“And a working fireplace. Plenty of firewood. You’ll be safe.”
“That’s good.”
A few minutes later, I turn onto my property. The headlights sweep across my cabin. It’s a log construction with a wide porch and a stone chimney.
“This is yours?” Naomi asks, leaning forward.
“This is it.”
“It looks gorgeous.”
“Thanks,” I tell her as I park my truck near the porch and kill the engine.
The snow is falling harder now. I’m glad Naomi is here with me, rather than in her rental cabin with its flimsy window panes and questionable roof.
When I look over at her, she’s studying my cabin with those startling green eyes, and a wave of emotion floods through me.
This is happening. She’s here. At my place. Overnight, judging by the way these snowflakes are accumulating on the ground. And suddenly, an image flashes before me. Whether it’s a premonition or a daydream, I’m not sure, but I do know I can’t let the image go.
Naomi, arriving here not just for one night, but forever. Because she’s mine.
“Are we heading inside, or are you going to keep looking at me in that weird way?” she asks with a furrowed brow.
“I was just thinking, sorry,” I say and quickly avert my eyes.
“Phew. You looked like you were contemplating where to hide my body later,” she says with a wink.
“If I ever got hold of your body, I wouldn’t do anything to it except take you to seventh heaven.”
Her eyes widen, and for a second, she just stares at me. Then her cheeks flush the most gorgeous shade of pink I’ve ever seen. She doesn’t say anything. Just sits there, speechless, and fuck if it isn’t the most adorable thing I’ve ever witnessed.
“We should probably get inside before we freeze to death,” I finally say, breaking the silence, then toss her my house keys. “Go ahead and unlock the door. I’ll get the tree.”
She catches the keys, still looking a little dazed. “Right. Got it.”
I watch her hurry toward the porch, her breath making little clouds in the cold air. Once she’s at the door, I head to the truck bed and start working the tree loose from where I secured it.
The pine is heavy, but I’ve got it. What I don’t have is any kind of control over whatever the hell is happening to me right now. I just told a woman I barely know that I want to take her to seventh heaven, and instead of running for the hills, she blushed.
I watch her until she closes the door behind her. I better get this tree inside too.
And hope she doesn’t realize how gone I already am for her.
Chapter Four
Naomi
Thorne’s cabin is even cozier on the inside than it looked from the outside. Exposed beams, a stone fireplace that he told me he built all by himself, and comfortable furniture. And he’s done exactly what he said he would. He cooked me dinner, then made me a hot cocoa, and now he’s getting boxes full of Christmas decorations out of a backroom. He’s shoving box after box into his living room, each bigger than the next.
“Are you some sort of Christmas nut or something?” I ask him with a laugh.
He shrugs. “No, but I’ve got a mother who is. When my brothers and I moved out, she started buying us new Christmas decorations every single year. She finally stopped after we staged an intervention. That means you can take your pick. Do you love pink or white? Green or blue? Modern? Classic? I probably have whatever you want.”
I swallow. Hedoeshave what I want. My brain immediately goes to places it shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. It’s kind of Thorne’s fault. His comment about taking me to seventh heaven is still replaying in my mind. Not to mention how good he looked when he lifted that tree like it weighed nothing. Or how his eyes smile when I say something he thinks is funny. Or how cute it is that he kept all his mother’s Christmas decorations.
“Naomi? Are you okay?”
He’s watching me, half-concerned, half-amused. Oops. Does he know where my mind drifted off to? God, I hope not. It’s embarrassing enough that heat is pooling between my legs just from thinking about how amazing this man is. His knowing about that would make me sink through these wooden floors for sure.
