Hunk for the Holidays (32 page)

James wondered how his solitary life had suddenly become so crowded. He had wanted to meet his neighbors, just not all at once. Willie joined the neighborhood party. The cat circled the tree three times before prancing through the middle of the group and swooshing his bushy tail in their faces.

“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, Ms. Ellis.” A pair of dark blue pants appeared, followed by the face of the fireman from the night before.

“Mr. Sutton?”

Yellow and green hiking boots tromped up. “That’s Mr. Sutton under there? Well, I wouldn’t have called you if I’d thought it was Mr. Sutton. I was worried someone was trying to set another tree on fire.”

“We’re not tryin’ to set it on fire. We’re tryin’ to cut it down,” Dylan offered as he took the knife from his father and went after the trunk with a vengeance.

“Cut it down?” The fireman looked puzzled. “Why do you want to cut it down?”

“To replace the burned one,” Les said. “Of course, now that I think about it, I don’t think this tree’s going to fit in his house. It’s a little big.”

“Not if we cut off a few of the lower branches,” the fireman said. “I’ve got an ax in the truck.”

James groaned and rested his head on his forearms. Couldn’t a man cut down his own tree without a bunch of interruptions? Not that he was ever going to succeed in cutting down the tree. The entire tree idea was just another example of Sierra’s theory on lovesick stupidity. He should’ve skipped the tree altogether and just gone to Cassie’s bright and early this morning. Now she was probably at her parents’ and dragging a spruce up to their front door would be even more ridiculous than cutting one down from your front yard.

“Look.” James lifted his head. “I really appreciate all the help, but I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going to cut down the tree after all.”

“You can’t change your mind,” Dylan said. “We’re almost there.”

“Let it go, son.” Les took the knife. “I’ll let you cut down the pine in the back. Your mother has been after me for the last year to do it.”

That seemed to pacify the kid, and he and his friend crawled out from beneath the tree. Les and James followed. James barely had time to brush the dead spruce
needles off his coat when Ms. Ellis shoved a plastic-wrapped cake at him.

“I thought you might like some fruitcake. It’s kosher.”

“Thank you,” he said as he took the heavy cake. “But I’m not Jewish.”

“You’re not?” She looked almost angry about the news. “Then why did you let us put a menorah in your front lawn? And why did that woman burn down your tree?”

“What woman?” The fireman came back up with the ax. “A woman started the fire?”

“That’s exactly what I was trying to tell you last night,” Ms. Ellis said, “but you were too busy to pay any attention. I hope you realize that it’s my taxes that pay your salary.”

“Who was this woman?” the fireman asked James. But before he could answer, Ms. Ellis jumped in.

“Why don’t you ask her yourself? She’s standing right over there.”

James turned, and his breath lodged in his throat. Cassandra stood on the sidewalk, not more than ten feet away. She wore jeans tucked into the same boots she’d worn the night before, and her hair fell in dark waves over the sheepskin jacket.

His sheepskin jacket.

Without saying a word, he moved toward her. With every step, his heart pounded louder and louder in his ears. He stopped close enough to see the tiny flecks of brown in her green eyes, but not as close as he wanted to be.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.” She smiled and everything inside him jumped for joy.

“That’s her.” Ms. Ellis came up, pointing a finger. Her trail of cats followed. “That’s the woman who burned down Mr. Sutton’s tree. I would recognize that coat anywhere.”

“Is that true, Mr. Sutton?” the fireman said. “Was arson involved?”

“No,” James said as he continued to look into Cassandra’s eyes. “Just a little misunderstanding.”

“Well, it didn’t look like a misunderstanding to me,” Ms. Ellis said. “She was naked, and then she set the tree—”

“Ms. Ellis.” Les rushed over and took the older woman’s arm. “Did you know that Kelly makes the best eggnog? In fact, why don’t you come over right now and have some? It’s way too cold to be standing outside.” He glanced back at the two boys. “Come on, Dylan. Tyler can come, too.”

“Fine,” Ms. Ellis said. “But if this tree catches on fire, we’ll know who to blame.” She glanced at the gray cat, who was now rubbing against Cassandra’s boots. “Come on, Willie.”

The thought of her taking the cat pulled James’s attention away from Cassandra. “Ms. Ellis,” he said. “I was wondering if I might be able to adopt Willie.” He shrugged. “I mean, he seems to like my house.”

Ms. Ellis looked at him for a few seconds before she smiled. The first smile the woman had ever given him. “Cats don’t like houses, Mr. Sutton. They like people.” She nodded her head. “I’ll get together some care and feeding pamphlets and get them to you within the hour.”

James glanced at Cassandra. “I think tomorrow will be soon enough.”

Les tossed him a smile as he led Ms. Ellis and the boys next door.

“Dave!” one of the firemen, who were sitting in the truck, called out. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah!” Dave yelled before he looked back at James. “Since it’s Christmas, I’ll let it go. But do me a favor, would ya? No more fires. Planned or accidental.”

James waited until he was out of hearing before he turned to Cassandra. “What do you say? You want to start a fire?”

Chapter Twenty-eight

Now that they were finally alone, Cassie didn’t know what to say. She had gone over and over her speech on the way to his house, but now, looking into his golden eyes, all the words evaporated. Fortunately, James took matters into his own hands. Before she could start stammering, he kissed her. The heat of his mouth had barely melted into hers when he lifted her up in his arms. She snuggled against him and listened to the steady thump of his heart as he carried her up the steps, through the door, and into the den, where he deposited her on the soft cushions of the couch.

He turned to the fireplace, and she couldn’t help but admire his butt in the Levi’s when he leaned over to turn on the gas logs. Flames leapt to life. He adjusted them, then pulled off his gloves and coat and tossed them down on the hearth.

He turned around, his eyes bright but unreadable. She wanted his attention, and it looked as if she had it. So what was she waiting for?

“I owe you an apology,” she said. “I tried to give you one last night, but I was too much of a wimp to get the words out. I’m sorry about how my father acted. I didn’t know about the offer until after he’d made it. I’m sorry for referring to what we had as a one-night stand. I guess I was scared of letting you know how intense my feelings are.”

James continued to stare right through her.

Suddenly, she felt extremely hot. She unbuttoned the coat and fidgeted with one of the buttons. “I should’ve just come out and told you instead of bringing a stupid tree and stripping down and…” She blushed. “And you know.”

The silence was deafening. James just stood there with the matted gray cat sitting at his feet. After what seemed like hours, he chuckled. The chuckle quickly turned into a laugh. An out-and-out, belly-grabbing laugh that had Cassie glaring.

“What’s so funny, Sutton?”

The question just made him laugh harder.

“Why, you jerk!” She jumped up. “That’s the last time you’ll get an apology from me.” She turned and headed for the door, but he caught her before she had taken two steps and lifted her off her boots. His laughter had died, but his eyes still twinkled merrily.

“Thanks for the stupid tree.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “And thanks for the… you know. I liked them both. A lot.”

“Put me down,” she ordered.

James shook his head. “Not in this lifetime.”

She gritted her teeth. “Which could be all of two seconds more if you don’t put me down.”

The dopey smile deepened, showing off his dimples, as he let her slide down his body. “Two seconds, huh? Then I better not waste any time.”

James lowered his head, and his lips found hers with gentle accuracy. It didn’t take more than the first touch of his sweet lips to banish all anger and replace it with warm, deep desire. Besides, he liked her tree.

With his lips still attached to hers, he took off the sheepskin coat and tossed it to the floor. His hands slid down her back, over her waist to her hips, then cupped each cheek as he rubbed against her melting center.

“I want you,” he muttered against her lips.

She tugged at his bottom lip with her teeth. “I think you have me.”

“Thank God,” he said as he fell back on the couch with her.

They landed with arms, legs, and tongues entangled—and her on top. But she had time only to wiggle against his rock-hard body once before he rolled her over. She didn’t mind. He gave her one deep, heated kiss after the other as if she were the best thing he’d ever tasted. As if he had an eternity to do nothing more than kiss her.

“I’ve missed you,” he breathed between kisses.

“It’s only been a day.”

“Too long.” He slid his hand under her sweater and captured her breast nearest her pounding heart.

Too long.
She ran her hands over his broad shoulders.
Way too long.

Their kisses and caresses became more frenzied. Sweaters were jerked off and a bra removed. Naked flesh explored and tasted. Finally, when their breathing was hard and ragged and their bodies clamoring for release, James rolled off her so they could remove the rest of their clothing. Once they were naked, he didn’t waste any time. He slid over her body and entered her. The sensation took her breath away, and she pressed up against him. He groaned and started to thrust, each deeper than the one before. The heat and friction consumed her. With each stroke, he touched something that wasn’t just physical. It was emotional. Spiritual.

Suddenly, everything fell into place.

Cassie McPherson had finally found “the one.”

A quicksilver orgasm rocked through her, and before she had completely floated back down to earth, James reached his own pinnacle. When the last tingle of sensation was over, James rested against her. At another time, with another man, she would’ve complained about the position. She would’ve felt suffocated and not in control. But not now. Not with this man. Tucked beneath his hard body, she felt safe. Protected. Loved. The feelings didn’t make her feel weak.

They made her feel strong.

Unable to contain her happiness, Cassie smiled and dropped a kiss to his shoulder. “I love you.”

His breath halted, and he pushed up to his forearms. It took a minute for his gaze to focus; then a smile tipped the corners of his mouth and his eyes turned a deep, watery gold. “I love you too, wildcat.”

“Why?”

He chuckled and leaned on one elbow to smooth the hair away from her cheek. “I don’t know, especially when you’re so controlling—and so aggressive—and spoiled rotten.”

Cassie scowled at him.

“And…” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I love all of it. The control freak. The wildcat. And the princess. But most of all, I love the woman who was strong enough to go after what she wanted. Even if she had to drag a tree to my doorstep and strip naked.”

“Oh,” she breathed, too overwhelmed to say more.

Tenderly, James rolled to the side and drew her into his embrace. He nestled his chin into her hair, and she buried her nose into his chest and clung to him as any needy woman would. They remained there for long moments, just holding each other, just feeling what they felt without egos involved.

“So how did you get away from your family?” he asked.

“It wasn’t easy. I had to contend with Big Al.”

“Hmm.” He looked down at her through his dark lashes. “And how did that go?”

“Pretty well, actually.”

“So are you saying your father doesn’t plan on taking a claymore to my throat the next time we run into each other?”

“No.”

“Great.”

“Stop being such a wussy, Sutton. At least you don’t have to worry about my brothers jumping into the fray. For whatever reason, they all seem to like you, even after finding out who you are.” Her eyes narrowed. “Which reminds me, I think you owe me an apology.”

“Really? For what?”

Cassie thought about sitting up in anger, but she was too comfortable where she was. “What do you mean, for what? How about for lying about who you are and what you do for a living?”

His gaze lingered on her lips for what seemed like an eternity before he finally brought his attention back to the discussion. “I didn’t lie. I merely didn’t correct you.”

“Which is lying,” she pointed out.

“True. But answer me this: Would you really have given me a chance at dating you if you had known who I was from the beginning?”

She thought about it and had to admit he was right. “Point taken, but the least you could’ve done was mention something before we had sex.”

“You were drunk before we had sex.”

“Okay, so what about after?”

“We were too busy after.” He dipped his head and nuzzled her neck.