A Weldon Family Christmas: A Southern Steam Novella (Weldon Brothers) Read Online Free PDF Page B

‘Couldn’t resist touching you last night?’”  She snorted.  “You’ve got an ego the size of the Empire State Building.”
    John winced and raked his fingers through his hair.  “I didn’t mean it sexually.  I meant it humanely.  You couldn’t walk away from my pain without touching me.  I’ll go and explain to the woman.  How she could take my sentence and run to Bum-uh-Egypt is mind boggling.”
    Emma sighed and shook her head.  “I think you’ve done enough damage for one day.  Seeing you more will only add fuel to the Dragon Lady’s fire.”
    “Because?”
    Emma rolled her eyes.  “Have you ever looked in a mirror, John Weldon?  Every woman who looks at you has impure thoughts, I’m sure.”
    He arched a deadly brow.  “Do you?”
    Emma straightened her shoulders.  “It would be highly improper for me—”
    John leaned down and kissed her.  Just flat out planted his mouth on hers and stole her breath in a thundering heartbeat of excitement.  She moaned and leaned into in him a moment.  She pressed the palms of her hands to his chest and felt the solid burning heat of muscled man for a brief glimpse into heaven before she wrenched away.
    “Dear Lord!  You shouldn’t have done that!”
    “Why not?  As I see it, it was my only chance.  Kissing a Donut Dolly is off limits.  Currently, you’ve been fired so I can kiss you without breaking the rules.   I’ve no doubt that you will get your job back shortly and will then become off limits again.”
    “John Weldon you are a devil if I ever saw one.”
    He backed away grinning.  “I did say we were in Hell.  I’m dead serious about your safety, though.  If you won’t go home at least speak to your supervisors about staying in Saigon.  It’s more dangerous out there than ever.  I’ve had my leave cut short for some reason, and I’m going back to camp right now.  Something big is up.”
    Emma clutched her hand to her heart, wanting to reach out and stop him from leaving.  Wanting to touch her lips to his again.  She’d thought he was here until Christmas. She wasn’t ready for good-bye.  He disappeared around the corner of the building, leaving the main street.  Would she see him again?
    Throwing everything to the wind Emma ran after him.  She caught up to him under the canopy of a food market.  “John!”  He spun around, and she nearly ran into him before coming to a stop.  “Can I write to you?”
    He brushed a lock of hair back from her face.  “Yeah, Em.  I’d like that.”  He rattled off how to contact him, started to turn away, then swung back and pulled her into his arms.  This time his kiss wasn’t a simple meeting of their lips. This time his tongue sought hers in a seductive fiery dance that swept her away.  Hard passion pulled her into a new world of want and need.  It was more than just a kiss.  It was a desperate searching of a soul in need of connecting, and her entire being responded to his cry.
    This time he ended the kiss.  They were both shaking and shaken.  “Em, I…I’m not sorry I did that.”  Then he turned and walked away.  Or rather marched away as if he had to force himself by strict action to accomplish what had to be done.
    Emma pressed her fingers to her mouth, wanting to forever seal in her mind the touch of him, the feel of him, the taste of him.
    Her heart squeezed painfully tight in her chest.  It was ridiculous.  It was insane.  He was a stranger whom she didn’t even know really, but in less than a day’s time, he’d become important in a way she couldn’t explain.  Take care, John.  Please, take care.

    Present Day
    P erhaps it was Providence , but there were very few people in the ER waiting room.  Usually December in the South was the height of the flu season.  Her sons managed to fill all of the empty space though.  Jesse took almost three seats with his sprawl and Jared and James paced opposite one another but in perfect sync, as they always