Why am I giving this girl cutesy nicknames?
“Sorry. Don’t know where that came from.”
“I like it.”
I chance a glance at her just in time to see her mouthing “Candy Cane”, like she’s trying to savor the words on her tongue. It’s starting to feel like this girl was sent to me as some sort of test. Some kind of cosmic design to test my restraint. Why else would she be so damn adorable?
As we approach the rental cabin, the stabbing in my leg is getting hard to ignore. All my attention is focused on masking the pain, and it’s getting harder to speak. But Ruby doesn’t seem to mind my silence. She fills it as we climb the stairs, telling me all about her Christmases in Florida.
“It’s not exactly the Winter Wonderland you have out here. No snow-capped mountains, just palm trees and sand. But anywhere can be festive if you try hard enough.”
North bounds past us up the stairs, waiting by the door. Ruby reaches it first, opening it for him. I’m glad her back is turned, so she can’t see the way I’m gritting my teeth, trying to breathe through the pain.
These fucking stairs.
I huff with relief when I reach the top, following Ruby and North inside. The smell of burning hits me—charred and acrid. It fills the whole cabin. In the kitchen, I find the source: a sheet of coal-black cookies on the counter. They’re shaped like Christmas trees. Of course.
“You been baking?”
“Trying.” Ruby makes a face. “I thought I couldn’t go wrong with packet mix. But apparently there are no limits to my ability to burn things.”
I almost smile. “At least you tried.”
The kitchen window is flapping open, and as I lean over the counter to inspect the missing latch, Ruby mumbles something too quiet to make out. I crook my neck, looking back at her.
“Sorry, didn’t catch that.”
“They were meant to be for you. The cookies…”
I look at the burned Christmas trees then back at Ruby. “For me?”
“Yeah.” She looks bashful, a blush rising on her cheeks. “I was going to bring them over to apologize for checking in too early and…you know…walking in on you and all that.”
My throat feels scratchy and dry as I look at her.
This angel wanted to bake me cookies?
It’s hard to wrap my head around. I’m not used to people wanting to do stuff for me. Hell, I’m not used to people, period. I’m a grumpy old Grinch with a bad leg and a worse temper, not the kind of guy people want to get to know. But when Ruby looks at me with those chocolate brown eyes, all sweetness and light, something stirs inside me. Something new. Like a flicker of fire in a long-dead hearth, heating places I forgot existed.
Fuck, I want her so badly.
Every second in her company makes it harder to ignore. She’s like a craving, an addiction I can’t shake. And standing together in this cramped kitchen sure doesn’t help. She’s close enough to touch. Close enough to kiss. My cock strains against my jeans, throbbing when I think of how I could reach out right now and pull Ruby against me. I could take her right here on the counter. Feel her curves. Claim her. Taste her. Make her scream my name like a prayer…
God help me, I’m losing it.
I’ve let the silence drag on too long. Ruby is peering at me through her lashes, and I swallow hard, forcing myself to speak.
“It was thoughtful of you to bake for me. Thanks, Candy Cane.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiles at me apologetically. “Sorry I burned them.”
“Doesn’t matter. Thought that counts.”
It takes all my self-control to look away from her. I turn back to the window. But it’s useless. I can still feel Ruby behind me.Beneath the bitter scent of burning, I catch her scent—warm vanilla and cinnamon. My pulse is racing. The air is so damn thick I can hardly breathe.
I shouldn’t want her.
Ican’twant her.
