Do Not Disturb Until Christmas

by Charlene Sands

  “Brock’s secret weapon at the hotel. I had him send over some meals with Jimmy yesterday.”

  Code unwrapped three dishes. “Chicken and andouille gumbo, rosemary chicken or jumbo lump crab and mango cake salad. Anything sound good?”

  Sarah reminded herself not to put her hand to her belly, something she’d been apt to do since she found out about the baby. Thankfully, her nausea had subsided and all three dishes sounded like heaven. She picked the safest of the three choices. “Rosemary chicken.”

  Code set the glass dish in the oven and turned it on. He gestured for her to take a seat. “How about a drink?”

  “Mint julep would be appropriate in this house.” A nervous laugh escaped and she caught Code’s raised brows. “But I’ll settle for a glass of water.”

  She sat down.

  “No wine?” he asked, leaving the room. Seconds ticked by and he returned with what looked like a very expensive bottle. “I’ve got a damned good wine cellar just off the kitchen.”

  “None for me. I’m not much of a drinker, Code.”

  “I know,” he said, setting the wine bottle down. “I remember.” Code’s eyes twinkled. “One beer, and you’d be all over me.”

  Sarah cleared her throat forcefully, blocking out the image of sipping beer in the back seat of Cody’s car and crawling into his lap, deep in the throes of passion. So often they’d come close to making love, their breaths labored, their senses heightened, but they’d never succumbed to their desires.

  Code sat and leaned toward her, bracing his elbows on the table. “I used to debate about offering you beer. Much as I enjoyed it, you’d leave me so damn aroused, I’d finish the six pack off and curse my bad luck falling for you with every sip.”

  Heat raced up her throat and a flush stole over her face. “I…I didn’t know that. You never told me.”

  He shrugged. “You wanted to wait. And I wanted to do right by you.”

  “You were patient.” The statement hung in the air until she finished, “and I loved you for it.”

  A light flickered in Code’s eyes for a moment, before he inhaled sharply and turned from her.

  Sarah made herself busy setting out plates and utensils Code handed her, wishing she could’ve taken back those words. When the food was ready, they shared a quiet meal, neither of them bothering to speak as they ate, their past looming overhead like a dark, ominous cloud.

  After they finished eating, Code rose and offered her his hand. “Time for bed, Sarah.”

  Sarah gazed up at him, the blue in his eyes gleaming like the deep fathomless sea.

  “Do I need to ply you with beer to sleep with you tonight?”

  Sarah closed her eyes briefly, caught up in bitter-sweet nostalgia and intense emotion. She took his hand. “No.”

  “That’s good, baby, because there’s only one bed in this house, and you’re sharing it with me.”

  Sarah gazed out the master bedroom window overlooking the Mississippi River watching twinkling stars dot the sky with bursts of light. She stood on unsteady legs, wishing she could drink a beer to bolster her nerve.

  Then she scoffed at the notion.

  She’d been alone with Code before. They’d made love. But now, knowing Code would play a role in her future because of the baby put her on the shakiest ground of her life.

  She hugged herself around the middle letting a deeply held breath escape.

  “Cold?” Code stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, his breath warming her throat, his smooth voice sliding over her like soft velvet.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “You’re not sure if you’re cold?” he asked with amusement.

  She gave her head a slight shake. “I’m not sure I should be here…with you.”

  She looked over her shoulder and viewed his handsome profile. The sight of him so near made her dizzy with desire.

  “You didn’t complain when I carried you off that stage.”

  “I was scared.”

  “You’re still scared, aren’t you, Sarah? But you trusted me enough to let me bring you here. You could’ve stopped me.”

  “Would you have listened?”

  “No, probably not,” he admitted, his hands roaming down to the waistband of her suede form-fitting pants. He splayed his fingers wide and applied exquisite pressure to her flat stomach.

  Sarah closed her eyes and thought of the tiny baby his hands warmed. In softer moments like these, she could fall deeply in love with Code again.

  “I’m glad you’re here with me,” he said quietly. “I wanted you to see Willow Bend. One way or another, I would have brought you here.”

  “Because I’m in your blood?” She peered straight out the window, standing as still as the columns that supported this house, waiting for his answer.

  Code moved in front of the window, blocking out starlight. He fingered a lock of hair that had crossed her forehead, gently pushing it back behind her ears. Their eyes met and Code bent his head and brushed his mouth to hers. “Yes, you’re in my blood, Sarah,” he whispered in the darkness, “But I won’t fall in love with you.”

  Sarah understood why. She’d hurt him in the past, and he’d never trust her again. She’d left Barker, Texas, for fame and fortune. Code would never see it any other way.

  Now that she’d been forced to face him here in New Orleans, her heart ached for all that they’d lost. She’d never loved anyone as much as she’d loved Code Landon. He’d been her first love, and they’d adored each other. She didn’t have a witty reply. She didn’t feel the need to burn him the way his words had scalded her. Sadness swept through her, and she turned away from him with tears in her eyes.

  Code grabbed her arm gently and she stilled. In a fluid motion, he lifted her into his arms and carried her over to the bed. Setting her down, he covered his body over hers and crushed her lips with a spellbinding kiss. She responded to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissed him back with unrestrained ferocity.

  He was in her blood as well.

  She hadn’t realized it until this very moment. Even armed with the knowledge that Code would never love her again, she couldn’t deny him. She couldn’t deny her own desire either. Maybe she, too, needed to find a way to get him out of her head and heart forever.

  Making love to him isn’t the way to do that, Sarah.

  Sarah shook off her niggling thoughts. She couldn’t fight him any longer. Emotions took over and Sarah surrendered to them. After her fright tonight on stage, she needed his strong arms around her. She needed his body crushed to hers. She needed to feel safe with him by her side.

  She wove her hands in his hair, messing up his trimmed military cut as he unbuttoned her gold silk blouse. He wasn’t one to finesse, Code took what he wanted, and once he removed her blouse and bra, his hands caressed her breasts, thumbing the nipples until every nerve in her body screamed out in agonizing joy.

  He watched her as she accepted his sensual touches, his eyes burning like dark embers. “I like putting that look on your face, baby.”

  He flicked his thumb over her again and she moaned and curled her body further under him, needing more. “I like when you put that look on my face. But I like the way it feels even more.”

  Code kissed her again, driving his tongue into her mouth and making contact immediately while one hand continued to caress her. A hot flush warmed her entire body.

  Code stopped kissing her to gaze upon her, his eyes roaming over her leisurely. “I pictured you in this bed with me a hundred times.”

  Sarah’s throat constricted from the sheer power of his gaze. “When you pictured me, did you have on all your clothes?”

  Code let out an amused chuckle. “Smart ass.”

  “Am I?”

  “Hell, when I pictured you here, neither one of us had a lick of clothes on. Neither one of us could move a muscle once we exhausted each other. And neither one of us wanted to be anywh—”

  With a frown marring his handsome face
, Code stopped short of saying neither one of them wanted to be anywhere else. But Code couldn’t trust in that, much less finish the sentiment. Something powerful clicked in her heart. It was another reminder of what they’d lost and would never regain.

  “Well, then, Mr. Landon, with all this picturing in your head, I’d say you need to get very busy.”

  “I like a demanding woman,” he said, standing to full height and unbuttoning his shirt. “In bed, that is.”

  He stood over her with his shirt hanging from his broad shoulders and leaned toward her. “It’s a shame these have to go,” he said, helping her slide her feet out of her boots.

  He rode his hands over her smooth suede pants. “And these.”

  She helped him with the side zipper and he yanked them off playfully. “Be careful with my pants.”

  Code looked at the pants he held in his hands and shook his head. “Do you really care?”

  Sarah peered at the custom designed suede pants she’d fought Robert so hard to keep in her wardrobe and realized how ridiculous she sounded. It had been her win against Robert and not the pants that she cherished so much. She smiled. “No, I truly don’t. It’s just that they’re one of a kind.”

  Code flung them. Then he gazed down at her naked form with hunger in his eyes. “You’re one of a kind, Sarah.”

  He returned to the bed after removing his trousers and kissed her deeply, his tender words sweet to her ears. She’d become familiar with him, the musky male scent of his skin, the taste of his mouth and the powerful way he held her.

  He stroked her between the thighs and she parted her legs, allowing him to slide his hand over her apex. She moved under the ministrations of his fingers, rotating her hips, her breasts swelling and her body igniting.

  He readied her quickly, her juices warm and wet. As he rose over her with protection in place—protection that she no longer needed, he teased her with the tip of his potent erection. Anticipation stirred her senses wildly.

  “Hang on.”

  His tone left no room for doubt. She took hold of his shoulders and rocked back with the power of his first thrust.

  A satisfied moan escaped her throat. She clung on to him as he plunged farther. Wracked with tremors of ecstasy, she moved her body with his.

  “So damn good,” he said between fiery kisses and thrusts that left her speechless.

  It seemed the whole of his concentration was bent on pleasuring her and he got an A+ for effort.

  “Code,” she called out, when his hard erection brought her senses to the brink. Her body heated and electricity surged like a lightning bolt. Her orgasm pulsed through her system with force and her hips gyrated to accommodate that demand. Her powerful release met with Code’s and they rose up together to a fevered pitch, then slowly lowered down, their rapid breaths mingling, stealing the remaining oxygen in the room.

  Spent now, she rested back on the bed, her emotions in turmoil, but her body singing an opera. Code was a marvelous lover. She’d only been with three other men in her life. Three men she’d cared about and not the dozen famous athletes and actors the tabloids had associated her with, but no one would ever come close to Code’s lovemaking.

  They had intense sexual chemistry. It’s a mystery how she’d been able to put him off all those years ago. Thinking back on it now, she didn’t know how she’d kept from jumping his bones on those backseat dates.

  Code rolled away from her and lay on his back staring up at the ceiling, his expression unreadable again.

  “Cody,” she began softly, wanting so badly to tell him everything she felt in her heart. Maybe tell him about the baby she carried.

  “Don’t say anything, Sarah.” He rose slowly from the bed and faced her again. “Just don’t say anything.”

  He strode to his antique armoire, opened a drawer and pulled out a shirt. He handed it to her and then picked up his pants and headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” she asked rising up, confused and in a bit in a panic.

  “I need a drink. Get some rest. I’ll be back later.”

  And Code walked out of the room, leaving her sexually satisfied and completely baffled.

  Code raked a hand through his hair and poured three fingers of bourbon in a tumbler. He paced the parlor floor sipping from his drink, the liquor sliding down his throat with ease.

  Memories flooded his senses of Sarah Rose, the high school freshman so pretty and fresh-faced and sweet approaching him in Barker Hall, handing him a flyer for the dance on Saturday night.

  “You have to come,” she’d said. “We’re raising funds to send care packages to our soldiers for Christmas.”

  Touched by her generosity and enthusiasm, Cody accepted the flyer and asked a few questions, just to have Sarah talk to him awhile longer. “My father was in the military,” he’d said.

  Sarah’s smile grew wide and her pretty green eyes brightened. “Then you have to come.”

  Code had rocked back on his heels pretending nonchalance. He’d been taken by Sarah from the moment she’d approached him and knew then and there he’d wanted to know her better. “Well…I don’t know.”

  “Please.” She had pleaded with genuine concern.

  “I don’t dance.”

  “I’ll teach you,” she’d offered and Code made a date with the auburn-haired girl without hesitation.

  That had been thirteen years ago. They’d fallen in love almost immediately and had been youthfully, naively happy. Code had admired Sarah’s generosity. She’d always tried helping others, even when her family’s situation had been dire. They’d been beyond poor, her mother trying to raise three girls on her own.

  Code hadn’t forgotten the desolation and gut-ripping pain that seared his system when Sarah’s mother, Lenora Rose walked up to him one summer day. “She’s gone. She asked me to give you this.”

  Shock stole over him. He thought he’d heard wrong and questioned Lenora, who had tears in her eyes.

  He barely remembered reading Sarah’s letter. He’d trembled uncontrollably.

  So much had happened since then and neither one of them could have predicted the outcome of their lives.

  Code finished his bourbon and glanced at his watch. It would be earlier in the evening in Hawaii. He sat on a wide velvet-tufted chair, picked up the phone and punched in Brock’s number.

  “Hey,” he said once Brock answered. “I figured you’ve heard about what happened tonight.”

  “Yeah, man. I did. Got a call from my manager. What the hell happened?”

  “Some jerk rushed up on the stage. We apprehended him before he got to Sarah, and he’s being dealt with.”

  “How’s Sarah doing?”

  “Scared, but okay. He didn’t touch her physically, but it was enough to bring back some old memories of being attacked on stage. I plan on getting to the bottom of it. My team never lets anything like this happen. Something’s up, and there’s going to be hell to pay.”

  “I take it you’ve got Sarah,” Brock stated without doubt.

  “I do.”

  “Where?”

  “Willow Bend. I’ll keep her out of the limelight for a day or two. She needs the rest and quiet.”

  Brock laughed, his mirth coming through clearly. “You’re telling me she’ll get that being alone with you?”

  Code wasn’t a kiss and tell kind of guy. “Yeah, something like that.”

  “Oh, man. I suppose you told her you took her there for her own good.”

  “No. I told her the truth. I’m protecting your interest in the hotel. She’s the reason you’re sold out for the holidays.”

  Brock kept silent for a few seconds. “That’s just plain wrong, Code.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  “No, the truth’s staring you in the face, and you’re too damn prideful to see it.” Then Brock sighed and added, “Listen, I owe you for taking care of her. I don’t want anyone getting hurt at my hotel, much less a sweet person like Sarah. I’m not holding he
r to her contract. If she can’t perform again—”

  “She wants to. In fact, she said wild horses wouldn’t stand in her way.”

  “She’s doing this for charity,” Brock said, “and I admire her gumption. Maybe you should cut her some slack.”

  “Me? You want me to cut her some slack?” Code wasn’t offended. He and Brock spoke openly about many things, but Brock seemed to have the situation backwards. It was Sarah who had treated him unfairly. “I’m only protecting yo—”

  “Her. You’re protecting her because you care about her more than you’re willing to admit.”

  Code balked at the notion. He wouldn’t fall in love with Sarah again. He couldn’t. Sarah cared about her career and regardless of her charity work, she still loved being a celebrity.

  “Cody?”

  Code turned to find Sarah standing on the bottom step of the winding staircase, wearing only his shirt, her coppery hair a mass of wild curls, her pale face framed by faint light.

  Something tightened in his gut—the same something that had him getting up and leaving Sarah alone in his bed tonight. She looked like she belonged here at Willow Bend, in his bed and in his home. She looked…perfect.

  Code couldn’t take his eyes off her. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said to Brock and hung up, then rose from the parlor chair. “Sarah?”

  “I, um,” she began, but couldn’t seem to get the words out. She nibbled on her bottom lip.

  Code called himself every kind of fool. He’d brought her here, made love to her after she’d had a frightening night, then had left her alone to sleep in a strange bed in an unfamiliar house.

  She stared at his bare chest, her eyes filled with longing. Code walked over to her and met her piercing gaze. “I’m here.”

  She swallowed and nodded.

  He took her hand, entwining their fingers and walked her back upstairs to his bedroom, where she promptly fell asleep in his arms.

  Six

  T elling Code about the baby she carried had been on the tip of her tongue for the past two days. In that time, she’d spent every waking moment with him at Willow Bend. Her days were filled with taking long walks along his property, cooking meals together and sitting by the levee before the winter chill would send them back inside the house.