Page 49 of The Naughty Or Nice Clause

She settled back against the archway with a smug smile.

“Sorry – it’s the rules, and I think here of all places they must be followed,” she told him.

He started to pace in front of her, clearly unsettled. “You’ve been drinking – we shouldn’t,” he said firmly.

She gripped his arms, mostly to stop him pacing. It wasn’t helping her head.

“Am I supposed to wait until we’re both grey and old?” she demanded, suddenly feeling as sober as a sinner.

He stared at her, then shook his head. His arms wrapped around her, supporting her as his lips met hers. Gentle and coaxing, he tasted like brandy and peppermint, and she never wanted to taste anything else.

He pressed her against the archway, the damp stone soaking through her clothes. The cold caused her to gasp, parting her lips, and his tongue tasted hers. She deepened the kiss until she wasn’t sure where he began, and she ended.

Footsteps forced them apart. Breathless and embarrassed, Lyla rested her forehead against his chest, trying to catch her breath. Every inch of her being was desperate for more. Once the passers-by were gone, Mason kissed her forehead.

“Let’s get you home,” he said softly, holding her close as he guided her up the path.

Chapter Nineteen

THEY WALKED BACK to the house in silence. Lyla couldn’t stop looking at her hand clasped in Mason’s; the eggnog and his presence kept her more than warm enough for the walk home.

The walk also did an excellent job at sobering her. When they reached the house all she wanted to do was pull him inside and continue what they had started under the mistletoe, but he gently released her hand.

“I have to check on the reindeer for the night. Kevin forgot earlier because of the vigil,” he said abruptly. She sensed he knew exactly what would happen if they went inside together.

“Right, duty calls,” Lyla said, trying not to sound disappointed as he unlocked the door for her. “Don’t be out too long – you still have to be up early tomorrow.” She grimaced. She didn’t know for a fact he needed to be up early; she had merely wanted to say something to cut through the tension.

She watched him head off to the barn, pulling up his collar against the cold, and felt the overwhelming urge to comfort him, to hold him and never let go. Instead, she went inside and closed the door behind her, because that was the sensible thing to do. Their situation was complicated enough; the last thing they needed was emotion messing everything up when she was only days away from leaving. She didn’t know whether he was returning or not, and she was becoming unsure of what him staying meant to her.

After showering, she tried to sleep for around an hour, but it wouldn’t come, so she opted to head downstairs and watch TV. She didn’t know if it was the eggnog or the memory of Mason’s lips keeping her awake.

The lights in the house had dimmed for the night and she tiptoed into the sitting room, but instead of looking for the remote control she found herself walking down the hallway towards the spare room Mason was using. He should be back by now, though he hadn’t come to her room to check on her, so he must have decided to stay away for the night. She wondered if he was trying to be considerate of their arrangement, but she would have much rather he’d joined her.

Down the hall, she tapped on the door, to no answer. She knocked again, a little louder, but when there was still no answer she couldn’t risk trying again in case someone heard and realised they weren’t sharing a room. Mrs Klaus had gone to bed hours ago, exhausted after the vigil. Lou would be with Sara, but she had no idea where Kevin was. Her hand hesitated on the doorknob.Turn around and go back to the sitting room,she warned herself, but she opened the door – to find a dark room and an empty bed.

He can’t still be with the reindeer. Could he have gone back to the village or to the workshop?She took a breath.Is he trying to avoid me because I kissed him? We agreed to this false relationship, but if there’s something more between us, why is he running?She closed the door softly behind her.

A loud thud down the hall stopped her on the way back to the kitchen. Following the sound of moving furniture and a series of loud curses, she reached Mr and Mrs Klaus’s study. The door was ajar.

“Mason?” she called, knocking softly.

“Letters? Fucking letters,” she heard Mason mutter from where he was sitting at his father’s desk. A pile of envelopes lay on the desk before him. Drawers were open everywhere, and a cabinet had been shifted out of the way.

“What’s going on?” Lyla asked.

He shoved the letters towards her. A few fell to the floor as he relaxed into the back of the chair. She picked up one and saw his name and address written on a red envelope in the same gold calligraphy that had brought them here.

“Your father wrote to you every year, but never sent them?” she asked. He nodded, and she checked the stamped dates on the envelopes of the unopened letters.

“Are you sure you never received any?” she dared to ask, and his dark eyes turned on her in warning.

“He never wrote,” he affirmed grimly, his lips fixed in a firm line.

“Maybe he sent others that you didn’t get? This place isn’t exactly standard mail order,” she reasoned, but that only seemed to further his annoyance.

“There are plenty of ways he could have sent them and if he had, I would have responded,” he said, getting to his feet. She sensed he wanted some distance from the letters staring up at him. By the fire, he paced back and forth until she couldn’t take it. She hugged him from behind, trying to offer him some comfort.

“Lyla?” he merely said, his hands going over hers.

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