Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,180

later."

She handed him one of the glasses. "To a most propitious meeting," she added.

He lightly tapped the edge against hers. "Indeed. One that almost did not occur." He took a sip of his wine. "I thought you had decided against it, actually."

"Did you? Because I was late?"

He nodded.

She felt a twinge of guilt. After all, she was not the one he was supposed to meet. But she brushed it aside, remembering the flighty young woman who had left with another man—making this wonderful one believe he had nearly been cast aside.

"It was an unavoidable delay," she said, "but I shall make it up to you." She sat forward slightly, her attention on his lapel. "Oh, dear. It appears as though one of those mistletoe berries is about to fall off."

He looked down at the cluster of mistletoe he had stuffed in his pocket before setting off for their current location. He plucked the errant berry. "Shall I kiss you, or will you kiss me?"

She pretended to ponder for a moment. She tilted her head, and glanced up at the ceiling. "Hmmm." She took a sip of wine and thought about it some more.

Desmond chuckled. "This poor berry will be shriveled until it resembles a currant before you decide."

"I did not want to rush through such an important decision," she said.

"If you contemplate each berry in the same fashion, it will be next Christmastide and we will still be working on this one bunch of mistletoe."

She could not hold back her laugh. She noticed how his eyes lit up at the sound. She suspected he intentionally made her laugh as often as possible, not just for his own enjoyment, but to bring her pleasure as well.

Lorelei touched his chin, holding him as she placed her mouth on his. It was a gentle kiss, longer than the first one they had shared, giving them the chance to explore, to learn what each of them needed in a kiss.

Neither of them were in any hurry to end it. It slowly grew more passionate, building to an intensity that nearly made Lorelei forget where she was.

She halted, leaning her forehead against his lips. He dotted kisses against her skin, which she knew was heated from the intimate contact with him. She did not move away, though.

"Now I can truly appreciate your foresight in hoarding the wine." She felt his smile against her skin, which was quickly followed by a gentle kiss. She tipped her head back. "You must forfeit a mistletoe berry for that kiss."

His eyes twinkled as he reached toward his pocket. "It is only fair." He removed another berry. "I just realized that each time I remove a berry, I still have it in hand. Does that entitle us to twice the kisses?"

"I had not considered that point." She laughed once more, delighted by her mystery man, and thrilled to have even more kisses to anticipate. "Now I cannot think of anything else."

"If that is the case, we might want to fortify ourselves with some wine." He handed her the glass she had set aside earlier, and she took a grateful sip.

The wine was a perfect accompaniment to the numerous kisses. Lorelei lost count of how many they shared. She only knew each one was more intoxicating than the wine, and it was not long before she was completely light-headed.

Desmond held out one last berry, clearly intending to redeem it for a kiss.

"It seems I must bid you farewell," she said. "Once all the berries are gone, remember?"

"Surely we can see each other again," he protested.

"Perhaps." She gave him one last kiss, lingering as long as possible. She finally ended the kiss, enjoying his little moan of protest, and his perplexed expression. "Or perhaps it would be best to say farewell now, before there is a chance of things turning sour."

"I propose we at least finish this bunch of mistletoe." He extracted a strand from another pocket.

"Where did that come from?"

His eyes twinkled with mischief. Instead of answering her question, he said, "It would be a shame for these berries to go to waste. After all, it is their destiny to bring potential lovers together."

Her heart began to beat a little faster at the thought of them as lovers. She knew full well she was not suited for a longer relationship. Her marriage had proved that. But surely a shorter liaison was not out of the question.

"How long do you think the berries will last?" Lorelei bit back a laugh as she