by Cindy Stark
"Good." He took two steps, covering the distance between them. "You can always count on that." He pulled her into his arms, giving her a scorching kiss. When he pulled away, she had to fight to catch her breath.
"I thought you were keeping the pace slow between us."
He shrugged. "Not much can happen out here, can it?"
"Smart of you." But there was always later. "If that's the case, I think I'll have another." She leaned into him, tugging his head down to hers. She matched the heat of his kiss and threw another log on the fire. This time he was the breathless one when they parted.
"Man, you sure know how to torture a guy." He shifted, adjusting the bulge in his jeans as he turned toward the machine. "We probably ought to go find your tree before you torment me any further."
She climbed on the back, scooting as far forward as possible, knowing it would tease him. Served him right. She shifted on the seat, creating friction between them. "Am I close enough? I wouldn't want to fall off."
He half-sighed and half-groaned. "Ah, Angel. You do have a devilish streak, don't you?"
"It's that rebel you seem determined to free. Better be careful. I kind of like it when she's around."
"Me, too." He revved the engine and headed out of the basin, back up to the ridge where they'd first kissed.
At the bottom of the other side, he slowed and located his sled. After he hooked it to the snowmobile, he began weaving in and out of groups of pines.
"See anything you like?"
She glanced at the pines, not really sure what she was looking for. Hunting for Christmas trees in the wilderness was a completely different story than lot shopping. "Maybe that one?" She pointed to a smaller tree sitting at the edge of a little grouping.
He stopped the snowmobile a few feet from it and climbed off the machine. He circled the tree, nodding. "It's a pretty one." He glanced at her. "You sure that's the one you want?"
Her heart lurched, her eyes frozen on the handsome man standing in front of her. "Yes. I think that's the one I want." God help her.
Scott removed the ax and approached the tree, his boots sinking into the snow with each step. He eyed it and took his first swing at the trunk. The sound of wood splitting echoed through the quiet. Again, he lifted the ax and swung.
Never in a million years would she have attempted to cut down her own tree, but Scott made it seem easy. A few more strikes and the tree tilted to the side. He gave the trunk a hard shove, and it toppled over.
"Woo," she called out, impressed with her muscled bad boy. "You are the man."
A wide grin curved his perfect lips. He grabbed the bottom of the trunk and dragged the tree toward the snowmobile, stopping long enough to clear out the tarp before he hauled his catch on top of the attached sled.
After he'd secured her tree to the snowmobile with the tarp and length of rope, she threw her arms around his neck, beaming a smile at him. "Thank you for chopping my beautiful tree. This will be my favorite Christmas tree ever." She knew that without a doubt.
He returned her smile. "I hope so." He kissed her nose. "Let's get it home. You're cold."
"Freezing." She pretended to shiver.
He eyed her with a suspicious look. "Uh-huh."
* * *
Katy had most of her boxes of ornaments and lights hauled into the living room by the time Scott had trimmed off the bottom of the tree and put it in a stand of fresh water.
She closed her eyes and inhaled the crisp pine scent. "That smells impossibly good."
"Told you. There's a difference between a fresh cut tree and one bought off the lot. Those trees were probably cut weeks ago." Scott eyed the evergreen. "Look straight to you?"
She checked the tree from different angles before she moved closer to him. "It's perfect." She put her hands on his shoulders, gazing into the deep brown eyes of the man who'd brought her so much happiness over the past few weeks. Who would have thought the bad boy from school would turn out to be so wonderful? She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. "Thank you."
He gazed at her down his nose, sending her heart rate galloping.
"Can you stay and help me with the lights? I could put on a pot of soup. My potato cheese is wildly sought after."
He studied her for a moment, his lips set in a serious line, and then the edges slowly turned upward. "I'd like that."
"Great." Happiness flooded her as she left him to string the lights while she went to peel potatoes. A couple of curse words came from the adjoining room as she chopped the last of the vegetables and slid them into the boiling water. She wiped her hands on a towel and walked in to check on Scott.
The second she saw her tree, her mouth went slack. "Wow." She blinked, checking out the perfectly lit pine. The bright-colored lights had been spread out uniformly over each branch. "After hearing you cuss, I expected to find a disaster, but you do amazing work."
"I had a few years of practice."
So many things about him continued to surprise her. "I didn't really picture you as the tree-decorating type."
He shrugged. "My mom wasn't up for much Christmas, so I always did the tree myself."
She stepped close to him and the glimmering tree. "What did she have against Christmas?" Her memories of the holiday had been nothing but happy.
He ran his fingers over some of the tips on the tree. "My dad left us Christmas Eve. Just up and walked out. I was eight at the time and didn't really understand what was happening." He ran his gaze to the top branches. "Sometimes as an adult, I try to figure out what might have been going through his head. Stress. Maybe he found someone else. I don't know. But everything changed that year. And of course, after he left, there was never enough money to do Christmas right."
He turned to her and snorted. "I'd drag out our little fake tree and decorate it, hoping to revive what we'd lost. She'd buy me a present or two if she could. Year after year, I'd keep hoping, but it was never the same. Once I was on my own, I realized it really didn't matter as much as I'd thought."
"Scott." Emotion clogged her throat. He did a pretty good job of camouflaging the heavy emotions scattered around them, but there was no disguising how deeply he'd been hurt. She touched his cheek, wanting to grieve his loss with him, but not wanting to make him feel worse. "I'm so sorry. That must have been difficult for a young boy to understand."
He nodded, his gaze fading to a far away spot. "It is what it is." He focused on her. "There's no changing it. I'm sure there are people worse off than I was."
"Are things better with your mom now?"
He gave her a puzzled look. "Katy, my mom died when I was sixteen."
Back when he'd barely entered high school. No wonder he'd acted out. Alone in the world and not even an adult, yet. She tilted her head. "I don't remember that." She should have with their town being so small.
"Grocery store clerk hit by a semi-truck speeding through town?"
She brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh, my God." Her parents had talked about that accident. The whole town had whispered about the woman's son and what would happen to him. That was before Katy had gone to high school, before she'd gotten her first real glimpse of him.
She'd been so wrapped up in the drama of her life that she hadn't really given it a second thought. Now here was the tragedy, ten years later. Quiet tears wet her eyes. "I don't know what to say."
"I didn't tell you to make you cry." He thumbed a tear from her cheek. "In fact, I'm not sure why I told you at all. I kind of prefer to keep that in the past where it belongs."
She looped an arm around the back of his neck, pulling his head to hers until their foreheads touched. She met his fractured gaze. "I'm so sorry. I wish I would have known you better then. Wish I could have cried with you. Wish…" She shook her head, overcome by emotion. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tight.
He crushed her with a hug, burying his face in her hair.
They stood like that for a few moments until he pulled away. He dried her tears again, sear
ching her eyes, and giving her a tender smile. "It's okay. Really. I feel sad sometimes when I think about her, but the best thing I can do is live a good life. It took me a few years to figure that out, but I like to think she'd be proud of who I am now."
"Stop." She sniffled. "You're just going to make me cry worse."
"Okay." He held up his hands. "Sorry." He studied her for a moment, a deep tendril of some unnamed feeling burying itself inside her. "How about you feed me instead? I'm starving."
She exhaled an emotion-tainted breath, a measure of peace taking its place. "That, I can do."
* * *
Katy placed the last ornament on the tree. The crystal snowflake she'd found in Yellowstone caught the red fire burning next to it, scattering a pattern of crimson light all around. "What do you think?"
For the past hour, Scott had handed her the colorful, mismatched ornaments and gold ribbons, letting her place them on the tree. Now, he watched her with an interested gaze that sent a band of desire coiling through her. "Beautiful."
She rolled her eyes, trying to pretend their lighthearted teasing hadn't suddenly taken a sharp, unexpected turn toward intense. "You're such a flirt. No wonder all the girls wanted to get close to you."
"There was only one who kept my attention. One I've never been able to forget."
Desire tightened inside her. "Not me." She tried to laugh, to lighten the moment, but his declaration sparked a memory inside her. There had been many times during school when she'd caught him watching her with a serious gaze. At the time, she'd thought it was because they'd been so opposite, and she was sure he and his friends had made fun of her.
"Yes, you." He advanced toward her, something dark and a little dangerous flickering in his eyes.
A quick, excited breath filled her lungs. He looked as though he'd like to devour her, and the sudden, very masculine move made her feel deliciously hunted.
She put a reflexive hand on his chest. A corner of his mouth lifted in a sexy grin that mesmerized her. "Scott," she said, his name escaping on a breathy whisper. She wanted to get close to him again, but his seduction had come out of nowhere this time, surprising her and delighting her at the same time.
Before he could answer, music erupted from her pocket, her phone singing the tune that announced her mother was calling. She closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "It's my mother. If I don't answer, she'll come over."
"So answer it." He wrapped his hand around the one she had pressed to his chest, forcing her to fish out her phone with the other.
She narrowed her eyes but grinned as she pushed the green button. "Hey, Mom." She tried to take a step back, but Scott held her tight.
"Hi, honey. Your dad and I are headed back from Pinecone. I thought we'd stop by and drop off the snow shovel your dad picked up for you."
Scott slid her hand over the hard curves of his pecs. Solid muscle met her fingertips, and she flexed, wishing she could dig her fingers into his bare skin. He dragged her hand farther, holding her fingers out, sucking them into his mouth. Sweet Mary.
"Katy? Are you there?"
"Uh, yeah, Mom. That's fine. I'll be here." She clicked off her phone without saying goodbye and tossed it on the couch behind her.
Before she could say another word, Scott yanked her back to him, possessing her mouth with a demanding kiss. She tried to catch her thoughts, but they'd been left outside the swirl of hot need that suddenly owned her. She curled her fingers into his hair as his tongue danced against hers.
He fisted her hair, tugging her head back as he moved his heated kisses to the sensitive curve of her neck.
"Scott," she whispered, breathlessly. "We have to stop. My parents will be here in like twenty minutes."
"Twenty minutes is a long time," he said as he slipped a hand between them and cupped her breast.
She inhaled. "I thought you wanted to wait." She closed her eyes on a sigh as a tremble rocked her.
"Ah, God. My resistance is running low, Angel. I want to be good for you, but even a good man can only stand so much, and you and I both know I'm not a saint."
"I think you're perfect." She tugged his head toward her and branded him with her kiss.
"If I was perfect, I'd stop. Maybe we should stop," he said between kisses.
"That's not going to happen," she responded, tracing her fingers over the strong curves of his shoulder. "Maybe we could hurry." She jerked his t-shirt from his jeans and tugged it over his head, baring him to her will. She skimmed her tongue over the shoulder she'd just uncovered. Hard muscle rested beneath the smooth surface of his skin. She folded her fingers around his biceps, enjoying the strength that rested there.
"We could definitely hurry." He wasted no time removing her sweater. Her bra was off before she realized he'd had his hands behind her back. His fingers were rough, greedy on her breasts. He cupped her with his large palms before he dipped his head. A raspy groan escaped his lips as he sucked her into his mouth.
She gasped, arching backward. He barely had to touch her, and she was wet for him. She jerked at the button on his jeans. "Take me now. I've got to have you, and we don't have long."
He growled as he tugged her jeans down. Her panties followed, and he bit the black lace thong while he removed his pants.
"You're so bad," she laughed, pulling her underwear from his lips.
He grinned.
He had a condom on in less than a minute, before he pulled her back into his embrace. Her naked body melted against his. This was what she wanted. She reached between them, circling his rock hard steel with her fingers, reveling in the fact he would be inside her soon.
He gripped her hair, tugging her head back, ravaging her mouth with his. Ragged breaths escaped them both.
"I want you."
"Shit," he hissed, obviously affected by the heated currents that shot between them.
She pushed him back onto the couch, straddling him even as he sat. She positioned him and slid over his hard, heated sex, her body accepting every inch until he was deep inside her. Her breath rushed out in a contented whisper. "Oh, God."
A laugh rumbled through. "Damn, you feel good. Feel free to push me around like this any time."
Wicked pleasure rolled through her. "Oh yeah?" She wet her lips. "You like this?" There was something about Scott that left her feeling like the sexiest woman alive. She lifted her hips and then impaled herself again.
He closed his eyes for a brief second, a look of intense gratification flashing across his face. Then his dark eyes met hers. "You're teasing me."
A smile tickled her lips. She leaned forward, brushing a nipple across his upturned mouth. He caught it with his tongue, sucking her hard until her inner muscles clenched.
"Yeah, baby. I like you tight around me," he whispered, rocketing her close to an orgasm.
She lifted again and took him deep inside her in a desperate search for what lay just beyond her grasp. He seemed to sense her need and wrapped his large hands around her hips, helping her move. Each descent onto his thick shaft increased the friction and pace between them. She moved above him, her breasts rocking with their rhythm.
"Go, Angel. Go," he whispered, watching her expressions intently.
"Oh, God," she cried. She clenched, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding on while the power of their love-making ripped through her.
When the intensity subsided, she sat back, a soft laugh slipping from her lips.
"Enjoyed that, did you?"
A hint of embarrassment heated her cheeks. "Yes, I did." She'd never used a man to pleasure herself like that before.
"Good," he growled and pulled her down on the couch. "Cause now I'm going to have my way with you." He covered her with his hard, naked body.
His spoken intent sent a shiver racing through her. There was no way she could deny him. "What are you going to do?"
"Hmm… Maybe this." He drew a finger along her sensitive folds, and she closed her eyes in ecstasy. "Or maybe this." He shoved
the steel length of him inside her.
Her eyes flew open on a gasp. He was hard and deep and so big. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He slid out and buried himself again. "There's nothing sweeter than this, Katy."
She shook her head, agreeing with him. "Nothing," her voice came out as a husky whisper. She cradled his face in her hands and kissed him.
"Hold on to me."
Before she could question what he meant, he rolled to the floor, taking her with him.
"What are you doing?" she said with a laugh.
"I couldn't get a good enough hold on you up there."
She looked beyond his head, the multi-colored holiday lights from the tree twinkling, adding to the magical atmosphere. She smiled as he claimed her again, riding her until the lights faded into a blur of hazy intensity.
Sensation after sensation pushed her closer until she reached the precipice. Before she fell off the edge, she grasped his shoulders. A second later, hot gratification ripped through her, constricting her muscles. She hung on until he stiffened, his gaze locking with hers as his expression shifted from one of something akin to pain to supreme satisfaction.
"Ah, God, Katy. I—"
He stopped and shook his head before he rolled, pulling her close to him.
She lay panting against his chest, unable to believe the things he could make her feel. In that moment, she knew she could never get enough of him. If they ended up together, it wouldn't matter how boring life got, with him around, she'd always have this. She lifted her head.
A cocky smile hovered on his lips, happiness shining from his eyes. "Damn, you're good."
She snorted. "Me? You mean you. I've never felt—"
Her doorbell chimed through the house, spearing her with a sharp panic.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Katy pushed off Scott and was on her feet in a second. "Sweet Mary," she whispered. "I forgot about my parents."
"Shit." Scott jumped up, too.
Their clothing littered her living room floor and furniture, and she lunged for her shirt. It tangled in her hair as she dragged it over her head. She could live with a few missing strands.