Free An Officer and a Rebel: An Accidentally in Love Novella (Entangled Bliss) by Cindi Madsen Page B

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    Kelsey slid her hands into the back pockets of his jeans and kissed him, putting her entire body into it. His heart pounded in his chest, and he pushed his hand into her hair, desire flooding his veins once more. Addictive—that was the right word for being with Kelsey. Never enough, always wanting more.
    She brushed her lips against his. “Just wanted to do that before we had an audience.”
    “Hate to break it to you, but we’ve probably had an audience since we pulled up.”
    Her cheeks colored and she glanced at the house. Then she shrugged. “Well, then let’s do this,” she said, and smacked his butt.
    He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her up to the house. The door swung open two seconds after he knocked, leading him to believe Mom had been watching.
    “Merry Christmas!” Mom leaned forward and hugged him, then glanced at Kelsey.
    “You remember Kelsey Cooper,” Nate said, even though he had called to let Mom know he’d be bringing her—the surprise method wasn’t his style. But he hadn’t expanded on how much he liked her, and that if he had his way, she’d be moving here. Seemed like a conversation he should have with Kelsey first, but right now, he was just going to focus on getting through this meeting with his parents.
    “My goodness, look at you!” Mom threw her arms around Kelsey and hugged her. “I hear you wrecked your car,” she said, and Nate cringed. Of course Mom opened with that—she’d asked him if she was speeding, the way she used to in high school. He shot Kelsey an apologetic glance, but she took it in stride.
    “Yeah, that snowstorm was crazy. And then that deer darted right in front of me and the roads were so slick…” Kelsey put her hand on his arm. “Luckily, Nathaniel happened by to help me out of the car and give me a place to stay.”
    He covered the hand she had on his arm with his, thinking he was the lucky one. Dad wandered in, wearing his typical camouflage shirt and blue jeans. “Hey, Kelsey.” He squinted at her. “I knew the water in Charlotte was a problem, but I didn’t know it made hair turn purple,” he joked.
    Kelsey smiled at him, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Well, it looks like the water here makes your hair fall out, so I guess I’ll stick with Charlotte’s.”
    Dad laughed and squeezed her shoulder. “You always were a firecracker. Good to see you again.”
    “Thanks. You, too.”
    Mom asked about her mother, and Kelsey gave them the update about her marriage and new shop location. Nate could see that flicker of her missing her mom when she talked about her. This morning he could tell she was conflicted, wanting to stay, yet wanting to go. He understood, especially since it was Christmas.
    “So, how about some eggnog?” Dad asked, and Kelsey’s nose wrinkled in that adorable way. “I got the expensive rum, too.”
    Nate ran his fingers up and down Kelsey’s back. “She’s not a big eggnog fan.”
    “No eggnog?” Dad asked. She shook her head. He tilted his head toward the kitchen. “Follow me and we’ll see what other holiday spirits we’ve got.”
    Kelsey followed after him and Nate couldn’t help watching her, the way her smile lit her face as they easily fell into conversation. When he glanced back at Mom, her lips were pursed together.
    “Are you and Kelsey a couple now?”
    He almost said no, because they hadn’t talked about exactly what they were yet. Right then, though, he knew he wanted to figure out a way to make Kelsey a permanent part of his life, no matter what it took. So he decided to be bold and hope it’d soon be the truth.
    “Yes, we are. Don’t worry, I even cleared it with Derek.” As much as he reassured Kelsey his parents would love her, he knew Mom would be the hard sell. She was more traditional, and most of his life he hadn’t fought it—not like Derek, who was the one who came home drunk or snuck out at night. But he was an adult now, and he now knew he didn’t want