His lips pressed to hers. His arms became the only security she would ever need. She allowed his kiss to soar through her like a snowstorm, blinding, diverting, causing her to slow and pay more attention to the swirl of disorientation and the rage of desire pulsing inside her. She could stay this way, warm and safe in his embrace, forever.
He was flickering fires, cozy afternoons, and hot cocoa. He was the refuge and the storm.
“I just had a thought,” he said after a few moments, stroking a thumb along her cheek.
“I think I’m having more than one,” Ella said with bated breath.
He grinned, dipping in for another kiss as he continued guiding her in a small circle to the soft guitar music beside his tree.
“Remember the project I mentioned?” he said against her lips. “Though I’m setting up a candy shop for the kids in the hospital in a few hours, I’m a little short-handed. Come help me.”
He cradled her face, pleading with more than just his words. He wanted her. To be with her. To have her help.
Ella was going to the hospital tomorrow anyway. She could do it. And after that kiss, she wanted as much time with Hawk as she could possibly snag.
“What time?”
“Early,” he said, pressing his lips to hers again. “I’m headed over about five am.”
She checked the time from the digital clock on his desk. It was already nearing midnight. She was pushing things as it was. She still hadn’t talked to Stina.
Hawk rubbed her arms. “Come on. You made the kids pillowcases, right? You probably know them better than I do.”
“I do, yeah. They’re great. Really great. And they are going to be so thrilled once they see what you’ve done.” She wanted more than anything to be there and see the delight on their faces.
“Is it family?” Hawk asked. “I can understand. I know it’s Christmas.”
Unease washed the moment’s heat from her. Family, yes. But not the happy circumstances he was probably assuming.
What if it was, though? If her mom, her grandma, or even her dad asked the same thing Stina was demanding of her, she’d probably be far more inclined to work Christmas morning at their request.
But Stina? A hard woman who cared only for herself and her daughters, who went out of her way to use Ella and intimidate her over and over again?
Grammy was right. Ella didn’t owe Stina anything. And after Pris’s little stunt in the ballroom, she was even less inclined to go. Here was a man who was giving up his Christmas plans to spend them at the hospital. He had no one else to help him do this incredible thing for kids who deserved it.
An affirmation of rightness exploded in her chest. This was what she wanted. What she really wanted.
“Okay,” she said.
“Really?”
His excitement stoked the fire in her all over again. “Yeah. I’d love to. Let me just send a text, and then I’m all yours.”
He stroked his hands up and down her back. “I like the sound of that.”
“I meant I’m all yours to help you,” she teased.
Hawk chuckled and kissed her again. How could the same action have such a differing effect on her every time? This time his mouth coerced hers longer, tilting the room, making her blood spin.
“I should probably go,” she said, breaking away from him. “What time should I meet you at the hospital?”
“My sister has everything there,” he said. “All we need to do is be there and make sure everything is set up and ready to go. Kids get up early on Christmas morning. Or I did, anyway.”
“I did too,” Ella said with a laugh. “I used to sit out and stare at our tree, waiting for my parents to wake up.”
“Me too. So how about four forty-five? Is that too early? That way we can be all set when they start to trickle out.”
“You know,” Ella said. “You’re probably the most attractive man I’ve ever met.”
Hawk’s belly-laugh glimmered inside her. His generosity made him more appealing than anything.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said.
Ella gathered her belongings from his room and Hawk held her hand all the way down the elevator and to the coatroom. The music had ended. Staff members were busily tearing down the lovely decorations along the halls.
She was glad she’d opted to wear boots through the snow on the way here. Heels wouldn’t have worked with his sweats.
“Thanks again, for letting me borrow some clothes,” she said once she’d slipped into her coat.
“Happy to. It meant I got to spend the evening with you. I guess I’ll see you in a few hours?”
“Yeah,” she said.
She waited expectantly, and he didn’t disappoint her. Hawk’s mouth found hers, filling her with renewed heat to keep her warm all the way to her car.
Ella sauntered on starlight. She unlocked her door, slipped onto the chilled seat, and took a moment in the driver’s seat to throw together a hasty text.
Hey, something came up and I’m not going to make it to that job after all. Merry Christmas.
She tapped Send before she lost her nerve.
Her thoughts were jumbled as she drove. From the turn of the evening, her private ball with Hawk, dancing beside his Christmas tree, his stolen and not-so-stolen kisses, and the text she’d sent to Stina, Ella didn’t realize until she was back in her apartment that she’d made it home with only one of her shoes.
***
Hawk returned to his office in bewilderment. His hands still tingled from holding Ella. His mind still raced to solve the mystery of who she was, but he had a better sense after their conversation and their kisses.
She’d been so hesitant about helping him at the hospital. What had made her change her mind?
Hurriedly, he readied himself for bed, set his alarm, and settled onto the folded-down futon. The room still smelled like her, like cinnamon and pomegranates. It would have been all too easy to keep
