“Okay, okay,” she laughed, squirming as he forced her own hand closer to her face. “I give up! I give up. Truce. Truce!”
They were both laughing and breathing hard, Liam still holding her hand up near her face. Then without warning, he leaned down and wrapped his lips around two of her fingers. She stopped laughing as he worked his mouth all the way down to her knuckles. She felt his tongue swirling around, then he slowly pulled the digits free.
“Delicious,” he murmured, staring down at her.
Katya swallowed thickly, staring back at him with wide eyes.
When he kissed her, she wasn't as shocked as when Wulf had done it, but she was a little taken aback with the strength of the kiss. He fell against her, sending them crashing sideways into the counter, knocking the bowl of cookie dough over. She tried to catch her breath, but when she opened her mouth, his tongue quickly invaded, taking up the space.
They'd gone from playful banter to a scorching hot kiss in zero seconds flat. What was going on!? She was acting on autopilot and moaned, standing on her toes and curling one arm around his shoulders. Her free hand she held aloft, trying to keep the sticky dough away from them.
“Did I ever tell you that I love your goodies?” he mumbled, his lips moving along her jaw as he started yanking at the apron strings behind her back.
“Liam,” she breathed, trying to catch her breath.
“Baked goodies, of course,” he chuckled, sucking at the sensitive skin under her ear. She shivered, then licked her lips, trying to focus.
“Liam, stop,” she whispered, then bit back another moan when his hands ran up the back of her shirt, his palms hot against her skin.
“Okay, okay, all your goodies,” he corrected himself, his tongue making a course for her collarbone.
You are in your parents' home – get it together!
“Stop,” she said loudly, pressing her clean hand against his chest. He finally heard her and he backed away, one of his hands gripping her hip and the other shoved down the back of her pants.
“What? What's wrong?” he tried to catch his breath.
“Well, first of all, we're in my parents' kitchen,” she pointed out.
“So?”
“So, even if I hadn't made a solemn promise to never, ever have sex with you,” she reminded him. “I certainly wouldn't in the middle of the day, in a pantry at my parents' home, with fifty of their guests just a couple feet away.”
“Ug,” he groaned and dropped his forehead to her chest. “I forgot about your stupid rule.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “It does feel kind of stupid right now.”
“Well, I guess that makes me feel a little better,” he sighed, standing upright.
“Why?”
“If you agree that it's stupid, then maybe later we can discuss breaking it entirely,” he pointed out. She went to argue, but he dropped his head down again and licked another finger clean of cookie dough. Her breath caught in her throat at the motion, and she bit her lips between her teeth, refusing to make any sort of noise.
When he finally stood upright again, he winked at her. She wanted to defend her rule, or at least claim she had no intention of ever breaking it, but he didn't give her a chance. He swooped in and kissed her hard, then pulled her away from the door, swatting her on the butt before heading out into the kitchen.
Katya stood in the pantry for a while, trying to catch her breath. Trying to get rid of the excess blood in her cheeks. Then she moved back to the sink and washed her hands again. When she was drying them off, she noticed they were shaking a little, and she took a moment, trying to collect herself.
Seriously, get your shit together, Katya Tocci. This weekend was supposed to be about making them feel uncomfortable and unfulfilled – so why are you the one having all the problems!?
*
“I have a plan,” Katya's dad mumbled near her ear. She looked up at him.
“I'm listening,” she whispered back.
“I fake a heart attack,” he continued in a low voice. “You shout that you're a nurse and you'll drive me to the hospital. We spend the rest of the day playing mini-golf.”
“Won't work,” she shook her head. “Everyone here knows I'm a baker.”
“So say nursing is your hobby.”
She cracked up.
“It's not so bad, Dad,” she laughed. “Everyone is having a great time, and they love your gazebo project.”
They were standing side by side at the edge of the patio, looking over the Tocci's backyard. It was filled with friends and neighbors and colleagues of both the Toccis and Stones. Katya's mother was in her element, moving among her guests and passing out appetizers. Liam was off in a corner, laughing with some guys he'd made friends with, and she hadn't seen Wulf yet.
“I spoke to Wulfric when he first came in this morning,” her dad said casually, seemingly reading her mind.
“Tell me you didn't say anything embarrassing.”
“Me? Embarrassing? Never.”
“Oh god, it's even worse than I thought.”
“No, no,” he chuckled. “You didn't even come up. I asked him how he was and how his business was doing and told him that if he ever needed an ear to bend or a shoulder to lean on, I was always here.”
“That's really nice, Dad. Thank you. I'm sure he appreciated it,” she said honestly.
“I would hate to see you unhappy, pumpkin,” he continued talking. “And if you tell me that boy broke your heart, I will gladly go break his legs.”
“Dad!”
“You always come first with me. But that Wulfric … he's never been a happy guy. That's all I ever wanted for him. You know, his dad wanted him to be an Olympian, and to graduate with honors, and to buy and sell the world. Took a toll on him. I tried to show Wulf that all he really needed in life was to be happy. Kills me that he hasn't learned that yet,” her father finished talking.
“That's very sweet, Dad, but he's a complicated man, and he doesn't listen very well. He'd rather be the one doing all the talking,” she said.
“Don't I know it. He's already tried to tell me what I'm doing wrong with the gazebo!”
“Did you tell him it was from a kit?”
“Yes – he said that was the main problem.”
Katya laughed at her dad, then excused herself. She hadn't spoken to Wulf yet, and she didn't want him thinking he'd scared her away with his saucy little text.
She found him near the gate to his yard, talking with his mother and a woman whose back was to Katya. She waved her hand as she approached, trying to catch his attention. He finally glanced at her once, then looked back and watched her walk up to them.
“I thought you were going to avoid me all day,” he commented.
“Really? And here I thought you were avoiding me. We still have a lot of dishes that need to be done,” she joked. The mystery woman turned around and Katya was shocked to see that it was his sister, Genevieve.
“Oh, Wulfy doesn't do dishes,” Ms. Stone said quickly. Vieve smiled.
“It was the chore he hated most,” she added. “He always made me or Brie do it.”