Page 79 of Heart of Stone
His eyes darkened. “That could be fun.”
In the physical sense, I was certain it would be. There was no question it’d be a great time to be the one in charge, teasing Reid to my heart’s content.
But the way he’d taken those words hadn’t necessarily been the way I meant them.
We were two months into this six-month stint.
Feeling what I did for him now, how was I going to let him go at the end of it? And just how easy would it be for him to walk away from me and return to his old life?
TWENTY-THREE
Reid
It had been a long time since I woke up on Christmas morning and felt excitement about the day.
As a kid, I could recall it being such a big deal to me, and not just for the presents. It was knowing I’d have a whole day with both of my parents and our extended family.
Sadly, only having the holidays to look forward to for our family to ever be together meant that I was out the door and on my way to a new place to live as soon as I could make it happen.
The holidays hadn’t been the same ever since.
Until now.
Until today.
Until Natalia.
I hadn’t even opened my eyes, and I was already the happiest I’d been in a very long time. That it was Christmas morning, and I was in my hometown of Cardinal, was icing on the cake.
With my arms still wrapped around her warm, soft body, I peeled my eyes open and looked down at Natalia.
Perfect.
Even as she slept, she was the most precious thing. I’d thought that weeks ago when I’d spent the night here tending to her as her body tried to heal from her assault. But now I got to hold her all night without so much as a scratch marring her figure. There was no question about it—I was lucky.
As though sensing my gaze upon her, Natalia’s eyes fluttered open. She tipped her chin up and brought her attention to me. A lazy but satisfied smile spread across her face. “Merry Christmas.”
Her voice was a deep rasp.
“Merry Christmas.”
“How long have you been awake?”
“Just a few minutes,” I answered.
She nodded and cuddled closer. Although, I wasn’t quite sure how she accomplished that, considering her body was practically plastered to mine as it was. But I wasn’t complaining. I was more than content to have her as close as she wanted to be. Hell, if she wanted to climb on top of me first thing this morning, I’d be more than happy to assist in getting her there.
“It was better than I thought it was going to be.”
Assuming her mind was in the same place as mine, I countered, “The sex?”
She blinked in surprise. “What? No. I mean, well, yes, of course. But I wasn’t referring to that.”
“What are you talking about, then?”
Natalia’s fingertips brushed my chest lightly. “Falling asleep and waking up in your arms. I’m not sure I’ll want you to ever go back to your cabin.”
Laughter spilled out of me. “I’ll stay here as often as you want me to.”
