Free Every Little Kiss by Kim Amos

of player, but was he the right type of person?
    She thought of a million more excuses— I have a meeting or There are presents to wrap or This probably isn’t a good idea —but they stayed far back in her throat. She didn’t even dare ask what he was doing when his hands moved to her lower back, climbing upward. If she spoke, he might stop, and that would be the worst disappointment of all. His fingers raked deliciously over her neck, pausing as they cradled her face.
    Now I will end this , she thought when his hands stilled.
    Except Abe’s skin on her skin felt warm and wonderful.
    She suddenly wished she had on more makeup. Had done more with her hair. Had worn something more appealing.
    But then again, when had she ever done those things?
    Abe stared down at her, his rugged face uncannily handsome. His eyes were full of intensity.
    “There’s a parade before the tree lighting,” he said. “We’ll watch that, too.”
    He wasn’t asking.
    She should be irritated. Instead, it was electrifying.
    “Will Santa be there?” she asked. “A parade without Saint Nick is a deal breaker for me.”
    “Oh, he’ll be there. I’ll make sure of it.”
    “You can do that?”
    “I can get Rudolph and wise men and angels, too.”
    His thumb traced her cheekbone. She thought her skin might ignite. “Angels,” she said, “how divine. I didn’t realize you were so well connected.”
    “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”
    “For the record, I was fine to keep it that way. You were the one who showed up to Robot Lit with a poinsettia.”
    A corner of his mouth lifted. Her insides jumped. “I had a life-altering event and came to see the light. I was like Saul on the road to Damascus.”
    She smiled. “Are you saying there was divine intervention so you’d ask me out? I didn’t know the heavens cared so much.”
    “Make no mistake. The angels were very clear.”
    “More angels,” she said, her heart pounding. “It really must be Christmastime.”
    “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets a kiss. Isn’t that the expression?” His voice was gravel and silk.
    “I don’t hear any bells.” Her voice was barely a whisper. Was it her imagination, or had his head moved closer? She felt her lips part, her head tilt.
    “Wouldn’t you know, I don’t need any.”
    And with that, he brought his lips against hers in a smoldering kiss hotter than any fire she’d ever known.
    *  *  *
    Kissing Casey Tanner wasn’t just good.
    It was epic.
    She kissed like a fucking cheetah—wild, hungry, and tireless. It was like she’d been caged for too long and she was finally being set free in the jungle again.
    I guess that makes me the jungle , Abe thought as he tasted her lips, her tongue. He didn’t mind being the jungle at all. Especially not when she twisted against him like that.
    He hadn’t expected this number cruncher with her hair pulled into a messy bun to be so unpredictably sexy. One minute she was wrapping gifts for a white elephant, and the next she had her hands in his hair and was pulling him toward her like she couldn’t get enough.
    Dear God. What a bonus.
    He certainly hadn’t planned it this way.
    He’d figured he’d drop off the poinsettia (props to Quinn for telling him to bring it when he stopped by the firehouse before heading down) and ask Casey to the tree lighting, maybe catch a little bit of the holiday parade beforehand. One date. Barely even one, since the lighting would take mere seconds, and the cocoa afterward could be slugged down just as quickly if things were going poorly. He was tying up loose ends, really, shoring up unruly emotions that he wasn’t sure what to do with. The heart attack hadn’t been real—and surely Casey Tanner wouldn’t be real, either. Not in the way he wanted her to be.
    But here he was kissing her in the middle of Robot Lit, where anyone at any moment could catch them.
    It was unbelievable.
    And hot as hell.
    When was the last time a woman had