Free Hunk for the Holidays by Katie Lane Page B

heart next to her ear.
    “Be careful,” he said. “The sidewalk’s slick.”
    The warning came about a second too late. Cassie’s heels slid out from under her. And instead of being her Prince Charming and rescuing her, James lost his footing and fell along with her. He turned his body to take most of the impact, which wasn’t much considering the ground was covered with snow.
    “Damn slick shoes,” James grumbled, before he leaned over her. “Are you all right?”
    He looked so cute with snow capping his dark brown hair and sticking to his long eyelashes. She laughed.
    He flashed his dimples. “I’m freezing, you know.”
    She melted in those whiskey eyes. “I’m not.”
    “Probably because you have enough alcohol in you to fuel the entire state of Colorado.” He brushed snow off her cheeks and chin, his warm fingers a stark contrast to the cold. A chunk of ice slipped into the crease of her lips, and she licked it off. The color of his eyes deepened to a molten gold.
    “We probably should get up before your brothers look out and wonder what I’m doing with their sister.” He didn’t move.
    She nodded, but she couldn’t find any words. Except maybe, Oh, James the Flame, come on and kiss me . He must’ve heard her silent plea because he bent his head and brushed his lips against hers. Briefly. Way too briefly. Then he was on his feet and lifting her to hers. She quickly sank down into snow up to her knees.
    James hesitated for only a second before he dipped a shoulder and hoisted her up over it. All the blood rushed to her head. She bounced against his back and watched the way his butt flexed as he crunched over the snow-covered yard.
    “I’m sorry, but I’m a little more stable this way,” he said.
    “Okeydoke,” she grunted, finding it very hard to talk when upside down.
    The cold sobered her. At least a little. Enough to where she didn’t feel so giddy anymore, just hot and dizzy. When they arrived at his Land Rover, he set her down and reached in his pocket for the keys. The locks clicked up, and before she knew it, she was inside with her seat belton. The guy was quick. So quick she had barely gotten to enjoy his snowy kiss. But there would be others. She smiled. Before the night was over, she planned on getting a lot more.
    He opened the door, then took the time to stomp the snow from his shoes before climbing in. Once inside, he started the truck and cranked up the heat. “Hang in there. It’ll be warm in a minute.” He popped the gear into drive and pulled away from the curb. “Are you okay?”
    “I’m horny.” It was one of her great-aunt Wheezie’s words, but it pretty much described the way she felt.
    The Land Rover swerved, barely missing the bumper of Jake’s Lexus. James applied the brakes and looked over at her. “No, Cassie, you’re drunk. Now, tell me where you live so I can take you home.”
    “Okay.” She tried to sit up straighter, but somewhere between the house and his truck, her spine had evaporated, and it seemed she no longer had any control over her muscles. Her head flopped over to one side. Fortunately, it was the side he was on. “But when we get there, I want sex. With you.”
    In the open collar of his white shirt, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Look, Cassandra, believe me there’s nothing I’d like more than to have sex with you. But—”
    “Good, ’cause it’s been eighteen months.”
    “Eighteen months?” He had some kind of a stranglehold on the steering wheel as he stared at her, and she wondered what it had done to make him so mad. She shook her head to clear her thoughts but succeeded only in making herself dizzier.
    “Are you trying to tell me you haven’t had sex in eighteen months?” he said.
    “Yep.” She tried to nod, but couldn’t quite pull it off. “Not since Mike tried to squeeze into my undies.”
    “Your old boyfriend wore your underwear?”
    She giggled. “No, silly. Just my Christmas stockings.” Or