“So…” she said with a grin. “Now that all that pesky relationship history is out, I want to revisit that other topic of conversation.”
Porter lifted her hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing her fingertips before swiping them with a quick brush of his tongue. “You gonna spend the night with me tonight, Addie?”
She didn’t hesitate for a second, nodding. If she had an ounce of self-preservation, she’d resist him, but she was too far gone for that.
“Your place or mine?” he asked.
“Mine is closer,” she whispered.
“Let’s go.”
Chapter Four
Porter stood aside as Adele unlocked the door to her apartment. He’d never been in her home, their social interactions limited to the restaurant, Macie and Coop’s farmhouse, and the occasional Maris event.
Once the door was open, she led him inside. He closed and locked it, then turned as lights flickered on.
“Dayum,” he drawled as he took in Adele’s living room. A large white pine Christmas tree took up one whole corner of the room, the brightly colored lights twinkling. In addition to the tree, she’d adorned every flat surface with greenery, colorful lights, and holiday knickknacks.
As he took it all in, she kept walking around the room, turning on even more of the light-up decorations. She didn’t bother with the overhead light or lamps on the end tables because she didn’t need to. The room was awash in the soft, warm blinking lights. The entire effect was almost ethereal, and Porter felt a bit like a kid again as he looked around, grinning at her extensive collection of fiber optic Christmas trees and snowmen on the bookshelf.
The whole place smelled great too, an incredible blend of pine, cinnamon, apple, and sugar cookies.
“Isn’t that the elf doll parents torture their kids with to make them behave?” he asked, pointing to a smiling elf posed on the uppermost shelf, peering down into the room.
“Elf on a Shelf. Yep. That’s it. Macie gave it to me one year as a joke—said she didn’t want me slacking off just because I was an adult. Thought I needed a reminder to be good. Not that I move my elf around…yet.”
He grinned when she added the last word, picturing Adele sneaking out at midnight to move the elf to a new hiding place each night so her children would believe Santa was making his list and checking it twice, watching them to ensure they were good boys and girls.
In the past, the thought of kids would have made him uneasy, but as he looked at Adele, her eyes twinkling in delight as she looked at all she’d created, he actually felt himself longing to be the man standing beside her, finding new hiding places for the elf.
He struggled for a word to describe how incredible her place looked. “This is…this is something, Addie.”
She tilted her head. “Is that a good something, or a this chick is six eggs short of a dozen and I’ll be saying good night now something?”
“It’s good. I like it. A lot.”
Adele’s smile told him exactly how much his response pleased her. Then she shrugged off his compliment. “I’m sure your Christmas tree is just as cool.”
“I don’t have a tree.”
“What?”
He chuckled. “Doesn’t seem to be much point. It’s just me in my cabin, and I celebrate the holiday at the farmhouse with Coop. And this year, Macie.”
Adele didn’t seem to think that was a good enough excuse. “Where do you put all your wrapped presents?”
Porter shrugged. “First of all, gift wrapping feels like a big waste of time. Can’t see wasting money on special paper that gets torn up in seconds. Usually I just toss whatever I’ve bought in one of those gift bag things and stash it all on one end of the kitchen table until Christmas.”
She crinkled her nose. “You just put it on the table? What about other decorations? Do you at least hang up a stocking?”
He shook his head, grinning widely. “Don’t have a fireplace.”
“Do you hang up lights outside?”
“Nope. Waste of time. Who’d see them? I live a ways off the road.”
Adele placed her hands on her hips. “Do you at least put a damn wreath on the front door?”
“Jesus. Can you imagine the shit the other ranch hands would give me if I did a girlie thing like that?” he asked, joking, enjoying the way she was getting more and more worked up about his lack of holiday spirit.
“Bah humbug, Grinch.”
He stepped closer to her, reaching for her waist so he could tug her toward him. “If you want, you can come over and hang a wreath on my front door.” He’d let her drape his whole place in tinsel if it got her into his cabin, into his bed. He liked the idea of sharing his personal space with Adele.
“I’m going to take you up on that offer. Even the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes. I have faith the same can happen to you.”
He placed a kiss on the tip of her adorable nose. “If anyone can accomplish that, I’m betting it’s you.” Then he bent his head lower and gave her a longer, deeper kiss, one that ensured she forgot all about his Scrooge-ish ways.
Adele wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her hands finding their way to his hair. He was probably overdue for a real haircut. Sharon used to trim his thick mass of unruly black hair and since her passing, he’d been trying to do it himself…with less than favorable results. Now he was glad he’d failed because he liked the way Adele ran her fingers through it, the way she gripped a handful of it, using it to keep his lips pressed against hers.
“Where’s your bedroom?” he murmured against her soft cheek.
She pointed over her shoulder. “Down the hall.”
“Take me there.” He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anyone, and he prayed he’d find the patience to go slow and make it good for her. Right now, all he could think about was pulling off her tight jeans and driving himself inside her until the end of time.
“Okay,” she whispered, her word tickling his neck as she pressed soft kisses there. She didn’t move though, clearly unwilling to leave his embrace even to take the few steps necessary to get them to her bed.
He ran his hands up and down her back beneath her sweater. He was finding it hard to let her go as well, and for a moment he considered stripping her out of her clothing right here and dragging her down to the floor. Porter liked the idea of seeing her pale skin awash in color from the tree lights.
Then his gaze landed on the Elf on the Shelf and he chuckled.
Adele pulled away briefly, confused by his mirth. “Something funny?”
“I think we better move this to your bedroom, darlin’,” he said, pointing to the elf. “Because you’re about to be very, very naughty.”
Adele laughed as she grabbed his hand, leading him along the corridor to the room at the end. Once they were inside her bedroom, she turned to face him, pulling her sweater over her head in one pull. “You know, I think the good list is overrated.”
Porter couldn’t agree more. He also couldn’t speak, too focused on Adele’s ample breasts, spilling over the top of a red lacy bra. His lips kicked up at the ends when he realized she’d probably bought the bra just for the holidays, and he was curious to see if her panties were green in keeping with the theme.