Chapter 10
K eely yawned, waking to the unmistakable scent of coffee. Which she didn't remember making. Had she discovered how to do it while she was asleep?
Her eyes shot open. She was gifted the delicious sight of Travis, wearing just his boxer briefs, holding a coffee cup out to her. His expression was mischievous as he sang, "Yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn."
"Naughty boy." She sat up and twisted her hair into a bun before gratefully accepting the mug. "I have to say it again. Your customer service skills are legendary."
He chuckled, sitting on the bed next to her, his fingers tracing a delicate pattern down her arm. "If you're talking about last night—Oh, the coffee."
She leaned towards him for a kiss. "It's everything. A seamless, uninterrupted nirvana of pleasurable experiences."
"That may be the best review I've ever received."
She laughed. "I'm just getting started. Wait until I've had some caffeine."
He kissed her shoulder. "I was thinking..."
"About?"
Keely was definitely game for more of last night's activities. Her heart began to pick up speed at the thought of resuming, maybe even surpassing, everything they'd done. The very first of the Twelve Nights of Sassmas had set a pretty high bar, though.
Travis looked almost bashful. "Can we make some cookies today?"
She tipped her head back and laughed joyously. "Of course we can, Santa. It'll be your turn to be the helper."
***
T RAVIS PULLED A STOOL to the center island where Keely had sugar cookie dough ready to roll out. He watched her add molasses to another bowl, impressed at how easily she moved from task to task, clearly happy in this particular domain.
"Is that for gingerbread men?" he asked. "I mean, gingerbread people."
"Yes." She winked. "They're ginger fluid."
He chuckled. "I haven't done this for so long. I'm glad I have a professional to guide me."
"I can't remember the last time I had a helper." Keely grinned. "I'm looking forward to bossing you around."
"Like you did last night?" he teased, unable to keep the satisfied grin from appearing.
She leaned towards him for a kiss. "Exactly like that. Plan on it tonight, too."
Travis felt the shiver of excitement race through him. How had he managed to win this particular lottery? A fantastic lover, a woman who was so much fun outside of the bedroom. He'd hit the jackpot, that was for sure.
Keely demonstrated how to use the rolling pin to flatten the sugar cookie dough. "You don't want the cookies to be too thick—"
"That's what the frosting is for."
She laughed. "But you don't want them too thin—"
"Or they won't hold up under all the thick frosting we're going to put on them."
"You're more of a cookie scientist than you let on. Not to mention obsessed with thick frosting. I might have to make a double, no, triple batch."
Keely continued smoothing the dough as she talked. Her movements were strong, and sure, and it shouldn't have aroused him to see her whipping that cookie dough into submission. But boy did it.
He jumped off the stool and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her ear, treasuring the goosebumps and how she nestled against him.
"This isn't part of my usual cookie-making process," she said, her voice a little more breathy than moments before.
"It's part of mine, though."
She gave him a mock glare over her shoulder. "You don't have a cookie-making process."
"I do! Isn't pre-heating involved? I think I saw that in a recipe once."
Keely turned slowly until she was facing him. He put his hands on the counter behind her, thrilled at how she gazed at him with affection and lust. A mirror of his feelings. He dipped his head to steal a kiss.
Her mouth latched onto his, kissing him with undeniable passion. She broke off the kiss and murmured, "You know I've still got a rolling pin in my hand, right?"
Her eyes twinkled with mischief, warming Travis everywhere. Pretty much everything she said and did made his body respond that way. Nights, days, in person, on the phone. It didn't matter. As long as Keely was involved, his body was ready for her.
"Okay, I can take a hint." He stepped back, crossing his arms, pretending to pout.
She chuckled. "Pick out which cookie cutters you want to use."
"Oh, I already know." Travis headed for the wall and plucked one off the display. "I want to make some for my brother the dick."
She looked up. "Don't forget I've got other sizes. In the drawer."
"You're right! Where's the smallest one? That's the one I'll use for Wyatt."
"You're cackling," Keely commented with a smile.
"I am. I can't wait to give these to him." He glanced at her. "I guess this is how it starts. Now he'll feel honor-bound to give me something rude. And then I'll have to outdo him."
"Yep. Want to reconsider?"
"Hell no!"
***
"I PROMISED I'D MEET my friend Nicki later for coffee."
Keely drew a lazy circle around his nipple. Somehow being in the kitchen had inspired them to move back to the bedroom. Not that she was complaining. Luckily she'd shut off the oven so they wouldn't set off the smoke alarm.
It was amazing it hadn't gone off in here.
Keely grinned remembering the text Nicki had sent earlier.
Nicki: You better be ignoring me because you're rocking his world in the sassiest way possible.
How else could Keely respond except with a smiling face emoji with the tongue hanging out?
Nicki: Call me later, Miss Sass! When you have the strength. LOL
"Nicki wondered if you might want to join us," Keely said. "So she can determine for herself if you're as awesome as I've been telling her or if it's merely hearsay."
"I'd love to meet her. Hopefully I can convince her I'm made of awesome. Which I probably am after eating all the cookies you made. You're an amazing baker."
"Thank you." She gave his nipple a tender bite. "I like having you as a helper."
His groan was delicious, stirring everything lustful inside her. "If you keep doing that," he warned, "we'll have to ask Nicki for a rain check."
She grinned. "Better not. She'd come pounding on the door, demanding we let her in."
"Okay, coffee it is." Travis sat up, looking for his clothes. "Is this because of me, or has she always been like that?"
"Always. We met in second grade, when a bratty kid was giving me a hard time. She pulled his hair until he promised to leave me alone." She chuckled. "There should be some kind of surgeon general warning about her being harmful to your health if she's crossed."
"Hmm. Maybe I should invite Wyatt. After all, he's not just my brother."
"He's also your best friend?"
"No, he's my annoying roommate. And part-time nemesis."
She laughed. "You guys have quite the rivalry."
"Yeah, it's all in fun, though. And right now I'm imagining how entertaining it will be to see Nicki and Wyatt together. They're about as opposite as you can get."
"I'm kind of looking forward to it, too," she admitted. "Should we warn them beforehand?"
"We probably should," he agreed with a laugh. "But why ruin all our fun?"
***
W YATT SLID INTO A CHAIR next to Travis, slightly late, but without any kind of apology in his expression. Keely wasn't exactly happy to sit across from Travis—it was the farthest she'd been from him in the past twenty-four hours. Still, she figured it was a good idea to sit next to Nicki, just in case she needed to be wrestled into submission.
Wyatt gave Nicki a thorough looking-over. "You look just like that woman in my favorite movie."
"Is that so?" Nicki purred, clearly impressed by his comment.
"Yeah. The one with the puppies." He snapped his fingers. "101 Dalmatians".
"You mean Cruella?" Her tone was decidedly frosty. "I remind you of Cruella DeVille?"
He nodded, seemingly unaware of the drastic drop in temperature. Keely glanced at Travis, silently asking him "what the hell?", but he just smiled back.
Nicki stared at Wyatt in fascination. He pushed his hair back, preening a bit, his satisfied smirk announcing he was used to this sort of female attention.
After a long minute, Nicki said, "Incredible! I've always thought evil twins were just a thing in movies. But here you are, real as can be."
Wyatt frowned. "Except we're not twins." He said it with exaggerated slowness, as if he was introducing facts to a diehard conspiracy theorist.
"Exactly what an evil twin would try to convince me of."
Wyatt gave Travis an exasperated look, but found no sympathy.
"She does have a point," Travis said.
"I'm also not evil," Wyatt said.
"Hah!" Nicki didn't say anything else, just took a sip of coffee, pinning Wyatt with her eyes. Then she shifted her gaze to Travis. "So, Travis the Good Twin. Is Keely amazingly awesome or what?"
"Nicki!" Keely sputtered.
Travis grinned. "She does have a point," he repeated, giving Keely a sexy wink. She needed to fan herself when he did things like that. Or when he did anything, really, like breathing. Or existing.
Wyatt glanced around the room, as if looking for some people who might be more interesting than the crowd he was with.
Nicki tapped the table to get his attention.
"Oh, did you want something?" Wyatt bit back a yawn, but just barely.
Nicki simply smiled. A slow lift to her lips that made Keely want to yell, "Run, Wyatt! Save yourself while you still can." She looked at Travis, in case he wanted to help his brother out. He merely shrugged, enjoying this interaction a lot.
Nicki leaned forward and studied Wyatt's face, and then turned to Travis. "Yes. Yes, there's definitely some differences."
"Yeah?" Wyatt asked.
"Travis is handsome, shockingly so. While you're." She lifted one shoulder. "Passable."
"Passable? What does that mean? I'd squeak into last place, like with a passing grade? Or you'd race across the street to pass by me?"
"Yes, exactly."
Wyatt stared at her, clearly not sure what to say next. He rapped out a quick rhythm on the table and then stood.
"Tapping out already?" Nicki asked.
"Hah. I gotta run. I'm on a tight schedule." Travis snorted but Wyatt ignored it. "It was great seeing you again, Keely. I can see why Travis—"
Travis ahemed. He might have also elbowed his brother, judging from the frown that instantly appeared on Wyatt's face.
"And Nicki," he continued, "thanks for reminding me I'm overdue for a root canal. Without anesthesia. On all my teeth."
"Sorry you're leaving so soon," Nicki said, not a hint of apology in her voice. "Don't be a stranger."
He started to say something, but then gave a little wave and left.
"That's a first," Travis said.
"What?" Keely got up and moved to the chair next to him.
Travis put his arm around her, pulling her close to his side. "Wyatt isn't used to anyone not falling for his charms."
Neither was Nicki. Not that she'd ever admit it bothered her.
"How could Wyatt hope to compete with you?" Keely nuzzled Travis, and he gave her a quick kiss, making her heart pound with contentment. It felt like forever since she'd been this close to him.
Nicki sighed heavily. "Okay, I get the hint. I'll let you enjoy the rest of your afternoon."
She stood and took one last sip of her coffee, clearly not leaving despite her farewell.
Travis and Keely looked at her, and she said, "Just making sure Sir Charms-a-lot is gone. It could be awkward running into him outside after our recent skirmish."
"At least you went easy on him," Travis said, his eyes twinkling. "No visible flesh wounds. He definitely qualifies for a consolation prize. Or a lovely parting gift."
Nicki snort-laughed. "I like you, Travis."
"Same, Nicki. Same." He bit his lip and then added, "I probably should have told you earlier...Wyatt's had a mad crush on Cruella DeVille his whole life."
Nicki's eyes widened. "You're serious."
He nodded. "Posters on his bedroom wall. Writing book reports extolling her unseen qualities."
"Poor Wyatt," Keely said. "The two of you conspired against him."
Travis winced. "I'm the evil twin, now, aren't I?"
"Hardly," Nicki said with a laugh. "But it means you can keep up with my sassy girl here. I approve."
She left after bumping fists with Travis, and making Keely promise to call her later. As usual, heads turned when she sashayed out the door.
"Well, that was stimulating," Keely said. "Who needs caffeine after that?"
"I might not sleep for weeks." He gave her ear a kiss. "Of course, there are other reasons for that."
She could feel the heat rising in her face, and the tingling in all of the spots she loved for Travis to touch—that was in overdrive mode, too. It was hard to imagine when she wasn't like this, craving him every minute of every day.
And the nights...
"I just realized. We forgot to bring the cookies. The ones you made for Wyatt."
"That's right." His eyes sparked with undeniable heat. "We left them on the kitchen counter."
Keely fought off a blush. The box of cookies had been in her hand, but then Travis had backed her against the kitchen counter, his mouth ravishing hers. She'd set the cookies down so she could wrap her arms around him...
"We can go pick them up if you want. So you can bring them to Wyatt while he recovers from battling with Nicki."
Travis stood and pulled her against him. "We'll work out some sort of timetable for that. Hopefully before they get stale, but I can't promise anything. Not with our busy schedule."
They headed towards the door, which Travis held open for Keely. To their shock, Wyatt and Nicki were providing a big public display of affection outside. Nicki was wrapped around Wyatt and he held her tightly, as if afraid she might bolt. They were so consumed with passionately kissing, they didn't see Travis and Keely.
"Engaged by next Christmas?" Travis asked Keely as they strolled past the pair.
"I'm betting Easter."
They giggled and headed for home.