Defying the Odds by Kele Moon

there a second more than necessary. “The neighbors were throwing ’ em away, and I asked if I could have ’ em . They had boxes and boxes; most just needed a few replacement bulbs.”
     
    “Festive.” Clay followed after Melody and handed her keys back. “When’d you find time to put ’ em up?”
     
    “Here and there. I needed something to spruce the place up.” Melody unlocked the door and held it open for Clay. “It’s still sorta empty. I just got what it came with.”
     
    Clay stomped his feet on the mat, looking near frozen from the drive. He shivered as he walked in, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Dang, it’s still cold.”
     
    “I keep the heat low when I’m gone to save money.” Melody flipped on the lights and then walked over to the heater and turned it up. “There ain’t much space to heat. I usually take a shower while it’s warming up.”
     
    “Okay.” Clay turned from his sweeping gaze of her living room to give Melody a hot look. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
     
    Melody considered him for one long moment. Normally she would pull away, but damn it, this was her wish and her night and she didn’t hesitate. “Then okay. Let’s take a shower while the heat kicks in.”
     
    She walked into the bedroom and flipped on the switch blindly, then worked on the zipper of her jacket. Despite the longing, she was anxious. It felt wrong to seize the moment like this. She didn’t know if she’d be this open to letting a man love her tomorrow, but she sure needed it tonight, nerves or not.
     
    Her hands shook in a way that had nothing to do with the cold as she pulled down the zipper to her jacket, feeling exposed. “Clay—”
     
    He stepped into her personal space before she could complain, cupping a hand at the back of her neck and kissing her. She was nervous, but she couldn’t help but part to him, warmth dancing over her skin as his tongue pushed past her lips. She clutched at his arms, digging her fingers into the material of his jacket.
     
    She stood on her toes to kiss him more fully, because he was one seriously tall man. Six-five, two hundred sixty pounds of muscles made her bedroom look decidedly smaller when Clay was filling up the space. For the first time since she’d moved in, the house felt comforting to be in, and she clung to the feeling, needing it desperately. She ached and yearned and grasped frantically for more of that warm, safe feeling that always blossomed whenever Clay was near.
     
    Then Clay moaned, suddenly pushing away from her with a scowl. “I forgot to stop by the drugstore.”
     
    “That’s okay; I’m on the pill. I ain’t been with anyone since Justin, and I’ve been tested since him,” she assured Clay, her breath already a rapid pant of desire.
     
    “I gotta get tested before every fight. I know I’m clean,” Clay said, his breathing as shallow as hers. “Is this really okay?”
     
    “I think so.” She nodded, feeling like she’d die if it wasn’t. “I think it’s fine. Kiss me again.”
     
    Clay didn’t need to be told twice. He kissed her once more, thrusting his tongue past her lips to explore her mouth. He tugged at her jacket, pushing it off her shoulders to land on the floor. His hands glided from her hips, up to her bare arms, which were already prickling with goose bumps. His thumbs grazed the sides of her breasts as he rubbed his rough palms swiftly over her chilled arms, trying to warm them up. It might have worked if his fingers weren’t still half-frozen from the ride home.
     
    “Shower,” he whispered against her lips.
     
    Melody couldn’t argue with that reasoning. They were both freezing. She went to the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting the steam rise up out of the stall. Every night she let the water run for a few minutes, hoping to take the cold out of the ceramic tiles.
     
    It was a few degrees too chilly to make getting undressed sexy. With the bathroom door shut, the two of them