Page 33 of Three Days of Holiday

I gave him a deep sign and a pleading look, silently begging him to ask for anything but that.

“Will…” I paused, not sure how to say something that would appease him while allowing me to keep my heart intact. “I don’t know how we’re supposed to move forward. You’re… you and I’m… me.”

It was as simple and difficult as that.

“It doesn’t have to be that way, Holly.” Will leaned in, closing the distance between us, and I had to gulp in a breath of air, not sure when I’d be able to breathe again with him so close.

He grabbed my hand with force. I didn’t jerk away but squeezed his fingers. We shared a look, a deep penetrating look I worried gave him way too much insight into my emotional state.

The hand not holding mine cupped my cheek as he tilted my head to the side. Ugh! William Causebay was going to kiss me again.

And I planned to let him.

I braced, ready for impact. Ready to have his lips on mine again. He hovered, seconds away from there beingno space between us, when Bacon pushed our bodies apart and settled on the couch. His wet snout left a trail of slobber on my arm.

“What the heck?” I asked as the dog repositioned himself half on my lap and half on Will.

“Damn it, Bacon,” Will said, trying to push the dog off. “And these are my favorite work pants.”

Bacon jumped off the couch, settling on the floor and chewing on a pant leg of a dark-washed pair of jeans. His doggy slobber darkened patches the entire way up one leg.

“Forget it,” Will said, turning from the dog. “Let him have them.”

“You’re just going to let him chew on your jeans?” What if he gnawed a hole in them?

Will’s attention settled on mine after he gave up on the jeans, and it hadn’t wavered. “I have something better to focus on.”

With that, he forgot his misbehaving dog on the floor and tipped my head to the side again so he could slant his lips over mine.

It reminded me of a mini explosion, but this time, we didn’t have to worry about my brother trying to break Will’s nose. The room, already hot, became scorching as I inched closer.

His mouth left mine, giving me a moment to grab a breath as his attention turned to my neck, where he placed feather light kisses against my sensitive skin. Each of them sent shockwaves through my body until my toes curled.

Being there with him on that couch let me forget the worries weighing on me only a few minutes earlier. Hewasn’t William Causebay, and I wasn’t Holly Halliday. We were two nameless lovers sharing an afternoon together.

An afternoon delight.

I giggled at the thought, and Will popped his head up to stare at me. “Don’t ask.”

He narrowed an eye. “It’s never a good sign when the woman you’re trying to seduce laughs.”

I pinched my lips together and then loosened them enough to defend myself. “It was a giggle, not a laugh.”

“That’s worse.” His eyes widened.

I pushed his head higher so our eyes lined up. “Shut up and kiss me.”

“Oh, I’m going to do more than that,” he promised and then nudged me until I rested against the seat of the couch.

Will’s body hovered over mine and I grabbed on to his arms to steady myself. There was no way I’d fall off the couch, but with him covering every inch of me, I swore the floor was seconds away from falling out from under us. We’d float through space together endlessly and then we’d both be lost.

It wasn’t the scariest outcome of us being together that I imagined.

More kisses rained on my neck as Will’s attention lowered again. His hips half rubbed against mine, his impressive length nestling on the side of my leg. The need to feel him, to touch something secret, claimed me, and I lowered my hand until I cupped his length between my fingers.

Will moaned and dropped his head, his forehead resting against my shoulder. “You’re killing me, Holly. I’m trying to go slow here.”

“What if I don’t want slow?” He hadn’t asked.

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