Once Upon a Christmas Kiss by Manda Collins

Author:Manda Collins [Collins, Manda]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2014-10-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Lucien had difficulty shaking the sense of rage he’d felt that morning on Winnie’s behalf. He’d never struck a woman, and if Mrs. Green were a man, she’d have been nursing a sore jaw by now.

The Hursts and their guests had left the warmth of the fire once more today, this time to trek into the wooded bit of parkland surrounding Sanditon House in search of greenery with which to decorate for the holiday. To add a bit of interest to the activity, before they set out, Hurst had divided them into two groups who would compete against one another to see who could bring in the most holly, ivy, evergreens, and mistletoe. Within a minute, wagers had been placed and rivalries had been formed.

Lucien and Winnie had struck out on their own a little and were working on separate sections of the same tree.

As he used his pocketknife of cut branches from a young fir, he reflected on his response that morning. There was something primitive about his need to protect Winnie. A new experience for him, but not unwelcome. It merely solidified his confidence that what he felt for her was just as deep as he’d first supposed. Some men might balk at the knowledge of such an attachment, but for some time now he’d felt a growing dissatisfaction with his solitary life. Now he suspected it had been meeting Winnie that prompted his restlessness. His betrothal to the lady gave him license to test the limits of his newfound possessiveness.

It merely remained to be seen whether so independent a lady as Winnie would tolerate such high-handed behavior. She’d certainly seemed to appreciate it that morning, he thought with a certain smugness.

“What are you grinning about?” she asked as she gathered pinecones from the snowy ground. “You look like the cat who got the cream.”

“Who says I need a reason besides being in the company of a lovely lady with the Christmas holiday upon us?” he asked mildly, realizing that he did enjoy that sensation very much.

“I don’t suppose you do,” she conceded. “Though our team might fare better in the competition if you spent more time cutting and less time flirting with me.”

In answer, he shook down a bit of snow from the branch he was cutting.

“You rascal! You did that on purpose.” Winnie untied her hat to shake the snow off.

“An accident, my dear,” he said unrepentant, dropping the branch and then himself to the ground beside her.

“Hmph, a likely story,” she teased, brushing snow from where it also dotted her skirt.

Lucien added his branch to the large basket where they had already amassed a respectable number of pinecones and branches. Then, after glancing around them to ensure no one else was about, he took Winnie, who was still hatless, by the arms and pressed her against the tree trunk.

Her nose was pink from the cold, her blond hair was desperately attempting to escape its pins thanks to the brisk wind, and he’d never thought her more beautiful.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.