I grinned as I noticed the tiny trail of wood chips on the floor. He wasn’t superhuman. He was just a guy. I needed to take him down off the pedestal I’d placed him on.
He wants me. And that’s okay. People can want me.
They just never had before.
I wandered over to the shadow box. I was still standing there when he came back in.
“Do you need to go?” I asked.
“Naw. Trent’s already there. Mick Harrington’s new wife isn’t much of a cook, and she managed to burn their Christmas Eve dinner. The fire’s out. I can stay.”
Good.
Turning back to the shadow box, I asked, “What’s this pretty purple one?”
“That’s…” His voice turned husky, “the Purple Heart they gave me for getting wounded in the service. I was in the Marines for a long time.”
Glancing back at him, I saw his expression close down. And I knew this wasn’t a topic he wanted to talk about. So, I changedthe subject. “Well, it’s pretty. And so is this quilt. Has this been in your family a long time?”
“Yeah,” he said, clearing his throat. “My grandma Jessamine quilted it.”
Despite what had happened earlier in his living room, I felt shy. I’d never been in a man’s bedroom before. I had an idea of what came next, but it was different watching a romance movie versus experiencing it for real.
I was still shirtless, and I’d stripped out of my skirt while he’d been on the phone. So now it was just me in my bra and my candy-cane striped stockings.
Even as I hoped he liked what he saw, I knew he did, because his eyes had been roaming all over me ever since he’d come back in, a hungry look in them he wasn’t bothering to hide.
Levi seemed to sense my hesitation because he grinned and asked, “You want Santa to put you to bed tonight, hon? It’ll be a Christmas Eve to remember.”
How could I say no to that?
“You’re going to keep your Santa costume on while we… snuggle?”
“Yes,ma’am. I’ll leave it on if you want.”
Chapter 13
Levi
My dick had been on high alert ever since the first moment I saw her.
It and my heart had been warring with each other all day. Every part of me was invested in spending time with the lovely Robin Merryweather, who’d flown onto my doorstep this morning, singing a cheerful song of life beyond my cabin walls.
But I needed to make sure she understood something before we took things further.
“My legs are… damaged. I think you saw that earlier on today, but in case you missed it, I don’t want you to be surprised.”
She nodded as though she understood. I figured that meant she had seen me.
“It’s worse up close.”
Robin shook her head. “You’re gorgeous, Levi. Legs and all. Just remember I’m new at this,” she said in a quiet voice. “You’ll have to guide me.”
That made my cock strain against my pants. No man had ever touched her before, and I was the lucky bastard who got to be her first.
Maybe I get to be heronlyone.
There was something shining in her eyes that told me this beautiful woman, for some inexplicable reason, was completely smitten with me. I think we both knew this was more than just one night.
