Chapter 11
K eely flopped onto her side of the bed, her face buried in her pillow, which wasn't helping her catch her breath.
"Looks like we won't be adding 'Silent Night' to our repertoire," Travis said, his fingers lazily stroking her spine, setting off a series of fireworks everywhere he touched.
She lifted her head. "You can be a bit noisy," she agreed. "Especially this last time."
"Me? I keep expecting a hostage rescue team to break down the door to save you." He kissed her shoulder tenderly, over and over. "Throwing me to the ground and handcuffing me before I can explain how sexy you are and I'm simply doing everything I can to ensure you're satisfied."
"I'd send them away." She grinned. " After I had a chance to brag about you, of course."
"Brag? I already like the sound of this." Travis pulled her closer. "It's been a while since you've completed a customer satisfaction survey."
"I do that every time I..when you... Well, we ... You know."
"The verbal ones are always great, I won't deny that." His eyes twinkled. "But I've been asked to get written answers this time."
"You have? From whom?"
"Um, the home office?"
She laughed. "Okay, I'll make sure this will be the last time they ask for written answers."
"Tough crowd."
"How are you planning on writing down my responses?"
Travis tapped the side of his head. "With my photographic memory."
"I'm not convinced my answers won't get skewed—"
"Upwards," he promised. "Sometimes after a thrilling experience it's a challenge to put thoughts into words. Remember, I'm here to help."
Keely gave him a kiss, laughing against his lips. "Okay, what's question one?"
Travis began to slowly caress her arm, sending tingles everywhere, making her nipples harden in appreciation. Or maybe jealousy. You just had all of his attention a few minutes ago , she admonished them. But they didn't care. They were in competition with the rest of her body and nobody wanted to miss out.
"If you were to choose between kissing me all day or kissing me all night—which would be your preference?"
"Both."
"Ma'am." He gave her an adorable frown. "There can only be one right answer."
"So I have to choose. Okay, I would prefer you to kiss me all day."
"Excellent choice."
"And then follow it with kissing me all night."
"Hmm." He pretended to scribble her answer on her back, setting off a fit of giggles. "I think we can allow that response."
Then he grinned, adding a quick kiss. She turned it into a deeper one, more passionate, asking for more, since more was her default mode right now. He flipped her underneath him, pressing himself against her, moving in a sinuous, sinful way she couldn't seem to get enough of.
"Is there another question?" she breathed.
He shook his head, his eyes filled with heat. "I already know how you'll respond."
His words, and the sexy voice, were instantly arousing. His fingers skimmed lightly down her side, slowing as he got closer to the spot that now ached for him. Keely moaned, pressing upwards to get more of his touch.
Travis was right. He did know her response, and how to tease it out, bringing both of them incredible satisfaction.
She was starting to think Twelve Nights of Sassmas wasn't going to be nearly enough.
Not anymore.
***
T RAVIS WATCHED, FASCINATED , as Keely twisted her hair into her makeshift bun. "I'm still in awe of that."
She laughed. "Of all my skills, that's the one that dazzles you?"
He winked. "What can I say? It's magic."
They were on the ultimate make-out couch, only they had designated it a temporary non-make-out zone, because they were in dire need of food.
He took another bite of the mac and cheese she'd made. "This is incredible. The greatest comfort food."
"It is. Right now I'm thanking Past Keely for thinking of making two and freezing one."
"Tell Past Keely how grateful I am. And that her mac-and-cheese-making skills are as awe-inspiring as her bun-making ones."
Travis kissed her, something he could never seem to get enough of. Sweet kisses, passionate ones. He needed all of them.
"I'll let her know." She set her empty plate on the coffee table. "Do you open presents on Christmas? Or Christmas Eve."
"Christmas," he answered. "We're open on Christmas Eve until about six in the evening, even though we can't ship anything out. Just in case there are any unhappy customers we can somehow make happy. By then we're too tired to do much of anything but toast each other with something alcoholic. Congratulating ourselves on surviving another holiday season."
"I can imagine."
"What about your family? What's your tradition?"
"Usually it's Christmas, but I always talked Grandma into letting me open one present on Christmas Eve. This year...I'm not sure what we'll be doing."
"Oh?"
"My mom's on a cruise with someone she met online."
"Lucky guy."
"Woman. She met a woman." Keely chuckled. "Never predictable, the women in this family. I've usually been the more cautious one though. Somebody had to be."
"You drew the short straw?" he teased.
"You've seen Grandma and her quest to out-wild the wildest person who ever lived. I wouldn't even try to compete."
"I know what you mean. Look at Wyatt. Now try to imagine both of us like that."
She pretended to shudder. "Everybody run! The St. James boys are back."
He lifted his arm so she could slide underneath. She snuggled against him, making Travis sigh with contentment. He tried to convince his body to use the down time to rest up but he lost that argument the minute Keely put her hand on his thigh, smoothing her fingers over his skin.
"What's your favorite Christmas memory?" she asked.
"This one."
She gave him a mock look of exasperation, but he could see she was pleased by his answer. "I mean from when you were a kid."
He didn't even have to think about it. He started laughing. "When Wyatt was about seven, and I was ten, he was driving everyone crazy with rattling the presents, trying to guess what they were. It was like twenty-four hours a day. He was obsessed."
Keely laughed. "I can see him doing that."
"So on Christmas Eve, I waited until he went to sleep and then I took all of his presents and hid them. It took me a while, but I put some out in the garage, and in this little shed we had outside. I nearly froze. But it was so worth it." He grinned at the memory. "I even balled up some gift wrap, using a nametag from one of the presents, and then threw it in front of the tree. Where his presents used to be."
"He must have gone insane the next morning," Keely said.
"He freaked . Seriously. I remember him skidding on his knees and sitting there, stunned, staring at this wide open space under the tree."
"You're still enjoying it, aren't you?"
He laughed. "I am. Although maybe I'm the reason for his trust issues."
"Probably. Did you get in trouble?"
"I can't remember that part. I have no regrets, though." He gave her a kiss. "What's your favorite Christmas memory?"
"Hmm. I can't remember exactly how old I was. Maybe five or six. I'd taken a lot of time picking out which cookies I was going to leave for Santa. A lot of time."
"You had to make sure Santa knew which house had the best cookies, so he would leave the best presents."
"That's exactly what I told Grandma! So Christmas morning, I made a beeline for the table where I'd put the cookies. There were just a few crumbs left—"
"Not surprised. I love your cookies."
She chuckled. "I was thrilled. The best part was a note from Santa saying how much he enjoyed the cookies, and it was going to be such a long wait until he could have more of them. It felt so magical. I think I enjoyed that more than my actual presents."
Travis wrapped his arms tighter around Keely. She was the sweetest, and the sexiest, and every minute with her felt like a gift. "Did your grandma ever admit to writing the note?"
"Not to this day," Keely laughed. "She was clever enough to disguise her handwriting."
"Unless it really was Santa," Travis teased.
"I'll get a handwriting sample from you later. Right now I'm feeling too lazy."
"Me, too. Let's watch some Christmas movies," Travis suggested.
"That sounds like a great idea. Oh wait." She moved her hands in an elaborate pattern and then sat back against him. "I just removed the non-make-out designation."
"Good thinking. What do you feel like watching?"
"Only the best Christmas movie ever made. Die Hard ."
"That's my girl." Travis kissed the top of her head, treasuring how she snuggled into his arms.
Yeah, this Christmas was definitely his new favorite. It always would be.
How could anything else hope to compare?