3. Shane
3
SHANE
I nstantly, I wished I had spent more. I wanted to do something, anything , for this selfless, wonderful woman.
“Start again?” I asked, wanting to know more about her.
She smiled and shook her head as if she knew what I was thinking. “I close in January and February. I learned that lesson. I’ll make more inventory, replenish stock, and get ready for the next season. Unfortunately, I can’t afford more than one part-time person in the summer when I’m busier, so it’s me all the time.”
“What about school?”
“I would have to start over. I simply didn’t have the heart for it anymore.” She sighed. “I guess I gave up. I’ll be just like my dad and live my life here in Simcoe.”
I hated her words, and it bothered me to hear them. “But you’re alone.”
“Christmas is a time for family, Shane. I have a few close friends. Tomorrow, I’ll volunteer at a shelter a few towns over. Mrs. Cooper and a couple of other widows come with me. We spend the day being busy, and on Boxing Day, we cook a big dinner at the community center. Everyone brings potluck, and we have a great meal.”
The words were out before I could stop them. “You deserve more than that for Christmas. You deserve to be spoiled and loved.”
“I am loved, just in a different way. You have your family—what a gift that is. Treasure them. Spend as much time with them as you can. Visit more often.” Tears glimmered in her eyes. “One day, you won’t have them, and you can never go back.”
“I do treasure them. I love spending time with them…”
“Why do I sense a but?”
I sighed, perched my hip on the table beside me, and scrubbed my face roughly. “I love my family. I really do. But I get tired of being the odd man out. Always the fifth wheel. My parents have each other, Elly and John are incredibly close, Alan worships Tracey. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled they’re all happy. It’s just, at times, it’s hard to take being surrounded by so much love and not have the same thing.”
“You don’t have anyone in your life?”
“No. I’ve spent so much time on my career that everything else just fell by the wayside. Now that I finally have a life outside of work, I haven’t met anyone significant.” I lifted my shoulder. “I’ve dated, but I’ve never found that person who makes me want to change my life for them, you know?”
She nodded. “Yes. I know what you mean.”
“I have no idea why I told you all that. I’ve never said it out loud to another living person.” Leaning forward, I tucked a strand of hair behind Callie’s ear. I met her gaze—her warm, understanding gaze. “Somehow, you make it okay for me to be honest.”
“We all feel like that at times. There were times I resented my dad—hated him, even, for being sick and making me change my life plans. But the feelings were just the result of being sad or lonely. They always passed, and I loved him. Just the same as you love your family.”
“Yes,” I breathed out, amazed at her wisdom. “I’m surrounded by people, yet I feel so…lonely. I smile and laugh and do everything I can so no one knows, yet inside I’m…”
“Sad?”
“Yes.” I clasped her hand. “You too?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes captivated me. They were so beautiful. Once again, I had to reach out and touch her. “Why do I hate the thought of you being lonely or sad?”
“I don’t like the thought of you being that way either.”
I pulled her in, and she slipped between my legs, her hands clutching my shoulders. “Can I say thank you properly, Callie?”
“Yes,” she whispered in a shaky voice. A shiver ran down her spine as I slipped my hands up her neck, cupping the soft skin of her cheeks.
Slowly, I leaned in, pressing my mouth to hers.
Our lips touched.
Time stood still.
I yanked her close, sliding my tongue into her mouth, and groaned as she sighed, her breath filling my lungs. Our tongues danced, tasted, and teased. I stroked her cheeks with my thumbs, tilted her head, and deepened the kiss. She fit perfectly against me, her softness molding to my harder form, as if she was made to be in my arms. She moved her hands restlessly along my upper arms, clutched my shoulders, then moved them down and wrapped them around my waist. She burrowed her fingers under my shirt, touching the warm skin of my back. I grunted into her mouth in approval. I wanted to feel her hands everywhere. I slid my hands down her hips and gripped her ass, pulling her closer, feeling the heat of her through the fuzzy pants she wore. I glided my hand down her thigh and, with a tug, hitched her leg high, bringing us even closer.
She whimpered into my mouth, pressing her fingers into my skin, sliding them under my waistband. Her touch left a trail of fire on my skin. “Callie,” I groaned.
“Shane,” she responded on a soft breath.
“I want you,” I stated honestly. “I want you on that pretty bed downstairs surrounded by the colors of Christmas. I want you surrounded by me. And it’s been a long time since I wanted that.”
Our gazes locked and held. We both knew what I was asking. One night. I would be gone tomorrow and heading back to my life in Calgary once the holidays were over. But I wanted this night with her more than anything I could remember wanting. There was something about this girl—a draw I couldn’t fight. One I didn’t want to fight.
“Please,” I breathed out. “Don’t send me away. Let me stay with you. Just this one night, let me be a part of something good in your life.”
“Yes,” was her quiet reply.
I held out my hand, and she led me to her room.
Dim light cast shadows on the walls. Her bed shimmered in the glow. Callie’s eyes were wide and dark, but for the first time since I had met her, they weren’t sad. Desire and lust filled her gaze, matching the beat of need I was feeling for her. We came together, our mouths fused, our bodies pressed together. Clothing fell away, my eager fingers finding purchase on her silky skin. Under me, she was pale and soft against the vivid holiday colors of her bedding. Her hair was spread out—a shimmering wave of chestnut against the pillows.
I discovered all the sweet secrets of her little body. The indent of her waist, the subtle flare of her hips. The lushness of her breasts. The way she tasted under my tongue. Felt under my touch. Sounded as she lost herself to pleasure. Her touch made me shiver, the way she stroked and caressed me. Gripped at my waist as we moved. Wrapped her legs around my hips, our bodies aligned perfectly. Kissed me as if she couldn’t get enough of me.
I couldn’t get enough of her.
I groaned my orgasm into her neck. She cried out my name in the quiet of the room. We rested together, wrapped up in the ecstasy of the moment. Callie lay on my chest with her head nestled under my chin. I ran my hand up and down her back, gently tracing the bumps and ridges of her spine.
“Not how I expected my Christmas Eve to end,” I teased, pressing a kiss to her head. “I thought I’d be alone in my room or stuck in a snowstorm somewhere.”
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” Then I chuckled. “I’m glad you remembered the Christmas condoms you had in stock.”
Callie giggled, and I felt the heat of her blush as she pressed her face to my chest. It had been almost comical when we’d realized neither of us was prepared. I hadn’t bothered since I was going to see my family, and Callie had confessed she hadn’t been with anyone for a long time, so she didn’t keep any on hand. Then her eyes had grown round, and she’d dashed from the room, returning with a handful of Christmas condoms.
“ I ordered these on a whim!” she exclaimed with a silly grin. “I got them as joke gifts for some of my quirkier customers. Some of them are even glow-in-the-dark!”
I grabbed one. “Joke’s on them,” I growled and ripped it open. The bright red and green colors made me laugh, but they worked. God, did they work.
And I planned to use as many of them as I could.
She peeked up at me, her expression mischievous. “We should try a glow-in-the-dark one to see if it works.”
“Why, Miss James.” I grinned and rolled over, taking her with me, pinning her under my chest. “You little hussy. Are you propositioning me?”
“It’s strictly for quality assurance purposes,” she insisted, her eyes dancing. “I take my job as a shop owner very seriously.”
I threw back my head in laughter. “Insatiable,” I muttered as she tilted up her hips, her warmth brushing against my growing erection.
She hummed in agreement, flinging a leg over my hips, making me hiss in pleasure at the feel of her.
I had a feeling we were both insatiable.
And we only had one night to quench that thirst.
Hours later, I finished brushing the snow off my rented SUV. I was exhausted—even more so than I had been the night before. I hadn’t been able to keep my hands off Callie all night. It seemed she felt the same way. One of us would begin to drift, and the other would start with the touching, and then another condom got used.
Five in total. I was quite proud of that number. I’d take the exhaustion—my body had never felt as alive as it had the past hours spent with Callie.
It came to a screeching halt when my cell phone chirped a message from my sister telling me the weather had cleared enough that the roads were open, but another storm was coming so I needed to leave as soon as possible. Callie smiled sadly when I showed her the message, slipping from her bed to get ready to leave.
“We need to get you organized.”
I grabbed a shower, dressed, and met her in the shop. My gifts were ready, Callie bundled up in a parka. She followed me out, handing me a thermal mug emblazoned with Toys and Treasures on the side, filled with coffee.
“To keep you awake.”
“Thank you.”
“You have to get your things at the inn?”
“No, I never even went to my room. Mrs. Cooper will think I met with some sort of accident.”
Callie shook her head. “I’ll tell her you were here and decided to try the drive. I’ll say you forgot your gloves and sent me a message via the store site, saying you had arrived and would arrange for your gloves to be picked up. Leave me your key, and I’ll see she gets it.”
“Another thing I owe you for,” I murmured, handing her the key.
“You don’t owe me for anything, Shane. You paid for your gifts, we had a wonderful night together, and handing a key to Mrs. Cooper isn’t a favor. But I do have one to ask of you.”
“Name it.”
“Please text me when you arrive so I know you got there safe.” She handed me a business card with a cell phone number on the back.
“I can do that.”
We stared at each other under the lone light of the parking lot. The wind scattered snowflakes around Callie’s face, resting on her messy hair and flushed cheeks. Her lips were swollen, her eyes tired, but she was unbelievably beautiful. I felt a strange ache in my chest at the thought of leaving her. An unexpected thought occurred to me, and I spoke it before I could stop myself.
“Come with me.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Come to my sister’s with me. Have Christmas with my family. With me.” I indicated her store. “I don’t want you to be alone here. Not today.”
Not any day , the voice in my head added.
“I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“What on earth would you say—this is Callie? We fucked last night, and I brought her with me for some more holiday fun?”
I slammed the door of the SUV and gripped her arms.
“I didn’t fuck you last night. Don’t you dare call it that.” I shook her slightly. “It was more than that. You know it. I know it. I’m asking you to come with me and let me spend more time with you.” I lowered my voice. “As for my family, I’ll tell them I met a wonderful woman and asked her to spend the holidays with me. The simple truth.”
“To what end?” she asked, tears filling her eyes, her false bravado disappearing. She hated this as much as I did. “You want to get to know me more so you can fly back to Calgary and out of my life? It already hurts to say goodbye to you, Shane. If I have more time with you, I’m not sure I could.”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “All I know is I don’t want to say goodbye yet. My family would make you welcome, Callie. In fact, they’d love you.” I yanked her close. “A few days with me is all I’m asking. A chance to explore whatever it is I feel between us. We’ll figure out the after later. Please.”
“You’re crazy,” she whispered, touching my cheek.
I kissed the end of her nose. “About you, yes. I’ve never felt this draw to someone. Ever. Come with me.”
“I’m not packed. Or showered. I have no gifts—I can’t go to someone’s house without gifts!”
Hope soared in my chest. “You have a whole store behind you. Pick something for the kids if you want, but I have all the stuff I bought. You can grab a shower and throw a few things in a bag. I’ll wait. Whatever you forget, we can get or you can borrow from Elly. She has an entire store in her closet. Trust me. While you’re getting ready, I’ll call her.”
She hesitated.
“Don’t ask me to leave you by yourself today, Callie.” The thought of her lonely on Christmas hurt me. “If you say no, I’m staying here.”
“You can’t do that.”
“Then I guess you have no choice.”
She sighed, and I knew I had won.
“I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”
I kissed her hard. “You have thirty. Merry Christmas.”
She smiled up at me, her lovely eyes sparkling in the overhead light. “Merry Christmas.”
Then she hurried away.
But knowing she’d return made me look up at the wintery sky and smile.
I called Elly as I walked toward Callie’s store.
“Are you on your way?” she asked by way of a greeting.
“In thirty minutes. I hope you have room for one more.”
“You brought someone with you from Calgary? You never said?—”
I interrupted her. “No. I met her yesterday.”
“ Her ?” Elly’s voice was shocked. I had never brought a girl home—not once in my life. Especially one I had just met. “Shane, what’s going on?”
I walked up the steps, watching Callie race through her store. From the pile on the counter, it wasn’t only the kids getting a gift. She was being overly generous, yet I knew that was her nature, so I wouldn’t stop her.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I’m bringing someone home. Her name is Callie. And Elly?” I said with a pause. “She’s important.”
“How important?”
I drew in a long breath, finally saying out loud what I had been feeling since the moment I’d seen Callie. “Life-changing important.”
“Then we can’t wait to meet her.”
“See you soon.”
I hung up and went inside to find Callie.