A Savannah Christmas Wish

by Nan Dixon

  So crazy he’d told her they were having dinner. She’d understood dinner meant sex and had still said yes.

  He pushed off his cap and rubbed his hair. This had disaster written all over it. But maybe they’d work out this lust thing and he’d be able to concentrate on business. Then they could both get back to their own lives.

  He shut off the Bobcat. “Need more sand?”

  Eddie, Molly and Bess knelt, measuring.

  “A wheelbarrow ought to do it,” Bess said.

  Eddie ran the wheelbarrow across the now-packed grass. “I’m on it.”

  “He’s a hard worker.” Bess rested against the Bobcat’s tire.

  “Wish his brain were as engaged as his muscles,” he said.

  She raised a golden-red eyebrow. “Maybe he needs better instructions.”

  “Maybe.” Daniel grabbed his water bottle. She might be right. He hadn’t been too communicative this morning, still reeling from last night’s research on Pop’s disease.

  She stared at him, laying a hand on his bare forearm. “What’s wrong?”

  How could she be so perceptive? No one on the crew had noticed. He shook his head and lied, “I’m not happy we hurt your schedule.”

  “Ah, the immortal schedule.” Bess took his water bottle and gulped down a big swallow.

  For once her tone was teasing and not snarky. Bess had his head spinning from more than the kisses they’d shared in the parlor.

  “If we get this last bit of sand down, I can release you and Eddie.” Her green gaze turned serious. “Thanks for fixing the problem and getting us back on track.”

  The moment was getting too serious. He shrugged. “I wanted to run the Bobcat.”

  He helped rake and smooth. Ran the compactor. It took another half hour before Bess was satisfied. “Molly, let’s cordon off this area.”

  “I’ll do it, Miss Bess.” Eddie almost tripped over his feet to help. He acted more like a puppy than Carly.

  “I’ve got to check on Nathan and the Oglethorpe rehab. He tried to order the wrong windows.” He kept his voice low. No need to have his crew or hers knowing their business. “See you at seven.”

  Her cheek pinked up. “Okay.”

  He checked on Oglethorpe and remeasured the windows. Even though it was only four, the crew and his brother were already gone. He pushed away his anger, but tomorrow he needed to sit Nathan down and explain his responsibilities.

  After hitting the grocery store for food and a flower for Bess, he made the bed, started their meal, fed Carly and took a shower. Then he headed to Bess’s apartment. He didn’t take his ’67 Shelby Mustang out very often, but tonight it seemed—right.

  The engine rumbled as he crested the Talmadge Bridge.

  His chest tightened. Maybe he and Bess shouldn’t go down this road. Maybe this was one more act of craziness. Instead of taking her to his house, they could grab pizza and call it a night.

  He pulled into the parking lot. Bess leaned on the railing, staring to the west. Her short skirt let him ogle miles of slim legs and her silky top molded to her breasts. Her hair fell into waves the color of the sunset.

  He shook his head. This was what happened when he was around Bess. He compared her hair to a sunset. Next he’d recite sonnets, and he didn’t know any.

  When she smiled and waved, his tight chest loosened. They would go have pasta. That didn’t mean anything else had to happen.

  Coming up behind her, he set his hands on her shoulders. In comfortable silence, they watched the sun start to drop. He ran his hands down her arms and linked his fingers with hers.

  “Even though there’s too many trees,” she said, “I like to watch the sky glow pink and orange and gold.”

  “If we hurry, we can catch the rest of the sunset at my place.” He turned her around. “You look great.”

  “Thank you.” Her face tipped up to his.

  It was as if her lips were magnets. He dipped and brushed his mouth on hers. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he steered her to the car.

  She slid into the passenger seat. “Aren’t we going out?”

  “Dinner’s at my place.” His tone was just a little wicked.

  Her eyes widened.

  “Let’s see if we can catch the sunset.” He handed her a gerbera daisy and started the car.

  “Oh, how lovely.” The conversation was quiet and easy, as if they both wanted everything to be normal.

  Bess brushed the flower on her cheek. “There’s no better place to live than Savannah, is there?” Her happiness filled his car. “Anything new on your dad?”

  Tonight wasn’t the night to talk about cancer. He didn’t want to burden her with his pain. “Still going through tests.”

  “How’s working with Nathan?” Her fingers found his.

  His shoulders tightened at his brother’s name.

  “He’s...” His free hand slapped the leather steering wheel. “I can’t get him to be serious about the jobs he’s managing. I had to remeasure windows for him today.”

  “If there was an error, shouldn’t Nathan fix it?”

  “I wanted it done right.” He shook his head. “When I stopped at Oglethorpe, everyone was gone.”

  “Maybe something came up or they started early. Can’t you give him a chance?”

  “He’s not serious about his job,” he complained.

  “Sometimes the world is too serious.” She squeezed his fingers.

  “You mean, like me?” Resentment seeped into his voice.

  “No.” She shook her head. “You want serious, check out Gray. You’re more—” her hand waved as she searched for a word “—responsible. You’re a leader. Nathan’s comfortable being a follower. Let him grow into his role.”

  Responsible. He’d assumed she’d think of him as uptight or controlling. Were they reaching a new level of understanding? If he took her to bed, would it throw everything off?

  He pulled into his drive and hurried around to open her door. The last rays of the sun glinted off her hair. “Head out to the back deck. I’ll bring you a glass of wine while the sun sets.”

  “It’s beautiful here,” she said as he pulled open the slider. Carly scrambled out with him.

  “I like it.” He handed her a flute.

  “Champagne?” Her eyebrows knit together.

  “Prosecco.” He shrugged. “Since we’re having pasta, I picked it up.”

  After Carly had done her business, she lay at their feet. They stood shoulder to shoulder as the sun blinked out. The sky was painted with all the sunset colors an artist could slap on a painting, but it wasn’t as gorgeous as watching Bess take in the view.

  He shifted, inhaling her earthy, flowery scent. The smell reminded him of the last time they’d been naked together.

  Being with Bess wasn’t in his plans, but this moment felt...right.

  * * *

  THERE WAS A dreamlike quality to their evening. Bess drank prosecco while Daniel finished the preparations. Jazz played in the background. “I didn’t know you liked jazz.”

  “It’s no Mastodon, but I’ve listened to enough of your music that I can appreciate a good saxophone.”

  “Really?” Daniel loved hard-core rock and heavy metal bands.

  “Everything smells wonderful,” she said. The man showed off new facets as he flipped up the heat on a sauce and boiled water. “You sure I can’t do anything?”

  “You can pull out the salads and top off my wine.”

  Daniel wore gray slacks and a blue shirt. It made her glad she’d pulled on a skirt.

  She wanted to lay her cheek on his strong back, but she didn’t know the landscape of their changing relationship.

  They’d slept together twice, but never been on a date. To her, fam
ily was everything. It was obvious Daniel loved his parents, but he barely spoke to his twin. And he wasn’t even trying to mend their broken relationship.

  As she poured his wine, her hand shook hard enough make the bottle bounce on the rim of his wineglass. How could she be with someone who despised his only brother?

  She handed Daniel his glass. He set it down and caught her hand before she moved back to the counter. “Hang on.”

  His arms wrapped around her. This close, his sandalwood scent mingled with the lemony butter smell from the stove. She wanted to take a big bite out of him and ignore the voice telling her to be careful, telling her she and Daniel didn’t have the same value systems.

  He pulled her up so their mouths were level. “One more taste.”

  The kiss bubbled through her like the sparkling wine. His tongue played tag with hers, and he tasted of lemons. She could get drunk on his kisses.

  “Wow,” he gasped.

  “Wow,” she echoed.

  He set her away from him. “We’ll never eat dinner if we start something now.”

  “Did you make this?” She peered into his saucepan. Instead of a red sauce, she saw artichokes and chicken, and smelled bright citrus.

  “This is my signature dish.”

  “You make it for a lot of women?” she teased.

  He shrugged and kept plating their food.

  The conversation died. Biting her lips, she pulled out the salads, wondering how to bring back the easiness.

  “Where’s Carly?” she blurted out.

  “Napping in the laundry room.”

  At the table, she took a forkful of pasta. Usually her dates just grabbed a pizza or ordered Thai. The lemon hit her first, followed by artichokes and tender chicken. “This is fantastic.”

  “Don’t sound surprised.”

  “I’m...” She gazed into his eyes. “I don’t think any guy ever cooked for me.”

  “Not even the jerk you lived with in Athens?”

  “Eric?”

  “Did you live with more than one jerk?” A frown furrowed his forehead.

  “No.” She was surprised Daniel knew anything about him. “Eric thought Hungry Man dinners were fine cuisine.”

  “Yeah. I remember going through a lot of those.” Daniel shivered. “Always wondered what was in their Salisbury steaks.”

  They talked about college and Carleton House. After they cleaned their plates, he brought over amaretti cookies. “Do you want coffee? I have decaf.”

  “No.” Now that dinner was almost over, her stomach churned. She popped up and cleared the table.

  “Leave the dishes,” he suggested.

  “You cooked, I’ll clean.” She needed to keep her trembling hands occupied. What if they slept together and the morning after...he regretted it? This would hurt more than the past two rejections. She was beginning to really like the new facets she’d found in Daniel.

  She loaded the dishwasher and he tucked leftovers in containers.

  “More wine?” He shut off everything but the undercounter lights.

  “I’m good.”

  Bluesy music played as Daniel led her into the living room.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She swallowed. “What are we doing?”

  “Dancing.” He took her hands and pulled her close, swaying to the beat. His hand pushed her head to rest on his chest.

  They moved together to the slow rhythm. “I think we should talk,” she said.

  “I think we should dance.” He stroked his hand down her back.

  She eased away. “I can’t sleep with you and have you reject me again.”

  He closed his eyes.

  The music shifted to something edgy, more dissonant. It drilled into her core. She struggled to draw a full breath.

  He stopped and slid his hands to rest on the small of her back. “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”

  The words smacked her upside the head. Why was she having dinner and getting cozy with a man who’d rejected her twice? Someone who didn’t value family like she did. Why couldn’t she learn her lesson? She broke his embrace. “I...I can’t do this.”

  He caught her hand and linked them together. “I know how complicated things are between us.”

  “Great reasons to stop right now.” She swallowed back the ache in her chest. “Can you take me home?”

  “I want to be with you.” He brushed a kiss on the palm of her hand. “Maybe we should see where this goes.”

  She glanced down the hallway to his bedroom. That’s where this was going. “I don’t want to be just someone who helps you—scratch what itches.”

  His chest rumbled as he pulled her close. “You aren’t a scratching post. If I wanted to hook up, I’d have picked someone less complicated.”

  Should she be insulted? He’d thrown back the term she’d used the night of Mamma’s wedding—hook up. “So, this isn’t a one-night stand?”

  “I don’t know what it is.” He dropped her hand and paced over to the stereo, pushing buttons to play a less intense song. “I’m having trouble keeping my hands off you while we work.”

  “I know what you mean.” Her fingers tapped her skirt.

  Daniel nodded. “I don’t want to mess up our working together.”

  “Okay.” She waved her hands between them. “We’ll ignore these sparks.”

  He moved across the room and grabbed her hands again. “Let’s take a chance.”

  He was so close. The scent of sandalwood, lemon and wine filled her head. “What do you mean?”

  He took another step and pulled her back into his arms. “We should check out the...possibilities. This is like the rooms we stripped down to the studs. Right now, everything is possible.”

  Her mouth dropped open. Possibilities. That sounded wonderful.

  Daniel cupped her face with his hands. “Are we on the same page?”

  She could barely get words through the lump in her throat. “Okay.”

  “Good.” He kissed her slowly.

  She wanted to shout thank goodness, but her mouth was occupied.

  He danced her down the hallway and into his bedroom.

  He’d used blues and deep greens in here. A big bay window overlooked the river. The bed was a sea of deep dark blue. She wanted to go skinny-dipping with Daniel in the moonlight.

  “Give me a sec.” He lit the fireplace. The room filled with the light from the flickering flames.

  “I’m still nervous,” she confessed.

  “I’m not.” He turned her around and slipped the buttons open on the back of her shirt. “Lift your arms.”

  He pulled the blouse over her head, folded it and placed it on his bureau. “I’ve been fantasizing about you while we work, about being inside you.”

  “I like watching you when you’re all sweaty.” She worked the buttons free on his shirt and ran her hands on his bare, warm skin. “I didn’t know a tool belt could be so sexy.”

  “And I didn’t know a woman running a compactor could make me hot.”

  She couldn’t stop her laugh.

  A small sofa was set at an angle next to the fire. He led her to it and pressed her into the seat. Slipping off her shoes, he kissed the arch of each foot. Even with the warmth radiating from the fire, she trembled.

  “Stand up for me.” He found the zip on her skirt and eased it down. “Nice.” He touched her matching bra and thong. Her nipples poked through the white lace. He reached out both hands and cupped her. “Oh, yeah.”

  Kneeling, his lips trailed paths along her hip bones. His tongue adored her knees.

  Waves of desire swam through her body.

  “My turn.” She pulled him so he sat. Straddling his lap, she pus
hed his shirt off and ran her hands over his glorious chest. “You are built.”

  “I can say the same about you.” His hands cupped her breasts. He unclasped her bra and took her into his mouth. Pleasure rocketed to every nerve ending.

  She explored the planes of his chest and ran her fingers through the hair. She bit his flat nipples and his fingers tightened in her hair.

  The world jolted and he stood with her legs wrapped around his waist. Five steps took them to his sea of a bed. He dropped her, stripping off her flimsy thong.

  She scrambled to her knees. Her hands were surer now, whipping off his belt and releasing him from pants and boxers. She stroked him. “You’re beautiful.”

  Skin to skin, they explored and touched until they both panted in anticipation.

  “Daniel,” she begged.

  Only then did he join with her, stroking into the center of her fire.

  She would go mad if he moved any slower; she would go mad if he stopped. She wrapped her legs around his hips, trying to draw him deeper.

  “You feel so good.” He kissed her, driving into her in a frenzy of strokes.

  She came apart. Wave after orgasmic wave flowed over her, through her. She might have screamed.

  Daniel called her name as he came and collapsed in her arms. The solid weight of his body was the only thing holding her together.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn’t have the energy to brush them away.

  “Oh, God,” Panic filled Daniel’s voice. “Did I hurt you?” He rolled, reversing their positions.

  She laid her head against his chest and listened to his thundering heart. “You didn’t hurt me.”

  But would he? She clung to him, not wanting to know what would happen next. Would he push her away again? Would this perfect moment be ruined?

  * * *

  DANIEL BRUSHED AT the strands of hair clinging to Bess’s tears and swept them away from her face. “This was better than my latest fantasies, and that’s saying a lot.”

  Her smile was almost shy and she wouldn’t look him in the face.

  He rolled her onto her side, brushing a kiss on her cheek. He needed to clean up. “Be right back.”