Candy for Christmas: Hockey Player vs Ice Skater by Novalee Swan Page A

above his shoulder. She
detected the scent of pine and ice. He smelled like the forest.
    “Give it to me.”
    Her eyes flicked up
meet hickory orbs and she drew in a deep breath. The scent was
intoxicating and her response indicated the effect it was having:
“Wha—?”
    “Give me the axe.”
    Languidly, she passed
it to him. Nolan wrapped one large fist around the handle, just
below hers. But he didn’t tug and she didn’t release, and they
stood, holding the axe. Those hickory eyes narrowed as he watched
her. Her fleece-lined parka was too warm and her breath stole out
between them, mist on the cold air. He inhaled, then exhaled in
concert. Their breaths mingled.
    Nolan’s head tipped
down ever so slightly and hers tilted correspondingly. Candice’s
eyes flicked to his mouth, the curve more sensual than any man had
a right to, and her own pink lips parted. She swayed towards him.
Her parker grazed the front of his flannel shirt. Their fingers
brushed on the axe handle and her other hand, still wrapped in his,
felt every amplified electric sensation.
    Nolan Ducayne was
about to kiss her. And she wanted him to, despite everything that
had passed between them. None of which she could recall at this
precise moment. The only thought that penetrated was that if she
kissed him, nothing would ever be the same.
    Less than a breath
separated them when a loud crack startled her. Before Candice could
process the source of the noise, Nolan’s strong arm wrapped around
her waist. He simultaneously stepped back and tugged her into the
shelter of his body, shielding her as snow came tumbling down over
the top of them.
    A broken branch landed
where she was just standing.
    She couldn’t decide
whether to be grateful or not. On the one hand, she was not kissing
Nolan Ducayne. Was that good? Was that bad? She wasn’t sure. But on
the other hand, she was now in his arms. And, oh god , that
was definitely good.
    “You okay?” he asked
huskily.
    “It’s just snow,” she
replied in a matching tone.
    “The branch didn’t get
you?”
    “No. You…” she thought
about what word she wanted to use, “protected me.”
    They were silent for a
moment. She’d never admit it, but Candace secretly watched his
games on cable. Trying to understand all the rules had been
confusing at first. But the more familiar she became with the game,
the more she realised that Nolan Ducayne was fiercely protective.
Of his team, his goalie, his end zone, and his puck. He was
arguably the best offensive defenceman in the league, and it was
because of his bone deep protective instincts.
    They were at the heart
of the conflict between them. That thought allowed her to summoned
the strength to step back from him. His arm around her waist
tightened for a moment before he released her. Her hand fell from
the axe and she made a show of brushing snow from her coat and
hair.
    Nolan didn’t say
anything, just shook his hair free of snow as he walked towards the
fir she’d begun to cut down what seemed an eternity ago. “Stand
back.” He didn’t check to see if she complied. Just looked around
for a moment, gauging the fall, then lifted the axe and drove it
deep into the soft wood. Wood chips flew free and he wrenched the
axe out with ease.
    All she could think to
say was, “But it’s your tree.” Why was he cutting it down? It would
have recovered easily from her few piddling strikes.
    Nolan ignored her.
Just kept chopping. Chipping in, above and below, creating a notch.
He made it look so damned easy that she was torn between being
pissed off and impressed. Nolan looked like he felled trees every
damn day of his life. Like the axe was an extension of his body.
The same way his stick was when she watched him play.
    He created a second
notch on the opposite side before returning to the first. A few
more swings and the wood cracked as the tree began to fall. The
whole thing took him about a minute. Sure, it was just a little
tree, but for some inexplicable