I giggle. “Maybe. Then again, I knew there wassomethin’about you when we first laid eyes on one another. I just didn't know what it was back then. And look at us now, we're livin’ out our own crazy mountain love story, it doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore. Because I can feel it and I know, just like this snow is white and the sky is bright blue, and that this view is stunnin’, I know that you and I were always meant to be. We just took our time gettin’ here."
Toby leans in closer, his breath tickling my ear. "I'd already decided to wait as long as it took for you to realize that I was the man for you."
"Theonlyman for me, you mean."
"Yeah," he murmurs, his voice filled with genuine affection. "You know what I want right now?"
A small wry grin tugs at my lips. “What’s that?”
“To kiss you till we get to the bottom of the mountain again.”
“Hmm,” I say, tapping a finger against my lips as if I’m thinking about it. “I think I can grant you that wish, Toby Graham.”
“Good.”
And that’s just what we do till we get back down to the base.
That’s when Toby proves that this train ride isn’t the only surprise he has in store for me.
20
TOBY
“I’ve got somethin’ I wanna ask you, Skippy. And whatever answer you give me is OK. There's no pressure, no expectations. I wanted to steal a little more time with you, just the two of us."
“Yes,” she blurts out without taking a breath.
Leaning in, I touch my lips to hers, cradling her jaw and losing myself in her soulful brown eyes. “I’m serious, Dee. It’s Christmas Eve. If you want to keep drivin' back to the Ranch so we can spend tomorrow with the family, that's totally O–"
“I wantyou, Tobes. I want to steal away all the time with you. That ain’t somethin’ I’m ever gonna say no to. We’ve wasted enough time, don’t ‘ya think?" She punctuates her proclamation with a soft and slow kiss, her gaze staring deep into my soul the entire time. "Let's make some memories, bossman. Just you and me." She shifts back, her gaze soft but undeniably filled with unbridled lust beneath it all. "We can drive home tomorrow mornin’ and still spend time with everyone for Christmas.”
I smile at her in wonder.How the hell did I get so damn lucky to be rewarded with her?“Sounds good to me, Skippy. But I'mtellin’ you now, I’m not just gonna let you have your wicked way with me. We’re havin’ dinner first.”
She bursts out laughing and I pull her in close, wrapping one arm around her back and dragging my other hand into her hair before I swallow her giggles with a long, slow, full-of-meaning kiss that has her moaning on my tongue and my body ready to lay her down there and then.
I can’t tell you why I’m so determined to wine and dine my One first. But I wanna do exactly what she said, make memories.
This isn’t a spur of the moment thing. Last night I talked to my brother-in-law’s cousin, Finn Barnes, and called in a favor with his boss, Marshall. That's how we find ourselves staying in a private cabin on the same mountain as the train ride.
That’s not the best thing. As soon as we walk into the cabin, Dee stops dead in her tracks, her eyes lifting to the roof which has a huge glass skylight in the middle of it. The wonder written all over her face proves that the favor was worth calling in.
"We can see the stars from bed?" she breathes, her voice tinged with awe.
I come up behind her and press my lips to the side of her neck. "The cabin belongs to a man who wanted to spoil his wife since she loved the Aurora Borealis so much." I wave my arm up to the skylight. "I knew this would be a perfect place to escape to."
Dee wanders over to a large window overlooking the mountains where the sky is a muted hue of red, orange, and purple. "It's so serene here, like we're the only two people in the world."
"It feels that way. Imagine the snowy landscape at night, and the stars shinin' down on us like a blanket of diamonds," I murmur, wrapping my arms around her.
She turns in my hold and grins up at me, looping her arms behind my neck. "Means we'll be able to see Santa."
I chuckle. "Mmm hmm. But first, we have reservations in an hour for the Italian restaurant in town. That should give us just enough time to freshen up and get back down the mountain. Yeah?"
"Mmm," she hums, stepping back and running hungry eyes over me. "You know... we couldfreshenup together." I bite back a groan, clenching my eyes tight as I take a deep, fortifying breath. I wanna do this right. Dinner then whatever happens after. Be a gentleman, right? "I mean, if we're all about saving the environment and everythin', shouldn't we be conservin' water?" the little minx says as she slowly walks backward toward the bathroom door.
I can't look away. "Hmm?"
"No bites?" she says, her fingers dropping to the buttons of her shirt as she slowly starts to undress.
