Free White-Hot Christmas by Serenity Woods Page A

woman next to her held out her glass, gesturing for Merle to fill hers up too.
    “There you go.” Merle finished off the bottle.
    “Thanks.” The woman smiled. She was in her early fifties, slender and beautiful, her brown hair peppered with grey and cut into a neat bob. “You must be Merle.”
    “Yes, that’s right.” Merle shook the other woman’s hand as it was offered. “I’m sorry, you are…?”
    “I’m Julia. It’s very nice to meet you.”
    “You too,” said Merle, wondering who she was.
    “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
    “Oh?” Merle raised an eyebrow, smiling. “Good things I hope.”
    Julia gave a small laugh. “Oh yes.” She didn’t elaborate, but her eyes smiled, crinkling at the edges as she sipped her wine.
    “And what are you two talking about?” Neon walked up to the table and poured himself a Coke.
    “Nothing.” Julia’s face was the picture of innocence. Merle looked from her to him and back again. The two of them were staring at each other, some message passing between them, although it remained unspoken. Neon gave Julia a glare followed by a slight shake of his head. She tipped hers in reply, her eyes dancing.
    “Go away.” He turned Julia around and pushed her toward the garden. Laughing, she acquiesced, casting a last look over her shoulder, winking at him.
    Merle raised an eyebrow. “That wasn’t very polite.”
    He shot an exasperated look in Julia’s direction, then looked back at Merle and sipped his Coke, his other hand on his hip. “She’s got a naughty streak—I was avoiding disaster.”
    Merle stared at him, puzzled. “What’s going on?”
    He finally realised she didn’t know who Julia was and sighed, pointing with the hand holding the glass toward the older woman. “That’s my mum.”
    “Your mum? Oh shit!” Eyes wide, Merle clapped a hand over her mouth, laughing. “How the hell did she know who I was?”
    He looked uncomfortable. “I might have mentioned something about meeting a hot girl the other night. I guess Jake filled her in on the rest.”
    “Oh for the love of… She’s going to think I’m a right hussy.”
    He started to smile. “Well, if the wide-brimmed hat fits…”
    She glared at him but couldn’t stop a smile creeping onto her face. She had taken off her shoes and now, in spite of the fact that she was tall for a woman, he towered over her, taking her breath away. There were very few men around who could make her feel small, but he definitely fit into that category.
    He glanced at her breasts, which were outlined nicely by the tight pink top, the nipples standing out like embroidery on the cloth. She didn’t try to cover herself, but bravely let him look, waiting for his gaze to come back to hers, which it did eventually, his eyes warm and lit with the mischievous look she was beginning to know and love.
     
    For a long moment they studied each other. Desire swept through Neon, which was unsurprising as he’d been watching her all evening, unable to stop thinking about their night in the tent. That evening had imprinted itself on his mind. He’d been captivated by her luscious curves and her incredible sense of fun that had kept him laughing all night, until she finally drove him to the point where his body had taken over. She’d enjoyed sex more than any woman he’d ever been with, and he’d been with a few. Maybe it had been because she hadn’t expected to see him again, and it was easier to be open and abandoned with a stranger. Would it be that way if they had sex again?
    As he looked at her, he wondered what was going on behind her cool blue eyes. He could tell from the way her body reacted to him that she wanted him, but he was well aware your body and your mind could desire two completely different things. However, the urge to drag her off somewhere and re-enact their previous encounter crowded his mind like too many people trying to get into a lift, and he was going to have to act on it, even if it meant