I gesture to the cooler bag. “It’s got plenty of ice.”
CJ’s aunt claps her hands together. “Oh, I can’t wait. Let’s go ahead and get everything together, shall we? I was just about to pull the ham out of the oven.”
While she does that, and Matt and his uncle head into the living room, I pull a storage container with premade appetizers out.
“Babe, why don’t you take some of these out to Matt and your uncle?” I suggest, popping the lid off.
She grabs a plate and peers into the container, cocking her head to the side. “What is it?”
“Pears with blue cheese and prosciutto.” She pulls a face, so I take one out and offer it to her. “Try one.”
She gives me a skeptical glance, but accepts it and pops it in her mouth anyway. And then she moans. Damnit. I shake my head at her and she smiles widely like she knows exactly what she’s doing. She goes up on her toes and gives me a quick kiss.
“Okay, you win. That was amazing.”
I wink at her and lean in close. “If you moan like that again, you’ll be the one ‘winning’ next.”
She wrinkles her nose at me, giving a pointed glance toward her aunt. Then with an exasperated sigh, she pops a few on a plate and heads into the living room.
Her aunt comes over. “May I?”
“Of course.”
She tries one and instead of moaning, she closes her eyes and makes yummy noises.
“Glad you like them,” I say.
She opens her eyes and points at them. “You’re going to show me how to make these, right?”
“Absolutely, but there’s really nothing to them,” I tell her.
She eyes the cooler bag on the floor behind me. “What else do you have in your bag of tricks?”
“Frisée, bacon, and goat cheese salad,” I tell her. “And something special for later. But don’t tell CJ, it’s a surprise.”
Her eyes go wide and she leans in conspiratorially.
I drop my voice. “It’s a gingersnap cherry cheesecake from our pastry chef.”
Her aunt straightens up and gives me an impressed look. “I think you’ll fit in just fine around here, Drew.”
She puts me straight to work in the kitchen helping get everything ready to bring to the table. CJ rejoins us, but mostly just watches us work.
Finally, when Mrs. Roberts heads into the dining room with the last of the plates, CJ approaches me. She puts her hands on my chest and looks up at me.
“You guys work really well together,” she says softly.
I reach up and stroke a thumb over her cheek. “I like her a lot.”
“And she likes you.”
“She seems too nice to not like anyone,” I point out.
CJ laughs. “True. But she especially likes you. Not that I blame her.” She goes on her toes to press her lips against mine, then pulls back and winks at me. I let her lead me by the hand to the table.
Dinner goes extremely well, and everyone even manages to stay away from discussing all of the horrible things CJ and I went through. Instead, it’s light and fun and feels like I’ve always been here. It’s a nice change of pace from the way things have been lately.
After dinner we play board games. Even Matt. That’s a trip. I sense a subtle shift in his attitude toward me. At least, I hope I’m reading him right. That is, until I win the family’s annual Christmas sweater contest. He seems a little put out by that, but I kind of suspect they just gave me the win to be nice. Still, it gives me a chuckle to see him get his panties a little twisted over it.
Later, when CJ’s aunt and uncle head to bed, they make a point of saying how their room is all the way across the house from CJ’s room, which is just off the living room. Matt rolls his eyes and I resist asking where his room is. Thankfully, when they go, he heads down a hall that leads to the other end of the house, only on the bottom floor instead of the top.
Alone at last, CJ and I sit on the couch, admiring the shifting Christmas lights in the dim room.
“You ready for bed?” she asks suggestively.
With a grin, I rise, offering her my hand. She takes it, and I pull her under the mistletoe. “In a minute,” I tell her. “First, I need to do this.” I lean down, capturing her lips with mine. I cup her face, taking my time tasting her, and when I pull back she groans in protest.
“Why’d you stop?” she objects.
“I just wanted to look at you. To commit this moment to memory,” I explain, languidly running my thumb over her cheek. “You never know. This could be our last kiss under the mistletoe. From now on, I want to enjoy everything like it’s my last time doing it.”
A slow smile spreads over her beautiful face, and she grabs me, pulling me in close. Her mouth is searing hot on mine, her tongue pushing between my lips. Can’t say I mind, and I open to her easily. The fervent strokes of her tongue against mine mix with the sparks shooting from her hands over the skin of my forearms, lights dancing behind my eyelids.
When she pulls away, I’m the one who groans in protest this time.
“I’m glad you have a new appreciation for life,” she tells me. “But this is just our first kiss under the mistletoe. Trust me.”
I smile so hard I can feel it crinkling the corners of my eyes. “Good to know,” I murmur. And then I scoop her up and wrap her legs around me as I carry her toward the bedroom. She squeals with delight. “Now let’s go see if it’s the first or last time I fuck you in this bedroom.”
She writhes in my arms, her mouth finding mine as I close the door behind us and we crash onto the bed.
She breaks off the kiss as I grind into her core. “Just … quietly …” she pleads between pants.
“I don’t think I’m the one you have to worry about,” I tease.
She glares at me as my hands skate up her thighs. “I can be quiet,” she whispers.
I cock an eyebrow, rub my erection firmly between her thighs, and she moans. “Can you?” I challenge her.
She bites into her lip and nods. So I do it again. She arches but barely makes a noise. “Mmmm, let’s see,” I murmur.
I slip my fingers under her panties and tease her gently. She bucks and twists, but stays quiet.
My fingers work their way over her clit, then slide deep in. Her cheeks bloom with color and her mouth opens, but still no noise.
So I push the limits, pulling her panties aside with my other hand and flicking her clit with my tongue while I fingerfuck her.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” she chants quietly. Her chant continues as I go harder, faster, until she goes silent and clenches around me.
Forgetting myself, I let out a moan at how fucking sexy she looks coming for me.
Her eyes snap open and she shakes her head at me. “Punishment time,” she whispers.
I can’t help but grin. “Oh, bring it on, baby,” I goad.
She sits up and abruptly unzips me, her plump lips descending on my cock with a speed that makes me gasp. I fight moaning as I expand in her hot mouth, as her tongue swirls around me.
I fist her hair, being careful not to pull as she slides up and down my shaft, making me harder on every pass. But when she clamps her hand around the base and starts sucking the tip, I almost cry out and come right there, but reining myself in stops the orgasm in its tracks.