A Christmas to Remember (4 page)

Ian tucked the puppy under one arm, opened a second window, and turned on the oven fan, then strode into the living room. He’d already unplugged the tree lights, but now he made sure everything else was turned off. “Don’t come in here,” he said over his shoulder to the silent woman in the doorway. “You’re not wearing shoes.”

Melissa hugged herself. “I’m so sorry. This isn’t how I thought things would go.”

Ian wondered how she thought things
would
go, but he said nothing as he went into his bedroom next. There he set the puppy on the floor. “Stay,” he told her, and changed his shirt.

Less than ten seconds later, the puppy was already chewing on a shoe. Ian scooped her back up and got licked across his chin for the effort. “You’re as big a troublemaker as she is, aren’t you?” he asked.

The puppy panted happily, blowing warm puppy breath into his face.

Ian carried her into the living room. Melissa had found a broom and a trash can. Still dressed as a fairy-slash-elf, she was cleaning up the mess. She’d shoved her feet into a pair of his winter boots. They were huge on her but she didn’t appear to notice as she struggled to right the tree. Coming up behind her, he took over. “Melissa.”

She didn’t look at him so he turned her around. Her eyes were wet, her face blotchy. “I’m so sorry, Ian—”

He put a finger to her lips. The puppy leaned in and tried to lick her, but Ian tightened his grip on Miss Wild Thing. “You did all this for me,” he said.

Melissa nodded her head miserably. “Yes. I burned your pan, nearly destroyed your kitchen,
did
destroy your living room, and got you peed on by Molly. All for you.” She sniffed noisily.

“Molly?” Ian asked, still as stone.

Melissa let out a long, shaky breath. “Okay, here’s the thing,” she said, sounding heartbreakingly unsure. Even a little scared. “When I was in the hospital, I had this dream. We were living here, in this house. We were…”

“Together,” he said.

“Yes. Like maybe as if I’d never screwed things up. And—I realize this is going to sound crazy—but we were married. It was Christmastime, and I’d decorated your house, and made Santa cookies, and…” She nibbled on her bottom lip and blushed. “We had a baby named Molly.” Her voice lowered, even as the pulse at the base of her neck beat like a hummingbird’s wings. “We were happy. So happy. And you looked at me like…”

“Like what?”

“Like I was your entire world.”

Ian was staggered. She’d
dreamed
all the things he’d told her when she’d been unconscious. She’d loved those things so much she’d woken up and tried to make them a reality.

“I just wanted to give you Christmas back,” she said softly.

“By dressing up as a sexy elf, decorating my house, and making cookies?” He laughed softly. “Were you going to give me a baby, too?”

She grimaced. “I didn’t actually make the cookies. I bought the dough.”

He stared at her and then laughed again. Christ, she was priceless. Precious.
Worth waiting for…

“I forgot how much I love your laugh,” she said softly. “But as for the baby, I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, not to mention we aren’t together that way. So…”

“You went with a puppy.”

“Yes,” she said.

“Named Molly.”

She nodded, looking worried. “Too much, right? Of course it is. It’s—”

“Perfect,” he said thickly. Her mascara had run a little bit, there were a few unidentifiable smudges on her costume, and her hair was crazy. She’d never looked more beautiful to him. “Do you have any more surprises for me?”

She nibbled on her lower lip. “Will I scare you into running off screaming if I admit that I do?” she asked. “That in fact, there’s two?”

“Should I call the station, put them on standby?”

She choked out a laugh. “Not necessary.” She paused. “I hope.”

God help him. God help the both of them. The puppy had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He set her back in the pantry, in the box and blanket that he assumed was her bed, and held his breath. She made a few soft puppy noises, snuffled, and then fell back asleep.

He turned to Melissa. “Bring it on,” he said. “Surprise number one?”

Staring at him, she pointed to the very thin, silky red bow around her neck.

“You’re my present,” Ian said with his bad boy smile.

Melissa’s heart knocked into her ribs as she nodded.

“Say it,” he ordered.

She wanted to say she was his
forever
but she didn’t want to rush this. Didn’t want to rush
him
. “I’m yours.”

“Love the sound of that,” he murmured, and yanked her in close. He tugged on the bow around her neck until it came loose. Then he scooped her up in his arms and carried her down the hallway and to his bed, where he followed her down. “When does this present expire?” he asked, working on removing her “elf” costume.

“When you’re over it.”

At this, his focus came back to her face. He looked at her for a long beat, and then his expression softened and he bent to kiss her. “Scared, Mel?”

“Terrified,” she whispered.

“Trust me,” he murmured, his mouth so close that his lips brushed hers as he spoke.

She nodded before she could even think about it. She did trust him. She trusted him with her life, her heart and soul…

He turned his attention back to getting her naked, his gaze heating every inch of skin he exposed. He further warmed her by following each hot gaze with a touch. And then a kiss. She’d long ago learned that his patience and endless attention to detail carried over to the bedroom. He liked to touch and kiss, everything. A
lot
. He could spend hours loving her body, driving her to the point of madness and beyond.

His mouth on hers, he trailed his fingers across her breasts. She clenched her stomach and arched her back for more.

But he changed direction and headed south. South worked. Except she was already gasping for more and he still had his clothes on. As if reading her mind, he slid off the bed and stripped, quickly and efficiently, which didn’t mean her tongue wasn’t on the ground at the sight of him, hard. Perfect.

Seeing her expression, he smiled a just-for-you smile as he crawled up her body. He knew exactly what he did to her, and he liked it. “Kiss me,” she demanded, wrapping her arms around his neck.

His mouth immediately covered hers, warm and sure. His hands were just as warm and sure, moving over her body, alternately making her sigh in pleasure and cry out for more. She got lost in the sensations, unable to think or worry, or even remember the reasons she’d held back from him. Why had she resisted this, resisted him, knowing that this was what had been waiting for her?

His arm slid beneath her, yanking her even closer to him. Eager for just that, she wrapped her legs around his waist, her need for him stronger than anything she’d ever experienced, stronger than anything she’d ever believed could exist. And that’s when she remembered why she’d tried to hold back.
Because she loved him
. Irrevocably. Ripping her mouth from his, she gasped in air, the emotions battering her, searing through her chest.

“Trust me,” he whispered again, and then those lips dragged down her throat, over a collarbone to her breast. His tongue laved her nipple before his teeth gently closed around it, biting, creating a shock of desire that took over the space where all the panic was sitting in her chest. “Ian—”

His mouth was busy, working his way to her other breast, and then down her belly. Nibbling at a hip, he then nudged his way between her thighs. “Mmm,” he said, and stroked her with his tongue.

It was all she could do not to scream. At that moment, he could have done anything, asked anything of her. But he didn’t. He never did. He only gave.

She flipped him. Or she tried. She knew he only rolled over because she wanted him to, allowing her to press him to the mattress. Then she took a tour of his body in the same way he had of hers, using her tongue, her teeth, her entire being to love him.

He threaded his hands in her hair, tightening them into fists as he quivered beneath her, and then, when he was panting for air, her name on his breath in a half curse, half prayer, he rolled them again and slid into her.

They both gasped then, and he dropped his forehead to hers. “This isn’t just for now,” he said, his voice thick with need and desire. His eyes bore into hers, fierce, intent. Her heart swelled, even as she promised herself she wouldn’t hold him to it, to the words he gave her in the heat of the moment. But then he said three more, which were going to be damn hard to let go of.

“You
are
mine.”

She shifted against him, desperate for the feel of him moving within her. “And you?” she managed.

His gaze locked onto hers. “Babe, I’ve always been yours.”

Her eyes filled, and all the air left her body as she arched up to meet him thrust for thrust, trying to get closer, and then closer still. But she was as close as she could get, and still she struggled, needing something, needing—

“I love you, Mel,” he said, his mouth at her ear. “Always have.”

It was what she needed. Her heart soared, and she tightened around him. With him filling her body, her very spirit, she completely shattered. Clinging to him, she pressed her face into the crook of his neck and let go, whispering against his damp skin, “I love you, Ian.”

He forced her head back, his eyes burning into hers. “Again.”

“I love you,” she repeated. A promise, a vow.

Groaning, he held her head for a kiss, deep and demanding. She wrapped her arms around him—her legs, all of her, pulling him in as close as she could. It was the same between them, and yet different.
Better
. In the past, this level of passion had frightened her, but now… now she couldn’t imagine being without it.

Without him.

Melissa woke up alone in Ian’s bed and blinked. Pinpricks of soft light were just edging into the room around the shades. She glanced at the clock. Seven-fifty.

Seven-fifty?

Crap! Her last present to Ian was going to start without her. Heart in her throat, she jumped out of bed, shoved herself back into the fairy costume—all she had—and ran through the house, skidding to a stop in the kitchen.

Man and pup were at the stovetop, and the scent of sizzling bacon filled the air. Ian flipped a pancake with one hand, cradling the puppy to his chest with the other.

The sexy adorable sight sucked the air right out of her lungs.

Ian took one look at her in that fairy costume and grinned, making her heart skip a beat. “Hey,” he said, and came toward her. Leaning in, he gave her a long, hard, hot kiss. “Merry Christmas.”

“You’re really okay with all this?”

He set the puppy down and cupped Melissa’s face, holding her gaze prisoner. “Mel, I’m so far beyond okay that I can’t even tell you.”

Molly began to run circles around their feet, but then got distracted by Ian’s shoelaces.

“I have one more present,” Melissa whispered against Ian’s lips.

“A repeat of last night?”

She paused, getting a hot flash just thinking about last night. “Maybe later,” she said. Definitely later.
If he forgave her for what was coming next…
“But I have to drive you to this present.”

He looked at her for a long moment. “I have to be at the station in ten minutes.”

“I got your shift traded. Doug’s going to take it for you.”

“Doug has family.”

“They’re coming to the station to be with him,” she said. She picked up Molly, who began to wriggle in sheer excitement, short little legs cycling the air, her tongue attempting to reach Melissa’s face. “No peeing in my car,” she told the puppy.

Molly grinned at her like
Who, me
?

They all piled into Melissa’s car. She made a quick stop at the salon and changed out of her fairy costume. When she got back in the car and got onto the freeway, Ian fell silent. He remained silent when she exited the highway nearly two hours later. And by the time she pulled into the driveway of a large ranch-style home in the suburbs north of Seattle, he’d stopped breathing.

His parents’ house.

She turned off the engine and looked at him. He was staring at the house as if it was a spitting Cobra. “You okay?” she asked quietly.

“Why.” Just the one word, gutturally uttered.

Melissa took in his tension as her own. “Because I’m not the only one who’s retreated instead of dealing with emotion.”

“Jesus, Melissa. This is hardly the same thing.”

“It’s not your fault Ella died,” she said softly.

“I wasn’t there.” His voice was strained, tight.

“You couldn’t have changed what happened by being with her at the hospital. Ian…” She squeezed his hand and waited until he looked at her from hollow eyes. “She’s gone, and I’m so sorry. But your family doesn’t deserve to lose both of you.”

He kept his hand in hers but he closed his eyes. “It hurts to be here, where she’s not, where I’d always seen her so full of life.”

“I know.”

“And now so much time has gone by, it’s not right. I deserted them last year.”

“They still want you to come. They miss you being here.”

Ian opened his eyes and looked at the house. As they both watched, the curtains were pulled aside and one, two, three, and then four faces peeked out. His mom, his dad, and his two older sisters. He made a sound that was a mixture of grief and laughter. Behind them, the puppy barked once from her traveling crate.

Ian let out a shaky breath and shoved the car door open.

Melissa waited until he was out and then put her car in reverse.

“Hell no, you don’t.” Ian leaned back into the vehicle and snagged her keys. “You brought me here. You’re coming, too.”

“Oh, no, I—”

Not interested in what she had to say, he pulled her out through the passenger side.

Melissa tried not to panic as they strode up the walk, the puppy now in Ian’s arms. Either Molly was still sleepy or she was sensing the tension coming off Ian in waves, but she behaved like a little angel.

They didn’t have to knock. Before they got to the top step, the door flew open wide and Ian’s mother Nancy stared at her son, eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Ian managed a weak smile. “Hi, Mom. I—”

She yanked him into her arms and hugged him so tightly that Melissa would’ve been surprised if he could breathe. “You came home! Oh thank God, my baby finally came home.”

Ian froze, then dropped his head to his mom’s shoulder, his free hand fisting in the back of her sweater. “I’m sorry,” he whispered hoarsely. “I’m so sorry I haven’t been here—”

“Shh,” she said, and cupped his head. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

His sisters got in on the hug. And then his dad gathered them all in, giving Ian the male slap on the back. “You’re just in time,” he said. “She was about to shove us all in the car to come get you. Something about how you’d been a stubborn lout for long enough and it was time, past time, to have you back here, with us.”

Melissa blinked back tears and couldn’t swallow the ache in her chest no matter how she tried. This was a family, a
real
family. She was so very happy for Ian and so very… sad for herself.

Ian pulled free and reached for Melissa, his eyes holding a suspicious sheen as he tugged her in.

“Um,” she said, gesturing vaguely to her car. “I need to—”

Nancy grabbed onto her as well, and then the next thing Melissa knew, she was being pulled into a bear hug, too. And she’d been right. Nancy hugged so tight that air was optional.

It was the best hug she’d ever had.

“You brought my baby home,” Nancy said, then pulled back and held Melissa’s face. “I can never thank you enough.”

Melissa wanted to tell her that it was her pleasure but knew if she opened her mouth she’d embarrass herself by crying.

“Mom,” Ian said quietly, “can you give us a minute?”

“You’re not leaving,” she said fiercely.

“I won’t,” he promised.

With reluctance, the front door shut, leaving Ian and Melissa alone on the porch. He took her hand and brought it up to his mouth. “Thank you.”

Melissa, still not trusting her voice, nodded.

“You’re amazing,” he said. “You know that, right?”

She managed a smile because the way he was looking at her was everything she’d ever been too afraid to hope for. “Call me when you want a ride back, okay?”

He tightened his grip on her. “No.”

She soaked up the sight of him, wanting to remember this, always. “I just want you to know,” she said, “last night was the best night of my life.” She paused. “Well, minus the part where I almost burned your house down and the puppy peed on you.” She searched his gaze. “And yes, I’m leaving. I don’t want to rush you.”

“Rush me through what?”

“Us.”

He let out a low laugh. “Babe, I’ve been here waiting all along. Waiting for you to be ready.” He tugged her into his arms. “
Please
rush me.”

“Do you think they’re looking at us?”

“Oh yeah. And you know they’ve got front row seats, so you’re going to have to try and keep your hands off my—”

“Ian!”

He smiled, and at the sight, her heart caught and swelled against her ribcage. “I’m sorry I was so slow,” she whispered.

Still looking amused, he ran a finger along her healing temple. “You about ready to be over that now?” he asked.

She turned her face into his palm and kissed the center. “Yes.”

“Then stay,” he said.

“For brunch?”

“For brunch. For dinner. For the night. And then for the rest of my life.” He touched his forehead to hers. “
That
can be my Christmas present.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “And what will be mine?”

“Me.”

Sometimes the most important life decisions came down to a blink of an eye. “Best present ever,” she said, and to the tune of cheers from inside, she pulled him in for a kiss.