“Is that good or bad?”
“No, it’s good. Looks very…festive.”
“Don’t injure yourself with your enthusiasm.”
“Stunning, brilliant, it’s a pantheon of Christmas extravagance. Is that better?” I ask, trying to hide a smile.
“Much,” Harmony says, not bothering to hide hers. She hits me with that brilliant smile I’ve come to crave. “Do you really like it?”
“I really do.” Her smile grows a few degrees brighter. “What smells so good?”
“Oh, I found everything to make a little something for supper. You eat chicken cacciatore, don’t you?”
“Just a little something, huh?” Pulling her off the couch, I wrap my arms around her. She pushes up on her toes to meet me as I bend for a kiss.
My lips are still cold when they meet hers. It doesn’t matter though when a soft moan washes over me. Her small fists grip the side of my shirt pulling me closer. Spinning us, I sit on the couch pulling her onto my lap. Her thighs straddle mine.
“Where did you learn these moves,” she purrs.
“Making them up as I go.” Her hands slap my chest when I slide her to me. Then they wrap around my neck. My hands cup her ass pressing her against my growing length.
Our mouths press together, and this time I’m the one moaning. She grinds her heat against me, and my tongue pushes inside her mouth. It’s been a very long time since I made out on a couch. I forgot how incredible it could be. Especially with Harmony straddling my lap.
eight
HARMONY
I can’t believewe were interrupted by the kitchen timer. This was the first make-out session I’ve had since I was a teenager. Based on the hard chub pressing against me, Beau was enjoying it as much as I was.
We’ve been cockblocked by simmering chicken. He suggested we let it burn, but I’m pretty sure catching the house on fire is not the best option in a snowstorm.
“I don’t think anything else will fit,” Beau says, patting his stomach.
“Not even some gingerbread I made for dessert?”
“Jesus, Harmony. Later? After this settles?”
“Fine.”
“I’m going to gain twenty pounds while you’re here.”
“I said fine, don’t keep nagging.” I stand from the table to take our dishes to the sink.
His words make me sad. While I’m here. That’s just it, I’ll have to go home soon, and all of this will just be a wonderful memory of how I spent Christmas. I’ll have to leave Beau andReacher to return to reality. Reality is overrated. Reality truly does bite.
“I’m not nagging,” Beau says, kissing my neck. I didn’t hear him walk up behind me. At first, I’m startled, but then he wraps his strong arms around me, and I settle against his chest. “And I don’t really mind putting on weight if it’s because of your cooking.”
“I think you’re making that up. I don’t feel anything but hard abs and tight glutes,” I say, running my hands under his shirt. They graze across his stomach before copping a handful of his ass. Quickly, they return to his back. That ass is lethal.
“Thanks for noticing,” he teases. “You know, you’re getting much better at the flirting thing.” I’m pushing up on my toes to kiss him when we’re suddenly plunged into darkness.
“Shit. Wait right here.” He moves away from me, and I hear a drawer open. A light from a flashlight illuminates the floor in front of me. “Let me find the lanterns.” He leaves the kitchen but returns a few minutes later carrying several battery-operated lanterns.
“What happened?” I ask. “I mean, obviously the electricity has gone off. But why?”
“The weather earlier said to expect ice.” He moves into the living room. I find him looking through the panes in the front door. “Everything is coated in ice. It’s really howling out there. I’m sure it’s wiped out the lines.”
“Oh my gosh,” I whisper, staring out the only window not blocked by the Christmas tree. Everything glistens in the beam of Beau’s flashlight. He’s pulled open the door to look around. The room quickly chills in the cold air. Stepping back inside, he closes the door and jogs toward the back of the house.
