The Stocking Was Hung by Tara Sivec Page B

dick stirring in my pants all over again when I get a view of her ass in those tight jeans she’s wearing.
    “Well, I really wanted my very own official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle, but I guess this is good enough,” I say, grabbing her hand and yanking her toward me until her body is pressed up against mine.
    “Awwwww, you quoted A Christmas Story .” She stares up into my eyes.
    Even though I’m the one who should be smiling after what just happened, seeing her happy again after the crap her family said earlier makes me feel good.
    “You didn’t have to do that,” I remind her, wrapping my arms around her and holding her close, wondering why she fits so perfectly against me, like she was made just for me to hold.
    “No one has ever said those things about me before. Ever,” she whispers. “It doesn’t even matter if you were just playing a part. I get it, and it’s fine. Just…thank you. Thank you for defending me even if you didn’t mean it.”
    She lifts up on her toes and presses her lips against mine, holding them there while her hands come up and her palms cradle either side of my face. There’s no tongue, no heat, no making out, just the soft press of her mouth on mine, and once again, there’s an ache in my chest that almost takes my breath away. She pulls her face back and looks up into my eyes, and I can’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth even if I want to.
    “What if I meant every word of it?” I ask softly.
    She blinks up at me wordlessly and I hold my breath, waiting for her to tell me I’m fucking insane or maybe even laugh at me for saying something so stupid.
    A knock at the door ruins the moment and Noel sighs loudly when Nicholas’s voice shouts through the wood.
    “Every time you fuck in Santa’s Workshop, God kills a kitten! Dinner’s ready, you sluts, get inside!”
    I drop my arms from around Noel as we hear the crunch of her brother’s boots through the snow when he walks back to the house.
    “Fun time is over,” Noel informs me, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the door. “But my mom made ham, cheesy potatoes, and apple pie so that should make everything better.”
    My stomach growls loudly, making Noel laugh as we head back out into the snow and stroll through the Christmas display this time so I can get a better look at everything while she points out different decorations that I didn’t notice the first time.
    Yep, I’m definitely getting attached to this girl and her family. How in the hell am I going to just walk away in a few days?

Chapter 9
    Noel
    H ello, my name is Noel, and I’m sexually frustrated.
    I want to curse at Sam as he stands a few feet away, browsing through a stack of sweaters on a display table at Macy’s, but it’s not his fault I feel like I should be at a Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting. After the stellar blow job—if I do say so myself—I gave him in Santa’s Workshop, we argued up in my bedroom for twenty minutes about him sleeping on the floor again. He wanted to return the orgasm favor and I didn’t want him to feel obligated to do so. I didn’t suck his dick to pay him back for saying all those nice things to me. Okay, so maybe that was why I dragged him out there to begin with, but once I unzipped his pants and saw that glorious package inside, I really, really wanted to put my mouth on it. Forget the nickname Sox, he shall now be referred to as Hung, forevermore. I felt like it would just be safer all around if he slept on the floor again instead of being a hot-and-sexy-tempting-body-of-gorgeous man spooning me in my twin bed. I’d never be able to resist having sex with him if he was in next to me in bed.
    I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. One minute I’m sad about the thought of him leaving after Christmas, the next I only want him for sex and then in the blink of an eye, I’m back to wanting to keep him forever. For the sex.
    Okay fine, for him too. He’s