Mistletoe Kisses by Sam Mariano
Chapter Thirteen
Noelle
Cal’s wordsdon’t have time to penetrate my sense of understanding, so I’m not at all prepared for him to lean down and press his mouth against mine.
My whole body stiffens and I try to pull away from him, but his arm locks around my waist, pulling me so tightly against his body, I’m practically on top of him. As the shock begins to fade and I realize Callan McLaren is kissing me, I stop trying to pull away and melt against him instead.
Cal releases my face, but only to slide his hand around to the back of my head, cupping it and trapping me in this kiss I have no desire to leave anyway. Heat courses through my body and I move my arm from his shoulder to around his neck, angling my head so I can reach him a little better.
His tongue moves to the seam of my lips, seeking entrance. I gasp against his mouth, suddenly overwhelmed as nerves all over my body light up with arousal. I open for him and nearly lose the ability to stand when his tongue sweeps into my mouth.
Oh my God. I was wrong, he doesn’t taste like coffee, he tastes like the most exhilarating blend of paradise and heartbreakingly bad decisions. If I could, I’d rip my clothes off right here in the middle of the sidewalk and make all the bad decisions, as long as it continued to feel this good.
I arch my body, trying to get closer to him as he invades my mouth. As his tongue moves against mine, sensually exploring in a way he never has before, all my pleasure centers light up and explode until I think I might pass out.
I’m weak when he pulls away, physically weak. My mouth feels the absence of him immediately, then the emptiness sinks lower and spreads through my insides.
I don’t know how he does this to me—how he rips out pieces of me he shouldn’t even be able to reach and leaves empty spaces I need him to fill. I was a whole person before he kissed me, just like I was a whole person last night before he stripped me naked and showed me all the missing things I had never known about before.
Maybe that’s it. Maybe he’s not creating empty spaces inside me, he’s just shining light on them, awakening them when before him they were dormant.
I swallow, looking up at him with the same vulnerability I felt last night. I sort of expect him to say something cruel and slice me open again, but I’m momentarily relieved when I see tenderness in his eyes and nothing malevolent.
Keeping me close, he caresses my jaw, then he leans down and kisses me again, but much more gently this time. He doesn’t awaken any new parts of me, just soothes the storm he conjured on a whim.
It’s mildly terrifying, the control he has over my heart, but it’s a little exciting, too. When he’s done tormenting me, will anyone else ever hold me like this? It’s hard to imagine. It feels like he’s molding me just for him, and no one else will ever fit me afterward.
He’s ruining me, and I want to let him.
“Kiss me again,” I murmur, just as he starts to pull away.
He slides his hand to cup the back of my neck, slanting his mouth over mine one more time. It’s another soothing, comforting kiss, and even though it’s less physically intense, I crave more of it. I never want it to stop. I want his lips permanently fused to mine.
I want him inside me, too, claiming all the parts of me that already belong to him.
Unfortunately, he stops kissing me, but still with that soft look in his eye that doesn’t make me nervous or defensive that he’s going to follow the intimacy with heartache.
I’m sure he will, but at least not right this second.
Cal presses his forehead to mine for a moment, as if stabilizing himself, then he reaches down and takes my hand.
“Are you hungry?”
I am, but right now I’m craving more of his kisses, not food. I’m craving more than that, too, and I wish I could control my stupid body and make it stop wanting him so badly.
Swallowing down all those admissions, I simply nod my head.
Cal nods, then—still holding my hand—walks me over to one of the horse-drawn carriages that hasn’t left yet. He releases my hand, drawing out his wallet, then he calls out, “Hey,” and gets the driver’s attention. “The Marymount Inn, you know where it is?”
The driver nods, looking at Cal’s wallet with interest. “Just down the road.”
Extracting a twenty dollar bill and holding it out, he says, “Mind dropping us off?”
The driver looks around as if to see if anyone’s paying attention, then he nods his head and reaches down to take the cash. “Sure thing. Hop in.”
I can’t help grinning as Cal pulls back the red blanket covering the seat and gestures for me to climb up into the carriage. I grab the sides and hoist myself in, then Cal climbs in, sitting beside me and settling the blankets over our laps.
Cal wraps an arm around my shoulder and hugs me into his side. I take advantage, snuggling into his warmth and sliding my arms around his core. A dam breaks down inside me and happiness flows over.
This is amazing.
“Want me to drive you around the square first?” the driver asks.
Before Cal can answer, I call back, “Yes, please.”
Cal looks at me. “You’re gonna freeze.”
“You can keep me warm.”
“Hmm. That’s true, I can,” he murmurs.
I want to kiss him again, but I control my baser urges and watch the light displays as we make our way around the square by horse-drawn carriage.
By the time we’re halfway around the square, Cal is the one stirring up trouble. His arm around my shoulder has dropped to my waist and he tugs me closer, leaning in and leaving little kisses along the shell of my ear and down my neck. Goosebumps rise up everywhere and I lean back against the seat, tilting my neck to give him better access as arousal stirs to life inside me once again. He peels back my coat a little, pressing kisses against my exposed collar bone, then his hand drops beneath the blanket and I gasp as it slides between my thighs. He palms me and I shiver, not from the cold, but something else entirely.
“Marymount Inn,” I whisper, suddenly curious. “Is that a restaurant?”
“Sort of,” he murmurs, kissing down my chest to the swell of my cleavage.
Desire swirls inside me, throbbing between my thighs and forming knots of tension in my tummy. I tangle my fingers in his dark hair, cold and wet from all the snow it’s caught. His lips on my skin, his hands on my body… I’m in heaven, and I want more.
He stops mauling me just before we get to the restaurant. He leaves my shirt unbuttoned but pulls my coat closed so I don’t get cold.
Cal climbs down first, then like the Prince Charming he most certainly isn’t, he gallantly offers his hand. Before I can step down, though, he releases my hand and grabs me around the waist, picking me up and lowering me so that my body slides against his on the way down.
I’m lost. Hopelessly lost. I couldn’t exercise good judgment at this point if my life depended on it.
It doesn’t even occur to me other people still exist in the world until the sleigh driver’s salacious amusement cuts through. “You kids have fun.”
He fades back out of focus as Cal looks down at me, his expression solemn. He doesn’t say anything with words, but I can tell there’s turmoil inside him, too. I ache to absolve him of it, but I don’t know how. I wanted the same thing last night, and I’m no more prepared now than I was then.
Reaching down and clasping our hands together, he murmurs, “Come on.”
I follow wordlessly. Cal opens the door and releases my hand to let me walk in ahead of him. Immediately, a blast of warmth hits me in the face and my whole body feels a little numb. When we were out in the elements I didn’t realize how cold I was, but now I feel like I’ve walked into an oven.
I can only imagine how Cal’s poor hands feel. Mine are chilled, and my gloves are very warm. Now that we’re inside, I peel them off and tuck them into the pocket of my coat.
Cal takes the lead, walking ahead of me to the reception desk where a brunette woman with a bob smiles at him brightly.
“Welcome, friends. Thanks for stopping at the Marymount Inn. What can we do for you folks today?”
“Do you have any rooms?” he asks, cutting straight to the chase.
Just hearing him ask that, my insides tighten with arousal. I tell myself to calm down. The man has it in him to be a torturous tease, and just because he’s asking about rooms doesn’t mean anything is going to happen between us.
“I believe we have one left, let me double check,” she says, then begins tapping on her keyboard.
Cal glances back at me. I shoot him a tentative smile, then I move forward and grab one of his hands. Sure enough, it’s freezing cold. Cal’s hands are so much bigger, it takes both of mine to cover his, but I want to warm him up, so I do. He cocks an eyebrow in confusion at first, not understanding what I’m doing, then I bring my clasped hands with his sandwiched in the middle to my mouth and blow some warm air to speed up the process.
Realizing what I’m doing, his expression softens with fond amusement. “You don’t have to do that.”
“You’re freezing. I want to warm you up.”
The receptionist interrupts the moment, telling him brightly, “You’re in luck, we do have one room left. It’s one of our bigger suites, a little pricier than our other rooms, but very luxurious. There’s a king bed with—”
“We’ll take it,” he announces, not bothering to let her finish.
My tummy swirls with excitement, but I try to keep my hopes tempered. I hold onto Cal’s hand until I can’t anymore because he has to take out his wallet, then I just stand there and try not to think of anything at all, lest my mind conjure romantic fantasies that probably won’t happen.
Once we’re checked in, Cal takes our room key and a pamphlet. He places a firm hand at the small of my back and escorts me over to a staircase.
My heart is doing somersaults by the time we get to the top of the landing. Cal walks beside me until we get to the room that’s ours, then he unlocks it and pushes the door open. This time he walks in first, probably so he can get the lay of the land. I wander in behind him, closing the door and looking around, a little in awe.
Probably because of the town festival, the room is decked out in holiday cheer. It doesn’t even look like a hotel room, more like a cozy, luxurious studio apartment.
Ahead of us is a black couch in front of a television. There’s a fireplace along the wall, and in the corner by the window there’s a lit Christmas tree with red ribbons tied on some of the branches, but no ornaments. Even though the main lights weren’t on when we came inside, the room wasn’t dark given the glow of the Christmas lights.
To the right of the living area setup, the king size bed is made up with thick, warm-looking blankets and lots of fluffy pillows. There’s a bench at the foot of the bed, a chair along the wall, and then an arch leading to an impressively long hallway. A leather ottoman in the middle of the hall draws the eye. It’s easy to imagine naughty things taking place there—a naked woman with her ass in the air and her partner behind her, ready to thrust into her.
I swallow, looking beyond the ottoman. There’s an enormous bathtub at the end of the hall, so I know that must be the bathroom.
“This is really nice,” I remark as I start to unbutton my coat.
Cal doesn’t say anything, just peels off his damp coat and finds a closet to hang it up in.
A smile curving my lips, I peel my coat off and go over to join him. “Do you have a thing about hanging coats up? You’re always so proper when it comes to this.”
He shrugs, grabbing a second hanger and draping my coat over it. “I wouldn’t say I have a thing about it.”
“I usually just throw mine on a chair,” I inform him.
Nodding to the chair where I already dropped my purse, he remarks dryly, “Yes, I can see that.”
Once I have my coat off, I excuse myself to the restroom. The bathroom is really strange, like a main chamber where the gigantic bath tub is, then other doors off to the left and right.
I go right first, but when I open the door, it leads to a large shower room with tiled walls. There’s a rain shower head, a standard head, and attachments on the wall. A marble bench offers seating, and the shower is big enough to comfortably fit four or five people.
I back out of the shower chamber and try the next door. It’s a closet, and inside I find fluffy white bath robes and newly packaged slippers.
I close that door and wander over to the bath tub. I drag the palm of my hand along the cool ceramic, eyeing up the attachments on a rack behind the faucet.
There’s something quietly sensual about this suite, like it was built for languorous pleasure. I can imagine soaking in this tub, Cal sitting on the wooden stool in front of it, taking in the sight of my naked body as I bathe. I can even imagine him taking it further, grabbing the attachment with the sprayer and aiming it between my legs, the force of the water hitting the most sensitive parts of my body, leaving me desperate and breathless—making me come while he watches without ever even touching me.
My teeth sink into my lower lip, but I force myself to move away from the tub and open the last door, which leads to the actual toilet.
When I get back to the main room, Cal is on the phone. He’s frowning, his voice irritated—arguing with someone?
My eyes widen as it hits me all of a sudden: oh my God, I completely forgot about Percy!
Hastening to the chair where I left my purse, I open it and dig my phone out. Sure enough, there are several text messages and one phone call from the guy I unintentionally stood up.
I swipe the screen and quickly text back a vehement apology. I type as quickly as I can, explaining what happened but leaving Cal out of it. I refer to my club’s faculty advisor as my companion on the trip and send a wall of text, littered with apologies.
Cal ends his phone call and sighs, raking a hand through his hair and then looking back at me. “Well, that was the auto repair shop.”
“Is your car done?”
“No. And it’s not going to be done tonight. Apparently, the shop is closing up early so everyone can make it home safely before the roads get too bad.”
Eyes widening, I ask, “What does that mean?”
“It means we’re stuck here. Or, I am, at least. You’re going to have to call your mom.”
If he’s stuck here, I want to be stuck with him. After last night, I can’t bring myself to say that, though. “And tell her what? To come get me?”
Cal shrugs. “If you want to.”
His wording causes my heart to flip over. “Is there an alternative?”
Flicking a glance out the window at the falling snow, he suggests, “You could tell her the roads aren’t safe, and ask if it’s okay for you to stay the night here. Tell her there’s an inn with two rooms left and your faculty advisor is willing to pay to put you up for the night since we’re hearing it’s not safe to drive home.”
Is he suggesting what I think he’s suggesting? Spending the night together?
“I don’t know if she’ll believe that. I mean, usually she would, but tonight I had a—” I halt awkwardly, then say, “I had plans with someone, and… um…” I stop again, realizing I can’t really say anything more. “I don’t know, she might—I’ll just have to call her.”
Cal’s eyebrows rise a little every time I stumble, so by the time I finish stammering, they’re quite high on his forehead, but he doesn’t remark on my awkwardness.
“Excuse me,” I say, taking my phone out into the hall for some privacy.
I really, really want to stay the night with Cal at this romantic inn, so before I call my mom, I go over what I’ll say and things she could potentially say back to prepare myself. I feel like I’m studying for the most important pop quiz of my life, but when I finally make the call, I’m shaky and afraid she’ll shoot me down.
Mom answers on the second ring. “Hey, babe. How’s the date going?”
I frown, momentarily thrown. “What?”
“Sorry I didn’t make it home to see you off. I ended up having to stay at the office a little late, and since you said you wouldn’t be home long enough to even eat with me, I just sent Adeline home and ordered take-out. Are you guys still at the theater? It’s really starting to come down out there; he’d better be careful driving you home.”
“That’s actually what I’m calling about. I didn’t make it home for my date. I ended up having to cancel.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Well, remember I told you how Miss Styles and I had the appointment to take the toy drive collection to the fire department today? After that we had to drive to Marymount to pick up another donation, but we must have driven over something on the road—however it happened, when we went to leave the bookstore, we realized we had a flat. So, we had to take the car to this local auto shop to try to get it patched or replaced or whatever so we could drive home, but now… we’re kinda snowed in. The auto shop closed early because of the roads, they said we can get the car back in the morning. The inn here in town has two rooms left, and… well, it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to get home safely tonight. I figured it would be fine with you, obviously you would rather me be safe a couple towns over than out on these roads, but before my teacher pays for the rooms, I just wanted to call and make sure.”
“You said you’re in Marymount?” she asks, sounding a little distracted. “Let me see.”
I wait anxiously for her to say more.
Sighing, she says, “That’s not too far. I guess I could leave now and try to come get you before it gets worse.”
“I know, but Mom, the roads. I don’t want to risk you getting in an accident when I’m perfectly safe where I am.”
“I know, but I feel weird about you having a slumber party with your teacher.”
“It’s not like that. We’ll have separate rooms. I’ll probably end up doing homework, maybe doing a little reading. I just don’t think it’s a good idea for anyone to be on these roads tonight. I know you could technically come get me, but that makes me really nervous. Can I just stay the night? It’s not a big deal, tomorrow is Saturday anyway, and by the time we get the car, the plows should have had a chance to clear the snow and salt the roads.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Mom says. “I feel weird making your teacher pay for your room, though. Why don’t you use your emergency credit card?”
“I’ll ask. It’s okay if I stay, though?”
“Yeah. I mean, it doesn’t seem like there’s a safe alternative. Do you have your phone charger with you?”
Oh, shit.“No, my spare is in my car at the school. I can see if there’s a store open in walking distance, maybe I can buy one. If not and my phone dies, just don’t worry. We’re at the inn now so we’re totally safe. We’re going to get something to eat and warm up, then we’ll head to our rooms. It’s been a long day; I’m actually tired already, so I’ll probably fall asleep early tonight.”
“All right. Well, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. If your phone dies, ask someone who works there to use the phone.”
I sigh. “I know, Mom.”
We talk for a few more minutes, but she doesn’t seem suspicious of my story. I feel bad about lying to her, but the feeling dissipates as I walk back into the room I’ll be sharing with Cal tonight. In its place, butterflies, as I imagine sharing a bed with the man I can’t resist.
“What’d she say?” he asks.
A nervous smile playing around my lips, I tell him, “We can spend the night together.”
