As soon as the mistletoe goes up, that's when life gets really interesting
Darcy Shaughnessy has gotten used to her overbearing brothers chasing away any man she wants to date. But a chance meeting with a brooding – and deliciously handsome – artist is about to make this holiday season one to remember.
There's only one thing Benjamin Tanner loves more than his woodcarving: solitude. Then he gets snowed in with Darcy in his cozy cabin in the woods, and their heated feelings begin to melt the icy barrier between them.
With Ben's need for privacy and Darcy's love of family and social life, will opposites still attract once the snow clears and the holiday festivities come to an end?
EXCERPT
This was not
what he had planned.
Maybe it was what he
had fantasized about, but this was not what he had planned.
But the instant
Darcy’s lips touched his, Ben was lost. From the first time he’d laid eyes on
her, he’d wondered how she’d feel in his arms.
Now he knew. Amazing.
From the first time
he watched her move, he wanted to know how she’d feel moving against him.
Now he knew.
Incredible.
From the first time
he’d seen her smile, he wanted to know what her lips would feel like as he
kissed her.
Now he knew. Sexy as
hell.
His arms banded around her waist until he made sure
there wasn’t even room for a breath between them. She went up on tiptoes to
press even more intimately against him—which he totally appreciated—and it
allowed his hands to linger and cup her denim-clad bottom.
And what a denim-clad
bottom it was.
Gently, he squeezed
it and even considered grabbing it harder and lifting her onto the counter, but
he wasn’t ready to let go of the full-body contact just yet.
It was insanity. One
minute, she was frustrating the hell out of him in a nonsexual way, and the
next, he was so consumed with need for her that he almost didn’t recognize
himself. This wasn’t the man he normally
was. He didn’t pounce; he didn’t even
think of initiating anything physical in a situation that was so mundane.
And breakfast was
pretty mundane.
When Ben chose to
sleep with a woman, there was, well, there
was a certain protocol to it for him. There were the required three dates.
There was the kiss good night that would build in heat over the course of the
dates, and then it was normally at her house. Never here. Never in his bed. His
home was just that—his. It was his sanctuary,
and he was possessive of it. But right now, all he wanted—almost more than his
next breath—was to have Darcy in his bed.
Under him.
Over him.
Another growl escaped
before he could stop it.
For a moment, he
allowed his lips to leave hers, because he was desperate to taste her in other
places. His mouth trailed along the delicate line of her jaw, her throat, and
up to nip at her ear, a spot he quickly learned made her knees buckle and had
her gasping.
Good to know.
But she wasn’t having
any of it for long. With her hand firmly anchored in his hair, she let him know
the instant she wanted to kiss him again, and he
went willingly. Over and over, his mouth slanted over hers until he thought
he’d simply consume her. Tongue tangled with tongue. Breath mingled with
breath. Never had the act of kissing seemed so carnal. So indecent and so damn
erotic.
And that’s when he
knew standing at the kitchen sink was no longer cutting it. He needed her. Wanted her. And from the sounds she was
making and the way she was moving against him, Darcy felt it too.
This time when he
reached down and cupped her ass, he lifted her up onto the counter. Stepping in
close until he was firmly pressed against
the juncture of her thighs, he cursed their clothes. Cursed the fact that the
nearest soft surface was so damn far away. And
cursed the fact that she tugged at his hair as she pulled away from him.
“Ben, wait,” she
panted.
Well, shit.
A little dazed, he
forced himself to open his eyes and focus on her. Her lips were wet and red and a little swollen, and her skin was flushed.
So. Damn. Sexy.
Resting his forehead
against hers, he took a minute to catch his
breath.
Was he supposed to apologize? Step away and start
shoveling? Hell if he knew, but he was going to stay quiet and let Darcy say
whatever it was she was thinking. So he didn’t move,
and once his breathing was back to normal, he almost felt as if he was holding
it.
“What are we doing?”
she asked quietly.
Was she serious?
Those were some fairly obvious moves going on, on both their parts! How could
she be questioning it? And on top of that, she was the one who had initiated
it! Lifting his head, he looked at her.
“I thought we were
kissing,” he said simply.
She blushed, and it was sexy as hell to see. His
fingers twitched with the need to touch her cheeks and feel the heat there.
“I…I know, but…I
guess I’m just a little confused as to where that all came from.”
She
was confused? Because now
he was a little beyond that himself. Taking a step away, he frowned. “Why don’t
you tell me?” he began levelly. “Since you were the one who reached up and
pulled me into the kiss in the first place.”
The blush was instantly replaced by a look of mild
annoyance. Darcy jumped from the counter, placing her hands on her hips. “I
guess I got caught up in what I thought was a moment. I mean you came over and
crowded me into the cabinets and then started touching me—out of the blue,
might I add—so I guess I thought you were into it too.”
Oh yeah. He had forgotten about that part. Once she had reached up and kissed him, Ben had
pretty much forgotten about his own
actions leading up to it. “Fine. Yes. I came over here and—” He stopped and
cursed, raking a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I wanted to do that
since you first showed up here.”
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