“Ransom Canyon?” Emery asked, staring at the flat lake that took up the center of the canyon.
Unknown to most people, west Texas had a series of canyons that studded the land, like holes in Swiss cheese. Palo Duro Canyon, an hour and a half north of town and just outside of Amarillo, was the second largest canyon, after the Grand Canyon, in the United States. It was one of the many things that made this side of Texas interesting if you knew where to look.
“Have you seen their Christmas lights before?”
“Nope. I’ve been here a million times before. We used to go to the lake as kids. I’ve spent many a summer weekends on boats here. But I didn’t know about the Christmas lights. When did they start to do that?”
“A couple of years ago. They even have a radio station tuned in so that you can listen to Christmas music as you circle the neighborhood and the lake.”
“Festive.” Her tone instantly changed. She had gone from skeptical to excited. She leaned forward in her seat, wondering where we were going to start first. “Are we going to see them all?”
“Of course,” I told her. Even though I’d had something else in mind, I was not going to miss a minute of that smile.
I switched the station over to AM radio and drove around town. It was a small area of only about a thousand people, but the people who had chosen to move out on the lake rather than live in town generally had considerable wealth. The mansions were decked out in Christmas lights, which had all likely been done by the same company. It was like the modern version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas when the two Whos were fighting over who had the best lights. That was the entire town.
Our drive was punctuated by Emery’s oohs and aahs and the occasional, “Slow down; you’re going too fast.”
I had to say, that was something I’d never heard before.
Emery lit up brighter than any of the houses that we’d passed. Halfway through, she must have begun to relax around me because she started singing along with the Christmas music. She was a little off-key, but I found that it didn’t even matter. And, eventually, we were both belting out the chorus to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Emery was laughing so hard that a few tears rolled down her face. “Oh my God, if I had thought for one second in high school that I would be singing Mariah Carey with Jensen Wright on a real date, I think I would have dropped dead.”
“Hey, don’t dis Mariah,” I said. “She’s an icon.”
“She can’t even sing anymore!”
“I’m going to pretend like you didn’t say that.”
She snorted and then covered her face. “Oh my God, what is my life?”
“Seems pretty awesome,” I said with a grin. “Even if you don’t like Mariah.”
“I do like Mariah!” she cried. “Stop twisting my words, you!”
“I’m not twisting anything.”
Her smile was magnetic, and I just wanted to kiss her. I mean…I’d wanted to kiss her all night. But sitting there, in front of the last lit house, with Christmas music playing in the background and her smile radiating joy, there was nowhere else I’d rather be. That thought hit me so suddenly and I didn’t even know why.
I put my truck into park, leaned over to her side of the car, and pushed my hand up into her dark hair. She froze, silhouetted by the light display behind her. Her eyes locked with mine, green meeting brown, and her eyes widened with surprise. She breathed out softly, and I could feel her pulse ratchet up at my touch.
This was the girl who had pulled me across the room at Sutton’s wedding, like a magnet finding its pair. This was the tension that I’d felt when we first spoke. Here was the world of desire and lust that had clouded both of our minds ever since our first kiss.
My face was only inches from hers. I wanted to take what was mine. I wanted to claim her mouth and then her body right here in the cab of my truck, like we were young, wild, and carefree.
But, instead, I couldn’t seem to stop staring at her.
She laughed lightly to try to defuse the tension. But it wasn’t possible, and it was a feeble effort.
“Are you going to kiss me?” she whispered boldly.
I didn’t need any further prodding. I crushed my lips against hers. It was like striking a match. Our lips moved against each other, desperate with the need to get closer, to have more. She opened her mouth for me, and I brushed my tongue against hers. The groan that emanated from deep in the back of her throat made my dick twitch. Our tongues volleyed for position. She was just as aching for attention as I was.
I heard the click of her belt buckle, and soon, she was pushing her body closer, moving over the divide of my truck. My hands fell to her ass, and I effortlessly hoisted her up and into my seat. She squeaked in shock but didn’t break contact. Instead, she straddled me and let her hands wander across my chest.
My hands never left her ass because, damn, did that woman have an ass. She was grinding up against me, and I moved into a full-blown hard-on at her ministrations. She must have realized what she was doing to me because, when she swiveled her hips in place, she moaned against the feel of my dick.
In that moment, I didn’t give a shit that we were acting like teenagers, parked outside of a stranger’s house, bucking against each other for just an ounce of satisfaction. I was ready to strip her bare and fuck her until she forgot every word to every Christmas song and only remembered my name.
That was, until she rocked back just a little too hard, and a loud honk erupted from the hood of the truck.
Twelve
Emery
I broke away lightning fast, and my head whipped to the side. I stared out at the house we were parked in front of. All the lights were lit, and surely, anyone who was inside had a front-row view to what we had just been doing.
“Fuck! I didn’t mean to do that.”
“It’s fine. You should kiss me again,” Jensen said.
He hadn’t moved his hands from my ass, and I couldn’t deny that I liked it.