Mistletoe & Kisses (24 page)

Chapter Eight

FOR THE REST of Monday and most of Tuesday, I didn’t see much of Brody. We were hit really badly by the storm, and even lost power for a few hours, so he was busy keeping the wood stocked in the house so all of us were warm. Ella has fireplaces in each room, which is a smart thing, because everyone was warm all night. I don’t think Brody slept more than an hour or two Monday night, and then all Tuesday, he spent it plowing the mile long road that leads from the main street down to Ella’s bed and breakfast.

The couple with their three kids left today—
thank God
—to take their kids to see Santa at Crossgates Mall. They are hellions. I swear I will never let my kids act like spoiled brats. Ever. They were perfect angels while they had Wi-Fi for their smartphones and had television to watch. As soon the power went out, they became Tasmanian devils chasing each other all around the house and fighting.

Thankfully, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence are super sweet. They are out to dinner right now, so the house is empty besides Ella, Devin, and myself. We’re working on everything for Christmas dinner tomorrow. We’ve been baking all day long. We started as soon as we finished cleaning up breakfast. Ella said she invited the guests staying here to join us for dinner if they wanted to, so between all of them, us, and Brody and Corbin, we have to make a lot of food.

We have two large turkeys on the counter, thawing out for tomorrow. Then, Ella has double of everything for sides. She’s preparing everything today, so tomorrow all we have to do is pop the dishes into the ovens. All I know is standing on my feet for what has to be a good eight hours has my back killing me.

I rub at the bottom of my back to try and ease the ache at the bottom of my back as I walk over to the oven to get the pies out that just finished baking.

“Callie, go lie down for a bit. You look exhausted, sweetie,” Ella says from the other side of the kitchen island, where she’s hand chopping bread for the homemade stuffing.

“I’m fine, just a little sore. I don’t want you guys stuck in here doing everything by yourself, while I just lay around doing nothing.” I appreciate her letting me stay here. That’s two weeks of a room being unavailable, because I’m here. I offered to pay her, but she refused. So I’ve tried to pitch in as much as I can around here to help her, since she does it all on her own.

Devin tosses a balled up paper towel at me and glares, trying his best to look serious, but fails miserably as I block the paper towel, rebounding it back at him and smacking him straight between the eyes. Laughing, he yells at me and points towards the stairs that lead up to my room, “Go rest now. If you refuse one more time, I’ll carry your ass upstairs.”

Pursing my lips, I fold my arms across my chest. “I’d love to see you try. You’d blow your back out trying to lift me.”

He lets out an amused chuckle. “Don’t test me, Callie. I lift weights that weigh more than you do; don’t you worry about my back.”

I let out a sigh of defeat and walk across the tiled floor towards the wide archway. I stop at the doorway and smile back at them sweetly over my shoulder. “You guys are so damn pushy. I’m going to lay down as requested and try to read for a little bit. Text my phone when Brody is ready to fix the shower so I can make sure I’m not passed out snoring or something.”

“Okay. We got it. We’ll text you the second Brody gets here. Now go rest!” Ella says, waving me off.

“Okay, okay. I’m going.”

Each step up the stairs feels like an eternity. I want to take a shower, but I have to wait for Brody to fix it first. I could really use hot water right now to sooth my muscles. For now, I’ll have to settle for relaxing in my super plush bed.

I normally stand on my feet all day at the salon, and my back will hurt a little by the end of the day, but as my belly is getting bigger, it’s harder to be on my feet for a long period of time. I’ve been helping Ella around the bed & breakfast and it is exhausting. I don’t know how she does it.

With Devin being here over the weekend and then here today, it has been a huge help. He’s helped strip the beds and add new bedding, which I appreciated greatly, and I know Ella did too. The Palmer’s are the family staying here with their kids, and they have a sofa in their room that has a pullout bed, so all three of their little kids have been sleeping on that, making one more bed to strip. They’ve wanted their beds changed every other day. It’s a killer on my back, ripping all those beds apart and remaking them, plus cleaning the bathrooms and vacuuming.

You really have to love what you do to run a place like this.

Brody has been so busy working outdoors clearing the snow. We got a good two feet or more, then add all the snow he’s plowed and it has piled up pretty high. He’s supposed to be here any time after he gives Corbin dinner so he can fix my shower because it’s not working right for some reason. 

Is it crazy I’m excited to see him, even if it is just to fix my shower?

Since I met him, he’s all I can think about. It’s insane. I haven’t stressed over Jase at all while being here. I gave up texting him, because he hasn’t bothered to get back to me. Normally, I’d be an emotional mess over it, but I’m actually feeling good and have smiled more in these last few days than I have in the last five months.

One reason for all my smiles is Brody’s son Corbin. I love playing with him every day. It is like the highlight of my day, knowing I’m going to spend it with him. It is impossible to not fall in love with him; he is just the sweetest and silliest little man. I wake up every morning excited to see his big smile greet me as I come down for breakfast. He calls me Sheriff Callie, after some cat that’s a sheriff on his cartoon channel. I swear it’s the cutest thing ever. I’ve seen it a few times when babysitting Aaliyah, but it never stuck with me until now, with Corbin.

Every day, the thought of going home gets harder and harder to accept. I know they’re only a short car ride away, but just the thought of not being able to see them every day sucks. I want to believe Brody feels the same. He’s been flirty, but I can’t tell if that is just how he is, or if it’s something more. More than likely, he is just being polite, but my overly hormonal self is getting all emotional and seeing something that just isn’t there.

I’ve tried to ignore the feelings I’m having towards Brody, because I know my life is too complicated to add more people to it. Blocking out thoughts of him though is very hard to do when his face is haunting my mind from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep. Even then, it’s impossible to escape him. I’ve been having the most vivid dreams about him, where I wake up feeling as if I’m climaxing; they’re that intense and realistic. They only make me more confused.

The only thing I can do is keep my distance from him and not let myself fall for him anymore than I already have. It’s the only way I can leave here with my heart still intact.

I toe-off my Ugg boots and grab my Kindle before climbing into bed. It’s warm in here, so I just lay on top of the covers and cover myself with the throw blanket from the bottom of the bed. I look at the clock and see it’s almost six-thirty. Brody said he’d be over around seven, so I have an hour to relax before I’ll finally be able use the bathtub. I think a long soak in the tub sounds more inviting than just a shower.

I don’t realize I have fallen asleep until I hear my phone singing
Chandelier
from my bedside stand, of course waking me up from yet another seriously hot dream.

“Crap!” I say under my breath as I whip my blanket off and crawl up the bed towards my phone to read the text.

Brody is downstairs now. He’ll be up in a minute.

I type back a quick reply telling her thank you, and then jump up and walk into the bathroom so I can make sure my hair isn’t a mess and I don’t have drool on my face or something.

Just as I’m walking back into my bedroom, I hear him knocking at the door, and my stomach instantly knots up. I don’t know why I’m so nervous about seeing him. I see him every day, and sure, I get a few butterflies, but right now it feels like a swarm of bees.

Maybe is the fact that he is going to be in my bedroom, where I was just dreaming of us doing the nasty together. In the damn barn, no less. I knew it was a dream, because no way in hell during the middle of winter would I be naked in a barn. I don’t care how hot he is.

Opening the door, I smile up at him nervously. “Hey! Thanks for coming by; I know it’s late. It’s just my back is killing me today, so I really want to soak in the tub before bed.”

His eyes darken and slowly slide over me before directing towards the bathroom. I feel my face flush. I feel like a damn teenager getting all bashful, because I told Brody I’m taking a stupid bath. I wouldn’t be so turned on if his eyes didn’t just look like he was visualizing me naked, like I have him way too many times.

“What’s wrong with your back?” he asks as he enters my room and makes his way into the bathroom with his toolbox.

I stand in the doorway and watch him work. I think it is impossible to not watch him when he’s in the room. It’s as if I lose all control over my body and it just does whatever it wants.

He has this strong, rugged look going on, and now he’s here being all manly, fixing my shower. If he gets any sexier, like if he loads a freaking dishwasher or something, I swear I’m going to internally combust. I squeeze my thighs together as I try to stop the ache building inside me for him. My eyes are zeroed in on his biceps flexing before me as he works on the spout.

I decide to distract my thoughts by talking about Christmas tomorrow. “Is Corbin excited about Santa coming tonight?”

Brody lets out the sexiest laugh, making his shoulders move up and down. His laughter fills the small space wrapping itself around me and making my body tingle with desire.

“He hasn’t stopped talking about Santa Claus coming tonight since he opened his eyes. It is going to suck once tomorrow comes though, because I am going to lose that power over him. The whole ‘you better behave or Santa won’t come’ thing won’t do any good anymore. At least, not until next fall.”

“Aw, I can just imagine how exited he is. I can’t wait for him to show me all his goodies Santa brings. You have been blessed with the sweetest little boy. I hope my girl is as sweet as he is.” I rub my belly and gaze down at it as I try to picture what she’s going to look like, the sound of her giggling laughter, and if she’ll have a big bright smile that once you see it, you can’t help but feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Brody sets his wrench down and a loud echo bounces around the room, making me snap my eyes up to his. His face looks sincere as he tells me, “If she is anything like her mother, then you have nothing to worry about.”

There it is. It’s things like that he says that get my mind reeling. One minute, he is sweet and says something heartwarming to me, but then the next, he seems cold and distant. It’s like I’m around two different people. I will see him outside working and he is cordial. He’ll say hello, but nothing beyond that. Then other times, he’s playfully and flirty. It’s so confusing. Again, I don’t know if it’s all in my head or what.

“You’re too sweet. I guess I can see where Corbin gets his sweetness from. Is he going to see his mom at all during the holidays?” I bite my lip nervously as I await his answer. I’ve started to ask a few times, but I just never found the courage. I’m scared to overstep and offend him by prying into his personal life.

He clears his throat and just says, “No,” before going back to work on the tub.

“That’s too bad.” I don’t know if I should ask the questions at the tip of my tongue or just keep quiet and go back to a lighter topic.

I decide to give him some space, and maybe once he’s done, I’ll pry some more. I don’t want to distract him while he’s working on my shower, because I’d really like to use it tonight.

“I’m going to lie back down until you’re finished. My back is still killing me.”

“All right, I should be done within the next half-hour.”

Chapter Nine

THE NEXT TWENTY minutes feel like they crawl by at a snail’s pace. I read some more of my book, but barely process any of the words, because all I can think about is Brody ten feet way in my bathroom. When he finally does comes out, his posture is stiff and uncomfortable, and his eyes look dark and sad.

Now I wish I would’ve never asked about Corbin’s mom, but I feel it’s only fair since he asked about my baby’s father. This guy is one big confusing hunk of a man.

“You’re all set. Enjoy your bath, and I hope you feel better,” he says, walking towards the door to leave my room.

“Thanks,” I murmur as I climb off my bed and slowly start to make my way into the bathroom. I expect to hear the door shut, but I hear nothing. I can feel him in the room still, making my body prickle with awareness of him being so near.

“Callie…” His voice sounds pained as he says my name. I stop walking and turn around to find he’s standing by the door, but his free hand is now sliding through his hair rather than gripping his key to escaping me and my questions.

“Yeah?”

He drops his chin to his chest and stares at the floor for a few seconds before finally looking back up at me. “Corbin’s mother is dead. I’m sorry for being short with you earlier. You’ve been nothing but open and honest with me. It’s just—it’s too hard even now, three years later, to talk about it. I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to talk about losing her. I just want you to know it’s nothing against you. It’s me. I’m the one with issues, and I want you to know I like you a lot, and Corbin does too. I hope once you go home Monday that you’ll still come back and visit, because Corbin will miss you.”

Feeling brave, I spit out my next question before I lose my courage. I need to know I’m not crazy and what I’m feeling isn’t just one-sided. “What about you? Will you miss not having me around too, or just Corbin?”

Poor Corbin. Knowing he has to grow up without a mom with no possibility of her ever returning breaks my heart. I lost my mom and it sucks. There is nothing worse than losing a parent. For him to lose his mother when he was a baby is even worse, because unlike me, he doesn’t have memories to hold onto like I do.

“Hell, Callie. Of course I will. You’re like a ray of sunshine here. Corbin loves you, even in this short amount of time. The second he opens his eyes, he asks to see you, but I just can’t go there. The day I lost my wife, my entire focus had to be on my son. You have enough issues of your own with your baby and your ex to deal with, without me adding another burden on you.”

“So are you telling me you feel what I’m feeling? It’s not just me? Because I keep feeling as if I’m imagining this pull between us. I don’t know what to make of it. One minute, you’re flirting with me, and the next, you act all professional and distant. It’s confusing.”

Shaking his head, he runs his hand over his face and lets out a frustrated growl. “I’ll bring you nothing but heartache, and I care for you way too much to do that to you.”

I refuse to let him just walk out that door right now. I heard all I have to know. I’ve been fighting the attraction I have towards him in fear that the feelings were only one-sided, but hearing him tell me he feels it too is all I need to hear.

Before he has a chance to react, I take a few steps towards him and press him to the wall. The toolbox falls to the floor with a loud thud as I dive my fingers into his hair like I’ve wanted to since the day I first met him. Gripping his hair, I crash my lips to his and kiss him hard, moaning against his mouth as his lips, moving on their own accord, begin to kiss me back. His hands that were limp at his sides find their way to my back as he hugs me against him.

My belly is pressed against his stomach as I lean up onto my toes to deepen the kiss. The heat of his body against mine feels right, and my body sparks to life as his lips brush against mine and his light beard scratches at my face. Finally, his lips part and I take charge, dipping my tongue into his mouth, deepening the kiss.

I feel his body relaxing against mine just as the door flies open, practically scaring the piss out of me. “Jesus Christ!” I shout as I jump away from Brody and find Ella and Devin standing in my doorway with a look of total shock on their faces.

“Oh my gosh, I am so s-sorry. We heard a big bang and thought something was wrong,” Ella stammers as she looks from Brody to me.

“Well, as we can see, everything up here is just fine,” Devin says into her ear as he backs her out the door before slamming it shut.

“Fuck,” Brody hisses as he rakes his fingers through his hair and leans down to grab his toolbox. The veins in his neck and arms are bulging and his eyes are still full of lust burning into me as they lock onto mine. “You shouldn’t have done that. I tried to warn you, Callie.” His voice is pained, but his eyes are melting me where I stand from the heat coming out of them as he stares at me from across the room.

I give him a confused look and go to ask him what he’s talking about, but before I get a chance, he drops the toolbox back onto the floor and stalks his way towards me.

His hands wrap around my waist and he pulls me to him, bringing his lips back to mine, which are still swollen and red from the kiss we just shared. It feels just as magical as it did the first time, and maybe even better this time around. His tongue darts into my mouth and feverishly licks and tangles with my tongue as he walks me back towards the bed. My legs hit the mattress and the second they do, I drop my butt onto the bed and fall back, giving myself to him.

I’ve never been so consumed with passion and an overwhelming need to be fucked by a man in my entire life. Within seconds, he’s gripping the hem of my sweater and pulling it over my head before sending it flying across the room. He presses a kiss to my lips one more time before getting to work on slipping my pants off.

I mentally thank myself for putting on sexy panties this morning and not my plain bikini-style ones. I suddenly feel shy as I’m being exposed to him, and I close my eyes as my pants slip past my feet. I feel the bed dip as he begins to climb on. I’m expecting his lips to connect with mine again, but shudder with surprise when I feel them on my belly. He slowly kisses a path from below my belly button, up over the tiny swell of my bump, and then drags his tongue the rest of the way, stopping at the valley between my breasts.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers against my skin, causing a shiver to shoot down my spine and explode at my core, making it ache for him to fill me.

His mouth makes its way to my right breast and he covers my sensitive nipple with his mouth. Moans of pleasure fly from my mouth as his tongue swirls around my swollen breast, making my head spin.

While his tongue is working on my right breast, his hand is moving slowly along my side before changing direction to run over my belly. Goose bumps blanket my body, and a hot, burning heat courses through me as I feel an electric charge rip through my core the second it comes to a stop between my legs. I’m dripping wet as his fingers slide between my lower lips and dive into my warm, wet center. I’ve been worked up since my dream, but now this take charge Brody has me melting beneath him.

“I shouldn’t be doing this. If you want me to stop, tell me, because if you don’t tell me now, there’s no turning back after this,” he warns me as his fingers, rough and calloused, slide into me and begin slowly massaging my inner walls, all while stimulating my clit with the heel of his hand.

“Mmm…” Moans escape my tightly clamped lips as I claw at his shirt and pull it up his back. “I want this. Believe me, I
really
want this.” My voice is laced with sex, and I almost don’t recognize it. He has my body humming with need, and it’s so intense I can barely think straight, let alone form a sentence.

My words are all he needs to finally let go completely. His mouth leaves my body as he sits up to pull his shirt off over his head. I lay there watching as he undresses, burning the images into my mind to look back on after this, because I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach this will be the only time we’re together.

I keep my legs dangling over the edge of the bed, spreading them wider as he steps between them. His erection is hard and the tip is sheathed in pre-cum as it bobs in front of me. Like everything else on him, his dick is big and perfect. I lift my legs and hook them around his waist as my need for him to finally be inside me takes over. I can’t go slowly. This has been days in the making, with every flirtatious glance and touch. Mix in the erotic dreams I’ve been having and I don’t think my body can wait any longer.

Brody stares down into my eyes, not saying a word as he grips my hips, squeezing them as he presses the tip of him to my core before slowly rotating his hips, working his way inside me. The feel of his hot, velvety cock sliding in and out of my swollen and sensitive sex has my eyes rolling to the back of my head.

Sex before I became pregnant was great, but sex while pregnant is amazing. With higher blood flow down there, everything just feels magnified and oh-so-good.

I muffle my moans as I hold the back of Brody’s head and pull it down to mine. Our lips feel like livewires pressing together, sending jolts of electricity firing through my body. I can already feel an orgasm coming as he picks up speed and begins thrusting into me harder. I lift my hips, tilting them to meet his every thrust, and each time, I swear I’m on the edge of consciousness.

The way he feels inside me is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. The mixture of his hands on my body, his dick buried deep inside me, and his tongue fucking my mouth has my body shaking and my pussy throbbing around his cock as a strong orgasm rocks me.

I close my eyes and just feel. I savor the sensation that is consuming me right now as I feel like I’m soaring above the clouds, floating on a euphoric high. Before I have a chance to fully recover, I feel another orgasm building. “Holy shit,” I curse breathlessly as I break my lips from his in an attempt to catch my breath.

I claw at his back, working my way to his ass and cupping it in my hands. I squeeze his glutes and begin pulling him into me with a perfect rhythm as I chase my next orgasm. After a few more thrusts, we’re both climaxing together. Brody slides his hand under my head, fisting my hair as he kisses and sucks on my neck and continues to pump into me. I’m gasping for air, desperately attempting to fill my lungs. I shudder as Brody groans into the nape of my neck. I can feel his dick pulsating inside me as he releases every last drop into me.

We both know I’m pregnant, but I can’t ignore the panic that hits me like a freight train as he presses another kiss to my lips before pulling out of me. I don’t know this guy. Sure, his wife is dead, but does that mean he’s been a monk since she died? I close my eyes and try to control my breathing so I don’t panic. I just had the best sex of my life, and instead of relishing it, I’m freaking out about STDs.

Brody disappears into the bathroom, so I sit up and grab tissues off my nightstand to clean myself up and start getting dressed. I’m just pulling my sweat over my head when he comes back out of the bathroom.

The instant our eyes lock, I feel that all too familiar feeling of overwhelming attraction and desire towards him. It’s terrifying how strong my pull is to him.

If I thought I was falling for him before. There’s no doubt I am now.