The Christmas Playbook (Shadow Valley U)

Chapter 7 It's probably stupid to pretend to be Mira's boyfriend. I don't date. Thorne has tried to cajole me into it, but the girls who surround me are all so fixated on football. They want to be the girlfriend of a football player. And if I make it pro, they want to be the wife of a football player. That sort of mentality creates some trust issues. Thorne and Aaron got lucky. Jack, too. Their girls are down-to-earth. Briar is a bit too grumpy for my taste, but whatever. Thorne eats up her bullshit with a silver spoon. I don't know the rest well enough to judge. Mira, on the other hand...

Not grumpy. Maybe a little sad? Frustrated, for some reason? Seems like we'll have more than a week to dig into it, since we'll now be spending a decent amount of time together. I went to dinner with my friends and couldn't even muster up the story. I opened my mouth to tell them about it-the strange chain of events that led to Mira becoming my fake girlfriend-but no words came out. Like a switch flipping, I went from wanting to laugh about it to feeling oddly protective. Mira doesn't deserve to be poked at, not when her family clearly does it so well. There's a splash, and I open my eyes.

Mira is climbing into the water, but⁠- "Why are you naked?" Familiar words. But this time they come from me. Directed at her. "No time to explain." She practically falls into the water, submerging her body up to her shoulders. She throws herself in my direction. Her hands land on my shoulders. I'm naked. "Is this you taking me up on the orgasms offer?" Damn, my voice is hopeful. "No. Shut up." She scrambles against me, her smooth legs making contact with mine. She straddles my lap, and my hands automatically fall to her hips.

My fingers find the strip of her panties, giving away that she's not totally naked. Barely. Just topless. "So, um, play along." Her cheeks heat. My eyebrows lift, and it takes everything in my power not to drop my gaze to her breasts. I don't want to peek and get hard and ruin what feels like a tentative, desperate move on her part. Except, I can't quite figure out why she's acting like this. I keep my hands glued to her hips so they don't go wandering, seeing as how she doesn't actually seem to be into that right now. Snow crunching nearby distracts me from her nipples.

Wait, maybe I should distract her. "Kiss me." Her voice comes out hoarse and raspy. Fuck me, my dick has entered the chat. I drag her closer to me, and she smashes her chest to mine. My hands finally release her hips and wander up, one splayed across her back, the other tracing the side of her ribs, to the outer swell of her breast. I cup her cheek and draw her in, just as the voices reach me. "She might be hiding out back," a guy says. "We just need to bust her alone and then everyone can chill. She's the type to run after a lie.

Remember when she backed into that fire hydrant and told Dad it was a hit-and-run? We didn't see her for a week." Someone else snorts. "True. If that's the case, she might be in her cabin all week." Assholes. Mira sucks in a breath, but it doesn't matter. I pull her in and angle my head, pressing my lips to hers. For a second, neither of us move. Her nipples brush my chest, her thighs straddling mine-it all fades when her lips part. I take advantage, straightening up and sliding my fingers into her hair. I tilt her head with a tug and lick along her lower lip. Just a taste. My heart skips.

Her fingers dig into my shoulders. She deepens the kiss. Her tongue pushes into my mouth, and I groan. I wrap my arm around her back to make sure she can't escape the minute her siblings discover us. Because I'm sure they're about to round the corner and make some racket, and I don't want this to end. Her tongue withdraws. I suck her lower lip between my teeth, scoring it, until a rumbling hum reverberates through her chest and into mine. There's a rushing sound in my ears. Why is this kiss better than anything I've experienced? I'd take this kiss over a blow job. My cock is so fucking hard.

It's trapped between our bodies, and she rolls her hips forward slightly. The friction of her wet panties on me is too much. I'm going to come just from that-and what an embarrassment that would be. "Holy shit," one of Mira's sisters-it has to be a stupid sister-says. "I told you so!" My grip tightens ever so slightly in Mira's hair, keeping her with me for another second. "No one likes a know-it-all," the guy grumbles. Mira pulls back, and I open my eyes as soon as possible to catch the dazed expression in her eyes. But just as fast, it's gone, and annoyance is in its place.

Her head whips to the side. Mine follows. Her siblings stand there in shock. Belatedly, I move to cover Mira's chest. Just because they're family doesn't mean I want them to see her breasts. I'm laying claim on them as of this instant. Fake dating or not, that kiss was a sucker punch I wasn't prepared for. This content belongs to FιndNovel.net "Cammie," Mira says, somehow calm. "Marcus. What are you doing?" Marcus is a tall kid, and he's currently staring at me. Which is probably better than eyeing Mira, but still. He's wide-eyed, but after a second, he elbows his sister.

His movements are urgent, and I barely withhold my smirk. He seems flabbergasted. And I don't think it's because some guy is with Mira. It's because I am with Mira. "We were just coming to check on you," Cammie blurts out. "Because you guys missed dinner." Mira clenches her jaw. I went to dinner with my friends-so, did Mira do nothing? I run my hand down her spine, trying to tell her without words to relax, and direct my words at Cammie. "We got a little distracted. Hope you all didn't wait too long for us." I focus on Mira.

"She's just irresistible." "I feel like I'm in The Twilight Zone," Cammie whispers. I clear my throat. "If you don't mind, you're kind of cock blocking right now. We'll catch up with you all tomorrow." I make a shooing motion. Marcus pales. Cammie turns red, worse than a tomato. She grabs Marcus's arm and practically drags him back the way they came. Once they're gone, Mira shoves off my lap. Her expression shows she's horrified, and she wastes no time climbing out of the hot tub. I shake my head, somehow holding in my laughter. My family is so... normal compared to those assholes.

And honestly, there's nothing I like better than messing with jerks-which means this week just got a whole lot more interesting. I follow Mira into the cabin. She chucks a towel at me, which I dutifully use to rub myself down enough to not drip water across the floor on my way to the bathroom. I shower fast and trade with Mira. From the top drawer in the dresser, I pull out a fresh pair of boxers. My hands still when I notice her underwear tucked under the bikini she didn't put on. Honestly, a naked-hot-tub session trumps a swimsuit, so I don't mind.

The water is still running in the bathroom, so I take my chances and push aside the hot-pink fabric. Aha! She wears full coverage panties in various plain, neutral colors. I run my thumb across the waistband of one, considering. Mira's family seems to think she's a loner or a prude. I haven't figured out which one. But I'd lean toward loner simply because of the balls it took to get into the hot tub shirtless. I smile to myself. The panties kind of contradict that, but whatever. It's not like I'm walking around in form-fitting briefs.

I bet thongs are uncomfortable, especially since she thought she'd be rooming alone. Wait. I dig deeper into the drawer, my attention hooking on a bit of red lace. Naughty girl. I lift it out, and my brows furrow. How the fuck does this go on? It's all lace, with absolutely zero structure. No cups for breasts... Shit. I swallow hard, my dick once again waking up. It was a close call earlier, and I should've jacked off in the shower. Missed opportunity. The door opens, and I'm caught red-handed. Her gaze on my back burns, and I slowly rotate toward her with the lingerie in my grip.

"Were you snooping?" My face heats. "No. Yes. Maybe." She scowls and marches forward. She's in an oversized t-shirt and leggings, her normally light-blonde hair darker now that it's wet. It's combed out, the locks loose around her shoulders. The feel of the soft strands comes to mind. She snatches the lace from me and stuffs it back into the drawer. She slams it shut. "The question is..." I prop my elbow on the dresser. "Were you planning on seducing someone this week? A Christmas fling?" Oh, her expression is priceless. And because I can't resist, I press further.

"Brave Mira, were you going to have a random holiday hookup?" I spread my arms. "Because, baby, I am totally available for the job." She finally cracks, a smirk curving her plump lips. It makes me want to kiss her again, harder, so they get all puffy, and her family will have absolutely no illusions about what we did all night. "I'm not going to take you up on that," she finally says. Boo. "And I want the side of the bed closest to the wall just in case someone breaks in and tries to kill us," she adds. I blink, but Mira just moves around me.

She goes to the far side of the bed and pulls down the blankets. She takes the decorative pillows and stuffs them under the blankets, making a line-no, a wall-down the center of the bed. I raise my eyebrows. "You stay on your side." She climbs in and gets comfortable. She watches me for a moment, probably because I'm still standing there like an idiot. "I mean it, Rhys." "Got it. No touchie." Seeing her in bed is hot. I need to take care of my issue before I join her. By issue, I mean boner that is currently about to make an untimely appearance.

If I don't, I'll fall asleep, and no number of pillows would keep me from gravitating toward her while unconscious.