Christmas In Silver Bell Falls (8 page)

“And you say a typical book takes you three months?”

She nodded.  “Although, there have been one or two times when I was able to write a book in less than a month.  There’s no set schedule or rhyme or reason.  I just write what the characters tell me.”

“Interesting.  So what if you finish this one before the end of the three months?  Then what?”

“I’ll send it in and start the editing process.  The book isn’t the only reason I’m here.  It’s just something that’s going to help pass the time.”

Walking across the room, Josiah came to the kitchen and slowly pinned her against the cabinets.  “What about me?” he asked softly.  “Is that what I am?  A way to pass the time?”

She shook her head.  “No, that’s not what you are.”

“That’s good.”

Before he knew it, she had her arms draped over his shoulders and was slowly pulling him in close.  “You are a most unexpected surprise.  And I still can’t believe I’ve only been here two days.”

“I know.  I feel the same way.”

“Do you have to work tomorrow?”

He nodded.  “My schedule changes from week to week.  Most of the time I try to keep it the same but my assistant had some family things to attend to so I try to be flexible.  Was there something you wanted to do tomorrow?”

She shook her head again.  “I was just curious about you.  We spent a large part of the night talking about me.  You know what my work schedule is like so I figured it might be nice to learn about the work habits of a sheriff.  Maybe I can use that information in a future book,” she teased.

“Very funny,” he said and simply enjoyed the feel of her pressed against him.  It was the oddest form of foreplay they had going on but he couldn’t help but give in to it.  “This particular sheriff goes into the office around eight in the morning and my day ends at five.  I’m kind of a creature of habit—I come home, make myself something to eat and enjoy the peace and quiet of the land.”

“I’ll try to keep my loud music down for you,” she said with a grin.

“I think we both know I’m not opposed to breaking in and putting a stop to it.”

“Aha!” she cried.  “You just admitted that you broke in!”  She raised her hands in the air in a victory move.  “Woo-hoo!”

He couldn’t help but laugh.  “I thought we weren’t going to bring it up anymore.”

“Technically, you brought it up first.  I was merely commenting on your comment,” she said saucily and wrapped her arms around him again.  “I think it’s only fair that I get to say something about it if you’re going to talk about it.”

Josiah rolled his eyes.  He wanted to be annoyed but Melanie was so damn cute.  Her eyes twinkled and her smile just made the entire room light up.  Hugging her close, he debated on whether or not he should finally do what he’d been wanting to do since he first saw her. 

Kiss her.

Slowly Melanie’s smile faded and her expression turned thoughtful, serious.  Maybe she was wondering if he was going to be the one to make the first move.  Maybe since he had essentially put a stop to them doing it earlier she was a bit hesitant about it happening now.  Normally Josiah was a confident man, a very confident man.  And even though he knew with every fiber of his being that he wanted Melanie—possibly more than he had ever wanted a woman—now that the time was here and he knew they were on the same page, he was nervous.  There was something in the back of his mind whispering that maybe he was moving too fast or maybe he had built this attraction up in his mind simply because he had seen her naked before anything else.

All of which were valid points but it didn’t stop Josiah from wanting her. 

Melanie whispered his name and broke him out of his reverie.  “I had a really good time with you today.”

“Me too.”

“I appreciate you spending your day off showing me around the town.  That doesn’t mean I’ll remember where everything is, but it was nice to get a good look around just in case I need something and you’re not around to help.”

“I’m only a phone call away,” he said.

“I can’t rely on you for everything.  Believe it or not I’m normally a very independent woman.  I thrive on being self-sufficient.”

He remembered her story earlier about how she was self-sufficient at the age of five and it felt like a fist squeezing his heart.  When had someone taken care of her? He knew her father did the best he could, but it seemed like most of their lives had been one struggle after another.  And he had a feeling Melanie took on much more responsibility than she ever should have had to.

“Well, I don’t mind helping you,” he said.  “Actually, it’s the sort of thing I thrive on.”

“Yeah but…it goes with the whole sheriff thing, protect and serve and all that.”

“Something like that,” he said and shifted until they were touching from chest to toe.  “Some I like to…protect and serve more than others.”

She seemed to catch his meaning and smiled.  “That’s not very fair and impartial of you,” she said softly and then seemed to purr at his touch.

“Maybe not.  But it can’t be helped.  I’m not sure.  It’s all new to me.”

Her eyes widened for just a second.  “Protecting and serving?”

He shook his head.  “The being impartial part.  I’m finding I really have a strong desire to protect and take care of you.”

Melanie released a shuttery breath and looked down at the floor.  “Oh.”

Reaching down, Josiah tucked a finger under her chin and gently nudged her to look at him. “Does that bother you?” he carefully asked.

“I don’t know how to answer that,” she replied honestly.  “No one’s ever…I mean other than my dad…no one’s ever said that to me.”

He couldn’t help the grin that tugged at his lips.  “That’s good.  I wouldn’t want to compete with anyone.”

“Believe me, Josiah.  There’s no competition.”

That could be a good thing or a bad one, but he was opting for good right now.  Her blue eyes studied him and as much as he knew he could probably stand here all night just looking at her, it was getting late and he could very easily make himself crazy staying inside his own head overthinking things. 

Time for thinking—or overthinking—was over.  Josiah cupped Melanie’s face in his hands as he lowered his head toward hers.  He almost stopped when he heard her whisper “Finally,” but he just took it as all the encouragement he needed.

His lips brushed hers softly at first.  He took one sip of her softness and then another before sinking in and truly getting a good taste.  She hummed against him and it was a sexy sound that went right through him.  Unable to hold back, his tongue teased at her lips and she opened for him.  It was hot and wet and fairly consuming. 

Josiah lost track of time and everything around them.  He was completely lost in everything that was Melanie—the taste of her, the sounds she made and the feel of her pressed against him.  It would be so easy for them to move the short distance to her bedroom but tonight wasn’t the night for that.  They needed more time.  They needed to learn a little more about one another.

And he couldn’t even believe he was talking himself out of what he so desperately wanted. 

When they broke apart, both were gasping.  He knew Melanie’s heart was beating as wildly as his own because he could feel it, could see her pulse beating rapidly against the slender column of her throat.

When she said his name, he almost caved.  Almost said to hell with good intentions and carried her into the other room. 

But he didn’t.

He saw the confusion on Melanie’s face and knew he needed to explain.  “I want you, Melanie, so much it scares me.  But…I don’t want us to rush.  I know we talked about it earlier and I know we’ve only got three months, but that doesn’t mean we have to jump into bed tonight.”  He sighed.  “No matter how much I want to.”

She smiled and seemed to visibly relax.  “I know what you mean.  I know what my body wants, but my head is talking pretty loudly to me right now.”

“Yeah…mine too.”

One soft hand cupped his cheek.  “Thank you for being honest with me.”

“Always,” he said gruffly.  “You never have to worry about that with me.”  Leaning forward, he kissed her one last time before forcing himself to stop.  Slowly he turned away and headed for the front door.  “I better go.  I have work in the morning.”  He turned and looked at her.  “Can I see you tomorrow night?”

Wordlessly, she nodded. 

“Good night, Melanie,” he said and when she wished him one as well, he walked out and carefully closed the door behind him.  And just as it had the previous night, the cold air was exactly what he needed.

He just wasn’t sure how many more cold nights he could suffer through.

****

For two weeks it became their pattern—when Josiah worked, they’d have dinner together.  It was always at Melanie’s place because Josiah felt awkward about how small his place was, or so he said.  Melanie knew he loved his place but it really wasn’t great when they were both trying to maneuver in the kitchen.  After one attempt, they opted to do all of their meals at her place, although they did alternate who cooked.

She was enjoying getting to know him and found that everything she learned only added to his appeal.  One of the things she was trying to get him to change—and probably the only thing—was his lack of technology, specifically with music.  The man still owned a CD player and that was the only way he listened to his music.  When Melanie mentioned how much more efficient and space saving an iPod would be, he balked at it.  He talked about the price and how he had such a great collection of music on CD, but she had a feeling it had more to do with changing the way he did things.

On Josiah’s days off, Melanie took those days off as well and they would go out for lunch and he started showing her some of the towns surrounding Silver Bell.  It still was a very different environment than what she was used to back in North Carolina, but she could see the charm to it.  And at any other time of the year she probably would have felt the charm a little more herself. 

Back home, she would have avoided all of the things she and Josiah were currently doing, the shopping and walking around town.  He even took her ice skating twice!  And maybe it was just her imagination but it seemed like everything was just…magnified here.  The Christmas decorations, the music, the overall cheerfulness of the people were all over the top.  At first she wanted to blame it solely on the town of Silver Bell itself, but even when they ventured to another town, she found it equally overwhelming.

Her writing was coming along better than she ever could have imagined and although Josiah kept asking her about the story, she was keeping it to herself.  Normally she didn’t share the details with anyone except her editor just because it was a habit, but now it was more because the couple she was writing about, bore a very strong resemblance to her and Josiah. The only difference was her fictional couple had already gotten hot and heavy with one another while she and Josiah were still…well, they were still
not
getting hot and heavy.

Sigh.

It wasn’t for lack of desire or trying—at least on her part.  Short of greeting him at the door naked, she wasn’t sure what else she could do.  The man was hell-bent on a slow seduction and it was getting harder and harder not to just blurt out how he didn’t need to bother—she was a sure thing! 

Maybe they could talk about it that night at dinner.  His shift was slightly off so he wasn’t going to get home until almost seven but maybe she could…

Her thoughts were interrupted by her cell phone ringing.  Glancing down she saw it was her dad and she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face.  “Hey, Dad!”

“Hey, sweetheart!  How are you doing?”

“I’m doing great,” she said and realized she really was. 

“Really?  That’s wonderful!  How’s the book coming?”

She shared with him how fast things were coming to her, without telling him exactly why or who was making that possible.  “You were totally right, Dad.  I needed the change of scenery.  It’s really helped me a lot.”

“I’m so glad, Mel.  I really am.”  He paused.  “So listen, Thanksgiving is next week and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind me coming up there to join you for it.”

She gasped in surprise.  “Do you mean it?  You’d really come all the way up here?”

“Of course I would.  Why wouldn’t I?”

“We talked about this before I left.  I know you’re busy at work and it’s a lot of traveling and the cost of flying is astronomical at the last minute.  I don’t want you spending all that money because of me.”

He sighed.  “Mel, it’s been a long time since we’ve had to count pennies.  Things are good.  You know it and I know it.  I know old habits die hard but the thought of not seeing you for Thanksgiving was really bringing me down.  I miss you.”

She felt tears brimming in her eyes.  “Aw…I miss you too,” she said, her voice trembling a little.  “I just don’t want to cause you any undue stress.”

“You’re not,” he assured her.  “I’m going to fly in Thursday morning—and yes it was the cheaper way to go—and then I’ll be going home Friday night.”

“But…but that’s really quick.  It seems like a lot of time and money for such a short visit.”