Page 27
But before she can answer, the ladder shifts in the snow and I put my hands out to steady her instantly. Both my hands close around her hips, but before I can stop it, one hand slides lower, filling itself with the warm curve of her ass.
Her breathing stops, and mine goes straight to hell.
“That,” Audrey whispers, “is not my waist.”
“No.” I swallow and close my eyes. "No, it's not."
“You’re very calm about it.”
“Believe me, there’s nothing calm happening down here.”
She glances toward the obvious strain inside my pants, and satisfaction flickers across her face.
Audrey turns back toward the lights and reaches higher, slowly pressing her ass deeper into my palm.
“Cruel woman,” I mutter.
Her laugh catches as she locates the loose adapter. “Found it.”
The moment she reconnects it, the entire tree goes black and I hear Celeste's audible gasp from where I'm standing with a handful of butt.
“It just needs to reboot,” Audrey calls out.
“How long?” Celeste demands.
I check the control unit at the base of the tree. “Just give it a few minutes.”
The tree remains dark, leaving Audrey and me enclosed beneath thick branches. I help her down, and her body slides against mine until her boots touch the artificial snow around the trunk.
My hands remain at her waist as her palms rest over my chest, soft and warm and absolutely fucking perfect.
But then, outside the canopy of the tree, a woman laughs about needing to leave early for a Christmas wedding, and Audrey’s expression completely fucking changes.
She looks up at me and sighs. “Are you finally about to ask why I ran?”
“I watched you wrestle your way out of a wedding dress beside a snowbank. I solved the runaway-bride mystery.”
A small smile catches at her mouth. “Then why haven’t you asked?”
“Because you were running from something.” I hold her gaze beneath the dark branches. “I wasn’t going to become another man standing in your way and demanding answers.”
Her smile disappears, replaced by something softer.
“I was supposed to marry Brett that afternoon you found me,” she continues. “But I overheard him telling his best man that the inheritance his family had promised him required him to become a responsible family man.” She swallows. “Apparently, I was convenient enough to satisfy the requirement.”
Rage settles low in my gut. “He was just marrying you to get an inheritance?”
“Among other things.”
"Shit, Audrey." I shake my head. “Do you regret leaving him?”
"No." Her answer is immediate and strong. “I’ve questioned everything else. Where I’m going, what I’m doing and whether accepting employment from a billionaire while wearing another man’s coat is a sensible life plan.”
She tries a smile, but it never quite catches.
“But no. I haven’t questioned leaving Brett once.”
A possessive satisfaction I have no right to feel rolls through me, so I try to even the playing field by opening up myself.
