"How do you manage to break a hip two weeks before Christmas?" David asked as Erin leaned down and kissed his cheek softly. "I've never broken a bone before in my life, and then I go and do this."

"It could be worse, darling. You could have broken your back and been totally laid up this holiday season. As it is, I'm going to have to attend this little party all by myself. If it gets too boring, I'll just use you as an excuse to leave early."

He chuckled and she arched an eyebrow. "I can totally see you doing that. And then getting the call from Kitten, sobbing over the fact that you couldn't stay for even one minute more, especially after she did so much to include you with the group after you returned from the dead."

She sighed a little, fighting to keep her eyes from rolling as she knelt down next to him. "I suppose that you have a point there. And we really should support Aaron and Jennifer as they embark on parenthood together. I know how hard it can be when you're trying to keep a relationship secret."

He nodded, leaning in to capture her lips in a gentle kiss. "There is that."

"And we did keep things under wraps for the most part, didn't we?"

"Oh, darling, no. Everyone knew that we were sleeping together, even as we tried to stay at each other's throats." She felt a deep blush stain her cheeks, listening to Dave chuckle. "I guess that a love like ours is sort of hard to keep under wraps."

"I guess. Do you want anything before I head out here?"

"Yeah, grab me one of those candy canes off the tree. I'll need something sweet to curb my sugar craving until you get back."

Erin nodded and went over to their tree, her eyes scanning the branches to find the perfect candy cane for him. Somehow, he had talked her into letting them have an unconventional tree this year, covering the branches in an assortment of flavored candy canes and nothing more. While she missed the ornaments, the tinsel, the lights, she found that there was something charming about it. "I think this one was strawberry," she said as she plucked a light red cane off a branch.

"That sounds delicious, Erin. Will you open it for me?"

There was something about his voice that made her smile impishly, and she turned around to face him, seeing the matching smirk on his face. "Well, I could do that, and I could also make you work for it."

"Hmm? Are you sure there's time for that?"

She bit the corner of her lip as she nodded. "There is always time for a little bit of sweetness. Besides, the first hour is cocktails, and we both know that I shouldn't expose myself to such temptations. Not when I have this wonderful temptation that I can actually give in to right here."

Erin stalked back to his side, unwrapping the candy and placing it in her mouth, sliding it in and out as she straddled his midsection, taking care to make certain that she didn't jostle his broken hip too much. "And what sort of temptation do you want to give in to right now?" he asked, his voice husky with desire.

Hurriedly, she reached up and began to undo the buttons on her blouse, shrugging out of it so that she wouldn't get any of the sticky sugar on it, knowing that it would take forever to get out, and they didn't have that much time. "I want you take the candy cane from my cleavage, with your mouth."

A full, rich, laugh rolled from his lips as he shook his head. "I will never get used to this nymph that I found in my life. Will you ever cease to amaze me?"

Erin shrugged a little as she slipped the piece of candy between her breasts, hooking it on her bra to give him more of a challenge. "I hope that we never slide into a routine other than loving each other."

"I do like the sound of that, Erin," he murmured as he pulled her down atop him. Nuzzling his face against her breasts, she could feel his tongue dart out to lap at her skin even as his goatee tickled her flesh. Sighing, she arched into the light touches, feeling desire stir in her belly. "I love the feel of your heart beating so rapidly," he whispered before sucking the end of the candy into his mouth.

The feel of his tongue lapping out at random intervals, touching her skin, inflamed her , and Erin groaned deeply as she leaned into his touches, wanting to feel him all the more closely. A sharp gasp tumbled from her lips when she felt her bra come loose, and then his hands were cupping her breasts, his blunt thumbs flicking against her rapidly hardening nipples. The way he was mashing her breasts together kept the candy cane in place, and he continued to lick and suck at the treat.

Erin could feel her breathing become increasingly unsteady as the orgasm began to build in her body. "I'm close, David," she managed to gasp out, her thighs clenching together almost painfully as she stimulated herself to precious relief. He laughed lowly against her skin and she sighed and cooed as the orgasm swept over her. His mouth still worked at the cane, though, and she continued to writhe atop him as her pleasure lingered.

"Now this is the best sort of sex," he growled before plucking the candy cane from her cleavage. "Here, let me make certain that you're all cleaned up."

She purred with pleasure as he tongue snaked out to lap at the syrupy residue that had been left behind. And then he slid his lips over to her engorged nipple and began to suck delicately, using the lightest of touches that he knew would only serve to excite her, key her up, make her think of him the entire time she was gone. "This is so not fair, David," she whined, pouting even though she knew he couldn't see her while focused on her breasts.

"And my not being able to have sex for six weeks isn't either. I need to keep you strung like a tightrope so that when you get home we can engage in the only form of release available to us." He pulled his head away from her chest to wink at her, and she blushed deeply as she slipped off him, smoothing her skirt down around her knees.

"They are going to know what we've been up to, now. I smell like sex and candy, David!"

He smirked at her wolfishly, and she blushed a little. "Oh, Erin, stop. You smell fine, like strawberries. If a few of them happen to detect the delectable scent of arousal on you, their thoughts will be embarrassment enough, don't you think? After all, you wouldn't want to picture Jen and Aaron conceiving their baby, now would you?"

"You have a good point, David," she murmured as she reached down for her bra, quickly hooking it and then adjusting her breasts so that they sat right. "I suspect that I'll be gone for about three hours. Do you have everything that you need whilst I'm gone?"

He nodded before tapping his lips with his finger in clear invitation. "I love it when you use words like whilst. Kiss me before you leave."

"As if I could ever go without leaving you a token of my love," she replied as she shrugged into her blouse, quickly buttoning it before tucking it back into her skirt. "You were the only reason that I hung on, you know. It would have been so easy to give in to the darkness threatening to swallow me, but at the very end, I heard your voice, heard you cry out my name, and I turned away, back to you."

Kneeling on the floor, she rested her head on his chest, listening to him breathe deeply. Then his hand began to run over her hair slowly, twirling the ends around his fingers to tug gently. "I'm glad that you made that decision. It would have been so hard to be without you, Erin."

"Ah, I would have watched over you from Heaven, and you know it. It would have given your guardian angel a much needed rest." Letting out a deep breath, she lifted her head from his chest and arched her body so that she could kiss him deeply. The sweet burning pain of his fingers digging all the tighter into her hair had her whimpering and pressing against him even more. Finally, though, they broke the kiss and she stood, smiling down on him. "I love you. Be good."

"I can't get into any trouble on the couch, bella. And I love you, too." Nodding, she blew him a kiss, watching him catch it before she left for the party. At this rate, she definitely would be late, and she wouldn't be hearing the end of it, if Penelope had her way. But sometimes it paid to give in to the sweet temptations of life, after all, that had brought her David, and she wouldn't ever regret her relationship with him.