Page 46 of Mistletoe & Magic
“Daddy!” Junie squeals. “Get him!”
Before I can react, she pelts him square in the chest with a snowball, and her laugh rings out so loud.
I can’t help myself. I pack one fast and toss it. It smacks against his arm with a satisfying thud.
He freezes, eyebrows lifting.
I hold my breath, waiting for his response. Sometimes he can be so serious, even though he’s been defrosting.
“Oh, you two want a war?” He says with that sexy smirk of his that hits me right in my lady parts. Whew.
Junie shrieks and ducks behind the fort. I yelp, already scrambling to scoop another snowball. He charges toward us, boots crunching, and the battle explodes. Snow flies in every direction. Junie shrieks with glee as he peppers the fort with perfect throws, and I laugh so hard I can barely aim.
“Run!” I shout, grabbing Junie’s mitten and dragging her across the yard, Lola barking wildly as if she’s cheering. She circles us as if she’s rounding us up.
Remy doesn’t let us get far. He lobs one that bursts against my shoulder, then another that explodes at my boots. I squeal and stumble, laughing so hard my sides ache. He throws a few at Junie, making her squeal and duck to hide further across the yard.
Then he turns his focus on me.
“Oh no,” I say, backing up, hands raised. “Truce. Truce!”
“Too late.” His grin is wicked. He lunges, and I try to dodge,but the snow gives way under my feet. I go down in a puff of white, and he follows, bracing himself but still landing half on top of me.
The world tilts. My breath catches. He’s heavy, solid, his coat cold against my body, his face so close I can see every fleck of green in his silver eyes. His hands sink into the snow beside my head, and for a moment, neither of us moves.
Then it happens. With the smallest tilt forward, his lips brush mine. Barely there, but enough to send heat roaring through me. Enough to make me forget the snow, the cold, the entire world. My pulse stutters, his lips feeling like they were meant to be on mine.
And then, thwack. A snowball explodes against the back of his head.
Junie howls with laughter as she runs across the yard. “Got you, Daddy!”
He groans, rolling off me, brushing snow from his hair. I’m breathless, my heart slamming against my ribs. He glances at me, and I see it in his eyes, the same fire that’s burning through me. He watches my lips like he doesn’t want to stop, either.
We scramble up, both of us shaking our heads like it didn’t happen, like it was just a game. But my lips still tingle. My body still hums. Heat pools in my lower belly at how his hard body felt atop mine.
Junie dances in the snow, triumphant, while Remy scoops her up, spinning her around until she squeals. I watch them, trying to steady myself, trying to remember I’m supposed to be just the nanny.
But there’s no mistaking what I felt in that half-second under him. And there’s no mistaking that he felt it, too.
Snow continues to fall outside in thick, slow flakes, blanketing the yard and making the world glow white. Inside, the fire crackles and fills the room with that cozy wood-smoke smell I secretly love.
Junie is curled on the floor with a blanket and a bowl of popcorn, laughing at the animated Christmas movie she picked. Remy and I are next to each other on the couch.
I can’t focus on the movie. Not when he keeps inching closer. Not when his knee brushes mine every time he shifts.
When I cannot take it anymore, I grin to myself and swing my legs into his lap, pretending it is casual. His hand stops where it rests on his thigh, and his gaze snaps to me.
"What’s with the kiss, beast?" I whisper softly, leaning over, just loud enough for him to hear but not Junie.
His throat works as if he is swallowing back words. "Ivy." His voice whispers roughly, and my name sounds like something I want to hear when we’re all alone, preferably naked.
I smirk and wiggle my toes against his calves and whisper, "What? Are we just going to pretend you didn’t just kiss me in the snow and now you regret it?"
His jaw tightens. He glances toward Junie, who is completely glued to the movie, then leans closer until I feel the warmth of his breath as he whispers to me. "You think I regret it?"
"I don’t know what you thought," I say, tipping my head toward him, "But I’ve been thinking about it all day."
Heat flashes in his eyes. "I have, too."
