Chapter 24
S adie
Sadie dried herself off and put her robe back on. She blow-dried her hair and flirted with the idea of applying make-up. Then she remembered Kreston had seen her without make-up for the better part of a week.
She was still shy with him. His intense testosterone had her pheromones jumbled together as if on the frappe setting of a blender.
When she opened the door, she found him resting on his back with his eyes closed on the queen bed, his feet hanging over the end.
She crawled onto the bed and snuggled into him. “Before we—you know, do anything...can we talk first?”
He rolled to his side and adjusted himself, trying not to let Little Kreston poke her. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”
Sadie traced idle patterns on his bare chest. “The worst part wasn’t the cheating. It was how disposable I felt. Four years together, and he couldn’t even send his texts to the right woman. What kind of bonehead gets blindsided by her own fiancé?”
“Hey, don’t belittle yourself. Do me a favor.” Kreston’s voice was gentle but firm. “Whenever you feel sad about your cheating ex, remember that the woman who is dating him thinks she’s found someone special. That should give you some sense of comfort. And chances are, he’ll cheat on her, too. Once a cheater, always a cheater.”
Sadie laughed. “Haven’t thought of it that way. You’re absolutely right.”
“Besides.” His hand rested on her waist. “His douchey move led you to me.”
She gave him an apologetic look. “I didn’t apologize for my behavior when I first arrived in Polar Creek. I was hurt, so I lashed out at anyone who got in my way. I’m so sorry.”
He cupped her cheek. “Apology accepted, but unnecessary. I know what it’s like to be hurt and take it out on everyone except the one who caused it. I get it.”
“I knew there was a reason I liked you.” She propped herself up on an elbow. “Want to know the truth? The moment you opened Lucky’s plane door that first day, I thought you were the hottest thing since Jessie’s five-alarm moose chili.”
His laugh rumbled from his chest. “Her moose chili gave Tucker the screaming meemies for three days. He couldn’t leave his bathroom.” His expression turned serious. “Thanks for the hot comment. I thought the same thing about you.”
“Okay, true confession. All the way to Polar Creek in your truck that first night, you sent my heart rate to dangerous levels. Then, during the outhouse race, I saw how you laughed at yourself. And when you told me about leaving your big city life behind, well...” She traced his jaw. “I admire the man you’ve become. I was definitely falling. But when you showed up at my hotel room in your tuxedo...whoa...” She blew out air.
“So that clinched it for you?”
“Absolutely.”
“I wish you would have spoken up. Given me some kind of sign instead of running away.”
Sadie guffawed. “Seriously? And what would I have said? Gee, Mayor Collins, I think you are mother-effing hot, and I want to jump your bones? And, oh, by the way, I’ve fallen head over heels for you.”
“Yes, you should have said all that. Every word.” He said it like he was dead serious.
“Right. Then you would have thought you had a horny, big-city snob on your hands.”
He laughed outright. “No, but if you would have said something, it would have sped things up.”
“I couldn’t. I was so confused. I wanted to hurt my ex, but I didn’t want to use you as a rebound.”
His fingers stilled on her back. “Is that what this is? A rebound?”
“No! Not at all.” She met his eyes firmly. “A rebound is running from pain. This is running toward...you. What shocks me is how right it feels.”
He eased into a smile. “Hell, I fell for you even before you landed in Lucky’s plane, when he said he had a Christmas present for me.”
“Get out of town! You did not.”
“Uh-huh, ask Lucky.”
She laughed into his chest. “We’re quite a pair. The Wall Street refugee and the public relations expert, in the middle of nowhere, Alaska. I’m glad the blizzard happened, and I didn’t go straight home.”
“Speaking of home...” He grew serious. “You say you detest your job. Do you plan to go back to it? ”
She’d expected him to ask this. “I’ve been thinking about that very thing. But I’ve also been thinking about other things.”
“Like what?” His touch ratcheted up her want of him.
She smiled against his skin. “These small Alaskan towns have such incredible stories. Polar Creek alone—you’ve got Lucky’s tall tales about his close calls with The Beave, Ten Second Tess greeting people for the first time every ten minutes, and a mayor who sings Helen Reddy songs.”
“That was a one-time performance under duress,” he corrected her.
She ran her finger across his lips. “You’re a talented singer.”
A knock at the door made them both jump.
“Who is it?” Sadie called out in a cheerful voice.
Rochelle’s muffled voice sounded through the door. “Lucky O’Hara is on the landline downstairs—something about the whole town wanting to sing Christmas carols to you through the speakerphone?”
Kreston and Sadie burst out laughing. “Tell them we’re...”
“Sleeping!” they said in unison.
“Right, ‘sleeping.’” Rochelle’s air quotes were audible. “I’ll tell him you’re indisposed. Merry Christmas, you two!”
“Merry Christmas!” they chorused, laughing.
As Rochelle’s footsteps faded away, Kreston rolled onto his back with his forearm over his face. “Lucky must be shitfaced.”
“Will be fun seeing everyone’s hangovers tomorrow morning,” said Sadie. “By the way, your ex-girlfriend Rochelle is nice. Too bad you let her go.” She was testing him.
“Yeah, what a shame,” he said dismissively, pulling her into him. “Come here, you beauty. And lose this thing.” He tugged on her robe, and she wriggled out of it .
“Oh, God,” he whispered with a fast intake of breath as he gazed at her.
Through the open curtains, lazy snowflakes drifted past the window, adding to the magic of Sadie’s perfect Christmas Eve.
“I can’t believe I have you all to myself,” she breathed, sliding next to him. “You need to lose these.” She tapped his boxers, and he had them off so fast she laughed.
“Do you have protection?” she asked.
“Yep,” he responded, reaching for a packet on the bedside table.
Sadie yielded her trust, and they relaxed into each other with tender touches and kissing. He was a good kisser, and she didn’t want him to stop. She loved the intimacy, his warmth, the stubble on his chin.
Her need quickly fired up, waving through her like a furnace. Now that she had Kreston Collins in her arms, she couldn’t get enough of him. Truth be told, she’d wanted this ever since he’d kissed her at the holiday party. No denying him now. She was too far gone. She had to have him, and she sensed he felt the same by the way his breathing sped up.
“You’re trembling,” he whispered against her neck.
“But in a good way,” she assured him, aching for more of his touch.
Their connection deepened with each shared breath, each tender caress. He traced the curve of her spine like charting a beloved flight path, while she mapped the strength in his shoulders that had flown through myriads of storms. As they explored one another and learned each other’s wants and desires, Sadie was helpless to throttle back the dizzying current speeding through her.
Their mouths continued the sensuous rhythm of giving and taking, the way she loved kissing. He broke the kiss to roam his lips around her shoulders and chest. She arched to offer him greater access, and he didn’t hesitate to take advantage of it.
He sheathed himself, then moved over her and threaded his fingers with hers to claim her. Their hands squeezed together as he entered her, their bodies joined, deepening every emotion and fantasy she’d ever had about him.
There was no going back after this. No way. Her breath snagged on the sudden rush of air she sucked in when he pushed in all the way and began moving.
“Oh, Kreston!” He launched her into euphoria as mindless pleasure devoured her. She floated off to who knows where. She loved him, but something kept her from telling him, despite his sending her off to orbit the Big Dipper.
Soon after, he stiffened and shuddered, following her to release. Fighting for breath, Kreston dropped his forehead to hers, and they clung to each other—bodies joined and minds blurred. Their connection felt whole and complete.
Sadie cradled Kreston’s face and kissed him lightly before he rolled onto his back, panting. The Aurora had gone to sleep, allowing the moon to take over. Moonbeams caressed Kreston’s handsome face as she studied him.
“I never expected to find this,” she whispered, laying her head on his chest, where his heartbeat gradually slowed beneath her fingertips.
“Me neither,” he replied. “This was the last thing I expected. ”
“You’ve been so busy taking care of everyone else that you neglected your own heart,” she whispered.
“I’m taking care of it now.” His fingers wandered through her hair. “Being with you is amazing. I don’t know how to explain it—”
“Like finding a piece of yourself you didn’t know was missing?” she finished for him.
“Exactly.” He pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her temple.
They lay in comfortable silence, listening to the distant sounds of Christmas music drifting up from below. She felt satiated and newly awakened, as if every nerve ending was renewed by his touch.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“That I’ve never felt so cherished.” She propped herself up to look at him. “Like I matter for who I am, not what I can do or how I can fix people’s lives.”
“You’ll never need to prove yourself with me.” His smile was tender in the shifting light. “You’ve already fixed mine.”
His words made her soul sing. “I can’t wait to see everyone tomorrow morning.” She truly meant it. She missed Jessie, Aloha, and Ten Second Tess. And Lucky. And Tucker...and the rest.
“It’ll be interesting, to say the least.” He yawned. “We’d better get some sleep.”
“Great idea.” After visiting the bathroom, they crawled under the crisp sheet and thick comforter.
This was pure heaven.
With Kreston’s arm around her, Sadie felt a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in forever, and she drifted off to a deep, restful sleep, feeling safe and protected.
She wanted to stay this way forever.