A Winter’s Tale by Carrie Elks (24)

‘You look different.’

Adam smiled indulgently at his mother. ‘I’ve only just walked into the room. How different can I look?’

‘Oh, you’d be surprised. A mother can sense things. When you were a child I knew as soon as you walked through the door if you’d had a good day or a bad day. Right now I’d say your day’s been going pretty well.’

His chest tightened. He’d spent the morning playing with the dog before going for a run to end all runs. Anything he could do to stop himself from stalking up to the big house and hunting Kitty down. He had the urge to grab her and spirit her back to his cabin, back to where they’d lain together happy and sated. Back to where he’d got to know every inch of her body.

Even intense physical exercise hadn’t been enough to eliminate the urge altogether. It barely made a dent on his need to see her. That was why he found himself walking up to the house later in the afternoon, letting the wind whip his face as he crunched through the forest.

Annie had raised her eyebrows as he walked into her kitchen, and he’d muttered something about needing to spend some time with his mom. To his disappointment Kitty was nowhere to be seen, and he couldn’t exactly ask Annie where she was, could he?

Instead he’d made the trek upstairs to the master bedroom, where his mother lay on the bed, exhausted after an hour spent with her physiotherapist.

‘It’s Christmas, isn’t everybody supposed to be happy?’ Adam dragged a chair to her bedside. ‘’Tis the season, after all.’

‘Speaking of which, I hear you’re going to join us for Christmas lunch.’ She squeezed his hand. ‘I’m so pleased to hear that.’

‘I’ll suffer anything for you, Mom.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t pretend to be a Grinch. You walk in here with your eyes bright and your beard trimmed and you think I’m not going to notice?’

Adam ran his palm across his chin. His beard had needed grooming, and today had seemed as good a time as any; it wasn’t anything more serious than that. Though he had, for one long minute, considered shaving all the hair off, in the end he’d opted for a neaten-up.

‘As I said, it’s Christmas. I don’t want to come to dinner looking like a vagabond.’

‘When’s that ever stopped you before?’ his mom teased. Then, turning serious she added, ‘You really do look different. Alive. I can’t tell you how much it warms my heart to see it.’

Adam suppressed a grin. He wasn’t about to confess he hadn’t felt this alive in years. Nor that it was the gorgeous blonde who happened to be taking care of his nephew who’d caused such a big change in such a short time. That was his secret to keep – his and Kitty’s – and he wasn’t about to dilute it by sharing it with anybody else.

‘Maybe it’s the puppy I’ve been looking after.’

‘Jonas’s puppy?’ Her eyes twinkled. ‘I heard about that. Annie told me you agreed to look after him until Christmas, that was very kind of you.’

‘Kind? I was press-ganged into it. Saying no wasn’t an option.’

‘Oh stop it. You can pretend to be grumpy and gruff with everybody else, but you forget I’m your mother. I know you inside and out. You may be tough on the outside, but inside you’re about as hard as a marshmallow.’

‘A marshmallow?’ Adam replied, raising a single eyebrow. ‘I guess it beats being a teddy bear.’

Mary reached out to squeeze his hand. ‘You’re one of those, too. But don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.’

He shot her a rueful smile. ‘Who are you going to tell? Everett would never believe you. And Dad always said we were both as tough as steel.’

‘Your father’s soft as cotton, too.’ Her expression turned sad. ‘That’s why he’ll be so happy to have his family all together under one roof for Christmas. It means a lot to us both.’

He nodded slightly. He knew his feud with Everett had broken both of their hearts, and he hated that it did. He just didn’t know how to get over it, how to forgive a brother who’d all but crushed his heart, too.

‘Yeah, well don’t get any ideas. This thaw is for Christmas, not for life.’

‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’ She winked, but Adam knew that she definitely dreamed of it.

If he was any kind of son, he’d find a way to make those dreams come true.

 

He was deep in thought when he reached the first floor, walking right into Kitty as he reached the bottom step. She stumbled back, flinging her arms out in an attempt to steady herself. As quick as lightning he grabbed her around the waist, stopping her from falling to the floor.

‘I didn’t see you there. You OK?’ He frowned, looking over her body, trying to find evidence of any injury.

Kitty was breathless. ‘I didn’t see you either.’

He was still holding her. His hands were moulded around her waist as if she was made for him. Her sweater was so thin he could feel the warmth of her body through it. In spite of the fact he was in his parents’ house, only yards away from where his brother was working, he felt his own body responding.

When he looked again, Kitty was smiling at him. The way her lips curled, making her cheeks plump up, caused his heart to stutter. In all the excitement some hairs had escaped from her ponytail, so he reached out and tucked the strands behind her ear.

‘I’ve been thinking about you all day,’ he whispered.

‘I’ve been thinking about you, too.’

That was all he needed to hear. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her into the living room, his eyes sweeping left and right to make sure they were alone. He kicked the door shut then pressed her against the wall, his body held against hers as he lowered his head.

‘I’ve been thinking about this, too.’ Adam kissed her hungrily. Her lips welcomed him, soft and warm.

She curled her arms around his neck as he put his hand in the small of her back, pulling her closer still. Every sense was full of her, and of the need to have more.

Christ, he couldn’t get enough. He slid his hands beneath the waistband of her jeans, fingers caressing her soft skin. She arched her back, pushing into him and he was immediately hard.

He stepped back, his heart racing. ‘I’m sorry.’

Kitty touched her mouth with her index finger, brows knitted in a frown. ‘Why are you sorry?’

‘For dragging you in here and taking advantage of you, without even so much as a hello.’

She smiled coquettishly. ‘What if I wanted you to take advantage of me?’

Adam shook his head, taking in a deep breath. Somehow he needed to get control of his body. ‘You shouldn’t say things like that,’ he told her, his voice low.

Kitty took a step towards him, leaning her head back so she could look him in the eyes. ‘There’re a lot of things I shouldn’t do. The problem is, I want to do them.’

His mouth was dry. It was hard to think straight when she was so close. His body was overriding every sensible thought he could muster. ‘Kitty…’

‘Hush.’ She pressed her lips to his again. This time she took the lead, kissing him softly, her mouth enticing. Her palms cupped his face, her fingers brushing against his beard. When he opened his eyes she was staring right at him, hot and needy, and it took every ounce of self-control he had not to pick her up and carry her to her bedroom.

‘Come down to the cabin tonight,’ he said when they finally parted. ‘Let me cook you dinner.’

‘Oh!’ She pressed her hand against her chest. ‘Are you sure?’

She was so damned cute he wanted to kiss her again. ‘I’m sure I want to cook you dinner,’ he said. ‘But are you sure you want to come?’

She tipped her head to the side. ‘That sounds remarkably like a date.’

‘That’s because it is a date. I wasn’t inviting you because you look hungry.’ Although she did. She looked as hungry as he felt.

‘I’d have to come down later, after Jonas is in bed. Would that be too late?’ Her eyes sparkled as she asked him, reflecting the Christmas lights festooned around the fireplace.

‘That would be fine.’ He pulled her into an embrace. ‘It’ll give me enough time to work out what the hell I should cook for you.’

‘Better make it good, if you want to top last night’s romantic gesture.’

‘I’m always good, you know that.’ He kissed the tip of her nose, ruffling her hair with his palm. ‘I’ll see you this evening.’

 

Adam was still smiling when he walked into the kitchen, planning to steal some food from Annie for their date. Everett was leaning against the worktop, holding a mug of coffee in one hand and his phone in the other, pressing it against his cheek as he barked orders into the mouthpiece. On seeing his brother, he ended the call, shoving his phone into his pocket as he stared at him. He drained his coffee before he said anything, putting his empty mug onto the countertop.

‘How are you?’ Everett finally asked.

Adam’s good mood immediately disappeared. ‘Do you care?’

‘What kind of question is that? I’m your brother, of course I care.’

Adam stared at him, trying to work out his angle. If there was one thing he’d learned about Everett since LA, it was that there was always an angle.

‘In that case, I’m fine.’

There was a pause as Everett took another mouthful of coffee. Swallowing it down, he stared at Adam, an expectant look on his face.

‘What?’ Adam couldn’t stand the silence.

‘Aren’t you going to ask me how I am?’

‘Wasn’t planning on it.’ Adam couldn’t even look him in the eye. He turned his back on him, walking into the food cupboard to grab what he needed. As far as he was concerned, the sooner he was out of the house and on his way back down to the cabin the better.

‘Can’t we put this behind us?’ Everett’s voice made him jump. He’d followed Adam across the kitchen and was standing in the doorway. ‘Let bygones be bygones. It’s Christmas, the season of goodwill. What else do you need, a visit from a freaking angel?’

Adam narrowed his eyes. ‘This isn’t a movie, Everett. You don’t get to act like an asshole and then do a one-eighty in the last ten minutes. I’ll come for Christmas dinner to please our parents, but that’s all.’

His brother’s face hardened. ‘So there’s nothing I can say…’

‘Nothing I’m going to listen to. Save your breath, and I’ll save mine. While you’re here I’ll tolerate you, but we’re not going to skip off into the sunset.’

‘Well, you won’t have to tolerate us for long.’ Everett let out a frustrated sigh. ‘We’ll be gone by next week.’

Adam’s jaw twitched. He should be glad to hear that. He should be happy his brother was planning to leave as soon as possible. But if Everett left, so would Jonas, and that would mean Kitty leaving, too.

He’d only just found her. They were only just getting to know each other. And before he’d even had a chance to truly have her, he knew it was all going to be for nothing.

She’d leave, he’d stay here in his cabin, and everything would go back to the way it had always been. Maybe he shouldn’t get involved, or risk getting his heart hurt yet again.

But even as he entertained that thought, he dismissed it without hesitation. He was going to spend as much time as he could with Kitty Shakespeare, and he wasn’t going to regret a single thing about it.