...excerpt... At the top of the stairs, with her mind running over the night's guest list and the presents she'd gotten each of them, Deanna came to a sudden stop. A warm patch of air swirled around her, heating her cheeks. She passed a hand under the air vent, but the heat didn't feel like it had been turned up. Her sister Megan was known to put the heat up to sauna temperatures when it got icy outside. But the air quietly blowing from the vent felt normal. She looked around the hall for the source of the heat and couldn't see anything obvious. Hoping to follow the current, she started down the hall, only to step out of the patch of warmth. With a frown, she moved to the top of the stairs again. Nothing. No strange currents, no unusually hot air. Must have been imagining things, Dee. Too much time in front of the oven this week. She chuckled and started to hum another Christmas carol. A faint scent of pine followed her. She was half way down the hall when she had a sudden overwhelming urge to treat herself to the luxury

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of a nice warm bath. She still had time before the first guests started to arrive. And it was Christmas after all. A bubble bath with a few candles sounded just right to set the mood for her evening.

She pulled off her Santa hat and sweater as she walked through the door of her bedroom, tossing them both onto the bed as she headed for the closet. She reached for her well-worn, fuzzy green robe and brushed up against something smooth and silky instead. Silky? She reached in and pulled out a long, red silk robe. She'd nearly forgotten about that robe.

It was a birthday present from Megan, but she hadn't worn it yet. She ran her fingers over the smooth, slippery material feeling decadent and almost sexy. It was such a rare feeling lately that she decided to wear the robe. Even if only Megan and maybe the kids were going to see her in it. She grinned and half danced to her full-length mirror, holding the robe up in front of her.

Definitely sexy. There was something innately sexy about red silk, Megan had told her. Dee had to agree. The color looked good with her black hair too. And it reminded her of Christmas. She tossed the robe onto her bed and went to the dresser. Maybe she'd wear some of the silky underwear Megan had bought for her too. She spent most of her time in jeans or dress slacks. It was rare for her to even wear a skirt. But since she'd treated herself to a dress for the party, she might as well go all the way and indulge in this feeling of femininity.

She plucked up her robe and crossed the hall to the bathroom. The deep green tiles were cool against here bare feet. Christmas music, she thought, flipping on the radio and flicking through channels. She needed Christmas music to go with her bath. She laughed when she hit a station playing "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer", one of her dad's favorites. Hearing it made her feel close to him, to both her parents, even if only in spirit. She left the station on and filled the tub with hot water and vanilla scented bubble bath.

"Very decadent, Deanna," she told herself as the small room filled with steam. She lit the two thick red, cinnamon-scented candles on the wooden sill at the edge of the tub then turned off all the lights except for the one over the mirror. When the tub was filled, she stripped and climbed into bubbles up to her chin. Her groan of pure joy competed with the final strains of the song.

The wind had picked up outside, rattling the smoked glass window, threatening and cold. The sound made her doubly grateful for her hot bath and her warm house.

She lifted her hands to the sides of the tub, letting water slush back into the bath. Despite her bulldog efforts, fear of losing her house invaded her cheer again. What was she going to do if she lost the house now? Megan and the kids needed this place. The doctor had practically told them it was the stability of this home that had helped Rachel get better so fast. Dee could manage on her own, but she couldn't leave Meg to fend for herself. Their parents had left Dee the house so she and Meg would always have a place to go. She couldn't lose that now. Especially not to someone like Jack Mitchell.

She came close to snarling just at the thought of the man. Damn him anyway! He was coming dangerously close to spoiling Christmas for her. And she hadn't thought that was possible. Her hands tightened on the sides of the tub. "I refuse to let you ruin my Christmas, Jack Mitchell," she swore at the empty bathroom. "I will not let you take my house, my business, or my Christmas." She jerked her chin down in a defiant nod and felt remarkably better for the outburst. She grinned and started humming to the song on the radio, letting the warm water sooth away her fears.

The next song came rocketing out of the radio with such utter abandon, she found herself giggling. She dropped her head back against the tub, closed her eyes and wallowed in the feel of bubbles tickling her skin. After a moment, the tickling changed. Still humming, her eyes still closed, it took her a few minutes to notice the difference. It was as if the bubbles were focusing their attention on individual parts of her body. First her toes, then her calves. The tickling turned to something more like a caress as it moved to her thighs. She moaned quietly, and the sound shocked her eyes open.

She didn't remember bubble baths being quite so…sensual. Although, she did have to admit, it had been a long time since she'd given herself time to take a bubble bath. If they felt this good, she was going to have to make a point of taking them more often. She closed her eyes again, breathing in the heady scent of vanilla and cinnamon and was mildly surprised to catch a faint scent of pine mingling with it. She chuckled. Didn't realize I'd gone so overboard with the pine decorations. The three scents mixed well together, she decided, breathing in deep again. They were somehow sexy and appropriate to the sensual warmth enveloping her.

Another song started up, this one an all time favorite of hers. "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." She sang softly, caressing the surface of the bubbles in steady smooth strokes. The movement of water against her stomach echoed the caress of her hands. The gentle rub of warmth against her stomach rippled out, grazing her breasts, teasing her nipples. "Mmmm." The water almost felt like it was getting warmer.

Tiny currents rippled under her back and bottom. She shifted in the tub, water sluicing over her heated skin. Her legs moved restlessly, tensing and relaxing as warmth swirled around her thighs. The scent of pine got stronger as her breathing quickened. With each move of her legs, heated water slid between her thighs. In her mind's eye, she could imagine the water as hands, smoothing over her skin, caressing and hot. The hands were big and strong with thick, tapered fingers teasing her breasts, gliding down her abdomen. Her back arched. Another soft moan. She clenched the sides of the tub.

With a gasp, she opened her eyes and sat up, splashing water over the edge of the bath. She scanned the room, certain she'd find the owner of those magic hands. She was almost disappointed when she confirmed there was no one else in the room with her. Disappointed? Deanna Green if you'd opened your eyes and found someone in this room with you, you should have been terrified! Would have been terrified! She worked to slow her breathing, taking in deep lung fulls of vanilla and cinnamon scented air. The scent of pine was obvious in its absence.

As her heartbeat slowed, she scanned the room again, finally feeling a little nervous. What had just happened to her? That wasn't like any bath, or fantasy, she'd ever had before. That was too… too real. Too nice. She scowled. She must be working too hard. That was the only explanation. She'd been working too hard and it had been a very long time since she'd dated anyone. Now that she thought about it, it had been a long time since she'd even been interested in anyone. After the quiet end to her one and only semi-serious relationship, she just hadn't been able to work up much interest-physical or otherwise-in any of the men she met. But it had still been too long since she'd made love to anyone. She was a healthy young woman. It was only natural when she finally gave herself a chance to relax, her mind would wander toward pleasant thoughts. She wouldn't have suspected her thoughts would get quite so…pleasant, but it was possible.

She shook her head and stood up, plucking a towel from the towel rack next to the bathtub. The water at her feet felt cooler now than it had a few moments ago. With a swipe of her foot, she opened the drain. She dried off, wrapped the towel around her head and slid into her new robe. The feel of silk was almost overwhelming against her sensitive skin. She rubbed a hole in the steam on the mirror and studied her face. The candlelight gave her skin a warm, flushed glow that almost looked...satisfied.

"It's just the candlelight, Dee," she told her suspicious looking reflection. "Geez, and Megan thought you acted silly over Christmas." She flicked off the radio, snuffed out the candles and headed back to her bedroom, muttering under her breath about the hazards of leisurely baths.