Mistletoe Magic. Кэрол Мортимер

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СКАЧАТЬ throaty groan as that bite turned to a sensuous nibbling that raised her temperature even higher.

      Finally those lips returned to hers, easily transmitting Gideon’s passion and desire, and Molly returned those emotions as she pressed closer against him.

      ‘Hmm-hmm,’ interrupted a softly teasing voice. ‘When you have quite finished seducing my little sister, Gideon…’ Sam drawled as the two of them sprang abruptly apart, ‘Diana has received a call on her mobile and won’t be able to join us in going to church, after all; I thought the two of you might want to come and say your goodbyes,’ he told them pointedly.

      For a few moments Molly had trouble remembering who Diana was, and from the frown on Gideon’s face he wasn’t faring much better.

      Although he recovered more quickly than she did, straightening purposefully before nodding abruptly. ‘I’ll go through now,’ he bit out tersely, giving a brief, dismissive nod that included both Molly and Sam before striding from the room.

      Molly let out a shaky breath, momentarily closing her eyes, sure she must have imagined what had passed between herself and Gideon just now. Because it hadn’t been anger. And it hadn’t been disgust. To her, at least, it had felt like something else entirely.

      She needed time to think, time to analyse what she thought had happened—

      Sam was eyeing her mockingly when she opened her eyes, his smile one of teasing affection. ‘Anything I should know about, little sister?’ he asked softly.

      Not until she had worked out for herself what just now had been all about. If she ever did.

      And Sam certainly didn’t need to know that one of his guests believed he was having an affair with another woman, Molly recalled frowningly, the rosy haze that had briefly surrounded her disappearing completely at this recollection.

      No matter how it might have felt to her at the time, Gideon had kissed her initially because of the accusations she had made concerning his own feelings towards Crys. And she mustn’t forget that fact.

      ‘Not a thing,’ she assured Sam lightly, moving forward to link her arm with his. ‘Let’s go and say good night to Diana.’

      ‘Fine with me.’ Her stepbrother nodded. ‘But don’t think you can avoid answering me forever,’ he warned teasingly. ‘Something is definitely going on between you and Gideon,’ he stated with certainty.

      ‘Something’ definitely was—she just had no idea what.

      Neither did she have any clearer an idea once she was alone in the house with only Peter a couple of hours later, having insisted on being the one who stayed behind with the baby while the others all went to the late church service.

      ‘You’re my idea of the ideal male companion,’ she told the baby ruefully as he slept in the cot in his nursery. ‘Totally uncomplicated.’ She smiled. ‘You cry when you’re hungry, and sleep when you aren’t.’

      Peter gave a brief smile in his sleep, as if in sympathy with her, although Crys had assured Molly that those smiles were of the windy type.

      ‘What am I going to do, hmm?’ she mused as she stood up and moved to the window, staring out at the starlit sky much as Gideon had done earlier this evening in the kitchen.

      Gideon.

      Every thought, everything she said, all seemed to come back to Gideon just recently. Which wasn’t surprising, considering the circumstances, but she could do with a little respite now and again. Like ten years or so.

      ‘He kisses me, Peter,’ she continued slowly, ‘and yet I’m not even sure that he likes me. If you had asked me yesterday I would have been absolutely sure that he didn’t!’ She grimaced.

      Earlier today she had been sure of the same thing. And yet this evening…

      There had been none of his earlier contempt in the way he had kissed her this evening, none of the anger, either. Just… Just what?

      She really didn’t know.

      She did know that she was becoming far too attracted to him. Possibly more than attracted.

      What did that mean?

      She couldn’t be falling in love with Gideon! Could she…?

      Molly gave a pained groan as she realised that she already had, that every word Gideon said, every gesture he made, affected her more deeply than any other man she had known.

      Great!

      Another Molly blunder. She had fallen in love with the one man guaranteed to hate her.

      She—

      She frowned slightly as she saw car headlights at the top of the driveway, and glanced down at her watch. The others couldn’t be coming back from church yet; it was only just after midnight, and the service hadn’t started until eleven-thirty.

      But there were no other houses down this stretch of road, so the car had to be coming here. Unless it was some late-night revellers who had lost their way?

      Even as she thought this she saw the car turn in the driveway and disappear back down the road.

      ‘Too much Christmas spirit,’ she told Peter, though the baby was sleeping on unconcernedly, she discovered as she glanced back into his cot. Great; she was talking to herself now.

      She had never realised how creepy it was being alone here late at night. She had always had Sam here in the past, and latterly Crys and Sam. But it definitely wasn’t a place she would want to spend too much time in alone. She wondered how Sam had stood it all those years before he and Crys were married.

      ‘I know he had you.’ She grimaced apologetically at Merlin as he lifted his huge head to look at her, almost as if he had guessed her thoughts. ‘But it’s still a little creepy. Come on,’ she prompted the dog, deciding it was probably best if she kept herself busy. ‘Let’s go down and prepare mulled wine and mince pies for the returning carollers.’

      Nevertheless, she pulled down all the blinds at the kitchen windows before preparing the wine and putting the mince pies in the warming oven. ‘Just in case,’ she told Merlin ruefully.

      To say she was more than a little relieved when she heard the crunch of gravel outside to announce the return of Gideon’s Jaguar—the car the others had elected to go to church in—would be putting it mildly. Every creak of a tree branch outside, the rustle of fallen leaves on the driveway, even the whoosh of the central heating as it went into action, had seemed intensified in the stillness of the house, making her slightly jumpy.

      ‘Oh, wonderful!’ Crys enthused as she came in the kitchen door first and smelt the wine and mince pies, her cheeks rosy from the chill night air, her eyes bright with happiness. ‘Has Peter been okay?’ she added anxiously.

      ‘Of course,’ Molly reassured her, smiling at Sam and David as they came into the kitchen, but quickly averting her gaze before Gideon entered, obviously having lingered to lock up the car. ‘Go up and check on him if you want to,’ she told Crys affectionately, turning to pour mulled wine for them all as her friend hurried off up the stairs to check on the baby.

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