Page 54

“Just put me into the fire.”
“Like I said, not an option. Just touch me.”
His voice was hard, reminding me that he didn’t like this any more than I did.
This was probably his worst nightmare.
Another shiver racked my body as he sat next to me.
“Just for survival,” he reminded. I gritted my teeth and leaned into him, forcing myself to not fully melt into the heat of his arms.
His skin was warm as it pressed against mine. His hands were only a touch less cold than mine as they wound around my back.
Just for survival. Not fun.
But my body didn’t get the memo. It latched onto every sensation, cementing it into my memory.
His body hair, as dark as the hair on his head, tickled my skin, and I couldn’t deny that I was heating up fast.
My arms snaked around him, pulling him closer. I trained my ears on him, ready to hear him groan in annoyance.
Instead, I heard him swallow.
I liked this. I shouldn’t, yet I did.
Alden pulled me in closer.
This shouldn’t be intimate. This was for a purpose, yet my fast-beating heart wondered if I could take it further. Could I scoot into his lap and sit on his strong thighs? Could I nuzzle into his neck and feel his beard tickle my cheek?
I stayed rooted to the spot as seconds turned into minutes, not daring to ruin it.
He cut the contact first.
“We should be good now,” he said, standing. He threw his shirt over his head.
“Isn’t that still wet?”
“Yeah, but I need to cool off anyway.”
Silence rained down on us, and I wondered if there was a string of words I could use to get him to come back to me again.
But I didn’t think I could take another no from him.
“So what else do we do?” I asked.
He considered it. “Want to do a puzzle?”
I blinked. “What?”
“Puzzles are one of your Christmas traditions. We can keep some of them, right?”
It was a sweet gesture, and while the warmth of him still lingered on my skin, it made my stomach twist. “Yeah, maybe we can.”
TWELVE
We pulledout an old Christmas puzzle, one with a classic Santa on it. The Summers had done it a million times, and the faint smile on Stella’s face told me I’d chosen the right one.
“It’s a shame that we don’t have any music,” she said as we distributed the pieces on the dining room table. “Christmas puzzles are incomplete without it.”