Excessica Anthology BOX SET Winter (2 page)

“Jenny? I know
you’re here! You told me to come.”

“Coming!”
Jennifer called, glancing dubiously at Eric’s obvious excitement. “I have to
get that,” she whispered. “Plus, I was probably wrong to…god, what you must
think!”

He pulled her
down and laid a bold, sensual kiss on her still warm lips. “I’m thinking, you
just made my year. I didn’t come over here to put up your Christmas tree. I
came to get to know you because I’ve been—”

“Jennifer!” This
was punctuated with another bong of the doorbell.

She was off his
lap and gone in an instant.

* * * *

“Hellloooo?”

Eric stuck his
head out from under the tree and smiled at the woman. She was tall and slim
like her daughter but more angular. Her black hair shot with gray, same
supernatural eyes.

“My daughter
tells me you’ve become her knight in shining armor, hammering in snowmen and
taking hits from pine trees.” She stuck out her hand. “Pamela Sinclair.
Pleasure to meet you.”

Eric shook her
offered hand and laughed at how closely she resembled her daughter right down
to her mannerisms. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Sinclair.”

“Call me Pam.
So, you have the hots for my baby.” It wasn’t a question.

“I…er…well,
I—” He didn’t know what to say.

Pam gave him an
appraising look. “If I was in the house with you, it’d take me a while to get
to the door, too.”

“Your daughter
is very…special. We only formally met today.” He didn’t want her mother to
think he was a creep.

“Ptooey,” she
said with a wave of her hand that set her bangle bracelets jangling. “Her
father and I met and, kablam! Sparks! Fireworks! A whole fourth-of-July
celebration! He had me in bed that first night, proposed the following week and
we‘ve been married ever since.”

Eric opened his
mouth then closed it. Opened. Closed. What could he say to that?

“That’s…er, a
lovely story.”

She dropped him
a wink. “She’s crazy about you already.”

“How do you
know?” He was wary but a blossom of excitement unfolded deep in his stomach.

“She got all
fluttery and gushy when she was telling me about you. Plus, good old mother’s
intuition. Well, I’m off! I was just dropping off some Christmas decorations
for my girls. Have to get moving. Only two days left until Christmas.”

Eric gave each
screw another turn and then made up his mind. He’d get her to fall in love with
him by Christmas. It would be his gift to himself.

* * * *

He was just
sitting down to a ham sandwich and Jeopardy! when he heard insistent banging on
his door. Before he could answer, the doorbell added to the cacophony. Eric
threw open the door to a smudged and dirty Jennifer.

“Come quick! I’m
sorry to bother you,” she wheezed. “But I think I’m burning my house down.”

She took off
across the yard with Eric right on her heels. Inside, the smoke was thick and
the house reeked. A continuous black cloud billowed from the fireplace.

“I don’t know
what happened. I built a fire. My father wrote directions down before I moved
in. It was fine for the first few seconds and then the house started filling
with smoke.”

A black ash stain
had appeared on the cream-colored wall above the mantel. Even with the windows
open, you could barely see through the fog of smoke.

“Do you have
tongs? A fireplace mitt?”

She looked at
him as if he’d started talking in Italian, her eyes wide and scared like an
animal who’s been cornered.

Eric ran into
the kitchen. He grabbed a barbecue fork from the utensil rack. He remembered
seeing it during their morning coffee klatch.

He sank down in
front of the fireplace, holding his breath. Blindly, he poked around near the
top of the fire until he found the lever that operated the flue. Working
quickly, since the wooden handle was already getting hot, he pushed against the
lever until he heard the tell-tale squeal. The flue opened and the smoke
started to rise into the chimney. The insistent cloud of black smoke had
stopped.

“Didn’t have the
flue open,” he said with a smile. “First-timers mistake, no big deal.”

He took in her
soot-stained face and grinned. He could only imagine what he looked like.

Her eyes welled,
and then the tears started to flow in earnest. Eric jumped to his feet and
pulled her to him, the smoke adding a surreal feel to the scene. He felt
helpless at her emotional reaction.

“Why are you
crying?”

“Because!
Because I’m trying to do all this on my own and I’m failing miserably. I can’t
pound a stake into the ground. I assault friendly neighbor men with my
Christmas tree. I grope you like a common trollop and I nearly burned down my
own house. Now the house stinks, and tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, and I have a
black wall, an undecorated tree, and my daughter’s going to think I suck.” She
sniffled, wiped her nose on the arm of her filthy t shirt and laughed. “And now
I’m having my first emotional breakdown in over a year in front of a very
terrified man.”

“I’m not
terrified,” he lied. He wasn’t used to dealing with crying women and he was
feeling more than a little inept. He wanted to help her feel better but wasn’t
sure what to do.

“Yes, you are.
You look like there are laser beams coming out of my eyes instead of tears.”
She found this amusing because she started to giggle.

He smiled,
uncertain if this was part of the crying jag or something spontaneous.

The giggle
turned into a belly laugh and before he knew it, Jennifer was hanging on him and
laughing so hard no sound was coming out. What the hell?

“I’m sorry,
sorry,” she gasped. “I just felt like if I didn’t laugh, I would scream. Once I
started laughing, I couldn’t stop. Raw energy and jangled nerves. Thank you for
coming to my rescue. Again. I guess I should start cleaning this up.”

She stood and
wiped her eyes. Eric realized she was stunning. Disheveled and dirty and
flushed. He pulled her to him and kissed her. It was a forceful kiss and he
tried to reign himself in but couldn’t. He caught her under her buttocks and
lifted her against him, blatantly letting her feel the effect she had on him.

Jennifer pulled
back with a sharp gasp. She looked him in the eye and, obviously trusting what
she saw there, she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him back,
cradling his face between her filthy hands.

Eric savored
each curve of her lip, the sweet warmth of her tongue. He burrowed his face in
her hair, kissed her throat, and caressed her ass as he held her. He wanted her
more desperately than clean air.

“I can’t
breathe,” she sighed.

“I know. You
make me feel the same way,” he said before pinning her against the blackened
wall.

“No, Eric,” she
said with a playful swat. “I mean, I literally can’t breathe. It’s too smoky in
here.”

“Oh.” He lowered
her gently, assuming the moment was over, ruined by tainted air.

“How long do you
suppose it’ll take to clear the air in here?”

He shrugged. “If
we turn all the ceiling fans on and keep the windows open, probably a few
hours. It’ll be cold as hell in here, but the smell should pretty much
dissipate. You may need about a dozen scented candles for the next few weeks,
but it shouldn’t be too bad.”

“I guess I could
go to my parents for the night,” she said, mostly to herself.

Eric felt a
sharp spark of excitement in his chest. Would she go for it?

“Or,” he said
slowly. “You could just come next door with me. That way we can keep an eye on
the house. And…” Best to be blunt. “I’d like it if you were there.”

She said nothing
for a moment, pausing just long enough for Eric to squirm, fearing rejection.
What had he been thinking? It was way too soon. He’d just have to learn to be
patient if he wanted Jennifer Kenner.

“I sure could
use a shower,” she said softly. “I’ll grab some clothes from upstairs and we’ll
lock up.”

“Great. I’ll
open the rest of the windows while you pack.”

When she was out
of sight, Eric did a dance he usually reserved for touchdowns and high paying
jobs. He didn’t know if anything would happen but he was thrilled just to have
her nearby.

* * * *

The sight of a
freshly showered Jennifer was even more tempting than a soot- covered Jennifer.
Her face scrubbed clean of makeup, her hair damp and combed out straight, she
was a vision, a luscious, sexy vision in penguin pajamas.

“Nice PJ’s.”
Eric ran his finger along the purple lapel.

“Not very sexy,
I know.” Her eyes never left the movement of his hand. Her breathing turned
fast and shallow.

Jennifer knew
what she wanted to do. The question was, did she have the courage to follow
through. A year of loneliness and rebuilding a life had left her uncertain and
hesitant. Eric Kenner was tall and handsome and undoubtedly kind, but could she
trust her instincts. Did she truly feel safe with him or were her hormones
doing the talking?

His hand snaked
down her arm, raising goose bumps in its wake. He grasped her wrist lightly and
simply held it. His warm brown eyes found hers and she felt a little dizzy and
disoriented. A man who looked into her eyes with such honesty had to be
trustworthy. Right?

“Not sexy on
purpose?” he asked quietly. “I know we just met. I know you’re a widow. I know
I’m probably moving way too fast just kissing you, but I can’t seem to stop.
Not to sound like a pervert but that’s what I’ve felt like.” He dropped his
eyes, suddenly embarrassed at his confession.

“Why? You don’t
seem like a pervert to me.” Jennifer twisted her hand to take his and relished
the feeling of his warm flesh encompassing hers.

“I’ve been
watching you since you settled in. In fact, I’ve hardly gotten a damn thing
done work-wise because I’m always watching out the window to see if you’re out
there. And it’s winter for goodness’ sake.”

Jennifer found
herself smiling as he came clean. “I’m sure I’ve given you quite a show.
Beating a helpless sweater with a hanger must be pretty amusing.”

“Very. You’re
just…I’ve never been affected by a woman like this before. You’re fascinating
and funny…”

“And accident
prone.”

“That too. But I
liked you the moment I saw you…
wanted
you the moment I saw you.”

Her face grew
serious and Eric pushed the words out faster.

“But I don’t
want to take advantage and I don’t want to use your smoky house as an excuse to
put the moves on you. I just…need you to understand how I feel. To know that
I’m not the neighborhood playboy who tries to bed all the pretty new neighbors.
Now,” he took a deep breath and backed up a step. “That being said, I can make
some cocoa, light a fire and we can watch
It’s a Wonderful Life
. I won’t
even sit next to you if you don’t want me to.”

His face was so
stricken and yet so hopeful, Jennifer felt something loosen in her chest, felt
her guard lower just a little. It had been a long, lonely year and she was
ready for some male contact—physical and emotional.

“That sounds
great. I’ll find the channel while you do the munchies.” She gave him a
lingering hug, allowing his body to heat hers. “And I’d like you to sit right
next to me and even hold my hand. If that’s okay?”

His smile said
it was just fine.

* * * *

The movie had
her weepy halfway through and Eric took her hand and held it tightly. Stupid
movie, it always got her in the throat, creating a large lump until its
sugar-coated ending.

“I think my
frazzled nerves are getting the better of me. Christmas can be so damn
stressful as it is, but when you fill your house with smoke it gets a little
worse. At least all my shopping’s done for once.”

“Don’t worry
about it,” Eric said, sipping his cocoa. “Tomorrow morning we’ll go over and
scrub the mantle and the wall and decorate the tree. By the time Kim gets home,
it’ll look like a Christmas magazine spread.”

Jennifer sighed
with contentment. A man who cleans! Who could ask for a better present? The
fire lent an amber quality to the air and the room was nice and toasty. Eric’s
tree was easily eight feet tall, decorated simply but elegantly with white
lights and antique ornaments.

She settled her
head against his shoulder and felt a moment of peace wash over her. She was
content just to sit with this man and hold his hand. She felt comfortable in
his home, snuggled up with him on the sofa.

“Are you tired?
You can go to bed if you want. I’ll stay down here.”

“Not tired.” She
sighed. “Just happy. I feel very happy and I’m soaking it in.”

She felt his
lips in her hair and he settled his arm around her shoulder. The weight and the
comfort was welcome.

Jennifer stroked
his chest with her palm and felt his heart stutter under her touch. She
explored the hard plains of his muscles, the flat ridges of his stomach.

“Jennifer—”
There was a panicked tone to his voice and she smiled against his shoulder.

“Shush. I know
what you said. I’m doing this because I want to touch you. I’ve been thinking
about our kiss all day...how it felt to be in your lap…touching you…”

She slid her
hand beneath the blanket covering them, playing her fingers along his hipbones
and then low on his belly.

Eric hissed in
air and she felt a thrill uncoil deep in her center. She was growing warm and
wet and very ready. There was a sexual air about him that made her want to
straddle him and do what she pleased—so unlike her, but an empowering
thought.

She slowly
licked up the side of his neck, giving the curve of his ear special attention.
She nipped gently at the lobe and Eric turned his head and claimed her mouth.
His kiss was all heat and need. She felt her body respond to his urgency.