Page 19 of Candy Canes & Peppermint Kisses

Big hands, strong thighs. And no doubt a huge....

God, the way that man looked at me, his eyes raking me up and down. I shivered, not sure why my thoughts instantly went from the outfit to the stranger.

Who was he?

Although I lived in Mistletoe my entire life, it wasn’t like I knew every single resident. I kept to myself, my days filled with working at the library, or volunteering at the florist shop, where they’d put together bouquets that were delivered to the local nursing home. I had maybe a couple of friends, but they were not in town anymore, still in college working on their graduate education.

I breathed out and told myself to get my shit together, to get out of this ridiculous costume and head back out there. I had a shift at the library, and right now, the last thing I wanted to do was let my libido take control. Not that I’d ever had it do that in my entire life. Heck, I’d never really felt attraction for anyone, never needed to give myself over to a man.

Until him.

At twenty-one, I was perfectly content to be classified as a prude. I also had no problem being a virgin. I’d only ever been sloppy kissed once in high school, which had been just as awkward and disgusting as it sounded. I guess it left such a gross taste in my mouth— figuratively and literally—I had never wanted to try it again.

So yeah, I was inexperienced in all that. But the way he looked at me made me want to be so experienced... with him.

Just a look from him had set fire to my skin, had my flesh tightening, and had goose bumps forming all over my arms and legs.

I looked down, and yup, sure enough, my nipples were obscenely poking through the red velvet of the outfit. I groaned internally and made quick work of changing, hanging it back up on the rack, and then smoothing my hands down my clothes.

And the whole time my heart was racing as I pictured opening that door and Mr. Oh So Sexy standing on the other side... waiting for me.

God, I was certifiably insane.

I stood by the door for a moment, breathing hard, afraid to open it, because my brain would short circuit again and my body would do something I wasn’t familiar with. But that’s not the only reason I was scared. A part of me worried he’d be gone. The very thought of not knowing who he was, of not learning more about him... of not being close with him, left this strange feeling in my body. It was a sensation I didn’t care for one bit.

I opened the door, and I swore my heart froze, and I held my breath as I looked in the spot he’d been standing before I all but ran away. Disappointment filled me, as the area was empty. No big, burly lumberjack-looking guy taking up residence anymore.

I spied Wellsie off to the side, and for a second, the massive man she was with had my heart jackhammering in my chest. But I realized it was just Beau Hollis, owner of Beau’s Bakery in town. Nowthatbusiness I was very familiar with. Who wouldn’t be intimate with all those deliciously sugary sweet and decadent baked goods?

I was about to continue my search, when I felt my brows lower as I stared at Beau. My sister was talking to someone, but the baker’s focus was on my sister and my sister alone. He was… entranced by her. And Wellsie was clearly oblivious to the way the man watched her. Hell, I could feel his attraction with Wellsie all the way from here.

I shook my head. That was another story to tell, and not something I was going to worry about.

Besides, Beau most definitely wasn’t the man on my mind. I swung my head in the opposite direction; I had no shame as I sought the stranger out.

But my eyes didn’t take in the crowd that filled the room in Morton’s. No, right in my line of vision was a very wide and broad masculine chest. My throat tightened as I craned my head back to be able to look into the face of the owner of said chest. And boy did I have to tilt back. His body went on and on and on.

And then I was staring into a set of dark-green eyes. My breath caught as I really saw the man right in front of me. The male prowess that surrounded him was enough to have the oxygen leaving any female.

Involuntarily, I took a step back as if my body knew I needed to tread carefully, knowing that being this close to him was having effects on me in more ways than one. My pulse had increased. My nipples tingled and hardened, and my pussy… my pussy was wetter than the fucking Pacific Ocean.

We said nothing to each other, but the way we stared at each other was intense and spoke volumes without a single word being uttered.

His hair was dark and short, the strands a little bit disheveled on top of his head, as if he ran his fingers through it. And all I saw was him, with the sheer size of him blocking out everything else.

I licked my lips, this anticipation and excitement moving through me. I’d wanted to lay eyes on him again; at the very prospect that I wouldn’t, disappointment and an almost painful sensation had filled me.

But here he was, standing just a few feet from me, and my mouth wouldn’t work. Hell, my brain wasn’t even functioning at the moment.

“Blythe.” The way he said my name was sure and confident. Although I didn’t know this man, he clearly knew me.

I nodded slowly, my hands working up and down my denim-clad thighs. “Do I know you?” My voice was soft and low, but there was no mistaking the heated quality to it. And if I heard it, surely he could as well.

“Not yet, you don’t,” he said with such a purpose that my heart skipped a beat in my chest. “But you will.”

The amount of certainty in his voice could have been considered arrogant, but not the cocky kind. It was the kind that told me this man was used to getting what he wanted. And he got what he wanted by working hard for it.

“Is that right?” I’d meant to have a sassy tone, but the words came out all breathy, my statement threading through the air between us.

---