GINA WILKINS - Beneath the Mistletoe - Make-Believe Mistletoe / Christmas Bonus, Strings Attached

Stepping away from Bobby Ray, she pushed against the mutt. “Your nose is freezing, you silly dog, and I’m not letting you warm it against me.”

Looking over the dog’s head, she spotted Banner standing in the doorway, scowling rather fiercely as he gazed at her and Bobby Ray. “Y’all ready to get some sleep?” he asked, his voice more curt than usual.

“I sure am.” Bobby Ray scratched his beard. “I don’t usually turn in this early, but we’ve stayed busy today.”

“You’ll want to sleep on the couch again, Lucy,” Banner said in the same impersonal tone he had used before. “It’s too cold in the office.”

Not to mention that it was dark and lonely in the office, Lucy added silently. “The couch will be fine, thank you.”

Lucy and Banner found themselves alone again one more time that evening. Bobby Ray was in the bathroom, taking a quick shower by candlelight. Lucy had already dressed for bed in a pair of navy knit yoga pants with baby-blue piping down the side and a snug-fitting, long-sleeved baby-blue T-shirt. She wore white socks on her feet to keep them warm. While still modest, this outfit would be much more comfortable than the jeans and sweater she had slept in the night before.

Banner had changed into gray sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. Like Lucy, he wore white sport socks. His dark hair was tousled, and his jaw was stubbled with dark whiskers that did nothing to detract from his brooding good looks. Quite the opposite, actually.

Lucy studied him in silent appreciation as he knelt in front of the fire, feeding logs into the flames, his endearingly ugly dog at his side. The firelight played across Banner’s face, highlighting the planes and shadows of his features. It wasn’t difficult for her always-active imagination to picture him sitting there without his shirt, that same firelight playing over tanned skin and rippling muscle. The image was clear enough to almost make her salivate.

“You’re looking at me,” he said.

Since he hadn’t glanced away from the fire, she wasn’t sure how he had known, but she said agreeably, “Yes, I am. Does it make you uncomfortable?”

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