12 Gifts for Christmas

by Various

  “The guy who was supposed to work on the gazebo in the town square got hurt last week,” she said instead. “Now the council needs a carpenter. You interested?”

  “No.”

  “C’mon. You’d be great. They could really use help.” And if she saved the day by hauling Declan in, she’d be one step closer to regaining her golden-girl status with the town. That meant good cheer, friendly faces … and paying customers.

  “Nah. They don’t need me,” he said, going back to screwing some doodad into another thingamabob.

  Mari frowned. “Really, they do. And I’ll do my part. I’m not so great with a hammer, but you can teach me.”

  “Let’s put it this way,” he countered, still playing with his screwdriver, “they might want help, but they won’t want mine.”

  Mari huffed, sending a puff of chilled air around her head like smoke. She was fully aware that the town had treated him like crap. But if he’d just put in some time with them, everyone would see what a great guy he was and quit judging him by his past.

  “How do you know that?” she asked in exasperation.

  “If they wanted my skills, they’d ask me.”

  His words were reasonable. His tone was mellow. So why did she think this was a huge deal for him?

  “I’m asking you to help.”

  “Not a good idea. Don’t you remember what happened the last time you ended up associated with me? If I recall, you are still trying to wash that stain away.”

  Mari rolled her eyes.

  “You should quit being so stubborn,” she warned. “Don’t forget, Santa keeps track of whether you’ve been naughty or nice.”

  Declan’s laugh filled her with a lusty sort of joy. The kind that said he’d make her laugh just before he sent her screaming over that delicious edge of ecstasy.

  “Darlin’, haven’t you heard? Naughty is nice.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  WITH a real smile on his face for the first time since he’d pulled into town, Declan backed his truck out of his father’s driveway, waving to the elderly neighbor, Mr. Roberts, as he went. The old guy gave him a suspicious look, but lifted his hand in return.

  Was the town over his past indiscretions? Mari said they were—she was pushing him to donate an hour or two of swinging his hammer, and encouraged him to ask around about jobs and feel out the possibilities of sticking around. For a girl who was still running from rumors, she sure had a lot of faith in his ability to face them down.

  Then again, maybe she just wanted to hang with him. He liked that idea. Especially since he wanted to spend a whole lot of time with her. The woman made him feel things … incredibly sexy, oddly sentimental and just plain good around her.

  He drove into his uncle’s driveway and parked behind his ‘57 Chevy. He hopped out of his truck, excited to get started. And not just on the display.

  Then he stopped so fast the coffee in his to-go cup splashed all over his fingers. He ignored the sting, staring in disbelief at the mess that’d been a music stage when he’d left the day before. Puddles of paint had congealed over the splintered wood littered across the lawn.

  “I was just gonna call you,” Uncle Eric said as he came around the side of the house, his face set in grim anger. “Looks like someone got here before we did.”

  Fury surged through Declan. His fist clenched on his toolbox as he battled the urge to send it flying into what was left of his display.

  “Any idea who’d pull something like this?” Eric asked, adding his glare to the mess.

  “Just one,” he muttered, his eyes cutting to the cozy little house across the street. Sometime since he’d gone home the evening before, Mari had strung lights around the house and decorated the huge pine in the yard.

  She’d said she wanted to win the contest this year… .

  Apparently she’d been quite the busy girl last night.

  Hot-gluing wrapping paper to the giant empty boxes that’d go under her tree, Mari couldn’t get Declan’s words out of her head. She’d just bet naughty was nice. Especially the way he did it. He’d gotten her all hot and bothered with just a kiss. What could he do with a little naked action? She fanned herself.

  She was in the middle of a heat flash when she heard someone stomp up the porch steps to where she was working. She glanced over, her smile sliding away when she noticed how angry Declan was.

  “Hello?” she said.

  “Want to explain something for me?”

  Frowning now, she got to her feet. She had a feeling she’d want to be standing. Or ready to break into a run.

  “Explain what?”

  He didn’t say a word. He just pointed. Mari stepped over to the porch rail and squinted across the street. It took her a few seconds to realize what she was seeing.

  His display was a wreck.

  “You think I did that?” she asked in horror.

  “Darlin’, you’re the only one with anything to gain.” Looming over her, he blocked the sunlight, his anger enveloping her like a shroud.

  “Right,” she snapped, smacking her hands against his chest to push him away. She’d be damned if he’d try and pull that bad-boy intimidation crap on her. “Because nobody else competing in the holiday contest wants to win.”

  He narrowed his eyes for a second, as if he were considering her words. Then he shook his head.

  “Not as much as you do.”

  “How did I get dibs on all that ambition?”

  “You’re the one with the most to lose.”

  Mari opened her mouth to blast him then closed it again.

  “You think I’d go as far as sabotaging your work just to get your confession?”

  “No.”

  Her shoulders relaxed a little.

  “I think you’d sabotage my work to get out of sleeping with me.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and stalked back across the street.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  MARI was pissed.

  Declan didn’t give a damn.

  Refusing to look over at her house, he hauled the ruined lumber off the stage. He kicked aside an empty paint can, sending it ricocheting off a plywood donkey as he hauled the mess over to toss in the back of his truck.

  “Dec?”

  Softening his glare, he turned around. “Yeah, Aunt Amanda?”

  “I’m running into town to get more lights for the display. Do you need me to pick up anything?”

  He took in everything on the lawn. Other than the irritation factor, the actual damage was minimal. Some paint, a few broken boards. A minor ding to his ego and crack in his heart. No biggie.

  “Nah, we’re okay. It’s mostly cosmetic. I’ll have things back on track by this evening. You’re still gonna win,” he vowed.

  He’d wanted to win when he’d agreed to build the display. He’d really, really wanted to win when he’d bet on the contest’s outcome with Mari. But now? Now he’d do whatever it took to make sure they did.

  “This isn’t your fault, you know,” she said quietly. “Don’t own this obnoxious act, Declan. This isn’t about you, it’s about someone cheating and being mean.”

  “Could be,” he responded, giving her a grateful hug. He didn’t agree, but he didn’t want her worrying, either. “How’d you get so savvy?”

  “Oh, please. I raised Rita Mae. That girl could have given you a run for your money when it came to trouble. And don’t get me started on the things Layla and Alison got up to.”

  Declan laughed, just as she’d intended.

  But as soon as she left, so did his smile. The Cole girls had nothing on him when it came to trouble. Even Rita. But him? Even when he didn’t go searching for it, trouble still followed him.

  Maybe he shouldn’t have accused Mari of sabotaging his display. At first, he’d figured nobody else had anything to gain. But an hour of hauling debris had given him plenty of think-time. Enough to realize that he’d been an ass to assume that Mari was the only person who might have an issue with him. After all, most of t
he town would probably be happy to see the back of him again. And he’d been even more stupid to believe that Mari would do anything so hurtful.

  For the first time since he’d stormed away from Mari, Declan glanced across the street. She’d added an inflatable holiday globe to the landscape and was now arranging three-foot-tall candy canes along the walkway. He watched her bend over to wiggle one of the sticks into the hard dirt and gave a hum of appreciation at the way her backside swayed with the effort. He was going crazy with wanting her.

  Declan shoved his hands into his pockets and contemplated the situation. He could leave things be and let Mari stay pissed at him. That was probably smarter. Or he could go over and apologize. The words might burn his throat. But for another one of her sweet smiles, it’d be worth it.

  And maybe if he offered to help her hang a few balls, he could finagle a kiss or two.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  STUPID. Frozen. Ground.

  Mari growled as she shoved and twisted, trying to work another candy cane into the hard dirt path along the walkway leading to the front porch.

  “Need help?”

  With a gasp, Mari spun around, the candy cane still clenched in her fists. The long, dirt-encrusted end of it smacked Declan in that sexy, broad chest with a loud whap. Flecks of mud and grass flew everywhere.

  Mari slapped her hand over her mouth. Eyes wide, she hoped he’d take her reaction as horror.

  “First you beat me, then you laugh about it?” he dead-panned, staring first at her, then down at the mess she’d made on his long-sleeved denim shirt.

  Laughter snorted out from behind her fingers. She shrugged, trying to get control of herself as she watched the clumps of icy grass slide down his chest, leaving behind a dirty trail. Her fingers tingled with the need to follow the same path and see if he was as hard as he looked.

  “And you really want me to believe you don’t have it in for me?” he asked, his eyes guarded as he flicked the last of the debris from his belt buckle. Desire flared under her amusement as her eyes fell to that buckle and the promise beneath it.

  “I really don’t,” she promised absently, distracted by the path his hand was traveling. Up those hard abs. His fingers brushed at his wide chest, then skimmed back down to his waist, where he wiped yet more dirt away. She noted there were a few specks on his crotch, too. She swallowed, her mouth desert-dry. Maybe she could get those for him?

  She’d been nursing her anger so well she’d been able to ignore how hurt she felt. But now that the anger was gone, a miserable sadness filled Mari. She’d never have done anything to cause him pain like that. First of all, she’d never vandalize anyone’s property. And to do it as a skeezy attempt to renege on their bet? How could he think that?

  Especially when a part of her, mostly the part currently warming up her jeans, actually wanted him to win.

  “That wasn’t fair,” she said quietly.

  She was glad that Declan didn’t pretend not to understand what she meant.

  “I know.” He shrugged, then tilted his head and gave her the cutest little-boy-bad look. Combined with the wicked gleam in his eyes as he gave her a sexy once-over, he was totally irresistible.

  And she realized she didn’t want to resist him. For once, she wished she could just give in and be as bad as he was. To revel in the delicious delight of doing what felt good.

  He grinned, as if he could read her thoughts, and said, “I figure you’re so sure you’re going to kick my butt in the contest you actually don’t need to cheat.”

  “You really do know me,” she teased.

  All of her. And she wanted to know all of him.

  Her heart warmed. Filled with a joy she didn’t quite understand and was afraid to examine too closely for fear of having to admit feelings she wasn’t ready to face, Mari held out her hand.

  Declan eyed her fingers with a raised brow.

  “C’mon inside,” she invited. “I’ll rinse that grass off your shirt before it leaves a stain.”

  “Just making sure …” he said, enveloping her hand in his and short-circuiting her brain. “You’re inviting me in to take off my clothes?”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  DECLAN stood in the dimly lit garage next to the washing machine, watching Mari fuss over his shirt. She was attacking the smear of mud with a soapy cloth like it was the anti-Santa.

  “It’s just a work shirt,” he protested mildly, feeling a little chilled standing there in only a T-shirt. He’d thought she was asking him in for more than a stain scrubbing, but since they’d been here, she’d been Ms. Clean.

  Then he caught it. A tiny little sideways peek out of the corner of her eye. A faint wash of color tinting her cheeks. The way her hands trembled while sponging at the stain.

  Declan smiled, slow and wicked. He stepped closer, so he was inches away from Mari’s shoulder, crowding her space. Her fingers squeezed the cloth so tight, tiny bubbles foamed out.

  Then she froze. He waited. They both knew the question. Despite the raging desire pounding against his zipper, he wasn’t going to pressure her. Nor was he going to make it uncomfortable for her to say no. So he just stood there. After three hellishly long seconds, she bit her lip and glanced up at him.

  He saw the sweet vulnerability in her blue eyes. She didn’t ask for promises. But that look told him how easily she could be hurt.

  Ten years ago he wouldn’t have cared.

  Now?

  Declan’s heart pounded as he reached out to brush aside the long, silky blond curtain of hair so he could press a kiss against the side of her throat. He breathed deeply, taking in her spicy, floral scent.

  He couldn’t offer her a future since he didn’t know what his own held. But he could promise that he’d never, ever hurt her if he could help it.

  As if she’d heard his silent assurance, Mari turned into his arms, her fingers gripping his shoulders as she met his lips. Their kiss flamed quickly, hot and wild as their tongues danced and their bodies pressed tightly together.

  He slid his hands down to cup her butt, lifting her flush against his throbbing erection. She moaned, her hips undulating in a little circle, teasing them both.

  He needed more. With a quick glance around to confirm the garage door was closed, he pulled her over to a workbench covered in the makings of a merry Christmas.

  Declan shoved aside the piles of wrapping paper, ribbon and bits of tinsel and effortlessly lifted Mari onto the bench. He noted the plaque hanging over it, claiming this as Santa’s Workshop.

  “I guess we’ll be using Santa’s bench to make something other than toys,” he teased as his hands skimmed her sides to pull her sweater over her head. His body went rock-hard at the sight of her. Her candy-cane-striped bra cupped her bountiful gifts, making his mouth water for a taste. He tugged down the satin and groaned. She was gorgeous.

  “You think he and Mrs. Claus get their frisky on after the elves have gone to bed?” she asked breathlessly, arching her back when his tongue flicked over her ripe nipple.

  “Santa’s never had it this good,” he vowed as he unsnapped her jeans.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  HURRYING to get naked as fast as she could despite the chill, Mari kicked off her tennis shoes then shifted so Declan could remove her jeans. His hands slicked down the length of her legs as he pulled the denim off. Holding one stockinged foot in his hands, he pressed a kiss inside her ankle, then nibbled his way up to her knee.

  She was shaking by the time his lips reached her thighs.

  She reached down, scraping a teasing finger over the hard length straining against his zipper.

  He gave a growl, and took her lips in a wild, open-mouthed kiss. The next thing she knew they were both naked and pressed against each other. Mari wrapped her legs around his waist, ready and willing to start dancing. But he apparently had other ideas.

  Declan changed gears from fast to slow, taking her from warm to hot with a single kiss. His tongue traced her lips so sweetly. His hand
s caressed a tingling path over her body, swirling, teasing. Her heart pounded; damp heat pooled between her thighs. She ground herself against him, needing more. Needing him. It was like an inferno burning low in her belly.

  The sane part of her brain was freaking out. They were naked in the garage, for crying out loud. On a bench where she now had tinsel stuck to her ass. This was Declan, the baddest of the bad boys who was only in town for a short time.

  Her heart didn’t care, though. This was Declan. Her first crush. The guy whose name she’d doodled in her notebook. Who’d given her a ride so she wouldn’t get in trouble. Who made her feel like the prettiest, smartest, most desirable woman on earth.

  And her body? The only thing her body cared about was the pleasure he was creating. This was Declan. The guy who’d given her the best kiss of her life, and was obviously about to give her the best orgasm she’d ever had.

  “You’re thinking too much,” he murmured against her lips.

  “You’re right,” she agreed with a sigh. “Make me stop.”

  Accepting her challenge with a quick grin, he kissed her again. His fingers danced down her body, wicked and talented as they slipped into her damp core and swirled away the last of her thoughts.

  The heat flamed hotter, flared higher as he kissed her throat. Mari shivered. She pressed her hands to his chest, combing through the soft sprinkling of hair that trailed between his pecs and over his belly. Her fingers circled his belly button before tiptoeing lower.

  He moaned against her breast when she wrapped her hand around him.

  He bent to grab his jeans and retrieve his wallet. A heartbeat later and he was back, sheathed and throbbing against her body. Mari wrapped her legs tighter around his waist, pulling him closer, welcoming his hard length with a soft moan.

  They rocked together, taking each other higher with each press of their lips, each caress of their hands. Without warning, everything spun out of control. Declan’s thrusts sped up. Her heart raced. Whimpers turned to groans as Mari’s head fell back against the wall and passion exploded behind her eyes.