Page 102 of The Naughty List

“I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to tease you.”

“Yes, you did,” I point out.

“Okay, I did, but it was only fair. I could say I have sticky sheets right now, but I won’t get into it.”

I giggle. Good, at least I wasn’t the only one who was fired up last night.

“What are you doing today? I need out of this house.” he says, sounding annoyed by being there already.

I shrug. “No plans. What do you want to do?”

“Well, the ice rink is up in the town square if you want to go. We can skate, get some hot chocolate…”

“Oh, carriage ride!”

I can hear his smile when he says, “Meet me outside in twenty.”

Getting ready gets kicked into overdrive and I’m walking outside twenty minutes later, bundled up in a coat, scarf, hat, and gloves. The snow crunches as I walk across the yard to his waiting car with him leaning against the passenger side door like he’s in a John Hugh film. The car is already running, thick white exhaust coming out the back.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” he says, standing upright and pulling me in for a hug. After last night, it feels too personal, but I enjoy his heat nonetheless.

“Damn, you smell good,” he says into my hair.

I’m still in his arms but I look up at his blue eyes shining in the sun. “You do too.”

Our eyes meet and he smiles. Something is being exchanged. It feels like he’s about to kiss me. His tongue comes out and wets his lips as his head dips forward, but at the last minute, he changes his mind and pulls away.

“We should get going,” he says, opening the door for me.

It feels like I’ve just been drenched in ice cold water, but I tuck my tail between my legs and climb into the car. He closes the door and rushes around to get behind the wheel. He takes his seat, pulls on his seat belt, and shifts into gear. We slowly start moving forward.

“Why do you do that?” I ask, looking out the passenger window instead of at him. I’m afraid he will see the hurt on my face.

“Do what?”

“Stop yourself like that,” I say, finally turning to look at him.

“You noticed that, did you?” he says, turning to look away from me this time.

I don’t respond.

He wets his lips and takes a deep breath. “Have you ever wanted something so bad, something you can’t have?”

I roll my eyes but play along. “I remember once, my mom made this whole batch of cookies for a bake sale and she wouldn’t let me have any.”

“Do you remember how bad the torture was? Having to look at the cookies? Having to smell them? Having to pick them up and place them into a container to be taken to someone else?”

“Yes.”

“Now you know how I feel.”

“That’s different. I wasn’t allowed to have the cookies. There is nobody here stopping you but you.”

“But it’s still the same. You couldn’t have the cookies because they weren’t meant for you. I can’t have you because you’re all I have. It’s like having a brand-new toy that you’ve been dying to play with. But it’s a collector’s item. You know if you take it out of the box and play with it, it will never be the same, it won’t be worth as much. If I take you out of the box and play with you, I’m risking damaging you, breaking you, ruining you. So I have to push the temptation away. Sometimes the temptation gets to be too much, like last night or the night at my place in college. I just have to keep reminding myself of my place.”

“Well, the damage has already been done, right?”

He laughs. “You’re not getting me with that one again.”

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