Page 59 of Candygrams

And he follows me to work, or at least the thought of him does. He haunts my mind all damned day. I don’t even mind when Bonny starts talking about brides’ maid dresses. I find myself singing all the way to the farm. I step through the door and find him back in the kitchen making dinner.

“What are you doing?”

“Making dinner for my lady.” Am I his lady? “I’m going to take care of the chores now so I can come be with you.” He kisses me good enough to knock the breath from me before going out the door and leaving me standing in the kitchen with so many questions and hard nipples.

By the time he comes back in, I’ve changed and started dessert -it’s a pie tonight, it won’t be done for quite some time, but I think I planned it just right for me to pull it out of the oven by the time we've finish dinner.

He comes over and wraps his arms around my waist, “You know,” he snuggles into the hollow between my throat and shoulder causing me to laugh at the tickle it causes, “the whole point of me cooking is so you can rest when you come home.”

I laugh again and meet his eyes, “What can I say? I love to bake.”

“Then, by all means, you go ahead and bake until your little heart is content, angel.”

He turns me in his arms and our lips met, mine clinging to his. When we finally pull apart he runs his tongue over his mouth like he is still trying to taste me. “Mm, sugary. Makes me wonder what else will taste this sweet when I kiss it.”

My mouth falls open and all I can do is follow him over to the table…and think about what would happen if he kissed me in other places!

Chapter Eight

Ander

I wake up and the air around me is so cold I can see my breath fanning out in front of me. My fucking nipples are so hard they could cut a hole through the door or be used as glass breakers. The first thing I do is grab sweatpants and a shirt before I go to the window and look out into the dark night before checking to make sure someone hasn’t opened it recently. Rain is slowly falling on the ground making little rivers all throughout the yard. It just looks fucking cold. Once I find the window secure, I go out into the hall and over to the thermostat on the wall.

As soon as I look at the temp, I know exactly what is wrong. To check I go over to the vent and sure enough it is blowing cold air. It might be making the fucking place colder than it would be if it weren’t on at all. I click the toggle over to the off position and nothing happens. Shit!

“Why’s it so fucking cold?”

I jump when Lilly’s question comes so close to my elbow. She snuck up on me. “Is it cold downstairs too?”

She nods. Fuck! Instead of saying it, I point to the thermostat. The sinking look in Lilly’s eyes makes me want to just pack her up and take her to a hotel for the night. But I don’t think that’s something she will agree to.

“I told Dad it was wonky the last time I had to stay here.”

I fight the urge to drive to wherever Mr. Perkins is right now and choke him with my bare hands and put my mind to a solution that will warm Lilly up the fastest. “Do you have a fireplace?”

She nods. “In the den. It’s the only one.”

“Grab as many blankets as you can find and meet me down there.” Shit, I look at what she is wearing and take off the sweater I pulled on after waking up in the freezing cold. “Put this on and grab those blankets and pillows.”

She starts to refuse but I pull the body-warmed wool over her head and help her put her arms through it. It goes all the way to her knees. The image of her in front of me now makes me want to take care of her even more than before.

“I can grab another one, baby. Go. I’m going to find some wood.”

She nods, “In the barn. We keep some of it there. God, I hope there’s enough.”

“If there isn’t, I’ll find more. Grab those things I told you to find, angel .” I pull her back before she can walk away from me and find her mouth with mine. “That…works better than sweater ever did.”

I give her a wink and turn to find the wood. By the time I come back in with an arm full of wood, she’s made a huge pallet in the floor next to the fireplace. I don’t waste time getting the fire started for us. Once it’s where I want it and I am sure the room is starting to heat up, I go find the fuse that will turn off the unit, so it stops working against us. When I have that all done and an email sent to my assistant to make sure a heating and air technician gets out here as quickly as possible, I finally go back into the den and make my way over to the pile of blankets on the floor.

“Do you have to go to work tomorrow?” She shakes her head no and tracks me with her eyes.

As soon as I come close, Lilly looks up at me with questions swimming in her eyes. “Should we stay up the rest of the night to make sure the fire doesn’t go out?”

“I don’t think it would hurt if we both laid down and tried to get some rest. Honestly, the blankets should be enough to keep us warm, but I don’t think I’m going to be drifting off for a while. You should try to get some rest, even if you don’t have to work tomorrow.”

She sits down on the mountain of fluff and I start making my way over to the couch.

“Where are you going?”

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