Mistletoe Kisses

Cal looks at me. “You’re gonna freeze.”

“You can keep me warm.”

“Hmm. That’s true, I can,” he murmurs.

I want to kiss him again, but I control my baser urges and watch the light displays as we make our way around the square by horse-drawn carriage.

By the time we’re halfway around the square, Cal is the one stirring up trouble. His arm around my shoulder has dropped to my waist and he tugs me closer, leaning in and leaving little kisses along the shell of my ear and down my neck. Goosebumps rise up everywhere and I lean back against the seat, tilting my neck to give him better access as arousal stirs to life inside me once again. He peels back my coat a little, pressing kisses against my exposed collar bone, then his hand drops beneath the blanket and I gasp as it slides between my thighs. He palms me and I shiver, not from the cold, but something else entirely.

“Marymount Inn,” I whisper, suddenly curious. “Is that a restaurant?”

“Sort of,” he murmurs, kissing down my chest to the swell of my cleavage.

Desire swirls inside me, throbbing between my thighs and forming knots of tension in my tummy. I tangle my fingers in his dark hair, cold and wet from all the snow it’s caught. His lips on my skin, his hands on my body… I’m in heaven, and I want more.

He stops mauling me just before we get to the restaurant. He leaves my shirt unbuttoned but pulls my coat closed so I don’t get cold.

Cal climbs down first, then like the Prince Charming he most certainly isn’t, he gallantly offers his hand. Before I can step down, though, he releases my hand and grabs me around the waist, picking me up and lowering me so that my body slides against his on the way down.

I’m lost. Hopelessly lost. I couldn’t exercise good judgment at this point if my life depended on it.

It doesn’t even occur to me other people still exist in the world until the sleigh driver’s salacious amusement cuts through. “You kids have fun.”

He fades back out of focus as Cal looks down at me, his expression solemn. He doesn’t say anything with words, but I can tell there’s turmoil inside him, too. I ache to absolve him of it, but I don’t know how. I wanted the same thing last night, and I’m no more prepared now than I was then.

Reaching down and clasping our hands together, he murmurs, “Come on.”

I follow wordlessly. Cal op

ens the door and releases my hand to let me walk in ahead of him. Immediately, a blast of warmth hits me in the face and my whole body feels a little numb. When we were out in the elements I didn’t realize how cold I was, but now I feel like I’ve walked into an oven.

I can only imagine how Cal’s poor hands feel. Mine are chilled, and my gloves are very warm. Now that we’re inside, I peel them off and tuck them into the pocket of my coat.

Cal takes the lead, walking ahead of me to the reception desk where a brunette woman with a bob smiles at him brightly.

“Welcome, friends. Thanks for stopping at the Marymount Inn. What can we do for you folks today?”

“Do you have any rooms?” he asks, cutting straight to the chase.

Just hearing him ask that, my insides tighten with arousal. I tell myself to calm down. The man has it in him to be a torturous tease, and just because he’s asking about rooms doesn’t mean anything is going to happen between us.

“I believe we have one left, let me double check,” she says, then begins tapping on her keyboard.

Cal glances back at me. I shoot him a tentative smile, then I move forward and grab one of his hands. Sure enough, it’s freezing cold. Cal’s hands are so much bigger, it takes both of mine to cover his, but I want to warm him up, so I do. He cocks an eyebrow in confusion at first, not understanding what I’m doing, then I bring my clasped hands with his sandwiched in the middle to my mouth and blow some warm air to speed up the process.

Realizing what I’m doing, his expression softens with fond amusement. “You don’t have to do that.”

“You’re freezing. I want to warm you up.”

The receptionist interrupts the moment, telling him brightly, “You’re in luck, we do have one room left. It’s one of our bigger suites, a little pricier than our other rooms, but very luxurious. There’s a king bed with—”

“We’ll take it,” he announces, not bothering to let her finish.

My tummy swirls with excitement, but I try to keep my hopes tempered. I hold onto Cal’s hand until I can’t anymore because he has to take out his wallet, then I just stand there and try not to think of anything at all, lest my mind conjure romantic fantasies that probably won’t happen.

Once we’re checked in, Cal takes our room key and a pamphlet. He places a firm hand at the small of my back and escorts me over to a staircase.

My heart is doing somersaults by the time we get to the top of the landing. Cal walks beside me until we get to the room that’s ours, then he unlocks it and pushes the door open. This time he walks in first, probably so he can get the lay of the land. I wander in behind him, closing the door and looking around, a little in awe.