Page 26 of A Moon Lake Christmas Hero

I wanted to get up, but James’s arm snaked around my waist and kept me anchored against him. “Do not move,” he whispered against my temple again, and the sexy, dominant undertones in his voice made me outwardly freeze, and inwardly, my pussy throbbed at the same time.

I was suddenly acutely aware of his hardening dick pressing against me, and I had to keep myself from grinding against him.

“What?” he growled, clearly not amused by the interruption.

“We’ve been talking, and Max here has come up with a great idea,” Peter, the deputy sheriff, said. I hadn’t realized it before, but there were several couples in a similar position as we were.

Lisa was on Peter’s lap, as was Claire on her husband Blake’s. Dorothy was propped against Sheriff Richard, and Milli was snuggled against her man.

“What great idea?”

“If we join forces, create a central emergency response team, we could be more efficient with fewer people.”

I could feel James tighten beneath me. As if that suggestion had piqued his interest.

“So have Fire and EMT join?”

“If you throw Search and Rescue in, as well, we’d be even more efficient,” Blake said.

“So one central emergency response team, trained in Fire, EMT, and SAR. We would only need one station, less infrastructure,” James said, almost to himself, and I could see the gears in his brain working.

“Fewer people on standby, as well,” Blake said.

“We would need a lot of training,” Max interjected.

“But most of us have the basic skillset needed already,” Peter said.

“We would be quicker to respond,” Richard said.

“And a lot faster than waiting for an ambulance from Whitebrook,” Alan who’d just approached chimed in.

“And it would keep all of us fresh,” Hawk said, and Carter nodded, which apparently surprised them all because multiple heads snapped in their direction.

“The idea has merit,” James said. “But maybe we should discuss this at the next town meeting and not around a campfire.”

“Maybe we should conduct future town meetings around campfires,” I said without realizing I spoke the words out loud.

“You think so?” James whispered in my ear, his breath making the hair on my neck stand up.

“No… I mean… I don’t know. I didn’t.”

“Shhh. Don’t be nervous about speaking your mind,” he whispered again, then nibbled at a spot beneath my ear. “It’s sexy as hell.”

A flush of warmth zinged from my core and flooded my body when his dick flexed against my most sensitive place.

“And I like how you’re including yourself in the community. You up for a little adventure?” he whispered.

Was I ready? Whatever he had in mind, I trusted him. I’d been playing it safe, playing small for so long, and here was a man who thought me speaking my mind was sexy. Who was ready and open to listen? Wanted to know me.

“Sure.”

He grinned. Probably looked right through my facade into the quivering mess I truly was.

He lifted me off his lap, stood up, and grabbed my hand. “If you’ll excuse us for a minute.”

I expected some kind of reaction from the group, but nobody paid us any attention, and the conversation had already shifted to another topic.

I expected him to lead me toward the house. But instead, he pulled me with him away from the fire and into the darkness.

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