Without another thought, I lower my head until my lips feel hers. A groan rips from my throat. Her lips are even softer than I’d imagined. And I’ve spent more hours than I’m proud of imagining what they would feel like.
Ellyn rises onto her tiptoes, meeting my kiss.
She tastes equal parts sweet and savory. Before I know what’s happening, I drop my hands to her waist, pulling her into mybody. My cock grows harder by the second, and I know it might take an act of nature to get me to separate my body from hers.
Except it’s Ellyn who pulls back.
She’s panting as she blinks up at me with dazed eyes.
Then I remember her injuries. Instantly, I loosen my grip on her waist and take a step back.
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
The smile on her face shoots straight to my chest.
“Far from it,” she replies. “I haven’t felt this light in a long time.”
I cup her face and neck with my hand. “Good.”
Damn, what I wouldn’t give to spend the night in bed with this woman. But something’s urging me to take things slow. I don’t want to rush this.
Ellyn wouldn’t be the first woman I’ve bedded since my wife died. There’s been more than I can count. None of them, not a one, has made me contemplate bringing them home and not letting them leave.
I never came close to thinking of inviting those women to meet my boys or get close to my family. I was determined never to open my heart to another woman in my lifetime. One love of a lifetime was as good as I could get.
It was more than I deserved.
But as I gaze into Ellyn’s shining brown eyes, that resolve starts to wane.
No. The truth is, it started to dissipate a long time ago. Maybe since the moment I found her on her bathroom floor, calling for help.
Yet, even as I think this, I wonder if it hadn’t actually been the moment she stood in her front yard and told me that she had no intention of decorating her house for any holiday, let alone Christmas.
It was that moment that I decided I wanted to figure her out. To know more about her.
“Next weekend, Walt’s restaurant starts their holiday menu,” I say, my voice sounding odd to me.
Ellyn raises an eyebrow as if waiting for me to elaborate.
“The food isn’t as good as mine. And I tell him that every year,” I point out, making her laugh. “But it’s tasty and no one’s died from it yet.”
She guffaws louder. “Is this your way of asking me out on a date?”
“That depends.”
“On?”
“Whether or not you say yes.” I shrug. “If so, then yes, I’m asking you on a date. If you say no, then I’m just a man standing on your front porch who can’t stop staring at you.”
“A stalker of sorts?”
“I’ve been called worse.”
She dips her head, grinning.
“Yes,” she finally says.
The damn smile on my face is probably bright enough to light up the night sky. I haven’t felt like this in … ever.
