Page 36 of In Love with a Ranger

“Yeah?”

“Will you kiss me and pretend we are more than friends for a moment?” she whispered, looking up at him… and nearly buckled at the emotion in his gaze. Neither moved, and time seemed to tick by as he stood there looking at her, his jaw flexing as he swallowed.

Nervously, she started to panic because he was so silent. She certainly didn’t want to pressure him into something he didn’t want to do – and if he did, she wanted him to be just as invested in this as her. She was crushing hard on her wounded warrior.

“It’s okay,” she began, withdrawing – only to have him pull her back into his arms roughly as he looked at her. When he spoke, his voice was gruff and trembled as he spoke the words she longed to hear.

“I don’t think I have to pretend very hard.”

Unable to look away, she just stared at him. Every hope within her naïve little heart was glowing brightly like the tip of a firecracker sparkler, praying that he was saying what she thought he was implying. Maybe this was actually mutual between them?

“I don’t have to pretend either,” Christina whispered as he leaned down to kiss her. She was already leaning up onto her toes, moving into the space between them, as his lips met hers. Just as she was threading her fingers into his hair – he pulled away, breathless.

“I’m sorry…”

“What?”

“I did that w-wrong,” he stammered, hurriedly touching her cheek and then putting his face in hers, practically giving her an Eskimo kiss. “I forgot to do the stuff you liked and… oh heck,” he muttered, crushing her to him as he kissed her passionately.

And she was here for it!

Gideon’s lips were so warm, so possessive, yet his hold, his kiss was as gentle as any lover you would imagine in the pages of a romance book. His arms were warm bands around her, holding her close, and his taste was something she would never forget or get tired of. They stood there, holding each other and kissing, until the kettle began to whistle loudly on the opposite side of the wall.

He broke the kiss, chuckling softly as he tenderly rubbed his nose against hers again.

“Tea is ready… and so is your bath.”

“I can skip it,” she whispered and heard his heavy sigh as he backed away, looking at her regretfully.

“I think I need to cool down, so it’s just a kiss between us this evening. You soak in your bath, and I’ll let the tea steep.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I think I’m going to go do a belly flop in the snow, buck naked, so I can cool down,” he chuckled, touching his lips and smiling. “That’s probably the best thing ever, and I could really get used to that.”

“Then maybe we can make it a habit daily.”

“Rules of a happy marriage?”

“Something like that,” she whispered, treasuring this interaction between them as they shared a smile.

“Enjoy your bath.”

“Enjoy your belly flop,” she laughed softly, meeting his gaze as he backed out of the bathroom, leaving her there alone, and dropping the sheet to separate the two of them.

She stood there listening as his footsteps moved to the kitchenette, and then across the room. Covering her mouth, she listened as the front door opened. She heard Gideon curse softly under his breath, making a slight keening noise at the cold temperatures and heard a brief, muffled shout – even from inside the cabin.

Christina couldn’t help it - she laughed.

Gideon was so open with her, so sweet and forthright, that she didn’t hesitate in shedding her clothing and slipping into the warm, bubble bath. He was making her feel completely spoiled and loving every moment of it.

Touching the bubbles, she laid her head back on the slipper tub and sighed. Was this what it was like to fall in love with someone? Could she be so lucky to have found that special person for her out here? As wary or skeptical of people as she sometimes was, it was nice to feel free enough to trust him to keep his word. Meeting Daphne had been eye-opening because the woman watched everyone like a hawk – and Lena was the exact opposite, almost too trusting. She wished that she could label herself as ‘somewhat in the middle’ but knew that wasn’t the case.

And Gideon didn’t seem to mind.

Hearing the front door to the cabin open, she hesitated and slipped down further to hide herself in the water and bubbles. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, or so she convinced herself, but there was a draft of cold air that came in with him.

“I’m getting changed,” he called out simply.

---