Page 62 of Yuletide Acres

Dylan chuckles, pulling me to him for a kiss. “I never called you that. It was a crazy hippie. No mention of being a heathen.”

“Ass,” I giggle, giving his chest a smack.

He tips my chin up to meet his gaze. “I missed you every day. I have never felt this way about another woman. But I thought it wasn’t practical. Didn’t make sense. It was the kind of passion a man got lost in. So, I buried it, along with the idea of you. I thought I was doing fine until I walked into your store. I damn near fell down when you stepped from behind that curtain. There you stood, even more vibrant. More beautiful. Still a free-spirited smart ass. But it reminded me of how I was only half alive. How different I was from the man that you loved.”

My heart stills at his admission. Somehow, he intrinsically knew that I needed to hear them. “Not so different, Dylan. But, is that why you were so terrible to me in the beginning?”

“Yeah. You reminded me of everything I no longer was. Everything I lost when I ran home. I had to fight to keep you away from me. My heart.”

“How’s that working out for you?”

Dylan chuckles, his hands drifting along my body. “I didn’t stand a chance in hell. The second I saw you, that cold ember flamed back to life. All I wanted was to grab you and kiss you and make you mine.”

“And now?”

He kisses me, slow and deep, his fingers gripping the back of my neck. “You’ve always been mine, Poppy. But, I won’t let you go again.”

“Promise?” I ask, holding up my pinky. “I’m giving you one more chance to redeem yourself. Your last two pinky promises went terribly wrong.”

His finger wraps around mine as he presses his lips to my skin. “I swear. If you give me one more chance, I’ll spend my life proving it to you.”

With a giggle, I sit up, straddling his waist, his erection pressing against me. “I think, judging by our lack of clothes and recent activity, that you’re well on your way.”

“Let me reiterate a few points,” Dylan breathes, wrapping his hands round my hips and sliding inside me. “Just to ensure that we’re on the same page.”

“I think I’m going to like this refresher course,” I smile against his mouth as he flips me onto my back, taking control of the situation. And my heart.

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