AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I hear your little girl is a bit of a tech genius,” Trent said to Wes.
The newly engaged, formerly single dad smiled proudly. “I have no idea what she and Sarah are saying most of the time. Coding this…server that.” His tone suggested he didn’t mind.
“Believe me, that’s typical of any house with women in it,” Trent said.
“How’s she feeling anyway?” Mitch asked, feeling compelled to join in the conversation with the other men.
“Who? Marissa?” Wes frowned under the brim of his L.A. Rams cap.
“No, Sarah.” She’d looked slightly green around the gills again when they’d first arrived at the bakery. She’d disappeared into the bathroom for a while. No one else seemed to notice, and call it doctor’s instincts, but Sarah wasn’t feeling great that evening and there were no scented candles to blame this time.
“Sarah’s good. Why? Was she sick?”
Mitch shook his head. “No, just the night I checked in she was…” He waved a hand. “It was nothing. Just some strong-scented candles.” And if he were a betting man, about a ten-week pregnancy.
Wes nodded. “Right, those candles. We’ve had to get rid of all of them, even from the guest rooms,” he said, sipping his spiked hot chocolate. “In fact, she can’t even handle the smell of food cooking, either. I’ve taken over all the breakfast prep at the inn and it’s safe to say we may need to hire someone.”
Mitch waited for the man to clue in. After all, he had witnessed one pregnancy…albeit ten years ago. Instead, Wes turned back to Trent. “How’d you do in your fantasy football stats last week?”
Mitch tuned out as the other men talked about fake football teams and trading players he knew nothing about. He was never really into sports, except soccer, and right now, his attention was on the pretty brunette with the red knitted scarf and hat, stopping to peer into the Chocolate Confessions store window while the others moved on to the bookstore.
“Hey, pretty girl,” he whispered, stopping next to her.
She shot a quick glance toward Lia, but she was preoccupied, pointing out a book on mountain climbing to her husband. “This is torture,” Jessica hissed.
Mitch turned his body to block the others’ view and secretly slid his hand beneath Jessica’s hair, gently caressing her neck. “I could kiss you right now and the secret would be out,” he said, staring at her beautiful pale pink lips and flushed cheeks.
“So tempting,” she said, sinking toward him.
She still smelled like the bakery—cinnamon spice and ginger combination that made his mouth water. The scent of chocolate from the shop couldn’t even dare to compete. He wasn’t sure how he was going to keep this up. A memory of her fiery passion in the freezer had him hardening again, and he longed to explore every inch of her. The first time had been quick due to the sexual tension that had been building between them all week, but the next time he wanted to take his time…savor every second…
“Mitch! Check this out for Mom for Christmas,” Lia called out.
Because of course she had to interrupt. He sighed. Jessica took a quick step away from him and raised her hot chocolate to her mouth. “Your sister’s calling out to you,” she said, taking a devilish-looking sip from the cup. The way she licked the rim was definitely on purpose.
Damn, this Night of Lights couldn’t end fast enough. He wanted to move on to the next activity, a night of passion that didn’t include the rest of her gang or any of his family members.
Chapter Thirteen
With the inn off-limits because of Lia, Jessica unlocked the door to her house two hours later with enough pent-up sexual energy, she was hotter than those old-fashioned seventies Christmas tree lightbulbs.
“I thought headaches were an excuse that women use when they want to getoutof sex,” Mitch said as he reached for her sweater, sliding it down over her shoulders and arms as soon as she’d closed the door behind them.
Jessica laughed. “I had to give a valid excuse to get out of drinks.” She lifted the base of his shirt up over his body. He raised his arms to allow her to remove it. The others were heading out to Trent’s Tavern after bringing Marissa home, but for the first time ever, Jessica had bailed on her friends to be alone with Mitch. Not her usual M.O. to abandon friends for a guy she was dating, but he was on borrowed time and she had to take any free time they had together.
“My excuse was valid,” he said, pulling her into his bare chest.
“You said you would go, but you really didn’t want to,” she said, cocking her head to the side.
“It was the truth,” he said against her lips. He kissed her gently as his hands slid inside her tank top. His fingers tickled her waist, then moved higher over her rib cage and then over her lacy bra. “Should we have gone?”
“Hell no,” she said, removing the tank top and reaching around her back to unclasp the bra. She let it fall to the floor, and Mitch’s gaze drinking her in had her even more turned on than ever. His obvious appreciation for her curves made her feel sexy as hell. She reached for the waistband of her skirt and shimmied out of it, then kicked her legs free.
“You are so incredibly sexy, Jess,” Mitch said, roaming his hands over her shoulders, down the front of her body, around her waist and hips.
She unbuckled his jeans and slowly removed them. His erection was already visible beneath his underwear. She pressed her body to his and, wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him hard. “Give me thirty seconds, then come in the bedroom,” she said.
He squeezed her waist and kissed her again before releasing her. “Thirty seconds?”
