A Dixie Christmas by Sandra Hill Page B

she inquired, “What do you think of your first Christmas tree?”
     
    Before Annie could blink, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her down to the sofa at his side. One of her brother’s chuckled mid-stanza, but Annie couldn’t bother about that. Clay had tucked her close with an arm locked around her shoulders and his hip pressed tight against hers. Only then did he answer  . . . a husky whisper breathed against her ear.
     
    “This is a Christmas I will never forget, Annie-love.”
     
    She wasn’t the Virgin Mary, but…
     
    They were alone at last.
     
    And Clay had plans.
     
    Big plans.
     
    Aunt Liza had gone to her bedroom on the first floor off the kitchen after wishing everyone “Merry Christmas” and giving each a goodnight kiss on the cheek, including Clay, who felt a tightening in his throat at being included in her family. Hank had put another log on the fire for them, winked, then hit the telephone for a long chat with his latest girlfriend. Roy and Jerry Lee had gone out to the barn for a final check of the farm animals. Chet was upstairs giving his baby a last night-time bottle. Johnny was probably asleep already, being among those who’d gotten up by four a.m. today to do farm chores before going into Memphis. Even Elvis had shut down for the night.
     
    Clay turned to Annie. He relaxed the arm that had been wrapped around her shoulders, holding her immobile, and his hand crept under her silky hair to clasp the bare nape of her neck. His other hand briefly traced the line of her jaw and her full, parted lips before tunneling into her hair, grasping her scalp.
     
    She moaned. But she didn’t pull away. She, too, must sense the inevitable  . . . the impending kiss, and so much more.
     
    “Oh, Annie, I’ve been waiting to do this for hours.”
     
    “I’ve been waiting, too,” she confessed, turning slightly so he could see her better. “For a long, long time.”
     
    He wasn’t sure if she referred to a kiss or this bigger thing looming between them. By the expression of fear on her face, it was probably the latter. Hell, he was scared, too.
     
    At first, he just settled his lips over hers, testing. With barely any pressure at all, he shifted from side to side till they fit perfectly. Then, deepening the kiss, he persuaded her to open for him. The first tentative thrust of his tongue inside her mouth brought stars behind his closed lids and another moan from Annie. He pulled out and whispered against her moist lips, “You taste like candy canes.”
     
    She smiled against his lips and whispered back, “You taste like popcorn. All buttery and salty and movie balcony naughty.”
     
    Chuckling, he cut her off, kissing her in earnest now. Long, drugging kisses that went on and on. He couldn’t get enough. She seemed the same.
     
    “Annie-love,” he cautioned after what appeared an hour, but was probably only a few minutes. “Your brothers are back.” The clomp of heavy boots could be heard on the back porch by the kitchen.
     
    They both sat up straighter, their clasped hands the only body contact.
     
    “G’night,” Roy and Jerry Lee said as they passed through the living room on their way to the stairs. There was a snicker of amusement in Roy’s tone, but thankfully he said nothing more.
     
    “Were they kissin’?” he heard Jerry Lee ask in an undertone once they were in the upper hall.
     
    “Do pigs grunt?” Roy answered.
     
    “Annie? Our Annie? Yeech!”
     
    “What? You didn’t think she knew how to kiss?”
     
    “Sure  . . . I mean, I guess so. It’s just  . . . I never saw her lookin’ so pink and flustery. And Clay, he looks guilty as sin.”
     
    “Better not be too guilty, or too sinful,” Roy growled. Their muted voices faded to nothing.
     
    Annie put her face in her hands and groaned. “Pink and flustery! I’ll never hear the end of this. Never. By tomorrow morning, my brothers will be making pink jokes. What’s pink and goes