Jess entered Dimitri’s house and was greeted with the scents of gingerbread, chocolate, and cinnamon. Jazzy versions of Christmas carols played softly in the background.

“Cookies?” She turned to Nik in accusation and surprise. “This is your messy activity?”

“Yeah. Baking holiday cookies is tradition.”

“Boy, you weren’t kidding about wholesome.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Why, what were you expecting?”

She hunched her shoulders, recalling the steamy images that had kept her up last night involving champagne, honey, and whipped cream. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Come say hi to everyone,” Nik said, guiding her toward the kitchen, where the mouthwatering aromas originated.

Everyone? They weren’t going to be alone for this date, either? Maybe this was a double date with Dimitri and Natasha. That would make sense, since Dimitri was Nik’s brother and this was his house.

Still, Jess felt a vague sense of disappointment. She’d meant what she said about not being Nik’s girl in this port, but it would’ve been nice to spend some time alone with him. As reluctant as she was to put all her trust in him, he was still a lot of fun to hang out with.

Okay, and maybe she’d be all right with messing around a little. Nik was super hot.

Nik stopped in the kitchen doorway and ushered her in. “I believe you know everyone here,” he said.

When Jess entered the room, shock mixed with delight. It wasn’t just Dimitri and Natasha in the kitchen.

“Gina!”

“Hey, girl!” Gina, another one of Jess’s former coworkers on The Dance Off, set down a handful of frosting tubes on the counter.

Gina hurried over to give Jess a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Good to see you. You remember Stone.” She gestured to her giant of a boyfriend, who’d been Gina’s celebrity partner on The Dance Off earlier that year.

“Hi, Stone.” Jess sent him a wave. Apparently this was a triple date. “I didn’t know you guys were in town.”

Jess hadn’t hung out a ton with Gina and Natasha—she was closer to Rhianne, Mila, and Joel—but she liked them just fine.

“Just a short visit,” Gina said. “Tash and I always used to do the tree and cookie stuff together, and we didn’t want to skip it this year. I’m glad you can join us.”

“Me, too,” Jess said, shooting a look over her shoulder at Nik, who loitered by the arched doorway with a smug grin. There was no way she could get away with being a Scrooge around the others.

Nik joined her at the counter, and while he didn’t touch her, Jess was fully aware of his body all the same. It was like he emitted some kind of sexy force field only she could feel and that was impossible to ignore.

“Did you guys get those in Alaska?” Nik asked, gesturing at Stone and Gina’s tops.

It was then that Jess noticed they wore matching Christmas sweaters—Gina’s was red, Stone’s was green, and they both had moose silhouettes on them.

Wait a minute.

Upon closer inspection, Gina’s had not just one moose, but two moose. Mooses? No, the plural of moose was moose. Either way, these moose were getting it on, moose-style, right across Gina’s chest.

Well, now she had to know what Stone’s moose was doing. Jess moved closer, squinting. The moose was…

Pooping. The moose was pooping.

Stone let out a long-suffering sigh, but Gina flashed a wide grin. “You wouldn’t believe all the bizarre moose merchandise they have in Alaska,” she said. “They’re on everything. You guys want moose undies? I can get you some next time we visit Stone’s family.”

When she went to arrange the cookie cutters next to the rolling pin, Stone leaned down from his great height and muttered, “Trust me, you don’t want them.”

Jess turned to Nik after Stone had gone back to setting out containers of cookie decorations. “Well, now I’m just curious,” she whispered.

“I know,” Nik replied under his breath. “How bad could they be?”

She sent him a sly smile. “I bet you’d look cute in moose undies.”

“Excuse me.” He sounded offended, but his amber brown eyes turned molten and his voice dropped to a sensuous purr. “I look cute in anything.”

Or nothing, Jess thought. Yeah, she’d bet he looked real good in nothing at all.

With that delicious image in her head, she got to work helping the others set up.

Nik was relieved when Jess fell into an easy conversation with Gina and Tash. She’d seemed apprehensive when he’d told her about the others, and he’d worried the whole idea for this date had been a mistake.

But they’d agreed to three holiday-themed dates, and for him, a huge part of the holidays was spending time with friends and family. And these people fell into that category.

Dimitri, of course, was his brother, and Natasha was near enough to being family at this point. And while Gina was Tash’s best friend, Nik had never expected Stone and Dimitri to get along so well. They were both so different: Stone the very definition of “outdoorsy,” and Dimitri the cosmopolitan restaurateur. But they got on famously somehow, bonding over stuff like home repair projects and beard maintenance.

Nik liked Stone, too. Dude was fun, and he had some kickass stories about living in Alaska. Nik hadn’t been there yet, but he wanted to go. Gina had recommended he visit during summer instead of winter.

Nik couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day than hanging out with these four, with Jess at his side.

Well, maybe he could think of a few other things he and Jess could do, but he wouldn’t rush her.

One date left.

As much as the previous day’s media visits had worn on him, he’d enjoyed getting to spend extra time with Jess. In hindsight, three dates didn’t seem like enough.

More and more, he was sure she was the missing piece he’d been searching for. Her quick wit and dry humor belied a sweetness and sensitivity that made him want to gather her in his arms and show her that her heart would be safe with him. When he was with her, the restless feeling that had propelled him through years of touring gigs finally quieted. For once, he felt like he could be still.

A year ago, these impulses would’ve scared him. Now, he just wanted to take his time getting to know her better and proving to her how good they could be.

While the others worked on the cookies, Nik took Jess into the living room to start on the tree—and to get her alone. The scent of gingerbread followed them.

“You don’t bake?” she asked.

“I can follow a recipe, but it’s better if my brother and I don’t cook or bake at the same time. We both recall ‘what Mama said’ differently. Besides, I love decorating Christmas trees.”

She eyed the bare tree standing in the living room. “Aren’t they a fire hazard?”

He laughed. “Only if you don’t water them. And anyway, this tree is fake. Dimitri doesn’t like getting pine needles all over his house.”

Jess put her hands on her hips. “If it’s a fake tree, does it even count?”

“Oh, look who’s the authority on Christmas authenticity all of a sudden.”

“I’m just saying, if you’re not getting that pine smell, what’s the point?”

“We’ve got that covered.” He pointed to the wall, where a scented plug-in gave off a rich, piney odor.

“Ah, so that’s where the smell was coming from.”

Nik opened two big plastic tubs filled to the brim with lights, garland, baubles, stockings, and more. “Dimitri likes the tree to have a ‘theme,’ which he rotates year to year. This time it’s silver and dark blue.”

“Your brother seems like a guy who likes what he likes.”

Nik coughed out a laugh. “You have no idea. I’ve celebrated Christmas with him every year of my life. But it’s different at home. Our mom gets a real tree, and there’s no theme. When we were kids, we used to make our own ornaments, and she’s kept them all these years.”

“That sounds nice.” Jess fingered a length of blue ribbon. “We didn’t even put up a tree every year.”

Sadness tinged her voice, and despite his earlier resolve to let Jess open up on her own, Nik couldn’t stop from asking, “Why not?”

Jess examined the beaded detail on a silver star ornament. “Let’s just say the holidays weren’t usually a happy time.”

Nik gave in to the urge to touch her, smoothing his hand up and down her arm in a soothing gesture. “I shouldn’t have pressed.”

“No, it’s okay that you did.” She gave him a small smile and moved closer. “Besides, I said ‘usually.’ This holiday season is turning out to be pretty fun.”

When she laced her fingers through his and tilted her chin up, Nik took the hint. Bending his head, he pressed his lips to hers in a soft, sweet kiss. The scent of cherries blended into all the holiday smells around them, like it was the only thing that had been missing and now the experience was complete.

The moment stretched, wrapping him in a comforting easiness he’d never felt before.

So, this was what it was like to feel settled.

He could have taken the kiss deeper, but with the smell of cookies, the tinkling piano rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and Jess’s emotional admission, it felt right to keep the touch of their mouths soft and languid, an almost innocent exploring of lips.

Nik lifted his head, and for a second, they just smiled at each other. Then Jess gave his hand a squeeze. “Come on,” she said. “This tree isn’t going to trim itself.”

They worked well together, untangling the lights someone—probably Dimitri—had been too impatient to store properly the year before. Jess looped enormous sparkly baubles over her ears so they hung like earrings, then hammed it up, winking and blowing kisses at Nik through his phone’s camera. Laughing, she wrapped him in silver garland, then made him pose with her for selfies.

“These are too good,” she said, skimming through the pics on her phone. “We should post one.”

He peeked over her shoulder as she scrolled, then stopped her. “That one.”

It was a close up shot of the two of them caught mid-laughter, mouths wide open, eyes crinkling as they looked at each other. The half-trimmed tree was blurry, but still visible behind them.

Jess hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”

She added a bunch of emojis in the caption, including the Christmas tree and chocolate chip cookie, then clicked “post.”

People were going to read into it. The talk show hosts who’d peppered them with “Are you dating?” questions might even latch onto it as proof that they were.

But it didn’t matter what any of them thought. Jess was the only person whose opinion meant anything to Nik right now.

They’d just finished transferring the garland from his body to the tree when Gina stuck her head into the living room. “The first batches are cool enough to decorate,” she called, then disappeared.

“Ready to join the others?” he asked, not wanting to push Jess into being more social than she wanted to be.

“Yes.” She sniffed the air. “Smells good.”

Nik cleared his throat. “You have, uh, a little something…” He gestured at his ears. When Jess touched her own ear, she burst out laughing. She still wore the Christmas baubles.

“Let’s put those back where they belong,” she said, removing the loops from her ear and hanging them on the tree instead. Then she slipped her hand into his as they walked to the kitchen.

Nik got that easy, settled feeling again. Why had he spent so long running from this? It was the best feeling in the world.

Inside the kitchen, the counter was covered with racks of sugar and gingerbread cookies in various shapes—people, yes, but also stars, unicorns, and…moose.

While Dimitri and Natasha worked on prepping the next batch to bake, Jess and Nik sat at the counter with Gina and Stone to decorate.

“I didn’t realize unicorns had to do with Yuletide cheer,” Jess said, picking up one of the cookies.

“Unicorns are very festive.” Nik chose a sugar cookie person. “Didn’t you know they’re second cousins to reindeer?”

She snickered. “I must have missed that day in biology class.”

It very soon became clear why they were dancers instead of artists. Dimitri, disgusted with their attempts at making gingerbread people—and animals—threw aside his apron and took over. Nik remembered all the times they’d sat at the kitchen table decorating cookies and Christmas ornaments with their parents. Even when they were kids, Dimitri had always shown artistic ability.

Gina and Natasha commandeered the oven. There was a lot of giggling over the cookie trays, and the next batch that came out of the oven looked distinctly like…

Dimitri stared at the cookies, horrified. “Are those dicks?”

Stone, who’d been putting the star on the Christmas tree because he was tallest one present by far, happened to walk back into the kitchen at that exact moment. He took one glance at the cookies and shot Gina an exasperated look. “Was this your idea?”

Her response was to dissolve into giggles.

Jess elbowed Nik in his side. “What do those represent?” she asked from the corner of her mouth. “The ghost of Christmas penis?”

Nik doubled over, and Dimitri and Stone hastily took over the rest of the baking. Jess joined the other women in decorating the Christmas Cocks, as the cookies had been dubbed, and since Nik knew it would amuse her, he ate one. Jess’s delighted peal of laughter was well worth his brother’s eye roll.

“Look, Macho,” Natasha called out to Dimitri, holding up one of her cookies. “We used the little sugar pearl things as jizz.”

“Mine has red and green pubes,” Gina added. “’Tis the season, after all.”

With a sigh, Dimitri cranked up the volume on the Christmas music. Stone mumbled something about the tree and left the room.

Later, after they’d gorged themselves on cookies and the tree was trimmed to the nines, Nik pulled Jess aside.

“What’s next?” she asked, sounding more excited than she had when she’d arrived.

“Mitya’s opening a bottle of wine and pulling out Cards Against Humanity.”

“Oh, shit.” She rubbed her hands together. “It’s about to go down.”

“We could play, if you want. Or…” His gaze shifted to the sliding glass doors that led outside. “It’s cooled down a lot, but we do have a hot tub.” He tried to keep his tone light and not suggestive. Whatever they did, it would be her choice.

Jess chewed her bottom lip for a moment, then nodded once. “Sure. I’ll go put on my swimsuit.”

Whoa. He’d half-expected her to tease him or turn him down. But no, she was grabbing her tote bag and disappearing into the hall bathroom.

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he hoped it meant she was coming around to the idea of the two of them as a couple.

In his room, Nik changed into swim shorts and threw on a hoodie, leaving it unzipped. For the first and only time in his life, he wished he owned trunks that had a moose on them. Or more than one moose. He wasn’t picky. As long as it made Jess smile.

Outside, he grabbed some towels from the shed and tossed them on the bench beside the hot tub, then cranked up the Jacuzzi jets. The water started bubbling, the oddly cozy smell of pool chemicals reaching his nostrils. He stripped off the hoodie and added it to the pile of towels. After the blast of cool night air, sliding into the water was pure bliss. He waited, just long enough to fret over whether Jess was punking him or not. When she appeared, he nearly choked. Her white bathing suit glowed in the soft yellow lights tucked in the foliage around the tub, and she was all strong, lean curves and shy smiles. With her hair braided around her head, she looked like a nymph stepping from the wilderness, or a goddess. She shivered and quickly slipped into the hot tub, sitting across from him.

She closed her eyes and leaned back, stretching her toned arms over the tiled edge. “This is nice.”

“Yeah…” He couldn’t help how dopey he sounded. Sitting in a hot tub with a beautiful woman whose company he enjoyed the hell out of was way more than nice.

They sat in silence, watching each other from across the water as the Jacuzzi jets hummed and the water bubbled.

Honesty had worked pretty well for him so far, so Nik spoke what was on the tip of his tongue.

“Jess?” His voice came out rough with desire. “I really want to kiss you again.”

She sent him a small smile, her dimple winking at him. “I know.”

She did? “How?”

“Because I want to kiss you, too.”

Neither of them moved.

“I think we should wait until the next date,” he said.

“Why?”

He swallowed, worried this would scare her off. It was a big move, and very soon, but he wanted to spend time with her far away from everything else, and he wanted to do it in the most picturesque and wintry locale he could manage within the confines of Southern California.

“I booked us a cabin at Big Bear,” he said. Big Bear Lake, in the San Bernadino Mountains, was a year-round vacation spot, complete with hiking trails and ski resorts. The perfect place to experience the winter holidays, with the convenience of being just a few hours’ drive from LA.

Jess’s eyes went wide. “This late in the season? How did you manage? What did it cost?”

“Don’t worry about that.” He waved away those details. He’d spent half the morning on the phone to make it happen, and had agreed to stop by the birthday party of his agent’s sister’s seventh grader, a huge Seize the Night fan, but it had been worth it. Still, he wasn’t sure what Jess’s reaction meant. “Will you go with me?”

Her gaze focused on something in the distance over his shoulder as she thought about it.

“This is a big step,” she said.

“Technically, our first kiss was almost a year ago. One could argue we’re behind.”

She gave him a bemused expression, and he held up his hands.

“Look,” he said. “It’s just one night, and the cabin has two bedrooms. I don’t expect anything if you come with me. But they have snow there, real snow, and this whole endeavor just wouldn’t be complete without a trip to a ski resort town decked out for the holidays.”

She tilted her head and looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time. “You really do have a spirit of adventure, don’t you?”

“There are many different kinds of adventures, Jeshka.” Did she get what he meant? That he wanted her to be his next—and hopefully longest lasting—big adventure? He’d traveled the world, and he’d never felt as content as he did sitting in a hot tub with her, relaxing after a day with his friends and family. What else was there besides this? What else mattered?

Did he love his job? Of course he did. Getting paid good money to do something he excelled at was a blessing every day. But, if he were being honest, it was starting to get old. He was…tired.

Being with Jess revived him, rejuvenated him. With her by his side, he felt like he could tackle whatever the world threw at him.

What would he do if, at the end of all this, she told him to leave? Probably go on tour again, because there’d be no reason for him to stay here.

Except this time, he’d be leaving his heart here with her. Or maybe he’d already done that a year ago and hadn’t even realized it.

He held back, hoping she understood him, not wanting to lay all his chips on the table just yet.

“You know what?” she said. “Fuck it.”

She launched herself across the water at him, landing in his lap with her knees hugging his hips and her arms locking around his shoulders. Her mouth crushed down on his, the most delicious, wonderful, invigorating kind of ambush.

And the best kind of adventure.

The juxtaposition of cool night air above and hot, bubbling water below heightened the sensory overload of Nik’s lips and tongue moving over hers. Jess lost herself in his kiss, moaning when he nipped at her bottom lip and sucked lightly.

Under the water, his strong hands clamped on her ass, barely covered by the thin spandex of her swimsuit. He ran those clever fingers up her ribs to palm her breasts and his warm hands stroked her through the fabric, but it wasn’t enough. She needed more contact. Breaking the kiss, she yanked at the ties holding the top of her suit up, then paused.

“What about the others?” she murmured. “What if they—?”

“They won’t. Trust me.”

Together, they pulled the fabric down to her waist. With nothing between them, Nik framed her breasts with his hands, rubbing his thumbs gently over her small brown nipples, which pebbled into hard peaks from his touch and the cool air. A tiny whimper squeezed from her throat as her body clenched with need.

His eyes were heavy-lidded and the tip of his tongue swiped back and forth across his lower lip. Anticipation hummed through her like a live wire. She wanted his mouth on her now.

“You’re perfect,” he whispered, awe in his voice.

All she could do to reply was thrust her chest toward his face in invitation.

With a low moan, Nik closed his mouth over one nipple and circled it with the tip of his tongue. She gasped and sank her fingers into his hair, holding him close as sensation streaked through her.

By the time Nik switched to her other breast, Jess was writhing on his lap, bucking her hips against him. Being with him like this, in the hot tub with his hands and mouth all over her, urged on by the feel of her core pressed up against his cock with only two thin layers of fabric separating them, was boiling her from the inside.

And she loved every second of it.

Her eyelids drifted closed and she let her head fall back, absorbing the pleasure he gave her. Waves of desire coursed through her in time with the rhythm of his tongue. Her body felt weightless, like she could float away at any moment.

But she wouldn’t. He’d keep her anchored. In his arms, she was safe.

Nik raised his head. “Jess.” Her name was like a whisper on the wind.

She opened her eyes and gazed down at him. “Hmm?” It was more a whine than a word, and he grinned.

“Can I touch you?”

A soft sigh escaped her parted lips, and once again, she brought her mouth to his. “I thought you’d never ask.”

She kissed him, long and slow and soft, as he trailed his hand over her hip and down the crease of her thigh until he could position his thumb between her parted legs. In soft, slow motions, he stroked her through the fabric of her swimsuit.

Fireworks exploded beneath her skin at his touch.

He kept the rhythm steady and languid, even when she tried to urge him on with kisses and moans.

“Easy, Jeshka,” he murmured against her lips. The nickname made her shiver. “No need to rush. We have all the time in the world.” Then he took her mouth in a slow, drugging kiss.

With his other hand, he touched her breast and gently rubbed her nipple using the same unhurried timing. But his easy pace lit a fire in her. Her movements became more erratic. Her whimpers rose in volume and tempo. She didn’t care who heard—not the neighbors, not their friends, not even his brother. The only things that mattered in this very moment were Nik’s hands and Nik’s mouth and that he did not under any circumstances stop what he was doing.

Finally, god, finally—he kicked up the pace, while still maintaining the same gentle pressure.

That was all she needed. With her lips pressed to his, she broke apart in his arms. As shock waves of pleasure soared through her body, he took her mouth in a searing kiss that swallowed her cries and fused the two of them even closer together than they’d been. Her hips rocked against his hand and her body shook with echoing surges of bliss.

When at last it was done, she rested her head on his broad shoulder.

For a long while, they stayed like that. Nik rubbed her back, his hands warming her cooling skin.

What. The Hell. Had just happened?

She’d been utterly consumed, just by his touch. And thanks to the heated water—and a brilliant orgasm—she couldn’t even tell where she ended and he began. The edges of her body, of her being, felt fuzzy, like she was merging with him.

Her thoughts were thick as molasses, but that one made her attempt to sit up. When she stirred, she brushed against his hard-on.

“What about you?” she murmured, dropping her hand between them to stroke his cock through the swim trunks. He was heavy and hard, filling her hand in the most intriguing way.

“I’ll survive.” He kissed her sweetly. “Tonight was all about you.”

She raised her head and looked him in the eye for a long moment. They’d crossed some bases tonight, but ever the gentleman, Nik was leaving it up to her to decide exactly how far they went. She licked her lips nervously, then asked a half question. “At the cabin?”

His cock jumped against her thigh like it understood what she meant. But Nik just nodded. “At the cabin.”

Her eyelids drooped, but there was one more thing she needed to know. “Why did you ask me about this next one in advance? I already agreed to three dates.”

He slid down a little to rest the back of his head against the lip of the tub. “I didn’t want you to feel like I was tricking you into something you might not be comfortable with. I wanted to give you the opportunity to say yes or no.”

The man’s sweetness knew no bounds. What the hell was she supposed to say to that?

In a quiet voice, she said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, milochka.”

Another cute nickname. She wondered what it meant.

He swallowed hard, like he was unsure of himself. “So…you’ll go with me?”

How could she say no?

“I will.”