Free Mistletoe and Holly by Janet Dailey

shoulder in a vague shrug, “—it doesn’t necessarily mean the lady is willing. She could be just tolerating it. I suppose that’s happened to you.”
    “More times than I care to count.” It was one of the reasons she’d sworn off office Christmas parties.
    “Was today one of them?” Tagg asked and immediately widened his smile. “That’s a leading question, isn’t it?”
    “Very leading,” she agreed with a self-conscious laugh. A warmth was beginning to spread through her veins and heat her skin until she felt slightly flushed.
    “I guess you know where it’s leading, too.” He withdrew his hands from his pockets and took a step closer, reaching for her waist. Their touch just seemed to add to the warmth already coursing through her. His glance flicked upward, above her head, then down to hold her gaze. “There’s no mistletoe—no obligation to kiss or be kissed.”
    “No,” Leslie agreed, feeling oddly breathless in anticipation.
    When he began bending his head toward her, he blocked out the overhead light. In an automatic response, her chin lifted. His mouth settled onto hers with natural ease, its warmth melting away thelittle hesitancy that remained. Her lips moved against his, liking the stimulating feel of them.
    His arm slid to the back of her waist, taking more of her weight so she had to rely less on the crutches for support. With his other hand, he took first one, then the other away from her and set them against the kitchen counter. Her hands found a way inside his jacket and circled his middle as he gathered her more fully into his arms.
    A heady pleasure was building inside her as his mouth continued to roll over her lips, exploring their softness and inciting their response. That tangy fragrance clinging to his skin filled her senses with each deepening breath she took. His hands made a slow foray over her shoulders and back, traveling over the curve of her spine and shaping her to his length. Leslie was distantly conscious of his flatly muscled build, and the heat his body generated combining with hers.
    When he ended the kiss, the moist heat of his breath continued to warm her lips. No attempt was made by either to pull back and increase the distance between their lips. Through the veiling screen of her lashes, Leslie studied the firm line of his chin and the attractive grooves that flanked his mouth. She was conscious that his breathing was disturbed, not coming as evenly as it normally did.She knew her pulse was racing wildly, indicating the kiss had a similar, stimulating effect on her.
    “I’ve been wanting to do that.” His husky voice was pitched just above a whisper. It seemed to vibrate through her.
    Lights flashed on the kitchen window as a car turned into the driveway. “That must be Aunt Patsy.” Leslie reluctantly loosened her circling arms to draw away from him. “You’d better hand me my crutches.”
    “Children and relatives; they don’t have the best timing,” Tagg declared dryly and kept a supporting arm around Leslie while he reached for her crutches. “Holly with her mistletoe this afternoon and your aunt arriving at this particular moment.”
    “She could have come home sooner.” She slipped the crutches under her arms and shifted a small distance away from him.
    “The cynic sounding like Pollyanna?” Tagg mocked that she had found something good in the intrusion.
    “Even Scrooge had his moments,” Leslie retorted, hearing the slam of a car door.
    “Which reminds me,” he said. “Holly goes to school in the mornings. One day this next week, I planned to drive into Montpelier. Would you like to ride with me and keep me company while Holly’s in school?”
    “Don’t tell me. Let me guess,” she said. “You’re going Christmas shopping.”
    He laughed silently. “Clever girl. How did you figure that out?”
    “It just seemed logical. So far I’ve gone along when you went hunting for your tree. You asked me over to help trim it. So the only