Second Chance Christmas (The Colorado Cades) (14 page)

“For all I know, her cowboy bought her a special power generator.” He turned off the car. “You haven’t met Garrett yet, have you?”

“No, but Arden makes him sound wonderful.”

When Justin had first learned his sister was accidentally pregnant with a near-stranger’s baby, he’d wanted to find the SOB and throttle him. But not even Justin was immune to the emotion between Arden and Garrett. Once the cowboy learned more about her past and forgave her for initially keeping the pregnancy a secret, Garret had fallen for her hard. And Arden had never been as happy as she was when she was with her fiancé.

The front door flew open, and Arden rushed out in a long knit tunic and a pair of leggings. “Elisabeth! I am so glad you’re joining us. It’s nice to have another girl in the crowd. Colin got here just a few minutes ago, and Garrett’s offered to mix up a batch of his grandfather’s killer eggnog for anyone brave enough to try it. You both look wonderful. Such a cute couple!” She fixed Justin with a pointed stare. “Who could have predicted you guys would look so good together, I wonder?”

She wasn’t even going to let him through the front door before starting up with this?

He sighed. “Of course we look good. She’s an incredibly attractive woman, and I’m...me. We’d have to work hard
not
to look good together.”

Next to him Elisabeth guffawed.

Arden rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why I invite you over.”

“Because your favorite pastime is meddling in my life and you get more fulfillment out of haranguing me when I’m actually around to hear it,” he suggested helpfully.

“I brought you some wine,” Elisabeth said, holding up the gift bag.

“Thanks. If I’m going to have to put up with him all night, I’ll probably need it.” Arden stuck her tongue out at Justin.

He laughed. “Good to see motherhood hasn’t aged you before your time.”

They all went inside, but Justin paused when Elisabeth tapped him on the shoulder.

“You know how everyone calls me the quiet, well-behaved Donnelly?” she whispered.

“That’s one interpretation.”

“I’ve decided there’s no such thing as the quiet, well-behaved Cade.”

He flashed an unrepentant grin. “My mama was always telling me to be good. She just never stipulated at what.”

When Elisabeth got her first look at Colin through the arched entryway to the kitchen, her step faltered. “Whoa,” she said under her breath. “Your brother is...different.”

“I know. All that hair, he’s like the Wolfman version of my brother. I hope he’s in town long enough for Arden to put some weight on him.” He studied Elisabeth’s face. “Wait a second. You’re not saying you find this look attractive?”

She hunched her shoulders in a very small, very rueful shrug. “What can I say? Some men make scruffy work,” she whispered. “He doesn’t look anything like I remember, and it caught me off guard. Have you had much of a chance to talk to him? Do you think he’s doing better than when he left town?”

“
Better
is a relative term. When it first happened, I didn’t think he would survive the week. But he manages to wake up every morning so I guess he’s ‘better.’ It’s been more than a year, though, and I’d bet his first thought each day is still wondering why the hell he’s here while Natalie and Danny are gone. I suspect it’s something he’ll carry with him for the rest of his life, like our dad did. Granted, the rest of Dad’s life wasn’t long.”

She stared, making him realize just how morbid his words were.

He cringed. “Sorry. I did warn you that jolly Christmas spirit isn’t in my wheelhouse.” But simple fun was. He’d long been known for his ability to show a lady a good time, and he was determined to tamp down this Yuletide gloom and make Elisabeth glad she was here with him.

She cupped the side of his face. “Your family’s been through so much.”

The sentiment, too close to pity, was discomfiting. He shrugged her words away, distancing himself from the loss. “Colin more than me.” Because Colin had taken the risk, gambled on joy. And paid the price.

For Justin, dating was like skiing. It was an exhilarating rush, but only the foolhardy participated without taking precautions to protect themselves.

Chapter Twelve

Determined to be a charming companion, Justin joined the rest of his family in the kitchen where he reacquainted Elisabeth and Colin, who gave a polite nod but said nothing, and introduced her to Garrett, who grinned from ear to ear.

“So you’re Elisabeth Donnelly. I’m glad we finally have a chance to meet. I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said, exchanging knowing glances with Arden.

My baby sister has a big mouth
.

“Something smells good in here,” Elisabeth said.

“What’s for dinner, lasagna?” Justin guessed. Thank heavens his sister made a better one than Colin ever had. “Roast?”

“Greek food,” Arden said.

“Like...okay, I give up.” The only Greek food with which he was familiar was gyro sandwiches. Since he couldn’t recall his sister ever having eaten or cooked Greek food before, it seemed a somewhat random choice. Did Garrett have Greek ancestors in his family line somewhere?

“The main course is lamb,” Arden said. “Which is what smells so good. We’re also having stuffed grape leaves with a cucumber-yogurt dipping sauce and
spanakorizo
, which is a vegetarian side dish. There’s baklava for dessert, and if you’re already hungry there are pita chips and hummus on the table.
Opa!
”

Justin didn’t know what to make of the evening so far. Garrett wouldn’t stop smirking at him, Colin had barely said two words to anyone and Arden was all of a sudden throwing My Big Fat Greek Dinner Party. His only normal relative was Hope, who slept in a portable mesh crib between Arden’s sofa and the kitchen entryway.

Arden stirred the vegetable dish he’d never be able to pronounce, then set the spoon on the counter. “Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I want to show Elisabeth the nursery.”

“She’s pretty,” Garrett said when the women were out of the room. “Elisabeth, I mean. Arden always said the two of you should get back together—”

“Someone should tell my sister that butting into other people’s lives is not an attractive quality.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Garrett said. “I find it fairly adorable when she’s giving you hell. No point in being mad at her just because she was right about you and Elisabeth dating again.”

“We’re not dating.”

Colin grunted. “He told me the same thing this afternoon. Sounded just as ridiculous then.”

“We’re friends who’ve known each other a long time.” Friends who had made out last night. And, with any luck, would again soon. He’d been dying to kiss her since she’d opened her apartment door and smiled up at him.

A few minutes later, Arden returned to the kitchen, but she was alone.

Heaven only knew what his sister was up to. “What did you do with my da—with Elisabeth?”

“She’ll be back in a second,” Arden said airily. “Now, why don’t you and Colin set the table for me since Garrett is changing the baby?”

But her request turned out to be a classic case of misdirection. Colin carried silverware to the table but when Justin tried to follow with a stack of plates, Arden discreetly kicked him on the ankle.

“Ouch,” he grumbled. “Damn it, woman, these are your plates. I don’t want to hear any complaints if you make me drop them.”

Her voice was an urgent hiss. “Spill. You spent all afternoon with our brother. Did he tell you where he’s been, where he plans to head next? How long he’ll be here?”

“Working on ranches, working on more ranches, and no.” He paused, staring at their brother in the next room. “Women don’t really think scruffy is attractive, do they?”

She frowned. “What are you talking about? Stay on topic. Do you think we can convince him to give up the rambling and come home?”

“No. Look, I worry about him, too. When he’s not here, I miss that sunny, winning personality,” he drawled, eliciting a giggle from his sister.

“That was mean,” she objected.

“Hey, you laughed. My point is, I know how you feel, but I don’t think our feelings matter. He has to deal with his own issues. And if he’s not ready to stick around, we can’t try to force the situation. He’ll just leave again.”

“Am I interrupting?”

Justin turned to find Elisabeth, her eyes wide and her posture hesitant. “On the contrary, I was about to go looking for you. Arden says dinner’s ready.”

The meal was more pleasant than Justin had expected and not just because Arden’s first culinary attempt at lamb had turned out so well. Since Garrett and Elisabeth had never met before, they exchanged lots of stories about what it was like to live on a ranch and Elisabeth’s favorite—and least favorite—parts of running the lodge. Good food often had a way of making people mellow, and the wine didn’t hurt, either. Even Colin contributed to the conversation, the corner of his mouth lifting once or twice in what might have passed for a half smile.

When discussion turned to Arden and Garrett’s wedding, Justin’s shoulders involuntarily tensed. As recently as yesterday, Elisabeth had been looking forward to her own wedding. Would the broken engagement be a sore subject for her? But when he slanted a sidelong glance in her direction, he saw that she didn’t seem in the least bit agitated. She was leaning back in her chair, her finger idly tracing the rim of her empty wineglass, a serene smile on her face. She looked completely relaxed, more at ease than he’d seen her in days.

Catching him at his scrutiny, she scooted closer, her voice low. “Everything all right?”

He took the opportunity to drop his arm around her and pull her against his side. “Now it is.”

She nestled against him without protest, and moments later was stroking his arm in the same lazy caress she’d used on the wineglass. But Justin was made of flesh and blood, and she was driving him crazy, calling his nerve endings to attention. Her touch was so whisper-soft that it only stoked his desire for more potent contact. Following the conversation became more difficult, but he hoped his distraction wasn’t too blatant. He doubted she had any idea how maddening the feathery strokes were, how much he wanted her.

“Elisabeth, it was sweet of you to join us after putting in a full day at the lodge,” Arden said. “You must be getting tired.”

“Now that you mention it, I do have an early morning ahead of me.” Her hand slid away from his arm as she shifted in her chair. Moving so subtly that he didn’t notice at first, she lowered her hand to his knee, tracing that same idle pattern up his quad. “Maybe it’s time to think about going to bed.” She punctuated her sentence by gently squeezing his thigh.

Okay, he’d been wrong. She knew
exactly
what she was doing. It was only then that he noticed the grin she was trying to hide. Vixen. An answering grin tugged at his lips. He was so going to make her pay for this.

“Before we go, though,” Elisabeth said, “would you mind giving me your recipe for the cucumber dip, Arden? It was fantastic.”

Justin didn’t think much about the women leaving the table together—he didn’t currently have enough blood in his brain to do much thinking at all. But there seemed to be an awful lot of conspiratorial whispering in the kitchen for the simple exchange of a yogurt-based recipe. Wondering if he was imagining the suspicious behavior, he shot Colin a questioning look. His brother shrugged in an unmistakable
I have no idea what she’s up to
gesture.

Finally, they were exchanging their goodbyes. Arden walked Elisabeth and Justin to the front door. “Elisabeth, it was lovely to see you again. Call me anytime. I’ve still got a few weeks before I move, and I’d love to hang out. And Justin, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug that probably looked like an affectionate move to the untrained eye.

A bystander would have no way of knowing that Arden whispered, “I
told
you she’s the one for you, you stubborn ass.”

Justin didn’t say anything as he took Elisabeth’s hand and led her down the sidewalk through the Yard of a Million Lights. He opened her door for her, letting his hand trail down her spine. It took all his willpower not to go any lower, not to trace the beguiling curve of her butt.

As he started the car, he asked, “Enjoy yourself tonight?”

“Mmm-hmm.” It wasn’t dark enough to mask the laughing mischief in her gaze.

“I had fun, too. But not as much as I’m about to.” He parked at the end of the street, away from his family’s prying eyes, and reached for her with all the eagerness of a sixteen-year-old on his first car date.

She let out a small squeak of surprise that was absorbed by their kiss. He traced the seam of her lips, then slid his tongue into her mouth. She tasted like the honey and cinnamon from the baklava.

“Justin?” She was kissing her way up the side of his neck to his ear, and he gripped the steering wheel hard, lust roaring through him. “You realize we don’t have to do this in the SUV. I have an incredibly comfortable bed back at my place.”

Last night, snowed in at the cabin, he’d told himself he shouldn’t sleep with her because she’d been through too much and hadn’t had the chance to recover from breaking her engagement. But tonight, all that had changed. Tonight, she was
his
.

They made it to her loft in record time. But as she was unlocking the door, he stopped her with a hand over hers.

“You’re sure about this?” he asked raggedly. Once they crossed that threshold, he didn’t plan on there being much discussion.

She lowered the zipper on his sweater, dipping her tongue into the indention at his collarbone. “I told you last night I wanted you inside of me. That hasn’t changed. Make love to me, Justin.”

He fumbled for the doorknob behind her, then scooped her into his arms, kicking the door closed. He carried her to the bedroom, and had just lowered her to her feet when she insisted, “Wait!”

His muscles tensed in dread. “You changed your mind?”

“What? Lord, no.” She dotted his face with reassuring kisses. “I just wanted to ask if you could give me a minute. I have sort of a present for you.”

His pulse thudded in anticipation. This was the same woman who had given him those creatively naughty coupons for his birthday. He could hardly wait. “One minute,” he agreed. “Sixty seconds and not a single second more.”

She shooed him out of the room. He took the opportunity to pull off his shoes and socks. He’d just reached for his belt when she called breathlessly, “Okay, you can come in.”

She sat at the foot of the bed. “I know this isn’t your favorite time of the year, and I wanted to see if there was anything we could do to change that.”

His mouth went dry. “This is a good start.”

She grinned. “You did say you liked red on me.” A cute Santa hat was perched crookedly on her head, and she wore a sheer red robe belted around her waist. His fingers already itched to untie it. Beneath the robe was red lace. Was it wrong that he was already having fantasies about making love to her in nothing but the hat?

It only took him three purposeful strides to reach her. He caught her by the knotted sash and drew her to her feet. “You’re beautiful.” He nipped her bottom lip.

Her robe didn’t last long. It hit the floor as they kissed, along with his sweater and pants. Her jaunty Santa hat got knocked off somewhere along the line, maybe when she was tracing the outline of his erection with her soft hands and he gripped her shoulders. Or when she made him gasp by outlining the shell of his ear with her tongue.

When they were down to his black boxer briefs and her lacy scrap of a nightgown, he lowered her to the mattress. He slid one of her arms up over her head, then moved the other to join it. Holding both of her wrists with one hand, he swept his gaze down her body in a slow, appreciative perusal. She was the sexiest woman in Cielo Peak, but he hated the idea of any other man discovering it.

Her breasts were pushed upward by both the position of her arms and the lacy cups of the nightgown. He couldn’t get enough of touching them. She was so responsive, her husky murmurs and sharp cries addictive. He trailed the side of his hand over the swell of her breast, letting his thumb just barely graze the tip. She arched her back, encouraging him to do it again.

The red lace stopped right past the feminine flare of her hips, and he could tell she was bare underneath. One tug and she’d be nude, his for the taking. After the erotic torture of touching her last night, he was ready to thrust into her, but planned to take his time. With his free hand wrapped in her hair, he tilted her head to the side, giving himself unimpeded access.

He found the sensitive slope where her neck met her shoulder and bit gently. “Have I ever told you, you give the
best
gifts?”

“It gets better,” she promised. “Especially if you’d let go of my hands.”

He clucked his tongue at her in a tut-tut sound. “Patience. Remember?”

She groaned. “You haven’t shown a drop of patience since the day I met you, and you want to start
now
?”

“Oh, yeah.” Sliding the lace cups down, he circled the peak of her breast with his finger, moving with excruciating gentleness. When her breathing grew heavier and her hips were squirming beneath him, he suckled one breast, then the other.

“
Justin
.”

He let go of her wrists, and she plowed her fingers through his hair, holding him close. Then he raised his head and they were kissing with abandon, their skin feverish and their limbs tangled. Needing to know she was as ready and eager as he was, he slid his hand between her legs. She was slick and tight, moving against his fingers in a way that blanked out coherent thought. He was operating on sheer primal instinct.
Need. Beth. Now.

Lacing his fingers with hers on either side of her head, he kissed her deeply, then drew his hips back and rocked forward, surging into her.
God, I’ve missed you so much
. He might have said it out loud but she was kissing him hungrily, her muscles squeezing him as he slid farther inside her. White-hot pleasure jolted through him. It had been months since they’d been together, but he knew her rhythm, knew when to speed up and take her to the edge. And knew just how to send her over.

She called his name, her body contracting around him in silky spasms, and he drove into her one last time, finding his own oblivion.