Meet Me Under The Mistletoe (O'Rourke Family 5) by Julianna Morris

over a burned tray of cookies he would have been exasperated, but it obviously meant something significant to Shannon.
    “Shannon, don’t go.”
    “It’s really… better .”
    Shannon pulled at her sliding-glass door, but the dumb thing was locked. So much for a speedy exit. She spun around, not wanting to see Alex’s face and the disappointment that must be there, but not having a choice.
    “Hey, it’s all right.” He put his arms around her, warmth radiating from his body.
    It was nice.
    Strength and heat and comfort. She’d ached after their brief kiss, ached for a deeper touch, and the kind of tender holding that only came in her dreams. She’d wondered if Alex could be the man in those dreams, but it was useless to think that way. He’d pushed her away from the moment they met; the barriers around his heart were higher than the castle walls in any fairy tale.
    “It’s not okay.” She sniffed, the scent of burned gingerbread mixed with his masculine scent. “You have no idea. Maybe it doesn’t matter to you because you don’t want me, but it matters.”
    “God, Shannon, it isn’t you I don’t want.”
    She knew that tone. Or she thought she did. He was trying to be gentle and not hurt her feelings.
    “It’s all right. Don’t worry about it. I’m not your problem,” she said tiredly. In an hour she’d manage to get someperspective, but right now she felt as if she’d crashed into a brick wall. She hated failing at anything.
    Alex leaned into her. “You aren’t a problem at all,” he breathed in her ear.
    She knew that tone, too.
    The husky murmur.
    The suggestion of awareness.
    A swollen heat burned against her abdomen and she swallowed. “Alex, this isn’t—”
    His mouth smothered her protest. She resisted for a split second, knowing he’d regret touching her the minute he came to his senses. But when his strong hands closed over her breasts, her own senses scattered.
    His touch wasn’t the least bit hesitant, and the bold, kneading strength of his fingers sent streamers of longing through more than her body. She felt him to her soul.
    Knowing that Alex didn’t feel so strongly about her cooled her response. Then his knee pressed between her legs and she lost touch with reality.
    Her life had been spinning nowhere, but with Alex holding her, she had an anchor. Yet it was curious that an anchor would make her head whirl and her blood bubble like champagne.
    Their tongues met, velvet on velvet, framed by the hard lines of his mouth.
    The only other time she could remember a kiss being so good was when he’d held her before, that night she’d brought the tree and toy train.
    Mmm…
    Beneath Alex’s sweatshirt his muscles were hard and she explored the contours of a man who’d worked not only with his mind, but his body. She didn’t feel cold, thoughher thin shirt and jeans were hardly protection against the bitter chill that had descended over Puget Sound.
    Pleasure shimmered in wave after wave as Alex began kissing his way down the curve of her neck. Then suddenly, a loud, raucous sound pierced the air.
    “What?”
    Alex jerked away, looking horrified, and Shannon dropped her hands to her side.
    Think fast , she ordered her frozen brain, but it wasn’t cooperating.
    “Merroooow.”
    Thank God .
    She edged around Alex’s stiff figure and looked for the source of distress. A kitten, all ears and eyes, stuck its head from under a bush and cried again.
    “You poor thing,” Shannon said, kneeling and holding out her hand. “Come here.”
    The kitten had obviously been fending for itself for a long time, because it hesitated, looking suspicious.
    “It’s all right, little one, I won’t hurt you.”
    Alex stared at the ragged feline and wondered how it could resist that coaxing voice.
    Damnation . How could he have kissed Shannon again?
    He couldn’t even blame her. She’d done everything but climb the wall trying to get away from him.
    The cat put a hesitant foot on the