Christmas Steele Read Online Free PDF

straight? He wasn’t that sexy.
    She turned to study him as he drove. Though
he was only twenty six, she could pick out the occasional silver
strand scattered throughout his dark hair. His lashes were thick
and long, bending upward as if he had curled them. She couldn’t see
his eyes in the darkness, but she didn’t have to look at them to
know they were an intriguing kaleidoscope of colors, predominantly
green and blue with flecks of gold and brown. His lips were so lush
they appeared stuck in a perpetual pout, and he always had an
alluring crop of stubble on his cheeks and chin. Who was she
kidding? He was beautiful.
    “You’re staring,” he said, not taking his
eyes from the road. “Why are you staring?”
    “Because you’re pretty,” she answered
honestly.
    He grimaced. “Pretty? Can’t you pick another
adjective?”
    “Yes, Jason, please let me give an ode to
your glaring good looks,” she said sarcastically.
    “Maybe if you did, I might reciprocate,” he
said stroking his thumb gently along her hand.
    “No, thank you,” Lacy said, though she was
dying of curiosity to know exactly what Jason thought of her
appearance. She assumed he found her attractive because why else
would he occasionally kiss her? But he had never come right out and
said how he felt about her looks, or anything else for that matter.
Maybe that should be her Christmas present. She almost worked up
the nerve to ask for an honest assessment of their relationship,
and then she remembered he would probably seek reciprocation. Lacy
definitely didn’t want to be honest about her feelings for him, not
even with herself.
    “Hey, you passed the coffee shop,” she said,
turning to glance at it through the back window.
    “Like I said, nothing gets by you, Red,”
Jason said. “I thought we could have coffee at my house. It’s more
private.”
    It was funny how three little words could
make her mouth go dry and the bottom drop out of her stomach. It’s more private. Was he inviting her for coffee or coffee ? If so, would she refuse either? She tried to
remember the last time she and Jason had kissed. Each time it
happened, she vowed it would be the last, but then she found
herself giving in to the moment and kissing him again. It would
help her resolve if he wasn’t so good at it.
    “Is that okay? I haven’t seen you in two
weeks.” He lifted her hand and kissed it.
    She nodded, not trusting herself to speak in
case her voice shook.
    They finished the short drive in silence,
though Jason kept hold of her hand. She carried the grocery sack,
following him as he let her into his house. Turning on lights as he
went, he led her to the kitchen.
    “Want me to make the coffee?” she
offered.
    “I’m not sure how to politely decline without
offending you, so I’ll just say no.”
    “Why not?” she asked.
    “Because I taught you how to make coffee. You
haven’t had enough practice, and I’m picky about my coffee.”
    “What aren’t you picky about?” she muttered.
He was a neat-freak, health-food-loving perfectionist as far as she
was concerned.
    “Women,” he replied, giving her the
heart-stopping devilish smile he used whenever he was teasing
her.
    “How could you be picky when you cycle
through so many?” she asked. “There are only so many women in the
world.”
    “Jealousy suits you,” he said.
    “I am not jealous,” Lacy lied.
    “I don’t know where you think I meet all
these mythical women, or when you think I have time to go out with
them. I told you I’ve been working nonstop the last two weeks.”
    “You weren’t working the night of the FOP
banquet,” she said, biting her tongue for bringing it up when his
smug smile returned.
    “That’s what this is really about, isn’t it?
It’s driving you crazy trying to figure out who my date was.”
    “No, it’s not,” Lacy lied again. “Have I
asked about her? No. What you do is your business. We’re not
together.”
    “You’ve made that clear on a number