Page 34 of Candy Canes & Peppermint Kisses

I slowly slipped out of bed, trying to be quiet, not allowing the blankets to rustle too much. I didn’t want to wake him, because I didn’t want to have to face the “morning after" confrontation we’d have.

I’d given this man my virginity after only knowing him for such a short time. Yet it felt right. It felt like I’d been waiting to give him my innocence my entire life. It made absolutely zero sense, but then again, did many things in life?

After I was dressed, I stood there and watched him, knowing I had to get out of here so I could think, so I could be alone and let myself really focus on what I wanted and what I was going to do.

What I want is that man lying in bed. What I want is to wrap my body around his and fall into what this is between us headfirst.

And leaving him seemed—felt—so wrong. And as I walked toward the bedroom door, stopping before I exited so that I could look over my shoulder at him once more, all I felt was longing.

The bed was massive, yet he was so much bigger, seeming to dwarf the California King.

I felt this distress and weight at leaving. All I wanted to do was to let him hold me, to let Logan tell me that I didn’t have to be scared, that this felt just as right for him as it did for me. But my heart was beating too hard, nervousness and the fear of the unknown claiming me too fiercely.

Then reality crashed back into me. I had no car. I’d have to call an Uber, and I prayed he didn’t wake up before the car came. The last thing I wanted was a conversation on why I was sneaking out like a coward.

12

Logan

Ithought about giving her some time, some space, but I was about to tear out of my fucking skin. She left—snuck out this morning—so she was obviously conflicted about what we’d done last night.

But hell, staying away from Blythe seemed wrong at my very core.

I stood by the sliding glass doors that led out to the rear of the property. I could see the pond across the way, the trees surrounding it, the weather cold enough to freeze your balls off. There was a layer of ice over the water, and as much as I tried to clear my mind and tell myself going all caveman on her might have the opposite effect than I wanted, I couldn’t help but let her consume my mind.

I tried to think of how I could make Blythe see she belonged with me.

I stared out the window at the snow, the brightness of the freshly fallen powder almost blinding in its intensity.

I finished off my coffee and took the mug to the sink, rinsing it out before putting it on the strainer. And then I curled my hands around the sink, tightening my fingers around the edge, hanging my head, and closing my eyes.

I breathed in and out slowly, every instinct in my body telling me to go to Blythe. She could run. But there was no way she’d be able to get away from me, not now, and certainly not after what we shared last night.

I knew her name. I knew where she worked. We’d gone over everything last night at dinner. I asked her every conceivable question I could think about, wanting to know every minute detail that made up her life.

And that’s what I was going to do today. I was going to find out where she was, and I was going to make her see she didn’t have to be afraid of what was happening between us. And I assumed that’s why she ran. I knew that was the reason.

She’d bared herself, given herself to me completely last night. I felt it. She’d felt it. And it terrified her.

How could it not? Things had gone from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. But when it felt right, when it felt like we were made for each other, how could either one of us deny it?

13

Blythe

As soon as I’d gotten home—which had been several hours ago—I’d done nothing but lie on the couch with a throw blanket wrapped around my body, a hot mug of tea wedged between my hands, and my thoughts cemented on Logan.

I replayed last night over and over again, this broken record that had done nothing to clear my thoughts and everything to keep my body perpetually hot and bothered. And then I backtracked to the first time I’d seen him and how I felt an instant pull, a sudden attraction that went deeper than physically.

Of course there had been arousal—the kind that made you dizzy and crazy and weak-kneed—but it had been so much more. There had been this recognition as I looked into his green eyes, this feeling that I’d known this man my entire life despite never having seen him before. I felt as if my body had been made for him, as his was made for mine. And that scared the shit out of me.

But I’d gone with it, let my feelings and emotions and arousal take control and forced the reality of the situation to take a backseat. I didn’t regret anything we’d done. Never. In fact, I wanted more.

I set my cup on the coffee table and exhaled, resting my head back on the cushion and closing my eyes. I felt stiff, not just from the “workout” from last night—which had me blushing severely—but because my muscles were tight from stress. I shouldn’t have left him like that. I should have at least said goodbye, that I needed time to think.

I should have told him that I wanted to see where this went.

“You’re such a damn fool,” I whispered to myself, the words moving through the air and hanging as if they refused to give any kind of peace. They were this heavy reminder that I was a grown-ass woman yet was acting like a child. “Just call him, tell him why you left, why you’re afraid.”

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