The Twelve Nights of Christmas

by Sarah Morgan

  ‘Well, if this relationship were real, I would have punched her. And I’m not over-emotional, I’m justifiably emotional. That woman is a man-eater. She ought to be fenced in on a game reserve. Do you know that she’s on her fourth husband? Evgeni and Vladimir told me that she only marries them for their money.’

  Rio’s tension levels rocketed up several more notches. ‘You’re on first name terms with the Russians?’

  ‘I sat with them all evening, what did you expect? When I saw that awful Tabitha woman had separated us I almost had a heart attack. She put me there thinking I’d struggle, didn’t she? She was trying to be unkind.’

  Rio gave a faint smile. ‘I think you won that round.’

  ‘They told me that she takes men to the cleaners and lives off the settlement.’

  ‘It’s a popular career choice in certain circles.’

  ‘Well, I think it’s awful. No amount of money would make up for being married to someone I didn’t love.’ Evie slid her arms around his neck, her eyes slightly bleary. ‘I mean, actually, when you think about it, that’s not so far from prostitution, is it?’

  Conscious of the shocked glances from those nearest to them, Rio smiled. ‘Absolutely right,’ he purred, vastly entertained by how outspoken she became when she’d had a few glasses of champagne. ‘You might want to lower your voice before you cast any more aspersions on the character and profession of our illustrious hostess.’

  Evie gulped. ‘Oops. Do you think they heard me?’

  ‘Definitely. They’re doubtless all now engrossed in a fascinating debate as to whether our hostess is a prostitute or not.’

  Evie leaned her forehead against his chest. ‘Sorry. I may have drunk just a little bit too much champagne—I’ve never had it before and it’s delicious.’

  ‘You’ve never had champagne before?’

  ‘Never. Last year, Grandpa and I treated ourselves to a bottle of Prosecco but it wasn’t the same.’

  Rio winced. ‘No. It definitely isn’t the same. Prosecco is excellent in a Bellini but it’s not champagne.’ He lifted his hand and removed a strand of fiery red hair that had somehow managed to tangle itself around his bow tie. ‘I think I’d better take you home.’

  ‘I don’t want to go home. I want to dance. Anyway, I like it here and we’re supposed to be seen.’ Still clinging to him tightly, she swayed in time to the music and then looked up with a smile as everyone started singing The Twelve Days of Christmas.

  ‘Oh, I love this. This used to be my party piece at school. I do all the actions. Wait till you see my Seven swans a-swimming—’

  Rio inhaled deeply. ‘Evie—’ But she was already lifting her hands like a conductor, waving her arms and singing at the top of her voice along with everyone else.

  ‘—partridge in a pear tree—’

  ‘I’m taking you home.’

  ‘No.’ She dug her heels in like a stubborn horse. ‘I’m not going anywhere. I’ve never been to a party as amazing as this one. I don’t want it to end.’

  Rio gritted his teeth. ‘We have two more to attend tomorrow. And this time I won’t make the mistake of giving you champagne beforehand.’

  ‘I don’t care about tomorrow. I want to live for today. I like this party.’ She slid her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him, her breath warm against his neck. ‘Please, Rio, dance with me. You know you want to.’

  He locked his fingers around her wrists, intending to remove her arms, but then she smiled up at him and he found himself so captivated by that smile that instead of removing her arms, he slid his hands down her warm skin. Her back was bare, her skin warm and smooth and tempting and raw lust shot through him. Without thinking about what he was doing, Rio lowered his mouth towards hers.

  ‘Four calling birds, three French hens—’

  Rio froze as she started to sing again. ‘Evie—’

  ‘Two turtle doves, and a—’

  ‘Evie!’ Rio felt tension prickle down his spine.

  ‘I like singing. If you want me to stop singing, you’re going to have to gag me.’

  ‘Good idea.’ Rio closed the distance and captured her mouth with his. The chemistry was instantaneous and explosive. Because he had his hand on her bare back he could feel the tremors that shook her and he welded her closer to him, ignoring the curious looks of those around him.

  After two of the most intoxicating, arousing, exciting minutes of his life, he lifted his head fractionally and tried to regain his balance. The kiss had done nothing except make him crave more. He wanted to touch and taste—he wanted to bury his face in her hair and feast on her body.

  Around them, everyone was still singing but this time Evie wasn’t joining in.

  ‘When you kiss me, I don’t ever want it to stop,’ she murmured, her eyes slightly glazed. ‘It feels incredible. Are you as good at everything else? If so, then it’s no wonder every woman in the room is looking at me as if they hate me. They think we’re having mad, crazy sex all the time. I wish. Maybe we should. It seems a shame to disappoint everyone.’

  He cupped her face in his hands and stared down at her in exasperation. ‘You’re plastered. It’s time I took you home.’

  ‘I’m not plastered. And I don’t want to go home. I’m having a really great time and I refuse to go home just so that you can weld yourself to your laptop again and ignore the fact it’s Christmas. Kissing you, drinking champagne, dancing and singing—they’re my favourite things. Honestly, Rio, you should sing too—it’s fun—I’m feeling so Christmassy—’ Her hips swayed and there was a huge smile on her face as she started to sing along again, joining in with the crowd, this time at double the volume—

  When it came to ‘Five gold rings’ she sang even louder, struck a dramatic pose and flashed her diamond in the air, beaming at Rio.

  Before he could stop her, she flung herself towards the two Russians, kissed each of them on the cheek and then sprang onto a chair and from there onto the table.

  Rio closed his eyes, cursing himself for not monitoring her champagne intake more closely. He contemplated removing her bodily but decided that she would probably make such a fuss that the best thing to do was to wait until the end of the song and hope she survived that long without falling off the table and doing herself serious injury.

  Everyone was clapping and Evie was by now the centre of attention as she led the singing, her actions for Seven swans a-swimming causing such hilarity that Rio shook his head in disbelief.

  ‘She’s certainly the life and soul of the party,’ Vladimir was suddenly beside him, speaking in slow, broken English, and beaming up at Evie, who was still mimicking a swan. ‘That joint venture you wanted to explore in Moscow—we’re willing to give it some consideration. Fly over in the New Year and meet with us. Evie can translate for you.’

  Rio, who had given up on the usually taciturn Russians, was about to confirm the details when an overenthusiastic re-enactment of ‘Three French hens’ almost sent Evie spinning off the table.

  ‘Scusi—’ Crossing to the table, he caught Evie as she lost her balance and she tumbled into his arms, the silver dress shimmering under the lights.

  ‘—Two purple doves,’ she hollered, ‘and a partridge in a pear tree.’

  Wild applause surrounded them and Rio winced. ‘That’s your party piece?’

  ‘One of them. I also tell a great joke about a wide mouth toad which has brilliant actions.’ She eyed the microphone on the stage. ‘I suppose I could—’

  ‘No,’ Rio said hastily. ‘You most definitely could not.’

  ‘I love champagne,’ she said happily, leaning her head against his shoulder. ‘It’s the nicest, yummiest, fizziest, happiest drink I’ve ever tasted. Is there any more?’

  ‘It’s run out. You drank it all. Thanks to you, the global champagne market is now in meltdown.’

  ‘Shame.’ She buried her face in his neck and breathed deeply. ‘You smell so good. Why do you smell so good? Will you kiss me again?
And this time don’t stop. The only thing I hate about kissing you is when you stop. I just want it to go on and on and on—could you do that, do you think? You did say you were good at multi-tasking.’

  Rio tensed. ‘Evie—’

  ‘You’re an incredibly sexy man. If I wasn’t so afraid of being rejected again, I’d try and seduce you—’ she was snuggling and kissing his neck at the same time ‘—but I’ve never seduced anyone before so it’s probably a bit overambitious to start with you. Like climbing a mountain and deciding to start with Everest. I ought to practice on someone small, ugly and unsuccessful first and see how I get on.’

  Rio felt his entire body tighten. ‘You won’t be practising on anyone tonight. We’re going home.’

  ‘Not without a present from the Christmas tree,’ she coaxed, lifting her head and focusing with difficulty. ‘It’s all in a good cause. You pay money and they give you a surprise present. The money goes to the kids. So it’s sort of two presents in one. Three presents actually, because you get a warm fuzzy feeling from being generous.’

  Deciding that it was going to be quicker to buy the present than argue, Rio strode towards the tree, Evie still in his arms. Around them, people were smiling indulgently.

  His pulse rate doubled as he approached the tree. The smell of pine invaded his nostrils, awakening thoughts and memories long dormant.

  ‘Which present?’ he growled, adjusting the angle of his body so that she could see the tree and he couldn’t. ‘Tell me which one you want.’ Quickly. So that he could make his escape. The past was rolling over him like a dark cloud, its creeping menace threatening to seep under the barriers of his self-control.

  ‘The pink one with the silver bow.’ Her arms tightened around his neck and Rio felt the moist flicker of her tongue against his throat.

  ‘That one—’ His voice tight, he indicated with his head towards the pink box and one of the staff untied it from the tree and handed it to him while one of his own security team discreetly dealt with the financial aspect of the transaction.

  ‘Thank you.’ Her voice was husky, her mouth tantalizingly close to his and Rio tried to ignore the perfume that wafted from her skin.

  ‘We’re going home.’

  ‘So that we can experiment with fur against naked flesh?’

  Jaw clenched tight, he reminded himself that she dreamed of happy endings.

  If there was one thing designed to kill his libido, it was a woman who dreamed of happy endings.

  ‘So that you can sleep off the champagne.’

  ‘Wait—’ Slightly breathless, she pressed her lips against his throat. ‘I want the tree. Will you buy me the tree?’

  Rio stilled. ‘You want me to buy every present on the tree?’

  ‘No, I want you to buy me the tree. I don’t think I can stand the thought of Christmas without a tree. It’s like having chocolate cake with no chocolate.’ Still clutching the pink box, she snuggled against him, her voice coaxing. ‘That tree would look fantastic in the Penthouse. It’s even bigger than the one I decorated.’

  The one he’d had removed.

  ‘I don’t want a tree.’

  ‘Why not? I know you prefer to work over Christmas, but it isn’t going to stop you working just because there’s a tree in the room. It cheers everything up.’

  ‘It doesn’t cheer me up.’

  She frowned. ‘So it wasn’t my decorations in particular that you didn’t like. It’s Christmas trees in general. Why? You’re never too old to enjoy Christmas. Having a tree will give you happy memories.’

  Rio put her down so suddenly she staggered. ‘I don’t have any happy memories of Christmas.’

  It was the stricken look in her eyes that made him realise just how harshly he’d spoken. ‘I…I’m sorry,’ she stammered. ‘I didn’t mean—’

  ‘Forget it. Let’s get out of here.’

  CHAPTER SIX

  I don’t have any happy memories of Christmas.

  Evie sat in the middle of the enormous bed, those words reverberating around her head. She’d put her foot in it, but knowing that didn’t stop her wondering and asking herself endless questions.

  Why didn’t he have happy memories of Christmas?

  She turned her head and looked towards the double doors that lay between her and the sitting room. They remained firmly closed.

  What was he doing? Had he gone to sleep in the second bedroom?

  They’d driven home without speaking, Evie silenced by that one revealing phrase and Rio communicating nothing. For once, his BlackBerry was silent and he’d simply stared out of the window at the snowy streets, his handsome face an expressionless mask.

  But he was feeling, she knew that.

  Not just feeling—hurting.

  Knowing that she was risking another rejection, Evie slid off the bed and opened the doors quietly, afraid to disturb him if he was sleeping.

  The huge living room was in darkness. The flames of the fire had almost flickered to nothing and all the lights had been extinguished.

  He wasn’t there.

  She was overreacting. He’d obviously chosen to sleep in the second bedroom.

  Evie was about to turn and go back to bed when she noticed a ghostly green glow in the corner of the room and realised that it was the laptop screen.

  As her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, she saw that Rio was seated at the table.

  ‘It’s four in the morning,’ she murmured. ‘You should get some sleep.’

  ‘I’m not tired.’ His voice was barely audible. ‘Go back to bed, Evie. Sleep it off.’

  Knowing that she was unwelcome, she was about to do just that but her feet froze to the spot as her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she managed to make out his profile. He looked like a man on the edge. A man struggling to contain an emotion bigger than him.

  He was still looking at the screen, but somehow she knew that this time he wasn’t reading the numbers. His eyes were bleak and empty and she knew instantly that this was about Christmas.

  I don’t have any happy memories of Christmas.

  What sort of childhood had he had, that he hadn’t retained a single happy memory of Christmas?

  The sudden stillness of the room seemed loud in her ears.

  Evie stood still, knowing that she was intruding on a private moment. She knew she ought to back away and return to the neutral sanctuary of the bedroom. She ought to close those big doors and leave him to his dark thoughts. She was never going to see him again once this charade was over. Why did it even matter that he wanted to shut himself away and pretend Christmas wasn’t happening?

  But there was something about the bleak set of his features that made it impossible for her to walk away. She never would have been able to walk away and leave another human being in so much pain, and she had no doubt that he was in pain.

  She’d become intimately acquainted with the signs after her grandmother had died. Night after night, she’d seen the same look on her grandfather’s face as he’d sat in her grandmother’s favourite rocking chair, just staring at her photograph. She’d kept him company in the darkness, afraid to leave him alone with his grief.

  What had Rio Zaccarelli lost?

  What was he thinking about, as he stared sightlessly at that screen?

  Evie walked across to him, knowing that she was taking a risk. She was approaching when she should have run away.

  Rio lifted his head and inhaled deeply. ‘I said, go back to bed.’

  ‘My head spins when I lie down.’

  ‘You drank too much champagne. That feeling will pass. Drink lots of water.’

  ‘I’m not drunk.’

  The barest flicker of a smile touched his mouth. ‘You were dancing on the table.’

  ‘That wasn’t because I was drunk. It was because I’d lost some of my inhibitions. If I had the confidence, I would have done the same thing sober. The drink just made me less anxious.’

  ‘In that case, remind me never to escort you whe
n you’re drunk.’

  ‘Tell me why you hate Christmas.’

  Anger flickered across his face and his swift glance was loaded with warning. ‘I think you should go to bed.’

  ‘Only if you come too.’ She had no idea what had driven her to say those words. Immediately, she wanted to drag them back. What if he said yes? She’d never had a one-night stand in her life. Compared with his experience and sophistication, she was a complete novice.

  For a moment he simply watched her, his eyes glittering in the darkness. She had the feeling that he was fighting some brutal internal battle.

  ‘Leave,’ he said thickly. ‘Right now.’

  ‘I’m not drunk.’

  ‘That isn’t why I want you to leave.’

  ‘Then—’

  ‘I’m fresh out of happy endings, Evie. You won’t find one within a thousand kilometres of me.’

  Her mouth dried and her heart was pounding in her chest. ‘I know that. You could never be my happy ending. But that doesn’t mean…I want to know…’

  His eyes were hard and unsympathetic. He gave her no help at all. ‘What do you want to know, Evie?’

  She licked dry lips. ‘I want to know what it would be like,’ she whispered. ‘If the rest of it would feel as good as the kissing part.’

  ‘You want to know how it would feel?’ He rose to his feet so suddenly that she actually took an involuntary step backwards and he registered her retreat with a sardonic smile. ‘I’ll tell you how it would feel, Evie. It would feel good. We’ve both felt the chemistry. It would be incredible. Hot and crazy. For a short time.’ His voice was thickened by emotion. ‘And then I’d break your heart. Like that—’ He snapped his fingers in a cruel, casual gesture that made her flinch. ‘Easy.’

  The blood was pulsing in her ears and it was difficult to breathe. ‘That’s fine.’

  His gaze mocked. ‘You’re saying it’s fine for me to break your heart?’

  ‘No. I’m saying you won’t break it. To break it, I’d have to be in love with you and I’m not in love with you. I wouldn’t be that stupid.’

  His lids lowered, half concealing black eyes that glittered dark and dangerous. ‘Perhaps I’m not in the mood for a gentle seduction.’