His lips are soft, and I can taste the whiskey on them and feel the scrape of whiskers against my face. The arm he has around me moves me even closer until our chests are pressed against each other. We’re fully clothed and seated side by side, but from the way we’re clinging to each other, we might as well be naked under the sheets.
“That’ll be a hundred bucks,” the driver says, taking our attention away from one another, and I notice that we’re back in front of the restaurant.
I swallow as I settle back against the bench seat and compose myself. My lips are swollen and bruised. My body is full of tingles and built-up energy. Beside me, Hunter puts a hand under the blanket and shifts his weight. The action makes me shiver.
I stand and hand the driver money.
“I got this,” Hunter says, but I’m already climbing down the carriage and standing on the blacktop with my knees wobbly from the ride … and that kiss.
“Already taken care of.” I start to walk out of the park and toward Sixty-Seventh Street, where taxis are driving down Columbus Avenue. “You paid for dinner tonight and drinks last night. Besides, my dad always told me to keep a hundred tucked away in my wallet for emergencies.”
Okay, so it’s not an emergency, but it certainly seems like money well spent. Especially since I need to get away from Hunter and his intoxicating mouth.
I stand on the corner and raise a hand to hail a cab.
“Katie,” Hunter says, walking up to me.
I don’t turn around. I just look for a taxi with its lights on, signaling it doesn’t have a passenger.
“Katie,” he says again, placing a hand on my waist and swinging me around to face him.
When he does, I’m staring at his chest. It’s safer to look here because when I stare too deeply into his eyes, I do foolish things, like kiss him.
“I know. I shouldn’t have done that back there—again.”
“Pay for the ride?” His confused tone makes me glance up into his unfairly handsome face, and I see he’s not annoyed by me at all.
“Kiss you,” I explain. “It was out of line. I just got carried away. I’m a starry-eyed romantic, as you know. And the Christmas spirit makes me do crazy things.”
“I liked our kiss.” He takes a step forward and grabs my face by my cheeks, making me focus on him. “I love all of our kisses.”
And there it is. Those caramel eyes that become an abyss to me. I want to turn away, but when I’m standing this close to him, I fall into the magic and wonderment that is Hunter Johnstone.
“Do you regret kissing me?” he asks, his lips just a touch away from mine.
“Yes,” I breathe, begging for his regret. “Don’t you?”
His brows curve as he explores my eyes. His pupils dilate as they take in my face, looking for something, searching for any hidden meaning laced in my words.
“I don’t do anything unless it’s with intention.” His head is still, and his eyes are wide, making sure there’s no misunderstanding.
“You can’t say things like that.” I try to move out of his embrace.
“Why not?” He pulls me in closer.
“That’s how girls fall in love,” I whisper.
His hands fall from my face like a star from the sky. I scared him, and it’s not surprising.
“It’s okay, Hunter. I won’t fall in love with you.”
He tucks his hands in his pockets, trying his best not to touch me the way he was only moments ago. “That would be a horrible thing.”
I give him a reassuring smile. “The worst.”
I turn and see a taxi down the block with its lights on. I eagerly wave my hand. As it draws near, it pulls to the curb. I place a hand on the door and open it.
“Hey, Katie McGee,” he calls to me as I climb in.
I stop and turn around, my body on the inside of the door, his on the other.
He walks up and steps around to where I’m standing. He leans in and gives me a kiss on my jaw that runs a shiver down to my toes.
“Sweet dreams,” he says rather swoon worthy.
He steps back onto the curb and slides his hands back into the pockets of his overcoat.
I take a deep breath and sit down in the backseat. When the door closes, I tell the driver where to take me. As we head down Columbus, I look out the back window, at Hunter standing on the corner, watching me drive away.
I close my eyes and feel his lips against my skin.
If Hunter Johnstone doesn’t stop kissing me like that, I’m going to be in trouble.
Chapter Six
“I am going to miss you terribly this year. Are you sure you don’t want me to send you a plane ticket?”
I hold the phone to my ear as I talk to my mother. “Thank you, Mom, but I’m fine. It cost close to a thousand dollars to fly home last year, and we all agreed it was too much. You and Dad should go to Aunt Karen’s house. Say hello to Grandma for me, and I’ll be home in two weeks to have a real celebration.”
She grumbles as if she just doesn’t like the sound of it. “Okay. If you’re sure. I’d rather spend the money than have you all alone.”
As I walk down the hallway of my office building, I explain to my mom, “I’m really good. Honest. I made plans for Christmas Eve and I’m going to watch holiday movies all day on the twenty-fifth. Plus, I won’t be alone. Mittens will keep me company.”
“Just know, you and your brother are getting extra presents under the tree this year.”
“Stop it. I don’t want you buying me a single gift until the after-holiday sales go on. That’s the bonus to this plan.”
I hear the loving sigh she releases. “You know I love you,” she says sweetly, and it melts my heart.
“I love you too, Mom. And tell Dad I said the same. I have to get back to work.” I hold the phone in one hand and my files in the other. “Talk to you soon.”
She gives me air kisses through the line before we hang up. I hit End and then open the folder in my hand as I walk toward the copy room.
“There really is no comparison,” I hear Iris from Sales talking with Janice from Accounting inside the room.
“Well, you’re just biased because you hooked up with one of them,” Janice says as she flips her blonde hair over her shoulder.
I walk over to the copy machine and slide in a form to be duplicated. The icon on the screen says there’s no paper left. I open the nearby cabinet, where we keep supplies. We need to order more, so I have to get on my knees and reach all the way to the back to grab a ream.
I’m half inside the deep cabinet when Janice asks from behind me, “Katie, you be the deciding factor. Who’s hotter—Branson Ford or Hunter Johnstone?”
I hit my head on the inside of the cabinet.
“Are you okay?” Iris asks as I sit back on my heels and rub the top of my head.
“Yeah,” I reply. “You had a question?”
Iris folds her arms over her chest. “Branson or Hunter?”
I swallow as I consider her question. Well, one looks like a prince, and the other kisses like a villain. I can’t exactly tell them that though.
“That’s not an appropriate question for me to answer,” I say, grabbing the ream of paper and standing.