A Christmas Kiss with Her Ex-Army Doc

by Tina Beckett

  Ha! He wasn’t touching that. But he’d already let his pause go too long without adding something.

  “Could you throw a couple of fortune cookies in with that order? Thanks.”

  He paid with his credit card and noticed Hollee was signaling him from across the room. “Could you hold on for a minute please?” He glanced at her. “Is there something else you want?”

  “No, but I invited you. I was going to pay for it when they got here.”

  “It’s the least I can do for borrowing your mom for the next two weeks.”

  “Borrowing...? Oh, the dogs.”

  He finished up the order and then hung up. “They should be here in about twenty-five minutes.”

  “Perfect. I could use some wine. How about you?”

  “That sounds good. I’ll come help.”

  He followed her into the kitchen, doing his best not to watch the jiggle of her behind as she went, but, damn, it was hard. His friendship card was quickly getting lost in the shuffle.

  The last ten or so years had been exceedingly good to her. She looked better now than she had back when he’d first noticed she was all grown up, something he could not say for himself. He knew the repeated trips into war zones had hardened him in all the wrong ways. Not to mention his scarred face.

  Somewhere along the way he’d forgotten what life was all about. Maybe Jacob’s death had reminded him that nothing in life was certain. Or maybe it was meeting Hollee again after all these years.

  Meeting that young family with the new baby had given him a jolt. That couple had journeyed through a war zone of a completely different kind, but one that was just as devastating as any he’d seen during combat. Drugs senselessly claimed lives just as guns and artillery did.

  Marilyn and her husband had given him a glimmer of hope, as strange as that sounded. If they could come through what they had and learn to enjoy life again, then maybe he could too.

  Maybe he could even find someone in the future and settle down and have a family.

  When his eyes strayed to Hollee, he gave his head an inner shake. The time for that had come and gone, when he’d decided he wasn’t the kind of person she needed. Although knowing what he did about his former friend, he wondered again if that had been the right decision.

  Hollee opened a cupboard and stretched up high, grabbing a pair of glasses, her T-shirt pulling taut over one of her breasts as she did. And his mind was right back in the fray, giving the finger to his rationalizations.

  Staying for dinner might just be a mistake after all.

  She got a bottle of wine out of the fridge and handed him a corkscrew. “Why don’t we feed the dogs before we eat dinner? Otherwise Tommie will make a nuisance of herself.”

  “So will Gordy.”

  By the time she’d put food down for each of them, he had the wine ready to go. And, surprisingly, the dogs were pretty compatible as far as eating habits went. They were both done in record time, leaving nothing for the other to devour.

  “If you’ll carry the glasses into the living room, I’ll let them out for a while. Tommie’s not a lover of winter, so she won’t want to stay out long.”

  She called the dogs and opened the sliding glass door. Out they went.

  “You don’t have a tree up.”

  From what he remembered about Hollee’s family, they were all about Christmas. He could remember his family being invited to their house for an annual holiday party. It had always been warm and welcoming...and decorated to the hilt. Hollee, however, had nothing up at all. Not a single strand of lights. It didn’t seem in keeping with what he remembered of her.

  “No. We’ll be leaving for Bender pretty soon, and I’ve spent Christmas with my folks ever since... Well, for quite a while. I’ve been thinking, though, maybe I should start decorating again. Maybe next year.”

  Before he could respond, she disappeared into the back of the house before coming back carrying a huge pillow. “For Gordy. That’s the one thing Tommie doesn’t really like sharing. Her bed.”

  And Hollee? Did she like sharing hers?

  Dammit, Clancy. Just stop it.

  She dropped the new pillow beside the one that was already next to the fireplace. “Do you want me to turn it on?”

  Blinking, he tried to decipher—

  “The fireplace.”

  Of course. He should have guessed. But with his mind drifting down paths it shouldn’t, everything was coming back with some kind of double meaning. “I’ll leave that up to you.”

  “On, then.” She took a remote and pressed something and flames leaped to life behind the glass. “Tommie loves lounging next to it.”

  “Since I don’t have a fireplace, Gordy will have no idea what it is.”

  “So what about you? Did you decorate this year?”

  He hadn’t given it much thought. His places of residence had been so transitory that he hadn’t invested in a tree or ornaments. “No. I didn’t either, actually. Maybe I will if I ever move out of the apartment into a house.”

  If. So he wasn’t thinking of making his stay more permanent? Was he waiting to see how he handled civilian life before making a commitment to it? Well, that ship had pretty much sailed. He’d already gotten his honorable discharge. Getting back in would be an undertaking.

  She sat on the sofa, and he handed her one of the glasses, then took his spot back on a nearby chair. Although her sofa was pretty long, he wasn’t sure he was up to the challenge of being that close to her. The casual Hollee was sexier than the business Hollee, as evidenced by his reaction to her at the dog park. And his reaction right now.

  Taking a sip, he sighed. “Thanks for asking me to stay. I was too tired to even think about dinner.”

  “Hard day?”

  “You could say that. I had several emergency surgeries in a row, which is unusual.”

  “And I dragged you here for a meeting with Mom.”

  He grinned. “You didn’t ‘drag’ me. It was a good distraction. And I needed some down time.”

  “I’m glad you’re staying then.”

  Was she?

  Before he could unravel how he felt about that, a scratching sound at the patio door made him look up. Sure enough, it was Gordy.

  Saved by the dog.

  When she started to get up, he motioned her to stay where she was. “I’ll get them.”

  He let the dogs in, and Tommie took one look at the fireplace and plopped down. Gordy followed, hesitating as if unsure what to do, so he called the dog over to the second pillow. For once, he did as he was asked.

  Then the doorbell rang. “And that’ll be our dinner,” she said.

  Once they had everything on the kitchen counter and had dished out the food, they made their way into the dining room. When Hollee held up the bottle of wine with her brows raised, he shook his head, although he was tempted to join her for another glass. “I’m driving home. Better not. I’ll just have some water.”

  Over dinner they discussed various cases and he caught her up on how Ava and the baby were doing, starting to relax as the conversation remained on neutral topics.

  Then she took a sip of her wine, and her lips lingered on the rim of the glass for a second longer than normal. And just like that, neutral shifted back into drive.

  “Well, I’m glad it turned out the way it did.” She swirled the contents of her glass, and he held his breath. But all she did was stand and pick up her plate. “Done?”

  “Yes, I’ll help you clean up.”

  They had just dumped their paper plates in the trash, and she was getting ready to toss away the bag the meal had come in, when she glanced inside it. “We almost forgot!”

  She held up one of the fortune cookies, hopping up on the counter top and handing him the other one.

  He took it, even though he had a hard time thinking abou
t anything other than how Hollee at that height was absolutely perfect. For a lot of things. She took another slow drink of her wine and then set the glass beside her hip.

  Hell, he should leave.

  She tore into the cookie’s packaging, glancing at him as she did. “Aren’t you going to open yours?”

  “Yes.” He leaned a hip against the counter and took his cookie from the wrapper, breaking it in half. Retrieving the tiny slip of paper, he popped part of the cookie into his mouth as he read his fortune.

  His eyes widened, and something went down the wrong way. He coughed, trying his damnedest to disguise it as clearing his throat.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I just tried to inhale when I should have swallowed.”

  She laughed. “Not a good plan.”

  Here’s hoping he could distract her. And himself. “So what does yours say?”

  “Same old stuff. Your path to success will soon be revealed.”

  “I think you’re already on the path to success.” Maybe if he talked enough, she’d forget about his. “You’re doing a great job at the hospital.” He shoved his fortune into his pocket.

  “Wait, what did yours say?”

  So much for making her forget about it. “Same old stuff, just like yours.”

  “Read it, then. It’s the best part of the meal.”

  It might have been, had they been young and optimistic and on their first date. But they weren’t. And a lot of water had passed under the bridge since those days.

  With a great deal of reluctance he reached into his pocket and pulled out the paper, even though every word was now burned in his skull. He pretended to look at it and debated whether or not he should just make something up. Except then she might ask to look at it, and right now his head was drawing a blank on other viable options.

  “The past belongs to the past, time to make a new beginning.”

  She blinked, then licked her lips. “I guess you’re already doing that.”

  “I am?”

  “You just got out of the military. And now you’re working at the hospital. Or were you thinking of something different?”

  He was. Which was why he’d almost choked on that cookie. “Those fortunes are always a crapshoot. They could mean a thousand things.”

  Her bare feet which had been swinging back and forth were now planted on the flat surface of a drawer, one heel on the metal handle. Oh, Lord, he was in trouble. In very big trouble.

  “Like what?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Like the trip to Bender or any number of new beginnings.”

  She used a foot to nudge his leg, letting it rest there for a second. “Speaking of Bender, have you heard anything about our sleeping arrangements?”

  The room suddenly got warm. “As in...?”

  “Where we’ll sleep, silly. I don’t think there will be many hotels open for business. Will we be in tents, or what?” Her foot bumped his leg again.

  Was she flirting with him?

  “I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything.”

  “Hmm... I haven’t either. What if there are communal showers? Are you taking swim trunks?” She gave a grin that was full of devilish intent, her foot landing back on the drawer front. “Talk about new beginnings. And new fodder for the hospital’s rumor mill.”

  “I’m pretty sure they’ll have separate showers.” His voice came out half-strangled. He could think of all kinds of new beginnings that might stem from that kind of scenario. And the last thing he needed to picture was Hollee lathering herself in a hot steamy shower, bikini or not.

  “I’m sure they—What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  And then she looked at him. Really looked at him. “Oh.”

  That one word changed the atmosphere in the room in an instant, her eyes going from the cool green of today’s Hollee to something he recognized from ten years ago.

  They stared at each other, and he swallowed, finding the act more difficult than it should be. A lot more difficult.

  The fortune that was still curled in his palm seemed to burn his skin, making him remember exactly what he’d thought those words had meant. That what was in the past—their past—didn’t matter. But it did.

  Despite that, something inside him declared war on the rational part of his brain.

  Her foot touched his leg, but this time it didn’t bump and leave. It stayed. Slid a few inches and then stopped as if waiting for his response.

  All of a sudden he wanted one thing. Hollee. On that counter. Naked.

  He turned and bracketed her in, planting a hand on either side of her.

  “What are you doing, Hollee?”

  The look she gave him sent a spear right through him. How many times had he regretted his decision to stop at a kiss ten years ago?

  Maybe she’d read his mind, because she replied, “We’re two consenting adults. It doesn’t have to be anything more, does it? I don’t want it to be anything more.”

  And that settled it. Because neither did he.

  His hands slid up her arms, and as if anticipating what he wanted, her legs parted, allowing him to come close. And hell if he hadn’t been exactly right about the height of that counter top.

  Cupping the back of her head, he slowly reeled her in, needing to draw this first contact out and make it last.

  Her lips touched his, warm and moist and just as sweet as he remembered. Only as soon as they came together, it was as if an explosion went off between them. Her arms wrapped around his neck and held him tight against her as their mouths suddenly clashed, tongues and teeth battling to take control of the situation.

  And, sure enough, the feet that had been pressed to the vertical surface of the cabinets were now flattened against the backs of his thighs. Taking that as his cue, he gripped her hips and yanked her forward until there was full contact between them.

  Her low, throaty moan sent a shudder through him, and his eyes closed, wanting to hold onto that sound and remember it forever. He hadn’t heard anything that needy, that sexy in a long, long time.

  Her hands moved to the back of his shirt and tugged it out of his waistband, the sensation of it being balled up in her fists making him hungry for her. He couldn’t believe this was happening, didn’t want it to stop.

  Leaning back so that she could drag the shirt over his head, he found he already missed her mouth. As soon as she’d tossed it to the other counter, he took up where he had left off. Only she was now fumbling with his belt.

  This wasn’t the shy girl he remembered from the past. Then again, he wasn’t the same cocky boy she’d once known. They were both adults now.

  And as the adult he was, he was not going to stand there while she stripped him naked. Not without putting them on an equal footing.

  He reluctantly broke the kiss and took hold of the T-shirt he’d admired a little while earlier and pushed it slowly up her torso and over her breasts. And confirmed that, yes, she did have a bra on, something very thin and lacy and delicious looking.

  Soon the shirt was off, and his palms cupped her, the soft flesh filling his hands to perfection.

  She reached behind her and unsnapped the bra, throwing it in the same direction as his shirt, before pressing herself back into his hands. His body ached, needing to touch her everywhere, even as his thumbs strummed over her. And when he covered one of those nipples with his mouth, she squirmed against him, her hands going to the back of his head and holding him in place.

  There was so much he wanted to do, but it didn’t look like she was going to give him that chance. There was a quickness to her breathing that seemed to border on desperation. So he let himself be swept along on the same wave she was riding, pulling back just long enough to grip the elastic of her yoga pants and slide them down, her hips lifting to help him. When her panties started to come wi
th them, he decided to hell with it and helped them along.

  He let both garments fall to the floor and then moved in close again, the thought of so little separating him from the place he wanted to be driving him to reach into his pocket and take out his wallet, securing protection.

  “I want you naked,” she whispered.

  He was right about the change in her. This was a woman who wasn’t afraid to ask. And he gloried in it. No games. No tricks. Just a man and a woman doing what came naturally.

  A little tug inside his skull whispered a word of caution, but he wasn’t going to listen to it.

  Instead, he kicked off his shoes and removed the rest of his clothes. And then he was there. Against her...having to hold himself back from taking her, condom or no condom.

  But he wouldn’t.

  She handed him the packet, and he sheathed himself as her lips trailed tiny paths over his jaw, his chin, his throat, leaving molten lava in her wake. She whispered against the corner of his mouth. “Do it, Clance. Please.”

  There was no doubt about what she wanted. It wasn’t more heated kisses, or a little more foreplay. She wanted the main event. And at her words so did he.

  Aligning himself with the moist heat, he pushed into her in a rush, burying himself inside her. Her eyes fluttered closed, her fingers digging into his hair and pulling him to her.

  Mouth? Or nipple? He wanted both. Kissing her deeply, he let his tongue play out the events that would soon unfold, working the kiss to a climax that he had to force his body not to follow. When he finished she was panting, trying to move her hips against him. Then he took the nipple he’d lusted after and started to move, tongue scrubbing over the tight bud, teeth holding her in place.

  She whimpered, fingers gripping his hair, the sharp pull on his scalp just adding to his pleasure. He kept moving, setting a steady pace, even as everything in him was forging ahead, trying to find its own conclusion. Then her legs wrapped around his waist, using the leverage to up the ante, and changed the tempo and intensity to a crescendo.

  Hollee was no longer asking. She was telling. She wanted more, and if he didn’t give it, she was going to take it.