“What in the world…?” She stepped outside and looked around some more. “Gavin?”
No response.
Now she was really worried.
It was dark out and the snow was almost blinding, but she quickly made out the footprints in the snow leading away from the clinic and realized that Lola must have taken off. Bailey walked around calling out to both Gavin and Lola and after several long minutes, she finally saw them walking back toward her and almost sagged with relief.
Quickly, she pulled open the door for them and followed them inside. Gavin didn’t say a word as he worked to get Lola back with her puppies. Bailey assisted and got some warm blankets and fresh water for her. It took about fifteen minutes to get her settled and through it all, she noticed Gavin shivering.
“Come on,” she said softly, gently grasping his arm. “She’s okay. Now we need to get you warmed up.” His coat was soaking wet as were his shoes and jeans. When they were up in his apartment, she helped him with his coat and carefully took his hands in hers and rubbed them to warm them. It wasn’t meant to be anything sensual, but…suddenly it felt that way. Clearing her throat, she took a step back and nudged him toward the bathroom. “Go take a hot shower and get into some dry clothes.
Nodding, Gavin started to walk away but turned back to look at her. “Your scrubs are wet too,” he said, and before heading into the bathroom, he walked over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt and handed them to her before grabbing some for himself. “If you want to use the bathroom first…”
Her eyes went wide and she stepped forward and gave him another nudge. “Are you crazy? Go! Please! I can get changed out here. It’s not a big deal. I can…” Her words stopped when he turned again. He was close. So very close. Bailey could feel his breath on her cheek and she wanted to lean into him and warm them both up.
Gavin’s eyes raked over her face as he moved even closer. “You didn’t have to come out there. You should have stayed inside where it was warm and dry.”
There was no condescension in his tone, only a gentle concern and it made Bailey feel things she had just told herself not to feel—not to even think about. But with Gavin being so close, it was all she could think about.
“I was worried,” she said, her voice more breathless than she thought it would be.
He seemed like he wanted to say something but didn’t. Then one big hand came up and cupped her cheek. Bailey leaned into it—loving how it felt against her. She whispered his name and it was the only thing she got out before his lips claimed hers.
6
Gavin was not an impulsive man by any stretch of the imagination, but in that moment, nothing could have stopped him from kissing Bailey.
Flannel and cotton fell to the floor as he pulled her close and he felt mildly triumphant when her arms went around him and she pressed closer.
Good to know he wasn’t the only one feeling the things he was.
Ever since he’d met her, he longed to see her hair out of its ponytail. Reaching up, he tugged the band out of it and felt the silky strands fall over his hands and he knew it was better than he imagined. Fisting a handful of her hair in his hands, Gavin deepened the kiss and when Bailey’s tongue reached out and touched his, he was lost.
He knew this moment was a long-time coming for him, but based on Bailey’s reaction to him, maybe it was the same for her.
And that’s what made the whole thing hotter—more intense.
How many times had he thought about this—thought about her—and swore he’d never act on it? How many times had it been Bailey’s face in his mind when he thought about being with someone? And now that she was here in his arms and kissing him, Gavin had to wonder how many times maybe she’d thought the same thing.
Bailey moaned softly as he loosened his grip on her hair and simply wrapped his arms around her to hold her tightly. She went up on her tiptoes and that small movement had her rubbing against him practically from head to toe. It was like hitting the launch button.
He wanted more.
Needed more.
There’s a bed three feet away…
It was tempting—so damn tempting. But when Gavin lifted his head to breathe, rational thought returned. It was too soon. It would be completely irresponsible for him to even think of suggesting they jump into bed.
No matter how much his body was screaming for him to do just that.
“Wow,” Bailey said, her voice a little breathless. She licked her lips and Gavin seriously almost dove back in for another taste. “That was…unexpected.”
Hold off on that second taste…
Wordlessly, he nodded and waited to see if she’d say anything else.
She didn’t try to move out of his embrace, nor did she take her arms away from where they rested on his shoulders. Her blue eyes scanned his face and all Gavin could think of was how beautiful she was in sexy disarray. And if she wasn’t going to say anything, he knew he had to.
“Do I need to apologize for that?” he asked cautiously.
Bailey shook her head. “No, but…I’m not sure what we’re supposed to say.”
Okay, that wasn’t the response he was looking for, but he had to admire her honesty. “Yeah, um…” It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her how he felt, but he couldn’t make the admission. Slowly, he released her and took a step back. “Let’s just blame it on proximity or something.” Raking a hand through his hair, he reached down and picked up the discarded pile of pajamas.
Bailey took the ones he held out to her and frowned. “I don’t think we need to blame anything,” she said reasonably. “Why can’t we just say that we…wanted to do that?”
Taking a tentative step back toward her, he was almost afraid to sound too hopeful. “Are you saying that you’ve wanted to kiss me?”
“Well,” she began, looking down at the floor.
Gavin could see the slight flush of her cheeks and quickly admitted, “Because I’ve wanted to kiss you for a while now.”
Bailey’s head snapped up. “Really?”
He nodded.
“But…you never…I mean…you always treat me like you can barely tolerate me.”
A shiver racked his body—and not because of her bold statement, but because his clothes were soaking wet and without the feel of Bailey wrapped around him, he was cold.
Something she seemed to recognize.
“Why don’t you go take a shower and we’ll talk when you’re done, okay?”
He agreed and made his way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. It wasn’t until he was under the hot spray that he tried to wrap his brain around what had just happened. It had been a long time since he had such a strong attraction to a woman. And as the hot water rained over him, Gavin had to curse his rotten luck that it had to be this woman—Bailey—to make him feel like this.
There were dozens of reasons why this was a bad idea. He never should have kissed her or crossed any kind of line or admitted his feelings to her. They worked together—at least, he hoped they still worked together—and this had complications written all over it. The work angle was even more complicated because Gavin had no desire to get involved with anyone long-term. He didn’t do that. It wasn’t his thing. But if anyone had long-term written all over them, it was Bailey Walsh.
So what was he supposed to do? The cat was already out of the bag—he’d already admitted how he’d been thinking about kissing her for a while. Lathering up his hair, nothing came to mind. It was a no-win situation. Hell, she already pretty much hated him. Or at least she had hated him up until a little while ago. Maybe if he went back into detached jerk mode, they could move on from this and go back to the way things were.
No matter how much he wished they could be otherwise.
Stripping down in the middle of Gavin’s apartment felt incredibly awkward, but considering she was cold and her clothes were wet made Bailey push aside any odd feelings.
The shower was running
and she’d never changed her clothes so quick in her entire life. Now in a pair of too-large flannel pants and a t-shirt that could double as a mini-dress, she wandered around wondering what she was supposed to do.
Her mind couldn’t move past the kiss.
What was I thinking?
Up until just a few minutes ago, Bailey would say the strongest emotion she had about Gavin was rage, with disappointment as a close second. But something had changed today and for some reason, all logic seemed to escape her where her reactions to him were concerned. Gone were any of the thoughts or things she thought she knew and felt about him, and in their place were desire and want and…
She groaned and curled up on the sofa while looking out at the falling snow. There was one lone street lamp that illuminated it as it fell. It was never going to stop. At least, that’s what it felt like. After living in Silver Bell Falls her entire life, you’d think she’d be used to this weather. Reason told her the worst they could expect was a day or two of heavy snowfall and then the sun would come out. That would mean she could be stuck here with Gavin through the entire weekend.
Another groan.
Resting her head back against the cushions she wondered how she would survive that. They could sit down and rationalize how kissing each other was wrong, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to do it again.
And more.
Her eyes instantly strayed across the room and landed on Gavin’s bed and all kinds of images came to mind of the two of them sharing it and how good it would feel. True, she only had that one kiss to go by, but it was potent enough that she knew sex with him would be good.
Really good.
Incredibly good.
“I’m in hell…”
“The foot of snow outside would say otherwise.”
With a small squeak of alarm, Bailey sat up and saw Gavin standing a few feet away from her. When had he gotten out of the shower and how had she not heard his approach? With her hand on her chest, she let out a long breath. “You scared the heck out of me!”
Sitting down beside her, Gavin simply offered a small smile and a shrug. “Didn’t think I needed to announce myself.”
True. She should have heard him—or at the very least smelled him because he smelled really good. It was a struggle not to lean forward and inhale. Doing her best to keep her distance and seem unaffected, she moved back a bit and leaned against the cushions. Was she supposed to pick up the conversation where they left off? Would he?
“So I was thinking,” he began, and Bailey almost sagged with relief that he was the one to broach the subject. “What happened before was…well…it shouldn’t have.”
Say what now?
“It’s not right,” he went on. “You work for me and it was unprofessional of me to…to do what I did.”
Seriously? He was playing that card with her? Leaning forward again, she knew her expression was a little fierce and it couldn’t be helped. “That’s what you’re going with?” she asked incredulously. “Even after admitting that you’ve been wanting to kiss me, you’re going to pull back and use work as an excuse for not kissing me again?”
The confusion he was feeling was obvious by his expression, but Bailey didn’t give him a minute to respond.
“I get that it’s a little weird that it happened—especially considering our long-standing relationship of barely tolerating each other—but at least be honest with me, Gavin! Don’t hide behind your position or my job!” With a growl of frustration, she jumped to her feet and cursed the weather because there was no place for her to go.
Even without turning around, Bailey knew he was watching her—probably justifying his decision in his head that she was crazy and how it was for the best that they hadn’t gone any further than one kiss.
And that just pissed her off.
Turning back toward him, she asked, “If we didn’t work together—if I were just someone you knew from town and we got snowed in together—would you be pulling back?”
For a long moment, neither moved. Hell, Bailey wasn’t even sure she breathed.
“It’s a moot point,” he said in that cold, detached way he normally spoke to her. “If we didn’t work together, I wouldn’t have said it was unprofessional of me.”
Dammit. He had a point.
And that just annoyed her even more.
Storming back over, she towered over him. “Why are you being like this?” she cried. “Why can’t you just admit that we had a moment, huh? What’s so wrong with that? If you don’t want me—if you don’t want to do that again—then fine! But don’t be a coward about it, Gavin!”
He stood up so fast she stumbled back a couple of feet.
“I am many things, Bailey, but I am not a coward,” he said through clenched teeth. “I am trying to do the right thing here. Trying to be the good guy.”
“But…”
“What do you think would happen if we picked up where we left off? No doubt we would have moved things to the couch if not the bed. Then what? We’d spend the night together—maybe even the entire weekend!—and then what happens come Monday morning? What happens when we’re both downstairs in the clinic and you’re still pissed off over Christmas decorations and I’m still unwilling to be the happy-go-lucky guy my predecessor was?” His voice grew louder with every word. “It’s better this way,” he said after a moment, calmer, quieter. “Trust me. I’m not someone you want to get involved with. You can hate me if you want. No doubt you already do. I can live with that.”
He turned and walked away and seemed just as lost at what to do with himself as she was. It was too early to go to sleep and they were going to have to come to grips with how they were going to survive the weekend sooner rather than later.
“I don’t hate you, Gavin,” she said, even though she kind of did at the moment.
The look he gave her was a cool one. “You should.”
Oh, how she wanted to stay angry. She was used to it where he was concerned. But there was something in his voice that told her there was more going on here—more to him than he wanted her to see. And it didn’t matter if he warned her off. It didn’t matter if he completely rejected her. All Bailey knew was that she sensed that more than anyone she had ever known, Gavin Maguire needed someone to fight for him.
With more bravado than she thought she possessed, she moved across the room toward him. When she was toe to toe with him, she boldly reached out and raked a hand through his hair. The surprise on his face sealed the deal for her.
“I don’t hate you,” she repeated. “Not anymore.” The last was added because Bailey believed in being fully honest. “But I want you. And I think you want me.” Pressing in close, she could feel how much he wanted her. Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed herself fully against him.
“Bailey…” But there was very little heat behind his words and her name came out as more of a plea than a warning.
Her lips were a breath away from his. “Gavin?”
“Hmm?”
“Kiss me.”
And he did.
She wanted to shout out triumphantly, but it would totally kill the mood. Instead she kissed him back with everything she possessed. He scooped her up in his arms, walked back over to the sofa and gently placed her down before stretching out beside her. He was so hard and warm and felt so good that Bailey maneuvered them until he was on top of her so she could wrap herself fully around him.
And man-oh-man did that feel good.
This was definitely the best way to pass the time during a blizzard and she’d be way more agreeable to the winter weather if this was her reward for dealing with it.
She lost track of time—lost track of where she was. The only thing Bailey could do was feel and Gavin was making her do plenty of that. His kisses were addictive and the feel of his hands roaming all over her body was better than anything she had ever felt.
They broke apart only to gasp for breath but then they were back. The way he continued to kiss her only reinforced
her belief that making love with him would be incredible. As much as she wanted that, she’d be willing to accept that this was as far as they were going to go tonight.
A fact that was seemingly reinforced by the loud barking coming from Lola.
They both froze and then immediately sprung into action. Gavin was on his feet and sprinting toward the stairs, with Bailey right behind him. Once they were downstairs, it seemed like all Lola wanted was to go out one more time.
“Maybe put a leash on her this time so she won’t go far,” she suggested, and while Gavin ran upstairs to grab his coat and boots, Bailey managed to get a collar and leash on Lola for him.
Within minutes they were all back inside and the thought of what was going to happen once she and Gavin were back upstairs was all she could think about.
It was too soon for sex, right?
The temptation, however, was very real. It wasn’t as if they didn’t know each other. Plus, they were two consenting adults!
Still…kissing each other—even heated kisses—was one thing. Sleeping together was another.
“Maybe we should bring them upstairs with us?” she suggested, knowing the dogs would be the perfect distraction.
At least, she hoped they would.
Gavin seemed to agree and together they moved Lola and the puppies up the stairs. Cooper seemed mildly put out by his new roommates, but quickly went back to sleep in his own bed. Once all the dogs were settled, they stood staring at each other and Bailey wished she knew what he was thinking.
He cleared his throat—something she realized he did when he was nervous about whatever he was about to say—and asked if she wanted to watch some TV. She readily agreed because it seemed like the safe choice.
Until she realized the only TV was by the bed.
With a small smile, she thought, “To hell with being safe. This is my one chance at being bold.” And then with a nod, she walked over and crawled onto the bed.
7
She shouldn’t have looked sexy. His pajamas on her were three sizes too big and yet the sight of Bailey crawling on his bed and getting beneath the covers had him ready to pounce.
A Christmas Rescue Page 5