Alexis nodded, realizing that Layton was right. Erik wasn’t an ogre and, generally speaking, he was pretty levelheaded. Not to mention, Erik had never truly been able to control anything Alexis did. Whatever Alexis put in her head she usually went after, no matter the consequences.
“I’m going to be unavailable a lot of times because of my school schedule,” she warned, but she was already smiling because, oddly, it felt right. “I might be too tired for all this hanky-panky we’ve been doing all weekend. It won’t always be like this.”
“Thank God for that,” he said. “I’m not sure I could live up to the hype,” he teased and she laughed.
“You’re a freaking stallion, who are you trying to fool?”
She snuggled up to him, loving how perfectly they fit together, whether they were banging the pictures off the walls or just watching movies. That felt like a sign—that the universe was trying to tell her something and she was trying like hell to listen this time around.
“I live at the station four days out of the week and I’m often on call, which means I could leave at a moment’s notice, right in the middle of anything.”
“I know. I’m used to it with Erik. Actually, I think that works out just right because I can’t stand spending too much time with one person for an extended period. So, right about the time I’m starting to get sick of you will be the time you have to leave for your shift.”
He laughed. “Sounds about right.”
Wow. Were they really thinking of being together? She thought of Riker and how he’d burned her so badly, and now, everything she’d gone through with him seemed like a faint memory. There was one thing she had to say, though, before they embarked on anything resembling sharing a toothbrush holder.
Alexis rose up to meet Layton’s gaze with all seriousness. “Do not abuse my trust. Whatever you do...just stay true. Can you do that?”
“I can do that,” he agreed solemnly, sealing the promise with a kiss. “Now I just have one thing to ask, too.”
She nodded. It was only fair. “Go ahead.”
“I want to see you in a naughty-nurse costume at least once.”
Alexis squealed and slapped him playfully. “Damn you, Layton, I was being serious.”
“So was I,” he quipped with a devilish grin, and she fell just a little harder for the man she never saw coming.
“Are you going to be a bad patient?” she asked coyly and he nodded vigorously. “Will I have to punish you?”
“Yes and yes.”
She liked the idea of a power exchange. She’d never tried it, but damn if it didn’t make her skin tingle at the fantasy.
“Are you game?” he asked, and she realized he was asking about more than just a kinky sex game—he was asking about it all.
Sobering, Alexis slowly nodded, her heartbeat fluttering at the implications of what felt like a momentous change in her life with that single affirmative nod.
Layton’s arms tightened around her and she felt as if she’d come home after a long journey.
“Me, too,” he said, sealing the deal.
And then just as he was about to kiss her, the lights dimmed and went out. She laughed. “Well, there goes the power. Now what?”
“Can’t watch movies, can’t bake...that leaves one thing,” Layton said with mock resignation as he helped her from the sofa.
“Which is?” she asked playfully.
“This.”
And then he shocked her by throwing her over his shoulder as if he was saving her from a burning building, and she squealed with laughter as he carried her straight to the bedroom.
He kicked the door shut with his foot and then gently tossed her to the bed and started to strip.
“Nothing to do but each other?” she supplied, enjoying the show as Layton got gloriously naked. Man, that body! She could swoon every time.
“You read my mind, babe.” He grinned as he came toward her.
And then she was in Layton’s arms, which, as it turned out, was the best place she’d ever been—or ever wanted to be.
The last thought zinging through her mind before she lost all sense of reasonable thought was...Riker who?
And that was the best feeling of all.
Layton was the best unexpected holiday gift of all time.
Merry Christmas to me! Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!
Now, where to find a naughty-nurse costume...someone was going to get a spanking!
* * * * *
WHERE THERE’S SMOKE