Page 2 of Mountain Man Santa

“Good,” he growls deep in his throat, threading his fingers through my hair. “Because thoughts of you kept me up most of the night, baby girl.” He presses his body against mine, and my heart races as I savor his heat and firmness.

I wrap my arms around his neck, and my lips find his before guilt stabs me. Pulling back, I say, “What are we doing, Jerr?” His eyes look molten, his kissable lips mere inches from mine, and his hot breath teasing my cheeks and lips. Trying to clear my head, I remind him, “Didn’t we agree to keep the kissing off the clock? So, we don’t complicate things...”

“Quit being so fucking irresistible then.” He presses his pelvis into me, desire written all over his face. The feel of his arousal against my stomach puts an instant, painful pulse at the top of my legs. “Besides, you’re on break, so technically not on the clock,” he replies, brushing his mouth over mine again.

My lips part as he tenderly feathers over my mouth, and he sweeps his tongue into me, claiming me passionately. Desire climbs into my throat until I can barely breathe, let alone talk. Bringing his mouth to my ear, he adds flirtatiously, “Don’t worry. I’ll put in a good word with your boss.”

Stepping back, the chef grabs my hand, retrieving his permanent marker. I giggle, watching as he pens a small heart with a tail on the inside of my wrist.

Clearing my throat, I ask, “What does that mean?”

“Let me show you,” he says, reaching for my left hand. “The first line is an ‘S’ for Stacey, and the second is an upside ‘J’ without the cross on top.” As he explains, he pens a second on the inside of my left wrist. His face reddens as he stares deeply into my eyes. “It’s my way of letting the world know you’re mine without you freaking out about it.”

My heart melts as the meaning of his words, and the tenderness in his eyes, infuse me with warmth. As much as I want to relish this intimacy with him, what we’re doing has to stop…before it gets truly out of control. I remind breathlessly, “But I’m not yours, Jerry.”

“I want you to be,” he says gruffly, pressing me back against the wall and staring intensely into my eyes.

“You have the restaurant to run and new employees to train, and honestly, fraternizing never really works well for small businesses. Or large ones, for that matter.”

“Are you always this much of a worry wart, baby girl?”

I raise an eyebrow, trying to think straight with his hard, muscular physique fitted against my soft, yielding curves. “What do you expect, considering my dad’s a former sheriff’s deputy and all three of my brothers are in law enforcement? I was raised to play it by the book.”

He blinks, his face going blank. “Really? All in law enforcement?”

“Yep,” I confirm proudly. “Not only has every male in my immediate family publicly served in some shape or another, but three generations of Sutherlands acted as the sheriff of Calaveras County. It’s a pretty cool family history.”

“I’ll bet,” he says, knitting his brows. “How come I didn’t know about this before?” He steps back a couple of strides, turning to lean against his office desk.

I shrug. “We’ve never really talked about our families or private lives yet.”

He grimaces.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, side-eyeing him.

“Nothing. I’m just wondering what else I don’t know about you. Are you married?” He makes a show of looking for a ring to no avail.

I shake my head, laughing.

“Any children I don’t know about?”

“No.”

“Hmm…maybe a boyfriend who doesn’t know we’ve been smooching?”

“Elliott and I broke up for good. That will never change. Ever. Besides, I would never do that to you or anybody else because I’m no cheater.”

“Good,” he says with a nod. “Because if there’s one thing I absolutely can’t stand, it’s cheating.”

“Are there any other dealbreakers I should know about, Boss?” I ask, flipping the questions back on him.

“There are a couple. But as your by-the-book personality pointed out a few moments ago, we’re on the clock. So, that’s a conversation for another time.”

Chapter

Two

JERRY

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