B&N
EXCERPT
He quickly fixed two cups of hot cocoa, but before
serving he ducked around the corner. She was sitting on the couch with the
blanket pulled over her lap. "Have you ever tried Bailey’s in your
cocoa?"
"No. Is it good?"
"I like it, want me to bring you mine and let you
try it before you decide?"
"If you don't mind, please?"
"If I minded I wouldn't have offered." He carried
his cup of cocoa to the sofa and let her take a sip.
"Oooh, that’s good."
"Want me to add some to yours, too?"
"Please, that would be great." She kept his
warm cup cradled in her hands, her shivering had stopped.
Jake quickly doctored the second cup of cocoa and
returned, sitting down on the sofa near Andrea. He was careful not to jar her
enough to spill the cocoa. "Do you want to trade? Or do you want to keep
that one?"
"I already have this one and it’s almost half gone so
I might as well keep it."
Jake held his arm out. "Do you want to come over
here and let me help warm you up?"
She scooted over and slid under his arm, lifting the
blanket to cover his lap too, so he could help the heat build underneath. He
pulled her close against his side and curled his arm around her. They sat
quietly, drinking their cocoa for a few minutes, until Andrea started laughing.
"What?" Jake frowned down at her, confused.
"We’ve got to be crazy. Sitting here, still dressed
for the wedding, sipping cocoa at nearly three am."
"Well, I considered getting you out of the dress,
but thought I'd be a gentleman and let it warm up in here first," Jake quipped,
causing Andrea to laugh harder. "I love your laugh," Jake squeezed
her against him in a quick, one-armed hug. "It makes me feel good."
"What a sweet thing to say." She stretched up
to kiss him on the cheek. Draining the last of her cocoa, she set the empty cup
on the coffee table in front of them. Pulling the blanket up to her shoulders, she
curled into him, resting her head against his chest. "You smell nice."
She wiggled a little, trying to get comfortable.
"Make yourself comfortable." He looked down at
her, amused.
"I'm working on it. You're warm, like Ben."
"You do this to Ben?"
"Not anymore, but I did when I was younger. I was
always cold and he was always so warm. I would curl up against him and steal
some warmth. He never really knew what to make of it." She admitted
reflectively.
"I imagine not." He wasn’t sure what to make of
it himself. Not knowing what else to do, he slipped the arm that had been
around her under the blanket and started rubbing up and down her side. He
didn't know why he did it, just that it seemed right. After a couple minutes
she kicked off her shoes and pulled her legs up and curled them beside her.
Jake started rubbing his hand up and down her leg. "Hmm... No hose."
"No, I hate those things."
"Probably would have been at least a little warmer in
them though."
"True. I wasn't planning on staying out quite so
late or in the cold as long when I got dressed though."
"So you froze." He ran his fingers along her
thigh, back and forth against the hem of her dress, sending another shiver
though her body. "You still cold?"
"No, not anymore." She moved against him, as if
silently asking for more.
Jake continued to play his fingers lightly over her skin,
teasing her with his touch until he had finished his cocoa. He carefully
slipped out from under the blanket, tucking it around her, and stood. Picking
up hers, he took both mugs into the kitchen and set them in the sink. On the
way back, he took off his suit jacket and hung it and his tie over the back of
a dining chair.
Unfastening his collar, Jake returned to the couch. Sitting
beside her, this time he kicked his own shoes off and sat sideways, one leg bent
in the seat as he leaned against the arm. He invited her to curl up against
him. "Come here."
She crawled closer, dragging the blanket with her, and
laid against his chest. He pulled the blanket around her, tucking it around her
feet and put his arms underneath to wrap them around her.
"How’s that? Warm enough?" He liked that she
trusted him enough to put herself in his arms.
"It's nice, but not at all what I thought you meant
when you said you wanted to take me home." She looked up at him with half
lidded eyes.
"It's not, but it’s still a little cool in here,
besides I'm enjoying this too."
Andrea got a mischievous glint in her eyes as she started
to wiggle, moving her arms around his sides.
"What are you up to?"
"Nothing much." She struggled a moment, pulling
the ends of his dress shirt and the t-shirt underneath free from his slacks.
When she managed to untuck them all the way around she slid her hands
underneath, against his skin. "Mmmm, much better." She played her
fingers back and forth over his skin. Pushing herself onto her knees, she stretched
until her lips met his. She kissed him eagerly, using her mouth to let him know
she was ready to move faster.
Jake ran his hands along the hem of her dress, caressing
the bare skin as he slowly inched the fabric up her legs.
Engrossed in the deep kiss, Andrea let her fingers curl.
They dug into his skin as she pulled herself against him. She squirmed, moving
into his hands as he touched her and pulling herself back into him again, as
though she couldn’t decide which touch she wanted more.
Jake continued to slowly slide her dress up, running his
fingers lightly over her soft skin on either side of her body as he went. It
wasn’t until she arched her back, leaning into him that he realized he'd
reached her waist. He broke the kiss and looked at Andrea, confused.
She smiled mischievously again, amused by his confusion.
"Don't tell me you've been naked under that dress
all night long?"
"Would you like it if I were?"
"Girl, I've wanted you since the first time I laid
eyes on you, before I knew who you were. It drives me crazy thinking of you
with no panties on under that little dress all day. On the side of the highway,
changing that tire." He felt himself growing hard at the thought. "In
the church while Ben said ‘I do’. All that time at the reception hall, and sitting
next to me at the diner."
Andrea laughed at how his voice deepened with desire as
he spoke and the hard feel of him pressing against her. "It's a good thing
I was wearing some then, wasn't it?"
