by Melody Anne
Before he had a chance to say anything further, Ella stepped back from his warm embrace and reached down, picking up a big wad of snow as she began forming a ball.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Ella,” he warned, taking a tentative step toward her.
“What’s the matter, Axel? Afraid of a little snow?” she asked as she began circling her car, keeping something between them because she knew there’d be retaliation once she threw the ball.
“Ah, baby, I’m not afraid of anything,” he said, a megawatt smile brightening his face.
Perfect timing. She released her professionally molded snowball and hit him right between the eyes, wiping his grin away and making him sputter. “Next time, don’t aim for someone’s back,” she taunted.
“You know you’re going to pay for that, right?” he said as he brushed snow off his face and began stalking her.
“I’m not afraid of you, Spider-Man,” she said before she took off running. She knew she didn’t have a chance of escape, but she didn’t mind.
She didn’t even make it ten steps when his arms circled her again, but this time they were in motion and both of them began sliding through the snow, their bodies heading for the ground.
Luckily the powder was fresh, and when they hit, the landing wasn’t hard. Ella was laughing as Axel picked up a bundle of snow in his hand and held it above her head.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she taunted him, even though he clearly had the upper hand.
“Damn woman,” he gasped before the snow fell away and all thoughts of a snow fight were over as his mouth claimed hers and he began melting the snow still falling all around them. Ella wound her arms around his neck and gave back as good as she was getting, as she got lost in his embrace, lost in the magic of being held by this man she couldn’t get enough of.
Soon, though, the reality of the weather snuck up on them, and the snow was seeping through her clothes, sending shivers through her, even with the heat of Axel’s kiss.
“This wasn’t a good idea,” he said, almost in a fog as he lifted his head and looked down into what she was sure was a bright red face.
“I don’t care about the cold. Totally worth it,” she sighed, reaching up and brushing a piece of his hair back.
“I really need a haircut,” he said with a laugh.
“You’re perfect just the way you are,” she replied, realizing no matter how much she fought her feelings for this man, it was too late. She was in love with him.
She loved everything about him: the way he smiled, his overprotectiveness, his lovemaking, his ridiculous sense of humor. She loved him.
“I love you.” The words were so quiet she was almost sure she didn’t say them, almost positive that the thought had only been in her head.
But when his eyes widened, when he pulled back just the slightest amount, she had no doubt she’d said them aloud. And from the confused, dazed look on his face, it appeared he wasn’t taking it too well. A shiver racked through her, and she didn’t know if it was from fear or from the cold. But she had a feeling those words were the exact wrong thing to say at this moment.
“I shouldn’t have you on the ground like this,” Axel said, and he immediately rose, leaving her feeling completely empty. He stepped back, leaving her lying there for a moment, and she was too stunned to even think about moving. Finally, almost as an afterthought, he moved back toward her and reached out a hand.
Without her permission, he tugged her up. She was desperately fighting tears, and more than anything she needed to get away and lick her wounds.
“We really need to get you home. Why don’t you let me drive you?” he offered again, his voice so cool, so impersonal.
“I appreciate it, Axel, but I really need my car,” she said as she began moving toward it, surprised her legs were even carrying her.
“If you insist, then I’ll follow you home,” he said as he moved toward her car and opened the driver’s door. A blast of heat shot out toward them, but she didn’t think anything was going to warm her up at this point.
Without another word, Axel helped her into her car, then jogged back to his SUV. The drive home took a half hour where normally it took her fifteen minutes, and she wasn’t sure how she managed it without shedding a single tear, but she did.
Pulling into the driveway, she looked over to see Axel parked at the curb, but he wasn’t leaving his car. She carefully walked up the path and opened her door, and then the first tear fell when he drove off.
It appeared she’d given her heart to the wrong man again.
For the first time Ella could remember, she felt alone while sitting in a room full of her crazy family members. Yes, they were crazy, and yes, they were meddling, but they were hers through good and bad, and she loved each and every one of them.
But right now, her aunt Maggie was preparing their Thanksgiving meal with the help of her friends, the house was bustling with activity, and Ella had nothing to be thankful for.
Yes, she had a great life, with a great home, and friends, and family, but she hadn’t seen Axel in a week—an entire week! Hadn’t heard from him, hadn’t seen him, didn’t even know if he was still in town.
There was no way she was going to call him. She’d already made a fool of herself by telling him she loved him in a moment of weakness. She couldn’t make things worse by begging him to please come back to her. She’d picked up her phone a hundred times, only to put it back down. She couldn’t take back the words. And, she realized, she didn’t want to.
She loved him. There was no way she could explain how or when it happened. All she knew for sure was that to live each day without him hurt her heart, made her feel as if she was slowly dying inside. But she was going to have to figure it out, because he was gone, and it didn’t appear as if he was coming back.
Ella tried to enjoy the conversations around her, tried to join in when others laughed, but she felt like an empty shell. She might be fooling some of her family members, but her cousin Bryson didn’t appear to be buying it. Maybe because his buddy Axel had called him and told him that his cousin was a clingy freak.
Not able to sit in the living room any longer, she moved to the sunporch and gazed out at the snow-covered pasture. She’d been lucky to grow up in a small town in Montana. Sure, she lived in the city now, but home was only a couple of hours away, and she came as often as she could. The city could never make her feel as alive as the fresh mountain air did.
“You don’t seem to be in the holiday spirit this year, cuz.” Pasting on her best smile, Ella turned and looked at Bryson as he joined her on the sunporch.
“I’m happy to be here. Just a lot going on at work,” she lied, not wanting to ruin anyone else’s fun.
“You know you’re not fooling anyone here, especially those of us who have been lucky enough to fall in love,” he said as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in for a hug.
“I think I’m doing a pretty good job.” There was no way she was going to ask him about Axel, no freaking way.
“He’s not a bad guy. And from the conversations I’ve had with him, I think he’s just as smitten with you as you are with him.” Ella didn’t even attempt to ask her cousin who he was talking about.
“Let’s not worry about anything right now. Your mother is preparing a delicious meal, and I’m looking forward to our annual snow football game,” she finally said.
“This year you’re going down,” he said as he released her. “I’ll give you a few minutes alone.”
“Thanks, Bryson.”
He left and she sat down on the window seat and continued gazing out at the lawn as she watched several of her family members slip outside and begin pummeling each other with snowballs. That, more than anything, brought her closer to tears.
Would she have slipped and told Axel she loved him if they hadn’t been caught up in the moment? Maybe not right then, but it would have eventually come out. She loved him, and there was nothing she could do to change that.
“You know, a person has to be pretty brave to face this family.”
Ella’s body tensed at the familiar voice. For a brief moment, she thought she was wanting to hear it so badly that she’d imagined it, but then she turned and there he was, looking beautiful, standing in front of her, his cheeks glowing, his eyes shining, his lips turned up in a slight smile.
“Axel, what are you doing here?” There were so many things she wanted to say to him, and those were the words that popped from her mouth. What was wrong with her?
“Bryson invited me, promised me this was the only place to be for Thanksgiving,” he said as he slowly moved forward.
“Oh.” Crushed, she tried her best not to let it show how much his words were killing her. He wasn’t there for her, he was there for his best friend. Of course he was. Why would she think differently when he hadn’t bothered to speak to her for an entire week?
“The other day in the snow, I . . . I ran away,” he said, and she was filled with more confusion.
“It was cold,” she said lamely, trying to give him an excuse.
“That’s not why I ran away, Ella.” His eyes were intense as he moved toward her, then dropped to his knees and grabbed her hands.
The feel of his fingers in hers brought instant tears to her eyes. Would this be the last time she’d be able to touch him?
“I shouldn’t have said what I did. I ruined everything,” she said, trying desperately not to cry, not to make this worse. He was Bryson’s friend. She was bound to see him again and again, even if it wasn’t nearly enough.
“No, what you said was amazing, and it stunned me because in that moment I realized I loved you, too. I can’t go a single hour without thinking of you, or a single day without going through withdrawals from not holding you. I’m independent. I don’t like to be tied down. I like to move around, be where the action is, which I get to do when I’m assigned cases. I didn’t want this, any of this, but then I met you, and ever since I can’t seem to think straight and it scares the hell out of me,” he said, his words almost angry.
“I . . . I don’t understand,” Ella stammered. He’d just said he loved her, hadn’t he? But he didn’t sound like a man telling a woman he loved her. “You love me?”
“See, I’m screwing this all up. I’ve said the words out loud a thousand times over the last week, driven past your house, picked up the phone, started to dial, and then hung it back up. I’m not good enough for you. I’m not a great guy. I don’t know how to do this, but I don’t know how to live without you.”
He gripped her fingers and looked into her eyes and all of Ella’s fear disappeared. He was just as frightened as she was and so lost and confused that it grounded her, made her heart swell with even more love for this man she hadn’t wanted to know, and whom she now didn’t want to live without.
“Love is kind of a scary thing,” she whispered.
“I know I’m all wrong for you, and I know you’d be a fool to give me a chance, but Ella, I can promise you, if you do give me a chance, that no one will love you more than I do. No one will treat you better. I tried to stay away, thought it would be better for you, but I’m selfish, because I can’t do it. I can’t go one more day without telling you how I feel, without begging you to accept me, faults and all.”
“Oh, you foolish, foolish man. It’s me who can’t live without you, and it’s me who’s erratic, and complicated, and stubborn, and irrational, and not good enough for you. But maybe, just maybe, we can both love each other so much that our faults won’t matter. I love you, Axel Carlson, and this week has been the worst of my life, because after having you as a part of my life, I don’t know how to live it anymore without you.”
He was silent as she caressed the side of his face and poured her heart out to him. Then it was her turn to be speechless as with trembling fingers he reached into his coat and pulled out a small black box.
“I know this has been a whirlwind romance, and I know we both fought it until the end, but Ella Brooks, if you accept my love, accept that I’ll treat you like a princess for the rest of your life, nothing would make me happier than for you to become my wife.”
“Yes, Axel. I want nothing more than to be yours forever.”
He slipped the ring on her finger and then pulled her to the floor, wrapping her in his arms as she clung tightly to him, his lips finally seeking hers and sealing their promises to each other.
She didn’t know how long they stayed in each other’s arms before she noticed the cheering and clapping. They both turned to find the doorway filled with her nosy family members.
“Congratulations, darling! Now we really have something to be thankful for,” her aunt Maggie said with a big grin.
And then the celebrating began, and it surely wouldn’t end for quite some time.
EPILOGUE
“Isn’t it customary for the best man to ask the maid of honor for a dance?”
Maycie turned to find the very sexy friend of Axel’s, Maverick Black, whom she’d been eyeing ever since the wedding rehearsals had begun. “You aren’t the best man, and Ella had two maids of honor,” she pointed out.
“Technicalities. Dance with me,” Maverick said as he took her hand, taking the choice away from her.
“I don’t find men who refuse to take no for an answer attractive,” she pointed out, though she did find herself on the dance floor.
“I didn’t hear the word no,” he said as he twirled her around.
“Well, it was implied,” she said.
“You’re free to pull away at any moment,” he said, his sharp blue eyes nearly piercing her.
“I don’t want to cause a scene at my best friend’s wedding.” That was a good enough excuse for her to stay in this intriguing man’s arms.
“I want to take you somewhere quiet and see how long it would take to have those lips moaning instead of complaining,” he said, his look intense.
“That was bold.” What was strange for her were the sensations zipping through her.
“I’m a man who knows what I want, and I’m not afraid to ask for it,” he said. She hadn’t even realized he’d backed her into the corner of the dance floor, in a nice, private little alcove.
“Well, you can’t have me,” she said, but the huskiness to her tone contradicted her words.
“The night’s still young,” he said, right before he captured her mouth, rendering her speechless for probably the first time in her life.
Can't get enough of Melody Anne's Unexpected Hero series?
Be sure to read her novella in the winter anthology, Baby, It's Cold Outside. On sale now!
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Jackson Whitman doesn’t believe in love, or commitment, or forever—not since he lost his wife and daughter. But the beautiful woman sitting next to him at the gate has him rethinking that position. Can he convince her to be his for the night? Or will she convince him to be hers for a lifetime?
Her Unexpected Hero
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Hawk's sister, Taylor Winchester, needs some R&R after her accident, so he sends her up to his cabin to get away from it all. But she can't escape Travis, her brother's best friend who already claimed the cabin for some peace and quiet of his own.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times bestselling author MELODY ANNE’s new Unexpected Heroes series for Pocket Books is a spin-off of her beloved and hugely popular Billionaire Bachelors books. She is also the author of the Surrender and Baby for the Billionaire series, as well as Rise of the Dark Angel, a paranormal collection for young adults. Since Melody began her independent publishing career in 2011, she has sold more than four million copies of her books. She lives in a small town in the Pacific Northwest, where she is hard at work writing more irresi
stible stories for her fans. Visit MelodyAnne.com for more.
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Also available from Melody Anne and Pocket Books
Her Hometown Hero
Who I Am with You
Her Unexpected Hero
“Safe in His Arms” in Baby, It’s Cold Outside
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Melody Anne Null
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First Pocket Star Books ebook edition September 2015
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