A Hero Grinch for Christmas Page 6

  Hunter ogled Dani’s backside. She had her head hidden in the refrigerator with her cute behind angled in the air. He swallowed the groan.

  The stereo blared, and Dani sang. She really got into the Christmas music. He’d never seen a woman with so much spirit. Spending time with her, he guessed this was her normal disposition.

  She grabbed a container and closed the door. Then she turned around and froze when she saw him. Reminded him of a deer in headlights.

  “Is the coffee still hot?” he asked.

  “I made another pot.”

  “Thanks.” She’d already washed the cup he used this morning, so he grabbed a new one.

  “I found a roast in the freezer,” she said. “Want that for dinner?”

  “Sounds good.” He watched her scurry around the kitchen. She seemed right at home. “Fay teach you how to cook?”

  “Yep. I learned from the best.”

  “I won’t argue that.”

  “Most of her dishes are Italian. I love pasta. Spaghetti, Lasagna, Alfredo dishes. They are my grandmother’s recipes.”

  “Was your grandmother Italian?”

  Dani placed a baking dish on the counter and unwrapped a package of beef. “No. Not sure why, but she was always cooking a sauce. Mostly for Spaghetti. Which of course is probably why it’s my favorite.”

  Hunter nodded and listened to her chatter. She was good at that too.

  “Granny was married three times. Her last husband was Dutch. A big burly man. Sounded like a Grizzly, but he was just a big teddy bear. I loved him.”

  As Dani rattled on, Hunter leaned against the counter allowing her voice to roll over him. A sexy voice that soothed some places and aroused others.

  She opened the freezer door and plucked out the ice tray. Before she realized a few spilled on the floor, she stepped on one and slipped. His reflexes kicking in, he grabbed her without thought. Without considering how much he wanted her body pressed against his.

  Her lips parted on a gasp.

  His blood whipped with lust.

  What he’d wanted was right here in his arms, her hands clutching his shoulders, her lips a breath from his. He hovered, waiting for God knew what. A sign?

  Could he trust what he thought he saw in her eyes? Yearning?

  This was not a good idea. One touch of her mouth and there would be no turning back. Indecision wared within.

  “Uh. The ice . . .” she said, her voice shaky.

  He blinked.

  Aw freakin’ hell.

  He slowly released his hold, and she edged backward.

  He needed to put some distance between them. He shoved a hand through his hair.

  “I’ll check the generator while you fix dinner.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Mistletoe!” Dani held a sprig of green over her head, catching Hunter in the doorway of the ‘man cave’.

  His eyes shot to hers, another dark scowl on his oh-so-handsome face. He closed the door behind him, stepping into her personal space. “If we’re going to survive being in this house together—”

  “Oh loosen up,” she said dropping her arm down to her side. She’d thought they’d made progress. But since she slipped on that piece of ice on the kitchen floor, his dark moods were back. Why the hell didn’t he kiss her? She had no answer. And no matter what she did, he wouldn’t smile.

  She usually controlled her temper, but she was tired of his mulishness. “You’ve got a log so far up your ass, even lumberjacks—. You need to get laid.” Oh shit. Did she really say that out loud?

  In one swift move, he yanked her flush with his chest. His hard, unyielding, chest.

  “Don’t tease me, Sweetheart.”

  His deep growl sent shivers down her spine while his iron grip seized her breath. A lock of blond hair fell over his heavy lidded eyes, eyes that flamed with want. She burned where he pressed against her, bringing forth a silent moan. She tried to swallow, but could barely breathe. He wanted her. It was there in his eyes, in the heat of his touch. This time she took the initiative. She curved her hands around his muscled arms encouraging him, welcoming him. Still he hesitated. She could see the debate going on in his mind. He couldn’t deny the torrent of desire between them.

  She licked her lips.

  In an instant, he crushed her to the wall, melding them breast to chest, hip to hip. Her mind whirled with the scent and strength of him. He pinned her hands above her head, his muscles caging her in. Her heart beat in mad tempo, anticipating what would happen next.

  She could feel his ragged breath as his mouth loomed close to hers. His steady gaze singed, mesmerized, held her immobile in his trance. She willed him to kiss her. Close the last fraction and meld his mouth to hers.

  The knuckles of one hand trailed from her wrist, downward, along the underside of her arm. She could feel the heat of his touch as it burned through the cloth of the sweatshirt. Her breathing quickened and she shivered as hot tingles danced along her skin. She couldn’t tear her gaze away. His head drifted closer, and closer.

  She lifted her face, needing his lips, his mouth, needing to be possessed. He slid his hand to the back of her neck, and with his thumb on her jaw, pulled her the last millimeter separating them. He crushed her lips with raw hunger—a hunger that had been simmering for days.

  His tongue thrust between her lips, plunging deep, in a thorough sensuous sweep. His movement so erotic, she gasped for air. Her body throbbed with yearning. Their gazes locked for an eternity, he stared as if he were ready to pounce. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip thinking he tasted of minty wine, and he swooped down again, his kiss wild and aggressive. She dug her fingers into his shoulders, clinging to him, drowning in a kiss that went on and on.

  He ravaged her mouth, teasing her into a fever pitch of want. She grabbed his neck and tangled her fingers in the hair at his nape. With every thrust of his tongue, her need grew. Maybe because they’d danced around each other for days. Maybe because he fought so hard against their magnetism, for there was no doubt he’d wanted her. But the damn burst. And they were both being swept away in the flood. He commanded her body, her will, and she gave her all.

  “God, you taste good. Sweet. I don’t do sweet.” His breath brushed against her skin as he nipped the flesh under her ear.

  “I can be bad,” she muttered.

  His fingers slid under her shirt and skimmed over her rib cage. She squirmed, but his body kept her pressed against the wall. Still she wanted him closer. She wanted his skin on hers. Somehow she managed to curl her leg around his muscled thigh, and he fit his body more intimately with hers. The feel of his iron hard erection drove everything out of her mind but him, this moment.

  “Baby, you are pure passion.”

  “Are you complaining?” she asked.

  Gripping her bottom, he lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He groaned, a soul rendering sound. He rubbed his nose along her cheek, then kissed the pulsing vein in her neck. His movement so sensuous, he stimulated every nerve she had.

  “I do hard, and . . .”

  “Fast? That’s okay with me,” she panted.

  “No.” He kissed her jaw. “Hard and . . .” he nipped her neck, “low and . . .” he licked, “and deep.” Drawing back, his eyes blazed his need.

  “Is this what you wanted? If you have any intention of stopping me, now is the time.”

  Seducing Hunter had been a crazy idea that she hadn’t really thought out. But to have his body pressed against her, sensual tension curdled her insides to molten fire.

  “Y-yes. I mean, no. Don’t stop. God, how can you ask me? You’ve aroused me to a frenzied mess,” her response breathy and urgent.

  “No promises. No guarantees. There’s only here, and now.” He sucked the bottom of her earlobe into his mouth, scraping it with his teeth.

  “Here. Now,” she repeated while her body screamed.

  His words rumbled against her throat, “Tell me what you want.”

  Oh
God.

  “You,” she breathed.

  Before either of them could take their next breath, he crashed his mouth on hers taking her in a hard frenzied kiss. His tongue diving and battling, wrestling with hers. She’d never known such a fire like the one raging between them.

  He drew back just enough to rip his t-shirt over his head. A wave of excitement spiraled through her at the sight of his carved abdomen. Her palms roamed the wide expanse of his chest, relishing the texture. She loved trailing her fingers over his rigid muscles, sifting through his curly hair. Her breath caught as she drifted downward along the waist band of his jeans.

  When, his hands slid under her shirt and up her ribcage, she closed her eyes, silently begging him to touch, to taste. Calloused fingers grazed her skin, his thumbs circling the undersides of her breasts. Every brush pierced her with a new sensation of longing. Her nipples puckered in expectation. But he denied her, teased her, then suddenly, he whipped her sweatshirt over her head.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  Finally his thumbs brushed over the beaded peaks. He seemed fascinated with her body. He kneaded, squeezed, and then melded his chest with hers.

  “God, you feel good.” Yearning ripped through her like a whirling tornado. She dived her fingers into his hair and pressed her lips to the side of his neck with all the feeling and emotion coursing through her.

  “You are delectable,” He murmured.

  Driven like a man obsessed, he blazed a path of open mouth kisses from her ear down her throat, twining a trail to the top of her breasts. His tongue lapped and circled, then his open mouth covered her, fanning her need to an out of control burn.

  He suckled, drawing an abrupt cry of pleasure from her, then he swept to her other breast, nibbling soft and slow. She writhed and moaned, desire crawling along her skin. Angling his hips just so, he rocked while he devoured her mouth spinning her world right off its axis. She clung to him, moving with his rhythm, clamping him tighter. When he finally broke the kiss, they both gasped for air.

  “Hunter, I need . . .”

  “I know Baby.”

  His fingers traced the band of her sweatpants, then he slipped his hand under the elastic band and grazed his fingers downward. Her heart pounded like a jackhammer. His fingers flicked and teased, driving her wild.

  She strained against him, burying her head in his shoulder.

  “I’ve got you, Baby.”

  His rumbling voice triggered her release, and his brazen fingers sent her hurling over the edge. Shards of light flittered behind her closed lids. She shuddered, gripping him like a mad woman, and a cry ripped from her throat.

  He held her.

  He nuzzled her neck. “I need to be inside you or I’m going to bust.”

  Weak and satiated, if he weren’t holding her she’d slide to the floor. Still she managed a gasp. “What’s stopping you?”

  He dropped his head against hers. “I don’t have anything with me. And in case you haven’t noticed, I’m having difficulty letting you go.”

  She smiled. “I’m protected.”

  “Jesus, Dani.” His hands gripped into her thighs hard enough to leave fingerprints.

  “I want you.” She bit the fleshy part of his ear.

  Before she knew what he was doing, he lowered her unsteady legs to the floor and removed her pants. Then, he popped the snap on his jeans, shoving them down his thick legs. He kicked them free, then hiked her back up, positioning her where he wanted. She locked her legs around him again.

  Naked flesh against flesh. They groaned together.

  “Hold on to me.” With one thrust, he buried himself hard and deep.

  Oh God.

  She held tight, her fingers curled into his skin. Overwhelming pleasure filled her. He pulled out and drove in again. His groan strummed her need, nearly sending her over the edge again.

  “God, Dani. This isn’t going to last long”

  She didn’t care. She only knew she needed him to end the torture and give them both what they desperately needed. She couldn’t get close enough, she couldn’t hold him tight enough.

  He captured her mouth in a bone-melting kiss. He lunged, slow and deep. So deep. And hard, just like he promised, over and over again, until they combusted together.

  ***

  More relaxed than he’d felt in ages, Hunter looked down at the woman asleep in his arms. He couldn’t remember such wild abandon ever gripping him like this before. Dani’s responses to his touch drove him like a mad man. Driving everything from his mind but the need to possess her. The blizzard outside was nothing compared to the raging storm between him and Dani.

  He couldn’t seem to wrap his brain around what just happened. Not the mind-boggling sex, but the emotions that followed. Dani touched something deep inside that he hadn’t known existed.

  He’d always been a one-night-stand kind of guy. Never knowing if he would live through his next tour of duty, he wouldn’t allow any close association where a girl would be waiting for him back home. The irony, he’d made it home—but not whole. Why the hell had he given in to his urges? He’d wanted her with an intensity he never imagined. He’d had no choice but to make love to her. Nothing compared to the feel of her bare skin beneath him. Now that he’d tasted heaven, he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her.

  He kissed her hair.

  “Mmm.” Dani groaned into her pillow then snuggled into the cocoon of his body. Hunter placed another kiss on the back of her smooth-as-silk shoulder.

  A relationship wasn’t in his future, too many ghosts still haunted him. How could he bring a woman into his life with the tormented shambles of his mind?

  God, he’d tried to resist.

  But damn, he’d never met anyone like her. It shocked him how much he wanted this woman.

  Again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Dani stretched her arms over her head. If her muscle aches were anything to go by, she wouldn’t be able to get out of bed.

  Hunter.

  She still couldn’t believe it. One hit with a chisel in his stone barricade and the whole wall came tumbling down. She smiled, sliding a hand to his side of the bed. He was gone. She worried that he regretted his impulsive actions. Once he’d given in to passion, there’d been no stopping him. Knowing he wanted her as much as he did thrilled her. The man who’d made love to her was a completely different person than the one she’d been holed up with the last few days. After last night, she really hoped she wouldn’t need to deal with his dark moods again.

  Grabbing his pillow, she hugged it against her chest, and rolled onto her side. Her body tingled with pleasure. His hands had explored every inch of her. The man had an incredible mouth. And the things he could do with his tongue.

  The aroma of fresh coffee hit her.

  “Hey, sleepyhead.”

  She looked up. “Hi.”

  An honest to God smile was on his face. One that lit up his eyes, and had her glowing from the inside out.

  “Brought you some coffee.”

  “A man after my own heart.” She sat up, dragging the cover with her. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” He set the cup on the night stand and shoved his hands into his pockets.

  Awkward? She hoped the morning wouldn’t be. Hunter hesitated as if he wanted to say more and wasn’t sure if he should. “Well, when you’re ready, come on down. I’m making breakfast.”

  She chanced another look at his face, but he turned around before their eyes met.

  ***

  Hunter exhaled and walked down the stairs, shaking off his itch. Dani had that just-loved look. Hair all mussed and face flushed, pink right down to the top of her luscious breasts. Remembering how they felt in his hands, he nearly missed a step.

  He’d never had any trouble before when it came to ‘the morning after’. Hell, most times he stumbled out of bed in the middle of the night to leave. He couldn’t exactly do that during a snowstorm. Lame excuse. He could try
to justify with another excuse, but the truth was, he’d enjoyed being with Dani and holding her through the night.

  Hunter returned to the kitchen and took a gulp of hot coffee. Dani had even managed to drive painful memories out of his head for a while. Misery had been his companion for so long that, he didn’t know how to handle normal.

  But he did feel good. Exceptionally good. Dani did that to him.

  He took another drink, then jerked open the refrigerator, looking for the eggs. He cracked a few open over a bowl and then picked up the whisk.

  Just because she spent the night in his bed didn’t mean he expected her to sleep with him again. It was her choice. Whatever she wanted, he’d go along with it.

  Dani came downstairs just as he was setting biscuits on the table. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders in waves, covering a few letters on his ARMY sweatshirt. He caught himself staring, remembering what she looked like without a bra. She had beautiful breasts. His gaze drifted lower. Her jeans hugged her hips, reminding him of the hours he’d spent between her legs. Dani was like a fine wine, deserving to be sipped and savored.

  He cleared his throat, resisting the urge to grab her.

  “Perfect timing.”

  “All of this without a scowl?” she teased.

  “If it makes you feel better . . .” He leaned forward and gave her his best frown.

  She laughed and sat down at the table.

  “It’s still snowing and the wind is probably blowing eighty miles an hour.” He heaped bacon on his plate.

  “I could hear it upstairs. You can barely see the trees out of the window there’s so much snow swirling around.” She spread butter on her biscuit and flashed pearly white teeth as she bit into the thick bread. When her tongue darted out to lick a dab of melted butter from the corner of her mouth, he damn near swallowed his tongue.

  How was he going to get though the day without touching her?

  Later that evening, Hunter stared at the roaring fire in the living room. For most of the day he’d managed to stay busy and keep his hands off Dani, but the effort was slowly driving him crazy. He’d made several trips outside, checked the gas in the generator, stacked and unstacked wood, he’d even wore a path around the tractor hangar.