“Why is your stay in these apartments temporary?” she asked as she began slipping popcorn onto her string. “Isn’t that what you said?”
He watched for a moment and then began imitating her, alternating between popcorn and cranberries.
“It’s a long, boring story,” he finally answered.
“I don’t mind listening. I have a few long, boring stories of my own if you want to hear,” she said with a brittle laugh. She didn’t really mean that. It wasn’t as if this man would want to hear anything about her. In reality she was pretty boring, or so she thought.
“Let’s just say I was…dared,” he told her, forcing a smile.
“You were dared to live here?”
“Sort of,” he said with a sigh. “My family is…complicated. I have three brothers and a sister, and we all kind of…well…went our separate ways. So my dad stepped in and decided we needed projects to do.” Tanner stopped cold, unwilling to elaborate.
“I’m thoroughly confused right now. What does your living here and your father giving you projects have to do with anything?”
“Hey. Don’t stop working on the Christmas tree ornaments,” he told her, and she began stringing her goodies again. “I don’t know how to explain it other than to say that he decided we were all a little spoiled and wanted to see us doing something different with our lives.”
“Are you spoiled?”
Tanner laughed as his eyes met hers, and Kyla couldn’t figure out how to get the dang popcorn on her string. She felt like he was holding her prisoner with his gaze, and the reality was that she didn’t want to be freed.
His expression changed. He set down his own length of string, scooted closer to her, and, gently removing the string she was working on from her fingers, he raised a hand and cupping her cheek.
“You make me feel, Kyla,” he whispered, and then he leaned in and caressed her lips with his.
She forgot all about her question to him, or the fact that he hadn’t answered it.
Kyla couldn’t breathe as his hand moved back and he let his fingers drift through her hair. She knew she should stop this, but she didn’t know why. When he tugged her closer and lifted her onto his lap, she didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around his neck and lean in against his solid body. “You make me forget,” she murmured.
And he did. He made her forget it all.
“I want you to forget anything other than me,” he said before closing what little gap was left between them and kissing her with so much heat, she was sure she’d see scorch marks on his couch.
When his hands traveled beneath the hem of her shirt and up the na**d skin of her back, she knew she had to decide what she was going to do next. It was too soon for this, and he was a stranger. She wasn’t ready to make love to him.
Pulling back, she looked into his eyes and nearly changed her mind. So much fire burned in his gaze. That heat was for her, and only her, at least at this moment.
“I think we should finish the decorations,” she said lamely. Was he going to just end up disgusted with her and ask her to leave? That wouldn’t shock her.
His hand was still up the back of her shirt and he paused in the act of caressing her skin. His eyes still burned into hers. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asked, leaning forward and nipping her bottom lip, making heat travel straight to her core.
“No,” she admitted. “But it’s what I need to do.”
“Okay, then.” With that, he bent forward and gave her one more small, chaste kiss, and then he slid to the other end of the couch and picked his string back up. When she sat there speechless and dazed, he looked up. “If you continue looking at me like that, I will listen to your eyes and not your mouth,” he warned her.
Her eyes widened and for just the briefest of moments she wished he would take control away from her. But she knew she couldn’t think like that. With shaky hands she picked up her yarn and began stringing popcorn and cranberries again. It was a mindless task, and she needed that now.
Everything felt awkward for only a few more minutes and then Kyla found herself laughing as Tanner joked with her, often getting up and brushing against her, but not reaching in for a kiss again.
Once the popcorn and the cranberry strands were done, she brought out some white paper and taught him how to make snowflakes. The pizza arrived, and their time together couldn’t have been better as her stomach filled with pizza, Christmas goodies, and wine.
When they looked at their finished project, she was overflowing with pride. It was a childish tree filled with strings of popcorn, cranberries, and paper snowflakes, and it was also the most wonderful thing she’d seen in a long, long while.
“Thank you, Kyla. I haven’t enjoyed decorating a tree in years,” Tanner confessed quietly.
Kyla turned toward him, assuming that he was just joking, but he was staring at the Christmas tree in awe, as if surprised he’d had a part in making a thing like that happen. She was feeling rather surprised herself. This stranger, this man who most likely wouldn’t be in her life very long at all, was making her feel emotions that were changing her universe. He was making her forget her sadness, if only for a moment in time.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said. But she was barely able to focus on the tree instead of on him.
And Tanner made it impossible. He was now looking straight at her, and she couldn’t help but return the favor when she felt the burning of those amazing eyes. And she suddenly found herself on the verge of tears and in desperate need of retreat.
He noticed, of course.
“What’s the matter, Kyla?”
“I should really get going. It’s late.” She knew she was running, but she didn’t care.
Tanner was instantly in front of her face. “Why are you always in such a hurry to leave as soon as the temperature rises a few degrees or we begin to talk about emotions?” He wrapped his arms behind her back and tugged her against his chest — the beautiful chest she’d been hyperventilating over earlier.
“Because I know what’s happening, Tanner.” She couldn’t help but give him an honest answer.
“And what is that?”
“You want me in your bed.” Why not put it out there? Why not get the focus off her emotions? That was more like it.
“Yes, I do.” It was hardly an earth-shaking admission.
“Well, then, you should know that it isn’t going to happen,” she said, her voice slightly breathless.