Page 19 of Mountain Man's Naughty Elf
I gathered myself and climbed the stairs to the loft, acutely aware of his eyes following me. The bed was huge, a king-size with a thick comforter that looked like heaven. Still, as I slipped beneath the covers, all I could think about was the unexpected spark when he held me, and how close we'd come to crossing a line that couldn't be uncrossed.
Outside, the wind howled, rattling the windows. Inside, I stared up at the dark ceiling, knowing that just below me, Pax was probably doing the same thing.
Baby, it was cold outside—but things between us were heating up in a way neither of us had anticipated.
Chapter Four
“All I Want for Christmas Is You... Naked”
Pax
I woke to the sound of singing.
For a disoriented moment, I thought I was dreaming. No one sang in my cabin. Ever. Then the events of the past two days crashed back into my consciousness—the storm, the woman, the near-kiss by firelight.
Pepper.
Her voice floated down from the loft, slightly muffled but unmistakable as she belted out "Jingle Bell Rock" with surprising accuracy. The shower was running. I'd heard her padding around upstairs earlier, had feigned sleep when she'd crept down for coffee, not ready to face her after last night. Not ready to face what had almost happened.
What I still wanted to happen.
I sat up on the couch, running a hand over my face. The fire had burned to embers overnight, and the cabin was cooler than usual. I'd given her the only extra blankets I had, making do with my sleeping bag. Worth it, if she'd been comfortable.
The power had come back on sometime before dawn—I'd heard the generator kick in and the heat cycling up. One less thing to worry about, though I'd still need to check it was running properly later.
Christ, what was happening to me?
The shower shut off, but the singing continued. She'd switched to "Santa Baby," her voice dropping an octave into a breathy purr that slithered straight down my spine.
"...think of all the fun I've missed. Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed..."
I needed coffee. Strong coffee. And possibly a cold shower of my own.
I hauled myself off the couch and stalked to the kitchen, fixing my gaze on the coffee maker instead of the steam billowing from the partially open bathroom door upstairs. As I measured coffee grounds, her voice turned playful, lingering over words in ways that created vivid, torturous images in my mind.
"Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing... A ring..."
I nearly broke the carafe.
This was ridiculous. I was a grown man, a former Marine, not some teenager unable to control his hormones because a pretty woman was singing in his shower. And yet...
When I closed my eyes, all I could see was Pepper's face in the firelight, those green eyes looking up at me, her lips parted, so close. All I could feel was her soft curves against me as she'd slept, the perfect weight of her nestled against my side.
The coffee maker gurgled to life, and I forced my attention to more practical matters. Like checking the weather and making sure the generator was functioning properly after last night's outage.
