Chapter 13 Holly #2
“I was wondering what the deal is with the gloves,” Holly said.
“You don’t have to tell me, of course. It’s just that I don’t know why it is that you wear them so much.
” She had seen him a few times now without them, working on equipment in the garage or occasionally in the house, and his hands seemed normal every time she had seen them.
“I’d like to know if I might hurt you, if it’s something I should be careful about.
Or if it’s nerve damage? You don’t have to tell me, but I’d like to know how I might—like, accommodate you better, if I can. ”
“Oh,” he said. “I hadn’t realized it looks like ... no. It’s not something like that. It’s ...” He hesitated a long moment. Then he took one of his gloves off.
Holly opened her mouth to tell him he didn’t have to, then closed it again.
There was something wrong with his hand.
It seemed odd she had never noticed it; his fingers always seemed perfectly deft.
But his hand was slightly curled, the fingers bent and a little shorter than normal.
And there was something odd about his fingernails.
They looked blacker and narrower than usual.
He hesitated, then held it out. Holly put out her hand carefully, and he placed his hand in hers. It felt like a gesture of trust.
She couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed this. The back of his hand was coarsely hairy. The fingernails felt like dull claws; they pricked her gently, but not painfully.
“I ... I guess I didn’t look closely when you had them off before,” she said, feeling a little ashamed of her lack of observation.
“It’s not always like ... oh.”
His tone changed to one of surprise. Holly could see why.
As she held his hand, the thick hair melted back into it.
His fingers straightened out, then curled a little into hers, but only in the normal way of one person’s hand holding another.
In a few moments, it was as if she had hallucinated the other thing she had just seen.
Holly looked up at Jace’s face in surprise. He was staring at his hand. His eyes still had the gold rings.
“What just happened?” Holly asked.
“I don’t know.” He flexed his fingers, stretched them. “What you just saw is ... it’s why I keep the gloves on. It’s a shifter thing. I can’t always get my hands completely human. But I’ve never seen that happen before, not quite like that, anyway.”
“Is your other one the same?”
He slowly took his other glove off. His hand looked normal. He turned it over and flexed it, and Holly remembered how she’d seen him staring at his hands, that first night he took his gloves off around her.
“It’s you,” he said slowly, wonderingly.
He raised a hand, reached it out to touch her hand, ended up running it up her arm. Holly felt captivated; she couldn’t move.
“It’s you. I knew it was you that had brought my wolf out that first day, but ... you calm it down, too. I thought you made my wolf out of control. But actually it’s the opposite. I’m never more in control than when I’m around you.”
He smoothed his hand up her coat sleeve, over the scarf wrapped around her neck, and then he was cupping her face gently in his palm.
His hand was slightly callused, the fingers soft and warm against her winter-chilled skin.
Snow continued to drift down on both of them. When she met his eyes again, they were fully gold.
“It’s you,” he whispered, and leaned forward.
Holly pushed forward as well. His hand was warm and strong against her face. Snowflakes settled on his dark hair and lashes. And then he was too close for her to focus on his face anymore.
His lips touched hers, chilly and slightly parted.
Then it was as if a dam broke. His mouth opened hot and hungry under hers, and they kissed desperately, frantically.
His hands were in her hair, tousling it and knocking her hat askew.
She felt as if she was drowning in his touch.
She pressed closer, hating the layers of winter outwear separating them.
She wanted to lose herself forever in the feeling of his mouth on hers. She wanted—
Jace’s mouth jerked away from hers and he barked out a sharp, startled yelp.
She only realized what had happened when she became aware they were sliding.
The wagon, which was balanced on two large wheels, had tilted under their changing weight.
The back end slammed into the ground, and an instant later they both slid out in a heap.
She landed on top of Jace, and he made a faint “Oof!”
Luckily there was snow to cushion their fall.
Rocket came running over to nose at them curiously. Beneath her, Holly felt Jace’s chest rise and fall as he wheezed for air. She had to try a couple of times to sit up, fending off Rocket’s cold wet nose as it jammed into her neck.
“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”
“Fine!” Jace gasped out. Rocket turned her attention to trying to lick his face. “No. Off. Not you,” he added breathlessly, as Holly rolled hastily off him.
The mood had been thoroughly broken, but Holly was laughing ruefully as she helped him up, and Jace grinned as he rubbed the back of his head.
“Is that what they mean by unsafe sex?” he said, and Holly broke down into wild, half-hysterical giggles.
Down the slope at the farmhouse, a small sedan had turned off at the Christmas tree sign and was jolting up the road toward the tree farm. She became aware she was still holding Jace’s hand and quickly jerked her mittened fingers out of his bare ones.
“We shouldn’t do that again,” Holly said.
“No,” Jace agreed, staring at her lips before jerking his eyes away. “Not a good idea.”
“Not right now, anyway.”
Jace put his gloves back on, and they were too busy to deal with it for the next hour or so, as they handled a flood of customers.
The snow was coming down in soft, swirling waves, sweeping over them for a few minutes and then settling down to almost nothing.
It created lovely conditions for the tree-shopping customers, as a light layer of snow piled up on the pine branches, looking like a Christmas card illustration.
But it wasn’t heavy enough to make walking difficult or require plowing yet.
Holly found her gaze slipping back to Jace, time and again. The snow collecting in his hair. The way his eyes flickered gold when he looked at her, hot and hungry looks.
In another lull between customers, Holly collected the trash and used paper cocoa cups.
“You know what I’m thinking?” she said to Jace when he returned from stowing the chainsaw.
“Let’s play hooky this afternoon. Dad can stop hiding out in the barn tinkering with the tractor or whatever he’s doing in there, and watch the tree farm for a while.
Noelle’s flying in tomorrow afternoon, and I haven’t done any Christmas shopping at all yet.
And it’s going to be absolutely lovely in town with the falling snow. ”
“Is it safe enough to drive in this weather?” Jace asked.
“Oh, yeah, there’s not nearly enough snow to be dangerous.
We’ll want to be back before dark, that’s all.
” She held out a mittened hand, and Jace took it in his with a wondering expression.
His fingers curled around hers, perfectly normal and human.
“Come on, let’s go tell Dad we’re taking the farm truck and see if he needs anything from town, and then let’s go soak up some small town Christmas spirit. ”