Christmas at Twin Falls (8 page)

“Are you offering to help me enjoy myself?” Flirting came easy when it meant nothing.

“I will make it my duty.” He put his hand out, and she took it. They whirled into a dance to the next song, and like she’d done with Cody, this man moved close to her. She retrieved her hand from his grasp and spun around as if it were all a part of her dance. He chuckled, and she knew he wasn’t fooled. “Matt Granger. You are?”

She missed a step. So this was the guy that made Cody bring her to the party.

Matt raised his eyebrows. “Did my reputation precede me?”

“Um, no. I’m Kaleena. Kaleena Morgan. Good to meet you, Matt. Should I be worried about your reputation?”

He drew her closer with a hand at her waist. “Only if you mind me stealing your heart.”

Full of ourselves, aren’t we?
“Oh, I think I’m good.” She tried getting space between them, but he didn’t allow her to go far. Not that she didn’t enjoy the strong hands and big build of a sexy man, but Matt seemed too confident, like she should fall at his feet and beg him to take her.
Not happening, pal.

At the end of another song, Kaleena fanned herself. “It’s getting pretty hot in here.”

“Can I get you a beer?”

“I’m not really a beer person.”

“Punch then?”

“Sure, thanks.” She decided to follow him and see if she could get a napkin to wipe down her forehead. Stepping outside might not be a bad idea either. She watched him get her punch and took the offered cup. A sip of the oversweet but ice cold drink helped. Kaleena scanned the room for Cody.

“If you’re looking for your date, he’s over there.” Matt pointed him out talking to yet another woman. From Kaleena’s angle their bodies looked like they touched, and Cody didn’t appear put off.
Bastard.

“Oh, he’s not my date. Come on. Let’s dance.” She dragged Matt onto the floor again, and he didn’t seem to mind. When he drew her in close until her hips just brushed his upper thighs, she let him. While most people appeared to move in one spot, she and Matt shifted positions. If she didn’t know any better, she would suspect him of dancing her nearer to Cody on purpose. When the cute little pixie hanging on Cody stood on her tiptoes to whisper something in his ear, Kaleena had had enough. “Mind if we get some air?”

“Sure.” Matt led her through the throng, her hand in his. They found their coats and stepped out into the cold winter night. Kaleena hugged herself and shuffled from one foot to the other to generate some heat. Matt led her to an area at the side of the building where a wall blocked off most of the wind. “Better?” he asked.

She nodded, grateful to him. “Thanks.”

He rubbed palms up and down her arms with brisk movements. “Why does that thanks sound like surprise? Did you assume I’m the kind of man who thinks only of myself?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. I don’t know you, but I think you know Cody, right?”

He hesitated, but she held his attention. “Cody and I were rivals in school. Sometimes I got the girl. Sometimes he did. Simple as that.”

“Hm.”

“That answer it for you?” He reached up to touch a strand of her hair. She resisted ducking away. His answer explained why Cody didn’t want Matt to take her to the party. Their old competition thing rose in him, so it wasn’t really about her. Not that she wanted it to be. She’d made a mistake letting feelings get in the way of dealing with Cody. Then again, what had she expected coming here? She liked him—
a lot
. What he did for her could not be measured in words or in deeds as far as she was concerned.

“Yes, that answers it.” She started to pull away, but Matt stopped her with heavy hands on her shoulders.

“Are you having a good time?”

“Yes, inside I was. All the energy and lights and colors. Everybody is so excited.” Her eyes widened, when she realized how insulting to him she’d just sounded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“No, don’t apologize. Maybe we can have a little more fun out here.” He stepped forward, but she put her hand up to his chest.

“Really? You’re sensing me wanting your kiss right now?”

He froze at her blunt statement, and Kaleena almost laughed.

“I admit I’m flattered. I like the attention just like any other woman would, but I’m not a fool either. I’ve dated guys like you who are just looking for your next lay.”

“You don’t know me as we—”

“I don’t have to know you well.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “So you weren’t going to kiss me?”

“I think we got off on the wrong foot.” He uncrossed her arms and kissed the fingers of one hand. She pulled to get away, but the pressure increased, just short of hurting her. Matt didn’t know but he was about to get a knee to the balls. She wondered if she should warn him. No, let him find out when he lay in the snow curled up like a little boy. Just as it seemed earlier, his expression reflected that he knew what she thought. More than one woman must have damaged the jewels—or tried. “Tell me you weren’t using me to make him jealous.”

“I wasn’t.”

The obvious disbelief irritated her.

“Cody doesn’t fall for that kind of thing. When a woman he’s seeing tries to make him jealous, he just moves on. His philosophy is if she wants to be with another man, she can. No one woman is as important to him as his next conquest.”

“Aren’t you just talking about yourself?” Hurt welled up inside of her. She cursed herself for it because she and Cody were not a couple. “I have to go in. My toes are starting to freeze.”

She began to move around him when he drew her into an embrace and locked his lips on hers long before she saw him coming. His tongue swept the inside of her mouth, and she cringed in disgust. Before she could raise her knee, Matt was wrenched away from her. She gasped finding Cody standing there. He jerked Matt up by the collar and planted a fist in his nose. Matt hit the ground, blood staining his lips, chin, and his coat.

“Cody!” She glared at him. He had a nerve coming out here acting like he had some kind of rights. For all he knew, she might have wanted Matt’s touch. She gagged thinking of it, but Cody didn’t need to know. “Why did you do that?”

“I thought you came to a Christmas party,” Cody snapped.

She put her hands on her hips. “And what?”

“Shouldn’t you be inside? They’re passing out gifts.”

She rolled her eyes at him and walked past. Matt was busy shaking his head and pinching his nose. She stepped over him and strode back to the barn with her head held high.

Once she entered the building, the festivities of the evening held less of an appeal, but she determined she would stick it out and let Cody stew. Only when she realized neither she nor he was making any enjoyable memories, she called it a night. At least her secret Santa had given her a cute bear ornament for the tree she intended to make Cody put up in the living room. In his truck, Kaleena removed her boots and rubbed her feet. She winced at the sore spots.

“If you want, I can rub them for you when we get home,” Cody offered.

She stared at him. Hadn’t he made a date or whatever to hook up with one of those women? Or did he tell her to hold off until his unwanted guest left? She chewed her lip thinking it over. “I wouldn’t want to put you out.”

The steering wheel squeaked under his hold. “I don’t know why you’re so angry at me. Matt has a sort of reputation with the women.”

“And you don’t?”

He grunted, never taking his eyes off the dark road. “Not like that.”

“Please explain it because I’m not sure I understand.” How could he think her anger had anything to do with him hitting that asshole?

“Nothing’s ever been proven or even gone to court, but Matt doesn’t take no for an answer. I have never forced a woman and never will.”

Kaleena gasped. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, that’s why I didn’t want him to drive you. I knew he would try something. I thought it safe as long as you two danced.”

So he
had
noticed.

“Then I lost sight of the two of you. I searched all over that damn place.”

“I can take care of myself. Thanks. After all you were busy having fun of your own.” She swore in silence, not meaning to reveal her jealousy.

Cody eyed her briefly but said nothing. Kaleena just kept herself from gritting her teeth. The man didn’t give a freaking inch. He could deny it or say “yeah, so what.” Then she could modify this hero image she had of him in her head, which begged the question of whether she felt only gratitude toward him and nothing else. Even her sexual attraction to the man might be no more than infatuation with his kindness last year.

Yeah, real funny, Kaleena. The man is hung, and he can get you screaming in a hot minute. That ain’t kindness!

They strode into the house a short while later. She started to her room and stopped to look back at him. “Can you take me to get a tree tomorrow?”

He frowned. “Isn’t it a little too late?”

“Please?”

He sighed. “Fine. Anything else?”

She smiled and walked over to him. Hands on his chest, she tipped her head back. “We should exchange gifts, and if you agree, I can do some shopping for you. Plus, you need to tell me what you want for Christmas dinner, so I can cook it.”

“Kaleena…”

“I like when you say my name. It sounds funny but cute.”

His brows went up. “I pronounce it just as you do.”

“That’s what you think.”

His eyes narrowed on her lips. “You are a very dangerous woman, Kaleena Morgan. I’m a simple man, who lives an ordinary life here on my ranch. You—”

“I’m what?” She opened her eyes wide in an attempt at innocence. At the same time, she closed more of the space between them. “What is it? I know I’m not like the women here that you’re used to.”

“Definitely not!”

She wasn’t sure how to take that, whether he complimented her or felt disgust that she’d even make the comparison. Cody had kept his hands firmly by his sides while she leaned into him, but now he brought them up to her waist. He gave her a small squeeze and then set her away.

“I’m trying to do the right thing by you,” he muttered.

“Why?”

He growled and turned on his heel to stomp toward the kitchen. No matter how hard she tried, she didn’t get the man. He never explained himself. Unless she missed her guess, he treated her better than he did the other women. None of them got to go home with him, but then again, she could be the flavor of the month—chocolate flavor. She had been in a terrible place last year, and he didn’t get to sleep with her. Now he made up for the lost opportunity.

Kaleena went to her bedroom and stood at the dresser, staring into her reflection. “Stop being negative.” She had a good figure, and she liked to think she was pretty. That didn’t mean every man should or did want her, but Cody enjoyed the sex. If that was all he wanted, he wouldn’t have put her away just now.

She jumped when he appeared in the mirror behind her. His footsteps never echoed in the hall. Peering down, she found he’d removed his boots and socks. Even his feet were sexy, neat and clean, big and strong with straight toes unaffected by wearing cowboy boots so often.

His hands roamed up her arms to her shoulders, and he massaged her neck, bringing a moan to her lips. “You want it?” he asked.

She met his gaze. “Yes.”

Hadn’t she just said he saw her differently than the rest because he didn’t pursue sex? Now she didn’t know what to think, but she refused to turn him down. She wanted him just as badly, and if his body was her weakness, she didn’t mind being his. He pushed her coat over her shoulders and threw it aside. Then reached for the zipper at the back of her dress.

When she stepped out of her dress and removed her boots, she reached for his belt buckle, but Cody stopped her. “No, tonight I’m starting with you.”

“But we…”

“I’ve been waiting to taste your pussy, and I’m going to right now. I hope you like being eaten, Kaleena.” He dropped to his knees and dragged her panties over her hips. She shivered, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth. Just watching him down there had her pussy weeping.

“Of course, but I know this is new. I don’t want you to do something you might not like.”

He raised an eyebrow and helped her to step out of her underwear. His hands skimmed her legs, and she was glad she’d shaved them. “
This
isn’t new, baby.” He kissed between her thighs, and she grasped the dresser to hold herself up. “Mm, you taste good. You knew that, didn’t you?”

He didn’t wait for an answer but ran his tongue over her clit and along her folds. She pulled away a little, gasping, but Cody drew her to him and used his thumbs to open his way to her cream. His tongue slid into her channel and wiggled, sending shockwaves of pleasure all over her body. Kaleena knotted her fingers in his hair and drew him forward. He laved her juices as they flowed, and she moaned his name.

“Yes, don’t stop. So good. Make me come, Cody.”

He closed his lips over her clit and sucked once, hard. She screamed. Her orgasm came so fast, she didn’t know it was close. Cody stood up and pulled her to the bed. He shoved her down and dove between her legs, eating her come as it dribbled down her channel. Kaleena pinched her clit and rode her lover’s face. She spread her legs as wide as they would go, and for a long time, Cody didn’t stop. When the sensitivity of her little bud eased, he went after it once again.

“No, stop,” she whimpered.

“Do you really want me to?” His eyes were twin pools of swirling green sea, and they pulled her in. She opened her mouth to speak, but he went back to teasing her button. She squirmed and raised her hips. Cody pressed them down, pinning her to the bed. She loved his strength and enjoyed giving over control. When he paused, she thought she would cry. “Tell me, Kaleena. Do you want me to stop?”

“N-no.”

He blew on her wet sex, making her shiver. “I can’t hear you.”

She licked her lips and swallowed, trying to appear calmer than she was. Right now she belonged to him, her whole body his to toy with or to cherish. She didn’t dare think about whether he began to capture her heart. That might mean more pain. Still looking away from his gaze seemed impossible.