It took a moment for that to sink in. "What?"

Aiden grinned at Tobias’s stunned expression. "It was Melanie, the girl in the front row of that art history class. The one with the long blond hair. Just thought you might want to know."

Tobias scrubbed a hand across his scalp. "So Carolyn wasn't the golden goddess?"

"She might be your golden goddess. But she's a little old for me." Aiden couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. It bubbled out in long snorting hoots.

"But—how—who—what—"

"I was crazy hung up on Melanie but she's a senior graduating early. I decided to transfer to JPCC so I could be with you guys. I wasn't going to waste my trust fund, I just wanted…well, her family's loaded. I wanted to impress her. It was dumb."

"So what changed?"

"When you came to Evergreen, it actually helped. It brought me back to reality, I guess. When we talked about Daisy, I remembered how she always had my back. I called Daisy and she freaked. She said if I left Evergreen she'd kill me. She told me to suck it up and if Melanie wasn't interested unless I had money, she didn't deserve me."

"Smart girl."

Aiden broke into another grin. "Also, it cracked me up that you thought it was Professor Moore. That angel was awesome. Fakest tattoo I ever saw."

Tobias gaped at him. "So you knew? About the fake tattoo and the rest?"

"I saw you two talking. At the Caf, after I stormed off in a huff, I felt stupid for doing that. I came back and saw her helping you pick up those cheese puffs. There was just something about the way you looked at each other, I thought, hmm. Then you were asking me about all my likes and dislikes, and I thought that was weird. I kind of put it together when she showed up for my teacher meeting with a pack of cigarettes. She didn't even know how to hold a cigarette right. It was pretty funny, so I decided to play along with it."

The kid looked so pleased with himself, Tobias couldn't even be mad that he and Carolyn had been completely played. He threw back his head and laughed, long and hard, until his stomach muscles hurt. "Shit. You've been five steps ahead of me this whole time, haven't you?"

"Pretty much." Aiden grinned. "I have to admit, revenge is sweet."

"All I can say is, you better watch your back. My revenge will be even sweeter."

"Dude. Forget revenge. Go after Carolyn. You like her, don't you? Ben's probably already snagged a date with her, knowing him."

Tobias’s smile dropped. "Ben knows she's off-limits. I gave him the glare. He knows exactly what that means."

"Whatever. Feel free to take your chances." Aiden shrugged and headed for the door. Tobias followed this time. As he pushed open the door, the sounds of laughter and Christmas music flowed past them like a welcoming river of joy.

"One more thing." Tobias snagged the sleeve of Aiden's sweater before he could disappear into the crowd. "You're really okay with me and Carolyn uh…getting together?"

"Totally. She's cool. Like I said, I thought she was kind and intelligent until she got that tattoo." With a big grin, he slipped into the crowd of guests.

Tobias hung back, taking a moment to fill his lungs with the scent of Christmas cookies and the big Douglas fir Christmas tree in the corner. Best Christmas present ever—he wouldn't be crushing Aiden's heart if he spent time with Carolyn. The field was clear. It had always been clear. He could have kissed her weeks ago and it would have been fine with Aiden. How much damn time had he already wasted?

Scanning the guests, he caught sight of Carolyn chatting with a group that included Police Chief Benson, Gabriela and her husband, and of course his brother Ben.

Damn it. He caught Carolyn's eye and beckoned to her. He wanted to get her alone. Had to get her alone. If he joined her over there, in the thick of the party, they'd both be stuck making chitchat about Jupiter Point town gossip. The only thing he wanted to talk about was the fact that nothing stood in the way of them getting together.

Unless it was Ben, that weasel.

He glared at his brother, who caught a glimpse of his face and flinched with exaggerated alarm. There. That was the signal they both knew from all their nights at the local bars. That meant Carolyn was his.

Unless she didn't want him, of course. Ben had a way of winning women over in record time. Tobias had seen him work his magic and it was truly impressive. Tobias didn't have any particular claim on Carolyn. If she preferred Ben, there wasn't much Tobias could do about it, other than try to win her back.

Or win her for the first time, to be completely accurate.

She excused herself from the group and walked toward him. As she drew closer, his entire body went into a hyper-aware state in which everything moved slowly and his blood pounded through his ears. Her soft blue eyes clouded with concern as she reached him. "Are you okay? You look funny, like you just got some bad news."

He shook his head, then took her hand and drew her down the hallway and out the side door. The crisp air nipped at his face. Jupiter Point didn't get especially cold in the winter, and it rarely snowed. But as winter advanced, the night sky grew clearer and more sparkly, and the air tasted like chilled champagne.

"Are you cold?" he asked her, his voice gruff with the need to touch her.

"No, it feels good to get a breath of fresh ai—"

The rest of that sentence ended in a gasp as his mouth descended on hers. As their lips met, the shock of brilliant pleasure made his head spin. His arms went around her, his hands splayed across her middle back. She molded her body against his and raised herself onto her tiptoes. Her mouth opened under his, slick and sweet and warm and eager.

Better than the first taste of ripe peach on a summer day, better than diving into the creek behind their old house, better than whipped cream for breakfast or a cozy sleeping bag on a cold mountain night…their kiss blew every other sweet, lost moment out of his head. Kissing Carolyn instantly became the new best thing in the world; he felt drunk with it, wild with it.

He stroked the curve of her back, moving his hands upwards until he was cradling her head, that soft waterfall of hair tumbling over his fingers. He slanted his mouth over hers, greedy, desperate for more of that electric intoxication. He grew hard, his cock pounding with arousal against the warm cradle of her thighs. She shifted her legs apart a tiny bit to accommodate him; that one movement nearly killed him.

They could do this. She was willing. She wanted him, and God, how he wanted her.

A sound from inside—someone laughing and opening the refrigerator—bought him back to his senses. He drew away, expelling a harsh exhale of breath from his lungs. "Jesus."

She put a hand to her lips. Dazed, she blinked at him. "What…um…wow."

"You weren't the golden goddess."

She wrinkled her forehead as if he'd lost his mind. "What was that?"

"Aiden's golden goddess, the one he had a crush on. Turns out it wasn't you."

"Right, because I did the tattoo and the smoking and the—"

"No. It never was you. It was a girl in your class, some blonde girl."

She stared at him, then burst into laughter. "Melanie Blake? Melanie's the golden goddess? Okay, mister, you're in big trouble. You're telling me I dropped ash on my favorite jacket and hurt poor Dragon's feelings for nothing?"

He looped his arms around her shoulders. "I know, my reconnaissance skills are for shit. I'm sorry. I think I took one look at you and figured you had to be the one. Who would notice anyone else with you in the room?"

Her breath caught through her laughter. "Good save, but boy do I feel ridiculous. I hope Aiden never finds out that I thought he had a crush on me."

"Um…"

She swatted his forearm. "He already knows, doesn't he?"

Tobias winced, twisting his face into something that hopefully indicated apology. "He knew at the time. He says he played along because he thought it was pretty funny."

"Oh God. That's mortifying." She buried her face in her hands. "Please tell him you're the one who thought it was me. I never really believed it."

He rubbed her shoulder, both to comfort her and because he loved touching her. "It's okay, I swear. I'll take all the blame. He still thinks you're cool, in case that matters."

"Cool? I had a fake crying angel tattoo on my arm!"

"He said it was awesome." He pried her hands away from her face, which was still filled with both laughter and mortification. "Sweetheart, I think you're missing the main point here. I can kiss you now without worrying about hurting Aiden's feelings. There's nothing standing between us anymore. All those deep dark fantasies I've been having about luring you into my bed…I don't have to feel bad about those anymore."

She ran her tongue across her lips. The pink tip traced the seam, then disappeared as she folded her lips together. "You called me sweetheart."

"Yeah. Is that okay? It just came out. Sweetheart." The tenderness in his voice surprised him. He hadn't known that he had it in him. He couldn't stop looking at her mouth and remembered just how delicious she tasted—and wondering when he could taste more.

"What are we doing here, Tobias?" The sound of his name, spoken in her soft voice, felt like an audible caress.

"Whatever we want. I can tell you what I want." He moved his hands to her hips, spreading his fingers apart so he touched both her hipbones. What he wanted to do was tug her against the bulge that graphically proved how much he wanted her. But he waited, needing to make sure she was on the same page with this.

"Okay, so tell me." Her warm breath, scented with cinnamon and cloves from the cider, wafted across his face. "You've been confusing me for weeks now. At first I was the bad guy. Then Dragon and I were victims in need of saving. Then I was the hero because I got a fake tattoo. But then you promised not to try to kiss me. And then you did kiss me. I have a small case of whiplash going on here."

"It's pretty damn simple. I want you. Even back at Evergreen I wanted you. I also want you to be safe. And I also don't want to hurt Aiden. I'm here for this. One hundred percent. Ball's in your court, babe. You're a smart, beautiful, sweetheart of an art history professor. You might not want anything to do with someone like me. I didn't even go to college, just flight school and Green Platoon training, and the school of life. A roughneck like me and a refined, educated sort like you…I don't know. Maybe you're not feeling it."

With his thumbs, he traced light circles on her lower back. If she wasn't feeling it now, maybe he could inspire her to feel it. Her eyes half closed. "You signed up to defend our country instead of going to college. How could I hold that against you?"

"If it's any help, after I got back to Jupiter Point, I signed up for some online courses. I might even take a few at JPCC. I heard they have some hot teachers over there. I have a feeling a degree might be in my future."

Her eyes flew open and she scanned his face in surprise. He hadn't mentioned anything about this new direction—he hadn't even told his brothers. It was so new, and he wasn't sure it would work out. His school days seemed like an eon ago.

"A degree in what?" she asked.

"Don't laugh."

"I won't. I swear. Why would I laugh?"

"Doing something like this at my age…"

"What are you, thirty-something?"

He nodded, amused by her enthusiastic reaction. It figured a teacher would be in favor of degrees. But once she knew what he was interested in…well, that was where the laughter might come in.

"Tobias, I promise I won't laugh. I think older students are great. We have quite a few at JPCC. They bring so much experience with them. They're very focused and committed. Especially someone like you, who's been in the military and spent time in war zones. So what are you interested in studying?"

He cleared his throat. "Nonviolent communication."

Her eyebrows lifted, her mouth dropped; her whole face opened up into an expression of joyous laughter. "Are you kidding? The warrior Night Stalker Tobias Knight wants to learn how to communicate without violence?"

"It's a tool in the toolbox. Why not?" Feeling suddenly awkward, he started to draw his hands away from her hips, but she stopped him by clamping her hands on his forearms.

"I think it's great. Believe me. I thought you were sexy before, but you just shot up to the red zone of sexiness." She stepped farther into the circle of his embrace. The way she filled his arms, so warm and pliable and vibrant, made his heart sing.

"The red zone." He dipped his head to sniff the sweet fragrance of her hair. "What happens in the red zone?"

"All your deep dark fantasies come true," she whispered.