Christmas Nights(5)

He held her gaze for another beat and then seemed to accept her shift in topic. “Thought I’d leave it up to you.”

“Oh. Hmm. Maybe you can tell me a few places you like and we’ll go from there? I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to food.”

He shrugged. “The Brewery or the Boathouse?”

“The Brewery then. I haven’t been there in a while.”

Travis headed down the hill to Diamond Creek, making small talk along the way. He had to pause and wait for a mama moose and her two calves to meander across the road. Janie couldn’t hold back a small laugh when one of the calves paused to turn and sniff the truck’s bumper.

“I’d rather have my bumper meet them this way than the other option,” Travis said with a chuckle.

After the calf completed its investigation of Travis’s bumper, it jogged to catch up with its mother, all gangly legs as it made it way to the far side of the road. Travis slowly rolled past the trio and turned onto the road where Diamond Creek Brewery was. When they walked in a few minutes later, Janie scanned the space. Although the height of tourist season had passed, the brewery was busy. She saw a few acquaintances, but no close friends. She gave a silent sigh of relief. Gossip was a foregone conclusion in Diamond Creek. It was her hometown and she loved it, but rumors tended to take off like brush fire here. Considering that she couldn’t even recall the last time she’d been on a date, if anyone happened to notice that’s what she was doing with Travis, well, there would be gossip.

Janie was surprised to find dinner passed quickly and easily despite her internal awkwardness. Travis was easy to be around, and the brewery afforded a comfortable environment. The brewery was housed in a refurbished plane hanger, a far cry from its original state with model planes hanging from the ceiling, brightly colored rugs and curtains lending a warmth to the airy space. She found herself watching Travis with an alertness that startled her. Time and again, she couldn’t help the lunge of her pulse when his mouth curled up on one side. While he was an excellent example of, well, pure manliness between his fit, muscled body and chiseled features, an edge of humor softened him. Over a few too many glasses of wine, she learned he’d been born and raised in Anchorage, his parents and his brother were still in Anchorage, and he’d learned how to fish in his family’s commercial fishing business. He’d branched out on his own when he moved to Diamond Creek. He still fished, but claimed he’d never wanted that to be his only job. Commercial fishing, by its nature, was beset by fluctuating income, risky work, and uncertainty.

“I usually crew on a few salmon runs every year, but that’s it. That way, I can actually enjoy fishing and not worry if it’s a bad year,” he offered with a shrug.

Janie enjoyed another sip of the brewery’s delicious gooseberry wine. “Smart move. I’ve seen many people go through some tough years when fishing runs are down.”

“Exactly. Anyway, your family is here in Diamond Creek, right?” he asked.

“Oh yeah, the whole lot,” she said with a laugh. “Actually, for my immediate family, it’s just me and my mom. My dad died in a fishing accident when I was little…”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Travis said quickly.

“Thank you, but it’s okay. I miss him, but it’s been twenty years. I’ve had lots of time to get used to it. Anyway, my mom’s family’s pretty big though. She has two sisters and two brothers and most of them are still in Diamond Creek. When I adopted Stella, she was a little overwhelmed with all the attention.”

“I can imagine. She’s a good kid. She was pretty worried about you after your dip in the bay a few weeks ago.”

Janie smiled, warmth blooming in her chest. “Stella’s great. She had fun fussing over me for a day or two.”

At that moment, their waitress arrived to clear the table. Once she’d stacked their empty plates on her tray, she glanced between them. “Coffee or dessert?”

Travis glanced to Janie and arched a brow. Just that little gesture, and Janie felt distracted. The blue of his eyes was so bright. She mentally shook herself and looked up at the waitress. “Coffee would be great.”

Travis followed suit and they waited quietly while their waitress threaded her way toward the kitchen in the back. Janie felt Travis’s gaze on her and flushed. She wasn’t used to being noticed. She was who she was—an independent, single mother too busy to think about dating. She knew just about all the locals in Diamond Creek to some extent and was known in return. She couldn’t say she’d consciously cultivated a ‘stay away’ vibe when it came to men, but she had enough sense to know she didn’t exactly invite attention. Hence, she was firmly in the friend category. She wasn’t much interested in flings, so she avoided the hordes of temporary residents in the summer. That’s why Travis stood out to so many women when he moved to Diamond Creek—he was new and he wasn’t just passing through.

She forced herself to glance up and found his gaze still upon her. She had to fight not to look away. She was awash in uncertainty, mostly because this was a situation she generally didn’t allow to happen. She thrived on feeling strong and confident in her life, but her life didn’t include a smoking hot man looking across the table with desire flashing in his eyes. Heat rolled through her, and her breath caught. Her mind blanked and she forgot her usual worries—about trust, about the wreckage the wrong man could leave behind.

The moment was snapped when the waitress delivered their coffees. Not much later, her mind slightly less muddled with desire, she walked alongside Travis out of the brewery. His palm rested on her low back, the heat searing through her lightweight down jacket. When they stepped outside, snow was falling softly—light, fluffy flakes floating down and glittering in the lights from the brewery.



Travis drove through the falling snow. He was relieved it was light because his concentration was weak at the moment. The simple act of sitting across from Janie had driven him to the edge of his restraint. Her rich brown hair, her porcelain skin with her cheeks flushed and those eyes of hers, swirling with layers of color, had nearly undone him. He was still marveling at the fact he’d somehow managed to never get close enough to her to realize she was stunning. She was also intelligent with a sly sense of humor and independent. It was clear she was entirely accustomed to relying on herself for just about everything. Oddly enough, it made him long to be someone she could lean on.

The space inside his truck was humming. He was so attuned to her presence that he felt every subtle shift of her body. When he pulled into her driveway and rolled to a stop, he didn’t wait and climbed out quickly, walking around to open the passenger door. She’d started to turn sideways when he swung the door open. Her eyes widened and a little laugh escaped. “Oh, I didn’t know anyone opened doors anymore.”

He shrugged. “I do,” he said simply.

Her jacket was unzipped, and his eyes fell of their own accord to the shadowed valley between her breasts. When he realized he was staring, he forced his eyes up, noticing the flutter of her pulse in her neck. Without thinking, he leaned forward, stopping a whisper away from her lips. Though it took every ounce of discipline he had, he needed to give her the chance to turn away. Her hazel eyes caught his. He saw nothing but desire there. When he held still for another breath, she leaned forward and closed the tiny distance between them.

The moment her lips met his, need jolted through him. Her lips were soft and warm, a contrast to the cold air and snow swirling around them. For a second, he felt tension running through her, but she sighed and it dissolved. He stepped closer into the small gap of space. With her turned sideways on the passenger seat, he stepped between her knees and angled his head to the side. On another breath, her lips parted and he swept his tongue inside. He nearly growled with relief and claimed her mouth. After a second’s hesitation, she met him stroke for stroke, her tongue tangling with his. He threaded a hand into her silky hair and dove into the warmth and sweetness of her. He couldn’t have said what he expected her to kiss like, but it wasn’t this—this wild abandon of kisses, nips, and strokes of her tongue.

He curled an arm around her waist, pulling her close against him. The feel of her soft curves against him whipped the lash of lust yet again, and he tore his lips free. He needed to taste her and trailed kisses along her jawline and the column of her throat. A soft moan came from her, and it was all he could do not to yank her shirt down and suck one of her taut nipples in his mouth. She suddenly tensed against him. He lifted his head to find headlights angling in their direction from the driveway.

“Oh! Someone’s here,” she said, her voice lilting high. She glanced up, her eyes wide and her lips plump from his kisses.

Travis yanked on the reins of need and forced himself to take a step back. He slowly loosened his hand in her hair and slid his fingers through it as he stepped back again. “Expecting someone?” he asked.

She shook her head. His eyes, which seemed to be entirely out of his control, dipped down and landed on her nipples, which were straining against her tank top. Holy hell. He didn’t know what it was about her, but it was all he could do not to yank her back to him and dive right back into their kiss. He gulped in the cold air and glanced over to see the car rounding the curve of her circular driveway.