Christmas Ever After

“Yeah, I’m here.” His voice sounded as if he had a bad dose of the flu.

“You sound weird.”

“That’s because you have water in your ears. Stand still. I don’t want to soak my clothes. My luggage on this trip is ninety percent Christmas gifts. Close your eyes.” He picked up the shampoo, reduced the power of the jet and lathered her hair as quickly as possible. “This is your fault for having fairy-princess hair. You should have dyed it a different color and cut it short.”

“I never dye my hair.”

He rinsed her hair, careful to protect her wound, watching as the water slid down her body. It flowed over the curve of her hips to the shadow and light that nestled in the secret places between her thighs. The brief glimpse was enough to confirm she was indeed a natural blonde.

Heat flashed across his skin. He fought the urge to lower his mouth to her neck and breathe her in. He wanted to trace every delicate curve with his tongue, taste every inch of her.

“Alec?” Her eyes were shut, her lashes clumped with droplets of water. “Are you still there?”

He stood, trying to work out how he could be dizzy when he wasn’t the one who had banged his head.

“Yeah.” His voice emerged from his dry throat, rough and rasping. “I’m here.”

And it was killing him.

“Could you hand me a towel?”

In the grip of a brutal desire, he groped for the controls of the shower and then for the towels he’d left within reach beyond the shower screen. She took one from him and tied it around her like a sarong. He used the other to dry her hair, avoiding her injury.

“I’ve often wondered if people would take me more seriously if I dyed it black.” Her voice was muffled by the towel. “There have been studies, you know.”

“Don’t dye it black.”

“The weird thing is, my brothers all have dark hair. When I was little, I decided that a wicked witch had probably kidnapped me from my proper family and dropped me in the wrong house by accident. I assumed my parents would have given me back if they’d had a return address. They think I’m wasting my life doing arty things. So does Richard. What do you think?”

His brain had ceased to work from the moment he’d walked into the bathroom, but if he’d been capable of rational thought he would have been thinking that he didn’t want to know more about her.

As far as he was concerned, the more superficial his knowledge of her was, the better.

“What do I think?” He dried the ends of her hair and then stepped back out of the danger zone. “I think you charge ridiculous prices.”

“Really?”

No, not really, but the way she was looking at him, her luminous blue eyes wistful and vulnerable, hardened his resolve.

“Yes, really.” He slung the towel over the rail and struggled for words that would ensure she continued to think he was the big bad wolf. It was safer for both of them that way. Safer if he didn’t follow his instincts, which suggested he carry her back to the bed and this time join her in it. “Your nod to Greek mythology might be charming to someone with no depth of knowledge, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are significant inaccuracies.” Droplets of water clung to her cheek. Without thinking, he lifted his hand and wiped them away with his thumb. Her skin was as soft and smooth as the petals of a rose and he felt her still under his touch.

“You took the time to look round my exhibition.”

He let his hand drop. “I was killing time until I could get to speak to you.”

“Of course you were. You planned to leave the first moment you could.” Her cheeks were flushed. “Don’t be embarrassed. I was hoping you’d leave quickly. Now I’m glad you didn’t.”

He wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

They stared at each other for a moment and then he heard a tap on the door and stepped away from her, relieved to have an excuse to walk away.

“That will be Michael.” He grabbed a robe from the back of the door, thrust it toward her and escaped from the steamy bathroom.

The sleeves of his shirt were wet from the shower and he rolled them up on his way to the door. At least with someone else in the room he was less likely to commit an act of gross indecency.

Despite the circumstances, he was genuinely pleased to see his friend and they chatted for a few moments, catching up on the main events of their lives, before Michael walked over to the bed to take a look at Skylar.

Alec wished he were somewhere else. This whole situation was wrong on every level.

It was too intimate, too personal.

He and Skylar barely knew each other.

What if Michael asked her a question Alec didn’t want to hear?

As far as he was concerned the bar for “too much information” was set low.

He prowled to the window and stood with his back to the room while his friend examined her. He could see the reflection of her body in the glass, so he pressed his forehead against the window and focused on the street below.

Snow was still falling and far beneath him people and cars moved slowly.

He heard Michael ask Skylar what had happened and heard her dismiss it as a silly accident.

Was that true? Maybe, but something told him that Richard Everson had played a part in that “accident.”

And even if he hadn’t, the one undisputable fact that stood out above all others was that the guy hadn’t stayed to help her.

“Just sick the once?” Michael stood up and pulled a sheet of paper out of his bag. “Alec?”

Bracing himself, Alec turned. “Yes?”

Michael handed over the paper. “Instructions for head-injured patients. You probably know it all, but read it anyway. If you’re worried, the next step is to bring her into the department for a scan. I’m in tomorrow, so call my mobile and I’ll arrange it.”

“Thanks.” Alec stared down at the paper in his hand.

Tomorrow he was supposed to be traveling deep into the English countryside to celebrate Christmas early with his family. It had made sense to combine a trip with his other commitments because he needed to be back in Maine in order to meet his deadline.

His friend snapped his bag closed. “She can’t be left on her own, of course, but given that she has you, that’s not a problem.”

Alec realized that Michael had misunderstood their relationship. He opened his mouth to put him right, but his friend was already walking to the door.

“I have to dash. I’m supposed to be having a late dinner with the in-laws. May will kill me if I don’t show up. Next time you’re over here, email me and you must come for dinner. Bring Skylar.” He opened the door and lowered his voice. “Can’t tell you how relieved I am to see you getting back out there. We were worried that after everything that happened with Selina you wouldn’t take the risk again. And I can see why you were finally tempted back into the scary world of relationships. Skylar is a stunner. Nice smile. Taking her home for Christmas?”

Alec frowned. “No! I—”

“Next time give me more notice. We’ll grab a beer. Give my love to your family. May and I are going over there for New Year’s Eve. Looking forward to your mother’s cooking—wish she’d give mine a few lessons.” He slapped Alec on the shoulder and was out the door before Alec had time to correct the misconceptions that were piling up.

He stood in the doorway, digesting the fact that his friends and family were still speculating on his divorce and love life.