Kissing Kris Kringle Read Online Free Page B

him. Joy peered out from behind her.
    “I don’t know about you,” he said, his voice suddenly husky. “But after today, I’m starving. I brought Chinese.”
    He held the bag like a peace offering. Holly stared at it and then her gaze shifted to his face. She studied him for a long, breathless second and he wished he could see her eyes. He wished he knew what she was thinking.
    At last she opened the door and let him in. As Kris crossed the threshold, all he could think of was that he never wanted to leave—unless he could take both of them home with him. The ferocity of the feeling stole his breath.
    “How’d you get Santa’s puppy,” Joy asked suspiciously. Obviously she hadn’t realized that it was Kris who’d been wearing the Santa suit.
    “He asked me to watch the little guy while he took care of some things. He’s a busy guy, you know.”
    Joy accepted this answer with a knowing nod. While she delighted in playing with the puppy, Kris followed Holly into the tiny kitchen. Her house was more a bungalow, run down and, from the looks of it, falling apart. He couldn’t help noting the many small repairs that she obviously didn’t have the time or the skill to attend to. The place bordered on ramshackle, and yet Holly’s touch was everywhere—in the festive Christmas decorations that brightened every nook and cranny, to the scent of cookies that hung in the air.
    “What are you doing here, Kris?” she asked, looking nervous as she took plates down from the cupboard.
    “Bearing tidings of goodwill?” he offered.
    She laughed and something in his chest tightened at the play of humor on her beautiful face. He took a step closer, unable to help himself.
    “You’ve never been the spirit of Christmas before,” she said, her back to him as she pulled little white cartons from the paper bag he’d brought. “You’ll have to forgive me for being skeptical of it now.”
    “Fair enough,” he answered. “I guess seeing you again today made me think I’d better change my game.”
    She turned at that, frowning. “Why?”
    “Come on, Holly. You and I…”
    She raised her brows. “You and I, what?”
    He shrugged and took another step closer, effectively boxing her into the elbow of the counter. “When I’m standing close to you,” he said softly, taking in the scent of her, the way her blue eyes widened, the lush lips that he wanted to capture with his own. “Everything inside me feels a little scrambled. Like you’re electric and I’m about to get shocked.”
    He braced both hands on either side of her and pressed closer still. “Tell me I’m the only one who feels it, and I’ll leave,” he whispered, praying she wouldn’t say those words.
    For a moment, the silence hung between them. Charged. Sparking with everything he’d said…everything he wanted to say but couldn’t.
    And then he took matters into his own hands and he did what he’d wanted to do since he’d seen her beside his chair. Kris cupped her beautiful face and kissed her. Her lips were soft and silken, her mouth a sensuous feast. She made a small gasping sound and Kris took advantage of her parted lips to deepen the kiss. His tongue slid into the sweet hollow of her mouth and danced against hers. The contact seemed to release whatever bonds had held her back and she melted against him, pressing every soft, rounded curve into the hard planes of his body. He made a sound of such supreme satisfaction that it surprised him.
    He’d never been without a woman if he wanted one. But he’d never wanted a woman as much as he did Holly McClaussen.
    Her small hands pressed to his chest and then inched up around his neck as his trailed over her throat to her fragile collarbones. Needing more, wanting every sexy curve pressed against him, Kris couldn’t help himself. Gently he gripped that fine, round ass and pulled her tight. His hard length pressed into her softness and he felt like he’d been set on fire.
    It took more control then