Page 5 of Mistletoe Mischief

For the life of him though, he couldn’t tell if she was did it because she wanted to or because she felt sorry for him. He felt like they’d clicked in the bar, but it had been so long since he’d had any real interaction with women.

Almost all of his buddies around him had found that significant other. Was hehopingthere was more to this attraction?

The first woman he’d been with after he’d gotten home from surgical rehab had felt sorry for him. At the time he’d been so hard up for sex and confirmation that he could still perform like a man, he hadn’t cared. He’d left his shirt on and pounded her into orgasm after orgasm in the dark of the room. Later, thinking back on his actions, he decided he’d been motivated to prove to her how much of a man he was, even with only one arm. He’d seen the shiver go through her body, though, when he’d touched her with his prosthetic. And it hadn’t been a good shiver.

That had been several years ago, and he’d vowed not to be with another woman until he felt like she was the right one. The one woman who’d seehim, Roger, not just the remains of his injuries.

With a sinking heart, he felt like the right one just drove out of the parking lot and he had let get go.

Tonight, Cassandra had shined a light into his barren heart. She’d teased him and enticed him into conversation, a little flirting even, and seemed to be a good-hearted soul. Her angel’s wings might be a little tattered, but she was stronger for it, and continued to move forward in life. He admired that. He admiredher. He didn’t want this interaction with the rusty side of his social skills to make her stumble on the path to reaching her goals.

With a wince, he headed to his Jeep. Kicking it into four-wheel drive he followed the path she’d left in the snow. It wasn’t long until he caught up with her. She was driving very carefully along the streets, leaving herself plenty of braking room, but she was still skidding a little. The car would jerk occasionally on ice, then level out. In all honesty, though, she was driving like she actually had a brain in her head compared to the rest of the idiots out here. The snow hadn’t been coming down long, but there were already vehicles in ditches.

When she pulled up in front of a cookie cutter apartment block, he parked right behind her. Then he hesitated, gripping the steering wheel in indecision, he didn’t know what he was going to say, but she needed some kind of explanation for his strange behavior.

Unfortunately, when he climbed out of his Jeep she stood right there waiting for him. “Why the hell are you following me home? Do you think this is the first time I’ve ever driven in snow? I can guarantee you it’s not, I’ve lived in Denver my whole life.”

“I know you can,” he growled. “That’s not why I followed you. I needed to apologize.”

That set her back on her heels. “Oh,” she said quietly, crossing her arms. Her puffy blue coat seemed to make that a little hard to do, but she managed. Her breath huffed out in clouds in the cold air. In the scant light from the parking lot, her eyes seemed red-rimmed and guarded. Cassandra had one of the strongest personalities he’d ever encountered. The thought that he’d upset her didn’t sit well with him. She deserved better.

The snow continued to fall, landing in her curly hair. Roger wanted to reach out and tug at those curls, but in this mood she’d probably slap his hand away.

“I’m sorry I didn’t respond to you the way I should have,” he told her after a few seconds.

She shrugged, burrowing her chin into the collar of the winter coat. “No skin off my nose.”

He sighed. “Are you always this defensive? Why won’t you let me talk?”

Her mouth snapped shut and she cocked her head at him, as if waiting.

“It’s been a very long time since I’ve been on any kind of date,” he told her finally. “Like, years. Years. I guarantee you that I used to be a very different man. You took me by surprise tonight.”

She seemed shocked at the admission. And even though the sentences were disjointed she seemed to understand what he was telling her.

“I’m sorry I rushed you then,” she said softly.

Roger looked out at the night, and the brightly twinkling Christmas lights around them. They were all alone on the street and the sounds of passing traffic were muffled. Snow covered the streets and houses and cars. Roger suddenly had a childhood memory of waking up and finding out that school had been cancelled. Time was passing, and he’d not realized how fast until tonight.

“I’m kind of glad you rushed me, actually,” he told her. “I think I needed it.”

He turned back to her and dared to take a step closer. “Did you kiss me because you felt sorry for me?”

Her face clouded with anger and impatience. “What?”

He held up his hand. “Never mind. Your response tells me what I wanted to know. I just don’t want to be some man you think needs to be pitied and coddled.”

Cassandra took a deep breath and glanced down at her feet. When she finally looked back up at him, there were tears glittering in her eyes, but her expression told him that she didn’t want pity either. “You know, we’re both defensive and cautious. For a minute I dared to hope that you were the nice, normal kind of guy I’ve always been looking for. I grew up on the streets, literally, I mean. Everything I have, I’ve worked my ass off for. But I got myself away from everything bad. Or at least, I’ve tried my damnedest to. Seems like the bad finds me, whether I want it to or not. You’re the first guy that doesn’t feel bad to me.”

Roger gave her a crooked smile, in spite of the wild emotions roiling up in his heart. “I’m a man, Cassandra. I’m liable to mess up here and there, but you never have to worry about your safety with me. I was raised better than that. My parents made sure to teach me to be a man that respects women, and I can tell you that I respecteverythingabout you so far.”

Her throat tightened with emotion and her eyes teared up, but she didn’t let them fall. Roger reached out and brushed his thumbs down her cheeks. “I want another chance to kiss you, Cassandra. Can I do that?”

After a long, drawn out moment, she nodded, and he didn’t give her a chance to change her mind. Leaning down, his heart racing, he fit his lips to hers. He tasted the tears she finally let fall, and it made him sad, even as he thrilled to her touch. If he had it in his power, he wanted to make the sadness weighing both of them down go away.

Cassandra leaned into him and reached up to cup his face. And when he drew back enough to look at her, she smiled at him, her unique eyes now clear and determined. “I don’t know if it’s because of the Christmas spirit or what, but I want you to come home with me. Even if we just sit on the couch and talk, I don’t care. I just don’t want to break this spell yet.”

Roger felt the same way. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

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