Page 12 of Starstruck with the Krampus

He leans in so close, his breath brushes over my ear, and whispers, “I’m imagining how good your red mouth will look stretched around my cock.”

“Oh!” I sway in place, a bolt of lust slamming through me. Then I smack his chest lightly. “You can’t say things like this in here. We can’t do that in my boss’ guest bedroom.”

He blinks and straightens, then glances around as if this is the first time he’s noticed the space. I take the moment to drag in a breath, but all I get is a whiff of his delicious minty scent.

“You’re right,” he says and draws away from me. He reaches into his pocket and slips his ring back on his thumb. His glamoursnaps into place, and here is the man I fell so hard for, human-but-not, handsome as sin.

“I’m sorry. I’m taking you home.”

I blink, surprised at the sudden change. “What’s wrong?”

He’s already moving toward the door. “That bastard grabbed you, and I’m trying to seduce you in the same house. It’s insensitive.”

“Hey. Stop. It’s all right.” I catch him by his hand and tug him back toward me lightly. “I mean, it’snot. If you hadn’t come, I would have had to kick the asshole in the balls and I’d not only lose my job but probably get slapped with assault charges myself because I couldn’t very well tell the cops he tried to burn my wrist with his hand.”

His eyebrows snap together. “Hewhat?” He snatches up my hand and checks the reddened skin on my inner wrist. “I’m going to kill him. Rip out his worthless guts and set them on fire. See how he likes it if someone burnshim.”

“Whoa.” I twist my hand so I’m holding his and press it between my palms. “Calm down. It’s fine. Nothing a little salve won’t fix. No guts, please.”

He stares down at me a moment longer, then suddenly wraps me in a tight embrace and buries his nose in my hair. It must be uncomfortable for him because he’s so much taller than me, but he sniffs at me deeply, then slowly relaxes. First, his fingers loosen, then his muscles unclench one by one, as if he’s consciously making an effort.

“You all right?” I ask, my voice muffled by his shirt.

He lets out a rumbling sigh. “Your scent relaxes me. If I could, I would wear it always.”

My heart does a stupid hop at his words. “You can do that,” I whisper back. “But do you think you could wait half an hour? I should make an appearance at the party.”

Now he’s growling again, so I squeeze him tighter until he stops.

“I need this job,” I explain. “I need a way to pay my rent while I actively search for a new opening for a graphic designer.”

There’s no way I want to keep working for Mr. Webber now that he has willingly thrown me in the path of his sadistic son. I wonder if daddy dearest knows about his son’s abhorrent behavior.

“You could move in with me and save your money,” Dominic suggests.

I draw back from him to look him in the eyes. They’re glittering with gold and completely serious. His somber expression sends a jolt of something through me—it’s more than lust, this thing between us. More than physical attraction, though there’s a heavy dose of that, of course. He’s the most gorgeous man—or Krampus—that I’ve ever met, and I want him so much, it’s ridiculous. But that doesn’t mean I can move into his house after sharing one hot kiss.

I lift my eyebrow. “I think my mother would disown me if I did that before I brought you home for Sunday dinner.” Then I pat his chest, resisting the urge to trace the outlines of his impressive muscles. “Besides, how do you know I don’t have a massive collection of creepy porcelain dolls that I’d need to move to your place?”

He pinches my ass in admonishment. “Brat.” Then he pauses, looking somewhat sheepish. “Would it upset you to know that I…know that you don’t? Have a collection of dolls, that is?”

I squint up at him. “Possibly. Depends on how you know.”

He rubs the back of his neck. “Well, apart from the spying on your darkest thoughts, I’ve been…observing you.”

“In my home?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No, no, I’d never. I mean. I haven’t. But if I saw you in town…at the post office. Or in the shops.”

I think of the maple bacon donut incident and cringe.Of course. If I can sense him, if I’ve developed a Koch-radar… “You have a Gianna-radar?”

He laughs. “You could call it that.”

“Ugh.” I palm my forehead. “Sorry for hiding from you that day.”

He shakes his head. “No apology needed. I have my glamour to hide my bad days from the world, but you don’t.” He touches my cheek again. “The offer stands. But maybe we’ll start with a visit? Tonight?”

He seems so hopeful, I have to grin. The embarrassment at knowing he saw me hide behind a van disappears in light of his obvious excitement.

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