“Are you crying?” She gasped.
“No.”
I totally was.
I hadn’t expected this gift at all, and I definitely couldn’t have anticipated my reaction. The only picture I had of them was the lone one I’d taken the day at the house. Now I had many pictures—and not just of my parents and sister, but Kyle and Sutton too, because they were my family as well. Family wasn’t defined by the blood running through your veins. It could also be the people that came into your life and left a profound mark on your soul. Kyle had done that by not abandoning me like everyone else and Sutton had done it by not judging me. She might want me to change now, but she still didn’t judge me for my misgivings. She wanted better for me, and wasn’t that what everyone wanted when they loved someone?
I reached over, cupping the nape of her neck, and drew her lips to mine. The kiss was slow and sweet, noticeably tender. Her body trembled. I loved the way she reacted to me—how her pulse raced, her long lashes fluttering against her sculpted cheekbones, and how when she wanted me to do more her tongue would slowly slip out from between her plump lips to wet their surface. She was doing all those things now. But I wasn’t going there, not yet at least. I wanted to give her the Christmas she was missing out on with her family.
“There’s something else I got you…well, us.” I shrugged, watching as her eyes slowly opened, displaying dilated irises sparkling with lust.
“Really?” She hummed. “Can it wait?”
“No,” I chuckled, pulling her hand from my shirt. “It can’t, but this can.”
“I don’t want to wait,” she pouted.
I stood and pulled the item from my back pocket. She took it and studied it for a second. I hadn’t bothered to wrap it.
“Miracle on 34th Street? You want to watch a movie?” She regarded me as if I had lost my mind.
“It was a family tradition in my house,” I explained. “I know you’re feeling bad about not being with your family and I thought I’d share something from mine with you…” I trailed off, scratching the back of my head.
“Oh,” she breathed. “This is…”
“It’s dumb I know,” I groaned, reaching for the movie to take it back.
“No.” She wrapped her arms around it, refusing to let me take it. “We’re going to watch it.”
“It’s okay, Sutton. I can tell you’re not into it, it’s fine.” I grabbed her arms, trying to get her to relinquish it.
She catapulted over the back of the couch, belly flopping on the other side. “Ow,” she groaned.
“Did you really jump over the side of the couch to get away from me?” I covered my mouth with my hand to suppress my laughter. With my knees on the couch, I peered down at her lying on the floor. She’d rolled onto her back, that damn movie still in one hand. Her hair fanned around her and she rubbed her forehead. She was definitely going to get a knot on her head from that.
“I did,” she mumbled. “I’m not very graceful.”
“That’s obvious,” I laughed.
She glared up at me. “If you were nice, you’d tell me that I was graceful. Like a swan.”
“Ah, but I’m not nice,” I smirked. Crossing my arms along the back of the couch, I leaned forward to peer at her on the floor. “In fact, I’m very, very bad.”
Her laughter filled the air as she finally sat up. “You’re lucky I’m a sucker for hot bad boys.”
“Lucky, huh?”
“Yeah,” she chimed, clambering to her feet. Pointing to her body, “You get to experience all this awesomeness on a daily basis. Most people would consider that lucky. I hear I’m a hot commodity. Exotic, even.” She shimmied her hips, doing a little dance.
“You know,” I grinned slowly, “I’ve seen your lap dance skills, but I’ve never experienced it on a personal level.”
She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Down boy.”
“Oh, so now you want to watch the movie?” I threw my hands in the air and flopped down on the couch as she popped the DVD into the player.
The movie started up and after she’d popped some popcorn, she settled against me on the couch. She stretched her body over top mine and placed the bowl on the floor within reach.
“Comfortable?” I asked.