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‘Hey, don’t go all gloomy. I’m not finished. I’m going back to pack my things, get set up to work remotely and collect my work laptop, then I’ll be back here to be with you.’
He pushes onto his elbow and scrubs a hand over his face. ‘You’re staying?’
She nods, the smile on her face the best thing he’s seen for a while. ‘Too right I am! And I know it may seem foolish as we’ve known each other for no time at all. And that time has been less than normal, if there’s even such a thing when it comes to you, but I think... actually, I’m sure, I love you. I don’t want to go back to my quiet life. I want to stay here with you.’
It usually doesn’t take him long to get his head straight after he’s been asleep, but he’s struggling to keep up with this conversation. ‘You’re going to have to slow down at bit. My brain is still half asleep.’
Scarlett shuffles closer to him. ‘I love you, Nick. I want to stay with you. To see a lot more of you. To see where this goes between us. It’s like you kept saying when you first told me who you were... forget the Santa part. Can’t we just see where things go for Scarlett and Nick?’
‘I want that too, Scarlett.’ He reaches out and rubs his fingers down the side of her face. ‘And I love you.’
‘You do?’
‘I do, but I was afraid to ask you to be here with me. I thought it would be too much. I didn’t want you to have to decide between your life and me.’
‘I don’t have to decide between you. I can still do my job remotely. We’re in Scandinavia. It’s hardly another planet. I’ve already talked this through with Eve. Whenever I need to go back, one of the guys will take me. Or you could drop me back, but arriving on a huge reindeer might get us noticed. It absolutely can work, Nick.’
She climbs out of bed and opens the drawer of the desk. Scarlett gets back into bed and holds up the leather cuff. ‘Eve made me a tracker. It’s the exact same as yours. When I go back to Ireland, you’ll know where I am all the time, and be able to track me.’
He lies back on the pillow and looks at the tracker in her hand. She’s doing an impeccable job of squashing his concerns, one at a time. Not completely, but he’ll give her ten out of ten for effort. ‘I don’t know, Scarlett. If anything happened to you because you’re with me...’
‘You can’t keep thinking like that, Nick. And yes, I know saying that to you is a waste of breath. I know you need to protect every single person under your roof, every single member of your team. I don’t know if that trait comes from Nick, or from Santa, but it’s who you are. It’s part of you and I love that about you. But you need to try to let go of a little control. This can work, Nick. Please, just give it some time. I don’t want us to miss out on something potentially amazing, because you’re scared I’m going to get hurt.’
He wants to give in. To just say to hell with it, and let her pop back and forth between the two worlds. But he’s fucking terrified. He fights creatures from nightmares, without a second thought. But, it’s because of that he’s struggling.
‘You really want to do this?’
‘More than anything.’
Nick nods and cups the side of her face. ‘Me too. I love you Scarlett. I really do.’
‘And I love you Nick.’ She shrieks and rolls over, lying on top of him. ‘We’re really doing this?’
‘I love you, Scarlett. I want to be with you. I never thought about having something relatively normal with you. I’m really excited about this!’
‘As you should be!’ She grins and lifts herself off his chest, looking down his body. ‘Well, well, well. You are excited aren’t you!’
‘It’s been ten days. That’s a fucking lifetime, believe me. So, you going to deal with that, or what?’
She gives him a downright sexy smile that does nothing to calm his dick down. ‘It depends.’
‘On what?’
‘On whether you’re going to return the favour?’
‘You know I’m going to.’
‘Glad to hear it. And Nick?’
‘Yeah?’
‘I've been really, really, naughty.’
He flashes her a wicked smile. ‘Glad to hear it.’
