Deck the Halls

by Cynthia Eden

  This was Jonas. She could trust him. He’d keep her safe. He’d give her pleasure, always.

  He withdrew. Thrust deep again. Still hard, still wild, but she was ready for him. Her hands held tight to his shoulders. The bed shook beneath them. The headboard banged into the wall.

  More. Harder. Deeper.

  His teeth bit lightly against her throat. His hands caught her legs, and he lifted them high, even as he drove into her. Again and again.

  The orgasm hit her. It swept over Christie on a fierce wave of pleasure that had her tensing and digging her nails into his flesh. His head shot up, and he stared down at her with eyes that blazed.

  Too much lust. Too much need.

  “Christie…” He took her mouth. Kissed her as he came.

  She held him as close as she could and felt the frantic, thudding beat of her heart.

  Her heart…or his?

  In the aftermath, they didn’t speak. He pulled away from her when she wanted to hold him close. The movement made her chest ache, but she didn’t say a word. They were just about sex, right? Not emotions.

  Just sex.

  So why did she blink back tears when he withdrew from her? Why was she swiping those teardrops away as fast as she could while he was in the bathroom?

  Christie pressed her damp hand against the bed in an attempt to wipe away the evidence, and she hurriedly slipped under the covers. The sex had been intense. Almost too intense. The climax had hit her when she hadn’t expected that much pleasure. It had dug through her, hollowing out her body until she felt like only a thin shell remained.

  The lights clicked off, and the room plunged into darkness. She was grateful for the darkness. It was so easy to hide in the shadows.

  Was that why Jonas had turned off the lights?

  The bed dipped when he climbed in beside her. She wanted to roll toward him, but—yes, dammit—fear held her back. She didn’t move at all.

  But he reached for her. His fingers softly trailed down her arm. “Did I hurt you?”

  What? “No, of course not!”

  “I’m sorry. I was rough. I shouldn’t have—”

  She rolled toward Jonas and grabbed him. “You didn’t break me. You didn’t even bruise me.” But she might have bruised him. There at the end, she’d held on as fiercely as she could.

  One of his hands lifted. His fingers traced her cheek. Her breath caught. No, don’t let him feel the wetness from—

  “Were you crying?” His voice was gruff. “Jesus, Christie, I did hurt you!”

  “No, you did not physically hurt me. I promise.” But…she’d hurt when he pulled away. Hurt when she remembered that it was all just a fantasy. Only sex. She had to get her emotions under control. Christie released a slow breath. “I was worried about you.” It seemed safe to make the confession in the dark.

  Silence. Tension hummed in the air. “No need, baby. It’s my job. I take down killers every day.”

  But not killers who hit so close to home. Suddenly, she wanted to break through his shell and force him to open up to her. “I know what happened.”

  “Yeah.” Jonas eased away from her. Again. “An asshole high on drugs shot his wife and then turned the gun on himself when the cops showed up. A wasted—”

  “I don’t mean today.” Her tongue felt too thick in her mouth, and her heart still beat too fast. “I mean…b-before…with y-your parents.” Of course, her stutter would be back. No way to hide her nerves.

  The silence was painful. Then he jumped out of the bed, and light exploded in the room when he hit the lamp.

  He stared down at her. Naked, face hard, eyes narrowed, Jonas demanded, “What the hell are you talking about?”

  It was a good thing she’d already pulled up the sheet. “I-I know what happened to your family.” And how hard today must have been. So hard that when you came back—

  “How?” he bit out.

  Ah, now this part was dicey. “Jonas…”

  “Did you call Daniel when I left for the case? Did he tell you that shit about—”

  “I’ve never talked to Daniel about this.” She took a breath. A deep one. No stutter.

  “Then how did you find out? Who’ve you been talking to?”

  She tucked the covers around her legs. “I found out years ago. Right after you discovered that Ben was a gold digger.” Her shoulders lifted and fell in a shrug that was anything but careless. “You tore into my life, so—”

  “So you thought it was only fair to tear into mine.” He spun away and yanked on his jeans. “I did that to protect you! Your father and brother asked for my help! I’d just started working as a cop. We were all worried—”

  “I know.” But back then, she’d only been angry. Hurt. Humiliated. The family had bought off her lover. They hadn’t tried to talk to her. They’d just tried to run her life.

  Not anymore.

  “How? How did you find out?”

  She blinked. “It wasn’t hard, Jonas.” Everything was public record. “I knew you’d been born in Athens, Georgia. I just searched through some of the newspapers online and tried to find a reference to you.”

  “Because you wanted some payback?”

  “I saw an article about the deaths of your parents. A picture of you at the funeral.”

  He stopped pacing near the foot of her bed. “All this time, you’ve known?”

  She gave a quick nod.

  “Why didn’t you say something?”

  I didn’t know what to say. The last thing she’d wanted was to hurt him. Sorry just hadn’t seemed to cover the situation. “Why didn’t you?” she asked instead, her voice soft.

  The laugh that broke from him held no humor. “We already covered that you and I didn’t talk much.” He strode closer to her as he edged around the bed. “You knew and you still came to me?”

  She didn’t understand.

  His hand lifted as if he were going to touch her cheek. But his fingers fisted and fell away. “I knew I shouldn’t have touched you.”

  Now that was bull. “You’re the man who should have touched me.” Long ago. It was late and the words were weak, but she continued, “I-I’m sorry about your parents. That must have been terrible for you. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like—”

  His head snapped up. He glared at her with glittering eyes and a clenched jaw. The angry mask was back in full effect.

  Her chin notched up, too. She clutched the sheet, tucked it under her arms, and climbed out of the bed. She huffed out a hard breath and grabbed him. “I know I don’t understand how it felt, okay? But I am sorry you had to go through that pain. No one should ever see—”

  “The bloody bodies of their parents?” His lips twisted. “I see bodies every day. It’s my job.”

  “That wasn’t your job.”

  “That’s why I do my job. That’s why I became a cop.”

  Yes, she’d thought as much. The newspaper report had said…

  “He was on drugs, Christie. My old man was so strung out he barely recognized his own family. My mom had kicked him out. She was trying to make a better life for us.”

  A life that had ended too soon. That fist was back, squeezing her heart too tightly. She didn’t let Jonas go. Christie kept her hands on him. Her eyes stayed locked with his.

  “He broke in. By the looks of the place, I know he came looking for money. He trashed everything. My mom—she must have been trying to stop him when he—he—” His mouth snapped closed. But she knew what came next.

  Sixteen. He’d been through so much at such a young age.

  “The cops told me it looked like he tried to help her. He even managed to make a 9-1-1 call. Hell, maybe the asshole finally realized what the hell he’d done. He called the ambulance for her, and then he killed himself. One shotgun blast to the head.”

  Jonas had arrived before the ambulance. He’d been the one to find the bodies.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and let the sheet drop. The sheet didn’t matt
er. He mattered. Her lips pressed against his neck.

  “You should be telling me to get the hell out now.” His arms weren’t around her. His body was held stiffly. Too tense and hard. “My dad was an addict who killed my mom. You know what kind of bloodline I’ve got. You don’t need to be letting me touch—”

  “Shut up, Jonas.” Now he was pissing her off. “You’re not your dad.” She angled her head back and stared into his eyes. “You’re a good man, a good cop. You just got a real crap hand dealt to you.”

  His eyes widened.

  “Now get back in bed,” she ordered him, hoping her voice sounded tough and strong. Hoping he didn’t notice that her hands were shaking. The new Christie she was trying to be—the wild one who went after what she wanted—well, she wouldn’t let her man walk away. Not after the hell day he’d had. She wouldn’t wilt under his hot, green stare. Wouldn’t flinch from the pain in his past. No, the new Christie would be tougher than all that.

  Jonas slowly climbed back into bed with her. Her breath eased out when his head touched the pillow. Good.

  She hit the lights and plunged them back into darkness because she could only keep the image of the new Christie up for so long.

  Jonas’s arms came around her. He pulled her against his body. A warm, strong body. A strong lover. One who was hers for a brief time. No commitments. It was just supposed to be about sex. And just sex meant no emotions.

  So why the hell was she blinking away tears again and hoping that none of the drops fell onto his arm?

  The cops told me it looked like he tried to help her.

  The new Christie might be good at bluffing, but underneath that facade, she was the same woman. A woman who cared too much. A woman who had one very big weakness.

  A weakness who was holding her in his arms. Cradling her, close to his heart.

  Chapter Six

  He was in trouble. Jonas stared at the small green box in his hand and wondered how the hell something as simple as no-strings sex could become so complicated.

  Ah, but then, the answer was obvious. Christie was involved—and the woman tended to complicate everything.

  “Hey, man, you shouldn’t have!” A hairy hand snatched the present out of Jonas’s grasp. He shot to attention—too late—and saw his partner, Scotty McKenzie, clutching the present. “I didn’t get nothin’ for you!” Scotty declared, his voice too loud.

  Jonas shook his head. “Trust me, man, that’s not your size.”

  Scotty blinked, then laughed, a deep, rumbling laugh that sounded like a train engine. “Then I’m guessing it belongs to the lady you were so hot to see last night. The one who had you smelling like a strawberry patch when you came to the crime scene.”

  Yeah, her smell had been on him, and he’d liked it. It had helped to combat the stench of death all over the place.

  “Didn’t even know you had a lady.” Scotty threw his body in the wobbly desk chair. “I mean, not one that you stayed with longer than a weekend.” He tossed the box back to Jonas.

  Jonas caught it in one hand. He’d already practically stayed the weekend with Christie. And, at first, he’d done just what he promised. One hell of a good time.

  The last thing he’d expected was to get a call about a scene like that, with her there.

  He put the box on the desk and ran a hand over his face. When he’d gone back to her place, his control had been shot. Rage had ridden him. The fury that he’d held close for so many years.

  He’d been desperate to get back to Christie. He’d known she’d help him banish the past and forget the blood. He’d also known he was walking a very thin line, but he’d gone back anyway.

  Call him a damn moth to the flame.

  He’d been on her too fast. Too hard. The sex had been rough and wild. But she’d opened her body to him. Held tight. Changed the fury that rode him to passion.

  Good time? No, that didn’t even come close to describing what he had with her.

  Then she’d blown his world apart with her little confession. His darkest, most painful secret. And all these years she’d known…

  “Hey, man!” Scotty rolled his chair forward. “You with me?”

  Jonas blinked.

  “What?” Scotty’s lips lifted in his usual crooked grin. “You realizing you already spent too much time with this one? Gotta be careful, she’ll think you’re getting attached.”

  His gaze darted to the box.

  “Tell you what.” The chair wheels squeaked as Scotty rolled ever closer. “I’ll do you a favor since it’s the holidays. You don’t want to leave some poor woman on her own at this time of the year.” He threw his arms out wide. “Since I’m a generous, bighearted kind of guy, I’ll take her off your hands.”

  “The hell you will.” Jonas’s response came out bullet fast.

  Scotty blinked. His smile kicked up even more and he said, “Ah, like that, is it?”

  Shit, no. “She and I have a deal.” Not just a weekend thing. “The holidays are mine.” After that, reality could come back.

  In reality, he and Christie weren’t—

  Scotty whistled. “You’ve got it bad.”

  Maybe. He opened his mouth to say—

  “Jonas?”

  He whirled at the sound of that husky voice. A voice he’d never in a million freaking years expected to hear in the bullpen at the police station. But there she was. Christie stood just inside the doorway, right under the gold garland Scotty had stapled up yesterday. Her black hair hung loosely around her face. Her eyes were on him—wide, blue, and welcoming—and her lips were lifted in a warm smile.

  “Oh, man,” Scotty whispered. His voice was a little shocked. A lot interested. “I could so make her holiday. Please, please, I am—”

  “Mine,” Jonas snapped. “Don’t even think about it.” He strode across the bullpen, more than aware that the other detectives had noticed her, too.

  Christie wasn’t wearing a Christmas sweater today. She was in all black—black turtleneck, black pants, and a long, sleek black coat. The woman looked so sexy he was suddenly hungry for a bite…of her.

  She hurried forward. “Oh, good, I was hoping I’d catch you!”

  He caught her. Jonas snagged her hand and tugged her toward him. He leaned in and kissed her, fast and hard. Back off, Scotty. And he figured all the other hungry jerks who were close by should get the message, too.

  A wolf whistle split the air.

  He expected Christie to break away at the sound, but, instead, her hands lifted and wrapped around his shoulders. She pulled him closer.

  He let the kiss linger as he enjoyed her taste. Enjoy? Hell, he loved her taste. After a few moments, when he finally managed to pull back, her eyes seemed to shine even more.

  “I was…um…” Her gaze darted around them. “This is the first time I’ve been in a police station.”

  He could believe it. Not like the Tates were hauled in a lot for questioning.

  Her eyes narrowed, and she nodded. “I like the garland.”

  She would. If it was a Christmas decoration, she’d love it. And that was the moment he noticed her necklace. A thin gold chain circled her neck, a chain attached to a tiny Christmas tree.

  A smile tugged at his lips. God, he absolutely loved—

  No.

  He dropped his hands and stepped back. “Um, Christie?”

  Her eyes were still on the garland. Scotty had wound it all the way across the station.

  Jonas’s breath eased out as he stared at her. She was so beautiful. He could look at her for hours and never want to look anywhere else.

  “Hey, man!” Scotty’s hand slapped down on his shoulder. “Introduce me!”

  Christie’s gaze flew back at his partner’s voice. She smiled a sweet, shy smile. One directed at Scotty.

  Jonas growled, then cleared his throat and managed to say, “Scott McKenzie, this is Christie Tate.”

  “I’m his partner.” Scotty offered his hand. A hand Christie foolishly took. The
guy brought her hand up for a lip-smacking kiss. “You should call me Scotty. Everyone does.”

  She laughed, a quick but lush sound. “Nice to meet you.”

  She probably meant it, but only because she didn’t know Scotty well yet.

  Scotty frowned at her. “Tate…where do I know that name?”

  “You’ve probably met my brother. Jonas and Daniel are old—”

  Scotty snapped his fingers. “Tate Toys!”

  She nodded. “Yes, I work—”

  “My nephew loves the Ricky Rocket Shooter Robot!”

  Christie beamed.

  “The first time I saw that thing fly across the room…” Scotty shook his head and laughed. “I wanted one, too.”

  “I can get you one,” she offered as a light pink stained her cheeks.

  “Nah…those things sold out weeks ago.”

  “I’ve got connections.” She bit her lip. “Actually, I made Ricky.” The pink on her cheeks deepened at her rushed confession. “And right now, I’m working on Rover, his sidekick. It’ll be a dog who can fly. He’ll be remote controlled, too, and he’ll interface with Ricky—”

  “You’re bullshitting me,” Scotty said as he inched closer to Christie. “How the hell would you even go about making something like that?”

  “Well, I studied engineering and robotics so—”

  Jonas stepped in front of his partner before the guy could swallow Christie because Scotty was all but salivating over her. “Back off, partner. The lady and I need to talk.”

  Scotty’s eyes squinted. “Lucky SOB.” He stretched and peered at Christie over Jonas’s shoulder. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. If you get bored with old Jonas here, you can—”

  Jonas put his hand on Scotty’s chest and shoved. “Why don’t you get started on the Harris paperwork?”

  With a smirk, Scotty sauntered away. “Fine. But I’ll be back.”

  Jonas turned toward Christie. “Sorry about that.”

  She blinked. “About what?”

  About the dick who was drooling over you.

  He caught her hand and led her into the nearest empty interrogation room. At least they’d have some privacy there. He shut the door with a soft click. “About last night,” he began. Oh, shit, there was no easy way to do this. Come to think of it, he’d never had to do this with his other lovers. “I’m sorry.”