6. Cole

6

COLE

The words come out before I think, and it’s not the first time. I’m losing control, and that’s not like me.

“A man?” she asks.

“Boyfriend,” I clarify. “Because I don’t see a ring on your finger.”

It was the first thing I checked when I was removing her gloves. If she was my girl, I’d never let her leave my sight. I’d protect her with my dying breath, come back to life, and do it all over again.

“You’re observant,” she says.

I am when it comes to you. There’s not a part of you I haven’t noticed. And as I let my eyes dip low, there’s more that I want to explore. And taste…

“And I don’t,” she says. “I’m as single as they come.”

“Good,” I say, again without thinking.

She snorts. “Good?”

“Now I don’t have to kill the man who let you wander into that blizzard. Because Kate, a man who can’t protect his woman, is no man.”

She moves again on the couch and the sweater I gave her slides off her shoulder. A few more inches and I’m not sure how I’d react. I’m already losing it with her so close.

“Well, I was on a date.”

Motherfu —“Where is he?” I growl, the leather of my armchair creaking as my fingers dig in.

She smiles and it calms me down. “I don’t know, but it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t my fault either. It was all Rudolph’s fault. He led me and his sleigh into the woods.”

“The red-nosed reindeer?” I have no idea what she’s talking about, and I’m wondering if she’s still feeling a little feverish.

“The geriatric Clydesdale. It was supposed to be a romantic one-horse open sleigh ride, but it was not. Although,” she says, mulling something over. “It’s not all Rudolph’s fault. I’m putting most of the blame on the band of churlish chipmunks that spooked him.”

“Okay,” I say slowly. “I’m beginning to think you lead a very interesting life.”

She laughs, bringing a hand to her face, her red nails jutting out from the sweater. Kate thinks she looks like a toddler in my clothes, but she’s wrong. My girl looks nothing less than angelic. Perfection. She could wear a burlap sack, and I’d still have this steel rod in my pants.

“You’d be wrong.” She leans back against the couch, turns, and then grabs the blanket, throwing it over her legs as she curls them beneath her.

I glance at the fire. Shit. Already burned through the wood.

“I’ll tend to the fire,” I rasp, getting to my feet. “I’d like to hear more about your not-so-interesting life I find so interesting. Where’s the guy?”

My jaw tightens at the thought of another man touching Kate. No more. No one’s going to touch her but me. I’ll make sure she’s locked down. Mine.

I glance back at her and she’s watching me closely, a soft smile on her lips. Lips I’d like to taste. Her tongue was divine, and I’m sure the rest of her is heavenly.

“Probably clutching a toilet.”

I kneel in front of the stove, grabbing a log before turning back at Kate. “I feel like I’m missing something.”

She opens her mouth to speak but then laughs. A few moments later, she says, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh but I’m still… processing what happened today.” She shrugs. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“Wherever you’d like,” I say, opening the side door and shoving a log inside. I rearrange it and then grab another and repeat the process. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

But then I swallow hard. My chest clenches. It’s not true at all. I have no idea how long I have left with Kate. For all I know, she’ll be gone in a few days, and the thought of losing her… right after I found her. It’s not right.

“Okay,” she says, chewing on her bottom lip. “I’ll start by saying today did not go the way I’d planned it to go.”

“And how did you plan for it to go?”

“I’m not sure. Like the rest of my days here. Uneventful. Boring?”

“Doesn’t sound like a good way to spend your time.”

She sighs. “I agree. But as a wedding planner, the last thing I want is a surprise.”

“And today you got one.”

“Yup,” she says with a pop. “Multiple.”

She pauses and I find my way back to my chair. I’d like to sit next to her. I’d like to hold her in my arms and feel the weight of her body against me. Breathe her in. I’d like to do a lot of things with Kate but what I’d like to do and what I should do are two different things.

“My sister surprised me with a blind date. A matchmaker I guess.”

“Juliet?”

“You know her?”

I snort. “A little. My mom tried to connect me with her last year. Thought I might find someone that way.”

“And did you?”

This time it’s Kate speaking urgently. Possessively. I like that fire building in her. I’ll be tending to it as long as I’m with her, hoping it grows into something she can’t ignore so she stays right where she belongs. With me.

“Never got past the preliminary meeting.” I click my tongue as I remember it. “Once she realized I wasn’t looking for someone, she left me alone. Returned her fee to my mother. She’s a good woman, Juliet. Her husband too.” I pat my chair. “Built this and the rest of the furniture in this cabin. They’re good at what they do, and they don’t waste time with people wasting theirs. And I was. I wasn’t looking for a wife.”

“Are you now?”

All I’m looking for is you. All I want is you. Wife. Soul mate. Call it what you want because you’re it for me.

“I’m always open to whatever path fate takes me.”

“It brought me to your door.”

I swallow, staring at those holly berry red fingernails as they toy with the fringe of the blanket on her lap. I wonder how they’d look digging into my back. Wrapped around my—I clear my throat as I readjust my position. “So fate’s been good to both of us today.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” she says smiling. And then: “Kidding. You’re right.” The wind slams against the cabin and Kate jumps. “I’d almost forgotten about the storm,” she says, turning her head toward the front door. Flecks of white move past the exterior lights so fast that they look like string. A white wall. I thought we were over the worst of it but I guessed wrong.

“We’ll be safe here, right?”

“Couldn’t think of a safer place.”

Except in my arms. In our bed. Clinging to each other beneath the sheets.

“I’ve never been through a storm like this before.”

“Baptism by fire.”

“I’d say so.”

She stares at me, and I stare back at her. I could look at her all night. All day. Forever , and I’d never get my fill.

“I can’t even remember what we were talking about.”

“Your match made in hell.”

She snorts. “That’s a way of putting it. He’s the one who gifted me that sweater.”

“The one you can see from space?”

She nods. “Hear too. Well, I’ll save you the full run-down but we went on a sleigh ride and it didn’t go as planned. He drank some of his homemade, spoiled eggnog and emptied his stomach into pristine snow.” She swallows. “I think his bowels too but Rudolph was already taking off into the forest with me.”

I sputter, choking on my tea. After a few moments and another couple of sips, I recover.

“Not expecting that.”

“That makes two of us.”

I shake my head as I stare at Kate. She’s gorgeous. Like no woman I’ve ever met.

“He brought a CD of his own Christmas music. He told me it wasn’t the second time eggnog made him violently ill. He owns his own year-round Christmas store. He ran the last woman in his life out by trying to bring The Twelve Days of Christmas to life… in July.”

I laugh. “Has he seen The Office ?”

Her eyes flare as she jabs a finger at me. “That’s what I said! He had no idea what I was talking about.”

“Sounds like Mr. Christmas wasn’t a perfect match.”

She stares at me. “That’s what I nicknamed him.”

I motion between us. “Same wavelength.”

“Guess so.” And then a few moments later, she adds, “So you can understand why I was a little freaked out to find Santa Claus opening that door. I wanted nothing to do with Christmas after that.”

“Well, you’ve got your Christmas miracle. There won’t be a Christmas tree. Won’t be eggnog either,” I add with a wink. “Today was my last day as Santa and I’m hanging up the hat and suit.”

She shakes her head. “A Santa who hates Christmas. I thought I’d seen it all.”

“I wouldn’t say I hate it. I’d say it’s complicated.”

“More complicated than my day.”

I shrug. “Possibly.” I’m not wanting to get into anything heavy right now. “But living in a place like Whispering Winds in my line of work, it’s easy to become numb to the season.”

“And what do you do?”

“Christmas tree farmer. Well, during the holiday season. We do other things like landscaping and hardscaping. Anything and everything a normal garden center does.”

She nods. “And volunteer Santa Claus?”

“Tradition. Or as I put it, generational trauma from which no male in my family can escape.”

She snorts. “I think you don’t like Christmas.”

“Complicated, as I said. It also happens to double as my birthday.”

She blinks at me. It takes her a few moments but then she says, “Okay, I’m beginning to see your complicated relationship with the holiday. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be born on Christmas.”

“Not all it’s cracked up to be. And to give you a little insight into my family. My father wanted to call me Kris.”

“Kris. Kringle?”

I nod. “My mother vetoed it but they finally settled on Cole.”

“So they could say we’re getting Cole for Christmas,” she says, and I mouth because I can’t tell her how many times I’ve heard it as a joke.

“You know this is getting kind of wild.”

“Welcome to my life, Kate. I hope you stay a while.”

She takes her bottom lip into her mouth again, chewing it softly before releasing it. “Well, I’m here until the storm passes. And then after that, it’s my sister’s wedding and who knows where I’ll end up.”

With me. There’s no question in my mind.

“Leave it up to fate?”

“Maybe,” she says as we hold each other’s gaze. She yawns. “But fate is pulling me to bed. Sorry about the stew,” she adds, nodding to the nearly full bowl in front of her. “It was delicious, the one bite that didn’t burn my face off.”

“There’ll be plenty more for you tomorrow. How’s your tongue?”

She stands up and then moves toward me, the blanket slipping off her lap. “Better,” she says, her voice low as she blushes. “But there’s no telling what tomorrow will bring.”

My heart slams against my chest as she pauses beside me. “I think I might have a helmet and pads somewhere around here.”

She sighs. “At the rate I’m going, I’m sure I’ll need them. Do you think there’ll be cell service? My phone’s dead but I should try to call my sister. Let her know I’m okay. I’m sure she’ll be worried when Evan shows up without me.”

My jaw tenses at the mention of another man but relaxes almost immediately. I’ve only known Kate a short time but he’s not the man for her.

“Maybe. But not here. We’ll have to hike a little way. There’s a spot not far that I use when I need to make a call.”

“Think we can make it in this snow?”

I nod. “I’ve got the equipment.”

She swallows, eyes dipping almost imperceptibly as she turns around, folds her arms across her body, and moves toward the fire.

She might be wearing clothes so baggy a stiff breeze could carry her off the ground, but I can see the outline of her perfect body. Shoulders. Back. Thighs. And when she turns around again, two tight little buds press against the sweater’s fabric.

“I can see that,” she says. “You have quite the setup here.”

“Have to prepare for everything the mountain can throw at you.”

“But I bet you weren’t prepared for me.”

No, sweet girl. I’ve been preparing for you all my life. Never knew it until now.

“I don’t mind surprises.”

She toys with her sleeves. I want to grab her hands and pull her on top of my lap.

“Well, thanks for everything. I’m not sure what would’ve happened if…” She swallows. “Well, thanks.”

She yawns and I stand up. “You’ll be in my bed. It’s the warmest. Closest to the stove, and I think you’ll be most comfortable there.”

“I could sleep on the couch. Or take that back bedroom.”

I shake my head and then take her hand. Couldn’t stop myself this time. “I’ll be fine there.”

I pull her along with me as I guide her to the bedroom. It’s already a few degrees colder. The storm won’t relent, but we’ll be warm. We’d be warmer together. No better way to warm up than with body heat. Friction…

“Okay,” she says. “But only for one night. I don’t want to impose any more than I have.”

I snort. “You’re no imposition. Not at all.” I turn to the bed. “Afraid I don’t have an extra set of sheets, but I can change out the pillowcases.”

“I don’t mind,” she says, turning to me. “You weren’t expecting guests. Although…” she lets the word hang for a moment. “I’m not sure you have many guests out here.”

“My sister comes here sometimes when she needs a break. But other than her and my family, the only visitors I have are furry and scurry around on four legs.”

“No lady callers?”

I snort. “Is that what they call them?”

She blushes, and I can’t help but smile. I can’t help myself as I brush my fingers against her cheeks and pin a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“But if I understand you correctly,” I rasp, my gaze becoming a little hazy as I look at Kate. Entranced by her. Mesmerized by her. Owned by her. “No woman but my sister and mother has stepped in this cabin since I built it.”

“Oh,” she says, forming a perfect little circle with her lips. Puffy little pillows that I can’t stop thinking about wrapped around my— fffucck…

“I’ll go grab those pillowcases,” I rasp, even though the only thing I want to grab is her.

“Okay,” she says, standing there.

I stand there too, unmoving, barely breathing as I fight the urge to collect her in my arms and set her down on the bed. Bad thoughts. Dirty thoughts swirl in my head. The kinds of thoughts Kate wouldn’t want to know I have. She’d brave the blizzard all over again if she could take a peek into my mind right now, undressing her. Imagining her writhing as I devour her pretty little—I sigh.

“Okay.”

I finally rip myself away from her but I can’t tear these thoughts from my head. I move back into the room, doing my best to avoid looking at Kate because I know the tenuous grasp I have on my self-control would snap if I glanced at perfection one more time.

I replace the pillowcases and then head for the door, Kate’s scent filling my lungs, wrapping itself around me in a chokehold so tight it’s painful to breathe anything but her scent.

“Goodnight,” I rasp, bracing my arm against the door, refusing to look again. I can feel the beast raging inside of me. Feel it rearing its head. And I’m sure it’s in my eyes. She wouldn’t see me if I met her gaze, she’d see an animal and she’d be scared. Rightly so.

“Goodnight,” she says softly.

I wait a few moments before grabbing the handle and shutting the door behind me. I don’t even bother cleaning up. I turn off the lights, head to the back bedroom, and collapse on the bed, pulling out Kate’s sweater from beneath the pillow and shoving it into my face. Huffing it. Suffocating myself with her scent. I palm my cock through my jeans. Rubbing at it. Stroking it wildly. But it’s doing nothing to relieve the tension in my body, tightly corded and ready to snap.

I need her. I want her. And I won’t sleep until she’s mine.