Page 46 of All I Want is You this Christmas Final

“I agree. It really brings something to the room.”

“Yeah, a place to store my coffee.” Jared rummaged through the leftover K-cups from the variety pack he’d bought a few weeks ago and pulled out two hot chocolate. “Here we go.”

“Got any mini marshmallows?”

“I doubt it, but I’ll look. Why don’t you go change? I can hear your teeth chattering and it’s kind of annoying.”

“Rude.” Anna Beth stuck her tongue out at him.

“Says the grown-ass woman making faces.”

Anna Beth giggled as she picked up half of the clothes and walked out of the kitchen. Jared waited until he heard the bathroom door close before he slid his jeans down. The skin of his legs had darkened to an irritated shade of pink from the wet material rubbing on it and he’d love nothing more than to stay only in his boxers, but he didn’t want to alarm Anna Beth. Jared slipped into a pair of baggy sweatpants, thankful for the soft inside.

Jared could just imagine Anna Beth’s reaction if she came out to find him in his underwear would look like a cartoon character running through his front door, leaving a human shaped hole in the wood. He chuckled at the image.

The bathroom door opened and Anna Beth came back into the kitchen. She slowed in the entryway when she saw him shirtless, wearing only a pair of sweat pants. Jared picked the dry t-shirt off the counter, swiftly sliding it over his head.

To his surprise, she set her wet clothes on the counter and leaned against it with a grin. “There was no hurry. I was enjoying the view.”

His cheeks warmed. “Your teasing is gonna get me into trouble.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I’m trying to take it slow, and I really don’t want to.”

This time, she blushed. Instead of razzing her about it, he turned away to open the cabinet. “No marshmallows.”

“Where is your dryer? I’ll put the clothes in.”

Jared pointed. “Through there.”

She came around beside him, picking his clothes up off the floor. He reached down to stop her and her head bumped into his chin.

“Shit! Are you okay?” Her hand pressed along the side of his face and he covered it with his own.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he said. “I was just going to say, you don’t have to dry mine. I’ll wash them later.”

Her thumb stroked along his cheek. “Alright.”

Jared kissed her palm, then nibbled her wrist. “You smell good.”

“Jared?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you kiss me, please?”

Her words shot through his body like lightning. Forgetting all about the hot chocolate and clothes, Jared hooked his other arm around her waist and pulled her against him. His head dipped, but instead of taking her parted lips, his mouth pressed just below her jawline. Her sharp intake of breath told him everything he needed to know and he trailed kisses along her throat until he reached the tender point under her earlobe.

The delicious vanilla scent of her skin drew him in and he wanted to kiss every inch of her body. She moaned when he took her lobe between his lips and nibbled gently, his cock hardened against the cotton sweats when she rubbed her body against his.

Jared finally took her lips in a hard, hot kiss, losing himself in the scent and taste of her. For years he’d imagined what it would feel like to have Anna Beth in his arms and now that he’d experienced the reality, he didn’t want to stop.

But he also didn’t want to move too fast. Despite every part of him protesting, he broke the kiss, breathing rapidly.

“Sorry.”

Anna Beth was panting, her wide green eyes glued on his face. “I’m not.”