While the others finished off their coffee, she ran back to her room to get her glove liners. It was cold and she wasn’t as used to it as they were. If she was going to be any help she’d need—
She turned to find Spencer filling the doorway. “Spencer?” The way he was looking at her...it was hard to breathe.
She found herself pressed against the wall, his lips parting hers, his tongue seeking entrance and his hands holding her face. Her fingers threaded through his thick hair, pulling his head down to hers. There was nothing gentle about his touch or his kiss. It was possessive—claiming her, making her quiver and ache.
He pulled back, his eyes searching hers before he left her panting against the wall. She stood, trying to calm the frantic beating of her heart, as she heard the door open and close.
She was still pulling herself together when Lucy poked her head into her room.
“He leave you all hot and bothered?” Lucy asked. “’Cause he looks like a ticking time bomb. I thought you two would have, you know, done the deed by now.”
Tatum felt the heat in her cheeks as she tugged on her glove liners.
Lucy giggled.
“We should go help,” Tatum said, unable to stop the smile on her face.
Even with the glove liners, Tatum’s fingers went from tingling to numb. The others had no problem wrapping the large tree in white lights. She and Lucy hung all the wood-chip angels, adjusting the lights so the whole tree was illuminated. When the only thing left was the star for the top, Jared and Dean held the ladder while Spencer teetered on the top step.
“Be careful, Spencer,” she called up to him, wincing as he balanced on one foot to place the star.
“Will do.” His voice reached her.
“Some things never change.” Jared chuckled.
Jared was right. On the surface, it all felt very familiar. Except it was so very different now. She and Spencer had been young and crazy in love—strong and deep. Well, it had been for her. They weren’t in love—how could they be? They didn’t know each other anymore, not really.
This wasn’t about love; this was about want. And she wanted Spencer more than she’d ever wanted...anything. She wasn’t going to spend hours wondering about his thoughts or feelings. She was going to spend hours exploring his body and her sexuality. This was different.
Maybe it was reckless to invite Spencer into her bed when there was still such a strong connection between them. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe she’d regret it...later. Right now, the thought of touching him, kissing him—having his hands on her—was all that mattered. Her body needed him in a way she didn’t fully understand.
“Looks great.” Mrs. Ryan joined them, gripping a large pot. “I made mulled cider, to help chase away the chill.”
“Smells good,” Dean said.
“Thanks, Auntie,” Lucy joined in.
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Ryan. I know I’m freezing, so this will definitely help,” Tatum agreed, ready to get inside. “It will go great with the stew I made.”
“You go on in,” Spencer called down. “We’ll finish up out here.”
“I’ll carry it,” Tatum offered, taking the large pot from Mrs. Ryan and heading up the path.
“I’ll be in, in just a minute,” Mrs. Ryan offered, making the three men groan. “Oh, shush, I only have a few ideas.”
Lucy hooked arms with Tatum and headed inside.
“The cider was totally a ploy.” Lucy laughed. “It’s hard to argue with her when she’s bringing you something to eat or drink. She’ll probably have them out there another hour.”
Tatum glanced back at the group, the three men stooping to hear whatever Mrs. Ryan was telling them. “Smart woman.”
Lucy nodded. “Don’t get me wrong, she loves to take care of people too. Especially her family.”
The word family had become somewhat bittersweet to Tatum in the last few months. Most people took their loved ones for granted. But knowing she didn’t have anyone was a very eye-opening experience. If and when she was ever lucky enough to find someone to love, she’d make sure they knew it every single day.
“I’m sorry about the divorce...about Brent being a cheating dickwad.” Lucy’s words ended her introspection. Her friend put the pot on the stove and hugged her. “God knows you’ve had more than your fair share of hurt.”
She nodded again, hugging her friend. “Wanna know something funny? It was hard to accept he’d cheated on me. But when I figured out who it was with, I was devastated.” She stepped back, pulling soup bowls from the cupboard. “Kendra is a couple of years younger than me, but not much. It’s just...she and I weren’t so different. I’d done everything he said he wanted to make him happy.” She shook her head. “It turns out he really wanted a smart, career-minded woman—exactly what I had been when we married. Apparently Kendra is also terrific in bed.” She shook her head. “Don’t ask. Apparently Brent wasn’t the first husband she tried to steal. Just the wealthiest.”
“Miss him?” Lucy asked.
Tatum shook her head. “No. And I don’t miss who I was when he was around.” She smiled. “It’s sort of liberating.”
“And now you’re free to explore other options—like Spencer.”
She definitely wanted more exploring time with Spencer. Tatum pulled silverware from the drawers to set the table. “What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”
Lucy wrinkled her nose. “Nope. I’m not sure if it’s the psychologist thing, having two brothers that happen to be cops, or the working for the police department, but guys seem a little...hesitant to date me.”
Tatum looked at Lucy. She knew men looked at her friend—there was plenty to look at. Lucy was petite with killer curves and sassy pale blond curls. While they were both blonde, Lucy had a confidence Tatum had never felt. She remembered feeling invisible next to her in the halls of Greyson High School. Unless she was with Spencer. With Spencer, she’d felt special, beautiful and important.
“Their loss,” Tatum murmured. “Maybe we need a girls’ night? We can see what kind of prospects are out there.”
“Maybe.” Lucy shrugged. “Right now I’m happy to focus on my career.”
They chatted a bit longer, laughing over some of Lucy’s more memorable bad dates until Dean, Jared and Spencer joined them in the kitchen and sat at the table.
“Where’s Mrs. Ryan?” Tatum asked, ladling the stew into bowls.
“She only brought the cider to soften us up,” Jared explained.
“She wants us to redo the lights,” Spencer said.
Tatum looked at them. “Are you serious?”
The three of them nodded.
“Too many holes.” Spencer took the bowl she offered, smiling up at her. “I’ll just add a few more strands and it’ll be fine.”
Once everyone had stew and bread, she sat beside Spencer. His hand rested on her thigh, making her jump. She saw his grin out of the corner of her eye.
“We’re driving tonight, so you’re on your own,” Dean said between bites.
“Driving?” Tatum asked, trying not to think about Spencer’s hand moving slowly up the inside of her thigh.
“The whole town gets officially lit up tonight,” Jared said, reaching for more bread. “Some of us have been volunteered to drive the judges through town.”
“You volunteered?” Lucy’s surprise was evident.
“Well, maybe we were told to. After that snake-in-his-drawer thing, the captain wasn’t too happy, so...” Dean let the sentence hang there.
“You put a snake in your boss’s desk?” Tatum asked, spoon halfway to her mouth.
“It was a grass snake.” Jared shrugged.
“But he didn’t think it was funny,” Dean said.
“So they’re driving tonight,” Spencer finished.
“You didn’t have anything to do with this, did you?” Tatum asked, arching a brow at Spencer.
He shook his head. “I tend to find ways to stay on the boss’s good side, not his shit list.”
They all laughed.
“Dean’s a regular,” Jared agreed.
Dean shrugged, his hazel gaze finding hers. “Guilty is as guilty does. And speaking of guilty, you have a chance to think over my little proposition?” He smiled.
Spencer’s hand tightened on her thigh.
Lucy almost choked on her stew before sounding off. “First, yuck, she’s my best friend and you’re my brother. And, two, even if she did decide she wanted to take you up on your offer, do you really think she’d do so with an audience?”
Dean shrugged. “I’m all about full disclosure.”
“How about we keep a little less disclosed,” Spencer said, tearing into his bread and glaring at his cousin.
“Anyway...” Lucy glanced back and forth between them. “I’ll be out in the cold, handing out maps for the light tour. I think I’d rather be driving around judges—at least you have heat.”
Tatum shivered. “I couldn’t do it.” If she was this cold now, she could only imagine how frigid it would be when the sun went down. “I can bring you emergency hot chocolate?”
Lucy laughed. “That’s okay. We set up in front of the fire station and they keep the hot chocolate and coffee coming. You can join me if you want? Didn’t want you to be all alone tonight.”
Tatum didn’t miss the small smile on Lucy’s face. Or the way Spencer’s hand squeezed her thigh ever so slightly. “Oh, I have plenty to keep me busy. I haven’t even started unpacking. Or cleaning out my bedroom. It seems strange for a divorced woman to be sleeping in a room with pom-poms.”
Dean chuckled.
“Why not move into the master bedroom?” Lucy asked.
It made sense. It was her house now. But she wrinkled her nose at the thought. “I know I’m not ready to go through my mom’s stuff. One thing at a time. Besides, I refuse to kick Spencer out until after the holidays. I’m not that heartless.”
There was a slight silence, Dean and Jared exchanged an odd look, and Lucy was grinning. She didn’t risk a look at Spencer.
Lucy nodded. “You’ve got time to make this place your own.”
Her own. But did she really want to stay in Greyson? One of the reasons Gretchen, her college roommate, had invited her to San Diego for Christmas was to talk about an employment opportunity. Gretchen’s family owned a finance and investment firm and, according to Gretchen, there was the perfect opening for Tatum.
Now was the time for trying new things, pushing her comfort boundaries and not passing up once-in-a-lifetime career opportunities. Even for great friends and amazing sex.
* * *
OVER THE YEARS, Spencer had wanted to punch Dean on more than one occasion. His cousin was good at finding his weakness and poking the shit out of it—until Spencer had enough. And right about now, Spencer had reached his limit with Dean’s outrageous flirting and open admiration of Tatum.
She was sitting beside him, her scent pure distraction. It took everything he had not to run his fingers along the side of her neck, to bury his nose there and press a kiss to the hollow of her throat. He wanted to make her breath hitch and her hands tighten in his hair...
“Don’t you think, Spencer?” Jared was asking.
He had absolutely no idea what Jared was talking about. But all four of them were looking at him, waiting for his answer. He had no choice. “About?”
Jared frowned at him. “New Year’s?”
Nope. That didn’t help at all. He waited, hoping like hell Jared would keep talking.
“Your brother’s wedding?” Jared looked concerned.
Lucy went on. “According to Zach, we can stay after.”
He glanced at Lucy, waiting. Why were they—
“Tatum’s invited and I’m trying to convince her to come. If anyone needs some R & R, it’s you, Tatum. Come on, we’ll have the best time,” Lucy pleaded.
He looked at Tatum. She was red-cheeked, clearly uncomfortable. Did she not want to go? Or...or was she thinking about the fact that their twelve days would be up by then? It might prove awkward to be in such close quarters after having such an intimate arrangement. But by then things wouldn’t be as...urgent as they were now. Maybe. Possibly. If they were, having her there would be a good thing.
But beyond his hunger for her, he knew she was alone and no one should be alone during the holidays. “You should,” he agreed.
“See,” Lucy said, squeezing her arm.
“Let me think about it,” Tatum said.
He glanced at the clock. It was almost two. He wanted to get the house done so he could take her on the lights tour. And then bring her back here and make her scream his name. He pushed back from the table, his abrupt movements making everyone jump. “Going back out,” he said, standing.
Dean and Jared looked at each other, then him.
“I’m not done,” Dean argued.
“Five more minutes isn’t going to hurt a thing,” Jared said.
“I didn’t say you had to come with me,” Spencer said. “Thanks for the stew, Tatum. It was delicious.”
She smiled up at him, her green eyes bright. “You’re welcome. Thank you for getting my—our—house up to judging standards.”
Our house. Her words jolted him. “My pleasure,” he said, winking at her before he hurried out of the kitchen. He liked what she’d said a little too much.
After finding more strands of white Christmas lights, he set about filling the holes his mother had found. And he tried his hardest not to let Dean and Jared lingering inside a hell of a lot longer than five minutes or the smile Dean wore when he did finally show up rub him the wrong way. Ever since they were kids, Dean liked to get a rise out of him. This was no different.
“Damn, she’s a good-looking woman,” Dean said, taking some of the lights from him. “Why the hell did you dump her again?”
Spencer glared at his cousin.
“Gotta kill you, man. To see all that, back here, out of your reach.” Dean sighed. “I feel for you.”
Jared laughed.
Spencer continued to glare at Dean. “She take you up on your offer?”
Dean smiled. “Not yet.”
“Then maybe she’s not out of my reach,” Spencer finished.
“Being roommates sure makes things cozy,” Jared said, glancing at his brother.
They had no idea. “We’ll see what happens,” Spencer said.
“Right.” Dean uncoiled some lights. “Or she might be over ancient history and want to try someone new. Like me.”
“You can try.” Spencer forced the words out, knowing his irritation was obvious but unable to do a damn thing about it.
But Spencer was the one staying tonight. He was the one who knew how to make her come apart at the seams and shatter in his arms. He knew how beautiful she looked when she climaxed. He turned back to the tree. But all he could think about was Tatum, the feel of her mouth on him...
“People are still talking about Wednesday night,” Jared said. “Everyone’s nervy.”
Spencer hadn’t given much thought to work. Clint Taggart was bad news. It was about time the department had given him more than a warning or improvement plan. Spencer believed in backing his squad, but he didn’t hold with putting the team in jeopardy. Which was exactly what Clint had done.
“You think Clint’s going to follow through on his threat?” Dean asked.
Spencer shook his head. “If he wants to bring trouble to my door, I’ll be ready and waiting.”
Jared snorted. “Dumbass got himself in the situation, period. He doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut.
”
Which was true. Clint talked too much and too loudly. Which was a concern when you worked with undercover cops. As far as the department knew, no real damage had been done. Clint had drunk too much at a bar and mentioned a few names. Lucky for them, the bartender had been a source more than once and called Spencer. But, because Spencer had picked up Clint, Clint blamed Spencer for what happened next: Clint losing his job. And, before he left, Clint had threatened to beat the living daylights out of Spencer the next time their paths crossed.
“I’m not losing sleep over it,” Spencer said.
“He was pissed. And pissed people do stupid things. Like sharing confidential information to get even.” Jared looked at him.
Spencer paused, frowning. “I don’t like Clint but I don’t think he’d sell anyone on the team out.”
Dean shrugged. “Guess we’ll see.”
They didn’t talk much after that. Spencer couldn’t shake the unease in the pit of his stomach. He took risks every day. He didn’t need some asshole with a grudge getting him killed out of misplaced anger.
“Looks good to me,” Jared said, standing back.
“She can’t say there’s a light shortage,” Lucy said, as she walked outside to join them. “I’ve got to change and head to the fire station.”
Spencer kept his impatience in check, trying not to think about Tatum waiting for him inside. His cousins helped him collect his tools and clean up the yard before they climbed into Jared’s big black truck.
“You know she’s over you, right?” Dean asked, grinning at him.
Spencer flipped him off, making both his cousins laugh as they drove away. He drew in a deep breath of cold air and made his way up the walkway. He stomped the snow off his boots on her porch and slipped inside. “Tatum?” Spencer called out. Unless she was waiting for him in the shower again. That would warm things up.
“Kitchen,” she answered.
He headed into the kitchen. She had a large mixing bowl on the counter and a cookbook propped up. “What are you making?” he asked.
She turned, a smudge of flour on her nose. “Pizzelle.”
Christmas in His Bed Page 7