Page 55 of The Bear's Christmas Wish
He cracked a smile. “Is that a good thing?”
“Absolutely,” she said with no hint of teasing in her voice.
He opened his door and climbed out, quickly striding around to the passenger door and offering Sarah his hand. She took it without hesitation and slid out of the warm cab, shivering in the frigid air.
“I’ll get the fire lit inside,” Michael said. “It’ll soon warm up.”
If he’d known this was how their visit to the Wolf Valley Christmas market was going to end, he’d have banked the fire so that when they entered the cabin, it would be warm and cozy. But then, he’d never expected to be bringing Sarah here, not tonight.
Instead, the cabin was cold and dark. Michael flipped on the lights and moved immediately to the woodstove, kneeling to arrange kindling and logs.
The kindling caught quickly, flames licking at the larger logs. Michael added another piece of wood, watching as the fire grew stronger, casting a warm, golden glow throughout the living room. Heat began to radiate outward, chasing away the chill.
When he stood and turned, Sarah was there, so close he could feel her warmth, smell the faint scent of cinnamon that seemed to cling to her skin. Without a word, she stepped forward, threading her arms around his neck.
The kiss differed from the one they’d shared beneath the mistletoe—deeper, more urgent. Her body pressed against his, her soft curves fitting perfectly against the hard planes of his chest. Her lips parted, inviting him deeper, and Michael found himself responding instinctively, his arms encircling her waist, pulling her closer still.
It would be so easy to lose himself in her. In the taste of her mouth, the softness of her skin, the small sounds of pleasure she made as his hands traced the curve of her spine. His bear urged him to take what was being offered so freely, to claim his mate fully.
But he couldn’t. Not yet. Not until she knew everything.
With more willpower than he thought he possessed, Michael broke the kiss, though he kept his arms around her, unwilling to let her go completely.
“What did you want to show me?” Sarah murmured, her lips still tantalizingly close to his, her eyes half-lidded and dark with desire.
This is it,his bear said.Time to be completely open and honest. No matter what.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Sarah
Michael reached out his hand, palm up, an invitation in his warm brown eyes. “Come with me.”
Sarah hesitated for just a heartbeat, then placed her hand in his. “Where are we going?” she asked as he led her toward the door.
They had only just arrived. She hadn’t even had a chance to take her coat off, even though the fire now burned cheerily in the grate, the flames warming Michael’s home. A home she wanted to explore so she could learn all there was to know about this Christmas tree farmer.
“Outside.” His voice held a hint of nervousness that made her pulse quicken.
“Outside?” she asked. “You can’t show me inside?”
“No,” he replied simply.
Sarah followed him to the door but paused at the threshold as he opened it. The night air rushed in, shockingly cold after the warmth of the cabin. Stars glittered in the black velvet sky, countless and brilliant in a way she’d never seen in the city.
“It’s freezing,” she whispered, though she didn’t pull her hand away. “Can’t you show me in here?”
Michael squeezed her fingers gently. “We’ll just be a few minutes. Trust me?”
Those two words hung between them, weighted with meaning far beyond this moment. Did she trust him? This man she’dknown for such a short time yet felt connected to in ways she couldn’t explain?
“Yes,” she said. The word came easier than she expected.
Sarah stepped outside beside him, the snow crunching beneath her boots. Her breath clouded in front of her face as Michael led her away from the cabin, their joined hands swinging gently between them. The night was utterly silent except for their footsteps and the occasional distant call of an owl.
Michael stopped in a small clearing and tilted his head back, looking up at the sky. Sarah followed his gaze and gasped.
Without the city’s light pollution, the stars were magnificent. A dazzling blanket of light spanned horizon to horizon. The Milky Way stretched across the darkness like spilled diamonds, more stars than she’d ever imagined possible.
“Wow,” she breathed, her voice barely audible even to her own ears. “This is the most incredible thing I have ever seen.”
