Author's Note:
I apologize for the length of time between this chapter and the last, plus the title is different than what I wanted, but the original title idea wouldn't fit. Life has a way of continuing when you don't want it to interfere with writing, but it does, as it did with mine. For those new to the Dazzled series; December's life followed the path of George Straight's song,
She Let Herself Go
. Please enjoy this final chapter and leave a comment if you wish; as is my policy, only comments done respectfully stay. Even negative comments can be done with class. ~ Thanks ~ Red.
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December's feet crunched down the snow that lay in small drifts along the sidewalk. She wondered what she'd been thinking when she accepted the invitation to the little cottage in the woods. The lake was as frozen as she felt and she sighed as she imagined shoveling snow from the walkway. "Whoever you are," she muttered, "I hope your worth it."
She took the key, that had come with the letter and the plane ticket, and slid it into the lock on the door. Her hand gripped the brass knob and she pushed her way over the threshold. The smell of coffee filled her senses and she stopped short of closing the door all the way. Her gaze focused on a man standing inside a small kitchen, his back toward her as he stared out the window that faced the east side of the woods.
"I was hoping you'd come," the man's voice broke the silence. He turned and December swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Ridge?" she whispered, dropping the small suitcase she'd packed. "How? When? Why?" The questions rolled off her lips as she watched him approach.
"I kept waiting for you to take another singles cruise, but you never did. I went on more cruises in the last two years than I care to count, not to mention you weren't on any of them. It wasn't until I was at my college reunion that I was able to pinpoint your location."
December's face showed her confusion and Ridge continued. "Bill, remember him?"
She nodded her head, blushing as she recalled the events that had transpired on her table. She chewed her lower lip and breathed in the cologne Ridge had put on that morning. "You two know each other?" she whispered.
"Yeah; small world. Isn't it."
Again she nodded her head wanting him to continue, but also wanting to simply fall into his arms. She'd thought often of Ridge, wanting to call him, write him, find someway to contact him. She and Bill had ended their brief fling when she told him she wasn't comfortable playing a submissive slave twenty-four hours a day. She liked the spice that was added to her sex life, but she wasn't willing to give up everything and that was what he'd wanted. In the end she'd learned a lot about herself. Every fantasy she'd had since then as well as many before had always had Ridge's chiseled features playing across her mind.
"So," Ridge's voice brought her back to the present, "Bill starts rattling off about the ladies he's been training and one name. . .a very unique name fell out of his mouth. I won't tell you how much I wanted to hug him and punch him at the same time. One for giving me the information I needed to find you, but the other for discussing his time with you in a public setting."
"I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. I sent the letter and the ticket after confessing to Bill how desperately in love with you I was. . .am."
His fingers reached out to brush across her cool cheek. "December, when we left each other I had no intention of looking for you. I figured we'd meet again on a cruise, have some wild nights and then depart, but the first week I was home you were on my mind all the time. The first month I thought I was going nuts. You were everywhere. In my head, my fantasies; damn woman, I was even talking to you and asking your opinion on things."
"Ridge. . .I have thought of you often too, but I dated others and . . ."
"I did too. I'm not asking you to love me back. I just needed to see you. I needed to get you out of my system or at least find out if there was something between us that we hadn't yet explored." He pushed a few strands of her hair back behind her ear and cupped the back of her head. "December, you don't have to confess your undying devotion." His lips brushed against hers and he felt them part.
"There's something there," she whispered and let her tongue slip across his mouth. "I won't deny my attraction for you, or the fact that you've played in my mind for a long time now." Her fingers slid up his shirt, and she toyed with the collar of the flannel cloth, before sliding her fingers in his dark curls.