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“Let’s do it together,” he said.
She knew what he meant but she couldn’t seem to stop her mind from spinning the image to the two of them doing it together. The taste of his kisses, the stroke of his tongue, the heat of his hands against her skin, teasing, caressing, exploring... Heat rose in her face and she hoped Knox was oblivious to her reaction. Rather than look at him, she focused her attention on Jessup stretched out by the stove. “Do you need some help getting it in?” Whoa...wait...that sounded so wrong... “I mean from the truck to the cabin, or do you want me to babysit Jessup?”
“You keep warm with Muttzilla. I’ll get it.”
Knox pushed to his feet and shrugged back into his jacket. Frigid air blasted the cabin when he opened the door. Within minutes he was back, wrestling the oblong box and a smaller rectangular one through the door then closing it with his booted foot.
Trudie laughed and Knox grimaced. “Glad I can amuse you.”
“Me too,” she shot back, laughing harder, and then he was laughing, too, and she wasn’t even sure what was so funny but it was and that was the way it used to be—one of them would get tickled and then the other one would start laughing and neither of them could particularly remember why.
Now their laughter trailed off and awareness blossomed between them. Trudie’s breath caught in her throat and her heartbeat quickened as she lost herself in the depths of his eyes, in the shared moment, in simply being with him again.
Jessup nudged her knee with his nose and she looked away from Knox. “So...Jessup’s ready to put up the tree.” Her voice came out husky.
“Well, we want Jessup to be happy so let’s get to it.” Knox laughed, pulled out his pocketknife and cut through the tape that held the tree box together.
It wasn’t until she hit her early twenties that the irony of Mormor’s Christmas tree hit Trudie. They lived in a land of evergreens, yet Mormor’s tree of choice was artificial white tinsel.
“Want to make some hot chocolate while I get the lights on?” Knox said. It was traditionally what they did. Mormor and Trudie would make hot cocoa while Knox set the tree up and strung the lights.
“Sure. I can do that.”
Trudie rummaged around in the kitchen, which was hauntingly familiar even though she hadn’t set foot inside it for nearly two years. While the water boiled she pulled out the envelopes of cocoa mix and dumped them in mugs. The steaming cups were ready just as he finished assembling the tree and stringing the lights, which was pretty much the way they’d always done it.
Trudie passed Knox his drink. His fingers brushed against hers in the exchange and a shiver coursed through her, derailing her. She’d never shivered like that when Jeremy Lyons’s fingers merely glanced against hers. Heck, they’d shared a kiss or two that hadn’t left her with even a quiver...unfortunately.
Lucky her. It had to be Knox, here with his Ms. Snow Queen girlfriend. Knox who had walked away from their friendship and subsequently broken her heart. Wasn’t that just grand and then some?
“Delicious,” he said after a cautious sip. It was hot. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. It was impossible for her to stay angry with him. He was simply too dear to her and she’d missed him too much and she didn’t know when they’d have time like this together again. She refused to squander it.
Trudie tweaked a couple of the white tinsel branches, positioning them more advantageously. “Okay. Ready for the decorations?”
Jessup sat with his head resting on his paws, watching, as they hung the ornaments they’d fashioned as children.
While the whole process could have had a melancholy feel about it, it was simply nice. Rather than being sad because Mormor wasn’t here, Trudie found the memories comforting.
Then they did what they’d always done. They turned out all of the lights except for the ones on the tree and settled next to each other on the couch.
There was something mesmerizing, relaxing, about the twinkling lights, the taste of hot cocoa, the scent and crackle of wood burning, and most of all the solidness and warmth of Knox next to her. Her eyes and body grew heavier. She lowered her guard enough to settle against his side. The steadiness of his heartbeat was beneath her shoulder, his breath stirred against the edge of her hair. She rested her head in the crook of his shoulder. He smelled faintly of antiseptic and leather and wood smoke.
She should get up and leave. She should have him take her back to town to pick up her vehicle or at least to her own cabin down the way. She would. She’d insist...in a few minutes. She just wanted a little more time with him, like this. She wanted to close her eyes and pretend...for just a bit longer...that he was hers.
“Trudie?”
“Um?”
“This is nice.”
He wrapped his arm around her and something inside her melted. It was as if her heart had been frozen since that night they’d parted ways at sunset. She snuggled deeper into his embrace. His muscles bunched against her side. His scent, familiar and particular to him, crept around her.
The fire crackled in the stove and the tattoo of his heart beat against her ear. In the far distance the hum of snowmobiles paired with the high-pitched barking of a team of sled dogs.
A delicious, languid heat stole through her. She felt like a tightly closed bud unfurling in warmth and light.
His arm tightened around her and she glanced at him in inquiry. Everything shifted between them though neither actually moved. His breath, warm and fragrant with chocolate, teased against her hair and her temple.
He leaned down slightly and she angled her face, her lips parting slightly, hungry, eager for his kiss. Confusion, desire warred within his blue eyes. She saw it, felt it—he wanted her. His lips were a fraction of an inch from hers when the thought of Elsa inserted itself between them.
No! She couldn’t do this. She shifted her mouth out of range of his. “It’s time for me to leave.”
4
WELL, THAT HAD damn near been a very stupid move on his part. Knox sat up straight, removing his arm from her shoulder. Undoubtedly, undisputedly, kissing Trudie would’ve been a mistake. Wouldn’t it?
She stood, hesitating. “I need to use your bathroom before we leave.”
“Sure. No problem.”
She crossed the floor, closing the door behind her.
Of course, it would’ve been a mistake. He’d thought the sexual tension, the awareness, had been shared. Uh, apparently not. He’d only almost kissed her and she’d reacted like a scalded cat.
He pulled on his jacket and readied hers. He suddenly couldn’t wait to get her out of here—to get away from her. She was screwing with his comfort level. She left him squirming, feeling uncertain, unsettled. So, yeah, she was right—it was time for her to go.
The toilet flushed and a few minutes later she exited the bathroom. “Here ya go,” he said, holding up her jacket.
He had planned to hold it for her while she put it on. She took it from him instead and shrugged into it herself. That was fine. Message received.
“Ready?” he said.
“Sure.”
Jessup, tuned in to what was going on around him, trotted over to the front door and stood waiting. Knox opened the door and cold air rushed in. The three of them stepped out into the late-afternoon dark. “Your cabin?” he asked.
The cabin Trudie and her folks stayed in was maybe a half mile as the crow flew and about a mile by road.
“I need to pick up my car and it’s in Good Riddance,” she said, as she opened the truck door and waited on Jessup to hop in ahead of her.
Knox started the trip back to Good Riddance. Silence, uncomfortable and awkward, stretched between them. He glanced over at Trudie. She was staring out the window.
He should’ve just kissed her. How much more awkward could it be than this? And at least he’d have satisfied the need to taste her, to sample the plush fullness of her lower lip. What was the worst thing that could happen if he kissed her?
What the hell? He stopped the truck and threw it into park.
Trudie whipped her head around. “What—?”
Jessup’s bulk was between them, but he grasped the nape of her neck and pulled her to him, leaning in toward her. He claimed Trudie’s mouth.
Sweet...hot...heady. After a moment of hesitant surprise, her lips molded and melded to his. They were even softer than he thought they would be. Sighing into his mouth, she wound her fingers into his hair. He delved into the moist recess with his tongue, deeper, harder. Trudie leaned into him, tangling her tongue with his. A blue flame of heat flashed through him.
Trudie moaned low in the back of her throat and the sound reverberated through his mouth...and shot straight to his dick. He wanted...needed...closer.
Something butted him. Again. Jessup.
He released her. Their ragged breathing—hers and his, not the dog’s—filled the cab. The windows had fogged over.
