The man loved finding out what kind of creatures we had in town, and I loved his enthusiasm, even though he was trying to play itcool.
“One oink means yes, two meansno.”
His eyebrows dropped and he frowned. “That’s nofun.”
I laughed and pressed a kiss on his mouth. A quick kiss, a gentle kiss, a kiss that was not supposed to linger. But his hands shot out, caught both of myarms.
He held me to him, stepping into me as he did so, angling his thigh between mine. I was walked backward until my back bumped into thewall.
We never stopped kissing, couldn’t stop kissing. I swept my tongue along his bottom lip and he opened, his tongue licking into my mouth as we tasted, hungered,devoured.
I never wanted it tostop.
Never wanted to know a day when his hands wouldn’t be warm on my body, when his mouth wouldn’t be pressing secret words intomine.
Finally, we came up for air and we hung there, heads tipped, both of us staring at the other’smouth.
I wanted to say it again. To ask him if he had heard me last night. To know if he understood that I loved him. Loved his laughter, his strength, his steadycalm.
But I had already told him once, in the dark, in the relief that he was alive and with me. Maybe that would beenough.
Maybe that was all we were supposed to have. Maybe we didn’t need the words. Maybe we just needed this.Us.
I shifted, sliding my leg down off from his hip where I had somehow put it, and settling all my weight on myfeet.
I pressed his chest, and he steppedback.
“Go to the doctor and make sure you don’t have a concussion,” Isaid.
“I don’t have aconcussion.”
“Goanyway.”
He sighed. “So you’ll be home before eight?” His voice was sex, and it took everything I had not to just strip right there and drag him off tobed.
“Ipromise.”
He searched my gaze for some other meaning behind those words, the same words he’d told me before he’d gottenstranded.
“Are you going to be okay alone?” Iasked.
“Yeah. If I need anything, I’ll call. Delaney? Thank you for being on the phone with me. For keeping me awake. For getting mehome.”
“Like I’d let you miss our first Christmastogether.”
I waited for the words. They were there, in his gaze, in the soft pause of breath when he studied my mouth, my face, myeyes.
“I–”
A muted thump in the living room was followed by a crash then the sound of Spud running for his hidingcorner.
Momentdestroyed.
“I should check on the dragon?” hesaid.
“Youshould.”
His hands fell away. “Buttonight?”
“It’s Christmas Eve, Ryder. It’s going to be a goodnight.”
I smiled, then moved past him and into the bedroom to change into myuniform.
