Give her a guy who could make her laugh, who wanted her to be happy and would do everything he could to make that happen, who could make her tingle right down to her pinky toes and kissed her like he’d never get enough.
She wanted Levi exactly as he was. She didn’t think he was perfect, but she was as interested in his imperfections as she was in everything else.
“There are other ways to keep warm.” She set the Booze down on the coffee table and went to grab a blanket from the seat of the rocking chair.
“I could call Travis,” Levi said. Though he didn’t sound thrilled with the idea. “Maybe he could come over. Or he could send Tucker. I’m sure they know how to light a fire.”
Kate giggled before she could swallow it. She did refrain from saying, I’m sure they can.
Levi narrowed his eyes anyway.
“Sorry,” she said with a grin. “Seriously. It’s fine. Don’t call anyone. We’ve got blankets and body heat. And Booze. It’s all good.”
He was willing to call in another guy to do something he couldn’t. That lack of ego to give her what he thought she wanted was amazing. How could she not want him? She couldn’t remember another time when someone had been so abouther. Everything growing up had really been about her mom and, at least so far, Kate had consistently chosen men who were pretty into themselves.
Levi got to his feet. “But it’s not perfect.”
Kate turned on the TV, got into the Netflix account and pulled up the movieElf. She stopped it on the opening scene and turned to face him. “It’s not what we planned. But I’m learning that sometimes the stuff we don’t planisperfect.”
It took a second, but finally he smiled and she could tell he’d really heard her. “Okay.”
“And we’ll be plenty warm, because we’re not just going to be watchingElf.”
“We’re not?”
“No.” She shook her head and took a step closer to him. “We’re playing a game.”
His eyes darkened slightly and he took a step toward her too. “A game?”
She nodded. “It’s called stripElf.”
Chapter Seven
Levi thoughtabout her answer for all of one second. “I love this game.” He came closer to her and Kate had to tip her head back to look up at him.
She laughed. “Want to know the rules?”
“If it results you in fewer clothes, then it doesn’t matter.”
His voice alone was warming her right up. That low, husky tone made little flares of heat dance along her nerves from head to toe.
“Every time someone in the movie says Santa, I take something off. Every time someone says Christmas, you take something off.”
“Kate,” Levi said, low and husky and hot.
“Yeah?”
“Push play.”
She did.
Within only a few scenes of the movie, they were both down to their underwear and were a third of the way through the jar of cranberry Booze.
Kate didn’t know what was in the stuff for sure, but every drink was like swallowing cranberry-flavored liquid fire.
And still she found herself reaching for the jar again and again.
Levi reached over and hit pause on the movie as Santa was again uttered. It was time for Kate’s bra to come off.