Page 132 of Christmas Magic

Glancing over his shoulder, he grinned. “I’m a mind reader.” He winked. “Not really. Just kidding.”

Oh, but she’d missed his handsome grins and cheeky winks. An ache settled low in her belly. “I’ll go fix us some eggnog.”

“Good idea.”

“Hungry,” Tim mewled and hobbled toward the kitchen.

“I’m with the limping gray tornado.” Galahad followed the kitten.

“Come on, Girls,” Molly said. “I might as well get all of you cats a snack.”

After feeding the felines and pouring two glasses of eggnog with brandy, Molly returned to the living room. Lucian, sitting back on his heels by the hearth, watched the growing flames. He’d removed the jacket of his costume as well as the shirt he’d worn underneath, and the fire glow skimmed his bare chest. As her gaze traveled over his torso’s rippling muscles and enticing shadows, she longed to put her hands to his skin, to lose herself in the magic of touching and loving him.

He rose then and crossed to her.

She handed him a drink.

“Thanks.”

“Cheers.” She clinked her glass with his.

Lucian moved aside the pillow and blanket then sat on the sofa and pulled her down next to him. As his fingers entwined with hers, a hot-cold shiver ran through her. Holding his gaze, she wondered how to begin to talk about the past few days.

The sound of tiny paws intruded. Tim limped over and sat by her feet. “What did I miss?”

“Lucian and I haven’t had a chance to talk yet,” Molly said. “Although, we do need to discuss you.”

“Oh.” The kitten’s eyes were enormous. “Me?”

Molly looked at Lucian. “We haven’t had a chance to—”

“Of course, we’re keeping Tim.”

She smiled. “I hoped you’d agree.”

“Yay!” Tim jumped up. “Yayyayyay!”

Lucian sipped his drink. “Tim is magic, after all. He fits in perfectly with the rest of our little family.” He set down his glass on the coffee table. “And that brings me to….”

Her pulse fluttered.

“You,” Lucian finished.

She took a long sip of eggnog and set her glass beside his. “Lucian—”

“Please. Let me go first.” When she nodded, he took both of her hands in his. “I know I upset you over the past couple of days. I’m sorry for every way that I hurt you. You are everything to me, Molly. I swear, I don’t want to lose you. What we have together: It’s our own kind of magic.”

A sob rose in her throat.

Anguish etched his features. “Are you going to…tell me it’s over? We’re done?”

“No,” she whispered. “Just the opposite.”

“Good, because I want to marry you next spring, Molly. I want to confirm our reception at the winery and finalize our wedding plans. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you just how perfect we are together.”

She pressed her lips to his. His mouth molded to hers, and with a sigh, she leaned into him. “I love you, Lucian.”

“I love you.” He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them. His gaze became a hungry smolder. “May I show you that I love you, in my rather medieval way?”

“Hmm. What way is that?”

Before she’d even finished speaking, he’d scooped her up in his arms and tossed her face down over his shoulder. Laughing, she dug her fingers into his lower rib cage, tickling him. “Lucian!”

He smacked her bottom. “Stop that.”

“Ow.”

“That didn’t hurt.”

“How do you know? You’re not a mind reader, remember?”

He chuckled and, while she kissed his lower back, carried her toward their bedroom.

“Hey, cats, don’t knock over our eggnog,” he called.

“Don’t worry. Eggnog’s safe,” Galahad meowed. “We’ll knock over the Christmas tree instead.”