Page 212 of Screwged for Christmas

“Then what kind of girl are you, Ivy.”

She lifted a shoulder. “Donuts. Coffee. Sometimes a bagel. Anything sweet and fast on the lips.” She did that damn nose crunch again, and her glasses slipped. “Anything I can eat on the run and not have to use a fork with. A curse of not having much time for myself lately or at all really.”

Damon tore a hand through his hair and weighed the options. Settled, he reached out as she stepped around the stools pushed up against the island counter. “I think I have something that can cure the Alaskan blues and give us a nice chance to talk.”

“Unless you have a glazed donut tucked away somewhere, I highly doubt it. And talk about what?”

“Work of course.” He snatched a coat and scarf from the coat rack situated next to the door before walking back to her.” We have a lot of orders coming in and we’ll need to work out a schedule. Thought you wouldn’t mind helping me.” With a gentle nudge, he turned her around and helped her into the coat before he set to work on wrapping the scarf around her neck.

“Not at all. I’d love to. It would be a good distraction from...” Her words suddenly trailed off to silence.

“Distraction from what,” he coaxed.

“Nothing. Just school and work.” She shrugged, not meeting his gaze with hers. His little angel was hiding something, and she made teasing the truth from her pretty pouty lips a temptation he wouldn’t refuse.

He paused and considered his guest from a corner of his eyes. “Ready?”

“Where are we going?”

“Trust me, you’ll love it.”

She stiffened beneath his gaze.

Anger welled inside at whatever put the weary look in her eyes. No one needed to go through life fearing everything or second-guessing when and how someone could hurt them. “If it helps, your sister loves what I am about to show you and...” he glanced at the clock on the microwave above the stove, “we have exactly one hour before we are interrupted.”

Part of her relaxed at the mention of her sister as the tension eased from her eyes and he motioned for her to turn around. Curiosity had her following. “What can we do in an hour?”

He knew the question came out before she fully thought of it but he loved the way her lips parted as she considered her words.

Oh man, he could have fun with that. Hand on the doorknob, he looked over his shoulder and moved away from the door. “Do you want to find out, angel?”

“You are a terrible tease, Mr. Savage.”

The surprise in her eyes at his question was worth the pain stabbing at his insides because every time he thought about her legs parted and him taking her, the drip of pure lava hooked up to his circulatory system intensified a few notches more. “I’m afraid to follow that through,” she admitted.

His expression softened. “Don’t worry—I won’t eat you up with my big teeth.”Just yet.Because he would. He knew it would happen like he knew the sun would rise and set.

She looked away from his mouth long enough to settle her gaze on his eyes. Green eyes like the prettiest field of lush summer grass and pink-tinged lips were his weakness when they were from one Texan girl rapidly stealing his sanity. “Trust me,” he repeated in a whispered plea. “I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”

She wrapped the ends of her jacket around her middle and gave a stiff nod. “I’m assuming it involves something sugary so I’m in.” She reached for his hand. Skin on skin.

He turned to see the trust she extended to him and he took it as a gift that it was.

Two minutes later he led them both down another set of stairs that wound around the backside of the bar and apartments. Like every morning he had to put a little shoulder power into creaking open the old metal door during the harsh winter months as the cold locked the hinges. Snow drifted in as the knob gave and he ushered Ivy out of the cold.

With a loud clunk, the heavy door closed behind.

“Mr. Murdoch will be ticked we messed around in his kitchen before he got here, but if we’re fast, he’ll never know.”

“What?” Ivy froze and dropped to the floor on all fours and tugged at his hand to do the same. He knelt beside her and tried to hold back the laugh that wanted to bust out of his chest.

“What are you doing?” he asked and reached up by the back door to flick the switch on to the overheads. White light flooded the large space.

“Kill the lights. We just broke into a bakery! Are you crazy? I mean, come on!”

He kneeled and stroked the back of his knuckles over her soft cheek and realized the feel of her was becoming more of an addiction the longer he spent time with her.

He flashed a key.

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