Page 42 of A Christmas Mystery

Theo offers me his arm as we step down a particularly high curb, and then he doesn’t pull it away, so we end up walking with my hand hooked on his arm.

I like that too.

I like everything about this evening, including his ludicrous macho display on the treadmills.

He’s not normally that way, so he never would have done it unless he’d felt somehow like Greg might be a threat.

Exactly the way I felt with Deanna.

We wander for an hour, talking occasionally but about nothing deep or serious. It’s almost ten thirty when we finally return to the car.

He comes with me to open the passenger door for me. Then he stands right in front of me, gazing down.

It’s dark, but I can see his face in the streetlights. His expression is focused, as it usually is. But also something like... tender.

I swallow hard.

“Maya,” he murmurs.

A shiver runs down my spine. “Y-yes.”

He tilts his head down. “Maya.”

“Yes.”

“Tell me no,” he says very softly, leaning farther until his mouth is only an inch away from mine.

“Yes,” I whisper, stretching up toward him.

I can’t help it. I want this—him—so much.

He closes the distance between us, brushing his lips against mine very gently. It evokes such a shudder of pleasure inside me that I make a little sound and reach up to grab his shoulders.

He draws back, looks at me, then kisses me again. Deeper and more intentional this time.

It feels so good, so much like everything I want, that I grab for it eagerly. I wind my arms around his neck and kiss him back with shameless enthusiasm. Our lips move together. Then I slide my tongue into his mouth so I can play with his. I’m filled with so many sensations that I can’t help pressing the whole length of my body against his so I can feel all of him I possibly can.

After a few minutes, Theo starts smiling into the kiss.

“What?” I ask, pressing a few last kisses against his mouth before I pull back.

“What, what?”

“You were smiling.”

“I was happy to be kissing you.”

“Oh.” I drop my eyes but have to slant them up again to check his expression.

He’s still warm and smiling and tender—everything Theo has always been but I never recognized before.

“I don’t.... I don’t know what it means,” I say, suddenly getting nervous.

“You don’t have to know. It was a kiss. That’s all it has to be.” He sounds casual, and he still looks happy, so there’s no way to believe he’s disappointed by what I told him.

So I smile back. Then I climb into the passenger seat and let him close the door for me.

He drives me back home, and he thanks me for the evening. He gives me a short, sweet kiss at my door, but he doesn’t ask to come in, so I don’t have to decide on whether or not I want that.

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