A Kiss for Christmas Read online

  Blair nodded and dug through her bag for her keys. She walked across the room to hand them to Kevin. When she got close enough, he grabbed her hand and pulled her in to kiss her cheek. Blair blinked up at him, unsure of what to do. In the five and a half years she had known Kevin, he’d never shown her physical affection except when her father died three years before. That day he’d hugged her and held her while she cried. After that, he’d never touched her again except the occasional hand on her arm.

  Kevin smiled and she noticed that he had dimples. For some reason, she’d never really paid attention to them before.

  “Thanks,” she said and cleared her throat when she realized how husky her voice sounded.

  He simply nodded and headed toward the back door. Blair went to her chair and flopped down behind her desk. She wondered inanely if a simple kiss on her cheek made her tummy tingle, what a full-on kiss on the lips would do to her. She put her hands to her hot cheeks and blew out a huge breath. Finally, she tried to focus on her work.

  Before Kevin came and scared the life out of her, Blair had just finished her paperwork and the deposit bag for the morning bank run. She just shut the safe and made sure it latched when she heard Kevin come back in the door. This surprised her. Though she hadn’t changed a tire in a long time, it had taken her longer than five minutes. Even the men in her life had taken longer than five minutes to change out a flat tire.

  Blair jumped to her feet and smoothed her black pencil skirt down her hips. Even though she had been rethinking her love of the Christmas season all day, Blair was wearing a bright green sweater over a lacy white camisole. Her long blonde hair spilled over her shoulders in a smooth, sleek curtain. Working in an exclusive clothing boutique, it was important for her to look the part, so she did take extra care of her appearance on the days she spent in the shop.

  Kevin appeared in the doorway, his expression rueful. “I have some good news and some bad news.”

  She abandoned her bag and leaned a hip against her desk. “Let’s have the bad news first.”

  He mirrored her stance but against the doorframe. “Well, your spare is flat, so there’s no use changing the tire.”

  “Great,” Blair said under her breath. “So what’s the good news?”

  Kevin grinned and straightened from the door, holding his arms out to his side. “Well, at least you have a ride.”

  She had to laugh. He was right. “Okay, so I’m guessing you’re volunteering to take me home?”

  He nodded. “Are you done here?”

  “Yes. Let me grab my stuff and turn out the lights and we can get out of here.”

  Blair wrapped her shimmery gold scarf around her neck and shrugged into a black jacket. She threw her slouchy red purse over her shoulder and gave the office one last look to see if she had forgotten anything.

  “Ready.”

  Kevin moved out of the door and let her lead the way. She flipped off lights as she walked out of her office and down the hall. A single lamp on the checkout counter lit the boutique floor. Blair checked that the front door was locked and the two of them walked through the stockroom to the back door. When Blair saw Kevin’s vehicle, she hesitated. It was a large black truck that sat high off the ground.

  He beeped the locks and opened the passenger door for her. Blair walked up to throw her stuff in the seat before she turned to Kevin.

  “Um, I don’t think I’m going to be able to get up into the truck.” She bit her lip, afraid he would think she was silly for what she was going to say next. “My skirt is too tight and too long.”

  Instead of looking irritated, Kevin just smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”

  Blair looked up at him, a doubtful expression on her face that made him laugh.

  “Don’t look so worried,” he said.

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m not. Well, I am a little worried. This skirt is snug. I try to climb into that truck and I’ll split it from hem to waist.”

  “Maybe you should try to get in the truck without help after all. It’s been a while since I’ve had a good show.”

  Blair just leveled a look at Kevin that had him chuckling.

  “Never mind,” he said. He put both hands on her waist and Blair sucked in a sharp breath.

  Before she had time to even freak out, he muttered, “Up you go,” and lifted her into the passenger seat.

  Blair turned around to put her feet in the floorboard and reached for the seatbelt. Kevin shut the door before he headed around the front of the truck. She pressed a hand to her stomach. The heat of his fingers seemed to still be burning through the waist of her skirt. She was extremely confused. For almost six years, she’d known Kevin and he’d touched her more in the last fifteen minutes than he had in all that time.

  He opened the driver’s door and climbed into the truck. “Have you eaten?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I’ll just make something when I get home.”

  Kevin started the truck. “Why don’t we go grab something together? Don’t you like the shepherd’s pie at Maggie’s Pub? Let’s go there.”

  Blair goggled at him. “How did you know I like the shepherd’s pie there?”

  Kevin glanced at her as he pulled out of the parking area behind the boutique. “I don’t know, probably because you bug Kaylie to go eat there at least once a week.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “How do you know that?”

  He looked both ways as he pulled out into the street. “I believe I heard the two of you arguing about it when I was in on leave last Christmas.”

  Blair huffed. If she hadn’t had the flat that day, she would have already eaten at Maggie’s because she had a craving for it. Just hearing Kevin mention the shepherd’s pie made her mouth water.

  “Okay. Maggie’s it is,” she said.

  Kevin drove to the restaurant in silence. Karen, the hostess, greeted Blair warmly when they entered. When her eyes landed on Kevin, they widened and she gaped at him. Understanding Karen’s reaction completely, Blair cleared her throat to get the woman’s attention. It took two tries.

  “Can we get a table for two, Karen?” Blair asked.

  The pretty hostess blushed and nodded as she grabbed a couple of menus and some silverware. Blair walked beside Karen as she led them to a booth.

  “He’s smoking hot, girl. Where in the heck did you find him?” Karen muttered under her breath.

  Blair grinned at her. “He’s Kaylie’s older brother, Kevin,” she whispered back.

  Karen stopped at a booth and set their menus on the table. As they took a seat, she started explaining the specials to Kevin. She took their drink orders and told them their waitress would be with them shortly.

  After Karen walked away, Kevin looked at Blair. “What were you two whispering about when we came in?”

  Blair felt a blush creep up her cheeks. “She was wondering who you were. I come in here fairly often and I haven’t been in here with a man since Stephen and I broke up.”

  Karen returned with a pint of Guinness for Blair and a bottle of Bud for Kevin. She winked at Blair and mouthed the word hot before walking away.

  Kevin was watching Blair closely after Karen walked away. “I thought you and the doctor broke up last year.”

  Blair took a deep sip of her drink. “Yes, we broke up last November. I haven’t had much time to date since then.”

  Their waitress, a perky thing in her early twenties with long blond hair and even perkier boobs, came up and took their order. Blair didn’t bother to look at the menu. She usually got the shepherd’s pie in the winter and the fish and chips in the summer. Kevin ordered the same.

  Blair toyed with her napkin after their waitress left. She wasn’t quite sure what to say but she also wasn’t comfortable with sitting in silence.

  “So, how long is your leave?” she asked.

  Kevin took a long drag from his bottle before he answered. “I’m here until the day after Christmas, then come February I’m out for good.
I was offered a job with a security firm here in Austin and I decided it was time to take it.”

  Blair had just taken a drink of her Guinness, but she choked. Sputtering, she wiped her mouth with a napkin. “You’re leaving the Marine Corp?” she asked incredulously.

  He nodded. “It was time. I’m thirty-two years old and I’m tired of being away from home. Honestly, I’m ready to be in one place and have a job that doesn’t keep me away from my family for months at a time.”

  Blair wasn’t sure how to respond to his admission. She was also scared to death. How in the hell was she supposed to keep from mooning over him if he was around all the damn time?

  “In two months, I’ll be discharged and start my new job.”

  “Wow,” Blair said. “I had no idea you were even thinking of getting out. I thought you were like my dad, a career military man.”

  Kevin’s mouth kicked up at one corner. “I thought so too, but I realized that it wasn’t for me anymore. I served my country and I’m proud of that, but I also want a family. I want to be there for them all the time, not just a few months out of the year, or, God forbid, every two years.”

  Blair toyed with her napkin. Kevin was saying everything right and she doubted he even knew it. The man was already physical perfection and, now that she was getting a chance to talk to him one-on-one, Blair realized that he was perfect for her. This was not good.

  His eyes were piercing as he looked at her. “What about you, Blair? I’m surprised you’ve been single for so long. Surely you’ve been asked out in the last year.”

  She shrugged but was saved from answering as their bubbly waitress came bouncing up to their table, food in hand. Blair couldn’t help but notice that her bum was as perky as the rest of her when the waitress headed back toward the bar. She wanted to scowl when she noticed Kevin watching her walk away but she bit it back. If he wanted to chase after some twenty-two year old bobble-head it wasn’t Blair’s business.

  “She’s cute,” Blair muttered. She bit her lip. Dammit, she hadn’t meant to say anything.

  Kevin grunted. “Yeah, if you like Waitress Barbies.”

  Blair snorted then covered her mouth in embarrassment. She hadn’t meant to do that but he was funny.

  She smoothed her napkin across her lap and picked up her fork. “I’m sure she’s a very sweet girl.”

  He grinned at her. “You might be right, but, unless I was twenty-three again, I imagine I’d be bored to death.”

  They both laughed. Blair was twenty-eight but some days, like today, it felt more like fifty-eight. Kevin had just told her he was thirty-two, four years older than her. Though she’d never seen him with a woman, she figured he had his fair share of experience. Kaylie had also told her some stories that had Blair thinking Kevin was a bit of a ladies’ man. It surprised her that he wouldn’t be interested in a one night stand with a cute young thing. Blair was beginning to think she had misjudged him.

  They ate their food in companionable silence and Blair had another Guinness. She tried to tell their waitress to split the bill, but Kevin interrupted her and insisted on paying. Blair decided not to argue. If he wanted to buy her dinner, she was going to let him. It wasn’t worth the frustration. They walked out to the truck and Blair stumbled. The alcohol had gone to her head more than usual.

  Kevin put his hands at her waist to steady her. Blair rested her hands on his forearms and stared up at him. Most of his face was in the shadows, but his eyes gleamed in the low light. He leaned in slowly. Blair’s breath caught in her throat as he got closer. She watched his face as it filled her vision. Then his lips touched hers and her eyes closed.

  He tasted like the beer he’d been drinking and the mint he’d grabbed as they left the restaurant. Blair’s hands slid up his arms to bury themselves in his hair. At first the kiss was light, tentative, and then she opened her mouth when his tongue touched her lips. Suddenly, a light sweet kiss became something much more intense. One of his hands cupped her jaw to tilt her head at a better angle and the other slid around her back to pull her hips closer to his.

  Blair stood on her tiptoes and slid her hands up the back of Kevin’s jacket. Suddenly, her back was flat against the truck. Kevin used a handful of her hair to tilt her head further back and he kissed her like he wanted to devour her, nipping her bottom lip before sucking it into his mouth. The sound of a car door slamming brought them both back to reality.

  Kevin was breathing heavily as he slid his hand from her jaw, down her neck, to skim the side of her breast and rest on her waist. Blair shivered under the caress. She had been right earlier, a kiss from Kevin was almost more than she could handle. Her eyes opened slowly and she met Kevin’s gaze.

  “Wow,” she whispered.

  His serious expression melted a little and the corner of his mouth lifted. “That’s what you said last time.”

  Her eyebrows lowered. “Last time?”

  Kevin seemed to focus. He released his grip on her hair with his other hand and cupped her face.

  “Let’s get you home.”

  She nodded, still thrown by the kiss and his strange statement. As he had at the store, Kevin lifted her into the truck and shut the door. The cab of the truck was filled with tension during the drive to Blair’s little cottage. Kevin pulled up into her drive and helped her out the truck. He followed her to the front porch. Blair unlocked the door and turned to face him.

  “Thanks for dinner and the ride, Kevin.”

  He stepped closer until only a few inches separated them. “Ask me in, Blair.”

  She blinked up at him. “What?”

  “Ask me in,” he insisted.

  “Um, I’m really not sure that’s a good idea, Kevin.”

  “Fuck that. I think it’s the best idea I’ve had in a long time.” He cupped her face again and tilted it back so he could see her face. “I want you, Blair, and I’ve wanted you for a long time. In a few weeks I’ll be home for good and I sure as hell want to see where this goes.”

  Blair felt her knees wobble. “Kevin, if this doesn’t work out, it will be incredibly awkward. Kaylie’s my best friend. With you in town, if we can’t make it work, we’ll be stuck seeing each other all the time. I don’t want to feel uncomfortable around your family.”

  Kevin rested his forehead against hers. “Blair, do you remember anything about last year’s Christmas party?”

  She nodded. “I had way too much to drink. I remember most of it, but the last hour and you giving me a ride home are a complete blur.”

  “You kissed me under the mistletoe, Blair. It’s been a year, and I still can’t forget it. I’ve never felt this way before. I can’t let it go, Blair, and I’m serious about this, about you. I’m just asking you to give me a fair shot to make you happy. Tonight is the beginning. Invite me in.”

  Blair knew she was probably making a huge mistake but she was going to do it. Her willpower was notoriously weak. There wasn’t a chocolate cake she could resist or a certain handbag that didn’t make her fingers itch to grab her credit card. Kevin Masters offering himself up on a sex platter for the night was a temptation she had little hope of resisting. Kevin Masters telling her he wanted more than sex made it impossible.

  Blair shoved the door open with her foot. “Come inside, Kevin.”

  With a groan, he lowered his mouth to hers, lifted her off her feet, and carried her into the house.

  Chapter Two

  Blair Bolton was dreaming. She had to be dreaming. There was no way that Kevin Masters could be in her house with his hands all over her. Not only were his hands moving over her back to her ass, he was kissing her like he couldn’t get enough of her. He kicked her front door shut with his foot and reached back to fumble with the deadbolt without bothering to look. While they kissed, Blair yanked her scarf from around her neck and the jacket off her shoulders.

  He lifted her off her feet but the pencil skirt, which was rapidly becoming the bane of her existence, was in the way. Blair let go of his shoulders
long enough to unbutton the waistband and pull down the side zipper. Together they shoved the material down her legs. Kevin saw what she was wearing beneath it and squeezed his eyes shut.

  “Damn, if I had known what you were wearing under that thing earlier I would have jumped you in the office.”

  Blair laughed and hopped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. She was still wearing her black satin and lace panties, thigh high hose, and her second favorite pair of knee high boots. Kevin turned and shoved her against the wall of the entry way, his hands cupping her ass to support most of her weight. Then his mouth descended again and Blair sucked his tongue into her mouth.

  Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt until she gave up in frustration and fisted the material between two hands and yanked. The last four buttons she couldn’t undo popped off and scattered all over the floor.

  Blair opened her eyes, panting, when Kevin pulled back to look at her, his expression unreadable. She hoped that he wasn’t upset. It was a nice shirt, but, in her limited experience, most men didn’t mind the loss of a shirt if sex was the reward.

  “Did you just rip my shirt open?” he asked.

  “I couldn’t get the buttons undone!”

  He threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Using his hips to pin her in place, he shrugged out of his jacket and ruined shirt, then reached between his shoulders to grab the tank top he was wearing beneath them both and yank it over his head.

  “Wouldn’t want you to destroy the rest of my clothes,” he teased.

  Blair leaned forward and bit his chest hard as punishment for making fun of her. He yelped and pressed her shoulders back against the wall.

  “You’re gonna pay for that.”

  Breathing hard, Blair looked up at him and sneered. “Wimp.”

  At the expression on his face, it was her turn to laugh until all the air in her lungs rushed out when he threw her over his shoulder and smacked her on the behind. How he knew the way to her bedroom, she didn’t know, but he carried her directly to it and threw her body sideways across the bed. Blair leaned back on her elbows and watched as Kevin crouched by her feet. His big hands cupped one of her thighs before sliding down to the top of her boot. She held her breath as he unzipped her boot and pulled it off her leg and repeated the process with her other boot.