Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Rules were made to be broken.
It was Ellie’s only excuse as the words slipped from her lips, clear between them in the snow-swept silence of the empty street.
“Kiss me. Please.”
Dash’s eyes flashed dark with lust, and then he did exactly what she asked. He kissed her, hard and deep, demanding everything she had to give –and more.
This time, she didn’t hold back. Her body was a live wire, already wound tight from his slow, teasing touch during the carol concert, and now, she was ready to combust. Ellie reached up and locked her arms around his neck, pressing closer as his mouth worked its wicked magic, tongue sliding deep between her lips in a heady, intoxicating dance.
She drank him in, savoring every taste. His mouth burned hot in the cold night; his body pressing her into the wall with no room to breathe, no space to do anything at all but surrender to this incredible feeling.
Like falling.
Like flying.
She melted into him, her head spinning, not caring that they were just steps away from the whole town, and how everyone would gossip if only they could see.
All she wanted was him.
His hands were cupping her face, but soon, he wanted more.
They roved down over her back and hips, squeezing the curve of her ass and bringing her body even closer, molded to his form.
Ellie couldn’t resist exploring too: sliding her hands under his coat, up across his chest, feeling the taut muscles she’d admired last night; even better up close beneath her fingertips.
Dash broke away, dipping his head to whisper a trail of kisses down her neck. She shuddered at the touch: ice cold and blazing hot all in one. His hands slipped inside her coat, skimming over her waist and grazing the swell of her chest. She bit back a moan and pleasure shivered through her.
“Dash…” she whispered, caught up in the heat and the whiskey-sweet burn. He caressed her again as his teeth nipped her neck and the delicious contradiction—soft and rough—sent a shock of desire through her so strong it made her legs weak and left her gasping for air.
Ellie had never felt like this before, not even close.
God, her past relationships had never moved her like this, never robbed the breath from her lungs and made every inch of her skin light up with electricity.
She was totally lost to the moment, until a burst of voices from down the street filtered through the haze and Dash yanked away.
Children raced past, followed by an exasperated mother calling, “Careful now!”
She met his eyes and flushed. Dash looked just about as undone as she felt: his hair in a tousled mess from her raking fingers, his eyes dark as he inhaled a shaky breath.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said, and Ellie couldn’t have agreed more. “Where are you parked?”
“I’m not. I mean, I got a ride with one of the guests,” she told him breathlessly.
“OK then, cab it is.” Dash grabbed her hand and started walking fast across the square. Ellie looked around, but the stand out front of the pub was empty. Riley was fixing the lights out front, so she called over to him, “Is Eddie around? I need a ride back to the inn.”
“I think he’s still caroling,” Riley called back. “He’ll be another half hour if you want to wait.”
“No, thanks.” Her mind raced. Thirty minutes was way too long not to be in Dash’s arms, and besides, she knew her voice of reason was going to be whispering louder every minute there were no kisses to drown it out. She didn’t want time to talk herself out of this.
She didn’t want to talk at all.
Dash was clearly impatient, too. He looked around, and then saw something across the street. “Come on,” he grinned, tugging Ellie after him. She followed to where the Janssen boys had a row of rickety sleighs lined up, with a row of horses from their stable getting strapped up.
“A sleigh?” Ellie stopped dead. “Come on, they’re for the tourists!”
“When was the last time you rode in style like this?” Dash countered, smiling.
She paused. “Not since I was a kid,” she admitted.
“Then tonight’s the night.” He reached Frank Janssen and called out, “Can you take us back to the inn?”
Frank gave Ellie a knowing look. “Sure I can. Hop on up.”
She blushed again. Ellie felt like her desire was written all over her face, but Frank turned his attention to the horses, so she let Dash help her up into the small sleigh.
They settled on the narrow bench, Dash scooting in close with his arm around her.
There was a blanket waiting, and he tucked it around their laps.
She could still hear the carols from the square as the horses pulled away.
Their sleigh glided up the street, snow falling softly around them.
“Sleigh bells ring…” Dash sang softly.
Ellie laughed. “Admit it, you called ahead and ordered up a Hollywood Christmas.”
“You got me. It took a lot of organizing, but I pulled it together. Those guys cost extra.” He nodded as they passed the corner with snowmen lined up, fresh from the contest this afternoon.
She snuggled closer, savoring the moment. White snow and a dark night, and warm arms around her, holding her close.
Just for one night.
Ellie felt a pang, realizing that nothing had changed. He was still leaving, and she was still making the same mistake all over again. But then Dash tilted her head up to his and kissed her again, and she decided:
This was a mistake worth making.
She melted into the taste of him, the smoky sweetness of his lips, and the intoxicating slide of his tongue, deep in her mouth.
Main Street made way for snow-covered hills and the still, icy branches sweeping low overhead, but still, she kissed him.
The heat was rising, slower this time. Deeper.
It snaked through Ellie’s bloodstream like the burn of good bourbon, warming her from the inside out and making her crave more of his touch.
All of him.
Dash slid one hand under the blanket, tracing dizzying circles on the inside of her knee.
She clung to his coat lapels, scared that if she let her hands roam free, there would be no stopping them, but Dash didn’t seem to care; he teased her, nibbling gently on Ellie’s lower lip and nuzzling at the sensitive curve of her jaw.
The whisper of his lips against her cold skin burned Ellie to the core, and by the time Frank pulled the sleigh to a halt on the road outside the inn, she felt like she was on fire.
“This is as far as I can take you,” he apologized, turning back to them. “The sled will get stuck in the snow if I try and drive up the track.”
“That’s no problem.” Ellie reluctantly tore herself from Dash’s embrace. “Thanks!”
“We appreciate the ride.” Dash leapt down, then offered his hand to help Ellie out. She carefully climbed down, the snow crunching beneath her feet. It was deeper there, settled thickly on the driveway to the inn, a powder-perfect layer.
Dash reached for his wallet and turned back to pay Frank, and Ellie used the moment to scoop a handful of soft powder. She carefully pat it into an icy snowball, out of sight by her side. Finally, Frank jangled the reins again and the horses trotted away.
“Happy holidays!” Ellie remembered to call after him. He answered with a wave.
“Shall we?” Dash offered his arm, extra-polite as they headed up the driveway. But Ellie casually stepped in front, getting a good distance between them before she brought out the snowball, turn and let fly.
Splat!
It burst against his chest, sending snow in all directions. Dash clutched his hands to the point of impact, groaning dramatically. “I’m hit! My lady betrays me!”
Ellie laughed, but then he lunged for the nearest snowbank and scooped up a handful with a determined glint in his eye. “Dash…” she started, warning.
“What? You started it.” He grinned like a little kid who meant trouble. She took off at a run, managing to get five steps away before his snowball hit her in the back.
“Bullseye!”
“Oh, you’re going to regret that!” She laughed, already forming another snowball in her hands. “You’re looking at a champion, right here.”
“Doesn’t look that way to me,” he taunted. Ellie pretended to feign right, then she went left, letting the snowball loose in a perfect lazy arc that hit him right in the face.
“You were saying?”
Dash stood very still, brushing snow from his face. Ellie wondered for a moment if she’d gone too far, then she saw the smile he was hiding. “Oh, you’ll pay for that,” he said, reaching down to scoop more snow.
Ellie slowly backed away. “Big talk,” she teased him, getting ready to run. “But do you have the goods to back it up?”
He arched an eyebrow, and the look he gave was anything but playful. “You can bet on it.”
She felt another curl of lust, but then Dash suddenly let fly with a volley of small, deadly snowballs.
There was no time for hesitation, not with him steadily advancing, snowballs getting closer.
“Too slow!” she called, turning and sprinting for the house.
Their footsteps crunched, laughter echoing into the dark night as he chased her up the driveway.
Ellie made it twenty feet from the house before he closed the distance between them. He tackled her hard, his arms closing around her waist and propelling them both into the air—and down into a snowdrift.
She felt the icy powder give way as they sank down. Dash rolled on top, pinning her beneath him in the snow. “Do you surrender?”
“Never.” She grinned.
He laughed, leaning over her, his face just inches away. Snowflakes clustered in his hair, and his cheeks were red, breath fogging the space between them.
“Yield,” he whispered, leaning closer.
She shook her head. “Make me.”
His mouth found hers, demanding submission, and this time, she willingly gave it.