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Her brown eyes widen as she looks around wildly. “Stay here? You’ve got to be joking.”
I shake my head and point toward the bag. “I brought emergency supplies. We’ll be fine here.”
Her lip curls into a small sneer, but I’m not going to let whatever she’s thinking fall from her lips. I grip her hip with one hand and bury my fingers in her hair with the other. Her lips part as she gasps right before I lean in and kiss her. I’ve been so fucking worried about her and seeing her fills me with relief and need for her.
When I slip my tongue into her mouth, Raegan’s arms wrap around my neck, and she pulls me deeper into her. It’s everything I’ve wanted when I’ve dreamed about kissing this woman, my Snowflake, and so much more. She tastes like gingerbread and her soft, supple body molds to mine.
My fingers tighten in her hair as I angle her head and deepen the kiss, needing more of her. I take from her, but she offers it to me willingly. Who the hell am I to refuse such a thing?
I slow the kiss down and murmur against her lips, “I wasn’t asking you out because I felt like I had to or out of pity. I’ve been coming in here almost everyday because I can’t go a day without seeing you. I’ve wanted you to be mine from the moment I saw you.”
There’s shock in her voice, “What?”
I pull back so I can see her gorgeous face and smirk at the surprise written across her features. “You heard me, Raegan. I’ve been coming here for you. I just knew you weren’t ready, and I wasn’t willing to risk us by pushing you. You looked so frustrated last week. I wanted to make it better for you because you’re full of so much light. It was selfish on my part, not pity.”
She blinks a few times before poking me in the chest. I make a very undignified noise that has my Snowflake grinning. “I was just checking if you were real.”
“Aren’t you supposed to pinch yourself to do that?”
Raegan bites her lip before she teases me, “I wasn’t willing to risk it, even if pinches don’t hurt much.”
I bark out a laugh. Her eyes are twinkling when I look back at her. “But you were willing to risk me?”
“Sorry?” She scrunches her face up in such a way that tells me she’s not sorry at all. I shake my head admonishingly, but the smile on my face tells her I don’t mind; she can poke me anytime she wants. She eyes the window. “If we really have to stay here, we should probably move away from the windows.” She brightens as she thinks of something, “Oh, there’s an emergency kit in Bella’s office.”
Before I know it, she’s grabbing my hand and leading me to the office. I reach down and grab my bag as we go. I pull my lantern out as we head down, the space even darker away from the windows. The grateful look she shoots me could melt a damn snowman. If I weren’t already gone for this woman, I would be now from that look alone.
After a few minutes of rummaging, Raegan pulls out a few candles and a flashlight. I grab some paper and scissors. When Raegan gives me a curious look, I just shrug. “I have an idea of something we can do to pass at least a little bit of time.”
Her eyes heat as she looks at me. There is not a single part of me which doesn’t want to follow through on whatever she’s thinking about to pass the time. First, I need to help my girl connect with the season a little bit. She can hate the over-the-top commercial crap, she can even resent the people who pretend just for the Christmas season, but I know underneath all of that there is someone yearning for a little holiday magic.
I’m going to give it to her.
“Okay,” she agrees suspiciously. She looks around the office, there’s no couch or anything to sit on and the room is a little small. As if reading my mind, she suggests, “We could hang out in the kitchen, it’s bigger in there.”
“Sounds good, Snowflake.”
She narrows her eyes at me before sweeping past and leading into the kitchen. I’m not going to lie; I breathe a small sigh of relief over her not calling me out on the nickname. I’m more than willing to tell her, but, after one kiss, is she ready to hear the reason?
I lay one of the blankets down and get settled, making sure the lantern is giving us enough light to see each other, but not much else. The shy smile on Raegan’s face as she joins me on the blanket with two éclairs in her hands makes my heart pound in my chest. She’s gorgeous and the soft lighting only makes it all the more obvious.
She hands me one of the treats, a soft blush on her cheeks. “This is what I was working on. It’s a new flavor.”
I eat half of the éclair in one bite and groan the moment the gingerbread flavor explodes on my tongue. It’s delicious and the perfect balance of flavor. The way her face lights up at my reaction has me swallowing and pulling her closer to me before kissing her lips softly.
“They’re amazing, Raegan.” I eye her before teasing, “You say you don’t like Christmas, but you made these like you’re an elf.”
She giggles and waves off my compliment, which is better than it upsetting her. I’ll take it. She points to the paper and scissors.
There’s curiosity in her tone, “What are we doing with those?”
I take a deep breath and hope my idea will get her a little closer to loving the holiday or at least remembering the simple things about it which can be magical. “How about we make some snowflakes?”
Her brown eyes sparkle as she nods eagerly before she finishes off her éclair and makes grabby hands for the paper. She says she hates this time of year, but I’m determined to remind her about the wonder in it. She can hate aspects of it, but it’s not in her nature to hate anything completely. She just needs a little holiday cheer.
I’m just the man to give it to her.
