by Rhian Cahill
He wanted to kiss her again.
Reaching up, Jack tilted her head towards him and pressed his lips to hers. Unlike the passion of before, this kiss was gentle, sweet, and the brush of flesh on flesh felt more intimate than the way their bodies were still joined together.
“Mmm…” she hummed against him.
His mouth curved in a smile and he opened his eyes to look at her. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to how fragile she appeared. Everything about her seemed delicate — breakable. Running his fingers down her side, he found the puckered skin to remind himself just how tough she was.
She hadn’t had to say a word and he knew the accident had been bad. Really bad. He wanted her to tell him about it, but wasn’t sure if he should push for the information or should wait for her to reveal it on her own. There was always Google except that felt like a betrayal somehow.
“I died on the table.”
His blood ran cold and the softening erection still deep inside her shrivelled up. He levered up and off her, separating them with a wet sound and little whimper from Elle. Disposing of the condom, Jack rolled to his side and tucked her in against him. “Tell me what happened.”
She snuggled into his chest and sighed. “The bike broke the fence and I landed on the snapped pole. I lost a lot of blood which made my heart stop, but they were already pumping pints back in so I flat-lined for less than a minute. Other than that I had two cracked ribs and a hairline fracture in my neck.”
Jack’s grip tightened with each word. She really could have died. Fuck. She had died. “God. Angelle.”
She patted his cheek. “I’m fine. Other than it putting a stop to my need to win at all costs, my life hasn’t been any different. There’s no recurring medical issues.”
He held on to her, breathed her in and thanked the heavens she was still here, that he’d had the pleasure of meeting her — of being inside her. In spite of the sombre subject, his cock stirred when she wiggled and her hip brushed against his groin.
Rolling to his back he took her with him. Her hair fanned out around them like a curtain, blocking out everything but the two of them. He wanted to watch her take him in this position. “Grab a condom.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Already?”
Jack grinned. “Yep. Time for round two. And this time you’re in the driver’s seat.”
She answered his smile with a huge one of her own. “Well it is a known fact that I like to ride.”
Chapter 6
Jack knew without opening his eyes that Elle was gone. He’d been so exhausted after their weekend in bed that, when they’d finally given in to fatigue, he’d slept like the dead. Rolling his head to the side, he glanced at the clock.
6:15
The day had barely begun and it already sucked. She’d managed to sneak out on him, something he should have expected but hadn’t. He couldn’t deny the gut ache that accompanied her desertion. Or the inevitable question.
Had he done something wrong?
There was no point analysing it. She’d walked without a goodbye and, while it was Monday and they both had to go to work, he figured he deserved better than her slinking off before he woke. Of course, she’d said numerous times over the last two days that she was his rebound. He still wasn’t sure which one of them she was trying to convince.
With a sigh, he dragged himself out of bed and to the shower. No use putting it off any longer. He had to get to the arena to meet with Chris before he headed into the office to continue familiarising himself with the business.
Jack shook his head as he walked to the bathroom. He’d missed so much over the years, yet one more thing he wasn’t proud of doing in the last twenty years.
There were so many people to make amends with, starting with his parents and sisters and the posse of nieces and nephews he’d all but ignored.
His plans were well on track to repair all the fractured relationships in his life. Jack had no doubt he could mend the fences with everyone, which left him time to contemplate Elle. Did he want to have more with her? The sex was certainly worth repeating. And repeating.
He stepped into the shower and switched on the water. The cold sucked the air from his lungs and he jumped back out of the spray. “Shit.”
Damn. He just wasn’t taking a trick this morning. When the water warmed, he moved under it and made quick work of washing. His mind drifted back to Saturday morning when he’d convinced Elle to climb in here with him. Within two heartbeats he was hard as a rock and cursing his lack of restraint when it came to her.
Jack tried to remember another woman who had such a profound effect on him and couldn’t. If Elle was right and this thing between them was only fleeting, then his desire should have decreased with each encounter. That hadn’t happened. He glanced down. Not by a long shot.
His body craved her like he hadn’t been inside her so many times they’d had to race out to the shops for more condoms yesterday morning. He ached in places he hadn’t since he was a teenager playing football and taking bone-crunching tackles.
The pain was different though. There was an edge of pleasure — of satisfaction — that lurked beneath the surface. He’d gladly take a few more hits with her. Jack grinned at his own stupid joke as he got out of the shower. Good thing he still had his sense of humour. That was another thing he’d lost in recent years.
Drying off, he walked back into the bedroom and flung the wardrobe door open. The damn thing stuck as usual. He really needed to fix things up around here. He’d been in the house a month and other than a few pieces of furniture and appliances he’d made none of the improvements he’d planned on.
Then again, he’d only been here a month. He had to learn patience. If he wanted to get in and do the work himself — feel the satisfaction of working with his own hands — then he had to be realistic and not expect everything to be done within the first few weeks.
He grabbed a pair of slacks and slipped into them. Next he reached for a business shirt, but as his fingers curled around the hanger, he stopped. Did he really need to wear a button-up shirt? When he’d been younger, Frosty’s Snowmen had polo shirts with the company logo on the left side. Jack tried to remember what everyone had been wearing last week when he’d called into the office to see his dad.
If memory served — and it usually did — they still had a relaxed dress code. Jack eyed the row of pressed polo shirts he owned and wondered if he could do it. He’d worn suits for so long he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t hyperventilate without one. He’d definitely feel uncomfortable.
But he was here to change, wasn’t he?
With deliberate movements, Jack pushed his entire wardrobe of button-up shirts aside and picked out a navy-blue polo. Then he threw caution to the wind completely and pulled out a pair of jeans. They were black and new enough not to be faded. Before he could second guess himself, he got dressed and left the house. He’d pick up breakfast on the way.
The last person he expected to see in his driveway was Elle.
She straddled her bike, her helmet resting on the seat between her legs. Her gaze was glued to him as he made his way over to her.
“Hey.” He smiled, not able to hide the pleasure of seeing her.
“Hi.” She licked her lips and Jack was bombarded with instant memories of what that mouth could do.
He shifted to the side and hoped he could control his libido enough to keep from getting hard. Who was he kidding? He was already semi-hard just looking at her.
“I’m sorry.”
An apology? “For?”
She turned to look down the street. “Skipping out.”
Jack didn’t want to spook her, so he kept things light even though his insides felt anything but. “We both had to get ready for work.”
Elle brought her gaze back to meet his. “I still should have woken you.”
He remembered that he liked her honesty, that she didn’t play games, and figured they both deserved for him to be truthful. “Yeah. You should have. I
was disappointed not to see your face on the pillow next to me.”
Her head tilted to the side and she studied him for long moments that had him almost — but not quite — fidgeting. His insides were certainly jumping about though. “You scare me.”
That knocked him back a step. “Scare you? How?”
“This was supposed to be your rebound.”
Jack nodded. “You said that.”
“It’s not a rebound for me.”
Ah. Now he got it. He stepped closer and leaned towards her. “It doesn’t feel like a rebound to me.”
“I’ve done it before. It didn’t end well.”
Jack could see the truth of that statement in her eyes. “I’m not planning on walking away.”
“You can’t predict what will happen. I don’t sleep with a guy on the first date. That didn’t stop me falling into bed with you and staying there all weekend.”
“Do you regret it?” He had to know. Had to hear her say she didn’t.
“What? No.” She shook her head. “But I can’t get my head around any of it.”
Jack understood that. He was just as bamboozled by their instant attraction and the intensity that continued to grow. “You’re not alone.”
She blew out a breath. “So where to from here?”
He ran his fingertip along her jaw. “Well, I know where I want to go…” He glanced over his shoulder at the house thinking of his bed. “But we both have to get to work.
Elle’s mouth kicked up on one end. “Are you heading to the arena?”
“Yes. I’m meeting Chris there, then we’re heading into the office for a few hours.”
“Want a ride?”
* * *
Elle couldn’t believe she’d given Jack a ride to work, or that she’d flirted when she made the offer.
He did weird things to her head. She wasn’t even going to contemplate what he did to her body. The guy was like an earthquake to her senses, all five of them. Not to mention, her common sense went right out the window around him, just up and flew away leaving her to make decisions she never would if she had her wits about her.
Okay. That was a lie.
Even with her brain firing on all cylinders, she wanted him. It scared her how much, though. She’d never experienced lust this intense. But sex wasn’t the only attraction. They’d talked for hours over the weekend.
She liked him.
Liked his integrity, his ability to change direction when life threw him a curveball. She’d had one of those, knew how shattering they could be, and yet he’d forged on and made some changes and, from what she’d seen, came out the other side whole. Better.
You had to admire a man like that.
Her blackberry beeped making her jump. She’d been hiding in her office all morning, but she knew she had to venture out at some point, if only to wander through Santa’s Village and check all was running smoothly. Technically she didn’t have to. As the manager of the centre she had assistants whose job it was to keep a close eye on things.
Except she always spent time in Santa’s Village. Every year she headed into the arena and hung out with the kids. It never failed to lift her mood — prepare her for the craziness that was Christmas.
With a sigh, Elle pushed to her feet. She couldn’t — wouldn’t — let this thing with Jack throw her off her stride. Just because she was dealing with an attraction unlike anything else she’d known didn’t mean she couldn’t function as she did every other day.
She’d go have some fun down in Santa’s toy workshop and worry about Jack later.
Elle didn’t get far into the arena when she spotted the man she’d hoped to clear from her head. He had a crowd of kids around him all vying for his attention and he was smiling. Grinning actually. Big and wide and he looked more relaxed than she’d ever seen him. Well except for in those moments after he came.
A shudder rippled through her.
She needed to not think about being in bed with Jack while he was surrounded by a group of children.
He must have sensed her watching because he turned in her direction. “Hey, Angelle. Come and meet this group of rug rats.” His big hand waved her over.
It wasn’t an invitation she could refuse, so she made her way towards them wondering why he wanted to introduce her to the group.
“Okay, everyone, this is my friend Angelle. Elle, this motley crew are my nieces and nephews.”
“Hi.”
A chorus of hellos rang out.
Jack laughed. “All right. Who’s ready to tackle the slide?”
Again the chorus swelled around them. This time it was ‘Me, me, me, me…’
Elle glanced down as Jack’s hand slipped around hers. Looking up she found him staring at her with an intensity that had her breath backing up in her throat.
“Come with us.”
It was a simple request, but one that felt loaded with implications far more reaching than enjoying a run down an ice slide.
He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “It’s only a slide. I won’t deny I want more, but for now I’ll settle for a slide.”
“Uncle Jack, Uncle Jack.”
Elle looked down to find a girl of about six tugging on Jack’s shirt.
“What’s up, Melanie?” Jack crouched down to eye level with his niece.
The little imp looked up through her lashes at Elle and quickly back at Jack. “Is she your girlfriend?”
Jack glanced up and grinned before returning his attention to Melanie. “Well Melly-belly, I want her to be, but she’s not sure yet.”
“If you kiss her, she’ll have to be. Mum and Daddy kissed before they got married, so you should kiss her,” a boy with dark hair and blue eyes like Jack’s said.
Jack rubbed his stubbled chin and Elle could see the wheels turning in his head. She took a step back. He got to his feet and she took another step away.
“Jack.”
He moved closer. “Angelle.”
She shook her head, but he kept moving towards her. And she kept retreating until she came up against the side of a gingerbread house.
Jack looked up. “Well. Look at that.”
Her gaze followed his and what she saw registered as the word left his mouth.
“Mistletoe.”
There wasn’t time to react. His mouth was on hers and, to her surprise, he kept it PG. When he pulled away they were both breathing hard, which made no sense. Their lips barely brushed.
Her hand shook as she brought it up to cover her mouth. “What are you doing to me?”
Jack shook his head. “I have no idea, but whatever it is you’re doing right back.”
The sounds around them finally register. The children were cheering and bouncing around.
“C’mon. Let’s get rid of some of their energy.” Jack grabbed her hand and tugged her with him.
For the next hour they rode the slide over and over, racing from top to bottom. Boys against girls. Grown-ups against kids. Elle couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun and laughed so hard. Watching Jack interact with his nieces and nephews gave her another dimension of him, one equally hard to resist.
And when he asked her to come with him to return the children to their mothers, he wouldn’t take no for an answer, which was how she ended up being introduced to Jack’s two sisters, Emily and Sarah, and being invited to join the whole Frost family for dinner.
As they walked back into the arena Jack held her hand and pulled her close to his side. “You know that rebound thing?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Well I’ve got a different interpretation of what it means.”
“Oh?”
He lifted their joined hands to his mouth and pressed at kiss to the back of hers. “The more you push me away, the more I’ll rebound straight back.”
“Jack.”
They stopped walking and he turned her to face him. “I mean it. I’ll keep coming back until you accept that I’m not going anywhere.”
/> She could see the determination in his gaze and knew she didn’t stand a chance. His next words confirmed it.
“You don’t really have a choice. You’re already my rebound girl.”
The End
Thanks for reading A Touch of Frost. I hope you enjoyed it.
If you’d like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage rhiancahill.com, follow me on twitter @RhianCahill, or like my Facebook page RhianCahillAuthor.
You can also follow me through my publisher’s page here escapepublishing.com.au
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If you liked this book, my other books are Christmas Wishes, New Year’s Kisses, Valentine’s Dates and Secret Santa
This book was published by Escape Publishing. If you’d like to sample some more great books from my fellow Escape Artists, please turn the page.
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