“More butternut squash soup, Sasha?” Valerie asked her, snapping her out of it. “Or maybe chili?”
“I’ll try the chili. The butternut squash was amazing, though.” Everything Valerie had fed her had been exceptional. No wonder this place was so successful.
It tasted of home.
If you had a fancy pastry chef at home.
Valerie ladled her some chili, and Perry passed her a dish of fixings.
Sasha dug into her chili after crushing crackers on the top and garnishing it with sour cream and shredded cheese. The chili was meaty with a rich, hearty tomato sauce and an underlying bite of heat. The sour cream lent it a cool smoothness.
“Valerie, will you marry me? Shit, this is delicious,” Sasha said after downing half her bowl.
Everyone laughed, and Sasha caught Perry’s eye. He was grinning at her, which made her blush for some ungodly reason.
“Valerie eats microwave meals every night,” Louise said, a hint of teasing in her voice. “She says she doesn’t like to take work home with her.”
Valerie plopped down next to Louise and leaned her head on her shoulder playfully. “I just need a good woman to cook for.”
Louise bit her lip and a secret smile stretched over her face. Sasha couldn’t watch their awkward, tentative courtship. It made something in her chest flutter, like a bunch of calling birds finally finding their wings.
Sasha quickly finished her chili and got up to clean her bowl and plate. Perry followed her.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he rinsed their bowls in the kitchen sink.
“Yep.” She tried to sound casual, even though she really didn’t feel okay at all.
Christmas sucked.
Love and mushiness sucked.
She suddenly wished she was in her own bed and her own anti-Christmas apartment with a fierceness that nearly brought her to her knees.
“Valerie thawed a package of chestnuts she bought at the farmers market. Want to help me prepare them? We’re going to roast them in the fireplace once everyone is done with dinner.”
Of course. Chestnuts on an open fire. This place was a ridiculous fairy tale.
“Sure. What do you need me to do?”
“We need to wash and score the shells with an x.”
“Hand me a knife then.”
Perry smiled and kissed her gingerly, barely a brush of lips.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“No reason. I wanted to, is all.”
She shot him a silly, narrow-eyed glare. “You behave.”
“Aye, aye.”
They worked in companionable silence for several minutes, Perry rinsing the chestnuts and Sasha scoring them. Once they were washed, Perry picked up his own knife and they finished the job.
Perry dumped the chestnuts into a large chestnut roaster. It resembled a long-handled popcorn popper. Who actually owned a designated chestnut roaster?
A Christmas-themed inn, evidently.
She followed him into the hearth room, where most of the guests had gathered.
With gentle hands, Perry placed the roaster into the fire. Then he grabbed a deep-red afghan and a large cushion from a basket by the sofa. There were no empty seats.
“Here. Get comfy,” he said to Sasha, building her a nest close to the fire. “I’ll get us drinks. What would you like? Wine, beer, hot chocolate, apple cider, eggnog?”
“Apple cider.”
He smiled. “You got it.”
When he returned, two mugs of hot cider in hand, both garnished with a cinnamon stick and slices of blood orange like something straight out of a Pinterest post, she couldn’t hold in her smile. Damn these people and their Christmas spirit. At least she was getting incredible food out of this nightmare.
Perry settled onto the floor next to her, close enough to the hearth that he could shake the chestnut roaster every few minutes. Everything was so warm—her hands wrapped around a mug of the most magical cider in the history of the world, her toes that were close to the fire, her body wrapped in a chunky blanket. Her cheeks that were full-on blushing as Perry scooted closer to her.
Oh, geez. They were cuddling in front of a fireplace while chestnuts roasted over an open flame, sizzling and popping and sending sweet nutty smells through the room. The whole scene was picture perfect. She wanted to lean back into his body but couldn’t allow herself that type of pleasure. It was ephemeral. It wouldn’t last. She wouldn’t let it.
Perry got up on his knees to shake the chestnut roaster again, and she checked him out. He was still in gray sweats and a soft, flannel shirt. The sweatpants framed his firm, round butt. She wanted to smack it.
The thought made her laugh and a different kind of warmth bubble up in her. He settled back down beside her.
She leaned into him and put her mouth against the shell of his ear. “You have a rocking ass. Has anyone ever told you that?” she whispered.
Rosiness spread over the apples of his cheeks. He shook his head and bit his bottom lip on a grin.
“Your other attributes aren’t half bad either.”
“Good to know,” he whispered back. “Your butt is pretty spectacular too. I want to do all kinds of things to it.”
She felt as if they were in their own world. Everyone else was chattering away, leaving them alone.
It was easier to flirt and talk about sex than emotions. Easier to let herself get carried away with Perry’s unbearable sexiness than to confront the fact that he made her heart clench and stutter for a million reasons that had nothing to do with fucking.
“I’d let you,” she said.
“Would you now?”
“I think I’ve proven I am totally down, Perry.”
He bumped his shoulder against hers. “And what else do you have in that Santa’s big red bag of debauchery? Anything that might prove helpful?”
“Ho, ho, ho.” She winked.
He laughed loudly, genuine joy etched in every line of his face. His laughter drew glances from a few people around the room.
Sasha took a hasty sip of cider to hide her own delight. She let happiness rush through her. One more night of this.
She’d allow herself one more night of this.
Soon, the chestnuts were done and Perry pulled them off the fire. Valerie passed him two bowls, and after letting them cool, he started peeling them, discarding the shells and skin into one bowl and the meaty nut into another that was full of cinnamon sugar. Perry and Valerie moved around each other through this process seamlessly.
Perry parceled some of the treat into a little bowl for him and Sasha.
He lifted up the bowl. “Okay, Sasha. You ready to try these nuts?”
Chapter Seven
Sasha fell back onto Perry’s bed, her stomach full of laughter. Perry kneeled next to her and popped a chestnut past her lips. She nipped his fingers lightly, then chewed the sweet nut.
She’d never had chestnuts before, and she had no idea if they were always so amazing or if it was because Perry was feeding them to her.
He followed his fingers with his lips, kissing her mouth, her chin, down to her throat before sitting up and eating a chestnut of his own.
They’d managed to socialize with the other Winterberry guests for about twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of feverish, festive eye-fucking. Now, they finished their bowl of chestnuts, sharing kisses and laughter over nothing at all.
Perry’s room was similar to hers, except it was on the corner of the house, so it had double the windows. His canopy bed had rainbow-colored Christmas lights wrapped around the posts. The Christmas tree in the corner of his room was huge with thick branches full of spindly needles. His whole room smelled of clean, bitter evergreen, and his skin smelled like smoky cedar.
The Fancy Fleshstroker and her black silky thong were on top of an antique dresser, and they stood out among the twee decorations, glaring in their filthiness.
Perry’s mouth landed on the edge of her jaw, and she tipped her head back, g
asping.
“We need my roller bag.”
“The one full of Christmas miracles?” he asked, smiling against her neck.
“That’s the ticket.”
“I’ll get it.” He jumped up off the bed and jogged into the adjoining bathroom and, she assumed, into the Blue Spruce Room. He came back seconds later with her Lady Robin’s roller bag in hand, a huge grin on his face.
Her heart tumbled over, like a snowball falling down a hill, gaining momentum, faster and faster. Hopefully, it wouldn’t hit the bottom and explode into nothing but powder. “I’m leaving tomorrow.”
His smile faltered for half a second, then he shrugged. “I know.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
She wasn’t sure she could say the words outright, couldn’t ask him if he was okay sleeping with her for one last night when it wouldn’t lead to anything. But how ridiculous was she? If she couldn’t hear the words out loud, then she shouldn’t be living by that philosophy.
She took a deep breath. “Are you okay with one more night of no-strings-attached sex?”
His lips quirked. “On the second day of Christmas my fuck buddy gave to me?” he said, his voice musical but gruff.
“The screw of your life, baby. Get over here.”
Perry lifted her red bag of toys onto the bed beside her, and she methodically pulled out the stock that she hadn’t sold and the stock she’d used as samples for the party, meaning they had already been charged.
The Rimmy. P-spot Pulse and Pulse 2. Collar Me Nipple Clamps. Sporty Strap-on with Diamond Glass Dildo. Monster Me Tentacle Dildo. Monster Me Mermaid Dildo. Fingerslip Vibrator. Not Your Mother’s Pearls Anal Beads. The Shake and Shimmy Cock Ring. The Slim and Simple Vibrator Wand.
“We also have your Fancy Fleshstroker, the Double Trouble, the Rude Beast, and the Chained Melody Clamps, all of which we’ve already used,” she said.
Perry stared at the array of silicone and metal and glass with eyes as wide as saucers. He smiled like a kid on Christmas morning getting the first look at his loot.
“Pick your poison, Perry.”
She’d been excited for the sweet holiday bonus that she’d earned from the Staunchly Raunchy Book Club Party, but at the rate she and Perry were going, she’d be lucky to break even after she expensed the toys they’d broken into.
And she couldn’t have been happier about that fact.
“Anything here off limits? Anything you don’t enjoy?” Perry asked.
She grinned, happy he’d thought to ask. “The Monster Me Dildos are a bit much for me. Fun when I want sex to feel like a freak show, but that’s not what I’m interested in tonight. Everything else is fair game.”
He nodded and selected the Rimmy, the Fingerslip, and the Shake and Shimmy Cock Ring. She was happy with his choices. They were all fairly non-invasive or discreet sex toys, and they suited what she knew of him. She liked that he wasn’t pushing himself too far out of his comfort zone while still taking a walk on the wild side with her.
She pulled out the bottle of lube they’d already opened and some Lady Robin’s antibacterial toy-cleaning wipes. She quickly threw the extra toys back into the bag and cleaned the ones he’d selected. All in all, it took under two minutes, but she felt self-conscious about the time wasted.
“So how are we doing this?” she asked as she stripped off her sweatshirt and unclipped her bra. Heat darkened his hazel eyes. She tossed her bra at him with a laugh. He caught it and brought it to his nose to smell.
God, he really was a dirty fucker and didn’t even seem to realize it. First, he’d sucked her arousal off that dildo this afternoon, now he was sniffing her intimates. She liked that he kept surprising her.
He took off his clothes with a single-minded determination, then grabbed her legs and yanked her to the center of the bed, dragging her sweatpants off.
“I’m going to take you apart bit by bit,” he said.
“Oh. Okay.” She sent him an ornery smile.
“You don’t believe me?”
She laughed. “No, I actually do. I’m just a brat.”
“I love that about you,” he said as he slid the Fingerslip over his index finger. Then he grabbed the Rimmy and flipped her onto her stomach.
Her head spun. She watched over her shoulder as Perry spread lube on the toy, then turned it on. It didn’t exactly have vibration, but instead, tiny beads rotated around the stem of the plug.
“Can I use this on you?” he asked her. “Do you want it?”
“God, yes. Please.”
With a rough tug, he brought her up onto her knees and spread her legs wide, exposing her. He touched the Rimmy to her asshole, and she breathed out slowly. The lube was slick but not messy, and she could take the toy easily. She knew from experience.
She also knew that it would make her legs shake and uncontrollable noises fall from her lips.
Perry pressed it in slowly but surely and within seconds it was seated. The rotating beads were meant to feel like rimming, and she groaned at the onslaught. The Rimmy was small but sent a delicious stretch through her. Her legs trembled, and she gasped through the sudden, silky pleasure.
God, how that must look to him? It made her stomach flutter. The end of the Rimmy was metal and shiny, and it had to be peeking up through her cheeks, giving him quite the show.
“You’re beautiful,” he said unevenly. He shouldered her legs further apart, then leaned down and licked her clit. His nose rubbed through the folds of her pussy.
She cried out, surprised by his mouth. He sucked on her clit before pulling the plug out slightly and gently pushing it back in. He kept this up for several minutes, a nice slow thrusting of the Rimmy and intense suction on her clit.
She squirmed against his mouth, unable to stay still, as he devoured her. She felt the slickness of her arousal dripping down her thighs and the wetness of the toy as it slipped in and out of her.
“Perry. This is … You’re so … Oh, holy hell.”
He tossed her onto her back with a sexy, fucking growl. The abrupt movement made the Rimmy press and shift inside her, which punched her excitement up another notch.
While hovering over her between her legs, Perry snuck his finger, equipped with the vibrating Fingerslip, into her cunt and touched her G-spot lightly, the vibration enough to make her back bow off the bed. His mouth found her again, the rough scratch of his beard lighting up her sensitive flesh. Everything was wet and slippery.
“You have such good hand-mouth coordination,” she said, her voice strained and faint.
He chuckled against her, his lips humming against her clit. She fisted his hair.
Her orgasm slammed into her like a train thundering down the tracks, whistle blowing. Her body clenched and pulsed around his finger, around the plug.
All she could see were Christmas colors and lights and the blood red of Perry’s mouth as he lifted his lips away from her.
His beard was wet.
Damn, she could get used to that sight.
Perry sucked the taste of Sasha off his lips.
So fucking perfect.
She was shaking, coming down from her orgasm, an almost pained expression on her face, her eyebrows pinched and her bottom lip between her teeth.
“You okay, beautiful?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Her voice was breathy and strained. “I’m still, you know, fuck.” She gestured down to where his finger, wearing the nifty Fingerslip, was lodged between her pussy lips. The Rimmy was happily working its magic too. She tipped her head back, exposing the gorgeous long length of her neck.
“Feeling it?”
She nodded on a gasp.
God, he wanted her. Wanted to be inside her in every way possible. Wanted her to be so overwhelmed with sensation that she screamed and held him close and kissed him like he was her only source of oxygen.
He pulled his finger out of her but left the Rimmy. He nudged it gently. “Do I need to take this out?”
She shoo
k her head. “It’s good. Really good.”
He grinned. “Umm, can we? Do you want …” He sighed as reality came crashing down. “I don’t have any condoms with me. Not that you’d want to have sex. But if you did. I don’t have condoms, so we can’t. God, I’ll shut up now.” He hid his face against her thigh, pressing the heat of his blush into her skin.
She laughed. “I do want that. There’s some in the front pocket of my toy bag,” she said, with a wave toward her roller bag. He crawled out of bed and found a rubber right where she’d said.
These small roadblocks, the logistics of sex, had always tripped him up and made him self-conscious, but Sasha watched his movements with thinly veiled need.
When he was back between her thighs, he thrust two digits into her, catching her slickness on his fingertips. Her warmth, her wetness, the sight of her spread in front of him—it all coalesced in his chest, made him shake from his desire to get inside her, to make her need as sharp and overwhelming as his. He fucked her with his fingers shallowly, and with his other hand, he thrummed his index finger, sheathed in the Fingerslip, over her clit. He wished he had a third hand available to play with the Rimmy too, but, alas, he was not so equipped. He loved the fact that it had been going the whole time, giving her constant stimulation.
The tension in her came on in bits and pieces. First the curling of her toes, then the arch of her feet. Next, her hands fisting the sheets. And finally, she tensed up at the waist, her shoulder blades leaving the bed. He pinched her clit between his index finger and thumb, and she thrashed.
“Perry, oh God.”
That tension snapped and her cunt pulsed around his fingers. She moaned low in her throat—a sexy, tortured sound—and her body shook from the force of her climax.
When her back hit the bed again, he pulled out his fingers and sucked her juices off them. He could die happy with her taste on his lips.
“You ready for this?” Sasha said, her voice cracking. She held up the Shimmy and Shake Cock Ring. “You need to put it on before you’re fully hard.”
“I’ve never used one.”
“Yup. All right.” She shook her head, like she was trying to clear the cotton from it, obviously not fully recovered from her two orgasms yet. Then she spread lube around the inside of the smooth silicone ring. It had a ridged oval on the top that he’d assumed was a clitoral vibrator, but she adjusted the oval so it faced down as she slid the ring behind his balls and up over his shaft. The oval was nestled against his perineum.
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