More than Once

18

Neither had Trish, obviously. Luckily her parents seemed oblivious.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll be here in the morning. Thanks.”

Becca’s fingers found the bulge in my jeans, which had sprung to life at her touch, and she slid her fingers along it through the fabric. I cleared my throat and shifted, hoping it wasn’t obvious to anyone else at the table. Damn, she was naughty, doing this right under her parents’ noses. I f*****g loved it.

“This wine is really nice,” David said. “You’re not drinking any, Brett?”

It took me a second to realize he was talking to me, both because of the name and because his daughter’s hand was in my lap. “No, sir. I have to drive home.”

“You’re so responsible,” Evelyn said, flashing Becca a proud look. “But what about the storm, dear? I haven’t seen it snow this much in December in years!”

“Not sure the roads will be safe to drive on,” David said, nodding. “It’s getting pretty bad out there.”

Trish’s eyes seemed to gleam, and she grinned. “You should stay with us tonight. You’re coming back in the morning, after all, and we have a spare room you could sleep in. The bed is covered in gift wrap, but we can fix that right up.” It might have been my imagination, but I’m pretty sure she winked at Becca when she said that.

I shook my head. “Please don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine driving home.”

“No, that is a wonderful idea,” Evelyn said. “Then you can have some wine with your pie, and you won’t have to drive in this dreadful weather.”

I was about to argue the point when Becca squeezed me in a way that made it hard to think. “You should definitely stay tonight,” she said.

“Is that so?” I found myself sliding my hand over to her lap, inching up her dress. Her legs were bare under it, and I slowly smoothed my thumb across the inside of her soft thigh. I’d never done anything like this before, under a table with people only inches away, but she always brought out something wild in me. She parted her legs, giving me better access, and I rubbed against her panties, feeling how wet they were already.

“Yes,” Becca said, her voice breathy. “Stay.”

“It’s settled, then,” Evelyn said, beaming at us. “You’ll sleep here tonight.”

“Let me pour you some wine,” David said, already reaching for the bottles. “White or red?”

“Red. Will you be staying, too?” I asked them. I wasn’t sure I could do all the things I wanted to do to Becca if her parents were under the same roof.

David poured me a full glass of red and sat back. “No, we only live a block away. We’ll be fine getting home.”

“That’s convenient.” I took a sip while I teased Becca under the table. When my finger dipped under the elastic to seek her out, she let out a soft gasp and dropped her fork. I tried to hide my grin and failed. From the way Trish’s eyebrows darted up, she had a pretty good idea what we were doing.

We finished our pies and everyone began to move into the living room to sit around the Christmas tree, but thanks to Becca, I needed a moment to calm down.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I said, standing up from the table. I tried to maneuver with my napkin so no one could see the tent in my jeans, then asked for directions to the restroom.

“I’ll show you,” Becca said, eyeing the front of my pants and licking her cherry red lips.

So much for calming down.

She led me down a hallway, and the Christmas music and conversation faded to a low hum. “Thanks for helping me tonight,” she said in a quiet voice. “And I’m sorry about my parents. They mean well, but they’re so desperate for me to get married and knocked up they don’t know when they’re crossing the line.”

“It’s fine. They’re good people and they clearly want the best for you.”

“You definitely impressed them. They’ll be so upset when I tell them we’ve broken up.”

“Hey, don’t forget you owe me a date. And after that, maybe you’ll want a second one. But we can figure that out later.”

She stopped and grabbed my tie, sliding her hand down it and pulling me toward her. “I haven’t forgotten. But I also haven’t forgotten that you don’t want anything serious.”

I didn’t. I really didn’t. But god, being with Becca tonight and her family… For a second, I had wanted something serious with her.

No, I wasn’t rushing into anything again. Not after Tara.

“You said you didn’t, either,” I reminded her.

“I don’t.”

“Good,” I said, although in truth, I was disappointed. Which was stupid. Jesus, what was wrong with me tonight? It must be all the holiday stuff getting to me. This time of year turned everyone sappy. “Glad we’re on the same page.”

We stared at each other for a long moment, like we were both defying the other to break first, to admit they wanted more out of this.

“I should get back,” she said, tilting her head. “Are you going to kiss me or what?”

That was all the cue I needed. I took her face in my hands and claimed her mouth in a long, deep kiss, exploring slowly with my tongue and my lips. The kind of kiss I’d wanted to give her earlier, under the mistletoe. She moaned and slid her arms around my neck, kissing me back just as eagerly, like she needed me as much as I needed her.

I pressed her against the bathroom door, caging her in with my body. She tasted like pumpkin pie, and I couldn’t get enough of her sweet lips. She was making me so hard I didn’t know how I’d get through the rest of the evening without jumping her. We had to stop before I shoved her inside this bathroom and took her hard and fast against the wall.

“Go,” I managed to get out. “Before your family suspects we’re doing something.”