Page 31 of Frostbite & Mistletoe
It took a long time for her to fall asleep.
∞∞∞
Wednesday, December 17
The next afternoon, Kymberlie stood in the snow-dusted parking lot of The Hair of the Dog, arms crossed tightly over her chest. Ten feet away, Gabriel leaned against his pickup, his gaze fixed on the road as they waited for Tyler to arrive with the new hood for the kitchen.
The silence between them stretched taut as a wire. When Gabriel had arrived fifteen minutes ago, he’d greeted her with a polite nod. As if they hadn’t been skin-to-skin just two days before. As if he hadn’t spent the last two weeks with his face between her legs, driving her crazy with his insanely talented tongue.
“Tyler’s running late,” she said finally, unable to bear another minute of his stony silence.
Gabriel checked his watch.“Only by five minutes. It’s fine.”
Fine. Everything was just fine with him, wasn’t it? His cool detachment made Kymberlie want to snarl.
“Why didn’t you come over for dinner last night?” The question burst from her before she could stop it.
His eyes snapped to hers, a flicker of something—surprise? guilt?—crossing his face before his expression smoothed out again.“I didn’t think you’d want me there after I failed you. Plus, I was busy with, uh, paperwork. The county has new compliance requirements for—”
“Forget it.” Kymberlie turned away, her chest tight.“And I didn’t mean what I said yesterday about you wanting me to fail.”
“Kymber.” His voice softened.“I’m sorry about last night. I should have called.”
She didn’t turn around.“I made lasagna.”
More silence fell between them. Kymberlie watched the snowflakes drift down, settling on the parking lot she’d just spent a couple of hours shoveling.Is it over? I made a complete ass of myself yesterday.
Gabriel cleared his throat.“I wasn’t sure if coming over would be appropriate, given our… professional relationship.”
“Our professional relationship,” she echoed incredulously, finally turning to face him.“Isthatwhat you’re calling it now?”
His jaw tightened.“You know it’s complicated.”
“No, Gabriel. It’s actually pretty simple.” Snow continued to drift down around them, briefly dusting his tousled golden hair before melting.
The sight triggered something reckless in Kymberlie.
She bent down, scooped up a handful of snow, and packed it into a tight ball. Her arm snapped forward with wolf-enhanced speed.
The snowball hit Gabriel squarely in the chest with a satisfying explosion of white powder. His expression of absolute shock was worth whatever dignity she’d sacrificed.
“Did you just—” he began, brushing snow from his jacket.
Kymberlie’s grin was feral.“What are you going to do about it, Mr. Fire Marshal? Write me up for assaulting a county official?”
For a second, she thought she’d miscalculated. Then a slow, predatory smile spread across Gabriel’s face. His eyes turned sabertooth-amber, betraying how close his beast lurked to the surface.
“That would require way too much paperwork,” he said, already bending to gather his own ammunition.“I prefer immediate corrective action.”
His snowball whistled past her ear as she ducked, giggling. The sound startled her. How long had it been since she’d felt like laughing?
Kymberlie ran to the nearest pile of shoveled snow and snatched up more handfuls, pelting him as she backed toward the drifts surrounding the parking lot. Her wolf’s need to run and chase and play rose inside her.
“Catch me if you can,” she challenged.
The familiar pins-and-needles sensation of shifting flowed over her skin as she quickly stripped down and flowed into her other form.
Behind her, she heard Gabriel’s intake of breath, sensed his hesitation. She heard his muttered curse, then the rustle of clothing being hastily removed.
