Beyond the Mistletoe: A Christmas Romance (Beyond Love Book 7) by Karice Bolton
Authors: Karice Bolton
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the feelings that continued to flood my body.
Bodie ran right past me to the front yard, sniffing the air, and diving into the white stuff.
“I think he approves,” Derek murmured, narrowing the gap between us.
“He does. For once.”
“I have another surprise for you. Or maybe it’s more for me,” Derek whispered, trailing his gloved finger along my chin.
“What’s that?” I asked, my voice far more raspy than I expected.
Derek tipped my chin up, and I saw a freshly tied bouquet of mistletoe hanging above us. A red velvet bow cinched the green stems tightly, and before I had a chance to react, Derek’s lips had found mine. My eyes closed, and I felt the warmth of Derek’s mouth as a little moan escaped my lips.
His arms circled my waist and brought me in tightly to him as his lips parted and our kisses deepened, sending my imagination in a direction I had no control over. Truth be told, I’d been daydreaming of our last kiss under the mistletoe all week.
I hadn’t dared to dream I’d get to experience another from him, yet here I was cradled in Derek’s arms feeling the onslaught of emotions I’d been trying to avoid.
Bodie began barking and growling incessantly, and I kicked my foot in his direction to quiet him down, but it was too late. Derek’s lips slowly parted from mine, and the magic of the mistletoe had been interrupted by the main male in my life, Bodie.
I opened my eyes to see Derek smiling, his gaze still on my lips as his hands slid down my back.
“It was even better than I remembered,” Derek said, his gaze falling to Bodie.
I followed Derek’s gaze and saw Bodie pointing at a shrub—or as much as a chiwoodle could be on point—waiting for one of us to take action. I groaned not knowing what in the world could be getting Bodie all riled up.
Living on one of the small islands, essentially in the woods, meant we could be facing just about anything. Raccoons, rabbits, possums were all at the top of my list, and two of those made me concerned for Bodie’s safety because he just didn’t understand his capabilities or lack thereof.
Derek scooped Bodie up and kicked at the bush as Bodie continued to growl at its occupant.
A harmless white bunny matching the snow covered shrub leaped out from under the foliage, and relief flooded me as the little critter hopped across the driveway to the other shrub.
“Seriously, Bodie?” I scratched his ear as Derek carried my watchdog inside, and I shut the front door.
Derek set him down, and Bodie ran off to the family room without another look in my direction.
“Would you like a cup of hot chocolate or coffee to warm up?” I asked, pulling off my gloves and unwrapping my scarf.
“Hot chocolate sounds great, if it’s not too much trouble.” The look in his eyes told me he wanted more than hot chocolate. “But then I should head back out. I need to catch the last ferry, or I’ll be stuck sleeping in my truck.”
“After everything you’ve done for me, I wouldn’t make you sleep in your truck, the shed…maybe.” I flipped on the lights and led Derek into the family room where the crooked Christmas tree towered over the space.
“Such heart,” he muttered before seeing my tree. “Now that’s quite a contraption.”
He whistled and took a step back, leaning over to see the anchor point of the string and Christmas tree in relation to the wall.
“It just wouldn’t stay upright in the tree stand,” I explained, grabbing two cups from the cabinet.
“You got this inside the house all by yourself?” he asked.
“Well, Bodie tries, but he’s really not all that handy when it comes to things that involve fingers.”
Bodie buried his head under a couch cushion.
I poured the milk and sprinkled the chocolate into the pot and stirred as Derek assessed the tree situation.
“There’s a lot of tension on the string. I think it’s close to snapping,” he said, worry in his tone as he continued the inspection.
As much as I
Bodie ran right past me to the front yard, sniffing the air, and diving into the white stuff.
“I think he approves,” Derek murmured, narrowing the gap between us.
“He does. For once.”
“I have another surprise for you. Or maybe it’s more for me,” Derek whispered, trailing his gloved finger along my chin.
“What’s that?” I asked, my voice far more raspy than I expected.
Derek tipped my chin up, and I saw a freshly tied bouquet of mistletoe hanging above us. A red velvet bow cinched the green stems tightly, and before I had a chance to react, Derek’s lips had found mine. My eyes closed, and I felt the warmth of Derek’s mouth as a little moan escaped my lips.
His arms circled my waist and brought me in tightly to him as his lips parted and our kisses deepened, sending my imagination in a direction I had no control over. Truth be told, I’d been daydreaming of our last kiss under the mistletoe all week.
I hadn’t dared to dream I’d get to experience another from him, yet here I was cradled in Derek’s arms feeling the onslaught of emotions I’d been trying to avoid.
Bodie began barking and growling incessantly, and I kicked my foot in his direction to quiet him down, but it was too late. Derek’s lips slowly parted from mine, and the magic of the mistletoe had been interrupted by the main male in my life, Bodie.
I opened my eyes to see Derek smiling, his gaze still on my lips as his hands slid down my back.
“It was even better than I remembered,” Derek said, his gaze falling to Bodie.
I followed Derek’s gaze and saw Bodie pointing at a shrub—or as much as a chiwoodle could be on point—waiting for one of us to take action. I groaned not knowing what in the world could be getting Bodie all riled up.
Living on one of the small islands, essentially in the woods, meant we could be facing just about anything. Raccoons, rabbits, possums were all at the top of my list, and two of those made me concerned for Bodie’s safety because he just didn’t understand his capabilities or lack thereof.
Derek scooped Bodie up and kicked at the bush as Bodie continued to growl at its occupant.
A harmless white bunny matching the snow covered shrub leaped out from under the foliage, and relief flooded me as the little critter hopped across the driveway to the other shrub.
“Seriously, Bodie?” I scratched his ear as Derek carried my watchdog inside, and I shut the front door.
Derek set him down, and Bodie ran off to the family room without another look in my direction.
“Would you like a cup of hot chocolate or coffee to warm up?” I asked, pulling off my gloves and unwrapping my scarf.
“Hot chocolate sounds great, if it’s not too much trouble.” The look in his eyes told me he wanted more than hot chocolate. “But then I should head back out. I need to catch the last ferry, or I’ll be stuck sleeping in my truck.”
“After everything you’ve done for me, I wouldn’t make you sleep in your truck, the shed…maybe.” I flipped on the lights and led Derek into the family room where the crooked Christmas tree towered over the space.
“Such heart,” he muttered before seeing my tree. “Now that’s quite a contraption.”
He whistled and took a step back, leaning over to see the anchor point of the string and Christmas tree in relation to the wall.
“It just wouldn’t stay upright in the tree stand,” I explained, grabbing two cups from the cabinet.
“You got this inside the house all by yourself?” he asked.
“Well, Bodie tries, but he’s really not all that handy when it comes to things that involve fingers.”
Bodie buried his head under a couch cushion.
I poured the milk and sprinkled the chocolate into the pot and stirred as Derek assessed the tree situation.
“There’s a lot of tension on the string. I think it’s close to snapping,” he said, worry in his tone as he continued the inspection.
As much as I
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