tugged a random strand and it fell forward across her ear. He rubbed it between his fingers, and he went hard again. Her gaze was fixed on his, and her lips parted.
“I—I like my hair like this. It’s out of my face,” she said, her voice catching as she tucked the rogue strand back behind her ear.
He smiled. She wasn’t unaffected by him, and that gave him the signal to push a little harder. He wanted her. Maybe it was her dreams that stoked his imagination, but he wanted to loosen her up.
“Joy,” he said softly, moving a little closer. “Just let go for a minute.”
Before she could stop him, he had tugged off the band that held her hair back, and watched the silky sheet of auburn fall forward, sweeping across her cheek, then back to settle along the gentle curve of her chin. He was entranced with the motion, and touched her hair again.
“Rafe.” Her tone held objection, but she didn’t step away.
Instead, she closed her eyes, as if she couldn’t bear to watch as he slid the palm of his hand underneath the curtain of her hair and curled his fingers around the nape of her neck, pressing slightly before threading back out through her soft tresses. The strands felt like fine ribbons, and he swallowed hard, his hand trembling.
“It’s like silk, or softer, actually,” he said.
She hadn’t opened her eyes, and he took advantage of the moment. He leaned in, stealing a kiss. She startled, and he murmured something, sounds, reassuring her. He darted his tongue out to taste her closed lips, asking for passage beyond. When she opened her mouth, he misinterpreted and took the plunge, moving in for a deeper taste, groaning as he drew her closer, only to find her hands planted between them pushing him back.
“Rafe, no … please.” She was breathless, flushed, and it took a minute for his pulse to settle, her words cutting through the fog of passion that had enveloped him so quickly he was amazed.
“I’m sorry,” he said, dropping his hands but not stepping back. He looked deep into the blue depths of her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
The stiff mask she wore for the world slid back into place, and she wrapped her arms around her middle as if she were cold.
“I was trying to—I was going to say, you have to understand … this won’t work. It shouldn’t happen.”
“Why not?”
He followed her gaze outside the kitchen window toward where the lights strung on Bessie’s house blinked and twinkled merrily. The sight still seemed odd to him in the summerlike weather. Finally, Joy spoke, though she kept looking out the window, instead of at him.
“Because I don’t like it.”
“What? Kissing?”
“No. That … the lights. The decorations, the music, the gifts. Christmas.”
“You don’t like Christmas?”
“No, I don’t.”
He frowned. “Okay. Well, I don’t think you’re alone in that, but what does it have to do with us getting together?”
She aimed a cool, direct gaze at him. “It has to do with us because I don’t feel any of it. I’m annoyed by all the clutter and the lights—all of it. As you observed, I hardly know my neighbors, and they don’t know me. I don’t like my job, particularly, but I like what it gets me. I don’t do presents or cookies or carols, and I’m not really into casual sex, either, or sex in general, so you’re barking up the wrong tree, okay? I’m not that type of woman.”
She’d traveled a long distance in that little monologue, and while he didn’t quite get the bit about her not liking Christmas, or why that mattered, the latter comment caught his attention.
“Why would you say you’re not the type of woman who enjoys sex?”
She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but he could see the burden of past pain in her deliberately calm gaze.
“Believe me, I’ve gotten feedback on the issue, and I’m just not very … warm. I’m not a warm person.”
“You’re right,” he agreed, garnering a flash of surprised hurt from her before adding, “You’re not warm—you’re hot. Everything about you is hot, and you’ve got me hot, as well. I hear you at night, and—”
“Those are dreams, Rafe—they’re not me.”
“It is you. Maybe it’s the real you trying to get out. Have you ever considered that?”
She looked absolutely miserable at the possibility, and he took a chance, moving closer to her again.
“Listen, Joy, I don’t know why you have the picture of yourself that you do, and I agree, you’ve closed yourself off from some things in life—no, let me finish—I’m not criticizing, and I don’t want to be your shrink. You have reasons for what you do and how you do it, and I’m not really about changing that. You’re losing sleep, so am I. I’m here for a few weeks, and I like you. I think you might like me. Maybe we can have a little fun together.”
“You mean sex.”
“I mean fun. If that includes sex, great. I’d love the chance to show you how hot you are. How you affect me,” he said honestly. That she could even believe she was a cold fish was beyond him.
“Thanks, but I don’t need you to save me,” she said stubbornly. He could have been offended, but instead he looked straight back at her, and while he didn’t know where the words came from, he knew they were true.
“Who knows? Maybe I need you to save me.”
6
“HEY—GOOD WORK TODAY,” Ken said, popping his head in the office door and grinning. Joy had been up to her ears regarding the last-minute release of a new and improved Toddler Tank, which was being shipped out to families with recall certificates that very day, a full seven days before Christmas. Manufacturing had done triple-time fixing the problem, and the tide of negative feedback was starting to turn. It was costing the company a fortune, but it would pay off in the long run. Joy had been all over the media all day, making sure everyone knew what a good job her company had done.
“Thanks.” She took the time to look up and smile back at Ken.
“Um, how’s that other thing going—you know, with the problem you were having, whoever’s leaving you those, uh, materials?”
She blushed, his comment taking a little of the shine off the moment. “It’s fine—I made sure it was addressed last night,” she said.
The relief on Ken’s face was palpable. No doubt he was glad he didn’t have to deal with it internally. “That’s good. Well, you really stayed on top of things today. I was impressed.”
All was forgiven, and everyone was in a great mood with the great save they’d managed to make. This aspect of the job was much more gratifying than all the negativity she’d been wading through before.
“You’ve
