“Tell us about your family,” said Greta Taylor, who had lived all her eighty-five years in the small beach town.
“My father’s in real estate, and my mother does charity work,” he replied. “I have five older sisters, all married but no babies.”
“You’re a handsome guy.” Edna winked at him as she added coconut to the macaroon batter. “Why haven’t you settled down?”
“I haven’t met the right Mrs. Claus.”
The grandmas all giggled like girls.
Edna offered everyone tea, and once the pot boiled, the older women grabbed their cups and moved to the living room to put up their feet. They were tired from standing.
One last bite of snickerdoodle and Alex crossed to Holly at the kitchen counter. She was decorating sugar cookies in all the holiday shapes and sizes.
She hated the fact they were now alone. She had no buffer against this man. His closeness made her fidgety.
He nudged her with his elbow. “Can I help?”
She pointed toward three bowls of frosting and an assortment of sprinkles, gumdrops, dried fruit, nuts, and colored sugars.
“Frost, then decorate,” she instructed.
Alex selected a star-shaped sugar cookie. He spread buttercream icing with a narrow rubber spatula, then shook on yellow-colored sugar. The star glistened.
“Good job,” Holly begrudgingly praised.
She went on to decorate her own cookies, only to set them aside when she caught Alex fashioning a bikini on Mrs. Claus. The cookie had a peppermint frosting top with red gumdrop breasts and a slivered almond thong. X-rated.
“What?” he asked when she glared daggers.
“These aren’t adult sugar cookies,” she hissed. “They’ll be eaten by children.”
“Guess Rudolph won’t fly either then.”
Off to the left, a perfectly good chocolate reindeer with caramel sprinkles now had raisins for balls.
Holly picked off the raisins. “Go have a cup of tea.”
“I drink strong black Columbian, not Earl Grey.” He broke off the top of a Christmas tree, one recently decorated with green and red icing. He moved closer, their faces almost touching. He tapped her lips with the cookie. “Bite?”
She turned slightly, parted her lips. She hoped he’d leave after she’d taken his sample.
Alex moved on her so quickly, she never saw him coming. He caught her mouth, slipped her his tongue, and mated with slow, sensuous thrusts. He tasted of sugar and spice and all that was naughty.
He wrapped her in his arms, drew her into him. She settled her hands on his shoulders, absorbed his scent and heat. He was one delicious man.
They struck immediate sparks. There was curiosity and intensity between them, a warmth and rightness to their kiss. Her hormones went wild, and her insides totally melted. She was all sensitive skin and wobbly knees.
His erection thickened and rose against her belly.
Her center warmed and went liquid.
He was turned on, and he told her so. “I want you,” he nuzzled near her ear.
She desired him too. The realization hit swift and jarring. Their intimacy had been as electric as it was fleeting. He’d kissed her with a lot of tongue and experience. It took her a moment to breathe properly.
Nothing about Alex spoke of promise, destiny, forever. His interests lay with blond twins in Miami, not with a nutcracker from Holiday.
She was his Christmas distraction, nothing more. They stood in Edna Murdock’s kitchen where the older women could return at any second. She didn’t want them catching her lip locked with the ballplayer, even if he had caught her by surprise.
She eased back, kept her voice light, “Sugar cookies certainly turn you on.”
His blue gaze narrowed. “It’s not the cookies.”
“Baking with the grannies always warms my heart,” she said. “Maybe it’s rubbed off on you too.”
“I’m still more humbug than ho.”
“I’m all about the Christmas spirit.”
“I’d let you jingle my bells.”
“I don’t do horny for the holidays.”
“When do you do horny?” he asked.
“Not on the first date and only with the right man.”
“I’ve known you two damn days, and we’ve spent a lot of time together.” One corner of his mouth tipped, slow and sexy. “I’ve a fetish for nutcrackers. You could wear that big wooden head to bed.”
His teasing made her blush, and her whole body went hot. Alex was too handsome, too rich, too experienced. She had no business playing in his league.
“Back to the kitchen. We have ten dozen cookies left to bake.” Holly heard Edna Murdock moving their way.
She was grateful for the grannies’ return. Flattening her hands on Alex’s chest, she felt his heartbeat against one palm—strong, vital, and faster than normal. She gave him a push, and he reluctantly stepped back.
“It’s time to make reindeer dust,” Emily Ison said as she entered the kitchen. “All holiday baskets must contain a big jar.”
“What’s with the dust?” Alex asked.
“It’s a mixture of oatmeal and glitter,” Holly told him. “The reindeer feed on the oatmeal. The glitter is like a landing strip for airplanes. Kids spread it across their front yards so Santa knows where to land his sleigh.”
Alex nodded. “Pretty cool. I’ll help mix.”
He stood by Holly’s side, adding his glitter to her oatmeal, then shaking the jar until it blended together.
Alex pressed close, his breath warm near her ear. “If you sprinkled reindeer dust on your yard, I’d bring you a present.”
“You have no idea what’s on my Christmas list.”
“You could sit on my lap and tell me,” he said, his voice deep and suggestive. “I’d promise to deliver.”
“I want peace on earth and good will toward men.”
“That’s a tall order, even for Santa.” He scratched his jaw. “My thoughts were on gifts we could both enjoy. I’d wear a pair of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer boxers, the ones with the blinking nose on the fly, and you could slip into a green teddy with tiny gold bells at the nipples and a satin bow—”
She jammed her elbow into him so hard he sucked air. He immediately moved down the counter. Holly sent him a glare. The man didn’t give up. He had Christmas sex on his brain, and she refused to let him unwrap her.