Page 45 of A Christmas Mystery

“Of course I did.” He cups one of my cheeks with his warm hand. “Who wouldn’t?”

“Well, in my experience, most men think I’m kind of weird and eccentric.”

“Only if they’re boring buffoons with no imagination.”

That makes me giggle. I bury my face in his sweater, and he wraps both arms around me in a hug. He doesn’t let go, so I adjust to get more comfortable, nudging him until he stretches his legs out the length of the couch. We end up snuggled together like that night we fell asleep with me basically lying on top of him.

It’s more comforting than sexy, although I’m quite sure it wouldn’t take much for me get going in that direction.

He’s playing with my hair again, and I’m nuzzling the curve between his neck and shoulder. I like the scratchy texture of his jaw. I like the firm contours of his arms under his clothes. I like how much bigger he feels than me.

“We can do some more investigating this week if you want,” Theo murmurs after a few more minutes of cuddling.

“What?” I’ve been focused so much on him I don’t immediately know what he’s talking about.

“Your list? Of potential pen pals? You do want to keep solving your mystery, don’t you?”

I lift my head. Meet his eyes even though I warm with self-consciousness. “I... don’t know.”

“You don’t want to?”

I clear my throat. “I... I told him...” I trail off not because I need to keep this private but because I’m not sure how Theo is going to react. Maybe it will be too much. Too serious this early in our developing relationship.

Guys get scared off easily. At least in my experience.

And I really don’t want to scare Theo off.

“What did you tell him, Maya?” He brushes his knuckles along my cheekbone very gently. “You can tell me.”

“This morning I told him I needed to... to pull back. On our messages. It didn’t feel right. To keep talking to him when... when...”

“Because of me?” he murmurs thickly.

I nod, still propping myself above him so I can see his face. “I’m not assuming anything! I know we’re still figuring things out. But it didn’t feel right to...”

His mouth softens into a smile. “I understand. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For taking us seriously. I was hoping you would.” He raises his other arm so he can hold my head in both his hands. “Because I’m as serious about you as I can get.”

The wave of pleasure and security that washes over me is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It fills me. Consumes me. I lower my face so I can kiss him, and it gets hot and heavy almost immediately as I deepen the kiss with my tongue and rub my lower body against his.

I’m into it with my heart as much as my body, and the emotions grow with my physical arousal. I’m eager and passionate as I give myself over to the kiss, and I know Theo is with me. His body gets hot. I can feel a bulge at the front of his jeans as he grows erect. His hands are moving all over my body, sliding from my head to my back to my bottom. I’m wearing leggings with a loose tunic top, so there’s only thin fabric between his hands and my skin.

Everywhere he touches burns with pleasure. I keep making hungry sounds as we kiss that would be embarrassing if I could think of such things at the moment.

He’s got his hands cupped around the curve where my butt meets the back of my thighs, and he’s holding it possessively as he gives a soft, guttural moan. I push up his sweater and T-shirt so I can feel his abdomen beneath it. His stomach isn’t perfectly flat, and I love it. Slightly soft. Real and natural and human.

I’m getting so excited that I can’t help but explore even farther. I reach between our bodies so I can feel the front of his jeans. Apply pressure to the bulge there.

He grunts and arches up slightly. Then his hold on me shifts and he gently eases me up, breaking the kiss. “Maya. Maya, hold on a minute.”

The abrupt end to the embrace is like a blow. I blink and pant and try to make my mind work. “You don’t want me like that?”

“Of course I want you like that!” His face twists in obvious effort to restrain himself. “Maya, sweetheart, I’m dying to be with you like that. But... But maybe we should take it a little slower.”

I’ve somehow ended up between his legs. I shift my knees on the sofa to withdraw a few inches so I’m not resting my weight against his groin. “You want to go slow?”

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