Christmas Steele Read Online Free PDF Page B

of
occasions,” he said. “What about you?” The coffee began to brew. He
turned to face her, resting his hips against the counter and
crossing his arms over his chest. “What were you doing there that
night with him dressed like that?”
    “Like what?” she asked.
    “Like it was a real date. I thought you said
you and he are just friends.”
    “We are,” Lacy insisted.
    “Then why were you dressed that way?”
    “What way?” she asked, exasperated with the
line of questioning.
    “Sexy,” he said. “Do you always dress that
way when you go out with a pastor?”
    “Who was your date?” she countered.
    They stood facing each other in a silent
standoff, each one waiting for the other to blink first. Finally
Jason’s face split into a slow smile. “What’s wrong with me that
I’ve missed this?” he said. Grasping her hand, he pulled her close
against his chest, letting go of her hand to wrap his arms around
her waist.
    “Tell me what’s between you two, and I’ll
tell you who my date was,” Jason said, his lips tantalizingly close
to Lacy’s mouth.
    “I’ve already told you what’s between us.
We’re friends.”
    “I don’t think I believe you,” Jason
murmured. “I think there’s something more there.”
    “Who was your date?” she whispered, sliding
her arms around his neck until her hands tangled in his hair,
tugging him closer.
    “Later,” he said, and then he kissed her.
    Being kissed by Jason always made Lacy feel
like she was a patch of prairie grass being consumed by wildfire.
There was never any buildup, just an explosion of sensation so that
she became oblivious to the world around her. That was why it took
a while for the beeping noise to register, though Jason didn’t
notice it, either. Reluctantly, Lacy pulled away.
    “What is that?” she asked.
    “I don’t know; it’s like that every time I
kiss you,” Jason replied, sounding as shaky as Lacy felt.
    She laughed, clearing some of the haze from
her mind. “I meant that beeping sound. What is it?”
    Jason frowned, straightening. “The coffee’s
done.”
    “It beeps to let you know it’s ready?” she
asked.
    “It’s European,” he said, as if that
explained everything. He poured two mugs of coffee, either
remembering that she took hers black or forgetting to ask if she
took it any other way. She watched in amusement while he dosed his
mug with liberal amounts of cream and sugar.
    “Why are you laughing at me?” he asked.
    “It’s always a little funny to see Mr.
Supercop add a half cup of sugar to his coffee.”
    “The oddest things amuse you,” he said.
    Lacy thought Tosh would’ve gotten the joke,
but she didn’t say as much. She was careful not to mention one in
the other’s presence because they tended to become irrationally
upset.
    Jason led the way into his living room,
amusing her again when he supplied a coaster for her coffee.
    “What’s funny about not liking water rings on
my nice wooden furniture?” he asked.
    “Nothing at all,” Lacy said. She was glad he
wasn’t a slob; she simply found it funny that he was often so
different from her expectations. Most of the time he acted more
like a fussy old woman than a robust young bachelor. Not that she
would tell him.
    “Why are you sitting all the way over there?”
he asked, eying the distance between them. “Come here.” He half
lifted and half dragged her closer until her legs were draped over
his and his arms were around her. “Where did we leave off in the
kitchen?”
    “You were telling me about your date from the
FOP banquet,” she prompted, smiling when he gave her a squeeze.
    “I don’t think that was where we left off,”
he said.
    “I’m pretty sure it was,” Lacy said. She
didn’t want to spend the evening in a makeout session that would
get them no closer to resolving the issues between them and might
instead lead them somewhere they shouldn’t go.
    “You are the queen of mixed signals, you know
that?” he asked,