Sweet Temptation

|3| 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒐𝒎

(Unedited)
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"You forgot this." Warren set Julia’s wineglass on the coffee table in the great room.

"I never forget wine." She was standing on a stepladder, positioning a fresh wreath over the fireplace. Her raised arms elongated her body and caused her breasts to round the front of her T-shirt.

Not the first time Warren had noticed them. Or imagined what they looked like naked. What she looked like naked. Slim, pale curves, long legs, breasts that would fit just right in his hands. Despite his reluctance to date, he hadn’t been a monk the past thirteen years, but his affairs had never stopped him from thinking about Julia.

He didn’t feel guilty about it either—she was a beautiful woman, and he was a man with a strong sex drive, and one plus one still equaled two. His curiosity about her had become as familiar as their relationship. But he knew—had always known—he’d never discover the reality of what Julia Bennett concealed beneath her flawless appearance.

"I’ll help you with that," he said.

"No, I’ve got it. Stand over there and tell me if it’s straight."

"It's a wreath." He moved away from the fireplace. "Any way you hang a circle, it's going to be straight."

"Do you see this bow?" She tapped the red velvet bow. "This needs to be centered at the top."

He cocked his head. "It's centered."

"You're not looking at it."

"How do you know?"

"I can feel you looking at my ass."

"Which is right at my eye level, so who could blame me?"

Julia threw him a derisive scowl over her shoulder. "This is going to take forever unless you cooperate."

"The wreath is straight," he assured her. "And your ass is perfect."

Her eyes narrows, even as a faint blush rose to her cheeks. Warren winked at her and headed over to open one of the boxes.

"Where did you poo ick this wreath up?" Julia climbed off the stepladder. "It's nice and fresh."

"From the guy near the place in Santa Cruz where we went that time."

"Oh, the café with the eggs benedict. We should do there again with Hailey."

"Tell me when you want to go, and I'll clear my schedule." Warren held up several glass snowmen from one of the boxes. "Where do you want these?"

"Over there." She waved a hand, and he brought them to an end table in the vicinity of her wave.

They put out Julia's frosted vases, snowflake table linens, and a lighted Dickens' village. One Sunday, as usual, they'd trek into the Santa Crus Mountains to pick out the tree—an event that would generate a lot of good-natured bickering and end with hot chocolate and a tree-decorating party.

Just one other King family tradition that had taken root only because of Julia. Though she could be abrasive and fircetly overprotective where the King Siblings were concerned, Warren's respect and gratitude toward her knew no bounds. He woukd never be able to thank her for keeping his family together when they'd all been on the verge of falling apart.