He nodded. She smiled and kissed him over and over again. This time, it was slow and passionate. Then, as the kiss lingered, she snuggled closer into his embrace.
“Look at that,” he said, pointing across the water. She turned. In the far distance, just beyond the town, they saw two sky lanterns, brightly lit, gently float up into the night. She laughed. He joined in. “I feel like my heart is soaring just like the lanterns.” They watched them climb higher and higher until they eventually disappeared into the night sky. “Marry me.”
“Dean.”
“Will you marry me?” he asked.
She smiled sadly. “No”
“What?”
“Dean, you know I want to say yes, I do, but I can’t. How can I? I know you’re leaving as soon as this is over. You have a business out there and you’re right in the middle of a merger. You can’t just walk away from that.”
“Let me worry about that. Just say yes.”
She shook her head. “No, I can’t. You leave and I stay. Nothing’s changed.”
“Carmen, say yes and trust me.”
She thought about the one night they were engaged ten years ago. It was the best few hours of her life. She smiled and nodded slowly knowing this would be their last time together. “Yes.”
He kissed her, then wrapped his arm around her as they laid back on the roof in silence. She curled into him and cuddled close as he held her tight and stroked her back. “This is a perfect memory. Thank you,” she whispered.
“They’re many more to come.”
“That would be nice,” she said, knowing it was possible.
“I think we should stay up here all night. I always wanted to make love to you out here beneath the stars.”
She sat up and looked at him. “Really? On the roof?”
“Yeah, call it a fantasy. You, me, naked,making love up here on the roof beneath the stars on a night like tonight.”
“That sounds tempting, albeit a bit challenging.”
“Aren’t you up for a challenge?” he teased.
She looked around, then at the ground four stories down. “Actually, I have a better idea. Come with me,” she said, taking his hand. He grabbed the champagne and basket, and they climbed back inside.
A few minutes later, Dean opened the door to his suite. He smiled and stepped aside. Carmen walked in and looked around as if she’d never seen the room before. As always, it was perfectly neat. The only signs that someone was staying there were the large architect’s open tube, some unrolled blueprints, the laptop computer, and the papers on the office desk in the alcove.
“Carmen.”
She turned around, right into his embrace. Without a word, passion erupted instantly as their mouths fused. His hands went right to her breasts, which were covered only by the thin cotton T-shirt. Her nipples, already pebbled from the rooftop kiss, hardened instantly. He tweaked each one as he deepened the kiss. She moaned, writhing against the torturous, tantalizing pain that felt so damn good.
She grabbed at his jeans, unbuttoned them, and pulled at his zipper, getting it only halfway down. Impatiently, she began unfastening the buttons on his shirt, ripping the last two off. Then she pulled it away from his shoulders to see his strong, hard chest. She touched him and smiled. It was much firmer and broader than she remembered. It was a man’s chest, a man’s body. Breathless, she looked up at him. “This was a long time coming. Make love to me, Dean.”
There was no response necessary.
In staggering speed they were all over each other. Frantic and desperate, hands and tongues grabbed, stroked, massaged, tweaked, pressed, licked, tasted, suckled in frenzied release. Both topless, they moved to the bed. He sat down and pulled her, still standing, between his legs. His hands rested on her hips. He looked up and down her body, then slowly unzipped her shorts and pulled them free.
She stood in just scant panties. He licked his lips, sending a shiver of delight through her body. He opened his mouth and pulled her close. The first time he licked her nipple, her body tensed. She watched in awe, amazed by his ravenous appetite. He was slow and seductive, licking, tasting, nibbling, and sucking his fill.
Then he reached back and squeezed her buttocks while he suckled both breasts side by side, over and over again. The sensation was mind-blowing. Her toes curled and her insides quivered as she nearly fainted. His torturous tongue licked and teased the rest of her body front and back until her legs wobbled. His mouth and hands were everywhere.
She gasped and moaned as her head rocked back from the blinding pleasure of him. Then his hand slipped between her legs, finding her swollen pleasure. He massaged her. She could feel herself coming as her nails bit into his shoulders. One finger, two fingers, three, went deep into her as the maniacal massage continued. The searing heat of his actions pushed her too close to the edge. Then she was over. She climaxed hard and long, then weakened, fell against him. He grabbed her and eased her down on the bed. Then he stood, removed his jeans, and grabbed a condom from his pocket.
In an instant, he covered himself and stood over her. Her breath caught at seeing him, long, thick, and hard. She smiled in nervous anticipation. She bent her knees and spread her legs, and he entered her slowly at first. Then he surged all the way, deep inside, filling her completely. She cried out in pleasurable pain.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
“Better than okay,” she said, breathless.
He pushed deeper in strong steady strokes. Slowly at first, then the frenzied fury of passion took him. He plunged into her and she met him with equal force. Her heart pounded as he raised her up and grabbed her rear, dictating the final pace. She thrust her hips up to meet him, each stroke hard, faster, deeper sending them closer and closer to the edge.
A muffled shriek escaped as she climaxed and spasm after spasm shot through her body. Then, seconds later, she felt him tense and a ferocious tremor surge through his body bringing a guttural groan from his throat. He held on to her and she held on to him.
With sweet, tender kissing, he eased over, pulling her to his side. Breathless, she closed her eyes and lay against his chest. Hours later, the next time they made love, it was slow and unhurried and lasted a good long time. It was another one of Dean’s fantasies.
Carmen woke up to pebbled nipples and something very hard poking into her back. “Hey,” she muttered over her shoulder. “You’re awake.”
“Merry Christmas.” He kissed her neck and continued stroking the curve of her body.
“Merry Christmas,” she purred and snuggled back against him. “It’s still dark. What time is it?”
Dean glanced over at the side table. “It’s four-thirty.”
“I need to get out of here,” she said, then moved the covers back to get out of the bed. He quickly encircled her waist and pulled her back against his naked body. His penis poked her again. She smiled. “And put that away. You have a parade to do in a couple of hours.”
“I have a better idea.”
“Yeah, I bet you do.”
“Do the parade with me,” he said, kissing her neck and shoulder, then working his way down the side of her body.
“No way.” She tried to scoot away, but he held her tight.
“Come on, it’ll be fun. We can be grand marshals together. I’m sure Thomas will be delighted.”
“Before or after his heart attack when you show up late?”
“Okay, okay, let’s get in the shower. Kill two birds. And another one of my fantasies.”
“How many fantasies do you have?”
“With you, the list is endless.” He jumped up and grabbed her legs as she squealed and giggled. He picked her up, put her over his shoulder, and slapped her rear. She shrieked louder this time as he headed to the bathroom.
As soon as he got there, he set her down and turned on the shower faucets. Specially designed for the grand suite, the multiple jets immediately sprayed water. He stepped into the glass-enclosed shower and held his hand out for her t
o join him. “Come on. I want to see you wet.”
“Let me guess, another fantasy.”
He laughed. “Of course.”
“We need a condom,” she said, smiling.
He looked around the bathroom quickly. “I think I have one more in my briefcase. It’s on the desk in the alcove.”
“I’ll get it.” She nodded and hurried out. Naked, she walked over to the alcove. She opened his briefcase, looked in the top compartment pocket, and found a gold foil packet. “Got it.”
“Hurry up! I’m getting lonely,” he called out.
Smiling happily, she closed the case sending the rolled blueprints and papers flying everywhere. She quickly picked them up, barely seeing what was written on them. Then she stopped cold, reading the top of the blueprint and the architect renderings. “Texas site,” she said.
Her heart collapsed. With this already done, she knew Hayden never stood a chance. “Payback.” She put everything back on the table and quickly dressed.
“Hey, what’s taking you so long?” he called out from the bathroom. He came out wet with a towel wrapped around his waist. He stopped, seeing her dressed and standing at the desk with the blueprints in her hands.
His jaw tightened in restraint. He knew exactly what she thought. “Carmen, I know what this looks like, but . . .”
“What? What could this possibly look like, other than what it is? Your company is merging and moving to Texas. Hayden never had a chance and neither did I. All this was just a lie.” She stormed away.
He rushed over and grabbed her arm before she got to the door. “Carmen, you’ve got it wrong.”
“I know what just happened, I know what I just got. But I’m too much of a lady to say it.”
“No, wait. Listen to me. I love you. This wasn’t a lie.”
“I guess I deserve payback too?” She shook her arm loose and glared at him. “Funny, the joke’s on me. I love you and I don’t know how to stop.” She turned and walked out.
Chapter 11
Thankfully the excitement of Christmas Day took her instantly. She showered, dressed, and hurried down to get breakfast started as quickly as she could. The last thing she wanted was to run into Dean in the corridors.
Knowing that she had already prepped everything the night before, there really wasn’t a lot to do except baking.
“Good morning,” Marion said, already in the kitchen baking.
“Good morning, Mom. Merry Christmas,” she said, kissing her mother’s cheek.
“Merry Christmas, honey. Sleep well?” she asked as she always did each morning.
“Fine,” Carmen lied, immediately busying herself with the morning chores. Since the Christmas morning breakfast had a fuller menu, there was more to do. In less than an hour, she set up the dining room, got breakfast ready, and prepared the last batch of cookies for the parade volunteers. The good thing was that very few town residents usually came to breakfast on Christmas Day. That meant a lot less people, and that was fine with her.
After a while, she focused all her attention on getting the cookies packed up in the car while her mother took care of the breakfast guests. “Mom, I think I’m gonna get these down to the parade route. I’m sure some of the volunteers are already out there.”
“Okay, but don’t you want to wait to wish Dean a merry Christmas?”
“No,” she said curtly.
Marion looked and her face frowned. “What happened?”
“We’ll talk later. Merry Christmas, Mom. See you later.”
“Merry Christmas, honey.”
Dean stood, wet and half wrapped in a towel, staring at the closed door. He could have blocked the door, held her down, and made her listen, but he knew talking to Carmen right now would be futile. She’d never hear him. She was too angry. And he knew what it was like to be that angry and feel betrayed by someone who was supposed to love you.
He walked over to the desk and looked at the plans she found. Sure, he could see how they could be misconstrued if she didn’t have all the information. But she’d never stopped to ask.
He shook his head and smirked, thinking this was the second time he had been engaged to the same woman for one single night. He had no idea how he was going to fix this. But he knew someone who could. He grabbed his cell phone and called his friend.
“Dean,” Jared answered sleepily, “man, you had better have a damn good reason for calling me this early in the morning. I just walked in the house.”
“Jared, I have a job for you.”
He laughed. “Since when do you get yourself jammed up?”
Dean sighed heavily. “Man . . . I don’t know what to do.”
“Start from the beginning,” Jared said, sounding more alert. “Don’t leave anything out. I want every detail.”
Dean told him about Carmen, the morning, the night before, and the last few days. “I love her. I need her.”
Jared chuckled. “Yeah, I can hear it in your voice.”
“All this, everything I did, was for her. I owe her my life.”
“Okay, so she’s got the wrong information and there’s no way you telling her will correct this.”
“Yeah, pretty much. Plus I can’t tell her about the impending sale. If I do, I’ll jeopardize a lot of jobs and a lot of good people.”
“Perhaps we can maneuver around that. Let me see what I can do.”
“Thanks, man. I owe you. What do you need from me?”
“I’d say a bottle of Glenfiddich Roberts Reserve fifty-five or a Macallan twenty-six, but I’ll settle for a nice twenty-five-year-old Chivas Regal Scotch and a Cuban.”
“You got it. When will . . . ?”
“Social media should be trending by noon.”
Dean smiled, shaking his head. Jared was a whiz at manipulating social media to move in any direction he pointed. As soon as they were on board, the national news cycles would follow within hours. All and all, he wasn’t sure if his friend’s particular skill set was a good thing or scary as hell. Either way, he knew right now it was saving his life. “You know, that’s scary how you do that.”
“Yeah, so I’ve heard. Now get off my phone so I can do my job. Oh, and don’t forget my cigars.”
“Merry Christmas.”
“Right back at ya.”
Dean ended the call, showered, and dressed. As soon as he gathered his paperwork, his room phone rang. He answered with the slightest hope that it was Carmen. But it wasn’t. It was the front desk informing him that Thomas Ford was in the foyer waiting to escort him to the parade.
“Damn.” He forgot all about the parade. Then it occurred to him that Carmen would be there. And suddenly he didn’t mind. He headed down to breakfast and saw Marion in the dining room with Thomas. “Merry Christmas,” he said.
“Merry Christmas,” they said in unison.
Thomas stood quickly, slapped his hands together, and smiled brightly. “It’s a beautiful day out there. Perfect for the parade. Shall we get started?”
“Thomas, let the man eat something first,” Marion said.
“Oh, right, of course. By all means.”
“Is Carmen around?” Dean asked.
“No, she’s already in town setting up. You remember, we help supply the snacks for the parade volunteers.”
He nodded. “Actually, I’m not too hungry. Let’s get to that parade.”
Thomas was so excited he nearly jumped into the air.
“Well, at least let me get you a cup of coffee and a little something to take with you,” Marion said. “It’s gonna be a long parade. Come on in the kitchen. Thomas, Dean will be right out.”
As soon as Marion and Dean went into the kitchen, she turned to him. “What’s going on with you and my daughter?”
Dean shook his head. “I proposed.”
Marion’s face instantly lit up to gleeful elation; then, seeing Dean’s expression, it just as quickly turned to woeful trepidation. “What happened?”
“She saw some plans on my desk.
”
“What kind of plans?”
“The old Texas plans from before we sold the company. I liked what the architect did, so I pulled them out to scope out some property in the area here.”
“And so it looks like you’re moving the company to Texas instead of selling it,” she surmised. He nodded. “So, just tell her the truth. You told me. ”
“And you know I wasn’t supposed to.”
“But you did and now you need to tell Carmen.”
He shook his head. “She’s not listening to me right now.”
“Fine, I’ll tell her.”
“No, I have to make this right.”
There was a timid knock on the kitchen door; then Thomas stuck his head in smiling. “Ready to go?”
Three hours later, the parade was a huge sensation. According to Thomas’s count, there were over ten thousand people in attendance—double the size from a year ago. He beamed the entire time. Carmen and Jessie handed out holiday cookies to all the parade volunteers and small kids gathered. “So, Grinch, what’s up with you?”
Carmen shook her head. “I took your advice.”
“Which advice?”
“With Dean.”
Jessie grinned. “And?”
“It was horrible.”
“What, he was bad in bed?”
“Oh, no, God, no, the man is amazing, but he’s also a liar and a cheat.”
“Meaning what? He’s married?”
“No, although he proposed again last night.”
“And you accepted, then dumped him. Seriously, what’s with you two? I wish you’d just get married already. You clearly love each other, so what’s the problem?”
“He told me he was staying.”
“Great.”
“I found out he’s not. He’s moving his company to Texas.”
A Christmas Kiss Page 9