Dawn Temple - Moonlight and Mistletoe

She turned and caught him staring. “People get very generous around the holidays,” he croaked out, trying to keep the conversation alive.

Silence stretched between them, intensifying the intimacy of the situation rather than dispelling it. Finally, she turned her flushed face away and cleared her throat.

“Well, umm, let’s get to work, shall we?”

After several hours of hard work and an easy camaraderie that had both shocked and pleased her, Shayna called a halt to the wrapping party. “That’s enough. We’ll leave the rest to the battalion of blue-haired grandmas.”

“Sounds good to me.” Kyle stood and stretched his arms to the ceiling. Her mouth watered. His chest looked a mile wide and sturdy enough to hold the world’s problems at bay.

Acting on instinct, she stepped forward and ran her palms over his chest and up to his neck. His vivid blue eyes darkened from summer sky to winter rain.

“Thanks for all you’ve done.”

“My pleasure.” His arms lowered, settling around her waist with a possessiveness that sent a thrill through her bloodstream. The decision she’d been dancing around all afternoon suddenly became crystal clear.

She traced the pad of her finger over the ridge of his jawbone. Nearly invisible blond stubble tantalized her nerve endings. “Wanna come home with me and have dinner?”

“Do you have any food in the cabin?” he asked, his voice a notch huskier than usual.

“Nope. But we could pick up a pizza or something. Dinner’s just an excuse to get you to come back to the cabin with me.” She allowed the truth of her hunger to show in her eyes so there’d be no misunderstanding her intention.

The pulse flowing beneath her touch jumped. “Are you sure?”

“One hundred percent.” She tried to rise onto her toes and seal the deal with a kiss, but the fingers at her waist flexed, holding her in place. Struggling not to let her disappointment show, she raised her eyebrows in silent question.

“Shayna, I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Will you be coming back?”

“That depends on you.”

His words caused her silly little heart to flutter, and in that instant, she knew. Despite her best efforts, she’d fallen in love with this stubborn, generous, secretly kind man she couldn’t possibly share a future with. But she could-and would-share tonight with him.

“Me?”

“Yeah. The legal ball’s in your court, so the next move will be yours.”

Not the sentimental, mushy answer she’d hoped for, but after he left tomorrow, she’d have plenty of time to deal with her disappointment. Until then, she planned to squeeze a lifetime of memories into one night.

She shifted onto her toes, and this time he didn’t stop her. “You’re not one of those guys who likes pineapple or little fishes on your pizza are you?”

“Would it be a deal breaker if I were?”

“No way. We’d just switch to Chinese take-out.”

The sound of Brinks’s barking silenced the nightly serenade of crickets and owls. As Shayna slipped the key into the lock, she smiled over her shoulder at the man about to become her lover. Yum.

For propriety’s sake, Kyle had insisted on following her home in his replacement rental, insisting that if he didn’t come home, it wouldn’t take Mrs. Windsor long to put two and two together. His concern over her reputation was supersexy.

“Careful with that pizza, or Brinks’ll snatch it out of your hands.”

She pushed open the door, and the dog raced outside only to slide to a comical stop at Kyle’s feet. Snout raised, he sniffed the air and pounced on Kyle, who, thanks to the advance warning, held the aromatic box well beyond Brinks’s reach. “Down, beast.”

Looking completely at ease with her dog, Kyle sidestepped Brinks and let himself into her home. Shayna followed slowly, shedding her overcoat and zippered jacket. She wanted to absorb and memorize every moment of this night. The second he put the pizza box on the kitchen table, she followed her dog’s example and pounced. Now that she had him here, she didn’t want to waste one precious second.

Ready to feel his skin on hers, she started tugging the buttons of his outer coat free. Once she had them undone, she pushed it off his shoulders, dropping it to the kitchen floor.

She turned her attention to his shirt, but Kyle’s hands cupped her cheeks, drawing her focus to his face. “Be sure. Once we start, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop, and I don’t want you to regret this.”

She looped her hands around his wrists. “No matter what the future holds, I will never regret making love with you.”

“But tomorrow-”

She laid a finger on his lips, stopping his words. “Let’s just pretend-for tonight-that there is no tomorrow. Deal?”

“Deal.” The word turned into a kiss against her fingertip.

Brinks chose that moment to demand reentry. Shayna turned her head, her lips sliding under his hands. She flicked her tongue against his palm then kissed the moist skin. His tremble gave her all the courage any woman could ever need.

“Hide the pizza in the oven. I’ll let him in.”

“Maybe we should leave him outside. It might be distracting to have him standing at the foot of the bed howling at me.”

“Nice to know you’re not accustomed to performing in front of an audience.” She skipped out of his range as he attempted to swat her fanny. Enjoying the unique experience of lust combined with laughter, Shayna let the dog inside.

Her previous lovers-not that there had been many-had mostly been immature, too desperate to make sure she didn’t change her mind to relax and enjoy her company. Another way Kyle Anderson set himself above and beyond the rest.

Unable to control the smile on her face, she shut and locked the front door. When she turned, Kyle was right there, his pupils swollen to huge black pools surrounded by a cool strip of Nordic blue.

Terribly excited by his barely checked passion, she pressed her back to the door and waited.

“Promise me that if I do something you don’t like you’ll tell me,” he demanded gently.

“I don’t like all this talking when you could be kissing me.”

“Shayna, I’m serious. I’m afraid my control is going to slip, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m serious, too. Kiss me, Kyle. It’s what I need. What I want.”

His lips captured hers with bruising intensity, kissing her until they were both breathless. He released her lips, and her fingers went back to work on his shirt buttons.

The world went dark for a second as Kyle whipped her tank top over her head. Her bra disappeared just as quickly. Cool air brushed against naked skin that seconds ago had been hidden within her clothing’s warmth. The sudden temperature change, along with the ecstasy of Kyle’s hard hands cupping her bare breasts, set her nerve endings on fire. His thumbs teased her nipples to attention.

“Beautiful.” Kyle’s reverent whisper made her feel like the sexiest, luckiest woman alive.

She threw herself into his touch, silently begging for more. He answered immediately, kissing the valley he’d formed between her breasts.

“Kyle,” she sighed, hitching her legs around his waist. “Please.”

His hands cradled her bottom, fully supporting her weight. She flung her arms around his neck and pressed her cheek against his chest. Beneath her ear, the accelerated beat of his heart drummed in time to her own racing pulse.

Kyle started up the stairs, and with each step, the dusting of hair across his chest titillated her bare breasts. By the time he laid her out on her bed, Shayna’s whole body was ready to explode.

As if sensing how close she was, he slowed their momentum by taking his time removing the rest of her clothes. When he stood by her bed and peeled his way out of his suit, Shayna thought her heart would stop. She’d already gotten a sneak preview of his beautiful chest, but the entire package was more incredible than anything she’d ever seen.