Page 32 of Mistletoe Love Match
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Got to keep up my strength,” he said through the bite.
She shook her head and handed him a pencil and a piece of paper. “Do you know what you’re going to wish for?”
Hell yes, he knew exactly what he wanted. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t add a little suspense to the wish-making process. He turned away from her and sported a furtive expression. “It’s a secret. No peeking.”
“We already have secrets?” she lobbed back with a mock pout.
“We’re already a ‘we’?” he teased, loving the sound of it.
“You did proclaim your undying love and devotion and, thanks to a hell of a lot of mistletoe magic, I reciprocated. So yes, we are thewe-estofwe’snow.”
He pointed at her with the pencil. “Wait a second. You can saywe-est, but I can’t saywankering?”
She pushed aside the pencil and kissed the tip of his nose. “Welcome to being in love with Calliope Cress.”
He cupped her face in his hand. “Well, Calliope Cress, the woman I love, humor me on this,” he said, his lips millimeters from hers. “Let’s keep our wishes a secret and see what happens. Think of it as our first adventure.”
She pulled back a fraction and narrowed her gaze. “I’ll agree if you promise me one thing.”
He stroked her cheek, falling deeper and deeper in love by the second. “And what is this one thing?”
She owned him with her sparkling gray eyes. “Promise me you won’t hold back. Promise me you’ll do as Nick Krangle advised and dream big.”
“I promise,” he answered and pressed his lips to hers, sealing their agreement with a kiss. But she wouldn’t have to wait long to find out if what he was about to write on the slip of paper would come true. The outcome of his wish was only hours away from being revealed. It all hinged on her, and the choice between yes or no.
ChapterSeven
Calliope Cress
Calliope sighed, savoring the warmth engulfing her body as she emerged from her slumber. She cracked open her eyes and was met with the image of a stocking stuffed within an inch of its life. “I absolutely know how you feel,” she murmured to the quilt, her voice low and gravelly.
She batted away the blanket that had bloody ruined her when it came to Christmas fireplace decoration and gazed down at a large hand palming her left breast. A delicious tingle worked its way down her spine, and she hummed her contentment.
There were certainly worse ways to greet the day.
“Merry Christmas,” came the voice of the sexiest doctor-in-training on the planet. “Are you awake?”
“I’m not sure. I might be dreaming.” She shifted in his arms and met his amber gaze. “You see, I’m not in my bedroom. I’m in a Christmas cottage decked with mistletoe and my knickers hanging from a tree. And it appears I’ve woken up naked next to a man who drives me bloody crazy.”
He ran his fingertips down her arm, then palmed her bare arse. “I hate to break it to you, but you’re not dreaming. You are, in fact, in a mistletoe-laden Christmas cottage. And yes, you’ve woken up naked and in bed with a man who drives you crazy. However,” he continued, eyes sparkling, “this man drives you crazy in the dirtiest ways possible, and you’re totally good with that. But there’s more.”
“There’s more?” she repeated, playing along.
“It just so happens that you’re completely and hopelessly in love with him.”
“Bloody hell! I’m stranded in a Christmas cottageandin love with a wanker almost-doctor? It’s a Christmas miracle.”
Alec chuckled, then pressed a kiss to her temple. “Did you sleep all right?”
She arched her back and stretched like a sated kitten. “I did. The Krangles weren’t kidding. This bed is bloody comfortable.”
Alec narrowed his gaze. “You did hog most of it.”
“Bollocks,” she shot back. “If anyone is a bed-space stealer, it’s you, Dr. Dirty Talk.”
“Now it’s Dr. Dirty Talk?” he purred.
