“What are you smiling at?” Emily asked, her gentle voice still surprising Catherine in the quiet of the trees.
After a beat, Catherine answered honestly. “I’m just having a really good time.”
Emily beamed at her and they continued walking back to the cabin.
By the time they’d made their way onto the front porch, the wind was steady and the snow was wet and heavy. They removed the snowshoes, leaving them on the porch, then stomped any remaining snow from their feet before pushing through the front door to the warmth inside.
It was nearing dusk—alarmingly early, it seemed to Catherine, but such was winter in the northeast. As she toed off her boots and glanced up, it occurred to her, not for the first time, that there was something serenely beautiful about a room lit up by only the lights on the Christmas tree. The fire had died down considerably while they were out, so it was now softly glowing embers of red and orange. Next to it, the tree stood tall, twinkling joyfully. Despite Christmas being over, Catherine took a moment to stand there and simply look at it, take it in.
“I love Christmas,” Emily said softly beside her.
“Me, too.”
They stood in silence for a long moment before Emily asked, “You hungry yet?”
“Starving.”
“Hiking through the snow will do that to you. Let me stoke up the fire and then I’ll get dinner going.” Emily started across the room.
“I can do it,” Catherine said, following.
“Yeah?” Emily raised her eyebrows.
“Yeah. Go get the food started before I eat my own arm.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Emily chuckled, then surprised her by giving her a quick peck on the cheek before disappearing into the kitchen. “Build me a fire, woman.”
Catherine shook her head with a grin as she grabbed a couple of nearby logs and the poker from the stand and went to work. She had things just on the verge of roaring again when a glass of red wine appeared before her. She looked up into Emily’s smiling eyes.
“The first reward for a hard day’s hiking,” Emily told her.
“The first reward?”
“Oh, yes. There are many, many more.”
“I’m intrigued.”
“You should be.” Their gazes held electrically until Emily held out her own glass. “To you being here with me.”
Their glasses touched and they sipped.
“Oh, this is good,” Emily said.
“You think? It wasn’t $250, but it’s a decent wine.” Catherine winked.
“Delicious. Stew’s on. It just needs to heat up.” Emily sat down next to Catherine on the thick, soft rug, and together they gazed silently into the flames.
Catherine absorbed the warmth of both the fire and Emily’s solid presence next to her. She felt completely, utterly comfortable. Content and warm, relaxed. So relaxed that she didn’t think twice about leaning toward Emily and covering her mouth in a sweet, gentle kiss. Slowly, she tasted Emily’s lips, savored the wine on them along with Emily’s own unique flavor. It was unhurried and wonderful, and Catherine was shocked by the realization that, though she had every intention of going further with Emily, she could easily kiss her like this for a long, long time.
After a few sensuous moments, two things became apparent: the stew needed stirring and the danger of spilling wine onto the light, expensive carpet was real, so they parted by mutual understanding, breathless.
“Damn, you are an amazing kisser,” Emily breathed out as she swiped a thumb across Catherine’s bottom lip, then pushed herself to standing.
“Thanks.” Catherine felt herself blush and sipped her wine as Emily headed back to the kitchen, watching her go, taking in the fabulous view of Emily’s ass.
Her cheeks puffed as she blew out a breath and willed her heart rate to slow back to normal.
***
In the kitchen, Emily braced both hands on the counter and let her head drop between her shoulders. “Oh, my God,” she whispered over and over as she rocked forward and back, waiting for her breathing to even out. Kissing Catherine was…magical. Which was a totally corny thing to say, she knew, but it was true. It set fireworks off in her head, colors exploding behind her eyelids. It was invigorating and relaxing at once. It was all those things and more, and Emily had to consciously hold herself back, force herself not to run back into the living room and strip Catherine of her clothing right there in front of the fire, bury her hands in Catherine’s hair, her head between Catherine’s thighs.
It’s so much. So much… Emily clenched her teeth so hard she expected to crack one. But gradually, her blood stopped racing, returned to a normal speed of flow through her veins. She wished Catherine would say more, talk to her instead of sitting quietly as she tended to do, in her own head the majority of the time. It was hard to know what she was thinking, where Emily stood with her.
Taking a large spoon from a drawer, Emily lifted the lid from the stockpot on the stove and stirred the beef stew as her brain kept on running along its path. Catherine had said she was having a great time today. That may seem like not much, but Emily was learning that even such a simple statement was unusual for Catherine, so Emily was taking it as an enormously good sign. She smiled as she thought about it. She was so used to Michelle and Sandy and, hell, even Clark. The people around her said what was on their minds, sometimes to their own detriment (Clark). Emily herself was the same way. If she thought something, she said it—unless it was tactless or hurtful, of course, which was where she and her brother veered off in different directions. Somebody who kept her cards close to the vest was new to Emily, and navigating these unfamiliar waters with Catherine wasn’t easy.
Emily was pretty sure it was worth it, though.
She tasted the stew, added some salt as the timer went off, letting her know the rolls needed to come out of the oven.
“Can I help?” Catherine’s voice was soft, but still startled Emily, so lost in her own thoughts was she. Standing in the doorway, shoulder leaning against the doorjamb, Catherine looked simply delectable as she sipped from her wine glass. There was no other word. Her jeans were dark, but soft-looking, nicely broken in, and hugged her curves as if they were tailored especially for her body. Her socks must have been wet because they were now gone and Catherine stood there barefoot, her toenails polished a festive blue. The long-sleeve white thermal T-shirt was snug, giving Emily no choice at all but to skim her eyes over Catherine’s breasts. The flannel shirt was unbuttoned, the plaid of pinks and purples and the cut-in at the waist making it very clear this was a woman underneath. Catherine had cuffed the sleeves a couple of times so her smooth forearms showed.
Did something happen to the oxygen in here? Am I the only one who can’t breathe?
She needed a beat to collect herself, but Emily finally smiled. Gesturing to a cupboard with her eyes, she said, “Grab me two bowls?”
Catherine pushed off the doorjamb, set her wine on the counter, and reached for the dishes, then handed them to Emily. “Smells amazing.”
“Yeah? Well, hopefully, it tastes as good.” Emily pulled the rolls from the oven.
“I’m optimistic.” Catherine smiled at her. “More wine?”
“Please.”
Catherine topped off their glasses and Emily scooped steaming stew into each bowl, added a roll, and reached for spoons.
“Dinner is served. Table or in front of the fire?”
Catherine scoffed as she took her bowl. “That question doesn’t even deserve an answer.” She turned and headed back into the living room.
“In front of the fire, it is,” Emily said, grabbing her own bowl and wine and following Catherine. Once there, she hit some buttons on her phone and soon soft, instrumental Christmas music emanated from the small speaker on a side table.
“That’s nice,” Catherine said with approval.
“Glad you like it.”
They sat on the rug, cross-legged, wine glasses on the hearth, bowls of stew in their laps. Emily
was pretty sure this would be what Heaven was like.
Catherine took her first bite and her eyes closed as she hummed. Emily had to look away. “This is delicious,” Catherine said after swallowing. She scooped up another spoonful. “Did your mom make it?”
“Nope. I did.”
Try as she might have, Catherine couldn’t keep the surprise from zipping across her face. “You did?”
“Mmhmm.” Emily watched her, amused, then asked, “You thought my parents’ cook made it, didn’t you?” It was difficult to see it in the dim lighting, but Emily was pretty sure Catherine had turned a lovely shade of pink. “I happen to enjoy cooking. So there.”
“Emily, I…” Catherine swallowed and looked embarrassed. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Emily shrugged. “You didn’t. I’m just finding that I enjoy surprising you. It’s fun.”
Catherine shifted, obviously uncomfortable. “For you, maybe.”
Emily set her spoon in her bowl and closed her hand over Catherine’s bare forearm, using all her willpower to ignore the feel of the warm, bare skin under her palm. “Catherine. Relax.” She smiled softly. “It’s no big deal. You just need to skew the way you think a bit.” With a shrug, she let go and picked up her spoon again. “There’s a lot more to me than my bank account, you know?”
Catherine nodded, clearly chastised and still embarrassed. “I do know that. I’m sorry.”
“Good. Done. Moving on.” Emily widened her smile to help alleviate the tension. When that didn’t seem to work, she set her spoon down again, grasped Catherine’s chin in her hand, pulled her closer, and kissed her on the mouth. She pulled back, whispered, “Let it go,” and went back to her stew. The expression that crossed Catherine’s face was odd, but Emily didn’t ask about it. She simply chewed.
Catherine might not say words often, but in this particular instance, her face was a pretty easy read. Emily watched as she remained embarrassed, quietly ate her stew while gazing into the fire. And just like the first time they’d hit this issue, Emily let her sit with her embarrassment, feeling a little bad that she’d caused it, but also thinking Catherine needed to feel it in order to learn. It only took a few moments, but the clouded look on her face gradually cleared and she seemed to relax.
Emily took the cue.
“So,” she said, putting her empty bowl on the hearth and reaching under the tree behind her. “It seems Santa may have stopped by here.” She pulled two packages out.
Catherine’s eyes widened. “For me?” Her voice held a bit of incredulity, which made Emily grin and mentally give herself a point for yet again surprising Catherine.
“Yes, ma’am.” She handed the smaller of the packages over. “This one is for you, but it’s sort of to share.” At Catherine’s furrowed brow, she shrugged and said, “Open it. You’ll see.”
Catherine paused for a quick second before a huge grin broke out on her face and she tore through the wrapping paper like a small child. When she’d dropped the paper to the floor and sat with two identical word search books in one hand and a pack of fine-tip Sharpies in the other, the grin got even wider.
“You didn’t,” she said.
“Oh, I did,” Emily replied, thrilled by the joy she saw so clearly on Catherine’s beautiful face. “I plan to see this incredible talent of yours firsthand. I challenge you, Ms. Gardner, to a word search duel.”
Catherine leaned in close and whispered, “You’re going down, Breckenridge.”
“We’ll see. I wonder if your word search prowess has been overstated.”
Catherine gave a mock gasp and pressed a hand to her chest. Then she narrowed her eyes and said, “Challenge accepted.”
Emily burst out laughing, loving every moment of this exchange, feeling like she had just seen the real Catherine Gardner, the one with no guards up, no walls erected, no filter for her words or facial expression. Just Catherine. Simply Catherine. Emily vowed to get a look at that woman every chance she could.
“Okay, but before that battle begins, you have to open this one.” Emily slid the larger of the two presents toward Catherine.
“Another one?” Catherine’s voice was much softer this time. “But…I didn’t…” She swallowed and this time, Emily felt bad about her embarrassment.
“Hey, no, stop that.” She reached across the short space between them and laid her palm against Catherine’s cheek. “I didn’t get you a gift because I expected one from you. I actually really enjoy giving people stuff.” With a cock of her head she added, “Haven’t the twenty-seven bouquets of flowers I’ve sent you sort of clued you in on that?”
The blush was back, and Catherine muttered, “Waste of money.”
Emily laughed. “I knew you’d say that. Predictable.”
As their gazes held, a sizzle passed between them, so hot and strong, Emily wondered if another person might have actually seen it. One thought shot through Emily’s head so loudly she was sure Catherine must have heard it.
I cannot wait to get my hands on this woman.
Emily swallowed down the arousal that threatened to erupt from her body like lava from a volcano and watched as Catherine opened her gift, taking her time with this one, gently untaping each end with painstaking care. When all the paper was unfastened, she uncovered the box, looked at it, and her head snapped up. Her blue eyes snagged Emily’s as she said, “You did not.”
Emily just smiled.
“You did not,” Catherine said again as she left all gentleness aside and pulled the box open. Inside sat a pair of sexy black boots, all supple leather, two-inch heels, and silver accents.
“I did.” She watched as Catherine took one out of the box, holding it as gently as she would a baby. These were knee-high and Emily had easily pictured Catherine wearing them with a skirt or even jeans. Or nothing else at all. “Do you like them?” she asked, trying not to sound uncertain.
“Do I like them?” Catherine dropped the boot down into her lap and met Emily’s gaze. “Do I like them? I love them. I love them!” And then she did the most uncharacteristic thing she could have done. She leaned forward and grabbed Emily in a sloppy, awesome hug, all long arms and hair in each other’s faces. “Thank you,” she whispered in Emily’s ear, sending a pleasant chill down the middle of her back. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re very welcome,” Emily said, returning the hug tightly. They parted slowly and when they were face-to-face, Catherine pressed her lips to Emily’s. Softly. Tenderly.
“Thank you,” she said a third time as she pulled back.
Emily cleared her throat. “I think, before we begin the word search battle of the century, you should go try them on. For me.”
“For you?” Catherine arched that one sexy eyebrow and everything south of Emily’s rib cage tightened in response.
“Yes, please,” she whispered.
Obviously pretending to contemplate the request, Catherine laid a finger along her own jawline. “Hmm. Well. Okay. I guess you deserve that.” She stood up, boots in hand. “Refill my wine while I’m gone?”
Emily was on her feet in an instant, grabbed up both glasses, and skedaddled into the kitchen where she, once again, paused to catch her breath and allow her heart rate to slow a bit. Was there a sexier woman in life than Catherine Gardner?
“I don’t think so,” she said aloud, quietly. She refilled each wine glass, emptying the bottle, and tried not to dwell on how the hell she was going to manage to keep control of herself for a little while longer. I can do this. I can do this.
Picking up both glasses, she headed back into the living room…and stopped dead.
Catherine stood there in dim light tossed from the tree and the fireplace, and she was wearing the boots. She hadn’t changed any of her clothes, but she still looked insanely sexy to Emily, who could do nothing but mutter, “Oh, good God,” and stand there with her mouth hanging open.
“They don’t really work with this outfit, but they do fit. Perfectly. And
they’re really comfortable, which I didn’t expect.” As she looked down at the boots and continued to talk about the fit, her voice faded out and Emily could only hear her own blood rushing in her ears.
She crossed the room, a glass of wine still in each hand, walked right into Catherine’s space (while taking delighted note of the fact that she was now an inch taller than Emily), and pressed her mouth to Catherine’s. There was no hesitation at all on Catherine’s part as she grasped Emily’s head in both hands and gave as good as she got, pushing her tongue into Emily’s mouth without preamble of any kind. Long, sensuous moments went by before Catherine pulled back just enough to be able to talk and whispered to Emily, “Don’t you drop that wine.”
Emily blew out a shaky breath and grinned. “I am using every fiber of my being to keep from doing so, but it is not easy.”
Catherine took a step back and relieved Emily of one glass. She took a sip, eyes never leaving Emily’s. “Do you think I’d have an unfair advantage in the word search challenge if I left these on?”
“Um, yes. I’d be all, ‘Words? What words? All I see are boots.’”
With a put-upon sigh, Catherine said, “Fine. I’ll take them off.”
“For now,” Emily amended.
Catherine shot a wink over her shoulder before disappearing into the bedroom. Emily took the opportunity to stoke the fire, add a log. Catherine was back quickly, grabbed the word search books, and tossed one to Emily before sliding her glasses on. “It’s time.” She ripped into the pack of Sharpies and tossed Emily one of those as well. “You choose the puzzle.”
Run To You (Puppy Love Romance Book 2) Page 22
