Page 33 of The Getaway
“It’s probably stupid,” she mumbles against my chest.
“Maybe to others, but it’s clearly not stupid to you, otherwise you wouldn’t be upset about it. And whatever you feel is valid, no matter how big or small it may be to anyone else.” I place a kiss on the top of her head, squeezing her tightly to me and whisper, “Tell me, Sugar.”
“It’s just…” she pulls back, turning her head to look at the decorations once more but not leaving my arms. “This is my first Christmas away from my family. Growing up, putting up the Christmas Tree and decorating it was a whole day event. We’d blast holiday music, joke, eat and laugh. As we got older, and when my sister and I moved away, we all found different ways to continue that tradition.” She turns, holding my arms to her stomach and staying in my hold while she continues talking.
“My sister lives in the city too, so we keep to tradition, except now we FaceTime our parents and she usually crashes at my place because we drank holiday sangria all day long.”
I laugh at that, picturing everything she’s saying while I try to think about the last time I put up a single Christmas decoration.
Bri shrugs, saving me from the thought and wiggles out of my arms. Pulling her phone from her little clutch, she snaps a picture of the barrel tree.
“This is the first year I haven’t put a tree up.”
I stay silent, watching her while she lingers in front of the barrels, and rack my brain for a way to fix this. But she might be right, this might not be something that I can help with.
Before I can think of anything to say, our tour guide is calling out for everyone to head to the entrance. Bri turns to me then, her shoulders relaxing and the tears that were threatening to spill now gone.
“You were right,” she says with a smile, stepping into me and wrapping her arms around my neck. “Saying it out loud did help.”
She pushes up, giving me a quick kiss before pulling away. When she offers me her hand, I take it without a second thought.
“Enough emotions! Let’s go learn about and taste some rum!”
Shaking my head at her dismissal, I follow behind. As the tour guide leads us through, talking about the history of the site and their process for making the alcohol, all I can focus on is Bri. The way she listens to every word and pauses to read the historical plaques makes me think she would enjoy the tour that the Joneses do at their vineyard behind my farm.
Ma Jones has dragged me on the tour multiple times, talking my ear off as if she were leading it and making us fall behind. She lives for the history of the land and the town, loves to brag about all the work her employees put into everything they do. Watching how happy and invested Bri is on this tour reminds me of her, and I make a mental note to do the vineyard tour again when I get home. It’s something so easy that makes Ma Jones happy, and I can spare a couple of hours for her.
While the tour guide finishes talking about the barrels of rum that are being aged, he leads the group to the next room. Bri still lingers down one of the aisles between the stacks, reading up on the trade history of the island and I move toward her. Stepping up behind her, I place a hand on her hip and rub my thumb over the exposed skin on her waist. She leans back into me, keeping her attention on the sign as she finishes reading.
Glancing over my shoulder, I catch the last of our small group filter through the door into the next area. Bri appears to be oblivious to the fact that we’re now alone, but all I can think about is the warmth of her smooth skin beneath my fingers.
She’s an addiction I will continue to gladly give into. Every sound she makes, from her melodic laughter to those sexy moans and whimpers, lights a fire in my veins. Her beautiful, infectious smile lights up every room she enters and awakens parts of me that have been silent for so long.
“I love seeing the behind the scenes of things like this,” she says, leaning into me and tipping her head back to rest against my chest as she stares up at the wall of barrels.
My earlier thoughts about Ma Jones pop back up but I clear my throat, choosing to keep that personal detail to myself. Instead, I lean down to kiss her exposed neck. The intake of breath she takes is audible, and my cock responds instantly.
Although to be fair, she doesn’t have to do more than be around me for my entire body to respond.
I trace along her waist, my fingers slipping beneath the fabric every so often as I whisper in her ear.
“Have I told you how mouthwateringly beautiful you are?”
“Yes, like half a dozen times today,” Bri chuckles, twisting around to face me with a smirk.
Shrugging, I hook a finger back into the top of her skirt and gently tug. She stumbles into me, laughing and letting her hands land on my chest. Brushing a stray hair from her face, I lean down, keeping my eyes on her as she leans in and pushes up to meet me. Before she can kiss me, I pause, skimming my nose along her cheek as I respond.
“I’m falling behind. The goal is to tell you a dozen times today.”
I cut off her laughter with a kiss, moving forward until her ass is pressed into the sign she was just reading. Her fingers tangle into the hair at the back of my neck, holding me close and sliding her tongue along my bottom lip.
The way she asks for what she wants, both with her words and her actions, is hands down one of the sexiest things I have ever experienced with a woman.
I run a hand down her side, continuing down her thigh until I find the cut in her skirt and shove it aside. With her smooth leg now in my hand, I wrap my hand to the back of her thigh and pull it up to rest at my hip. She moans into my mouth when I press my hips against her, showing her just how true my words are and how much she affects me.
She meets my movements, grinding against me until I almost say “fuck it” to worrying about who might walk in.
Without pulling away, Bri tugs her leg from my hold and finds her footing before spreading her palm out on my chest and pushing me. I move with her, letting her guide me backwards as my tongue sweeps against hers until my back meets something solid.