A Very Married Christmas: A Silver Bell Falls Holiday Novella(20)

Josiah shook his head.

“You.” Stepping close to him, Melanie reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand. “The day I met you I was a mess. The news of my grandmother’s death, inheriting the cabin, the drive, and just dealing with all the emotions that went with it had me freaking out.” She paused. “Then you stormed into my bathroom and threatened to arrest me.”

Unable to help himself, he laughed.

“And once we got that misunderstanding cleared up, you became someone I knew I could depend on, rely on. You became my rock. I’ve leaned on you almost since the beginning, Josiah, and I know there isn’t anything I can’t handle with you beside me—good or bad.” She motioned to all the things around them. “And this is definitely good.”

“You think so?”

She nodded. “Personally, I think you talk about the wonders of this town and what they do for others, but this is the first time you’re experiencing it for yourself.”

“I guess that’s possible…”

“Trust me,” she said softly, gazing up at him lovingly. “If I had to learn to accept the fact that the people of this town are genuinely good, sincere, and have an abnormal attachment to everything Christmas-related, then you have to too.”

There was his sassy girl—she accepted all of those things, but she still thought it odd. He laughed and pulled her in close—cursing how he still had his left arm in a sling. With a kiss on the top of her head, he sighed. “You know it’s going to get crazy now, right?”

She nodded. “I do.”

Unable to help himself, he smiled. “I like hearing those words.”

“You do, huh?” she said silkily. Pulling back, she looked up at him.

“I do.”

Her smile was the most beautiful thing in the world to him. “That’s good because I like hearing those words come from you too.”

“We’ve always been in sync,” he murmured. With a look around the room, he realized he didn’t want to talk about the wedding right now. What he wanted was to celebrate in the sexiest of ways with the woman in his arms. And as Melanie’s arms wrapped themselves tighter around him, those words proved right.

Looking down at her he said, “You know, our weekend getaway wasn’t nearly as romantic as I would have liked.”

“Josiah, you’re injured and need to heal. I think it was a wonderful trip just the way it was.”

But he shook his head and took a step back. “That was the first time we’ve gone away together and it was partially spent on business and the rest playing tourist.”

The smirk she gave him told him she knew what he was referring to.

“We had a decent hotel room and all we did was sleep in it.”

This time she laughed softly. “That’s really what they’re for.”

Then he took one of her hands in his and slowly began to lead her to their bedroom. “True. And it may have been a long time since I spent a night in one, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know that they can be used for much more than a good night’s sleep.”

Slowly, she licked her lips and gave him a sassy look. “So you’re saying we should have put that room to better use.”

Nodding as they made their way through the bedroom door, he said, “Exactly.”

But as he pulled her toward the bed, Josiah saw her hesitation and instantly stopped. The sigh of frustration couldn’t be helped.

“You have a follow-up appointment with your doctor tomorrow,” she said, concern lacing her tone. “I don’t want to do anything that will hinder your healing, Josiah.”

“We’ll be careful,” he said earnestly, slowly pulling the sling off. “I promise.”

Melanie did not look convinced.

“You know you’re going to be mad at yourself if anything keeps you from going back to work, right?” When she looked at him, he gave no indication that he agreed with her. With an eye roll that was more comical than anything, she looked at him. “I refuse to be held responsible for any setbacks you have.”

Carefully, he pulled his shirt over his head. It took a bit of an effort not to grimace. The wounds were healing but having a bullet go right through you meant there were two spots trying to heal and movement of any kind wasn’t particularly comfortable. They were both covered in bandages but he knew they were healing fine.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, sitting down on the bed. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll let you do all the work.”

Her laughter was music to his ears. Taking a step toward him, Josiah thought he almost had her convinced.

“I’m serious,” he went on. “I promise to lie back and rest my shoulder and be a good boy.”

The sexy grin told him he’d won.

“Well…as long as you behave,” she said softly, kicking her shoes off.

The eager nod he gave her might have felt a little like begging, but he didn’t care. It had been a week since they’d last made love and he missed it—missed the intimacy and just being able to touch her and love her like he wanted to.

Moving closer, Melanie peeled her shirt off and shimmied out of her jeans and Josiah actually felt himself break out in a sweat. How was it possible that after all their time together she still had the ability to turn him inside out like this?