Romancing the Holidays: Twelve Christmas Romances - Benefits Breast Cancer Research

by Crista McHugh

  They both reached for their seatbelts at the same time, met over his truck’s console in a searing kiss—the kind that righted wrongs, healed hurts, and put all mistakes in the past. He pulled back, his hands on her face, and touched his forehead to hers. “I want you in my life, Nicole. Is it too late?”

  She blinked back tears and shook her head. “Not if you meant everything you just said to me.”

  He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, each of her closed eyelids and her nose before sealing it with a kiss to her lips. “God, I do. I mean every word of it.”

  She smiled through her tears. “Then come inside with me?” She wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and tunneled her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes, letting her fingers work their magic as she massaged the back of his head. His low growl rumbled through the truck before it transitioned into a groan.

  He brought his head forward to settle his gaze on her. “I’d love to, Nik, but I have things to tend to at my place. Would you mind terribly grabbing whatever you need and coming to my cabin with me?”

  Tex cocked his head slightly, drawing her gaze to one delectable dimple, only to have the strong jawline grab her attention seconds later. “Okay,” she breathed. “Give me five minutes.” He got out of the truck first, opened the passenger side and helped her down. “Do you want to wait inside?” Need tugged at her—she wondered how much longer she could keep her hands to herself.

  He looped his arm around her lower back and pulled her close for another mind-blowing kiss. “No,” he said, stepping back and out of her reach. “I’d better stay out here and cool off or we may never leave. Hurry back, okay?”

  “Uh huh,” Niki hurried to her house, unlocked the door with shaky fingers and closed it behind her. She pulled an overnight case from her closet and threw a few pieces of clothes inside. Inside her bathroom, she grabbed her makeup case from her vanity and dumped several items into it, remembering her toothbrush at the last second. She zipped it up and stared at her flushed reflection in the bathroom mirror. “Get a grip, girl. It’s not like you’ve never been with the man before.”

  Oh but she definitely had. She thought back to how good it had been with Tex and gripped the edges of the sink before her knees turned to jelly at the memories. All doubts behind her, she tucked the case under her arm and grabbed her overnight bag on the way out of her apartment. She locked the door and headed toward the tall Texan leaning casually against his bright red pickup. He straightened at her approach and opened the door before grabbing her bags from her. He helped her inside and carried the bags around to his side of the truck.

  When they’d both settled into their seats he faced her. “Are you sure about this? I don’t want you to have any regrets later.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Are you planning to do something to make me have regrets, Cowboy?”

  He leaned toward her purposefully. “My only goal is to make you regret leaving me.”

  Oh. Dear. God! Stupefied into silence, she faced the front and remained quiet during the trip to his place. They reached the home near the arched entrance to the ranch and she noticed how bare and empty it looked. “You said the old couple is in a retirement home?”

  “Yeah, for now. I’m not sure if that’s temporary or not. It’s in San Marcos, though. Not far at all. I think three of their five living children are around there.”

  She nodded, tucking that piece of information away for future reference. The drive progressed to a slightly bumpier ride once they passed the first house and left the main road. A few minutes later they pulled up to a rustic looking cabin on tall pilings. It stood out against the backdrop of the November sky, the light from an attached screened-in porch glowing like a navigational beacon in the darkness of the night. She opened her passenger door, paused at Tex’s next words.

  “Wait until I get over there to help you. It’s tricky if you don’t know where you’re going.”

  No argument from her. Cloud coverage obliterated what little light the waxing crescent moon would have emitted. He came around to her side and pulled the door open, taking her hand to help her out of the truck.

  “Jesus, it’s dark as sin out here.” Her words carried in the wide open space.

  “Tonight it is. Give it another week and clear skies and you’ll be able to read a book out here at this time. If it wasn’t so cloudy tonight you’d be able to see some stars. Loop your arm around mine and follow me.” He shouldered her bags and balanced a few containers of leftovers his mom had sent home with him. Together they made their way up a path to a set of stairs leading to his front door. “Excuse the mess,” he said, unlocking his door and pushing it open for her to walk inside. “I didn’t have much time to clean up after myself this morning and I sure as hell wasn’t expecting company.”

  “No problem.” She stood in one spot until he emptied his armload of items and flipped on a light. Niki gasped at the interior of the spacious cabin, surprised at comfy feel as well as its size. “This is nice, Tex. When you described it as rustic I was expecting something more . . .”

  “Primitive?” he finished for her.

  She laughed. “I guess so, but this is a great space you’ve created for yourself.”

  He beamed, clearly pleased with her initial reaction. “I’ve got to go tend to my horse. Will you be alright here for a few minutes? If I don’t go make my round I’ll pay hell for it tomorrow.”

  She smiled and nodded, remembering his tale about his temperamental horse, Captain Perry. “Sure. Go on and do whatever you have to.”

  Niki used her time alone to explore his man cave, truly impressed with what he’d done with the place. He’d told her it was his work in progress and she could see signs of his handiwork everywhere, from new stainless appliances in the modern kitchen full of pine cabinetry that boasted tons of storage from open shelving. The countertops were also wood, with images of horseshoes, longhorns, and what she assumed was a brand burned into the wood, and sealed with a thick clear epoxy coating that glistened like glass. A round table with four chairs filled the space between the kitchen and open living area covered in weathered wood planking. High quality leather furniture, masculine in style but eye-pleasing none-the-less, fit perfectly in the room, accented with heavy wooden end tables. Huge windows filled the majority of wall space, no doubt allowing glorious amounts of light into the room during the daylight hours. Now the great gaping spaces of black only reflected items in the room’s lit interior.

  She picked up her two bags and explored the rest of the cabin. A flip of a wall switch had her staring at a massive bed in the only bedroom in the place. She passed her hand over the bulky wood of what looked to be a handmade headboard, wondering about the craftsman’s identity. She found the bathroom, approving of its modern and obviously new walk-in shower, lined with natural-looking stone and tile. She took the time to freshen up, finishing just as Tex let himself back into the cabin.

  He stood at the door and used a boot jack to remove his mud-crusted boots, looked up and smiled at her when she re-entered the living room. “You find everything you need?”

  “Mostly.” She leaned against one end of the kitchen cabinet. “I’m waiting on you to take care of the rest of my needs.”

  He approached but stopped in front of her to lift his hands. “Give me a few minutes to wash the horse off of me and I’ll see what I can do to take care of that.”

  She bit her bottom lip and nodded. “Hurry.”

  “Yes ma’am.” He made a bee-line for his bathroom and shut the door.

  Niki paced impatiently, muttering at the sound of prolonged running water. “What the hell is taking him so long?” Seconds after she returned to the living room the bathroom door opened. She did an abrupt about face and entered the bedroom and froze at the sight of a naked-from-the-waist-up Tex pulling a shirt from his closet. Her breath caught at the sight of his beautiful broad chest and shoulders, all ripped with definition—begging for her touch. She swallowed hard
, and managed to speak. “Don’t bother with that shirt.”

  Tex faced her. “Well, shit . . .” The blue and white plaid shirt in his hands fell to the floor in a heap of flannel.

  She approached slowly. “What’s wrong?”

  “N-nothing’s wrong. It’s just that I’ve been fantasizing about this very thing for a couple of years, and now that it’s here I kind of feel like an inexperienced teenager.”

  She stopped in front of him and smiled. “I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. I have a feeling it’ll all fall into place soon.” Her palms flattened against his chest, she purred at the feel of his bare skin beneath her hands. He brought his hands up to her waist and pulled her against him. She sucked in her breath as his pectorals tightened under her palms, the light covering of blonde hair on his chest tickling her fingertips. This man owned his body like no one else, his muscles tight and corded, rippling with power. He’d looked like Adonis years before but now . . . “Ranching seems to agree with you.”

  He grinned. “In all fairness, I’d kind of let myself go back when you first met me. I went through this phase of too much alcohol and not enough working out. I joined a gym in Blanco and between that and helping out on this ranch I manage to stay in shape. It’s hard work, but it gives me a sense of peace I needed in my life.” Tex’s smile faded as his head fell forward.

  Niki suspected he was reliving some of the horrors he’d experienced in the Middle East and her heart broke for him. Now that she thought about it, their reasons for relocating were different but the same. She’d run from Missouri to escape painful memories of her parents. He’d run to Blanco, to his dead friend’s home to escape the pain of losing him. She placed her hands on both sides of his face, raised his chin until she could see straight into his beautiful eyes. “Tex, we’ve never discussed any of the things you experienced when you were an active duty Marine . . .”

  He squeezed his eyes shut and cocked his head to one side. “And I don’t want to now.”

  She sensed him resisting, raising a barrier against his emotions—an invisible one, but there none the less. She caressed his face with both hands and drew him forward again. “But do you need to?”

  * * * *

  Tex tried to remain closed-off, even attempted to be the slightest bit angry with her for bring up things better left alone. One look into the soul-searching depth of those gorgeous green eyes had him questioning himself. Something about the feel of her hands on his face, cradling him, had him wanting to open up to her. Maybe he’d carried the horrors around with him long enough. He couldn’t speak—could only give her the barest of nods before she picked up his shirt from the floor and handed it to him.

  “Put this on,” she said, shaking her head at the shape he was in. “Jesus, Tex. You could be a body double for Chris Hemsworth in the latest Thor movie. Those six-pack abs are far too distracting for a serious conversation.”

  Tex slipped his arms into the sleeves, somewhat surprised when she pushed his hands away so she could button him up herself. She took his hand and led him to the leather couch in the living room. He settled himself on one end and she snuggled up close to him, her back to his chest. He wrapped both arms around her, sighed when she rested her head against his chest. He sat in silence for a full minute, gathering his thoughts, comforted by the feel of her in his arms.

  “We lost some good men over there, Nik. But when you sign up you expect that. What I didn’t expect to see was what some of those civilians suffered at the hands of their own people—sometimes their own family members.”

  Several moments passed before Niki responded with a soft, “I’m here to listen if you want to share with me.”

  Tex started slowly, hesitantly—telling her about the horrors he’d seen caused by children coming up on various forms of IEDs. He spoke of carrying children to their medics with limbs blown off. Of seeing children wired with explosives by the Taliban. As horrible as that had been, nothing had ever touched him like the Somalian incident.

  He hesitated, wondering if he could speak about something he hadn’t dared to attempt to put into words before now. Tex swallowed the huge lump in his throat, the one that always appeared when he thought about that fragile girl he’d discovered behind a pile of rubble, beaten bloody, her face disfigured. He told Niki how the girl revealed the story to their translator. How she’d been disfigured by her own father because he blamed her for being raped by a gang of men from a nearby village. By the end of that story his voice was thick with emotion.

  He sighed, wiping away tears he couldn’t seem to stop from running down his face. “You can’t imagine the horrors the women and children are subjected to over there by the same people who should be protecting them. It’s . . .” He stopped, gave his throat a rough clearing before trying to finish. “It’s a harsh, hostile environment for women and children.” He shook his head. “I hated every minute of being there.”

  They sat a few moments in silence before she turned to face him, her own face streaked with tears. He reached out to brush them away. “I’m sorry for making you cry, Nik.”

  She kissed the inside of his palms and gave him a sad little smile. “Please don’t be sorry. I’m glad you shared your experience with me. My only hope is that it helped you to talk about it.”

  Tex closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, released them slowly. With the final exhale, he experienced a release, a definite lifting of his spirit as he let the horrors of the past go. By the time he opened his eyes, his conscience clear, his soul lighter than it had been in over twenty years. His eyes widened.

  “Better?”

  He nodded before hugging her tightly to him. “Much better,” he whispered into her hair. He released her then and took her face in his two hands. “Thank you, Nicole.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips before rising from the couch. She stood before him, her hand extended. He stood and took it, letting her lead him to his own bedroom. He undressed her with a patience he didn’t know he’d possessed until that moment, reveling in the sight, finding joy in the act of baring all that beautiful skin of hers. She removed his clothes and pushed him gently onto the bed.

  She took control then, mounting him, touching … tasting … kissing … until he thought he’d burst from wanting her. Only then did she lift herself and settle, burying him deep inside her. She moved slowly, allowing their passions to build to a slow crescendo—finally, blessedly, ending with her crying out in pleasure as she reached her plateau. Only then did he join her, unable to hold back as he shouted her name in a soul-satisfying, crashing, burst of completion.

  He lay there afterwards, his arms around her limp torso, trying to comprehend the level of intensity their lovemaking had taken on. “Nicole . . .” he gasped.

  “I know, Tex—I know.” She untangled herself from him and slid to one side, resting her face on his chest.

  Everything inside him told him he’d just experienced something new, something alien to him. Tex possessed an impressive list of experiences with women—he’d had an awful lot of sex in his lifetime. Until this moment, he’d never really made love to a woman. He’d never had the kind of spiritual connection during a sexual experience as he’d just had with Nicole. Even back when they’d first met, as good as it had been it had only been sex. This had transported him to an entirely different level of play. Just for a moment his male bravado instincts told him to run like hell. Thankfully, and before he could screw it up too badly, his brain reminded him of his lonely existence before Niki’s return.

  He wrapped one arm around her, pulling her closer, curled his leg around hers in a purely possessive move.

  “What just happened?” she said, her panting finally receding to some semblance of normal breathing.

  “I’m not sure.” What a liar—he damn well knew what happened. Some part of him resisted saying the words—resisted admitting out loud that he was undeniably in love with Nicole Reeves.<
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  They lay in his bed, listening to the sounds of the night, the far off yipping of a coyote, cattle calling out to one another, an owl in a nearby tree. He lay there, silent and still, until Niki’s breathing let him know she’d fallen asleep. He closed his eyes, sensing a shift in their relationship, and wondered if he was up to the challenge.

  Chapter 5

  Niki woke to soft lips pressed against hers. She raised her arms around Tex’s neck, curled her fingers in hair still damp from a recent shower, releasing the scent of something fresh and masculine. “Um, you smell good.” She covered her mouth. “And I probably have dragon breath.”

  He waved a mug of coffee under her nose. “That’s what this is for.” He slapped her lightly on the butt. “Come on, Nik. I’ve got something I want to show you. You want to get up now?”

  She stretched, groaning at the memory of their recent lovemaking. “I guess. What time is it, anyway?”

  “It’s still early, but I want you to come with me just for a minute. After that, if you still want to, you can crawl back into bed.”

  She sat up and took the mug of coffee from him, curious about his cryptic suggestion. She took a sip. “Mm, that’s good. Strong, just the way I like it.” She swung her legs out of the bed and sat up, clutching the sheet to her bare breast as goose bumps formed on her skin in the chill of the cabin. “Give me a minute to put some clothes on.”

  “Hurry, I don’t want you to miss it.” He walked out of the room, a mysterious grin on his face.

  Niki grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom, breathing in the aroma of Tex, courtesy of his men’s body wash. She was out in five minutes, wearing her clothes from the day before. Her coffee mug in hand, she exited the bedroom, stopped just inside the living room to admire the glorious sight that greeted her. Windows that had shown nothing but pitch black last night were now a showcase for the beauty of Texas hill country.