I came up behind her slowly, memorizing everything about her, as if the thousands of memories I already had wouldn’t be enough. She tilted her head, and I took advantage, sweeping the soft strands away from the delicate arch of her neck. She leaned further, giving me better access, and I set my lips to her skin.

Heaven. She tasted like heaven, and home, and just…December. Her breath caught as I lightly sucked the small patch of skin just under her jaw. That sound was my undoing, like always, and I pulled her back against me. All weekend in this hotel room had never looked so good. No friends. No distractions. Just us.

She moaned when I set my teeth lightly to the junction of her neck and shoulder, and my body immediately responded.

“You have to stop that,” she whispered, her hands digging into the front of my thighs.

“Why?” I asked, running my tongue along the shell of her ear.

“Because it’s almost two o’clock and we have plans.” Her voice said she regretted making them.

“What if my plans only involve you naked against this window?” I asked, spinning her in my arms.

Her eyes dropped to my lips, and hers parted. Gotcha. I wrapped my arm around her lower back and stepped forward, putting her back against the glass. “Josh,” she whispered, more a plea than anything.

“December,” I answered, loving the feel of her name on my lips. Then I kissed her. She opened for me, and our mouths fused together, a perfect melding of tongues and teeth. I used the hand not pinned between her and the window to tangle through her hair and tilt her head so I could get a better angle.

The only con about driving Ember crazy was that she took me along for the ride. It was impossible to kiss her without losing myself in the process, giving myself over to every arch of her back, every gasp from her lips.

“Ugh!” She ripped her mouth from mine. “As much as I would like nothing more than to climb you like a tree, we have to go, or we’ll be late.”

“I don’t care. There’s nothing outside this room that could possibly interest me more than getting you out of your clothes.” It had been days since I’d been able to get my hands on her, and I was about to spontaneously combust if I didn’t remedy that.

“That’s only because you don’t know what we’re doing.” Her eyebrow arched, and she had that look—the one that said she was getting her way and there was nothing I could do about it.

I took a steadying breath and begged my dick to soften. She’d gone to a hell of a lot of trouble to plan this weekend, so I’d have to keep my horny self in check for a few more hours. “I do get you naked at some point today, right?” I asked.

“Oh, most definitely,” she promised, and that little sweep of her tongue across her lips almost broke me and her damn plans.

I high-fived myself for self-control and stepped away from her. “Then lead the way.”

The smile she gifted me with was well worth it.

Ten minutes later, we parked in front of Louisville Arena. I killed the ignition and took note of the nearly empty parking lot. What the hell were we doing?

“We’re here?” I said in a light tone that I hoped didn’t show my confusion.

“Yep!” she said with a giddy smile. “You ready for some hockey?”

Hopefully she didn’t think today was Sunday, because…well, God, I didn’t want her feelings hurt. “Babe, you know it’s Saturday, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you know the Bobcats aren’t playing today, right?” I internally cringed, waiting for her to realize we were a day off.

“I know,” she said with a slow nod. “They play the Rangers tomorrow. I was honestly hoping for the Avs, but Colorado’s not on the schedule until next month…”

“And I’ll be gone,” I finished for her.

“You’ll be gone,” she agreed with a watery smile before opening the door and jumping down from the Jeep. I met her at the back, where she was opening the hatch. “Besides”—she heaved my giant bag of gear to the ground—“I never said you were here to watch.”

What? “I don’t understand.”

She surged up on her toes, meeting my mouth in a sweet kiss. “You don’t have to. You just have to take your gear inside, and don’t forget your stick!”

She headed toward the arena, waving me on as she walked away. More than a little baffled, I searched the back of the Jeep for my stick, then slipped it into the side straps of my rolling bag. Did she realize that there wasn’t exactly an open skate time here? Regardless, I followed her into the arena, hauling my bag behind me.

I crossed the threshold and found her talking to a security guard in low tones. He glanced over her shoulder, furrowing his giant silver eyebrows, and nodded.

“Lieutenant Walker,” he said, putting out his hand. “Thank you for your service.”

I shook it. “Thank you very much.” My eyes flickered between his smile and Ember’s Christmas-morning face. God, she was lit up like the tree, except she’d always been my present.

“I’m Earl Singer,” the guard said. “If you’ll follow me?” He turned and walked off, radioing something in his hand-held.

“You ready?” she asked.

“For what?”

She tugged her lower lip between her teeth with a grin and shrugged, then turned around and walked down the promenade, following the guard. Where you lead, I follow.