by Fawn Lowery
I will not cry.
I will not cry.
When Sonja remained seated on the bed for a sufficient time, Joe pulled in a deep breath and prepared his speech, but the second he started in her direction, she sprang to her feet and shot past him toward the door of the room.
“Last night never happened!” she said in a stern voice.
She opened the door of the room and stepped into the hallway—then the realization that she was naked shot through her. Quickly, she began running down the corridor, clutching her clothes to her chest while trying to retrieve her room key from her purse.
“Of all the dumb-ass things to do—“
* * * *
For almost an hour, Sonja paced the floor trying to make sense out of last nights escapades. She had slept with her new business partner—the notorious Donovan Dix.
She raised both hands, raking her fingers through her hair. Was she completely insane? Had she lost all ability to reason? Why hadn’t she insisted he tell her his name—instead of shrugging her shoulders at his anonymity?
“I would never have slept with him if I’d known who he is!”
In retrospect, the sex had been absolutely fantastic…and she had even looked forward to playing some more while they were snowed in—but that was out of the question now. She felt foolish for what she had allowed to happen. A rush of embarrassment flamed through her insides when she remembered how she had deliberately instigated the whole seduction.
“I seduced him!” she murmured. It might not have been half as bad had he seduced her, but damn the luck, she had thrown caution to the wind...
“Well, it won’t happen again,” she muttered.
Her empty stomach growled, letting her know it was past time for a meal. She bit on her bottom lip. She could order room service and stay shut up in the room for the rest of the vacation...
“I’ve got to face him sooner or later,” she decided, grabbing up her purse and heading for the door.
As she made her way toward the main lobby of the hotel in search of breakfast, she admitted to herself that she would never be the partner in charge—not since giving herself so willingly to Donovan Dix.
“Joe, my ass!” she spat, a new surge of anger fueling her words.
The noise from the lobby reached her ears before she started down the staircase. The usual holiday music blared from the sound system and once Sonja reached the stairs, she saw something new had been added to the decorations—a giant ball of mistletoe suspended just above the front doors. A number of jovial couples were taking turns kissing each other beneath it.
She paused her feet. She’d never been kissed under the mistletoe, and now that she’d screwed up royally, she guessed she never would be, either. Remorse surged forward to couple with her anger at being such a fool and letting Donovan Dix put one over on her. Then she straightened her spine, squared her shoulders and proceeded down the stairs.
She inched around the gathering of laughing couples and headed toward the restaurant when suddenly she was grasped around the waist and hauled against a solid chest. At first she let out a yelp of protest, then thought perhaps one of the young men in the gathering had grabbed her merely as a joke. But when she regained her footing and glanced upward, she saw Donovan Dix was her captor. She immediately pushed at his chest, demanding he release her.
“We’re going to kiss and make up under the mistletoe,” he insisted, a firmness in his voice.
His arms were like a steel vise, holding her body against the long, hard length of his. Her hips pressed against his and her breasts flattened against his chest. His heat immediately penetrated her clothing and seeped into her flesh.
“Kiss me,” he ordered in a hot whisper.
“No. I will not,” she refused.
The gathering of couples surrounded them, quietly waiting.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t completely honest with you. Now, kiss me.”
“No. And I refuse to accept your apology.”
“Like hell you do,” he asserted.
His arms tightened around her body, making her breath catch in her throat. “Let me go,” she ordered. Her palms were flattened against his chest, and she was exerting all her strength to keep her face from coming too close to his.
“Never.”
His refusal shocked her to the extent that she looked up into his face, making eye contact with him. A surge of something totally foreign filtered into her mind.
“I won’t let you go, babe. I won’t.”
“Listen,” she began, glancing round at the couples eyeing them curiously. “This is no place to air our differences.”
“Kiss me,” he demanded.
She expelled an agitated breath of air. “I have no desire to…to kiss you, Donovan Dix.” But as the words left her mouth, she knew she wasn’t altogether truthful. Last night she had experienced such sexual bliss, as never before with a man.
“It’s true that my friends call me Joe. And since I’ve never really had a woman that I gave a damn about, I thought you could call me Joe as well.”
The crowd quietly laughed at his words, though they had no way of understanding why he was having such difficulty convincing the pretty lady to kiss him. Sonja felt her cheeks flame with embarrassment.
“This is silly,” she whispered, a bit amused at it all.
“Yes, it is. Now kiss me and I’ll buy you breakfast.”
“I have no intention of having breakfast with you—“
He gave her a little squeeze.
“We can’t stand here for the rest of the day. And besides, I’m getting the urge to take you to bed again.”
She wrenched her body to one side trying to break his hold on her. “I screwed you and you screwed me—we’re even! Now turn me loose before I start screaming and demand someone call the police.”
He threw back his handsome head and laughed loudly. “I love a woman with spirit—especially at Christmastime!”
“Shut up!”
“Kiss me.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No!”
“I’ll make you a deal,” he whispered. “I’m beginning to feel a little foolish standing here begging you to part with one little kiss. Kiss me, and you’ll never have to see me again.”
“What’s the catch?”
“No catch.”
She didn’t believe him for a minute. And besides, suddenly the thought of never seeing him again made her a little sad. How can that be? she questioned, her arched brows drawing together.
“Sonja?”
She raised her eyes and met his gaze. “Why weren’t you honest with me from the beginning? Why did you lead me to believe you were someone else?”
Pulling in a deep breath, he leaned his forehead against hers. “I had gone to New Orleans to meet you when I learned you were leaving town for the holidays. I thought it would be a good time for us to meet on neutral ground, so I called the lodge and made a reservation and then bought a plane ticket.” He grinned slightly. “By the way, your secretary really was reluctant to tell me where you were going.”
“Answer my question.”
“I had no idea you felt so strongly about me until you began talking on the plane. Until that time, I planned to introduce myself.”
“Franky had no right to sell his share of the business without telling me.”
“And you’ve no right forming an opinion of me without getting to know me.”
“Your reputation precedes you.”
“And your reputation as an ice queen is bogus. You’re the hottest woman I’ve ever had in my bed.”
Her cheeks flamed at his words.
“I’ve no intention of taking over your business, honey. In fact, I think we’re pretty good together.”
“I don’t mix business and sex.”
“You did last night.”
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” she defended.
“I could argue against that statement.”
&nb
sp; “Get a room!” a voice yelled and the crowd erupted in laughter.
“Kiss him already!” another chimed in.
“Let’s go back upstairs and work things out,” he coaxed. “I know I can make you listen to reason.”
“No.”
He let out a pent-up breath. “Would you accept a Christmas present from me?”
Her body was on the verge of deceiving her—of wanting him again. She narrowed her gaze on him. “What kind of a Christmas present?”
“My share of your business.”
Her eyes widened. “Don’t tease me,” she warned.
“Kiss me, and I’ll give you my share of your business.”
She felt her throat all but close up. She was certain then about the feelings she had felt when he touched her last night. How and why it was happening was a mystery. But it was happening—and she was allowing it—wanting it.
She relaxed in his arms, stopped objecting to his holding her and tipped her head back to receive his kiss.
His head bent and his lips sealed atop hers.
And a new realization shot through Sonja’s insides. Donovan Dix was a man she could fall head over heels in love with.
“Merry Christmas,” he whispered, pulling his lips from hers.
The crowd burst into a loud round of applause, filling the wide foyer with a noisy echo that momentarily drowned out the Christmas music.
Sonja’s eyes jerked open when his lips left hers and the roar of the onlookers burst forth. Puzzlement arose inside her as the pair of male arms slid from around her body.
“Joe—or Donovan—or what ever your name is,” she muttered, clutching at his hand. She had to get him alone so she could be certain of what had just happened.
He was looking down at her, his blue gaze caressing her face with total abandon.
“Come with me,” she insisted, pulling him toward the stairs.
She didn’t stop until he was confined inside her room, then she threw herself into his arms.
“I’m not really certain what just happened down there—under the mistletoe—but I am sure of one thing.”
“I’m listening,” he said, squeezing her warmly.
“I want you in my life.”
He smiled down into her upturned face. “Honey, that kiss you just gave me spoke volumes to me.” He caught her chin in his fingers. “I think I’m falling in love with you, Sonja. Do you feel it?”
“Yes, Joe. I feel it.”
“Is it Christmas magic—because I’ve forgotten how wonderful Christmas is.”
“We could say that it’s magic. Or we could say that something happened to us under the mistletoe.”
His mouth silenced her as his arms pinned her body against his length, and a happiness like no other in her entire life filtered through Sonja’s body.
The End
About the Author
I’ve been living my dream of writing for pay for fifteen years, but when I’m not at my desk, I enjoy riding motorcycles with my husband Dave. We’ve toured the lower forty-eight states and had many wonderful adventures. When I’m not traveling or writing, I enjoy reading and taking long walks with my sweetheart.