A Winter Sabbatical (Books We Love holiday romance) Read Online Free

warm, comforting, inviting. Why did
she feel so damned guilty when she felt this way?
    She looked down at their hands. In some
ways it was as though his was burning her skin. Travis quickly pulled it away,
apparently aware of what his touch was doing to her. But he had no idea. He
couldn’t have.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was a million
miles away.”
    She looked around the room as Travis
continued to eat. She felt comfortable in this room with its tastefully
decorated period furniture. An antique sideboard stood not far from the
mahogany table where they now sat; a beautiful jug and bowl taking pride of
place on its top.
    The wooden love seat had an oblong coffee
table nearby, and a big fluffy white rug that lay in front of the open fire.
    A big fluffy rug where she could easily see herself curling up with
Travis by her side.
    Damn it! Why do her thoughts keep wandering where they have no right to go?
    Marissa jumped up from the table. “I’ll
rinse off the plates,” she said, heading for the sink.
    Travis caught her by the wrist. His touch
was gentle but firm, and warmth spread throughout her
entire body.
    “Leave those, I’ll fix them later. Let’s
relax a little. You grab the wine and glasses, and I’ll light the fire.”
    This
was not good, she decided, slowly placing the dirty plates on the table. What if— .? No, she wouldn’t go there!
    Travis was already in the lounge room and
crouched down at the hearth, Jonah right beside him on the rug.
    As he leaned forward into the cavity of the
fireplace his muscles contracted under his shirt. Until now, she hadn’t noticed
the width of his shoulders. Hadn’t noticed his muscles. Apparently hadn’t noticed much at all.
    As she watched him stacking wood in the
grate, getting it just so, she could almost feel his strength. She drew in a
breath.
    Why
did this man, this Travis Johnston affect her so much?
    Jonah rubbed himself against Travis, trying
to get attention as Travis ran his fingers roughly through his hair, then
curled up satisfied with the warmth from the burning logs.
    The seemingly insignificant action touched
Marissa somewhere deep inside. She wanted to touch him, to run her fingers through his hair.
    He grinned at her, almost as though he read
her thoughts. He had a beautiful smile; it warmed her, and made her feel
wanted. He made her feel wanted, made
her feel safe, protected.
    Hell, he made her feel, period.
    “Come in front of the fire. Get some of
this warmth.”
    “I don’t think Jonah will be too pleased if
I pushhim off his rug,”
Marissa said, eyeing the sleeping cat.
    “Come on, sit down with me,” Travis said,
patting the rug beside him. “Okay Jonah, shove off! You can have the sofa
tonight.”
    “Reeeeeeooooooooow!” Jonah protested as he was pushed off the rug.
      “Poor Jonah,” Marissa said, walking toward
Jonah and the rug.
    As she slid down toward the rug, Marissa
still wasn’t convinced she should do this. It was inviting trouble, and right
now she didn’t need her life to be more complicated than it already was.
    But the flames from the fire were inviting,
comforting, and she lapped up the heat. They made her feel sleepy, and she lay
down.
    Travis lay beside her, and his nearness
sent shivers down her spine. The warmth of the fire was nothing compared to his
body heat.
    What
was she doing? Surely she shouldn’t be here, so close to Travis, feeling so
darned happy?
    The memory of Jeremy invaded her mind
again, and she tried to force it away.
    She felt Travis move beside her, his
fingers playing down her arm.
    “Okay?” he asked, worry etched on his face.
    “Yeah, sure. Just thinking.” And she was. She was
thinking about the way his touch ignited a fire inside her, and the way her
whole body reacted to his very being. She had an inbuilt need for his presence
that she couldn’t fathom.
    She didn’t want this, and sure as heck
didn’t need it right now.
    But it was nice, real nice.
    She snuggled closer,