Chapter 13 Juniper
THIRTEEN
JUNIPER
The kitchen’s mostly dark now, lit only by the soft glow of the under-cabinet lights. Everyone else has moved downstairs to the oversized sectional to watch a holiday movie.
Noting the mulled wine I brought is gone, I unplug the crockpot and run the ceramic insert under the faucet to soak it.
I’m tidying up the gingerbread house displays when I catch the shimmer of a cellophane wrapper.
I’d been certain, from the way they’d been bouncing off the walls, that the kids had eaten every last piece of candy, but the universe must know I’m in need of a sweet treat and left me one cherry swirl hard candy to enjoy.
Pinching the ends of the cellophane wrapper between my fingers, I pull them apart to release the candy.
“What do you have there?”
The voice startles me, and the spiral burgundy and white candy skitters across the countertop. My eyes dart toward the doorway where Liam has appeared. He’s leaning there, arms crossed, grin lazy. The kind of grin that makes me want to throw something at his perfect face.
Or kiss it.
Oh, hell no.
He’s trying to distract me, but I’m not playing to lose. Not like last year.
I smack my hand down on the candy piece to claim it.
Liam pushes off the doorframe. “Is that a cherry swirl candy?” he asks, eyes flashing with curiosity as he approaches.
“Yeah. And it’s mine.” I teasingly hold it in his direction before dramatically popping it into my mouth.
Cherry creamy goodness. It’s so delightful, I nearly moan. Maybe this day is getting better after all.
He takes a step toward me. “You sure about that?”
“Uh, yeah.” I suck hard on the candy, then let it slide across my tongue so the flavor bursts, causing my mouth to water. “It’s in my mouth.”
He raises a brow. “Is that supposed to stop me?”
I narrow my eyes, my cheeks hollowing around the candy. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, Firefly,” he murmurs, “you must not know how seriously I take a dare.”
He’s right in front of me now, too close. The kitchen suddenly feels much smaller, the countertops too narrow to hide behind.
I straighten my spine, refusing to retreat. “What exactly are you planning to do? Wrestle it out of my mouth?” I laugh because the thought is outrageous, and I can’t even comprehend Liam doing it.
He leans in, his eyes locked on mine, the corner of his mouth twitching with amusement. “Maybe.”
I take a step back, only for my hip to bump the counter. No more escape routes.
“You can’t be serious.”
His gaze drops to my lips. “That’s the thing, Firefly. When it comes to you, that’s exactly what I am.”
My brain is reeling from his words, trying to find an explanation because he can’t mean that.
Before I can stop him, he swoops in, one hand bracing beside me on the counter, the other catching my waist just enough to pull me forward. His mouth hovers over mine—not quite kissing, but close enough that I feel the warmth of his breath.
I tighten my jaw around the candy, determined.
“Oh my god, are you seriously going to tongue-wrestle me for a piece of candy?” I squeak, my voice high and breathless.
“I take my desserts very seriously,” he murmurs against my lips.
His lips brush mine once. Just a graze. A tease. My breath stutters.
I’m dying for more, but I don’t want him to know it. He’s teasing me, and while it’s thrilling, it’s dangerous, too. The line between flirting and falling hard. Besides, I can’t let it be easy for him.
But then he’s looking at me like I’m the only thing in the room that matters, and it makes it hard to remember all the reasons I built the wall in the first place.
I tilt my chin, trying to look unaffected, even as my heart launches into a sprint.
“This how you win candy fights?” I ask, my voice low and breathy. “By stealing kisses that aren’t yours?”
He smirks, but there’s heat in his eyes now. A flicker of something more serious beneath the grin. “Only when I want the prize this badly.”
My heart squeezes. Are we still talking about the candy?
Then he tilts his head and captures my mouth. Suddenly it’s a tug-of-war with our mouths, the candy sliding between us, rolling between our tongues.
My pulse spikes.
It’s ridiculous and heated and funny. And holy hell, electric.
We’re grappling now.
I twist in his arms, trying to keep the candy from him. Laughing through my protests, but he’s quicker, his arm gripping tighter around my waist as he tilts my chin up and presses deeper into my mouth.
I gasp, stunned. But it only aids him in taking what he wants.
The cherry swirl candy and another lick of my mouth. He easily steals the candy with a cocky swipe of his tongue.
He pulls back slowly, grinning, lips stained the faintest pink. His tongue darts out, and when it does, I see it.
The candy sitting right there on his tongue.
That smug, infuriating ass.
My eyes narrow.
“Oh, you think you’ve won?” I scoff.
He raises a brow, daring me. “Pretty sure the scoreboard says—”
I don’t let him finish. I surge forward, fisting the front of his sweater, and kiss him like I mean it.
Like I’m the one calling the shots now. And I would be if I didn’t suddenly get wrapped up in the feel of him against me.
The feel of his hot mouth on mine. The way his fingertips dip beneath my sweater, teasing the sensitive skin above my waistband.
Wait. What was this all for?
Oh, yeah, the candy.
I press in farther, then drag my teeth against Liam’s bottom lip.
A sound resonates from low in his throat, surprised and undone.
My tongue sweeps into his mouth, claiming the candy, and maybe a little piece of him, too.
I lean back slowly, smug as hell, and pop the candy between my teeth. “Thanks for holding that for me.”
Liam just stares at me, completely wrecked, lips kiss-swollen and chest rising fast.
And if I weren’t feeling the exact same way, I’d probably enjoy it even more.
“There you two are.” My mom’s voice cuts through the moment like a snowplow down Founders Street.
I jolt back a step, nearly choking on the candy. Liam straightens too fast and knocks his hip into the counter, swearing under his breath.
With a clipboard in hand, my mom, in her red cardigan and jingle bell earrings, looks like she’s about to direct a Christmas play.
“Yup. It’s us. Two holiday roomies. Just hanging out in the kitchen.”
Her eyes narrow for a moment, like she’s onto us, but then she waves a hand.
“I’m planning a surprise engagement dinner for Jasper and Stella, and I need you two to help me pull it off.”
I glance at Liam. He’s already watching me.
As if the atmosphere wasn’t already warmer than chestnuts roasting, my mom just tossed us straight into the fire.
“What did you have in mind?” I ask.