The cabin has three bedrooms and a loft. An open floor plan for the kitchen and living room, the fireplace grounding the space. I chopped down trees for the walls, hand-hewn timber placed together to make myself a home.
I can see she appreciates the place and pride swells in my heart.
“I built the cabin myself,” I tell her, wiping my hands on my jeans as the fire begins to crackle.
“Impressive.”
I shrug. “It’s what I do. Put things together. I’m a carpenter.”
She smiles at that. “That’s so…”
I think of the crew she runs around with back at the bar. How different I am from those men.
“Basic?”
She laughs, shaking her head. “No. I was going to say respectable. Grown-up.”
“What every woman wants, a responsible man.”
“Smart women do.”
My jaw clenches together. Am I possibly what she wants? God, I fucking hope so.
“You looked so gruff back at the bar. But here you seem so much more…”
I laugh, running a hand over the back of my neck. “I don’t think I’m gonna like how you end this sentence.”
She laughs too, stepping toward me. The room suddenly feels so small, the air between us thick. God, I want her.
“I was going to say here you look less scary.”
“I scared you back there?” I ask, eyebrows lifting.
“Sorta. You are really… tall and strong and a stranger. I was nervous to come here with you.”
“Yet you came. You could have said no.”
She shakes her head, her long hair swishing over her shoulders. “You met my brother. He’s not someone I ever disagree with.”
“So, he always gets his way?”
“Pretty much.” She twists her hair against her finger.
“Even if you don’t want what he wants?”
“Even if.”
“That fucking breaks my heart, Sugar.”
Her eyes lift, meeting mine. “That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.”
I want to pull her in my arms, but right now she looks like a scared doe, skittish, and I don’t want her to jump away. “Well damn, that is even more tragic. You deserve to hear all sorts of nice things, a girl like you.”
“A girl like me?” she scoffs, walking toward the fire. “You don’t even know me.”
“I know that you are beautiful,” I say, coming up behind her. Unable to contain my words because with the brilliant fire behind her she glows. Her body is curvy, and my hands crave to touch her, caress her, make her feel as gorgeous as she looks in my eyes.
She turns and faces me. “Why are you being so damn nice?” she asks.
“I can’t help myself. The moment I saw you, Sugar, I had one thing in mind.”
Her eyes darken. “This really is just about sex, isn’t? I’m nothing but a prize.”
I run my hands over her shoulders, drawing her closer to me. “Not true at all. I hated the idea of you spending Christmas Eve at that dive bar, or a seedy motel. You deserve better. I want to give that to you.”
She shakes her head, refusing to hear me. “You’re insane. A man like you would never want a girl like me.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I have nothing to offer you. I can’t give you a wild night of passion. You heard my brother. I’m a thick virgin. You probably want —"
I cut her off. “You. I want you Sugar.”
“Why?”
I lift her chin with the hook of my finger. “Because when I first saw you, I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“Knew you were the Christmas miracle I’ve been waiting my whole damn life for.”
I lean down and kiss her then. Knowing she doesn’t exactly trust my intentions, knowing she doubts this whole damn thing. And I should hesitate too because it’s all probably too good to be true… this angel entering my life, but she is here. As real as anything I’ve ever known, and I want her. Want this.
So, I kiss her.
And damn, her lips are soft as pillows, her breath warm and when I wrap my arms around her, I feel her need. Feel the truth. She is craving my touch as much as I’m craving hers.
Her lips part and my tongue finds hers. Kissing Sugar feels so damn right. I don’t want to stop.
She pulls back, gasping, her nipples hard and poking thought her sweater. God, her tits look so fucking good in that tight knit. Full and round and made to be sucked.
My cock aches with desire and my heart damn right pounds.
“What is it?”
“My brother will be back tomorrow,” she says, as if already sad at the thought of saying goodbye.
I smile. “Then we oughta make the most of the time we have.”SugarWhen Smith kisses me, the world starts to spin in the most magical way. I’ve always had a thing for romances but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine having a whirlwind one of my own. At Christmas, nonetheless.
His mouth is hot and makes my body melt, my core lights up and every inch of my skin feels alive. Awake for the very first time.