Dawn Temple - Moonlight and Mistletoe

He moved their joined hands to her lap, the pressure of his touch stilling her jerky movements. “You were lucky to have someone like him come along and rescue you.”

“He did more than just rescue me. He gave me a real life. He got rid of sad, scared, unloved Shayna Hoyt and created Shayna Miller, a happy, safe, cherished daughter. How can I allow anyone to dishonor his memory?”

“That’s exactly why you have to accept Walker’s deal. It’s the only way to make sure Patty won’t paint James as a villain.”

“I’ll admit that part of this deal does tempt me.”

He pulled his hand from her grasp and cupped her cheeks, angling her face to his. “You really aren’t tempted by the money?” he ask incredulously.

“No. Not for myself. I’m happy with my life as it is. The temptation comes from how much I could help others, but if I accept the money under Walker’s conditions-” she squeezed her eyes closed and searched for words that would help him understand “-I’m just not sure I could live with myself if I abandoned my principles and went along with his story.”

“You may not have a choice.”

She nodded miserably as a tear slid down her cheek. “I know, and that scares me. Agreeing with Walker’s story means I’ll have to say goodbye to Shayna Miller and become scared, unloved, unwanted Shayna Hoyt again.”

Kyle’s thumb soothed away the fallen tear. “Shayna, I’ve met your friends, seen how this entire community adores you. Unloved and unwanted are two things you will never again be.”

His kind words, spoken with such warmth and sincerity, brought forth more tears. And a desire to be loved and wanted in a whole new way.

By him.

Sniffling softly, Shayna excused herself and retreated to the ladies’ room. Alone in the large gym, Kyle removed his suit coat and laid it over the back of a folding chair. Once again she’d seen through all his bull and found the truth. And this time it was a truth he hadn’t even known himself and one he’d been enraged to have pointed out.

Not many men would have stood their ground when his temper was that hot, but Shayna had never flinched. The woman packed a lot of guts and courage and intelligence into one tiny, alluring little package. A package he wanted more than he’d ever wanted anything before-even that damned partnership.

“And hey, for your information,” Shayna called boastfully as she reentered the gym, breaking into his wayward thoughts. He was glad to see her tears and sadness were gone. “Just because I’m not driven by money doesn’t mean I’m an imbecile. I sold off fifty acres of timber to pay for that van, and if I want to buy another one in a decade, that land will be ready to clear again.”

Her spirited laugh tortured him. It was all he could do not to lay her out on the parquet floor and make love to her, here and now. He had to clear the lust out of his throat before he could respond. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you have such a stable savings plan.”

The lame joke was punctuated by a chirp from his BlackBerry. Incoming text message.

“So much for your vacation, huh?”

“I’ll just ignore it.”

“No way. Even if you don’t answer it, you’ll be thinking about it.”

“Must be such a drag, being right all the time.”

“Actually, I get quite a kick out of it,” she quipped, picking up a notebook full of scribbly notes.

He unclipped the phone and opened Roscoe Thomas’s concisely worded message. Her appointment?

Tension tightened his jaw. Once again, he’d become so entranced with Shayna that he’d lost track of the job he’d been sent here to do.

“Bad news?” she asked cautiously.

“Reality check. The senior partner wants an update regarding the appointment with your lawyer.”

“Oh, I’m afraid it’s not good news. I called this morning, but he’s out of town. Friday afternoon is the earliest appointment I could get.”

He knew the delay should frustrate him, but it didn’t. Another sign of how far his priorities had slipped.

He keyed in Friday’s date, and once the message was successfully sent, he turned off the phone and slipped it into the pocket of his discarded coat. “Then Dr. Walker will have no choice but to wait a few more days.”

“I don’t imagine he’s going to be very happy about that.”

“No, but as his lawyer, it’s my duty to make him understand the ramifications of coercing you into an agreement without allowing you ample opportunity to seek the advice of counsel.”

“So your vacation is still on, then?”

“Yep.”

“You have any fun, exciting plans for the rest of the day?”

“Not a one. In fact, all this free time is driving me crazy.”

“Well, if you don’t mind physical labor, I could help you kill a few hours.”

“Sounds interesting. What do you have in mind?”

“How are your wrapping skills?”

“Nonexistent, but I’m a fast learner.”

She cocked her eyebrows at him. “You’re quite the straight shooter, aren’t ya?”

“Lies tend to lead to apologies. Since I’m not very fond of admitting I’m wrong, I try to avoid it altogether.”

“That’s a good policy.” She moved to one of the six-foot-long tables set up near the stacks of toys. The brightly colored Christmas paper, scissors, ribbons and tape looked like a scene straight out of Santa’s workshop. Too bad the G-rated setting couldn’t calm his X-rated desires.

“Have a seat. Since you’re a beginner, I’ll let you start with board games. The boxes are easier to work with than some of the other packaging.”

While he sat, she grabbed an armload of boxes and set them near his elbow. Her hair fell forward, tickling his forearms. The scoop neck of her tank top aligned with his mouth. The urge to taste her skin hit him hard. Damn chivalry. Made it impossible for a man to follow his urges.

When she leaned across him to grab a roll of green-and-gold paper, Kyle thought he would explode. Desire throbbed through him, threatening his tightly wound control.

“Did I tell you about the IRS?” he blurted.

“What about them?” She looked baffled by the sudden shift in topic, and who could blame her? Definitely not his smoothest segue, but God knew there was nothing less sexy than the IRS.

“I was doing some additional background work on your dad. It’s part of the job,” he assured quickly when she shot him a squinty-eyed look. “Anyway, when I was reviewing his tax returns, I discovered that he never took advantage of the child tax credit he would have qualified for as your legal guardian.”

“He didn’t? That’s kind of strange. He was always adamant about civic duty and that kind of stuff.”

“The fact that he didn’t take the deduction will work in his favor if Walker attempts to defame his character. If you don’t still have the hard copies somewhere, I’m sure your lawyer can get them. It’s a good idea to have them on hand, just in case.”

“Should you be telling me this?”

He shrugged. Sharing his research wasn’t particularly a breach of confidence. After all, anyone with access to the database could uncover the same thing he had.

“Okay. I’ll pass it along.” She rolled her lower lip between her teeth and gnawed on it. Suddenly, the gym felt as intimate and cozy as her cabin. He saw his own desire reflected in her eyes.

This time, she was the one who jumped in with a subject change.

“The toy drive was exceptionally successful this year.”

He did his best to follow her lead. “Looks like you collected enough to give every kid in the county four or five gifts.”

“That would be great. And our cash donations were at an all-time high.” She stood and grabbed another handful of toys. He couldn’t help but admire the way her pants hugged her rear curves.