Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25182 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Without a word, she took all of her things and went down the mountain, leaving my heart bloodied and bruised.
I don’t know how I could ever accept this. I reach for my phone to call Ford. There’s still no reception because the towers haven’t been restored, but I’ll send a message.
If anyone can help me track her down, it’s him. We’ll find her then I’ll go to her and calmly kidnap her and take her back here so she can stay where she’s loved and wanted.
Before I can send a message, I hear a bark outside. The boys should still be in the sunroom, waking up from a long night spent dreaming of chasing squirrels.
Opening the door, I frown when I see them running around the yard in the melting snow. That’s when I hear something thump on the roof.
I step out to investigate and glance up to see Holly on my roof. A hundred different emotions slam into me all at once. Relief that she’s still here. A welling of love and affection. Fear because she’s so damn close to the edge of the roof, and she’s not wearing a harness.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I demand, angry that she’s putting herself in jeopardy. If she needed something from the roof, she should have sent me up.
She startles and glances at me, shading her face. I don’t miss the expression of guilt that flickers across her face. “Oh, you’re up already? I wanted to finish by then.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “What are you doing up there without a harness? Get down here!”
Sure, I’d go up on the roof of my place without a harness. I don’t think twice about breaking my own neck. But the thought that she could take one wrong step and slide off of the icy roof is making it hard for me to breathe. The moment her feet touch the ground, I’m spanking her cute little ass for making me worry.
She glares back at me and puts her hands on her hips. “I was decorating the roof for you.”
“Why on earth would you do that?” I demand and go to the ladder. If she’s not coming down, then I’m going to her. Nothing on this earth will stop me from going after my girl.
“Because I love you, you big idiot.”
I stop halfway up the ladder and blink.
Her confession is the last thing I expected. I wanted to be the one to say it first, but I’ve been holding off because I was worried that saying it too soon would scare her. I didn’t want her to leave.
“You love me?” I repeat, my heart growing three sizes like the green guy who hated the holidays. How can one body hold all this love for another person?
“Yeah, and I want you to have all the Christmas lights, even if I’m pretty sure I created a tangled mess. I just want–”
I don’t let her finish. I’m up the ladder and on the roof with her, pressing a passionate kiss to her lips. She tastes of peppermint hot chocolate and long, sweaty nights and the beautiful beginning I’d been so afraid to hope for.
“I love you, too,” I tell her when we’re both dizzy and light-headed.
“I just want you to have pretty Christmas lights,” she pants. “I wanted you to know how much I care about you.”
“You are my light and my warmth,” I tell her, wrapping my arms around her and tugging her close. She’s the best gift I’ve ever been given, and I’ll spend the rest of time cherishing her.
Holly
You’re never leaving me. Hunter’s words from yesterday replay in my head as I wake up next to him. After he took me in the kitchen, he carried me to the bathroom and cleaned both of us up. The way he looked at me made me think that maybe he’s in love with me, just like I am with him.
The knowledge warms me from the inside out. I want to find a way to show him how I feel. No one has ever taken the time to make him feel wanted or loved. I just have to figure out how to do that.
He shifts in his sleep, and I use the opportunity to leave the bed. After I take care of my business in the bathroom, I let the dogs outside to relieve themselves and play in the fresh snow.
The worst of the storm finally passed over us last night, not that I was even aware of it. I was too busy under Hunter, writhing as he demanded one more orgasm from my exhausted body. I love the way he pushes me to the brink, intent on giving me every second of ecstasy that he can.
I brew a pot of coffee and wander through the cabin, pausing when I find a large box with an inscription in black marker that reads: I love you. - Mom