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While Ace was occupied with Ossie, Charlee sidled up closer to a mound of snow and made a good-sized snowball. She threw it at Ace and hit the back of his neck, and the snowball slid into his jacket.
Ace whirled around as she laughed, and he lunged for a handful of snow as she lobbed another one at him. She’d likely started something she couldn’t win, but she was sure gonna give it her all.
They threw snowballs at each other until they were breathing heavy—at least Charlee was. Her cheeks were flushed and sweat rolled down her spine beneath her coat.
She raised her hands. “I give. If I had a white flag, I’d wave it.”
He threw down the snowball he was holding. “Couldn’t see it anyway with all this snow.”
“Let’s build Frosty.” Charlee walked over to a drift and gathered snow to start a ball. Ace helped her roll it until they had a good-sized start to their snowman.
As they started the second snowball, Charlee fell face-first into a four-foot high drift. With Ace’s help she rose, spitting out snow and wiping it from her face and hair.
“That dive was so damned sexy,” Ace said with a teasing laugh as he helped her brush off snow.
She burst into giggles as she blinked snowflakes from her lashes. “Just wait until you see my snow angels.”
He grinned and they continued making the snow man until the body and head were finished.
Charlee ran inside, ignoring her wet boots and jacket—that’s what mops were for—and rummaged through her arts and crafts kit. She found big black buttons and a box of beads. She also dug out a Santa hat from the Christmas boxes and a carrot out of the fridge before running back outside with the loot.
Ace located the perfect sticks to make arms and had also located lumps of charcoal from the tool shed to use as buttons on the snowman’s chest. He helped Charlee put the two big black buttons as eyes, shoved the carrot into the snow for a nose, and used brown beads to make a smile. Ace made a cone on top of the snowman’s head to hold up the Santa’s hat. Charlee handed it to him and he settled it on the snowman.
He wrapped his arm around Charlee’s shoulders as they looked at their creation. “I knew we’d have good-looking kids.” Ace sounded mock serious.
Charlee grinned. “He’s a very handsome young man.”
Ace squeezed her shoulders as snowflakes started to drift down. The wind kicked up and swirled white stuff already on the ground.
Charlee tipped her face to the sky and snowflakes landed on her cheeks and nose. “It was nice while it lasted.” The wind intensified and her hair blew around her face and she looked at Ace.
He kissed her forehead as snow started to come down in earnest. “It’s really getting going now. Let’s go inside.”
It felt so natural, walking side-by-side with Ace, his arm around her, Ossie at their heels.
Inside, they took off their scarves, gloves, and jackets, and kicked off their boots. Charlee thought about ditching her damp sweater and pants in the laundry room, too, but decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to even get semi-naked around Ace.
He, however, had no compunctions about stripping down to his boxer briefs right in front of her. The briefs molded against a ridge so hard she wanted to reach out and touch it.
She stared. She couldn’t help herself. Not only did he have an incredibly well-muscled torso, but his powerful thighs and strong calves were just as carved and beautiful. Yeah, his body was a beautiful thing to behold.
Her mouth watered. What she wanted to do to and with him was enough to make her entire body flush with heat.
A throat clearing caused her to jerk her head up. Amusement sparked in Ace’s eyes. “Do you want to finish undressing me?”
“I-I have to go change.” Her face had to be bright red. It was all she could do to force herself to stay put and point to the washing machine. “Throw your wet clothes in there and I’ll wash them with mine after I put on clean ones.”
She turned and fled straight to her bedroom and shut the door behind her. She pressed her palms to her cheeks as she leaned back against the door and banged the back of her head on the wood.
This is crazy. The way I want him…Her throat worked as she swallowed.I want him too much.
Was there such a thing as too much when it came to Ace?
Ace grinnedas he watched Charlee rush out of the laundry room. She was so damned cute.
He sobered as memories Charlee had shared last night came to him. He felt honored that she trusted him enough to share the horrible thing that had happened in her past. At the same time, he felt he needed to make sure she never felt pushed or rushed into anything.
If she needed time, he would give her all she needed.
