Christian (The Mitchell/Healy Family #3)(58)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“I’d rather not waste anymore time,” she said with an ornery snicker.

“Then I guess it’s settled. Tonight I’ll make love to you, and not because you asked me to, but more along of the lines of bein’ that close to you somehow completes me.”

“Keep talkin’ like that and we won’t make it to dinner.” With the vibes she was sending I was half-tempted to escort her somewhere private and get started. The last thing I wanted to do was hold in my excitement around her family. “I’m just teasin’,” I assured her. It was important to keep it together.

“No you’re not! Don’t forget how well I know you, Ethan.”

We kissed one more time after I pulled her close with a little jerk. She squealed and gave me a shocked look as she pulled away. “Yeah, maybe you do. All the more reason to take you to our special spot and get started.”

She pushed away full of smiles. While biting down on her lip she continued to step backwards. “When you’re sittin’ at the table near my father just imagine what you’re goin’ to do with me later. I might even give him a head’s up that we won’t be stickin’ around for dessert.” Chris took off running. Her laughter echoed off of the surrounding trees.

I stood there watching her go into the house, the whole time trying to rid myself of the image of being horny around her family. If they weren’t on high alert before we came out as a couple, they certainly were now. I imagined death by salad fork and almost cringed. Instead of eating, I was going to be clenching my silverware, hoping I didn’t have to use it for self-defense.

A couple hours later I sat there amongst her whole family with the idea of being intimate still lingering in my mind. I did my best to avoid eye contact, with not only Chris, but her father and brother. I only answered when addressed, and realized that they probably knew I was being ridiculously weird. It didn’t matter. As long as I could sit there at the table, and not think about how good it was going to feel to make love to my girl again, I’d be fine.

Unfortunately my girlfriend had other ideas. Her warm hand reached under the table as she carried on in a conversation with her brother. I forced my legs together to prevent a sudden growth beneath my meal.

While she continued taunting me, Chris would purposely include me in the conversation, expecting me to answer straight-faced. She was doing all of this on purpose and I couldn’t do anything to rectify the situation. It was quite obvious that I wouldn’t be able to get up and walk out of the room. The closer her fingers got to my crotch the more apparent it became. I started thinking long-term; how many extra minutes it would take me to calm down enough to be able to stand up.

For a moment I peered over and saw the fire in her eyes. Her cheerful mood lifted some of my anxiety, although it wasn’t enough to shake my fear of being forever known as the guy who got up from the Mitchell family table with a woody. Finally I came to the conclusion that I’d have to take matters into my own hands. As gently and not obvious as it could be, I removed her hand from my pants and gave her a look. She shot one back, but didn’t attempt to torture me again.

When everyone retreated to the living room for dessert I picked a chair that I could sit in by myself. It was vital that I have a good relationship with her family, since I knew I’d someday be a member.

Just when we all started talking about football, Chris came in with some kind of cake. It was covered in icing, and she was purposely taking her finger to draw up some and lick it off, all the while watching me react. I slowly gulped down the lump forming in my throat as I turned to ignore her innuendos. Of course, it wasn’t fast enough to defer wandering eyes. “Hey Ethan, you alright over there?” Noah asked. “You look like you’re about to bust a nut.”

As shocking as his remark came out, I watched as the room filled with laughing bodies.

“Whatever!” I spat out and crossed my legs. Directly in view was my girlfriend, steady eying me up. She was never going to hear the end of it if I made it out of the house alive. “Pick on someone else, Noah. You ain’t gettin’ me in trouble.”

“I’ll let it go, if you tell me when you started bangin’ my sister. You see, you never asked us for permission. We don’t take that kind of action lightly.”

Chris stood up and started marching toward me. “Shut up, Noah. You should have asked him that question a long time ago.”

I was petrified to look in the direction of her father, especially when she came to sit on my lap. A part of me wanted to run out before they located the hunting rifles.

“He’s just messin’ with ya, Ethan,” her father explained. “You have our blessin’, you know that.”

I nodded. “Thanks, sir. I appreciate that.”

“Boy, quit your worryin’. I think we all knew you two would end up together,” Noah teased.

Chris wrapped her arms around my neck. Her smile was comforting until she leaned up and whispered in my ear. “Let’s get out of here.”

I pulled away and looked at the vast amount of eyes staring at me. With little nerve left I refused to respond. Chris seemed annoyed as she waited for an answer. Out of nowhere she jumped up and went for the stairs. I watched as she climbed each one, never looking back at me.

“Now you’ve gone and did it. She’s pissed.”

“She is not,” I exclaimed, even though I didn’t know.

Not even a minute later she came downstairs with an overnight bag strapped to her shoulder. She walked over and kissed her dad on the cheek, whispering something in his ear, the whole time he was staring at me. Then he nodded.

She called out to everyone that we were leaving and took my hand. Before I knew it we were out on the front porch. “What are you doin’?”

“What’s it look like?” She asked.

“Chris, we can’t just leave.”

“We can. I asked my parents if we could sneak away and they said it was fine. Stop bein’ a worry wart. Don’t you want to be with me, Ethan?”

I sighed, feeling like I wasn’t in control at all. “Of course I do.”

“Then let’s go.”

Ten minutes later we were at the main house. The house was quiet as we entered and charted up the long staircase in the direction of the left wing. Chris took my hand and pulled me along the way until we reached the last bedroom in the hall. Since they were expecting a ton of family to come in, all of the rooms had been made up. This particular one was my girlfriend’s favorite.