Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 245(@200wpm)___ 196(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 245(@200wpm)___ 196(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
He slides an arm around my waist and keeps me close as he leads me out among the other skaters. “You’re not as shaky as you think,” he says. “I’ll bet it’s all coming back to you.”
“I don’t plan to find out. It’s more fun holding onto you and Jasper.” Felix’s head tips back in a hearty laugh. “How did you and your brother get so good at this?” I ask.
“There’s an indoor rink near where we grew up. We used to spend a lot of time there. We played hockey for a while.”
“It shows.”
He wiggles his fingers to tickle my side. “Have you been checking out our moves?”
“Always.”
Jasper joins us after a few minutes, and the three of us glide around the ice together for several more rounds, until our session time is up.
“Want to see if we can extend our time?” Felix asks.
“You two are welcome to skate on, but I’d like to take a break,” I say.
“We’re not going to leave you sitting around bored.” Jasper hugs me to his side. “Want to go walk around the town and look at the decorations?”
“I’m up for anything besides more skating,” I say. There’s laughter in my voice, until I notice the way Jasper’s looking at me in response to what I just said. To my relief—or disappointment?—he doesn’t press me on what being up for anything might include.
Chapter 16
In downtown Whitman, we walk arm-in-arm around the town square. Their public light display is beautiful, and it’s well worth spending more time out in the chilly air, especially when I’m surrounded by two warm—make that hot—men.
When a gust of cold wind blows, they move in closer, shielding me, rubbing my arms, and very effectively making me warm on both the outside and inside.
To accommodate holiday shoppers, the stores are open later than they typically would be, but we just window shop until something catches Felix’s eye.
“That looks just like Cupid.” He points to an ornament hanging in a window display. It’s a round glass bulb, hand painted with a cat that does look remarkably like my girl.
Before I can spend long admiring it, Felix leads me into the shop, talks to the clerk, and the next thing I know, we’re back on the sidewalk with the ornament tucked in a gift bag in Felix’s hand.
“That was really sweet of you,” I tell him. “Thank you.”
“I can be sweet,” he says. “But mostly spicy.”
I shake my head and laugh at his comment, until he pulls me into a dark alcove and puts his money where his spicy mouth is. He uses the length of his body to pin me between him and a brick wall, then nips at my neck like a vampire materializing during the wrong holiday season.
His hands start wandering, and he makes me feel things I shouldn’t be feeling on a busy city street, even if we are hidden from view. Meanwhile, Jasper’s right beside me, and he’s not an innocent bystander.
Two sets of hands slide under the bottom of my shirt and skim over my bare skin. Two mouths kiss my lips, my neck, my cheeks, the top of my chest.
My breathing grows shallow as I use my hands to explore every bit of them I can reach.
The sound of children’s laughter from somewhere nearby brings me to my senses. “We can’t … not here. Not now.”
The men step back, but not before straightening my sweater and smoothing my hair. After they make sure I look like I did before Felix pulled me into the alcove—not counting my cheeks, which are surely flushed pink—they take my hand and lead me back out onto the street, where we continue as if nothing ever happened. Tell that to my rapidly beating heart.
After we turn a corner, something catches my eye in one of the store windows. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
When I return, the brothers are standing under a lamppost, the light casting gorgeous shadows across the beautiful bone structure of their faces. I’m ready to find another dark hiding spot for us, but I fight the temptation.
I hand each of them a small bundle wrapped in tissue paper, and tell them to open them. Their big hands make quick work of it, and seconds later, they’re unfolding matching, bold-striped Christmas scarves.
“I know how much you both love your elf costumes. The scarves are pretty close to the pattern of the leggings, don’t you think?”
Jasper arches an accusatory brow.
“Now you’ll have these scarves to remind you of your elf gigs. Plus, I’ve been wanting to do something to thank you for buying my Christmas tree.”
“I could have suggested things you could do to thank us,” Felix teases darkly.
“This is making me wish we never bought the tree,” Jasper says, but he’s smiling as he leans in to kiss me. “Thank you.”