That First Special Kiss Read online

  “Are you going to put up a tree this year?”

  She smiled and nodded. “I believe I will. I’ve never had a tree of my own before. Last year I was still using crutches and living with Brynn. Now that I have a place of my own, I’d like a tree.”

  “Real or artificial?”

  “I’d like to buy a real tree. A small one. I love the smell,” she confided.

  “Be careful not to let it get dry. And make sure you don’t leave the tree lights on when you aren’t around to keep an eye on them. And don’t...”

  “Shane, I know how to take care of a Christmas tree.”

  “Sorry. Like you, I like the look and smell of a real tree, but I worry about the fire potential.”

  “I never realized you were the worrying kind,” she teased.

  “I just believe in being cautious,” he answered repressively. “Christmas trees cause a lot of fires every year.”

  “Are you saying I shouldn’t have a Christmas tree?”

  Spotting a brightly lit Christmas tree lot ahead, Shane changed lanes and turned into the drive. “Let’s pick one out.”

  He’d obviously caught her by surprise. “Now?”

  “Why not? We’re here. We’re in the truck. You want a tree, right?”

  “Right,” she agreed cautiously.

  He parked and turned off the engine. “So let’s get a tree.”

  Her eyes lighting with interest, she reached for her door handle. “Okay. Why not?”

  “I have never seen anyone take longer to pick out a tree.”

  “It’s my very first Christmas tree. I wanted it to be right.”

  “What was wrong with the first couple of hundred you looked at?”

  Unperturbed by Shane’s teasing, Kelly stood back to admire the small spruce he had just carried in and set up for her. It really was a pretty little tree, she thought in satisfaction. Exactly what she had wanted.

  When he moved to stand beside her and draped an arm around her shoulders, she smiled up at him, forgetting for the moment that things were different between them now. “Don’t you agree that it’s a nice tree?”

  “It’s beautiful,” he assured her with a smile. “Are you going to decorate it, or do you like it just the way it is?”

  “Of course I’m going to decorate it. Just as soon as I buy some decorations.”

  He tightened his arm a little, drawing her more closely against his side. “It really is a great tree, Kelly.”

  “Thank you for helping me with it.”

  “You’re welcome.” He brushed a kiss against her temple. “I enjoyed every minute of it.”

  Her voice sounded a bit more breathless when she replied. “Even when I had to look at every tree on the lot?”

  “Even then,” he assured her. “While you were looking at trees, I was looking at you.”

  She went very still when he cupped her face with his free hand. It was obvious that he intended to kiss her. This was the time when she had to decide whether she wanted this experiment to proceed, or to end right now, before it went any further.

  She lifted her face to his, knowing he would read the invitation correctly.

  Shane lowered his head and she went up on tiptoe to meet him. Her arms went around his neck, his around her waist. Their mouths met and fused. For the first time, Kelly cooperated fully with the kiss, holding nothing back. And her cooperation changed what might have been a merely spectacular kiss into an explosion of sensation that nearly knocked her off her feet.

  She no longer tried to deny to herself that she found Shane more attractive than any man she’d ever known before. She didn’t try to pretend any longer that she thought of him only as a pal, or a sort-of cousin. He was a handsome, sexy, compelling male and everything inside her responded to him—always had, though she had tried for so long to resist.

  She couldn’t resist any longer.

  She closed her eyes, giving herself over to her other senses. The scent of evergreen tickled her nose, and she knew she would always associate that festive smell with this magical moment. Shane’s body pressed against hers, and she could feel his warmth in her breasts, in her thighs—and deep inside her, where desire had begun to stir and simmer.

  Shane drew a hand slowly down her back, tracing the shallow dip of her spine and then settling at her hip. He shifted her closer to him and she realized that she wasn’t the only one who was becoming aroused by the embrace. That intimate contact with Shane almost shocked her into retreat again—but the anticipation building inside her kept her where she was.

  Apparently emboldened by her participation, Shane changed the angle of the kiss and drew her closer. He made no effort now to conceal the extent of his reaction to her. Instinct made Kelly rock lightly against him. His reaction was a flatteringly heartfelt groan.

  “Kelly,” he muttered, cupping her face between his hands. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this forever.”

  His mouth came down on hers again before she could answer. His tongue thrust between her lips. His leg pushed between hers, settling her even more firmly against him. This was no longer a tentative, first-date kiss. This was a passionate embrace that would forever change the comfortably platonic relationship they’d had before. Whatever happened from this point on, she realized dimly, she and Shane would never again see each other in quite the same way.

  She was trembling when the kiss finally ended. And even more amazingly, Shane was, too.

  He drew her to the couch and pulled her down into his arms. She made no effort to resist. When he lowered her to the cushions, she pulled him down with her, sliding her hands over his shoulders to lock behind his neck.

  He nuzzled her temple, rubbed his lips across her cheek, kissed the tip of her nose and the faint cleft in her chin. He nibbled at her lower lip and traced her mouth with the tip of his tongue. Even as Kelly concentrated on the pleasure he gave her with his clever mouth, she was aware that his hand was also busy, slipping beneath the hem of her sweater. His fingers slid across her stomach, which contracted in reaction. He sketched a circle around her navel, then finger-walked up her ribs.

  She moved restlessly beneath him, her breasts already tingling in anticipation of his touch. When he finally, gently closed his hand over her left breast, she inhaled sharply and involuntarily arched her back.

  “You feel so good,” he murmured against her mouth, his thumb circling her nipple through the lace of her bra. “All evening I’ve looked at you in this soft sweater and all I could think about was how soft you would feel beneath it.”

  She couldn’t help laughing gently, ruefully as she thought of the piles of discarded outfits littering her bedroom. “I’m glad you like the sweater.”

  “I like what’s in the sweater,” he corrected her. “You could be wearing a grocery bag and I would think you’re beautiful.”

  “You keep saying that,” she whispered, reaching up shyly to push a lock of hair off his forehead.

  “Only because it’s true.” He lowered his head and pressed a kiss against her throat, then moved his mouth even lower, into the deep scoop of her neckline. His mouth opened at the top of her breast, tasting the soft skin there. Beneath the sweater, his hand pushed gently upward, baring more of her to his thorough exploration.

  Kelly had never thought of herself as beautiful. Did Shane really see her that way? She wanted to believe that he did. She gasped when his tongue swept beneath the lace of her bra to tease her distended nipple. Her hands clenched involuntarily, clutching his shirt. He lingered awhile—just long enough to drive her to the edge of insanity—and then he lifted his head. He kissed her lips again, very tenderly, then sighed and reluctantly withdrew his hand from her sweater. He slowly pushed himself upright. “I’d better not push my luck on our first date.”

  As she straightened her clothes and scooted up to sit beside him, Kelly bit her kiss-swollen lip, thinking that he wouldn’t have had to push very hard at all.

  He cleared his throat and shifted on the couch,
making a visible effort to pull himself back together. “The Christmas charity dance is tomorrow night. I know Heather talked you into buying a ticket when she hit up the rest of us last month.”

  Trying to clear the fog of desire from her mind, she nodded. “It’s a good cause. I didn’t mind buying a ticket.”

  She knew Heather had persuaded Shane to buy two tickets to the dance. Kelly had wondered at the time—back when she was still trying to convince herself that it didn’t particularly matter to her—who he would ask to accompany him. She had planned all along to go stag, since she hadn’t dated anyone for a while and hadn’t been looking for a relationship at this point in her life.

  Had he already asked someone? Was she going to have to watch him spend the evening with another woman now that she had discovered how very right it felt to be in his arms? That was one possible aspect of their secret relationship she hadn’t considered before.

  “Will you go with me?” he surprised her by asking.

  She didn’t know how to answer. She still wasn’t ready to go public with the fact that they were dating. If something went wrong between them now, no one else would ever have to know about it. She wouldn’t have to deal with pity or sympathy or awkwardness or even teasing.

  “I’ll meet you there,” she suggested. “Since we were both planning to go, anyway, no one will find it odd if we spend time together while we’re there.”

  Shane frowned. “You still want to pretend nothing has changed between us?”

  “Yes. Please,” she added when he acted as if he might argue. “I’m just not ready to let anyone else know, Shane.”

  Though he didn’t look particularly pleased, he nodded. “If that’s what you want. But there’s no reason we shouldn’t go together, is there? I’ve given you lifts to parties before.”

  “I...think it will be better if we go separately.” She wasn’t confident enough about her acting abilities to risk walking in at Shane’s side and pretending there was nothing unusual between them.

  “I’m surprised you’re not suggesting we take other dates to really throw people off,” he muttered.

  She winced at his unwitting referral to her earlier thought. Even for the sake of their deception, she didn’t like the thought of Shane having a date with another woman. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

  “Damn right,” he growled, looking suddenly fierce. “If you think I’m going to stand back and watch you spend the evening with some other guy...”

  “Promise you’ll treat me the way you always do,” she said urgently, covering his hands with hers. “Promise no one will know...”

  He scowled, but nodded. “If it’s that important to you, I’ll try.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I still don’t understand why it’s so important,” he added in a mutter.

  “I just want to keep this to ourselves for now,” she said again. “I think I’ve explained my reasons.”

  He shoved a hand through his hair. She noted that his hand was steadier now, as was his breathing. But there was still a glint of hunger in his eyes, still a very faint flush of heat on his lean, tanned cheeks. He was holding himself under tighter control than his rather casual tone indicated, she realized in wonder.

  He wanted her. Shane Walker wanted her, Kelly Morrison. She still found it hard to comprehend. How could he not understand why she was so reluctant to share this amazing development with anyone else?

  “We never talked about your father tonight,” he said as if the thought had suddenly occurred to him. “I still don’t know what you’ve decided.”

  “That’s because I haven’t decided anything,” she replied with a shrug. “I really don’t know if I want to see him or not.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “We’ve said all there is to say about it, I think. I just have to decide what I want to do.” She smiled a bit sheepishly. “To be honest, I haven’t given it as much thought as I should. I’ve, er, had someone else on my mind.”

  He liked that. He grinned, reminding her that his ego didn’t need too many strokes. “Good,” he said, reaching out to touch her lower lip with the tip of a finger. “Keep thinking about me.”

  “I didn’t say you were the one I was thinking about.”

  Shane’s smile only broadened. “I’d better go. Still have that hour-long drive ahead of me. Unless you want me to stay, of course.”

  She couldn’t quite tell if he was serious. She hoped he couldn’t tell how tempted she was to ask him to stay when she said, “You’d better go,”

  He sighed heavily, but rose, extending a hand to boost her to her feet beside him. She walked him to the door, where he kissed her lingeringly.

  “I’d say our first date went very well, wouldn’t you?” His tone was just a bit smug.

  “It wasn’t a catastrophe,” she agreed, deciding his healthy ego had been inflated enough for one evening.

  Shane laughed and kissed her quickly again before opening the door. “See you at the party tomorrow—pal,” he added, his teasing tone indicating that he’d accepted her request to keep their new relationship secret. For now.

  She was smiling when she closed the door behind him. The evening really had gone well, she thought cautiously, studying the small tree in one corner of her living room. If that had been a first date with anyone but Shane, she knew she would be practically dancing around her apartment, eager to call her friends and tell them all about the exciting new man in her life.

  Unfortunately, she still found herself bracing for disaster, still worried that this whole, reckless “experiment,” and the comfortable life she’d built for herself during the past year and a half, would inevitably come crashing down around her.

  Balanced securely in a pair of strong male arms, Kelly reached out to carefully position a porcelain angel at the top of her tree. She took a moment to arrange the angel’s long lace skirts and delicate feather wings. And then she said, “Okay, you can put me down now.”

  Dr. Joe D’Alessandro grinned up at her. “Oh, I don’t know. I kind of like this.”

  She frowned sternly. “Behave yourself, Doc, or I’ll tell your wife.”

  Brynn looked up from the candle-and-greenery arrangement she was creating on Kelly’s coffee table. “No need. His wife is keeping a very close eye on him.”

  Chuckling, Joe lowered Kelly to her feet and spoke to Brynn. “Remember the day you moved into Tony and Michelle’s guest house to be a nanny to their kids? I stopped by to make sure you’d settled in comfortably, and I found you sitting on Shane’s shoulders, both of you laughing your heads off. I didn’t like it at all.”

  At the mention of Shane’s name, Kelly busied herself straightening ornaments on her tree. But her guests weren’t paying attention to her as they reminisced. “I remember,” Brynn said. “I was changing a lightbulb in a ceiling fixture and Shane gave me a boost. You asked why we didn’t get a ladder.”

  “And Shane gave me such a smug look that I was tempted to punch him,” Joe answered darkly.

  “Shane always has been a flirt. And we didn’t know at the time he was my cousin.”

  “No. At the time, I saw him as a potential rival.” Joe suddenly looked cocky. “Not that he’d have been in the running for long. I had my eye on you then and nothing would have stood in my way.”

  “You can stop flexing your machismo,” Brynn advised him dryly. “Even before I knew Shane was my cousin, I never thought of him as anything more than a very good friend.”

  Joe nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Kelly. “Speaking of Shane, is he going to that dance thing tonight?”

  Kelly tried to look nonchalant. “I believe he said he’ll be there.”

  Brynn frowned. “I wonder if he’s bringing that redhead. Maya? Kayla?”

  “Gayla,” Kelly corrected, suppressing a shudder. “I don’t think he’s seeing her anymore.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want us to pick you up?” Joe asked Kelly, sipping the mug of s
piced cider she’d made for him earlier.

  “Thanks, but I’d rather take my own car tonight.”

  “Is Amber going?” Brynn asked.

  Turning away from the tree, Kelly shook her head. “When she heard that Cameron is bringing a date, she decided to stay away. She said she’s not ready to see him with another woman yet.”

  “I suppose it was inevitable that he would start dating again,” Brynn said with a sigh. “But it’s a shame it had to be so soon—and right here at Christmas.”

  “He’s probably thinking the sooner the better, for Amber’s sake,” Joe contributed. “The quicker she stops hoping he’ll change his mind, the easier it will be for her to get on with her own life.”

  Kelly sighed quietly, noting that it was Amber who seemed to be suffering most from the breakup. And Amber who was staying away from her friends because it was too painful to continue to be with them now that she and Cameron were no longer together.

  “Don’t look so sad, Kelly,” Joe said. “As much as it’s hurting her now, your friend will get over this. Trust me, I’ve never seen anyone literally die of a broken heart.”

  “You’re an orthopedic surgeon, not a cardiologist,” she reminded him, forcing a smile.

  “The point is that she will recover.”

  “Would you have recovered if you and Brynn broke up after you’d dated awhile?”

  Joe grimaced. “Maybe,” he said doubtfully, with an expressive look at his wife. “But it would have been the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

  “That’s probably the way Amber feels. She has loved Cameron for years.”

  “You’re probably right.” Joe glanced at his watch. “As much as we’ve enjoyed having lunch with you and helping you decorate your tree, we really have to be going. I have to stop by the hospital and Brynn will want plenty of time to primp and fuss for the dance.”

  Brynn punched his arm.

  “I didn’t say you need to primp and fuss,” Joe reminded her. “I just said you would.”

  Joe and Brynn were still teasingly fussing when they left a short time later. Kelly saw them off with a smile and a wave, and then turned to study her newly festive living room. It looked nice, she decided. Like a real home at Christmastime.