A Wrong Bed Christmas: IgnitedWhere There's Smoke

by Kimberly Van Meter

  A fallen angel with an agenda.

  And he was running out of willpower to stay the course.

  Heaven help him, what had he gotten himself into?

  6

  ALEXIS KNEW THE minute the words came out of her mouth that she shouldn’t have said them. What was wrong with her? It was as if she were bound and determined to make the worst mistake of her life in record time.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, quickly making amends. “I shouldn’t have said that. It was totally inappropriate. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. My brain is certainly not acting responsibly—not that that’s a big surprise given my track record, but I really am trying to change bad habits.”

  His chuckle seemed forced, but what could she expect after she’d just let her potty mouth get the best of her. “Hey, it’s okay,” he reassured her. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. We’ve all made mistakes that we’re not proud of. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with being proud of a skill.”

  She couldn’t help herself. “When you say things like that it makes me not sorry at all.”

  A beat of charged silence flowed between them, filling the crisp air with heat. Layton shook his head. “We’re a pair to draw to, aren’t we?”

  “As in, we both have the same problem recognizing what boundaries to pay attention to?”

  “Exactly,” he agreed ruefully. “I know it’s wrong to look at my buddy’s little sister the way I’m looking at you now, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember why I was supposed to keep my distance.”

  A delighted flush tickled her cheeks. “And if I wasn’t your buddy’s little sister?” she prompted.

  He didn’t hesitate. “Then we sure as hell wouldn’t be hanging lights right now.”

  What he didn’t say was plainly in his gaze. Her breath caught. “Maybe we could pretend that I’m not your buddy’s little sister. Just for today.”

  “I’m not sure that would work. Eventually Erik would find out and I really don’t want to lose a friend because, you know, I couldn’t keep my hands to myself.”

  It was solid reasoning, and that he was holding back to protect the feelings of a friend meant something, but it really didn’t change the fact that she wanted him and she wasn’t sure she wanted to deny herself. “I understand and I think it’s awesome that you’re the kind of guy who cares, but there’s something about you that I can’t quite get out of my head and maybe it’s because I’m in a reckless frame of mind or maybe it’s because you’re the hottest guy I’ve seen in a along time, but right about now, I’d much rather spend my weekend making all sorts of mistakes with you than anything else. So what are we going to do about that?”

  “You’re making it real hard to be good.”

  “I guess what I’m saying is I’m not interested in you being good this weekend.”

  “Yeah, but you’re not the only one who’s been hammered by bad decisions. I’m trying to change, too.”

  Was it wrong that she couldn’t care less about his past or how he was trying to make amends? Okay, so the fact was, her heart was a little broken. Maybe she didn’t like to admit it out loud, but she could feel the jagged pieces scraping and poking and sometimes it was just hard to ignore. “Have you ever just wanted to do the exact thing you know is wrong for so many reasons and yet it felt so right?”

  “Story of my damn life.”

  “At least we have that in common. Erik has always been the responsible one, the one who could be counted on, whereas I was the one people always thought of as the flake. I don’t want to be that person anymore, but habits are hard to change.”

  “But not impossible,” he told her. “If you want to be a different person, you have to take steps to be that different person. And that means not doing the things that you want to do the most. At least, that’s the advice I’ve been given.”

  “So why do you want to change so bad?”

  “There just comes a time when you realize that you can’t keep doing what you’ve been doing and hope to have a good life at the end of your days. I mean, I don’t want to get all sappy, but I want a family at some point. And that’s not going to happen if I don’t stop chasing after the wrong tail.”

  “You have a point,” she said, trying not to let his admission hit a soft spot, but she wasn’t accustomed to hearing men talk about the idea of settling down. “And I don’t think that’s sappy at all. I think that’s really sweet—and shocking—coming from a guy like you.”

  “Shocking? How so?”

  Alexis shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I’m playing into the stereotype, but guys who look like you and are built like you are usually more interested in sowing their oats rather than putting down roots.”

  He laughed. “Well, a year ago I was definitely the stereotype. For lack of a better word I was a little...free with my affections. But I realized the hard way that people were getting hurt. And that’s not the person I want to be.”

  He had no way of knowing, but his statement had just tingled her ovaries as effectively as if he’d clanged a bell. “If I were more of a cynic, I’d say that was the most effective line I’ve ever heard.”

  “Not a line, it’s the truth. There’s only so many times you can do the walk of shame without it affecting you.”

  “Men do the walk of shame? I thought it was always the woman.”

  He chuckled. “I don’t know, I’ve done some shameful things.”

  She laughed. “Am I a bad person that I want to hear details?”

  “Not a bad person, but you’re not going to get them, either. Those stories are going to go to my grave.”

  “Okay, now I’m intrigued. I have to make it my goal to crack open that safe.”

  Layton scooped up the empty boxes and carried them up the porch where Alexis was sitting in a chair. “And on that note...what else are we going to do out here? I’m about to freeze my balls off.”

  “No fair. You can’t mention body parts if I can’t mention skills. But you’re off the hook, the lights were all I wanted to do today.”

  “Good.” He carried the boxes into the house, but just as Alexis started to hobble after him he returned and scooped her up as if she weighed nothing.

  She gasped, her cheeks warming. “I’m not crippled. I can walk.”

  “Maybe I just want to feel you or maybe I’m just being a gentleman. Either way, I come out on the winning side when I have a fine woman in my arms.”

  Couldn’t argue that logic. The man had a way with words, and that smile was quickly becoming her weakness. She laughed and enjoyed the feeling of Layton holding her as if she was precious cargo. He returned her to the sofa and elevated her foot. “You know, if this firefighter gig doesn’t work out, I think you could have a real future in home health care.”

  Layton smirked. “I’ll keep that in mind. But only if all of my patients look as cute as you.”

  “Can’t make any promises there. I am pretty cute.”

  “And modest. Dangerous combination.”

  Layton went to pull away and she snagged his shirt by the lapels and dragged him straight to her lips. “Since we’ve already agreed we both suck at making good decisions, we might as well just go with it. I’m tired of fighting what I desperately want to do.”

  And then she sealed her lips to his in a searing kiss so hot that any good sense between the two of them went up in smoke.

  * * *

  DANGER! ABORT!

  Red sirens and flashing neon lights blazed in his conscience, but if there was an angel and devil sitting on either shoulder, the angel had just been duct-taped and hog-tied, because he sure as hell wasn’t in charge.

  Alexis’s skin was like soft silk beneath his fingertips as his tongue danced with hers, the urge to taste every inch of her body burning through his brain like
a fever. This was the sweetest, most tantalizing lunacy, but he couldn’t stop. Heaven help him, he couldn’t stop if he tried.

  Her hands, as eager as his own, pushed at his shirt and within seconds he’d ripped off the offending piece of clothing, his skin burning at her insistent touch. He slowed only long enough to help her remove her top and he nearly swallowed his tongue when she revealed the most achingly perfect breasts God had ever created. Sweetly upturned pink nipples pearled and pouted, demanding a hot mouth to suck and tease them and he wasn’t about to disappoint.

  Wasting no time, he sucked a tightly budded nipple into his mouth and teased the tip with his tongue. Alexis groaned and her belly trembled as his hands kneaded the soft, pliant flesh of her glorious breasts and he knew there was no going back. They were in too deep now. And he wasn’t going to think about Erik—hell no, talk about a buzzkill—all he wanted to think about was how to make Alexis squirm in his arms. He wanted to hear her breathy moans in his ear, taste her sweet juices as she came and feel her shudder beneath him.

  How did they get here? One minute they were hanging lights—totally platonic, right?—and now, he was ready to flip the switch and go down on her. “Alexis, tell me if you want me to stop,” he said, hating the words but needing to say them anyway. They were playing with fire, but he’d pull back if she said to.

  “Don’t you dare stop,” she growled, pushing at his head as she shimmied out of her pants, wincing briefly as she cleared her injured ankle. Following her lead, he grinned and helped her out of her panties, grabbing the tiny scrap of lace and inhaling the unique scent.

  “Mmm, perfect,” he said, unabashedly enjoying Alexis’s unique scent. “God, you smell incredible.”

  Alexis blushed but seemed to revel in his enjoyment. He grinned and tossed the panties, ready to dive into the real thing. Everything about Alexis excited him. At this point he figured he deserved a medal for holding out as long as he had. He positioned himself between her legs, careful not to jostle her injured ankle, and then feasted on the honeyed sweetness between her legs. He teased the tiny button nestled between her damp folds, licked and laved the bare flesh, tickling the tiny strip of pubic hair seaming her cleft.

  A breathy shudder escaped her lips as she tensed, her body shaking almost immediately. Manly pride surged through him as he sucked and licked her pleasure spot until she stiffened and broke apart with tiny, mewling gasps that would have sent him over the edge if he hadn’t already been sporting granite in his pants, full and thick, ready for action.

  He was more than ready to sink into that slick heat, but he wanted to make sure she got hers first, because as he’d admitted to Alexis, he was a gentleman at heart even if he had the mind of a lecherous pervert.

  Layton gave her clitoris one final tease and she jerked, her belly spasming involuntarily. “You’re a bad boy,” she said with a satisfied grin. “And I like it. Do you always let ladies come first?”

  “Seems a good rule to live by,” he said, rising to seal his lips to hers, loving that she gripped him hard and didn’t shy away from the fact that she could taste herself on his lips. He pulled away and Alexis helped him out of his underwear, revealing his thick and eager erection. He grinned and palmed himself. Now he didn’t mind that he was naked. “Like what you see?”

  “Not bad,” she said coyly. “But let’s reserve judgment until after it’s over. You know what they say about guys with talented tongues...”

  “They’re lucky bastards?”

  She laughed. “They say they’re good with their mouths because that’s all they got.”

  Layton laughed and pulled her gently off the sofa, lifting her into his arms. “Honey, I guess I’m the exception. We’ll see if you can handle this action.”

  She smelled like sex and he liked it. “I like the feel of your wet pussy against my arm. Reminds me of where I’ve been.”

  “You have a dirty mind,” she said with sly approval. “I like the way you think.”

  “I think we have a lot in common.” He placed her on the bed and gazed at the perfection wrapped up in one saucy package. “How is it that I’ve never met you until this point? Your brother was smart to hide you away.”

  She snorted. “You make me sound like a virginal princess in the medieval days.”

  “I’m just saying...if you were my sister I wouldn’t want the guys at the station house seeing you, either. You have no idea what a bunch of guys cooped up together start to talk about. It’s raunchy.”

  “Do tell.”

  “How about I show you?”

  She shivered with open delight. “Do your worst.”

  “Well, sometimes when there are no calls and the station is otherwise dead, we try and one-up each other with tales of sexual adventures.”

  “Okay, now I’m intrigued. What’s the kinkiest place you’ve had sex?” she asked, scooting onto the pillow and leaning back, giving him the best view of everything she had to offer.

  “Easy. Bathroom of the Lotus. She had to cover her mouth to muffle the screams as I banged her hard up against the bathroom wall.”

  “The Lotus...are you saying you had sex in the swankiest restaurant in town...the same place that takes weeks to get a reservation unless you’re a celebrity?”

  “As it happened...I was with a certain up-and-coming starlet who I’d met on the slopes in Vail. We hit it off and saw each other a few times until her schedule got too hectic and we lost touch.”

  “Who was it?”

  “I don’t kiss and tell.”

  “You’re lying,” she said, calling his bluff.

  “No, I swear to you. True story. She was a hot lay,” he admitted as he climbed onto the bed. “But enough about her... I’m all about you right now.”

  “Good answer,” she said, pulling him to her for another kiss, their tongues sparring with one another in a sensual assault. She was good with her mouth. He could only imagine what she’d do with that mouth on his cock, but he couldn’t wait for more foreplay. He was willing to forgo a little head if it meant he could sink into that sweet pussy.

  But first... “Condoms?”

  “First drawer, full box.”

  “I love a woman who’s prepared,” he said, jerking open the drawer. He ripped open a foil packet and sheathed himself, his hands shaking. Damn, he was never this eager, but there was something about Alexis that turned him on his ear. So much for the suave act he usually had down to an art form.

  Pulling her injured leg up over his shoulder, he slid himself into her damp heat and nearly lost his mind from the instant pleasure cocooning him from all sides. She gripped him with her internal muscles, squeezing him from the inside, and he nearly came like a prepubescent boy in a circle jerk.

  “Oh my God,” he breathed, unable to stop from uttering a guttural moan. Sweat popped along his hairline. He wanted to pump into her like a piston, to ram his cock into her with the force of a machine, to put his stamp on her insides, and the ferocity of his need shocked and embarrassed him a little. “You feel so good,” he admitted with a tight groan.

  He drove into Alexis, burying himself to the hilt, losing all sense of cool as he thrust against her. Remembering some semblance of himself, he slowed his thrusts to focus on her, loving the way her cheeks flushed with each moan as her generous breasts bounced with the motion of his hips, everything about her was sexy.

  Within moments, she was tensing and her thighs shaking and he knew she was close, which was a blessed relief because he didn’t think he could last much longer. He liked to pride himself on being able to go the distance, but something about Alexis stripped him bare and made him vulnerable at the same time.

  All he wanted was to lose himself in her, to watch as she came and to taste her on his tongue. He wanted to bury his face in her pussy and lap at her folds until she cried out his name. He’d never bee
n one to wax poetic about a woman’s lady parts, but he thought he could write a sonnet about the sweetness that was Alexis.

  “L-Layton!” she cried out, gripping the pillow beneath her head, thrusting her breasts up as she came hard. She shuddered and a long exhale escaped her lips as she completely lost herself to the moment. It was beautiful to watch and almost interrupted his own orgasm, but within seconds of that undoing, he followed, coming with a loud groan.

  He rolled off and pulled the condom free, tossing it carefully into the trash before collapsing to the bed, spent. It took him several minutes before he could form words, but Alexis didn’t seem to mind the silence. If anything, the satisfied smile on her face said more than words could, and that made him want to crow.

  “I needed that,” she said with a happy sigh. “Thank you.”

  He paused and then nodded. “You’re welcome.”

  A happy gurgle of satisfaction escaped her sweet lips and he wanted her all over again. Could this become his newest bad habit?

  7

  LAYTON ROLLED ONTO his side. “If you’re this good in bed laid up, I can only imagine what it’s like being with you when you’re fully recovered.”

  She leveled a playful look his way. “I like to switch positions. A lot.”

  “Sex is great cardio. Best way to work up a sweat in my book. Should I stock up on Gatorade?”

  She laughed. “Getting ahead of yourself, don’t you think?”

  “Not really. I think we both had a good time. Am I wrong?”

  “Oh no, you were good, no doubt about that. I rarely come that easily, so I either chalk that up to the fact that you’re pretty talented or I was pretty horny. Either way, I count that as a win.”

  “I think it’s because I’m pretty talented,” Layton said with cocky swagger. “I don’t mean to brag, but... I’m pretty good.”

  Alexis made a show of thinking then decided. “Sorry, buddy, I think I was just really horny and needed an itch scratched. Thanks for that, by the way,” she repeated.