My Christmas Billionaire (The Billionaire Kings Book 7)

by Serenity Woods

  I turn and grin at Clio. “I know what you mean, me too.”

  “I’m glad I’m not the only one.” She slides her arm through mine as we start to head back to the Escape. “Whatcha got in there?” She gestures at my bag.

  “Stuff.” I don’t want to show her because I’ve bought her a gorgeous ornament for her home—a reindeer with a solar-powered nose that’ll look great, if somewhat bizarre, on the sand outside the bach.

  “Got your Secret Santa gift then?” she asked.

  “I did.” I’ve bought Simon a terrific Lego reindeer set. He’s going to love it. It was a little more than the allotted cost, but I figured that nobody would mind if we spent extra on the kids.

  “Me, too,” she says. “And I bought this for Ryan.” She opens her bag and half pulls out a sexy Santa outfit that’s all see-through scarlet lace trimmed with fur. She giggles. “That should start his Christmas morning off with a bang.”

  “Literally.” I chuckle and put my arm around her. “It’s great to see you so happy.”

  She stuffs the item back in the bag and then hugs me, too. “Thank you. We just need to get you sorted, now.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  She releases me, then slides her arm through mine. “Actually, I thought you appeared to be making inroads.”

  I glance at her.

  “He kissed you,” she points out. “At the ceremony.”

  “Oh, yeah. It didn’t mean anything.”

  “Like hell it didn’t. That’s it,” she says. “We’re commencing Operation Polar Fling.”

  That makes me laugh. “No, we’re not.”

  “Yes, we are. You’re going to have a fling with him this Christmas.”

  “Clio, it’s not going to happen. He has his reasons why he turned me down, and you know what he’s like—he’s stubborn and determined. There’s no way he’s going to change his mind.”

  She gives me an exasperated look. “Are you really my best friend? The woman who can seduce a man from twenty paces with just a look?”

  “Okay, I have been known to do that. But Stefan’s unseducible. Or is it inseducible? Inseductable? Whatever it is, he’s it.”

  “Bullshit. He’s a fella. And not just any fella, but one with a rocket-fueled sex drive—yeah, I’ve heard the stories about him and Hal at college. And he’s been single for months. He’s like a car revving its engine at a red light. Show him the green, baby, and he’s going to hit the gas.”

  “Or stall.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be able to get his pistons pumping.”

  We both laugh. Ooh, it’s so cold. My nose is seriously like an ice cube. We make our way past a Christmas tree covered in white fairy lights that turn the snow to glitter. It’s quieter up here. Our breath frosts before our faces. Something moves in the bushes to our right, and I stop and clutch Clio’s jacket. We both stare at the reindeer, with its white-and-brown fur coat and its huge antlers, and it stares back before it turns away and disappears into the forest.

  “Oh my God,” Clio says, “that didn’t happen. Did it?”

  “Wow. A real, live, wild reindeer.” I feel as if I’m dreaming. We continue on up the path, laughing as two rabbits streak across in front of us and leap into the undergrowth.

  “Back to the subject at hand,” she says. “You need to turn on the seduction lamp, girl.”

  “The lamp?”

  “Inside you. The glowy one. It attracts guys like a flame attracts moths.”

  “And burns them to a crisp?”

  “Yep? Oh, you’re so gonna burn his ass. He deserves it,” she says, somewhat vehemently. I’ve told her the story about what he said the night of Leon’s party. “I know he said he regrets it, but he totally deserves punishment.”

  “He does,” I reply, momentarily giving in to her plan and thinking about all the different ways I could make him pay in bed.

  “Come on,” she teases. “It’s a challenge, I admit, but you know now that he likes you, and he wants you. Before, you were brave enough to ask him back to your room and you weren’t even a hundred percent sure he was into you. I know he says he has his reasons for not dating you, but seriously? How bad can they be? He’s being all noble about something, like he’s Sir Galahad, but he’s just a man. And all men can be seduced. We both know that.”

  “I don’t know, Clio. He’s pretty stubborn. And I know he likes me now, but I’m not sure he likes me enough. He’s shot me down in flames once. I’m not sure I can take another rejection.”

  We walk a little further in silence, listening to the scrunch of the snow beneath our feet, the call of a bird in the woods, the screams of happy children behind us in the village.

  “Fair enough,” she says eventually. “Only you know whether he’s worth the risk.”

  We approach the main entrance to the common room, and she releases my arm. “I’m going back to the suite. I need a nap before we go to dinner. This jet lag is killing me.”

  I laugh. “Yeah, me too, but I’m going to get a coffee first.”

  “Okay. See you later.” She comes forward to give me a cold kiss on the cheek, then waves and heads off around the building.

  I go in. I’m not surprised to see the place empty. Everyone’s either shopping or, I’d imagine, having a siesta. I go over to the kitchen, examine the coffee machine, and start making myself one, brewing the espresso and steaming the milk. I’ll go back to my suite and drink this, and then I might put my feet up for a while. There’s a couple of hours before dinner, so I’ve got time to chill out.

  “That smells good.”

  I turn, half surprised, half not, to see Stefan come into the room. “Want one?” I ask him. “I’ll make you one.”

  “Would you? Yes, please.”

  He comes through to the kitchen, stands there a moment, and looks at his sleeves. His jacket and hat are coated with a thick layer of snow. Laughing, he goes out again, brushes most of it off, then returns.

  “What have you been up to?” I ask, smiling as he pulls off his beanie, and his hair sticks straight up.

  He attempts to flatten it with a hand. “Making snowmen with Robbie, Simon, and Eva’s kids. We came second in the competition! I’m particularly proud of the snow dog I made.”

  “A Snow Fred?”

  “Yeah. With a cravat. Fred would’ve been dead proud of it.”

  “He’d have eaten it, probably,” I say, starting to make a second coffee. Fred is the kind of dog who eats everything in front of him, even if it isn’t his. I’ve lost many a piece of cake or a cookie by turning my back on it.

  “Probably.” He laughs and leans against the counter, his arms folded. “Have you had a good afternoon?”

  “Oh yeah. The shops are amazing. The main issue was limiting myself to what I can carry in my case. I debated buying another case, actually, just to take back gifts.” We’re allowed to take two on the plane in Business Class.

  “Not the worst idea you’ve had,” he says.

  “Did you get your present for Secret Santa?”

  “I did. I’m very pleased with it.”

  “Me too.”

  “Christmas morning will be fun,” he says. “I’m guessing we’ll all meet up here.”

  “I hope so, as long as it’s not too early! Mind you, I woke up at four this morning. I’m guessing that’s the jet lag.”

  “Me too. I wondered if you were awake as well.” He smiles. He was thinking of me at four this morning, in the dark, in his bed.

  Clio’s right. He does want me. He’s holding back because I’m Hal’s little sister, and he doesn’t want to overstep that line for some reason. I think of her words, You need to turn on the seduction lamp, girl. They make me smile, but I’m still not sure whether I should do it. He hurt me badly last time, and even though he’s apologized, I’m still not sure my heart has fully mended.

  Should I make a play for him? He can’t hurt me any worse than he did last time, surely. Operation Polar Fling… Maybe Clio has a poi
nt. Maybe the very fact that we’re away from home might convince him to go for it. Okay, last time we were away too and that didn’t work, but this is different. The atmosphere is exciting, magical. He’s already kissed me. And it’s Christmas. Isn’t that supposed to be the time for miracles?

  And if he were to go for it… well, I can worry about the future later.

  Am I really going to do this? Seduce Stefan, in the Arctic Circle, in the snow?

  I can’t come straight out with it. If I ask him now whether he’d like to go back to my room, he’ll say no. Clio’s right—I need to seduce him. I didn’t do that before; I played my hand before I held all the cards, and I wasn’t even close to winning the trick.

  What’s the worst that could happen? He could turn me down—again. Okay, yeah, that would be somewhat humiliating, but Jesus, it would hardly be the end of the world. I’d survive. I’d go back to the bay and get on with my life, knowing I’d given it everything I’d got.

  I pass him the finished coffee, and he sips it, his gaze on me. His hair is still sticking up, despite his attempts to flatten it. His eyes are bright blue, the color of the sky in the Bay of Islands. He also looks very tall—I’m wearing my boots, which are completely flat, and I’m not overly tall for a woman, so he must be nine or ten inches taller than me. Mmm. He’ll be heavy. Imagine all that weight pressing me down into the mattress…

  I sip my coffee, keeping my gaze on his. Turn on the seduction lamp, girl. I think about unzipping his jeans, sliding my hand into his boxers, and stroking him. I know my desire is going to show in my eyes.

  Stefan blinks, and his gaze unfocuses a little. I have another mouthful of coffee, deliberately letting the foam touch my top lip. When I lower the mug, I run my tongue across it, collecting up the foam. Stefan watches me, looking slightly bewildered.

  All men can be seduced. Clio and I are both experts at it, when we want to be.

  “I’m going back for a kip before dinner,” I tell him. “See ya later.”

  I leave the room and head back out into the snow, carrying my mug back to the suite.

  I smile all the way.

  Chapter Ten

  Stefan

  I mustn’t. I shouldn’t. I can’t.

  Contractions flutter around in my head like snowflakes as I walk slowly back to my suite, the steam from my mug curling into the cold air. I’m not quite sure what happened in the kitchen. Jules didn’t say or do anything suggestive. She didn’t come on to me again, to my relief, because I would have turned her down. She didn’t flirt, or make a double entendre, or do anything that implied she was thinking about me in a sexual way.

  And yet, as she sipped her coffee and studied me with those big brown eyes, all I could think about was taking her in my arms and kissing her senseless.

  It must be the jet lag. It’s sending my brain screwy. I’m not going to think about it.

  I walk past Jules’s suite, keeping my gaze straight ahead, open my front door, and go inside. I take off my jacket and boots, toss my hat and scarf aside, switch on the gas fire so the flames leap over the logs, sit on the sofa, and put my feet on a stool. I take out my iPad and start to check my emails, making sure I haven’t had any emergency messages from Rawiri or the other vet.

  But it’s impossible to concentrate, and eventually I put the iPad aside, slide down the sofa until my head rests on the back, and look out of the windows, up at the semi-dark sky.

  It’s the kiss, is what it is. I’ve overstepped the mark. That line you draw in the sand, the one you mustn’t overstep? It’s way behind me, so far in the distance it’s practically invisible.

  I’ve kissed her. And the sky didn’t fall. Buildings didn’t crumble. The ground didn’t crack, open up, and swallow me whole.

  Of course, it’s not as simple as that. There will be repercussions, tiny ripples that will resonate through us both, influencing our actions toward each other in the future. And if we were to do more than kiss, it could be the first step in a series of earthquakes that would rip through our families and destroy everything I’ve worked for all these years.

  I can’t sleep with Jules.

  But oh, wouldn’t it be fun if I could…

  I close my eyes and let my imagination do a paint-by-numbers, filling in the picture of Jules I conjure up. Soft curves, rounded breasts, the dip of her waist, the flare of her hips. The color of her skin, both on the exposed parts of her, and the areas she keeps hidden from the world. Her light brown arms and legs and chest and tummy. A white triangle over her breasts, and the pale skin between her thighs. Smooth skin. Plump and moist.

  I sigh, imagining kissing there, delving my tongue into her folds, pushing her thighs wide apart so I can slide my tongue right inside her. She’d clutch her hands in my hair, but I wouldn’t stop; I’d continue to lick and suck her, stroking my fingers inside her, until she came and clamped around them, crying my name. Then I’d press my erection into her and thrust us both to oblivion.

  Opening my eyes, I glare at the dark sky. Now I have a hard-on and nothing to do with it. Jesus. Why do I get myself into these predicaments?

  I don’t need a shower, and I refuse to unzip my jeans in the middle of the afternoon and take myself in hand as if I’m sixteen. I need to learn some serious self-control.

  So I continue to sit there, glaring at the sky and trying to think about work and failing, for a long, long time.

  *

  At just before six, I head out of the door again. Normally, I’d have changed for dinner, but I’m still dressed like Sir Ranulph Fiennes in my thick jacket, boots, hat, and gloves. How are we going to eat dinner dressed like this? It’s certainly going to be interesting.

  Everyone else is filtering out of their suites, and I wave at Hal and Izzy and walk with them to the common room. Jules is already there, and my lips curve up at the sight of her wearing a beanie with a reindeer face and a pair of reindeer antlers on the top. When she turns around, its red nose flashes.

  “You’re really getting into the spirit of this, aren’t you?” I say.

  She grins. “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”

  She’s also wearing her thick jacket and boots, but she’s reapplied her makeup, and now has long black eyelashes and pink sparkly eyeshadow on her lids. She looks exotic and beautiful, and when her dark pink lips smile at me, my heart misses a beat.

  “Hey you,” she says, but she’s speaking to Clio. She goes over to her, and the two of them stand in the middle of the room, talking in low voices.

  Ryan sips from a glass of water, standing next to me. “A pair of troublemakers if ever I saw them,” he says.

  “What are they talking about?” I ask, amused as they both laugh and do the same little dance. They both seem very young and full of life.

  “I don’t know,” he admits. “I think it might be something to do with Pete—the dude that Jules met at Leon’s wedding. Apparently he’s been texting her. He’s moving to Auckland in the New Year, and he wants to catch up with her.”

  The guy was all over her at the wedding. I remember him flirting with her, and her responding by putting a hand on his chest. Obviously, she didn’t go off with him because she came on to me, but now I’m out of the picture…

  “Is she interested in him?” I ask.

  “She said he was funny,” Ryan says. “And tall. So maybe.”

  I glance at him, wondering if he’s telling me this to make me jealous. It doesn’t sound like something he’d do, though, and his gaze is fixed on Clio, not Jules, his eyes warm, so I don’t think he’s giving his sister a second thought.

  I hate that she thinks Pete is tall and funny. I’m the tall, funny guy she should be thinking about. Except it’s not fair to want her to think about me when she can’t be with me.

  Talk about dog in the manger. I’m starting to annoy myself.

  “Is everyone here?” Noah calls out.

  “Matt’ll just be a minute,” Georgia says. “He’s nipped back to the suite to get his
gloves.”

  “How did the wedding planning go?” Jules asks Abby, who’s cuddling an Ethan wrapped in so many layers he looks like a caterpillar in a cocoon.

  “Wonderful,” she says. “Eva works with a wedding organizer, and she was amazing. She went through everything with a fine-tooth comb and made some great suggestions. Everything’s ready for the big day.” She blushes as she kisses Ethan’s forehead. I’m sure she must feel as if this is all a dream. It’s not every day that an ordinary girl gets to meet a billionaire, after all, and be spirited away for her wedding to the Arctic Circle.

  “Where are you staying tomorrow night?” Jules asks. “You’re not supposed to see the groom the night before.”

  “With Summer,” Abby says, gesturing at her. “Zach and the boys are going to swap with me and Ethan for the night, and I’ll be getting ready there, too.”

  “You’re not going to be able to sleep,” Clio says, smiling.

  “I know.” Abby blinks, and I realize she’s near to tears.

  “Aw!” Jules and Clio laugh, go up to her, and put their arms around her. “I hope you’re wearing waterproof mascara,” Jules says. “There’s no way you’re not going to be bawling your eyes out standing next to him at the altar.”

  Noah, standing a few feet away talking to Charlie, looks across at her and smiles, and she picks up Ethan’s hand and waves at him. It’s an intimate, secret communication, similar to ones performed between all the couples here.

  It’s something I’ve never really had. I’ve never lived with a girl for any decent length of time. I’ve never had a relationship that’s lasted more than a couple of months. It’s not like I’ve been short of company. But I’ve moved around a lot, and somehow it’s just not happened for me. Have I ever been in love? I’m not actually sure I’m capable of that emotion, if it does exist. I have physical desire. But I’ve never experienced what Noah obviously feels for Abby. I discover that I yearn for it—that connection, the feeling that one person in all the world belongs to me and only me. How would that feel?

  I imagine it would feel great. But it would also come with possession and jealousy, and too often I’ve watched that deteriorate into darker, much more negative emotions and actions. I have no doubt that Connor loved Jules, or thought he did, anyway. And I’d slit my own throat rather than make any girl’s life a misery because I thought I owned her.