Chapter Twelve
Twelve
Sloan leaned against one of the tall hemlock trees as he watched Leslie walk around several Fraser firs looking for what she’d said was the ideal Christmas tree.
When he had awakened that morning, a part of him had hoped she had canned the idea of a Christmas tree.
It didn’t take long to see that she hadn’t.
She’d been up, dressed and had even prepared breakfast by the time he’d walked into the kitchen.
The breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs had been delicious.
However, he didn’t want her to assume that he expected her to do all the cooking, so he’d told her they would be sharing cooking duties.
She told him she didn’t mind cooking since she enjoyed it so much, and since her father died, she had no one besides herself to cook for.
Now here they were, on a part of the property where Christmas trees grew. She had checked out at least five but hadn’t made up her mind about which one she would take. He recalled her saying she would settle on a small tree, but none of the five were what he considered small.
Like usual, she was dressed for the cold weather, but that didn’t stop him from imagining what all she had on underneath that wool coat, boots and fur hat. He would give just about anything to be able to peel all that clothing off her when they got back to the cabin.
Last night, after watching the sway of her hips when she’d made her exit from the kitchen, he hadn’t heard a peep out of her the rest of the night.
He had remained up for hours, enjoying a glass of wine while watching cop shows on television.
When he had retired to his room, he had seen a light on under her door, which let him know that although she’d been quiet, she was still awake.
Since he hadn’t heard the sound of the television in her room, he figured she was reading.
Glancing at his watch, he looked back at her now and said, “How much longer will it take you to make up your mind about a tree, Leslie?”
She glanced over at him and smiled. He hadn’t expected that smile, and it warmed him to the core. “Too cold out here for you, Sloan?”
“You know better than that.”
She of all people knew how much he enjoyed cold weather.
The colder the better. However, leaning against this tree with his gaze trained on her, he remembered another time he’d taken her to a Christmas tree farm.
It had been a Sunday, and few people had been about.
He’d come close to tempting her to engage in a quickie behind the branches.
Thinking of that day made him recall the first time they’d met.
It had been an extremely cold day in Anchorage when he and Redford had been headed to class.
Leslie had sprinted across the yard in her haste and had bumped into them.
Literally. She would have lost her footing and toppled over if he hadn’t reached out and grabbed her.
That would have been that, and he and Redford would have continued on their way, if she hadn’t taken off that furry hat she’d been wearing to smile, apologize for bumping into him and thank him.
The moment he had looked into her eyes, he was convinced he had fallen in love right then and there.
After thanking him, she had rushed off before he could get any information from her, including a name.
He had thought of her constantly. Her eyes and smile had invaded his dreams. Just when he was convinced that he would never see her again, he had.
Her face had been on a campus flyer advertising her organization was accepting donations to help buy toys for disadvantaged children.
Not only had he made a donation, but to spend time with her, he had joined her group.
At first, he’d figured his attraction to her was merely sexual.
But the more time he spent with her and the more he had gotten to know her, he’d accepted it was more than that.
“Okay, Sloan. This is the one I want.”
Her words pulled him from the past and back to the present. He wasn’t surprised that the one she’d finally settled on was the one he’d liked the best. “Are you sure that’s the one?”
She smiled brightly. “Yes, I’m sure.”
He nodded and picked up the saw by his feet, not believing she would spend time decorating a tree just to have it up for one week. He then thought of something. “We don’t have any ornaments here,” he said.
“No problem. I brought my own.”
Sloan shook his head. Honestly, he wasn’t surprised.
Leslie stood back as Sloan erected the tree near the window in the cabin’s living room.
It was beautiful and just what she needed to brighten her mood.
Yesterday after dinner, she had taken a shower and gotten into bed but hadn’t gone to sleep.
Instead, she had pulled up her e-reader.
From the sound of the television in the family room, it had been easy to guess Sloan was still a fan of cop shows.
And she’d known when he had decided to call it a night and go to bed. Although he’d tried to be quiet, she had heard him walk down the hall to his bedroom. She had held her breath, hoping he wouldn’t knock on her door. He hadn’t.
When she’d awakened to find it wasn’t snowing, she had wanted to hurry and dress and get a tree before snow began falling again.
When Sloan still had not awakened, she decided to go downstairs and prepare breakfast, convinced the smell of bacon would do the trick.
She knew how much he loved bison bacon. That had worked.
He had walked into the kitchen, fully dressed but still with that sleepy-sexy look.
“Are you sure this is where you want it?”
She blinked, recalling other times, during their lovemaking, when he would tease her relentlessly.
He would rub his erection all over her, between her legs.
Then as he entered her, he would teasingly ask, Are you sure this is where you want it?
By then she would be nearly out of her mind.
She would push upward to hold him inside her tightly, to show him that she’d known just where she wanted it.
“Leslie?”
From the look on his face, he was waiting for her to answer. There was no indication he had made a connection between what he’d asked now and the other times when he’d asked that same thing. “Yes, that location will work. I like that it’s sitting in front of the window.”
He rolled his eyes. “Need I remind you that we’re out in the middle of nowhere, miles from civilization? The only person who might notice blinking Christmas lights are the bears.”
“Thanks for reminding me, Sloan.”
He threw his head back and laughed even though she honestly didn’t see anything funny.
He had told her the property surrounding the cabin was bearproof.
In addition to the electric fencing, bear sensors were installed that not only emitted scents that bears detested but also blared music that bothered their eardrums. Besides, most bears hibernated during winter.
“Now that the tree is where you want it, I’m going to sit back and relax with a beer,” he said.
“You’re not going to help me decorate?”
“Nope. You can do a better job at it than I could. So, knock yourself out while I observe.”
Leslie wasn’t sure how she felt about him sitting there drinking beer, watching her.
Knowing Sloan’s eyes would be on her was not a comforting thought.
He could look at her in ways that would make her feel naked even while she was wearing clothes.
“Not sure I like the idea of you just sitting there observing. Don’t you have anything better to do? ”
“Yes.”
“Then do it.”
A smile curved his lips, and she had a feeling there was an ulterior motive behind it when he said, “I can’t.”
Why now of all times was she intensely attracted to him? She’d almost forgotten how he could seduce her with his eyes. “And why not?” she asked.
“Because what I really want to do is you, Leslie.”
When Sloan left the living room and headed for the kitchen to get his beer, he couldn’t help but smile at Leslie’s expression.
He had told her the truth—he wanted to do her, but he would settle for just sitting there and drinking his beer while watching that body in action.
He had popped the top off his beer bottle when his cell phone rang.
He recognized the caller. Garth. Pulling his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans, he clicked on.
“Yes, Garth?”
“I take it you made it to the cabin.”
“Yes, I’m here. Arrived yesterday.”
“Did you stop by Hemlock Row to visit with Walker and Bailey before you got there?”
Sloan took a swig of his beer. “I didn’t have time. I wanted to get here and get settled before dark.”
“That was a good idea.”
At that moment Sloan heard Leslie call out to him to bring her a beer as well. Without thinking, he answered her in a loud voice, “Sure thing.”
“I take it you’re not alone, Sloan.”
Garth’s comment made Sloan realize his mistake.
But then, he was a grown-ass man who could invite anyone he wanted to join him here.
“No, I’m not alone.” And because he knew from past experience that Garth had a way of finding out anything he wanted to know, Sloan decided to save him the trouble. “I invited Leslie to join me.”
“Leslie Cassidy?”
“Yes, Leslie Cassidy,” Sloan said, like there would be any other Leslie he would invite here.
“Does that mean the two of you are—”
“No!” Sloan said in a firm tone, squashing the assumption his oldest brother was about to make.
“Leslie and I are not getting back together. I know how much she enjoys Christmas, and with her father’s death, she has no family left to spend the holidays with.
I saw no reason not to ask her to join me at the cabin this week. ”
Sloan knew the silence on Garth’s end meant his oldest brother was analyzing what he’d said. So that Garth’s thoughts wouldn’t be headed in the wrong direction, Sloan added, “I could never love Leslie again.”
“So, the two of you are merely friends.”