees just how close we are, the way our bodies are angled in toward each other, the way her hands tremble just slightly as she sets her wine glass down on the counter next to us.
“Do you need help carrying anything out?” Beau asks, stepping toward us.
I glance over my shoulder, giving him my best goofy grin and shake my head. “Nah. I got it. Thanks though.”
Noelle is back in the living room, gathering the gifts she’d received, my gift to her still wrapped where she’d left it when we’d all scrambled to follow Beau and Val earlier. Christ, it feels like a lifetime ago now.
“Do you want me to open this now?” she asks, holding up the flat gift. I shake my head, bending to pick up the gifts I’d been given as well. I snag one of the larger gift bags tossed into the corner of the room and start loading both our things into it. We’ll separate them later. Right now, I need to get her home and naked.
“You can open it later.” I pluck it out of her hands, sliding it into the gift bag. Clasping the front of her throat in my hand loosely, I tilt her face up toward mine. Seeing the way her pupils blow wide and that perfect pink mouth dropping open at the little show of dominance has my cock thickening behind the fly of my pants. Christ, I’ve been half hard most of the night. “I have something to prove first, don’t I, Angel?”
She simply nods, staring up at me. This is going to be fun. Corrupting my little Christmas Angel.
“Let’s go, Noelle.”
We’re out in the hallway, slipping on jackets and boots, and then I grab her hand and pull her out the door with me. The snow hasn’t slowed in the slightest, and my car is already half buried in the white fluff. I make sure she gets into the passenger seat, hand her my keys, and then place the bag of our gifts in the back, grabbing the snow brush off the backseat at the same time. As I clear off the back window, I see her lean over the console and start the ignition, then adjust the thermostat. I make my way around the vehicle, brushing the snow off as quick as I can, then slide into the driver’s seat. Tossing the snow brush behind us, I look over at her as she turns to face me, her eyes hooded and those pink lips parted just slightly.
“Fuck it,” I mutter, grabbing hold of her face and pulling her across the console toward me.
The inside of the car is still cold and her skin is cool against my fingers, but the air is blowing full blast, and I know within minutes it’s going to be nice and toasty in here. Her mouthcrashes into mine, and I don’t hesitate a second to push my tongue between her lips. The throaty, muffled moan that escapes her is music to my ears. We kiss until we’re both breathless, and then I kiss her some more. I can’t stop. I’ve wanted this, wanted her, for so fucking long. I already know that tonight is going to fucking ruin me.
“Holy shit,” she whispers when I finally pull away, dragging the pad of my thumb across her now kiss swollen bottom lip. I press my forehead against hers, rolling it there several times as I work to reign in my need for her. “Theo.”
