Page 171 of The Holiday Clause

“Come on.” He led her to the sleigh and greeted the driver. “How’s it going, Gus?”

Mr. Pemberley grinned. “You did a fine job pulling that ship into harbor, Greyson. Your dad would have been proud.”

Settling onto the red velvet seat, Wren pulled the emerald throw over her lap while Greyson poured steaming cocoa.

“Don’t forget the lids. Trails can get bumpy,” Gus warned.

Sleigh bells jingled as they literally dashed through the snow. Cuddling into Greyson’s side, Wren asked, “What about the boat?”

“My brothers and I will get it in the morning.”

Pulling the reins, Mr. Pemberley turned the heavy sleigh away from the breeze and headed deeper into the woods, following a dark trail that led directly to Greyson’s house. The jingle of sleigh bells created the melody as they sipped cocoa and cuddled close to escape the cold.

The sleigh shifted slightly over a rut in the trail, and her hand instinctively shot out, grabbing Greyson’s thigh for balance. Tensing beneath her fingers, his muscles responded, and she meant to pull away, to laugh it off—but he covered her hand with his, keeping it there, anchoring her to him.

Their eyes met and the silence between them crackled with unspoken desires. Brushing his finger along the inside of her wrist, slow and deliberate, Greyson moved his thumb with intent. Her pulse leapt to meet his touch, and a small, involuntary gasp escaped her lips. His hand closed around her wrist and squeezed.

He leaned close, his cold nose brushing her cheek. “You’re trembling.”

Giving him a knowing look, she said nothing. Her wanting was perfectly clear.

He silently chuckled and sat back, a confident grin curving his lips. Promises hung between them amongst the anxious need to get back home.

Sweet, unbearable anticipation stretched and tightened inside of her the longer they drove. Agonizingly delicious, in ways she’d never imagined wanting could be, she closed her eyes and got off on the sensation.

“Tired?” he whispered.

“No.”

His knowing stare held hers. “I’m going to strip you naked as soon as you walk through the door.” His hand slid dangerously higher under the blanket that covered their laps. “And then I’m going to lick every sexy inch of you.”

She shivered as the cabin lights glowed through the trees in the distance. The closer they came to their final destination, the more Wren became fully aware of every pulsing part of her body.

“Do you think I have time for a quick shower? I can’t feel my toes.”

“You have until I get the fire going again.”

Smoke curled from the chimney into the night sky as Greyson’s home came into view. Of course, he stocked the woodstove with enough wood to keep it warm. That gave her less than two minutes. She’d be lucky to get out of her clothes.

Her heart thundered in her chest as the sleigh jostled to a stop.

“Here we are, kids.”

Greyson hopped onto the snow and reached for her, lifting her out of the carriage as if she weighed nothing at all and purposely sliding her body down his front. “I’ll meet you inside.”

Her heart pounded with anticipation. She barely had her boots off when the front door swung shut with a promising click, and the deadbolt latched. Pivoting, Wren froze as Greyson’s intense stare darkened on her.

He glanced down. “You have until I get these two logs in the fire.”

She playfully staggered backwards. “What about the one in your pants?”

“That one’s going inside you.”

She spun and darted into the bedroom, stripping clumsily out of her clothes. She was down to long johns and her bra when he loomed in the bedroom door. The promising look in his blue eyes told her time was up.

She ran for the bathroom and turned the water on high. But as her fingers hooked into her bottoms, he caught her arms and corralled her under the water.

“Greyson! Your clothes!”