“Tex? The man’s name is Tex?”
“He’s not as cool as he sounds. We broke up because he was so overprotective. It felt borderline controlling.” She sighs. “We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you being trapped with the hottest firefighter in Rugged Mountain. You need to go find him and make the best of this storm.”
It seems fitting now to tell her that I don’t want to get attached, that I’m moving back to New York, that I miss the hustle and the bustle and the feeling of isolation despite millions of people, but I can’t do it, not with all the stress she’s carrying. Plus, it’s nearly Christmas Eve. No one wants news this heavy this close to Christmas.
“I’ll try my best,” I joke, “but if you know anyone with a plow, I’m sure we’d both appreciate a ride out of here.”
“Oh!” Marley brightens. “I can call my brother. He plows for a few businesses in town. I’ll see where he is. Maybe he can get down there and you can follow him home, so you don’t miss your Christmas Eve festivities.”
Christmas Eve festivities. Right… I have so many Christmas Eve festivities.
I thank Marley and hang up the line before standing and making my way toward the door. I’ve barely stepped past the threshold when I see a man breathing heavily, snow clung to his hair, an axe swung over his shoulder, a big, warm grin on his face. “I’ve got a surprise for you,” Cole says with a grin.
My breath catches, and for one wild second, I think my fantasy might be coming to life.
Chapter Six
Cole
“A tree?” Tess stares toward me as though I’m holding the three heads of Christmas past, present, and future, but I see the grin she’s trying to hide. “You cut down a tree?”
“You said you wanted a fresh cut tree, so I cut you one. Spruce.”
“Where’d you get the stand?”
“Just a couple of two by four’s nailed together. Found ‘em out back.”
The wind whips down the street and rattles the windows as Tess stares back with the wide-eyed wonder of a woman who isn’t sure what to think or whether or not to trust.
“I’m sorry about your past,” I say, reaching out for her hand. “You didn’t deserve that. You deserve people who stay, Tess. People who see you, who love you, who want every part of you.”
A tear streaks down her face, and I brush it away slowly, feeling the warmth of her touch as silver light spills in from outside. Her cheeks are still red from the cold, but I swear she’s never looked more beautiful.
I shouldn’t want to touch her as badly as I do. I shouldn’t confuse her anymore than she already is. She’s decided to go back to New York. That’s where her life is, where she belongs. Well, where she wants to belong, though I’m not all togethersure if that’s true. How could it be when she looks like this in the halo of my touch?
“You’re still cold,” I say, my voice low.
“I’m fine,” she lies, her chattering teeth betraying her.
The space heater is on, but it’ll take some time to fully heat the area, so I step forward and wrap her into my coat until she’s pressed against me so tight that I feel her warm breath against my throat. I wish I could take every bit of pain she’s ever felt away.
“Cole,” she starts, but the word dies when I tilt her chin up.
I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t have permission to touch her. I didn’t ask. I don’t plan to ask. Whatever’s happening inside of me is beyond permission. It’s feral, it’s real, and I need her.
Slowly, I lean into her lips, quick and rough, like I’m stealing the last bit of warmth on Earth.
A tiny sigh leaves her breath, and my tongue presses against hers as her nipples go hard against my chest, the world gone except for the desperate heat growing between us and the wild thought that freezing to death wouldn’t be so bad if it felt like this.
My hands find her throat, then the back of her neck, my lips never leaving hers as we dance backward against the back wall shelves that line the bookstore.
Fuck. I need to slow down.
We shouldn’t do this here. I don’t know what cameras are on alert or who could walk in. Mostly though, I don’t know what could happen after this. She knows it too. I can feel it in the way her hands hesitate, in the way her lips part as though there’s a piece of her that wants to tell me to stop but doesn’t.
She’s younger than me, she’s leaving, and she doesn’t trust easily. I know these things clearly, but she doesn’t stop me, and right now, that’s enough.
“Your majesty,” I groan against her throat as my teeth scrape across her skin, “I hope you don’t mind me saying… but you’re so fucking beautiful.”
