Christmas Ever After (Puffin Island 3)

He licked deep into her mouth, the erotic stroke of his tongue creating an electrifying, intoxicating rush of sensation that swept over her in waves. He kissed her until her limbs weakened and she knew that if she’d been standing, she would have fallen.

Unbalanced, she closed her hand over his biceps and felt the solid swell of muscle under the soft wool of his clothing.

She was so desperate to touch him that she slid her other hand under his sweater, yanking his shirt out of his jeans. Then her hand was running down the smooth skin of his stomach, and she felt the ripple of muscle and tendon against her burning palm, before she lowered her hand to the thick ridge pressing through the fabric. As she closed her hand around him, he groaned and dragged his mouth from hers. “We’re not supposed to be doing this.”

Dizzy with longing she tried to focus. “What?”

“One night, you said.” He growled the words, his gaze on her mouth. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“It hasn’t happened. It’s still just the one time. Or five times. Six if you count—”

“Shut up.” He released her and gave her a searing look. “If you don’t stop talking I’ll—”

“You’ll what?”

“I’ll do something that is going to get us both arrested. Do you want to spend Christmas in a police cell?”

“That depends.” She loved talking with him, the banter, the fun. It was something she’d never been able to do with Richard. “Would you be there? Would they make us wear clothes?”

His eyes gleamed and he twisted the rope of her hair into his hand and pulled her face back to his. “Are you going to stop talking anytime soon?”

“I can try, but I don’t want to make promises I may not be able to keep. Talking is one of my favorite things. You’d better just drop me off at my hotel room and leave me there. Then I can talk to myself and sing while I’m naked in the shower and I won’t be bothering anyone.”

“Do you want to swap seats and drive back to London?”

“Sit on the wrong side of the car and drive on the wrong side of the road in snow? I don’t think so.”

“Then sit still, keep your eyes forward and your hands in your lap, do not speak or interact with me in any way and I will try to drive us there without incident.” He eased away from her and shook his head slightly.

His self-discipline fascinated her. “Define ‘interact’—”

“You’re interacting right now.”

“Sorry.” She decided that “interacting” with Alec could easily become one of her favorite pastimes. “You’re very tense.”

“That tends to happen when a woman tries to seduce me when I’m driving in snow and ice.”

“Er, you were the one who pulled off the road and kissed me. I was minding my own business—”

“You were telling me you’d be naked.”

“Well, you’ve already seen me naked, Alec, from pretty much every angle, so that really shouldn’t be enough for you to risk blowing out a tire and having to call a tow truck.”

“I said ‘no talking.’”

“I’m silent. Not a word. I’m taking a vow of silence until we reach London.”

“Good. You can start right after you cancel your hotel room.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in and when they did she assumed she’d misheard him. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“Where will I sleep?”

“You won’t be sleeping. You’ll be in a state of active wakefulness. Make the call.”

Her chest felt tight and her breathing was shallow. There were a thousand reasons why what he was suggesting was a bad idea.