by Opal Carew
“I know. I heard they’ve closed 416. Where are you?”
“We got stopped by the closure and had to turn back. I tried to call you but couldn’t get a signal. I hope you don’t mind, but we decided to go to your cabin for the night. We’re here now.”
“Of course. That’s a good decision. I want you to be safe. Who did you get a ride with?”
“Someone I know from high school.” Holly gripped the phone. “I’m sorry I won’t be there for Christmas morning.”
“It’s okay, honey. We’ll miss you, but we’ll wait to open the gifts until you get here.”
Holly smiled. “I know you will. I just don’t want to miss the time with you.”
“I love you, Holly. Don’t worry. We’ll spend lots of time together once you’re here. You just sleep well tonight and we’ll see you tomorrow. Tom sends his love, too.”
“Give him a big hug for me. And tell him I said ‘Merry Christmas.’”
“You got it. Good night, honey. And Merry Christmas to you, too!”
Holly put her phone on the coffee table and noticed Kalen standing in the doorway.
“I got through to June, my sister.”
“That’s good.” He walked to the couch and sat down. “I’m really sorry you’re going to miss Christmas morning with your family.”
She nodded. “Me, too.”
She lifted the comforter in invitation and he drew it around his shoulders again. This time, he slid his arm around her waist. She leaned against him, enjoying the comfort of his warm body.
“What about you? You’re missing Christmas with your family, too.” Then she remembered he’d said something about driving his sister to the bus station. She glanced at him. “Is your family still in River Rapids?”
“My parents still live there. My sister’s married and lives in Tampa. But this year my parents are going on a cruise with friends, so we had our family Christmas last week.”
“So you were going to be alone on Christmas Day?”
He smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I had a wonderful Christmas already.”
She rested her head against him again and he tightened his arm around her.
“So we’ll wake up tomorrow morning with no Christmas tree or gifts to open. Like we’ve been naughty and Santa decided to overlook us.”
He laughed and gazed down at her. “Well, we could put that big package under the tree and open that.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“At least tell me what’s inside.”
“No. It’s embarrassing,”
“More embarrassing than the elf gift wrap?”
She bit her lip. “It was probably about equal.”
“Come on, it can’t be that bad.”
She remembered the horror she’d felt when she’d opened the box in front of the Customs guard.
“Trust me, it is.”
“Okay, so now you have to tell me. Unless you want me to die of curiosity.”
She raised an eyebrow, taking in the gleam in his eyes.
“Were you one of those kids who drove his parents crazy on Christmas Eve? Because you’re definitely driving me nuts.”
He grinned. “I may have been a bit pushy. But what can I say, it’s Christmas.” He leaned forward. “Throw me a bone.”
The glittering anticipation in his eyes made her laugh.
“Fine, go get it.”
His eyes lit up with glee and he hurried out the door and into the cold. He returned a few minutes later with the box and kicked off his boots. He carried it into the living room and sat down beside her.
He glanced her way, then pulled open the box. When he peered inside, his jaw dropped.
“Now I can see why you wanted to flee Customs in shame.”
He pulled a hot-pink, twelve-inch dildo from the box.
Chuckling, he said, “So a big package inside the big package.”
“There’s more.”
“So I see.” He riffled through a few more dildos in different shapes, colors, and sizes.
She laughed, unable to believe she was sitting with her high school crush while he dug through a box of dildos. He then pulled out a pair of handcuffs and a flogger.
He raised an eyebrow. “So you two were into BDSM?”
She shook her head rapidly. “No, no. Nothing like that. In fact . . . he put those things in there with a note.” Which she’d slipped into her pocket. “It said, ‘Things every controlling bitch needs.’ And then it went on to tell me to ‘eat a box of dicks,’ which would explain the dildos.”
She frowned as she gazed at Kalen, wondering if he’d look at her in a new way, assuming she was exactly what Jim had called her in the note. “He complained I wanted to control him because sometimes I’d ask if he’d skip a night with his friends or a ball game on the weekend to spend a little more time with me.”
He nodded. “So as I said before, the guy sounds like a jerk.”
He cupped her chin and raised her face. His midnight eyes glowed with warmth.
“If you were my girlfriend, I’d never choose a ball game over you.”
Her heart sped up. “Really?”
He smiled. “You know, I found you very attractive when we were in high school. I would have liked to get to know you.”
Her back stiffened and she drew back. Her head shook back and forth in denial.
“I don’t think so. I wasn’t the type of girl you went out with. The slim, pretty cheerleader. I was overweight and ugly.”
He grasped her chin again and gently tipped her face toward him.
“Get this straight right now. You were never ugly.”
Gazing into his eyes, she could see the truth written there. He really believed that.
“And you seem to think I’m pretty shallow that I would care about your weight. That didn’t matter to me. And a girl being pretty wasn’t as important to me as you seem to think. But in your case, you were very pretty. You have beautiful eyes and a really nice smile. And there’s a warmth about you that always made me want to know you.” His thumb stroked along her cheek. “And just in case you have any doubts, you have grown into a stunningly beautiful woman.”
Her breath caught and her pulse increased. Aside from her mother and sister, no one had ever told her she was beautiful.
She surged forward, her arms wrapping around his neck as her lips met his. He leaned into the kiss, his lips moving on hers, his hand gliding up her back.
Then she realized what she’d done and jerked backward, her hands covering her mouth.
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.”
Chapter Three
Holly couldn’t believe she’d just kissed Kalen.
He smiled, his dark blue eyes glittering in the firelight.
“I . . . uh . . . I told you my mouth gets away from me sometimes.” But what she’d meant as a joke just sounded lame. “I . . . it’s just that no one’s ever called me beautiful before, and I . . .” She shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t usually throw myself into the arms of someone I barely know.”
His fingers glided over her cheek. “It’s too bad, because I liked it.” His midnight eyes were warm and sincere. “And it’s not like we don’t know each other at all. We’ve actually known each other for years.”
She shifted in the seat. “If you thought that I was . . . uh . . . nice looking . . .”
“I said beautiful.”
She threw him a sideways glance, then stared at her hands again.
“If you thought that, then . . . why didn’t you get to know me?”
“I tried. I often said hello to you, hoping to strike up a conversation, but you never let it go any further than that. I assumed you weren’t interested.”
He took her hand, and held it within his warm fingers. As much as she liked it, her hand remained stiff in his hold.
“Maybe I should have tried harder,” he said. “Maybe I should have understood you were just shy, and been more perseverant. But I was jus
“You actually thought I might turn you down?” she asked in amazement.
“It’s been known to happen.”
She shook her head. “You were on the football team. You were one of the most popular guys at the school. Every girl had a crush on you. I don’t believe you were worried about someone like me turning you down.”
“Someone like you? You mean pretty and smart . . . warm . . . and creative?” As he talked, his thumb stroked the back of her hand, sending quivers up her arm.
She swallowed. “Why do you think I’m creative?”
“We were in art class together, too. I still remember when you did that painting of a tarot card.”
Her stomach quivered. Why did he have to mention that? The assignment had been to do a painting representing spring, and rather than do tulips or trees budding with leaves, which seemed to be the thing everyone else was doing, she’d chosen to do the Death card from the tarot deck.
“I didn’t do it because I was depressed or antisocial. The Death card means a transition, just as spring is a rebirth.”
“I know. And your take on the card was so different. Instead of a skeleton knight on a horse, or some other rendition of the grim reaper, you chose to have a beautiful woman with a flowing gown emerging from a cocoon made of glittering crystals.”
“Some people thought the crystals around her feet and legs were a cancer eating at her body. That she was trapped in a deadly disease that would consume her.”
“Is that what you intended?”
She frowned. “My grandmother died of cancer the year before, and I was still grieving, but Grandma had told me before she died that she was moving on to a beautiful place. That like a butterfly, she would emerge from the cocoon in a new form and fly on the wind.”
“So you were trying to express that in art.”
“Yes, but not because I feared death, or I felt trapped and wanted to die, but because I could see the beauty of transformation. Of being one thing, then growing to a whole new level of existence.”
“I seem to remember you took some flack for that painting.”
She nodded. “I was called to the counselor’s office. Apparently, my teacher was concerned it was a cry for help. After that, rumors started and other kids stared at me funny and whispered as I went by.” She traced a circle on her knee. Some mean ones had actually ridiculed her, saying it wasn’t a cry for help at all but a pathetic demand for attention. “I learned never to reveal myself that way again. When we were told to do a fall-themed painting the following year, rather than painting a woman burning in flames like a phoenix, to be reborn again after the long winter, I painted a landscape of trees with orange and red leaves. Just like everyone else.”
“I’m sorry your creativity was stifled like that. I remember you being very talented.”
She gazed at him, tears prickling at her eyes. She hadn’t realized how profoundly someone saying something like that . . . someone actually believing in her . . . could affect her.
“Thank you.” Her voice was so thick with emotion, the words were merely a whisper.
Kalen stared into Holly’s eyes, seeing the pain there. The need to be valued.
God, she was so beautiful and unique. It tore at his heart that clearly she felt like an outcast.
He stroked her cheek, her skin so soft under his fingertips. The need in her eyes deepened. His heart pounded with a need of his own—to feel her soft lips on his again, to hold her in his arms, her heart close to his own.
They seemed to be drawn to each other like magnets. Leaning closer, her face tipping up toward him, her lips soft and inviting.
He closed the distance and his lips brushed hers, his arms gliding around her. His mouth moved on hers. She sighed and his heart rate spiked.
God, he wanted her.
He wanted to possess her sweet body, but more, he wanted to earn her trust. To make her know he would never hurt her; show her she deserved better than that clod of an ex.
He would value her for who she was.
He drew her closer. Her heart was pounding just as fast as his. His tongue glided into her mouth, so sweet and warm.
But then she drew back. Her wide-eyed gaze, lingering on his, was filled with need, but then it faded, as if she willfully tucked it away in a hidden spot inside.
“I think I better get some sleep now. We want to get going early tomorrow.” She stood up, letting the comforter slide from her shoulders. “You take the first bedroom. I’ll be in the other one at the end of the hall.”
He watched her as she walked away.
“There should be blankets and everything you need.” Her stride increased as she got to the hall, then she disappeared.
Fuck, he’d blown his chance with her. But he wasn’t going to go after her. He wouldn’t be some jerk who would push her into a one-night stand just because the opportunity was there. Instead, in the morning, he’d suggest they see each other again while she was visiting her family in Ottawa. And maybe they could keep on seeing each other.
Holly closed the door behind her, then leaned against it. God, what had she been thinking? She’d told him so many things about herself that probably made him think she was a real loser, but he was too polite to say anything.
And she’d kissed him. She covered her face. Then he’d kissed her and . . . If she’d let it go on a minute longer, she’d have grabbed his hand and dragged him off to bed with her.
She crossed the room and sat on the bed. Not that she wouldn’t want him in her bed. She had dreamed of that since high school. But . . .
But what?
Fear.
He’d been with pretty, popular girls. He might say he didn’t care about her looks, but seeing her naked, seeing her imperfect body . . . She felt her cheeks flush. She couldn’t bear to see the disappointment on his face.
Even Jim had found her less than acceptable. He’d made comments about her shortcomings all the time.
She knew that Kalen wouldn’t verbalize his disappointment, but disappointed he would be. And after he’d told her she was beautiful . . . after that perfect rush of delight . . . She didn’t want that torn away because he saw her naked.
She ran her fingers along the white eyelet lace on the duvet.
She really wished she could get past her fear. She was always afraid to put herself out there, and she’d been working on being better about it. If she could garner her courage and go after this one wonderful dream and make it a reality.
God, if she didn’t, how would she ever forgive herself? This could be her Christmas present to herself. To spend the night with her dream man.
She stared at the door, biting her lip.
Should she strip down to her bra and panties and just march out there? That seemed way too over the top. Better would be to slip on June’s robe. June always left some clothes in her closet at the cabin, and there was a really nice silk robe she often let Holly wear.
But as she glanced around, she realized this was the guest room, not the master bedroom. She’d just assumed the one at the end of the hall would be the master. She walked to the closet, and sure enough, there was nothing hanging in there.
Maybe Kalen was still in the living room and she could slip into the master bedroom and grab the robe.
She walked to the door and opened it, then started down the hall. The lights were out in the living room and the double doors of the master bedroom were closed. They were french doors with curtains covering the glass on the inside, but she could see that the light was still on. She hesitated, wondering if she should knock. She even raised her hand . . . then chickened out.
She continued into the kitchen and filled a glass with water. She noticed Kalen had cleaned up the dishes from their meal. Jim would have just left them for her to do.
She walked from the kitchen, across the living room, and then to the hallway.
The master bedroom doors opened and Kalen stood in the doorway. Her jaw dropped at the sight of him wearing only boxers, his broad, muscular chest bare.
“I thought I heard you up again. Is everything all right?”
Chapter Four
“Sure, I just wanted a glass of water.” Holly turned toward her own room. She sensed that he watched her walk away and she paused at the door.
Don’t be a coward.
She sucked in a deep breath, then turned around. “Actually, it wasn’t water I got up for.”
She walked toward him, slowly, building her courage.
Once she stood in front of him, as he watched her curiously, she hesitated.
“I want . . . I mean . . . about that kiss . . .”
He smiled. “What about it?”
“I . . . want to do it again.”
His eyes flared to life and his smile, so warm and inviting, took her breath away as he stepped toward her. Then his arms swept around her and he drew her close.
Oh, God, his arms were so strong, and his body so hard and solid against hers.
“So do I,” he said.
His lips fell to hers, brushing lightly at first in a delicate caress, coaxing with a sweet tenderness. Then he deepened the kiss. His tongue teased against her lips and she opened, allowing him to slide inside. His fingers glided through her hair as he stroked it back from her face.
She ran her hand down his chest, and over his solid sculpted abs. His lips slipped from her mouth and glided down her neck, then he nuzzled the base of her collarbone. Delight shimmered through her.
She sucked in a breath, quivering in his arms.
He took her hand and guided her into the master bedroom. Instantly upon seeing the room, she understood why June had wanted to buy this house. From the warm honey-colored hardwood floor to the blazing fireplace at the foot of the bed, with enough room for a couch in front, and the large windows facing what would probably be a stunning view if it wasn’t obscured by the thick veil of snow outside—it was lovely. Everything she and June had always talked about having in their dream house.
Instead of leading her to the bed, Kalen took her to the couch.
“It’s warm here by the fire.” He smiled. “I was surprised you let me have the master bedroom.”
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