Chapter 21 #2
‘No.’ She grabbed his wrist, pulling him back towards her. ‘I was disappointed you changed your mind. Why did you?’
‘You were upset, vulnerable. It didn’t seem like a good idea.’
‘Well, I’m not upset now,’ she said, cupping the back of his head and pulling him towards her again.
He smiled, his eyes darkening before they fluttered closed and his mouth was on hers again, soft and tentative at first, almost pulling away between kisses but not quite, so that their lips were barely touching for a whisper before he leaned in to kiss her again, deeper each time, his mouth clinging to hers for longer.
She shivered as his tongue traced her lower lip and she buried her fingers in his hair, holding him to her as their kisses became more heated and urgent.
‘See, this is much better than grumping along the beach on your own, isn’t it?’ she murmured as his mouth moved from hers to trail kisses along her jaw.
‘Infinitely,’ he breathed against her skin.
Just then his phone started buzzing, vibrating on the coffee table. They both glanced at the screen without breaking contact.
‘Fuck off, Olivia!’ they shouted at it in unison.
‘Are we still on first base?’ Mary gasped hours later, clutching Evan’s shoulders as his tongue swirled around her ear, his breath hot on her skin.
‘Uh-huh.’ His teeth gently nipped her earlobe.
They’d taken a break for dinner, eating bowls of velvety smoked salmon linguine washed down with champagne while watching Macaulay Culkin get lost in New York.
Then they’d gone back to making out, like it was simply the next thing on the agenda.
Mary thought this might be the best Boxing Day ever – it was all her favourite Boxing Day things with added kissing.
Making out with Evan felt like being a teenager again, when the kissing was an end in itself and there was no other goal in sight.
But then suddenly the kissing wasn’t enough and every nerve ending in her body was screaming for more.
‘How about now?’ she asked, climbing onto his lap and straddling him.
His fingers dug into her waist as she parted his lips with hers and slipped her tongue into his mouth.
He groaned, kissing her back fiercely, their tongues clashing together.
She relished the rasp of his stubble against her skin as she ground into him.
He pulled her closer into his body, so she felt his erection digging into her and she moaned in frustration at the barrier of clothes separating them. He felt so good – hard and hot for her.
‘You wanna try for second?’ he whispered, his breathing ragged.
Mary nodded.
‘This is second.’ One hand slid up to cup her breast, and she moaned softly as his thumb flicked across the nipple until it tightened to a hard nub. She leaned forward and kissed him again, and he slid a hand into her hair as his mouth opened against hers.
‘Mary?’ Evan said minutes later, coming up for air. His eyes were dark and hooded, but his hands on her waist were holding her firmly away from him now.
‘What?’ she whispered, dazed.
‘We should stop,’ he said, his voice hoarse and husky. But even as he spoke the words, he slid a hand up under her top to cup her breast and pressed a soft kiss under her jaw, as if he couldn’t stop himself.
She whimpered, rocking into him, and his fingers tightened on her waist as he nuzzled her ear. He groaned low in his throat as his fingers slipped inside her bra and encountered naked flesh. Mary arched into his hand, a tidal wave of sensation washing over her.
Then abruptly, Evan pulled away again. ‘We should definitely stop.’ His skin was flushed, his breathing heavy, and she saw the effort it was taking him to restrain himself. ‘Before this gets out of hand.’ His eyes burned into hers.
‘Oh, yeah.’ She nodded, every nerve in her body tingling and aching to keep doing what they were doing.
Evan swallowed hard. ‘I mean, that’s not what you want, right? You said we shouldn’t…’ He looked pained.
‘No, you’re right.’ She climbed off him, even as every atom of her being protested.
‘We should stop.’ She felt bereft and more than a little embarrassed as she adjusted her clothing, but grateful to him for the reminder that she’d been the one to stipulate that they shouldn’t sleep together.
This wasn’t a rejection. He was simply respecting her wishes, making sure she didn’t do something she’d regret in the heat of the moment.
It was the right thing to do, even though neither of them wanted to right now.
Tomorrow, when things had cooled off, she’d be glad he’d called a halt.
Mary wasn’t cut out for casual flings or one-night stands.
When she had sex with someone, she liked it to mean something.
It would be all too easy to get hung up on Evan, especially if he was as good at sex as he was at kissing – and after their make-out session she had no doubt he would be.
She’d had enough heartache for one year.
He might end up getting back together with Olivia, and how would she feel then if they’d slept together?
And even if he didn’t, he was only here for a couple of days and what were the chances he’d want to see her again once they were back in New York in their own little worlds?
‘It’s hard to stop, right?’ Evan shifted uncomfortably, the visible evidence of his arousal leaving her in no doubt that he wanted to continue just as much as she did. She loved him for acknowledging that they were both in the same place, dispelling any awkwardness between them.
She smiled at him. ‘I don’t know how we used to do it.’
They sat side by side, adjusting clothing and smoothing hair as their breathing returned to normal.
‘Do you want to watch Die Hard, or call it a night?’ Mary asked finally.
‘No, I’m up for watching Die Hard.’
‘Yippee-ki-yay,’ Mary murmured as she picked up the remote and clicked on the TV.
Later, when Mary had gone to bed, Evan called Josh.
‘Hey, man! How are you doing? How’s Oirland?’ his friend asked, putting on an execrable Irish accent.
‘Ireland is… full of surprises.’ He smiled and settled back against the sofa cushions.
‘Good Christmas?’
‘Yeah.’ Evan smiled. ‘Really good, actually.’
‘Seriously?’ Josh sounded sceptical.
‘Yes, seriously. You?’
‘Yeah, it was great. Wish you’d been here, though.
Oscar doesn’t get the whole Santa Claus thing yet, of course, but he was very excited about tearing up all the wrapping paper, and he absolutely loves that ball pit you got him.
He went crazy in it – it was so cute. We could hardly get him out of it all day. I wish you could have seen it.’
Evan hesitated a moment before asking, ‘Do you?’
‘Sorry? Do I what?’
He swallowed. He felt like an idiot asking, but suddenly he really wanted to know if Mary was right. ‘Do you wish I’d been there?’
‘Of course!’ Josh’s confusion at the question was evident – and reassuring. ‘Why wouldn’t I?’
‘I dunno.’ Evan ran a hand through his hair. He felt like a chump now and wished he hadn’t said anything. ‘Because it’s Christmas, I guess?’
‘And? We get together on all the other big holidays. Why would Christmas be any different? It’s just another day.’
It was what he was always saying. Maybe he’d been the one treating it like a big deal all along. ‘It just is. Christmas is about family, isn’t it?’
‘So? You’re family. You know that. Jeez, is this why you turn down our invitation every year and flee the city – because you think we don’t really want you around?
Where would you even get that idea? You know, when your plans with Olivia fell through at the last minute, Amy and I were all excited that maybe you’d finally spend Christmas here with us. ’
‘You were?’
‘Yeah. I mean, we’re trying not to take it too personally that you’d fly halfway across the world to avoid spending the day with us.’
‘You know it’s not that. I just thought I should… give you some space, I guess.’
‘We don’t want space. We hate to think of you spending Christmas off somewhere all on your own where you don’t know anyone.’
‘Well, I’m not on my own here, as it turns out.’
‘You’re not?’
‘No.’ He filled Josh in briefly on the mix-up between Mary and her family.
‘Well, I’m glad you’ve got company. And you’re getting on okay with her?’
‘Yeah, she’s cool. We’re getting on really well.’ He wasn’t about to tell Josh just how well, his mind straying to today’s activities.
‘Look, I’ve got to go. Sorry. I’m picking Amy and Oscar up from her mom’s. But I’ll see you on New Year’s Eve, yeah?’
‘Yeah.’ Evan traditionally threw a party in his place on New Year’s Eve.
‘Unless we decide you don’t really want us there and we have to book a trip to Mexico or something.’
‘Very funny.’ Evan grinned. ‘I’ll see you on New Year’s Eve, Josh.’