Christmas In Silver Bell Falls by Samantha Chase Page A

her, but it was making it hard to ignore how much he was coming to mean to her as well.
    And much later, when they both should have been asleep, she wrapped herself around him and placed her head on his shoulder, her hand over his heart—it was still beating rapidly after all they had shared. 
    “Thank you,” she whispered.
    He kissed the top of her head.  “For what?”
    “For the perfect night.”
    She could feel him smiling.  “I aim to please,” he said lightly.
    With a chuckle, Melanie lifted her head and looked at him.  “I wasn’t just talking about what we just did in here.”
    He gave her a lopsided grin.  “Neither was I.”
    “Somehow I doubt that,” she teased and then relaxed back against him.  “I feel like I’ve been in a funk for the last few days and it was nice to get out of the house and have such a good night.  That restaurant was fantastic.  We’ll have to go there again.”
    “Any time you want,” he said and hugged her a little closer.  “I hate that I have to work tomorrow.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m enjoying this—holding you in my arms, both of us a little sleepy and relaxed after making love and just talking about our day.”
    She frowned.  “And that’s going to make going to work bad?”
    He nodded.  “I could stay like this all night with you, Melanie.  But I know I’ve got to get some sleep if I’m going to be at all useful in the morning.”
    “You work too hard, Sheriff Stone,” she said, placing a kiss on his chest.  “Do you ever get vacation time?”
    “Oh yeah,” he said and then yawned.  “A couple of weeks throughout the year.  Why?  Want to go someplace tropical with me?”
    She chuckled.  “I was just thinking it might be nice for you to come to Raleigh and see where I live.”  As soon as the words were out of her mouth she felt him stiffen slightly.  “It’s not as festive as Silver Bell,” she added quickly, “but there are a lot of great places to see and some wonderful restaurants.”
    Josiah stayed silent until Melanie lifted her head again to look at him.  “What?” she asked softly.  “What’s the matter?”
    Reaching out, he cupped her cheek in his hand.  “I don’t want to think about a time when you’re back there and I’m still here.”
    Everything in her softened against him.  “Oh…”
    Slowly, as if giving her time to stop him, Josiah rolled them over until she was nestled beneath him.  Then he kissed her, slowly.  Thoroughly.  Melanie knew it was partially a distraction method, but she didn’t care.  She loved kissing him and poured everything she had into kissing him back.
    Her heart began to race as his hand roamed from her shoulder down to her knee and back again.  She couldn’t help but arch into him.  And as he loved her slowly for the second time that evening, she had to wonder how she was going to survive the time when he was here and she was back at home.  Because no matter how hard she tried to convince herself she was okay with this being a short-term relationship, her heart was getting more and more involved. 
    And it wasn’t just because she was someplace new and he was keeping her company and it wasn’t simply because of proximity.  Melanie knew it would take very little effort for her to completely go over the edge and fall hopelessly and completely in love with Josiah Stone.  Maybe she was there already and was just refusing to admit it.
    He whispered her name between kisses in that deep timbered voice of his and it sent shivers down her spine—in a good way. The urge to tell him exactly how she was feeling was so strong, it was almost overwhelming.  But she knew now wasn’t the time. She was too caught up in all of the things he was making her feel. 
    And as he took her over the edge and she cried out his name, she met his gaze and saw mirrored there everything she was feeling. 
    One day soon, she wasn’t going to be able to hold it back.
    One day soon, she was