Hot Christmas Nights (11 page)

The sight of her naked breasts was such a jolt to his system that his hips bucked in response and he felt his groin flood with heat. When he slowly started rising, the towel slid away and his eyes narrowed on his target.

Wendy walked over to where he sat on the couch and stared down at him with a question in her eyes.

“You came all the way over here to use me for sex? That’s...” He trailed off as the rest of the zipper was lowered and she stepped out of the dress completely.

The tiny jewel in her navel caught his eye because it was sparkly and the pink stone matched her thong, and he leaned forward to flick his tongue across it. “Are you sure this is what you want, Wendy?”

Intrigued, he hooked a finger in the strap of her thong, eased the lace aside, and tipped his head to lovingly gaze at the tip of her clitoris peeking from between her womanly mound. He hoped she enjoyed receiving kisses there as much as he was going to enjoy giving them to her.

“What I want, Frazier, is to finally meet my secret admirer, so why don’t you hurry up and introduce yourself to me?”

Before she could prepare herself, he sank down to his knees and parted Wendy’s clean-shaven lips with nothing but his stiff, extended tongue.

She gasped and her knees buckled, but he caught her, one hand gripping a butt cheek and the other gently guiding her leg over his shoulder. A groan rumbled deep in his throat when she gripped the back of his head and began rocking her hips in time with his tongue’s rhythm. Her nub was a juicy little pearl, made for worship, and he tongue-kissed it lavishly, stroking it from all angles as his head rotated ’round and ’round between her thighs, and her high-pitched sighs filled the air.

“Yeeeees,”
she crooned, moving against his tongue and a throaty moan curling out of her mouth. Her right hand joined the left one on his head, rubbing it gently. “Yes, Frazier, just like that. Don’t stop. Oh, God, I’m coming.” Her stomach caved in at the same time that her thighs started trembling. Her moans turned into short, sharp bursts that went on and on, even after he had freed her and slid back onto the couch.

He was waiting for her when she straddled his lap. His cock was standing straight up and, drenched from the inside out, she sat herself down on it in one smooth motion. His head rocked back on his neck and his eyes went to half-mast as he felt her stretching to accommodate him.

* * *

Oh, my God
was all Wendy could think. Frazier’s flesh was impossibly hard and sizzling hot inside of her.

And incredibly huge.

She had taken him in as far as her body would allow and she still didn’t have all of him. She felt his veins throbbing against her walls, setting off delicious little shock waves that took over her system, paralyzing her with pleasure.

He was slowly rotating his hips, stretching her around him and unwittingly challenging the muscles in her thighs to keep her steady. They lost the battle when his hips began bucking up and down, easing his hard, pulsing cock in and out of her in a steady rhythm. Pushing a little bit deeper into her with each stroke until she was as accustomed to his size as she could get without giving in to the explosion on the horizon.

She didn’t think she’d ever felt anything so rapturous in her life. Her head lolled on her neck, her mouth fell open and her eyes drifted closed. A fluttery gasp slipped out of her mouth.

She sobbed when his mouth closed over her nipple and his tongue began lapping at it slowly. Heat swept through her from head to toe as his hands slid up her thighs, took a detour around to her butt cheeks and filled themselves. He guided their mutual strokes, bouncing her up and down on his thick length while he feasted on her breasts, one after the other, over and over.

She couldn’t stop her hands from roaming everywhere they could reach, whispering over and across his head one second and reaching behind her to grip his thighs the next. The sounds coming out of her mouth sounded foreign to her own ears, like primal cries for mercy. Mingled with the deep bursts of sound coming out of Frazier’s mouth, it was music to her ears.

He ran a hand up through her hair and destroyed her chignon. Cupped the back of her head, pulled her face down to his and fed her his tongue. He kissed her masterfully, stretching her mouth wide for his tongue and helping himself to hers greedily. He tongued Wendy so deeply that she had to go still and focus all her attention on meeting the demands of his mouth.

He went still, too, and guided the kiss to a gentle place, a place where his long fingers massaged her scalp, the pace of their tongues slowed and they sighed into each other’s mouths.

Her second orgasm rolled over her from the pads of her feet to her scalp, tingling everywhere that it spread, making her walls pulse rhythmically, and stealing her breath. She broke the kiss only because she was drowning and she wanted every ounce of her consciousness to experience it.

“Shit,” Frazier hissed a few seconds later, just before dissolving into a trance of intense vibrations.

* * *

He got chilly in the early-morning hours and woke up in search of the covers. Wendy was lying less than a foot away, lying on her stomach, staring at him when he opened his eyes.

They had stumbled into his bedroom a couple of hours before and collapsed naked on top of the bed. His eyes roamed over the smooth line of her back and butt in lazy appreciation, then drifted back to hers and stayed there.

“I don’t know how this can work between us,” she whispered, searching his eyes.

“I don’t know how it can’t work,” he whispered back. He’d never been more in love with her than he was at that moment. “I’m in love with you, Wendy, and I have been for a long time.”

She gasped. “Really? I’m in love with you, too.”

He gave her a lopsided smile and then mimicked her high-pitched, breathless tone when he said, “Really?”

She laughed. “Yes.”

“So what are we going to do?”

“I was hoping you knew.” She uncurled an arm from underneath her head and reached out to play with the trail of dark hair snaking down his abdomen. His body instantly reacted to her touch. “It feels a little strange.”

“Yeah, it does.” He sucked in a sharp breath as he watched her long, delicate fingers slowly wrap around his thickness. Just like that, he was fully erect. “So we take it slow.”

“Yes, but do I get to keep this?” Wendy asked, squeezing him gently.

“For as long as you want, but you have to take the rest of me with it,” he murmured as he slid across the bed and stretched out on top of her. His chest hugged her back and his erection lay between her butt cheeks. He pressed soft kisses to the side of her face and wet, openmouthed ones to the ball of her shoulder.

She shifted, granting him access to her treasure, and he wasted no time accepting. “For as long as you want,” he whispered again, into her ear as he slowly filled her.

Intermission

Chapter 4

T
he next two weeks passed in a blur of activity. The last serious relationship that Wendy had been involved in was over two years ago and even then it was more like a cross between keeping-options-open and semiserious. She’d forgotten how time-consuming relationships could be. If she wasn’t at the studio teaching classes, then she was with Frazier and, when they were together, the last thing on her mind was her never-ending to-do list.

Not that she was falling behind in her work, because that was hardly the case. Thanks to two very capable assistants and a receptionist who was worth her weight in gold, the Wendy Kincaid Dance Studio ran like a well-oiled machine.

Most of the time, anyway.

Just last weekend, when she needed someone to cover her Saturday classes so that she and Frazier could go away for a romantic three-day weekend, as always, the ladies had her back. She’d been on pins and needles the entire time, wondering if the studio was still standing and if the ladies were okay, but her cell phone hadn’t rung once. Unless, of course, Wendy counted the time Patricia, her part-time assistant, called to get the name and contact information for
the Inn at Glenstrae
, the B&B where Wendy and Frazier were staying, for her sister and brother-in-law. But Wendy didn’t count that.

If anything, she could afford to take more time off if she wanted to, which, while very unlikely, was still nice to know. She loved her work too much to be away from it
or
her studio for too long. Dancing was the one drug she had ever tried and the only one she’d ever been addicted to. Two weeks of only coming and going to the studio during business hours was starting to take its toll. She hadn’t had a minute to herself in all that time and it was a strange feeling to suffer from withdrawal pangs. It was either dance or go crazy, and dance was the only logical choice.

Sunday was the one day of the week that the studio was closed and Wendy could dance in complete privacy. After changing and warming up at the barre, she slipped a mixtape CD into the boom box and went to the middle of the hardwood floor. There, she took a deep breath and got in position. A moment later she was combining elements of contemporary, ballet and hip-hop dance to the rhythm of a hip-hop-infused jazz song, and losing herself in the music.

It felt great, like coming home to a warm welcome after being away on a long journey. She moved effortlessly from one song to the next, being careful to balance the weight she put on her left knee whenever her feet left the floor, and smiling when she felt perspiration beading on her scalp and forehead.

An hour into it, her muscles were screaming with joy and her mind was clearer than it had been in days. She needed to think and this was when, where and how she did it best.

She loved spending time with Frazier and discovering the differences between
best friend
Frazier and
the greatest sex she’d ever had
Frazier, who was sexy and exciting. But it would be a toss-up if she ever had to choose between him and her first love—dance. With every day that passed, though, it looked like that was ultimately what she was going to have to do.

The scout from the Greeley Dance Company was still interested in recruiting her as a choreographer and she wouldn’t be able to put off giving him an answer for much longer.

In the brief silence between songs, her cell phone rang but answering it didn’t even cross her mind. The way her life was working these days, it was either Frazier on the other end or the scout, and she wasn’t ready to deal with either one just yet.

The next song began and she took her cue instead.

* * *

It snowed four inches on Thanksgiving Day. Just enough, Wendy thought as her Beetle crawled along with the bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-40, to cover the landscape with a blanket of blinding whiteness, but not quite enough to justify staying inside to avoid it.

Not that she could’ve gotten away with that anyway, because her mother never would’ve stood for her missing the family dinner, not even for a foot of snow. Holidays in the Kincaid house were serious business—formal affairs that normally began promptly at 3:00 p.m. and hardly ever a minute later, and her presence was just as required as the turkey’s was.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally reached the exit she needed and got off the interstate. Within minutes, she was turning into her parents’ West County subdivision and parking her Beetle in the driveway behind her father’s Lincoln MKX. Armed with a bottle of her mother’s favorite white wine and a fall floral bouquet, she carefully navigated the slushy walk from the driveway to the front porch in four-inch heels.

Her mother was waiting just inside the open door for her. “Thank God you made it in one piece,” Selena said, stepping out onto the porch to meet her daughter. She took the wine and flowers and ushered Wendy inside the house, closing the door as soon as they were safely across the threshold. “I was worried about that horrible little car of yours making the drive out here in this weather. How are the roads?”

Wendy shrugged out of her coat and hung it in the foyer closet. “Not too bad,” she said as she walked into her mother’s open arms for a hug. “I only slid on the ice once. Hi, Mom.”

“I don’t understand why you won’t just let your father and me buy you something safer and more reliable.”

“I would, but then one of you would always be telling me how to drive the thing.” They eased apart and Wendy met her mother’s concerned expression with an amused one. “I’d be sixteen all over again and that was not a good year for me. I never want to repeat it.”

Selena
tsked
the way she always did when Wendy was being hardheaded. “I don’t recall enjoying that year all that much, either,” she drawled as she led the way to the kitchen. “Come and say hello to your father before he comes looking for you. Then I’d like you to please finish setting the table for dinner. Oh, and take out my Waterford vase for the flowers. We’ll use them as the centerpiece.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Wendy said, wondering if her mother would be open to popping the cork in the wine sooner rather than later.

After gathering supplies from the sideboard in the dining room, Wendy went to work setting the table. She had just finished arranging three place settings when her mother backed into the room through the swinging door off the kitchen. The flowers had already been cut and arranged in the Waterford vase and now Selena experimented with different places to set them on the tabletop. Eyeing the spread critically, she said, “This looks very nice, Wendy. I’m going to set the flowers in the very center of the table and throw myself on your mercy, because it slipped my mind until just now to mention that we need two more settings for dinner tonight.”

“Two more?” Wendy was confused. She set the table every year and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d arranged more than the usual three place settings. “Who else is coming this year?”

“Lily and Frazier didn’t take their holiday trip to Chicago this year, so I invited them here. They should be arriving any minute now. It’s almost three.” Selena replied as she swung back through the door and disappeared into the kitchen.

She didn’t notice that Wendy had gone stiff with shock.

When Wendy and Frazier parted ways this morning, she’d been looking forward to spending some time alone with her parents. And then, since he and his mother weren’t supposed to get back from Chicago until very late tonight, some alone time with herself. She couldn’t help feeling a little resentful about watching it slip right through her fingers. He hadn’t mentioned anything about a change of plans this morning over breakfast and she wondered why.

They had agreed not to tell their parents about their relationship just yet. It was true that Wendy had agreed a little more strongly than Frazier had, but still. They had
both
agreed. What was he doing?

The doorbell rang just as Wendy was placing the last water glass on the table. A minute later, she heard her mother’s and Lily’s excited voices in the hallway and then Frazier’s deep voice saying something that must’ve been funny because both women burst out laughing immediately afterward. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

As soon as her father’s good-natured chuckle reached her ears, Wendy knew she couldn’t hide any longer. Jacob Kincaid was always the last one to make an appearance and if he had already done so, then it was past time for her to show her face.

She took a deep breath, smoothed her navy blue sweater dress down over her hips and stepped out into the hallway at the exact moment that her father asked, “Where is Wendy?”

“Here I am, Daddy.” She went to Lily first because she was the safest choice. She clasped the woman’s hands and met her halfway for a heartfelt hug. She’d always liked Frazier’s mother and over the years, not only had Lily and her parents grown close, but so had she and Lily. “I’m so glad you could come, Mrs. Abernathy. I see Mama’s already taken care of your coat, so can I get you a glass of wine or a mug of hot apple cider?”

“Apple cider sounds wonderful, Wendy. Thank you,” Lily said, smiling. “I wish I’d thought to pick up something more festive, instead of letting Frazier talk me into bringing a bottle of wine.”

“Wine is always a good choice.” Especially since she was probably going to need as much of it as possible to get through the evening. She could feel Frazier’s penetrating gaze boring into the side of her face, waiting for her to acknowledge him, to acknowledge
them,
and it was unsettling.

Aware that Frazier’s mother and both of her parents were watching, Wendy turned to Frazier with what she hoped was a friendly smile. “Hi,” she said, wondering if he could tell that she was pissed.
What are you doing here? I told you I didn’t think we were ready to make any announcements. Please, please, please don’t do what I think you’re here to do, Frazier.

“Hi, yourself,” Frazier murmured, holding her eyes for a beat longer than necessary. Still smiling, she shook herself out of the trance that his gaze was threatening to put her in, reached for the bottle of wine he offered, and took off in the direction of the kitchen. “I’ll just go and open this.”

“I’ll help you,” Frazier said, falling in step right behind her.

“Oh, Wendy, go ahead and bring out wine for everyone, would you?” Selena called after them.

“Yes, ma’am,” Wendy chirped.
Dammit.

She rounded on Frazier the second the door swung shut behind them in the kitchen. “What are you doing here, Frazier? I thought you were taking your mother to Chicago.”

“I was, but she got into an argument with my aunt Nancy last night. Something about an old photo of my grandmother that they both think the other has.” He flapped an impatient hand and leaned a hip against the countertop, studying her thoughtfully. “Anyway, I didn’t find out that she wasn’t going until after I was already in my car, on my way to pick her up this morning. And I didn’t find out that we were coming here until I had already picked her up to take her out to dinner this afternoon.” A teasing smile curved his lips when she shot him a suspicious look. “Scout’s honor.”

“This isn’t funny, Frazier.” Irritated, Wendy snatched a corkscrew from a drawer and slammed the drawer shut with her hip. She rolled her eyes at Frazier on her way over to the refrigerator. “I wasn’t expecting this, so excuse me if I’m still a little surprised.”

“Liar.”

“What?”

“You’re not surprised, Wendy,” Frazier continued calmly. “You’re angry. This isn’t the first time my mother has been here for dinner, so what’s the problem today?”

She traded the wine Lily brought for a bottle that was already chilling in the refrigerator and took it over to the island in the center of the room. “It’s just that I wasn’t expecting you, that’s all.”

“Oh, so it’s me who isn’t welcome here,” he speculated.

Wendy looked up from uncorking the bottle and shot him a quelling look over her shoulder. “Of course you’re welcome here, Frazier. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I was under the impression that your parents liked me.”

“My parents love you. You know that.” After a few seconds of maneuvering, the cork slid out of the bottle smoothly. She set it aside and braced her hands on the edge of the counter. “That’s not what I meant. It just...feels like we’re together every second of the day sometimes. I guess I’m still getting used to it. And I wasn’t planning to tell my parents about us until after I was used to it.”

“You mean, despite the fact that we’re actually
not
together every second of the day?” His eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead. “What is this really about, Wendy? And who said anything about telling your parents?”

A wave of relief washed over her. If either of their parents knew that they were intimately involved now, they’d have the wedding planned and all ten of the requested grandchildren named before the evening was over with. The thought of being hit over the head with all that made her feel like she couldn’t breathe. But now that she knew he wasn’t planning to go there, she felt herself calming down and breathing more easily. “I thought that was what you were going to do.” Steadier now, she opened a door on the side of the island and took out a serving tray.

Frazier sighed tiredly. “I know you did, Wendy.” He pushed off from the counter and walked over to her slowly, his hands deep in his pants pockets and a laid-back expression on his face. “Do you need help with the wine?”

God, he was gorgeous. In a matter of minutes, she’d gone from being irritated at him, to being happy to see him, to being ridiculously aroused. On a bad day, he could’ve doubled for the actor Laz Alonzo and on a good one, he was as close to a visual orgasm as a woman could get. Even when she was upset with him, she wanted him inside of her. “Um...no,” she said, staring at his lips. “No, I don’t. Thanks.”

“Okay, well, I think I hear voices in the dining room, so I’m going to go in and join whoever’s there, let you have your space.”

Not quite sure she liked the tone of his voice, Wendy watched him swing through the door that led to the dining room and pressed a hand to her belly to settle the butterflies there.