Two Doms for Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page B

had an idea what he was doing. They layered everything in the crockpot
and she set it to low. “All done. Now it has to cook.”
    He smiled radiantly. “I’m
impressed. You know the ingredients by heart. Is it one of your favorite
meals?”
    “I haven’t actually made it in a
few years, but it was one I liked. How about you? What is your favorite food?”
    “I don’t know if I actually have
one. I enjoy most foods as long as they are flavorable.”
    She giggled. “Flavorful or
favorable?”
    His pleasant expression instantly
went dark. “I will warn you that I very much dislike being grammatically
corrected. It is something my mother used to do constantly and I hated it. I
said and meant flavorable.”
    “Oh.” She had no idea how to
interpret his instant and obviously hot anger. She hadn’t meant anything bad by
it. “I’m a writer, the computer and editors constantly correct me. Have you
been hiding the fact that you have really bad temper?”
    He lowered his eyes, closing them
for a second as he blew out a long and calming breath. “I already told you I
went through anger management. I don’t usually become angry any more over
little things. I’m sorry. As I said, my mother used to correct me. I guess I
still carry scars from her stern demeanor. If you are worried about me hitting
you, I would never do that. If I became enraged, I would walk out the front
door before I ever laid a hand on you.”
    His words did little to assuage her
fear. The cold rage in his eyes had scared the hell out of her. If she had a
way to get home at the moment, she would jump in her car and run like hell.
Unfortunately, it was still snowing like crazy and she was stuck with him.
    “Fuck,” he whispered as he leaned
his head back and exhaled dramatically. “Look, Haley, I’m not perfect. I have
faults like anyone else. I promise on my life I would never hurt you or any
other woman. If I could take that moment back, I would, but I can’t.”
    Maybe she was just being too quick
to judge. Everyone had their quirks that pulled up a bad memory here and there.
“Okay. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, but if you ever strike out at
me, or give me any indication that your temper is out of control, I’m gone.”
She had already told him she wasn’t interested in a relationship. That wasn’t
exactly true. She was lonely and wanted someone to spend her time with. She so
much missed human affection, companionship, and sex. They were things her dogs
couldn’t supply and despite her bouts of self-denial, she wanted a man in her
life.
    “Thank you. I hope I didn’t ruin
the day. Tell me what I can do to make it up to you?”
    “Prove that you are telling the
truth. Otherwise, let’s have a good time. Isn’t that what today is supposed to
be about, acting silly and laughing?”
    He nodded and then smiled, but the
expression shadowed an undertone of guilt. He felt really bad for snapping at
her. Toward the end of their relationship, Jack had become quick to accuse her
of things. Of course, it was usually because she was asking about something
simple like why he was working so much. She had no idea his late hours were due
to his girlfriend. That had come as a total shocker. “So what are we doing?”
    “It’s kind of frigid out to go
sledding yet. How about I start a fire and we wait for the storm to calm down a
bit. Getting frostbite isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
    “Me neither. A fire would be nice.”
    He nodded and walked past her,
going back into the living room. There was a good-sized pile of wood by the
hearth and he put some into the grate and used a fire starter to get it
burning. Once the glass doors were closed, he left the room. Austin came back a
moment later with a huge rolled cushion. He folded it in half and put it on the
floor by the fire. “I sleep out here sometimes, and this is really comfortable
to sit on. Do you like games?”
    “What kind of games?”
    “Yahtzee, Monopoly, Setback,