He turned back the covers and brought her against him. Shivery heat coursed through her. She reached out and caressed him, discovering the shape and texture and warmth she had only imagined before. He returned the caresses with exquisite tenderness, wringing wonder and emotion from her as her lips formed a wordless cry of startled joy. She couldn’t believe how deeply she felt each intimate stroke of his hands, his mouth, how profound it seemed with him. Her heart was engaged, hopelessly tangled, and it made all the difference. When their bodies joined, she clasped him tighter, wishing for a way to bring him closer still. And then she found it, whispering love words into his ear while ecstasy lifted her up, transported her and held her high and light in some exalted place she thought she would never have reached. When after long blissful moments she returned to herself, Elaine knew she was a different person.

She felt the change deep in her bones. After this night, she knew, nothing would ever be the same.

Chapter Fifteen

chapter fifteen

The smell of freshly brewed coffee teased Tony awake by small degrees of awareness. Elaine. The thought came to him like the last precious shred of an almost forgotten dream, and for a second he thought maybe he had dreamed her. But no. She’d been with him. Her presence was still there, a faint warmth in the hollow in the bed next to him where she had slept in his arms all night. The smell of her hair lingered on his pillow.

And in his heart lived the feeling that no morning in the history of the world could ever be as good as this one.

Elaine St. James. Finding her again was a small miracle, like coming across a diamond glittering in the snow.

She stood in the kitchen, seemingly mesmerized by the fragrant drip of the coffeemaker. She wore a pair of his socks and an ancient hockey practice jersey. Her makeup was gone and her hair was a mess. She looked like a goddess.

“Merry Christmas,” he said, coming up behind her. He slipped his hands around her waist and kissed the side of her neck.

“It is,” she said softly, pressing herself back against him. “I was going to find some Christmas carols on the radio.”

He reached across the counter and clicked it on, then fiddled with the dial. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” drifted through the room.

“Good idea,” he said, turning her in his arms and pulling her back toward the bedroom, where the bed was still warm and inviting. His heart soared, because he knew exactly what he was going to do—in the next few moments, and for the rest of his life. He had never been more sure of anything.

“I was trying to make coffee,” she protested.

“That thing takes forever.”