Christmas Ever After (Puffin Island 3)

“It’s a work in progress. And it’s not my whole dream.” She breathed out, blowing clouds into the freezing air.

“You want love. I know. You want the sort of big love that makes you feel as if your heart is going to burst.”

She laughed. “The sort that makes my heart feel too big for my chest. Not burst, thank you very much.”

“That’s a relief.” He reached out and zipped her coat up to her neck to keep out the cold. “Because that option could be messy. You have a big heart, Skylar Tempest. I wouldn’t want to be there when it bursts.”

“You’ve already fixed my bruised head and my cut finger. I’ll take responsibility for my heart myself.”

His hand rested on her hip and his face was close to hers. “You,” he said softly, “deserve to meet someone incredible.”

He took her face in his hands and kissed her, and the contrast between the warm skill of his mouth and the cool bite of the winter air intensified every sensation.

All it took was that one slow kiss to make her head spin and her knees go heavy.

She felt his hands run slowly down her back, drawing her against him. Through the layers of clothing she could feel his body, hard and powerful, and then he deepened the kiss, searching and exploring until she was swamped with dizzying waves of pleasure. Desire sank its teeth into her and she pressed against him, frustrated by the layers of clothing.

“No one kisses the way you do.” She murmured the words against his mouth. “If we get naked here, will we be caught?”

“No, but we risk getting frostbite in certain vital parts of our anatomy. It might make a stiletto through the balls seem like the soft option.” He always managed to make her smile.

“We probably won’t see each other once Christmas is over so maybe we should make a date for a hamburger in the summer.” She hadn’t intended to say it, but it slipped out, as if her subconscious was reluctant to let go of something that felt so good. “That was the wrong thing to say. Don’t freak out.”

“Sky—” he put his ha

nds on her shoulders “—I don’t ever want you to watch what you say with me. There is no ‘wrong thing’ between us, ever. And I’m having fun. More fun than I’ve had in a long time.” He held her gaze, looking at her with such an intense expression that her heart started to pound in her chest and her palms grew damp.

Instead of making the situation easier, it made it more complicated.

“Right. Well—good. It’s good that we’ve cleared that up.” She peeped at him. “You’re hard to read. You have a serious face. I guess it wouldn’t do to be talking about some serious historical matter on camera and then suddenly collapse with laughter.”

“It happens.”

“It does? I can’t imagine you losing control. Whenever I see you on-screen, you’re very smooth and polished.”

“You’ve watched me?”

It wasn’t something she’d intended to confess. It made her feel like a schoolgirl with a crush. “I might have sneaked a little peep at that episode where you took your shirt off—just for research purposes. I can see why it has had so many views and why Liv’s friend wants an introduction.”

His eyes darkened. “You’ve seen more of me than that over the past couple of weeks.”

Much more. And still it wasn’t enough.

Her stomach flipped. “I wouldn’t mind seeing it again, so let’s get off this trail before I break something essential. You can tell me all about your embarrassing filming out-takes over a bowl of hot soup and a glass of good wine.”

“Go ahead of me.”

“Why? You want to look at my butt?”

“No, I want to be there to pick you up when you fall.” His eyes gleamed. “But I can’t promise that I won’t look at your butt at the same time.”

He always made her laugh.

“That would make a perfect alternative wedding vow, along with ‘I solemnly promise always to remove strands of my hair from the shower,’ or ‘I solemnly promise to try not to sever parts of my body when I’m making soup.’” She saw his expression change. He lost the relaxed, easygoing smile and she gave an embarrassed shake of her head. “Oops.”

“I could probably come up with a few vows of my own.” His tone was level. “‘I solemnly promise to vanish at a moment’s notice and spend weeks somewhere with no phone signal, thereby leaving you incandescent with rage.’”

She wondered if he was sharing that to make her feel better about her impulsive remark. “That made Selina crazy?”