by LuAnn McLane
“Huh,” she said as she gave him a sidelong glance. “I know that smile.”
He looked down at her face and noticed she didn’t seem too threatened by it. She was responding to it. “Do you?” he murmured.
She didn’t look away. He didn’t move. There was something about the moment. The scent wafting from the candy store intensified.The color of Rachel’s eyes brightened.
He’d have her. Not tonight, but soon. He was going to get closer, get to know her, and unwrap her like a present.
He understood the thrill of anticipation. The sounds got louder; the air became crisper. He wasn’t an outsider, but part of the excitement.
A snowflake fell on Rachel’s cheek. He slowly reached out and brushed it off her skin. She tilted her head up. She was just a kiss away.
He wanted this kiss more than anything. Justin swallowed roughly. Just one brush of lip against lip would tide him over.
He lowered his head and paused. He’d made a promise that he wouldn’t seduce her. He had to prove that he was strong enough to resist.
Justin turned his head, but he didn’t pull away.The need was just too much. As if he couldn’t control it, he turned back.
Rachel hadn’t moved. She was waiting, her eyes sparkling with expectancy. Her lips parted. She was hoping for a kiss.
A squeal of childish delight splintered through the air. Justin took a sharp step back as a few children ran past them and toward the roasted chestnut vendor.
He didn’t look away from Rachel. He couldn’t.
That was a close call. His chest rose and fell as if he had been running hard. One strong impulse and he nearly blew it. Not the best way to build her trust in him.
Justin took another step back. “The stores are going to close soon,” he said gruffly. “Do you need anything before we go back to the hotel?”
She cleared her throat and looked away. “Yes, one more thing.” She pointed at the store and he squinted through the drifting snowflakes.
Vixen’s Lingerie. Panic gripped his insides as the words rolled in his brain. Vixen’s. Lingerie. The gold silhouette of a reindeer in the sign didn’t make him feel any better.
“Seriously?” he asked gruffly.
“We need something warm to sleep in.”
We. His gut gave a good, vicious twist. He had a vision of the two of them underneath the quilts in the sleigh bed, and they weren’t wearing anything at all. “Uh, I’m good.”
“You have no luggage,” she reminded him.
“I need to get a toothbrush and . . . stuff.” He jerked his thumb over toward the drugstore.
“Fine,” Rachel said with a touch of exasperation. “I’ll get you something, too. I’ll meet you at the hotel.”
“You don’t have to.” But she obviously didn’t hear his words as she hurried toward the store.
This could be bad, he thought as he watched her leave. She might buy herself something sexy and wild, just to mess with his mind. He wouldn’t put it past Rachel.
No, she didn’t want anything to happen between them. She’d probably buy a shapeless granny nightgown. Something that would hide every inch of her and make him all the more curious.
Either way, he was in trouble.
Justin made his way to the drugstore, not sure if he should buy a pack of condoms. If he didn’t buy them, he might regret it. If he did buy them, he might regret it.
He grimaced as his gut gave another ferocious twist.Yep, everywhere he turned, he was headed for trouble.
Chapter Six
Justin leaned against the window frame, his arms crossed, one ankle resting over the other, and stared out into the town center in the direction of the Christmas tree. It was close to midnight and only a few brave souls were walking around outside. The snow had stopped, but there had been no sign of a snowplow. Sleigh Bell Summit was blanketed in white, the ice glistening underneath the colorful Christmas lights.
He tensed when he heard the bathroom door click open. Steam billowed into the room along with a hint of citrus. It was the scent he associated with Rachel.
Justin stared out the window as if his life depended on it. He didn’t want to look at Rachel while she was damp and rosy from a hot shower. He focused on the giant twinkling light on the tree. He was going to keep looking at it until Rachel was safely tucked into bed.
“Justin?” Her voice was soft and uncertain.
“Yeah?” he asked, not moving. She didn’t respond. That meant he had to turn around. Damn.
He could do this. He could look at Rachel and not touch. He did just fine when they shared a very quiet and unexpectedly romantic candlelit dinner. He did better than fine.
Which was going to make this night even more difficult. Justin had felt the awareness that shimmered between them across the dinner table. He had sensed every glance and every move that Rachel made. He had seen the interest in her eyes and how she kept touching her mouth, her hair, and, most of all, him.The tension had almost been unbearable.
Justin braced himself before slowly, reluctantly turning around. He had been fully prepared for an onslaught of senses. But this one left him speechless.
Standing on the other side of the room, Rachel looked effortlessly sexy. Her hair fell into thick waves over her shoulders. She looked young and innocent, her face bare. She wore a red flannel pajama shirt.
And nothing else.
Justin swallowed hard. “Uh, you’re ...” He gestured to her legs. Her long, bare legs that he knew were warm and soft to his touch. Not to mention flexible.
Justin closed his eyes briefly. He hoped she hadn’t saved any hot water for him. His shower needed to be icy cold if he was going to get through this night.
“They didn’t have that much to choose from for adults,” Rachel informed him. “So I bought the last pajama set. I get the top, you get the bottom.”
She gets the top. . . . Justin imagined lying underneath Rachel as she straddled his hips. She was riding him hard and fast as she peeled the shirt off her body.
Justin shook his head, clearing the image from his mind, and ignoring how his cock twitched. He had to stay focused on his goal.There wasn’t going to be any sex tonight.
“Here, let me get them for you,” she offered.
He kept his gaze rigidly above her shoulders as she walked to the desk, but he still noticed how the hem of her shirt barely covered her ass. Heat washed over his skin and he found it a struggle to breathe.
Did she know what she was doing to him? Was this some sort of test? It had to be. But no matter what she threw at him—even if it was herself, naked and willing—he wasn’t going to fail.
“Catch.”
His reflexes were slow, especially since her toss caused the pajama shirt to hitch up just a little. His arms went up just as the red flannel threatened to hit him in the face. Justin gripped tightly on to the pajama bottoms. He looked down at them, refusing to watch Rachel as she walked to the bed.
It was only then he saw the printed fabric.“What is on these?” he asked, looking up at her.The big bed was between them, but that didn’t make the gnawing lust inside him go away.
“They’re supposed to be reindeer,” she said,“but they look more like puppies with antlers.”
“Sexy.” He regretted the word the moment it sprang from his mouth. “You’re going to be okay with it? You went a little wild with my sweater.”
“It’s going to be dark,” she assured him.
Like that was going to be the answer to all their problems, Justin thought as he strode to the bathroom. They were alone together. All night. In one bed. But it was going to be okay because it was dark.
Riiight.
Rachel waited until Justin closed the bathroom door behind him before she gave a ragged sigh. She could do this. She wasn’t going to go sex-mad in this winter wonderland. It wasn’t the detox she had hoped for, but she was handling it.
All afternoon she managed to keep her hands off Justin. There were moments when she contemplated
the best strategy of getting him under the mistletoe, or sliding just so on the ice so she could fall in his arms. Fortunately she didn’t do any of those things. If she had, she might not have pulled herself together in time. She would have gotten swept away with the wild sensations churning inside her, and she would have taken Justin on one crazy ride.
As the day had gone on, she realized her surroundings weren’t encouraging her erotic thoughts. It was being near Justin and having his attention lavished on her.Whether they had been laughing over a novelty item or bickering over who would pay for the hot toddies, she couldn’t get enough of him.
That realization had crystallized when she enjoyed the quiet and elegant dinner with Justin.The restaurant hadn’t been overtly festive, but it might as well have been. Red-hot desire had streaked through her veins, flooding every pore until it pooled low in her hips. She had wanted Justin more than ever.
Her stay at Sleigh Bell Summit had been inconvenient and uncomfortable, but it proved Justin’s theory. It wasn’t the Christmas season that made her hot and bothered. It was all him.
Which made her predicament worse. Rachel groaned.This was a disaster. It meant she wanted him like this every season. Every day. Every hour.
But it didn’t feel like a disaster. It felt like a whole new world was opening up to her. A promise of something better. All she had to do was take the first step. Rachel bit her lip and thought about it.The idea was scary, but exciting, too.
She shouldn’t be scared. Justin wasn’t anything like the men in her past. Maybe that’s why she was nervous. She couldn’t figure him out. He was a bad boy made good. He was a rascal, smart enough to cause trouble but never get caught. Justin wasn’t the most honorable guy, and he didn’t have the traits to be a gentleman, but he was trying. Every tender touch, every time he reluctantly held back, her heart would give a slow flip. There was something irresistibly sweet about his struggle to be on his best behavior.
She had to stop daydreaming about him. It was only going to make the night longer. Rachel briskly rubbed her face and ruffled her hair before she launched into action. She double-locked the door, turned off the lights, and closed the curtains, plunging the room into darkness.The curtains weren’t as thick as she had hoped, and the Christmas lights outside cast a romantic glow in the room.
She felt a whisper of a chill and hurried for the bed. Burrowing under the warm blankets and satin sheets, she hoped the layers would keep her from reaching for Justin.
Of course they would. She curled up into a tight ball on the edge of the bed. It was time for some positive thinking.The Christmas surroundings weren’t going to make her go crazy. She was an intelligent and rational woman who wasn’t driven to indulge her base desires.
Everything was going to be fine, she told herself as she plumped up her pillow. Especially since Justin made it clear that he would wait until after the holidays to go after her.
And if she made it through the night, she could work with Justin without tearing off his clothes. She could do her best at her job and stay on track with her structured life. She could totally do this.
The bathroom door opened and the light shut off. The Christmas decorations outside offered a stream of colored light as she watched Justin step into the room. Her breath snagged in her throat as her gaze ran over his defined chest and muscular arms.The dragon tattoo on his forearm looked almost pagan.
Her gaze dropped to the pajama bottoms riding low on his lean hips.The red flannel skimmed the impressive bulge of his cock. The mutant-reindeer pajamas didn’t look so ridiculous anymore.
Justin silently walked to the bed and got under the covers with an economy of motion that she envied. Rachel was impressed that he managed to settle into bed without touching her.That took some maneuvering.
“Good night,” she said softly.
“Good night, Rachel.”
The husky timbre of his voice did something to her. She lay on her back and bunched her fists next to her sides. Rachel stared up at the ceiling and studied the cartoon mural. She didn’t feel sleepy at all. She felt energized.
Rachel tried every sleeping trick. Counting from one hundred to one. Counting sheep. Singing “Twelve Days of Christmas” in her head. Nothing worked.
Dasher ... Dancer ... Prancer ... Vixen ...
Okay, that wasn’t going to work. She gave an exasperated sigh. Not when her mind was picturing the reindeer covering Justin’s lean hips and muscular thighs.
Her body hummed with awareness. Pure need flooded her body. She felt Justin’s heat coming off in waves. Rachel shifted and turned toward him.
“Go to sleep, Rachel.” He said it quietly, but there was a hint of steel in his tone.
“I’m trying,” she whispered. But it wasn’t going to happen. Not when every nerve ending crackled.“Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I’m working on it.” He punched his pillow with a little more force than necessary.
She was looking directly at Justin. The pillow was balled under his head. His eyes were closed, his hands tucked under his pillow.The blankets had already fallen off his shoulders and revealed that amazing chest.
She could stare at him for hours.
Okay, she could stare at him for hours if she were also allowed to touch and kiss him.
Rachel bit her lip. She wasn’t going to touch him. Her fingertips stung as she fought the urge. She could get through this night.
Justin’s eyes suddenly opened, his gaze snagging hers.“Forget it.”
She blinked. Had she said all that out loud? No, he would have said something sooner. “Forget what?”
“We are not having sex tonight.” He was emphatic.
“I wasn’t asking.”
“Hmm.” He closed his eyes again.
“I wasn’t!” She hadn’t said a word. Her body, on the other hand, was screaming for his touch.
“You’re constantly moving,” he complained.
“I’m a restless sleeper,” she informed him. “Nothing you can do about it unless you tie me to the bed.”
Justin became dangerously still. “Stop putting thoughts in my head.” His voice was a rasp.“I’m not accepting your invitation.”
“You think that was an invitation?” She had been teasing him, but it boomeranged. The thought of being tied up and helpless underneath him was a powerful suggestion. She was feeling a little bit reckless and she didn’t think she could hold back anymore.
He opened his eyes again. “I know it was.”
“Justin, you need to get out more,” she purred. “That was no invitation.”
Caution flared in his eyes. “You are up to no good.”
“You’re right,” Rachel said with a naughty smile. She rolled closer until her breasts were pressed against his bare chest. Hooking her thigh over his hip, she set her pelvis flush against his. She rubbed her feet along his leg while brushing her hand over his arm. “Now, this is an invitation.”
“No, this is playing with fire.” Justin grasped her wrist. His hold was firm, but she felt the tremor in his fingers. He was much more aroused than he let on.“I gave my word to you. I will not let you do anything you’re going to regret in the morning.”
“I won’t regret it. I promise.” She arched her spine, rubbing her breasts against his chest. “You want me, too.”
He didn’t deny it.“And I’ll have you,” he said hoarsely, closing his eyes as if he was harnessing the last of his self-control. “But not tonight.”
“This might be your only chance.” It wasn’t, but he didn’t need to know that. When it came to seducing this man, she could be shameless.
She saw his throat clench as he swallowed hard.“I’ll risk it.”
“Why?” She rolled her hips, grinding against his hard length. Rachel bit her lip as she imagined his cock deep inside her. “You can have me all night, any way you want.”
He gave a cynical chuckle. “This place really is getting to you, huh?”
“No, you were right,” she sai
d as she pressed her mouth against his throat and licked her way up.“The Christmas decorations have nothing to do with it.”
“Wow, you will stop at nothing.”
“I’m serious.” She kissed the line of his jaw, his stubble tickling her skin. “It wasn’t about Christmas, but the memory of our first time together.”
“Good answer.”
She paused with her mouth against his chin. Rachel raised her head and locked eyes with him. “What can I do to prove it to you?”
A muscle bunched in his cheek. “Don’t try to have sex with me until after December twenty-fifth.”
She propped herself up on her elbow and stared at him in shock. How could he say that? When she was desperate for him now? When it was obvious that he wanted her just as much? “But it’s the twenty-third!”
He rolled her onto her back and gently pushed her leg off him.“And to be on the safe side, we should probably wait until January first.”
“What?” Her voice echoed loudly in the room. She wasn’t going to wait that long. No way. Not going to happen.
“January sixth, now that I think about it.”
Her mouth fell open. Did she hear that correctly? “January sixth?”
“That’s Epiphany,” he reminded her. “You know, the three wise men.”
“Justin, please.” She couldn’t wait that long. She reached for him, but he blocked her, holding her forearms.
“The anticipation makes it sweeter,” he promised.
“You’re crazy.” There was nothing sweet about how she ached for him. The need coiled low in her pelvis, twisting tighter and tighter. It was torment.
“I’m crazy? I’m not the one who gets hot over snowmen.”
“I don’t get crazy over snowmen,” she insisted as she tried to wriggle closer. “I get crazy over you.”
He released her and stared in her eyes for a long moment. “Wow.You really mean that.”
“Of course I do.” She inched closer, almost touching him.
“Took you long enough to figure that one out.”