“Weston!” Alex shrieked.
Deftly, he snatched the sheet of unbaked cookies from midair. “Got it!” And he grinned that devilish grin of his. “Christmas cookies. My favorite!”
She whacked him on the arm with the back of her hand. He deserved it for sneaking up on her like that—even if she was wildly happy to see him. “You scared ten years off my life!”
He had a look full of delicious bad intentions. They stared at each other over the cookie-dough candy canes, Santas and snowmen. He asked, “Well?”
“Um. Was there a question?”
“Our Christmas affair. Yes or no?”
She made a thoughtful little sound.
He tugged on a wave of her hair that had escaped her messy bun, brushing the side of her cheek as he did it, sending a cascade of sweet sensation tumbling through her. “Yes or no?”
She bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling too wide. “Yes.”
His gaze ran over her, a leisurely look that was every bit as thrilling as any actual caress. “So you’re saying I can stay here with you till New Year’s?”
She took the cookie sheet from him, turned, pulled the oven open, slid the sheet onto the rack and shut the oven door. Breathing slow and even to settle her racing heart, she faced him again. “Don’t you have to work?”
“I will work. Remotely—and I’ll probably have to fly to Seattle a time or two.”
“So Easton knows you’re here?”
“He does.”
“The family—”
“I have a suggestion.” His crooked smile lit her up inside.
“Oh, I’m sure you do.” She tried to sound stern. Total fail.
“Let’s talk about all this later.” He closed the small distance between them, bent close and ran his nose up the side of her neck. Every nerve in her body danced. “You smell like sugar and vanilla.”
“It’s the cookies.”
“Yum.” His teeth grazed her throat. “I could eat you right up.”
She lifted her arms, braced them on his shoulders and sighed as he nipped and sucked his way up over her chin to her parted mouth.
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” His lips met hers and his long, warm fingers curled around the back of her neck. “Alex...” He growled her name into her mouth. “You taste like sugar, too.”
With a moan, she pressed her whole body against him as his hand strayed upward into her hair. “You should definitely stay with me till New Year’s.”
“Done.” He tugged on her topknot and it came tumbling down.
Still kissing her, he walked her backward. They rounded the end of the island closest to the oven and kept on going. The kiss went on, too, as he backed her the length of the main room, into the tiny square of hallway and through her open bedroom door.
When they got to the bed, he started undressing her. She was naked in two minutes flat. How convenient that she hadn’t made the bed yet. She fell back across the sheets as he stripped off his own clothes.
In no time he was wearing nothing at all. He was such a good-looking man, lean, cut and strong—and every bit as glad to see her as she was to have him here. She knew that from the hot gleam in his eyes and that wonderful, crooked smile of his. Plus, there was no way to ignore that impressive erection.
Joining her on the bed, he planted his knees on either side of her hip bones and his hands on either side of her head. “Yes, I am very glad to see you.”
“How did you know that’s what I was thinking?”
“The way you look at me.”
“I’m that obvious?”
“You might have licked your lips once or twice.”
She laughed. “Bust-ed. And you’re right.” She trailed a slow finger down the center of his sculpted chest. “I really am glad to see you.”
He dropped a quick, hard kiss on her mouth. “Condoms?”
“Bedside drawer where you left them.”
He reached over, pulled the drawer open and took out a few, dropping them within easy reach. “Alex. It’s so good to see you—all of you. Every. Gorgeous. Inch.” He kissed those last three words onto her lips.
She grabbed him close, the breath fleeing her chest as she took his weight and heat and hardness all along the front of her. She kissed him so deep, learning the tender contours of his lips all over again.
He laughed, low and rough. The sound echoed in her head as she rolled them, gaining the top position, pulling away just long enough to slide down his body, bend over him—and take him in her mouth.
“Alex...” He groaned her name like a plea, reaching down, framing her head between his hands, holding on as she took him deep, then gathering her hair, getting it out of the way so that he could see exactly what she did to him.
Twice, he tried to pull away, growling deep in his throat, warning, “I won’t last,” and then, “I can’t hold out...”
She hummed low and stayed on task. From the main room, Pentatonix sang “Hallelujah.”
“Alex. It’s happening,” he warned. “It’s happening right now!”
She hummed around him, staying with him as he came.
When she finally let him go, he caught her by the shoulders and pulled her up his body so their lips could meet. “I think I might have died. Am I in heaven?”
“Could be.” She rolled off him and onto her pillow with a happy sigh.
He turned his head and frowned at her. “Do you smell smoke?”
She snickered. “So then, maybe not heaven, after all?” Right then, the smoke alarm started screaming. That had her shouting, “My cookies!” Bolting upright and jumping from the bed, she raced for the kitchen, West close on her heels.
In the kitchen, the smoke was thick near the ceiling and the alarm continued to blare. Alex grabbed a pot holder and pulled open the oven. A cloud of smoke rolled out. She seized the baking sheet of charred cookies and dropped it on the cooktop, then turned off the oven. West opened the window over the sink. Cold, snow-damp air blew in on the wind.
They fanned at the smoke with their hands, coughing and laughing. By the time enough of it had vanished out the window that the alarm stopped, she was shivering—which was not the least surprising. Both of them were stark naked and the icy wind outside was fierce.
West shut the window. In the living area, she turned on the fireplace, set the furnace fan to run continuously until the smoke had completely cleared out and instructed her Google Assistant to turn off the music.
He came up behind her, clasped her bare waist between his hands and whispered in her ear, “Let’s warm you up.” Scooping her high against his chest, he carried her back to her bed and wrapped the covers around them both.
Soon she was toasty warm.
They started kissing again.
In no time, he was reaching for a condom. She took it from him, rolled it down over him and pulled him on top of her. It felt so good with him, so right...
Right for right now, she reminded herself as they moved together. She needed to reinvent her life. No way was she ready for anything serious—and he’d made it way clear that he wasn’t, either.
Still, with him, she felt special, important and so womanly, somehow. He behaved as if he couldn’t get enough of her, like he just couldn’t wait to get close to her again. She felt the same about him—and not only because of the great sex. She also loved laughing with him, hanging out with him. She could talk to him about pretty much anything.
“I’m sorry your cookies are ruined,” he whispered a little later as they snuggled together under the covers.
She kissed the edge of his chiseled jaw. “Not a big deal. That was the last cookie sheetful. The others came out okay.”
He skated a finger down the bridge of her nose. “Just okay?”
“West. The truth is, I never was much of a baker. I just got in the mood for Christmas cookies today.”
He nuzzled her ear. “I’ll munch your cookies any day.”
She snort-laughed at that one and when he tried to kiss her, she pressed her hands against his chest and held his gaze. “You know we need to talk about the family.” He dipped in close and stole a kiss anyway. She warned, “Don’t try to distract me.”
He put on a pouty look. “I would never...”
“Back to the main point.” She combed the hair at his temples with her fingers. “You said Easton knows you’re here with me. What about Payton?”
He lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. “I didn’t ask, so I have no idea what your sister knows.”
“Your parents?”
“I don’t know for certain, but it’s doubtful. I can’t see my brother or your sister telling them. Too weird and awkward.”
“But they will know in two weeks when they show up for Christmas.”
“How about we look at it this way? There’s no reason to start explaining as long as they don’t ask. You never know. They might just stay on their own side of the fence.”
“Well, we can hope—and Josie invited me to her house for dinner tonight.”
He pulled her closer, caught her lower lip between his teeth and worried it lightly. “Do I get to go with you?”
“Of course.”
“Whew. I don’t like picturing myself sitting here alone waiting for Uber Eats to bring me my takeout.”
“I want you to come. You should know, though, that me and my sisters tell one another everything. So I’m going to call Josie first, to let her know that you’re staying with me until New Year’s. I’ll say I would like to bring you with me to dinner. I’ll also be calling Payton to let her know what’s going on.”
“Great,” he said, in a voice that implied it was anything but.
“You have objections?”
“No way. They’re your sisters.”
“Right answer.” She sat up and pushed the covers down.
He snaked a hard arm around her and pulled her back against him. “You don’t need to call them right this minute, do you?”
“There’s no reason to put it off.”
He caught her earlobe between his teeth and bit it lightly, causing lovely, fluttery sensations all through her body. “This bed is warm and you’re so soft and smooth...”
She did love that hungry look in his eye. It caused a hot, heavy feeling low in her belly. “We can’t stay in bed forever. After I call my sisters, I need to go get a puppy.”
His golden eyebrows drew together. “You really are getting a puppy?”
“I am.”
“And for some reason, it has to be today?”
“Yes. It’s Clear the Shelter Saturday at Heartwood Animal Rescue. I’m going. And that’s why I do need to get moving.”
He pulled her closer. “No problem. I’ll make this quick...”
An hour later, Alex had showered and dressed. West was taking his turn in the bathroom.
She called Josie first. “Got a minute?”
“For you? Always.”
“I’m just going to put it right out there. West is here. He’s staying with me until New Year’s.”
“Wow...” Josie let the word trail off.
Alex answered the questions her sister hadn’t even asked yet. “I like him, Josie. He showed up a couple of hours ago. I’m really happy he’s here.”
“Well, okay, then. Bring him to dinner tonight.”
“Thanks. I will.”
“So...” Josie let the single word trail off significantly.
“Go ahead. Ask me.”
“It’s serious, then?”
“It’s a fling, Josephine.”
Josie didn’t ask, Are you sure about this? But the question hung in the silence between them. “I’m here. To talk. To listen. Whatever you need.”
“Thank you. I love you.”
“And I love you.”
“Guess what? West and I are heading to Heartwood Animal Rescue today. I’m getting a puppy.”
“Terrific. Bring your puppy to dinner, too.”
“Thanks for the offer. We’ll see how it goes.”
As soon as she hung up with Josie, she texted Payton. We should talk. Not an emergency. Just, you know, when you get a minute.
Payton didn’t immediately reply, so Alex straightened up the kitchen. She washed the bowl and utensils, scraped burned cookies into the compost bin, put the cookie sheet in the sink to soak and wiped down the counters. As she was drying the mixing bowl, her phone pinged with a text.
It was Payton. I can guess what you want to talk about. Did Weston arrive safely? Call me.
Alex put away the bowl and made the call. When Payton picked up, Alex asked, “So Easton told you everything, huh?”
“Of course. And I am carefully minding my own damn business.”
“Thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome. Having fun?”
“You’re givin’ me lip, Paytaytochip?” It was what they all used to call Payton way back in the day—complete with the requisite silly rhyme.
“As the former wild child of this family, I get it. You’re amazing. He’s charming and hot. There are fireworks, am I right?”
“So very right.”
“You should both have a great time.”
“We should, yes. And we are, I promise you.”
“Also, I’ve forbidden Easton to beat up his brother, so violence won’t be a problem.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
Payton reminded her to call anytime, same as Josie had. They were saying goodbye as West emerged from the short hallway to the bedrooms. Alex set her phone down as West faced her across the kitchen island.
His hair was a darker shade of gold, still wet from his shower. He gave her that teasing smirk of his, but his eyes held a hint of concern. “Everything okay?”
“You’re invited to dinner at Josie’s. As for my call to Payton, she already knew you were here.”
His smile had reached his eyes as he rounded the island and got up close and personal. “All good, then.”
“I would say so, yes.” She went into his arms. He smelled like soap and pine trees. Their kiss lit her up, head to toe. Eventually she had to press her hands against his chest to back him off a little. “If you keep doing that, I’ll never get my puppy.”
He took a keyless car remote from his pocket. “Let’s go, then.”
“That reminds me. You’ll need your key to the cottage.” She eased around him to get it from the utility drawer. “Here you go.”
Outside, the snow had stopped. The wind had not. It tried to whip their coats right off their bodies. They climbed in his big Range Rover and off they went.
“What kind of puppy are we looking for?” he asked as he turned onto the main road to Heartwood.
“I was thinking a boxer. Or a Labrador retriever. A short-haired breed, medium to large. Bigger dogs have calmer personalities.”
He slanted her a quick glance. “Not always.”
“Well, I’m thinking I’ll know the puppy for me as soon as I see him.”
“And your puppy will be a male, short-haired, medium to large?”
She nodded firmly. “That much, I’m sure of.” She thought of the last pet she’d had, back when she was growing up here on the farm. Sometimes she still missed Old Betsy.
He seemed to sense her change of mood. “Everything okay?”
“Just thinking that I haven’t had a pet since Old Betsy died. Old Betsy was a dwarf goat, a rescue. She used to follow me everywhere. Broke my heart when she died.”
He sent her another glance—a sympathetic one this time. “How long ago?”
“Almost twenty years. I was fourteen when I lost her. When she died, I told myself that pets weren’t for me. It hurts too much to lose them. And then, well...”
He met her eyes again, just for a moment. They shared a smile and he said, “You’ve been busy with school, with your job.”
“Exactly. And I have no idea what I’m going to do with my life from now on. But whatever I decide is next, I’m not spending all my time at the office. I need a real life. And I think it’s time, you know, to have a friend around the house.”
West parked his car in the single empty parking space at Heartwood Animal Rescue. The low, square building took up half a block on a side street right off Main.
Inside, there was a tree in the window and Christmas music playing. Animals and people of all ages filled the large reception area, which had a waiting room furnished with chairs and stationary animal toys—scratching posts, tubes for kids and dogs to scramble through. West thought it was pretty impressive for a shelter in such a small town.
A volunteer led them back to a large room full of kennels.
It was loud in there—dogs barking, kids laughing and talking over each other.
Alex glanced up at him and gave him a nervous little smile. “Okay. Let’s do this.” She slipped her hand in his. He liked how that felt, their fingers woven together, his warm palm pressed to her cool one, like they were a team, united against...
What?
He had no idea. Better to focus on the goal, which was to find her a short-haired male puppy of a medium to large breed.
They wandered from kennel to kennel. Many were already empty, the dogs who had stayed there having found themselves homes. She stopped at each one with an occupant. The dogs inside sniffed at her, most of them eager. Some ran in circles. Some nudged the bars and let out hopeful little whines.
She gave each dog her undivided attention for at least a minute or two—and then she moved on.
They had circled the room and were back near the door again when she glanced into the next kennel, eased her hand from his grip and dropped to a crouch.
At first, he thought the space was empty. But when he leaned in closer, he saw a small black-and-white dog with a pug nose and enormous black eyes sitting at the back wall of the kennel, staring straight ahead. That dog was no pup. It had salt-and-pepper hair around its nose and mouth. Even the white hair on its chest looked grayed.
Not a shorthair, either. Long, scraggly fur sprouted from the top of its head and made the floppy ears look longer still. “What is that, a shih tzu?” he asked.
Alex turned to him and put a finger to her lips. He shut his mouth, stuck his hands in his pockets and gave her a nod—hey, this was her moment. If she wanted him quiet, he wouldn’t say a word.
She turned to the old dog at the back of the kennel. “Hello.” The dog got up. Head high, the long fur of its curled tail bouncing, it trotted right to her, paws making click-clicking sounds on the concrete floor. Alex stuck a finger through the bars and scratched the mutt on its hairy head. “This is the one,” she said.
The dog was the polar opposite of the dog she’d described in the car. It wasn’t even male, from what he could see. “Right. A short-haired male puppy, medium to large. Just what you were looking for.”
Alex shrugged. “Weston, I looked in those big eyes and I knew. She’s the one.” Turning back to the mutt, she asked, “You think you might want to come home with me?”
The dog reared up against the cage screen with an eager whine—a female, he could see that for certain now. Dropping back to all fours, she wagged her tangled tail, gave a tiny whine and then jumped three times in rapid succession. The jumping thing was damn cute. All four paws left the ground in unison. As she came down, her ears flew up. When she landed, the ears flopped down. At the same time, her claws clicked sharply on the concrete floor.
“She says yes,” Alex informed him, as if she’d known the hairy little old lady dog all her life. She added, to the dog, “Okay, then. Let’s get you out of there.”
They learned as they filled out the paperwork that the old dog, a shih tzu mix as he’d suspected, had come to the shelter wearing a tag that read simply Cookie.
Alex shot him a triumphant glance, though he had no idea why until she explained, “‘Cookie,’ as in ‘fortune.’ See? When you know, you know.”
The teenage volunteer behind the desk needed a minute to process that, too. “Oh!” she said finally. “Like ‘fortune cookie,’ right?”
Alex nodded and flashed West a giant grin. “Cookie and me, we were meant to be.”
Cookie thought so, too. She got up on her hind legs right there on the counter and swiped her long tongue all over Alex’s face. Alex laughed, loving it. Whatever she’d decided earlier about the dog she would choose, Cookie was the one for her now.
“One thing,” said the volunteer. “She never barks. Our vet says there’s nothing wrong with her vocal cords. But still, she never barks.”
Alex arched an eyebrow. “A quiet dog. I don’t think that will be a problem for me.”
The volunteer shrugged. “Just thought you should know.”
Back at the cottage, after a detour to the pet store for supplies, Cookie settled right in. The dog followed Alex everywhere. As predicted by the girl behind the counter at the shelter, they had yet to hear a single bark. When spoken to, she aimed her black eyes right at you and stared as though soaking in your every word.
Alex spent a long time grooming the dog, talking to her softly, praising her as she brushed every tangle from her coat and trimmed her claws.
West could almost start to feel neglected. An hour before they had to head to Halstead Farm for dinner, he managed to coax Alex back to bed for a quickie. Cookie followed them into the bedroom, but when Alex gave her a scratch on the head and said, “Go on now,” the little dog turned around and trotted right back out the bedroom door, newly trimmed claws lightly tapping the floor.
“See?” Alex whipped her white sweater off over her head revealing a white satin bra he couldn’t wait to get off her. “That dog is a treasure.”
“Why are you still wearing so many clothes?” He was already stretched out on the bed naked. “I thought you said we had to be there at five thirty.”
She gave him a slow look from under her lashes, her eyes pausing at his groin. “I like a man who’s glad to see me.”
And he was. Always. Very, very glad to see her—and not only in bed. He liked every damn thing about her, starting with her sharp mind and moving on to her great big heart.
She was the kind of woman he stayed away from as a rule. Dangerous to him, a threat to the freedom he’d always believed he needed. East was the steady one, the one who went to Stanford like their father while West rebelled and enrolled at UCLA. East had always wanted a family, same as their dad, a settled-down life with the right woman.
Not West. Yeah, someday he wanted kids. But he’d yet to fall in love. Losing his heart to a woman held zero appeal for him.
Or so he’d always believed...
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her down to the bed with him. She was laughing as he rolled her beneath him and bit the tip of her chin. “I might be jealous of that mutt,” he said in a growl.
She eased her soft hands around his waist and stroked the skin at the small of his back. Impossibly, he grew harder. She whispered, “Let me kiss it all better.”
He nibbled her earlobe. “Now you’re talkin’.”
West hated to leave the bed. But they were due at her sister’s house for dinner. They had to get moving.
They got up. He put on his pants and she pulled on her robe. Her hair was all over the place and her cheeks were flushed pink. He couldn’t resist grabbing her for one more long, deep kiss.
Before he was ready to let her go, she pulled back. “I need a quick shower.”
Reluctantly, he released her. “Yeah, me, too.”
“You first,” she said. “Make it fast.”
West emerged from the bathroom in ten minutes flat. Alex took her turn. By then, they were verging on late.
They put on their coats and Alex clipped Cookie’s leash to her new collar. Off they went.
At Josie’s, it was just the adults and baby David. Both of Miles’s daughters were staying in town with their grandmother. Mostly, West had a good time. Miles was easy to talk to, though West didn’t have a lot in common with the guy. They consoled each other about the Seahawks’ so-so season and agreed it could be a good year for the Blazers.
As for Josie, Alex’s middle sister made him a little nervous. More than once, West felt her eyes on him. He knew that look. It was a look his mother got whenever she thought anyone had dared even to think about doing wrong to one of her boys.
Message received. Loud and clear. If he broke her big sister’s heart, Josie Halstead would very likely cut out his liver and have it for dinner.
He figured she would try to pull him aside somehow, to warn him that he’d better be good to Alex—or else. But she surprised him. Except for the occasional meaningful glance, she left him alone.
He was happy to get out of there when the evening was over.
“Let’s take off for a couple of days,” she said at midnight. They were in her bed, naked, after more than one bout of energetic lovemaking.
He got up on an elbow to look down at her flushed face. “Right now?”
“Well, in the morning...”
He ran a finger across her clavicle, smoothed a stray lock of hair away from her cheek. “And go where?”
“How about Portland? We can stay at my place, get our Christmas shopping done.”
He kissed her, a quick one, though as soon as his lips met hers, he didn’t want to stop. It was kind of a problem. If he didn’t watch himself, he’d have her in a lip-lock constantly. “You know there’s the internet, right? You can get anything there and have it waiting on your doorstep within twenty-four hours.”
“But it’s Christmas. Half the fun is seeing the stores lit up, the Christmas music playing wherever you go, a wreath on every lamppost and a tree in all the windows.” She was frowning. “Right?”
He chuckled. “What? You’re not sure?”
“Well, I don’t do that myself. I don’t wander the stores, shopping for hours. It was always just work and more work and two days here at home if I’m lucky.”
He traced the shape of her softly parted lips, loving the pillowy texture while resisting the temptation to steal just one more kiss. Was he a goner? Maybe. And he would go anywhere with her—for her. Even Christmas shopping in actual brick-and-mortar stores.
And beyond his bizarre need to make sure she got her way in all things, he wouldn’t mind staying at her place, spending a little time in her day-to-day world. “Okay, then. We’ll go to Portland tomorrow.”
She scoffed. “Wait. What? Yes? Just like that?”
“Just like that. It’s settled. Now, kiss me.”
She tipped up that sweet mouth and he claimed it. They didn’t get to sleep until after two.