Free Unwrapped by Erin McCarthy, Donna Kauffman, Kate Angell

anything for bacon and eggs and some big old pancakes.”
    “Maybe Roy can hook you up.”
    “Maybe. But that would mean I have to get up and I’m comfortable just laying here forever.”
    She was too, which was precisely what had her unfurling herself from him and throwing back the covers.
    “Ahh,” Christian said. “It’s cold out there. Where are you going?”
    “The bathroom.” Without looking at him, knowing if she did, she might just embarrass herself and wrap her arms around him, or worse, get weepy, Blue picked up her discarded pajama pants and pulled them on, along with her T-shirt.
    A peek out the window showed that it had stopped snowing and it looked like the plow had made at least one pass on the main road, though the parking lot was buried. With any luck, she could get a tow arranged and then . . . do what?
    She wasn’t sure. Getting a rental car on Christmas was bound to be dicey, but if Christian could take her to the airport in Lexington, she would have options. Fly south, rent a car, get a hotel. She could do something.
    Which would be better than staying here feeling like she might hyperventilate from emotions she didn’t altogether understand.
    Rummaging through her suitcase, she found a pair of jeans and the only shirt she’d packed that had sleeves. Along with undergarments and her toiletries bag, she headed for the bathroom to take a shower.
    Well aware of Christian’s eyes following her, she didn’t dare look at him.
    “Is there a fire?” he asked.
    Yes. “What do you mean?” she asked nonchalantly.
    “What’s the hurry? I doubt we’re going to able to find a tow truck this morning and the longer we linger, the easier our drive to Lexington will be. Give them time to clear the roads. We don’t even know if the highway has been reopened.”
    “Well, we’re not going to know if we stay in bed, are we?”
    She dared a glance at him and he was sitting up, studying her carefully. “Is something wrong?”
    “No, of course not. I just can’t fix the problem and get to Miami if I don’t get out of bed.”
    He threw back the covers and revealed his naked body, his penis partially erect in what she hoped was just a sleep erection. She couldn’t handle another round of amazing sex without saying something stupid or needy or vulnerable. She’d already blathered on too much last night, telling him about her family.
    “What are you doing?” she asked, fighting the urge to back up. That much muscular man was more than she could resist if he came on to her.
    “I’m getting out of bed so we can see what’s going on out there. Fix the problem. Get you out of here.”
    He didn’t sound belligerent or upset. He looked calm, like he always did. But there was something in his expression that told her he wasn’t entirely pleased with the situation. Neither was she.
    “I figure at least if I miss the cruise I can hang out for a few days in the sunshine, right?” Not that she could afford either a plane ticket to Miami or a hotel, but that’s what a credit card was for. She just couldn’t face driving back to Cincinnati in a rental car and spending the night alone in her empty apartment.
    “Or you could spend the night in Lexington with me. Have dinner with my family. Then tomorrow you can go to Miami. You don’t want to spend Christmas at the airport.”
    No, she didn’t. But it didn’t matter. Why should Christmas be any different now than it had been her whole life? Part of her wanted to say yes, she’d love to spend the night with Christian and his family, but it would be like playing house. He wasn’t hers and his family was going to think it was weird as hell for her to be there.
    And she didn’t think she could sit there in that kind of family togetherness knowing she wasn’t part of it, knowing that she didn’t belong. “I seriously doubt your family wants a total stranger invading their Christmas.”
    He scoffed, standing up. “Please. They’re always telling me to