Free Baby It's Cold by Madison Faye Page B

charming and I’d secretly crushed on him for probably years as a little girl. But there was another part of me, the part that found it odd or possibly off-putting that I was here alone, probably for the first time ever. That part of me felt it necessary, appropriate maybe, to shyly move my knee back.  

    His hand lingered thought, grip tightening as I made to move my leg. “You’ve really become a stunning woman.”  

    The room suddenly felt hotter and more confining than it had when I’d first entered, arms full of cookies from my mother for him. I was embarrassed to think that I’d preened for over an hour, probably more, before coming over after she’d asked if I’d deliver them. Jon had always been   the cool older guy to me growing up. I won’t say “like an Uncle” since that makes the feelings I always harbored for him as soon as I was old enough to see boys like that seem creepy or something. He was just Jon; Jon who I dressed up for, even if only to bring cookies to.

    His grip tightened on my knee, his fingers stroking more purposefully now. My stomach flipped and I could feel a slow burning heat in my cheeks.  

    Again, I was split. There was one part of me that thrilled that this man was showing an interest in me. But there was another part that felt panicked; cornered and trapped by being alone with him.  

    "I...I really should go" I looked at him shyly, my heart hammering as he flashed that gorgeous, totally disarming smile at me.  

    "It's cold out there."

    I laughed nervously. "No, I know, but it's getting late."

    I was forcing myself to say no here, I knew that. But staying would be a mistake; I wasn't ready for staying and all the implications that brought. Besides, it felt like things had begun to move quite, quite fast all of a sudden.

    I drained the last of my cocoa and made to stand up.  

    "Why don't you stay and have just one more drink?"

    I could feel the effects of the first drink well enough. Heat coursed through my veins, warming my core and bringing an almost giggly flirtation to my words.  

    I looked at him, biting my lip as his sparkling eyes bore into mine.  

    "I really can't." Something dark lingered in those eyes, a flash of need, a small sliver of something much more adult than a mug of cocoa. In a way, it scared me.  

    "Thanks for having me over, and for the drink."

    "Well I was hoping I'd get to see you while you were back."

    That smile again, and suddenly my moment of fear was disappearing, melting with the heat of the fireplace.  

    I stood, and began to move towards the door. "Well, it really was nice." The moment of uncertainty was passing, and I was already wondering why I’d been so eager to leave.

    “Thanks for stopping by, Rachel,” He said, his voice like honey and temptation. I blushed again, for no real reason, as I pulled my boots by the door and stood to look at him again.

    “You sure I can’t get you to stay for another drink?”

    I smiled shyly. “Next time.”

    “What if I said I had a present for you?”

    My grin widened at his sparkling eyes and that smooth voice of his. “Do you?”

    Jon shrugged. “ Maybe? ” He winked at me. “Guess you’ll have to stay and find out.

    God he was hard to say no to.

    “And Merry Christmas, kid.”

    “Merry Christmas, Jon.”

Chapter 3:

    I hit play on the movie I’d paused earlier - earlier now that seemed forever ago - and sat back on the couch to watch. I wasn’t paying attention at all though, and I know it wasn’t just because I’d seen the damn thing a hundred times.

    It was because I was wondering what might have been. My whole body was was wondering what might have happened if I’d stayed; stayed for one more drink.

    I think I knew what might have happened, and that thought alone had me biting my lip and squirming in my seat as the forbidden heat of it crept through my body. The forbidden head that made me wet, just imaging what I might have let him do with me back