Hot, Sexy & Bad

by Angelo, Judy, et al.

  “No. Part of the appeal of a great Christmas dinner is in knowing that it was prepared with love,” she said with a touch of sadness.

  This wasn’t good. He wanted her happy and carefree tonight, not sinking back into a past that she would never have again.

  “I’ll have to remember that,” he said, then felt a pang at knowing it wouldn’t matter. After tonight, they wouldn’t see each other again.

  “I really do have to go. I’m very late,” she said again as she tried to get around him for the second time.

  “Where?”

  If she wasn’t going to stay in with him, then he damn well wanted to know where she was in such a rush to go.

  She hesitated, then sighed. “I’m serving dinner tonight at the homeless shelter.”

  Whew. She wasn’t leaving for a date with some other guy. A date on Christmas Eve meant the relationship had to be going somewhere.

  “Why?” he asked before he was able to stop himself.

  “Because I don’t have a family to celebrate with anymore, and I figure I can give something back. I know it’s what my mom would do if she were still here and all alone.”

  “I’ll come with you.” Oh, no. What had he just said? The last thing Tanner wanted to do was hang out in some crappy kitchen, serving people who lived on the streets. Why were they homeless, anyway? It didn’t make sense to him why anyone would choose that kind of life. Clearly too lazy to work.

  “Um, you don’t need to do that,” she said, looking at him coolly. Was his disdain so obvious?

  “I want to.” He told himself it was just because he wanted to get her alone later. Surely, if he were to come with her to serve food to these homeless people, she would thaw enough that he’d finally get her into Santa’s sack.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think it’s really your kind of place.”

  Her lack of faith in him rankled. Granted, he was thinking the same thing, but to have the words come from her mouth didn’t make him happy.

  “Let me just go and make a phone call. Promise not to leave without me,” he said, giving her his most stern look.

  “I guess,” she said, and she leaned against the wall. She didn’t look at all convinced that he’d come back from his apartment.

  Tanner rushed inside and pulled out the card for the police station monitoring his ridiculous ankle device. Damn! How in the hell was he supposed to keep that from Kyla when they made love? How had he not considered that problem? And now that he thought of it, she’d seen him twice before in a state of undress, and though she hadn’t noticed then, he’d be really pushing his luck this time.

  He’d just have to keep his socks on, which was a bit ridiculous. Since he’d started wearing this device, he’d already switched to big, bulky wool socks to help cover it, so at least that bulge wouldn’t be too obvious. He’d be glad to get the monitor off tomorrow.

  The police station picked up on the third ring, and though the officer, who just happened to be the one who’d dropped him off on that first day, gave him permission to serve a meal at the homeless shelter, he actually had the audacity to laugh and tell Tanner good luck.

  Still, Tanner probably needed all the luck he could get.

  His second call was to his assistant, whom he told to be at the apartment to have his meal set up and ready for when they returned. They might be starting later than Tanner wanted, but he was still going to follow through on his plans of getting Kyla in the mood.

  Walking back out into the hallway, he was relieved to see her still there. She was looking at her watch with a frown on her face, but she’d waited for him.

  “All set,” he said, with the best smile he knew how to fake. He took her arm, placing it through his. “How far away is this place?”

  “It’s only about a mile, but we’re running really late, so we’d better take a cab,” she told him.

  It took only a couple of minutes before a taxi drove by, and Tanner flagged it down with no problem.

  The cab driver talked nonstop as they made their way to their destination, and Tanner had to fight his irritation when Kyla leaned over the seat and excitedly spoke back to the guy. Of course, Tanner had nothing to be jealous about, so why did it bother him to share her attention? Ridiculous.

  When they arrived, it took everything in him not to wrinkle his nose at the crowd before him. There was a group of men outside, some in threadbare clothing; had those guys bathed in a month? How was he going to get through the night?

  “This way,” Kyla told him and led him down a small alley and inside through a side door.

  “Kyla! I’m so glad you made it. I was beginning to worry. The twins both got food poisoning and we’re a couple people short,” a harried looking woman said. She tossed an apron at Kyla before noticing Tanner.

  It was almost comical the way the woman’s eyes widened.

  “Hi, Maggie. This is Tanner, my neighbor. He wanted to help tonight. Maybe since he’s the size of the twins put together, he can make up for their absence,” Kyla said with a laugh. She moved over to the sink and began scrubbing up.

  “Well, I won’t complain about an extra set of hands.” Maggie moved over to a small desk, grabbed another apron, and tossed it at Tanner.

  He took off his coat, slipped the apron on, and moved over to the sink Kyla had just finished using.

  Maggie got into work mode, directing Kyla and Tanner to where she wanted them, and then the next couple of hours passed by in a blur as he stood at a long table in between Kyla and another girl, who couldn’t have been more than sixteen, serving food to a seemingly never-ending line of people.

  “Bless you.”

  Tanner woke up from his daze to find a petite, dark-haired woman in front of him with a small child clinging to her leg. What in the world was she doing homeless with such a young boy? He wanted to ask, but held his tongue.

  “Merry Christmas,” he said instead, surprised by the number of people he’d served who didn’t seem at all the type he would classify as homeless.

  “Not everything is as it appears,” the woman said as if reading his mind.

  “I’m not judging,” he said quickly, feeling like an ass since that’s exactly what he’d been doing.

  “You are, but that’s all right. I used to be exactly the same way while I worked for a prestigious law firm. My husband died and then my boss decided that since I was single, I must be a merry widow and I’d make a great plaything. When I didn’t give him what he wanted, he fired me. I tried filing a sexual-harassment suit, but they didn’t become the top lawyers in the area because they were stupid. I soon found that not only was I out of a job, but I also couldn’t get another one anywhere else. Just because people find themselves running out of options doesn’t mean they chose that life for themself,” she said, sounding strong but slightly defeated at the same time.

  The boy tucked in at her side couldn’t have been more than three or four. He was wearing warm clothes and good shoes. It was obvious that all she had went into caring for the young lad.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, feeling like a fool.

  “I’m used to it now. All of that began a year ago. We recently ran out of money and lost the house. My husband was a good man, but he didn’t make a lot of money and our savings were small. I tried to make what we had last, but it can only go so far. I won’t stay down for long, though. I have my son to worry about.”

  Before he could say anything more, she moved on, and the line continued. When the last of the people got their plates, Tanner found himself gazing at the empty trays and the smiling faces of the patrons.

  Though some were obviously saddened to be in this situation, they were still grateful to be in a warm room with a bunch of strangers who, for this night at least, were their family.

  It was humbling.

  Kyla went out among the people, taking them extra biscuits and filling their glasses with water. Other workers were passing out candy to the children and small items such as new toothbrushes and too
thpaste.

  The people’s eyes lit up as if they were receiving priceless gifts. How long had Tanner taken everything he had for granted? He’d grown up wealthy, never having a thing to worry about. He knew he’d always get his next meal, that there would always be a warm bed for him to crawl into. His life had been easy.

  What if he were like one of these people — and his luck suddenly ran out, and life just kept throwing him curve ball after curve ball? He’d been thrown a few in his life, but never to this extent, never to the point that he had to worry about a roof over his head or food in his stomach.

  Walking through the people, he didn’t take long to find the woman and her small child. She was smiling as she unwrapped a chocolate bar for her son and handed it to him. He took a bite and grinned so sweetly that it took Tanner a moment to clear the lump in his throat.

  “What’s your name?” he asked when he could speak. Then he sat next to her.

  “Morgan,” she said somewhat warily.

  “What did you do for the law firm, Morgan?”

  She looked in his eyes, as if assessing his motives for asking. Tanner wondered how many people had tried to take advantage of her since she’d been on her own. He probably didn’t want to know.

  “I’m a paralegal, so just about everything. I miss the hustle and bustle of the business world, but I try to look at the positives, such as having so much one-on-one time with my son, even if we are doing it in a shelter.”

  Tanner knew that gleam in her eyes, that desire to be at the top of your game. Without further hesitation, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, retrieving a business card.

  “My name is Tanner Storm and my father has a company in downtown Seattle. Tell him that I sent you and want you to come in for a job interview on Monday. There are no strings attached to this offer.”

  “Why would you do this?” she asked, her voice choked up, her hand shaking slightly as she took the card he’d just written his father’s number on.

  “Because I don’t intimidate easily and I think what your former bosses did to you is horrific. If you want a good job, I’ll help you get your foot in the door. The rest will be up to you,” he said as he rose to leave her in peace.

  Her hand shot out and she gripped his arm. She was silent for a minute while she tried to pull herself together. Tanner waited, unaware that Kyla was watching the exchange from across the room, though she couldn’t hear what was being said.

  “Merry Christmas, Mr. Storm. Thank you for this. You have given me and my son the best gift anyone has ever given us,” she said as a tear escaped.

  “Morgan, I can’t begin to tell you what you have given me tonight,” he said, placing his hand over hers and nodding, a little scratchiness affecting his voice.

  With that, he turned and walked away, a heaviness in his chest. How wrong he’d been about people. He’d always just assumed that those who were homeless were there of their own free will. He’d never taken the time to understand that maybe, just maybe, they hadn’t chosen their circumstances.

  “What was that all about?”

  Tanner turned to find Kyla looking at him suspiciously.

  “Merry Christmas, Kyla.”

  Looking up, he noticed the mistletoe they were standing under. Without delay, he pulled her against him and kissed her, a sweet and short kiss that still showed her how much he needed her.

  When he released her, the two of them heard a few chuckles, and a couple of people clapped, but his eyes were for her only.

  “Let’s go home,” he said, making sure his meaning was clear.

  “I would like that,” she replied.

  For a moment, Tanner thought he’d misunderstood, but as her hand slipped into his, he knew what she was agreeing to.

  His heart kicking into overdrive, he led her through the dining room to the kitchen, where he grabbed their coats and then quickly led her outside.

  He needed to get her back to the apartment building before she changed her mind. This was looking to be the merriest Christmas he’d ever had, broken pipes, Santa suit and all.

  Chapter Ten

  What was she doing? This was not who she was, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.

  Tanner had been so kind to the people at the shelter; it was like seeing a different man, and it had made her heart swell, knocked down the last of her defenses. Was it because it was Christmas Eve, or because her vulnerability was at an all-time high from her thoughts of how alone in the world she was? Whatever the cause, she couldn’t seem to change her mind.

  As they sped down the hall of their apartment building, her nerves were shot, but her heart was thundering. She wanted this, wanted it desperately.

  He unlocked his apartment door and opened it wide for her to step through. When he shut it again and put his hands on her shoulders, she jumped and then laughed as he removed her jacket and hung it on the hook by the door.

  “Sorry about that. I guess I’m a bit nervous.” She looked up and shyly met his gaze.

  “I’m not going to attack…though I want to,” he said.

  That’s when the smell of food hit her and her stomach rumbled. Though she’d been serving dinner, she’d been too busy all night to eat anything, and she was starving. Turning around, she saw the table covered with a lovely and festive red tablecloth, and expertly set with gleaming china and silver.

  “When did you have time to do this?” she asked as she approached and found a wonderful Christmas dinner with all the trimmings sitting on top of warmers on the kitchen counter.

  “I have to leave some things to mystery,” he said as he held out a chair.

  “You’re not the type of guy who usually lives in a place like this, are you?” she asked, almost afraid of his answer, but well aware that Tanner didn’t fit in.

  He paused and looked at her guiltily. “I just want a piece of mystery between us. We’re two strangers who happened to fall into each other’s path, and tonight is all about how we make each other feel, not about who we are.”

  She knew she should pressure him, knew she should know this man before giving him her body, but she couldn’t seem to look away, couldn’t seem to break the spell that was hanging over her. Would she have regrets?

  She didn’t think so. But even if she did, she’d also have the good memories to counteract the bad ones of that horrific Christmastime two years before.

  He poured her a glass of wine, and she giggled nervously as she sipped it and watched him fill her plate with scrumptious-looking food.

  This was a fancier meal than she’d ever had before. And it, more than anything else, made her miss her parents. Each holiday, her mother would make a beautiful meal, setting the table with their finest china, cooking desserts for days and putting together the best dinner a person could find.

  Not much that Tanner was serving her looked like her mother’s dishes, but the setting, the holiday decorations on the table, all of it made her miss her home.

  Maybe it was time to go back there, to walk through the halls and see what she’d cut herself off from two years ago. Instead of confronting this constant emptiness, maybe she would feel as if her family were with her.

  The dinner proceeded quietly as she fought against her sense of loneliness. She was here with a handsome man who had gone all out to give her a beautiful holiday. Why couldn’t she just enjoy the moment? Wasn’t that what she had decided this was all about?

  Wanting the ache to go away, she set down her fork, two glasses of wine giving her the extra boost of courage she desperately needed.

  She stood up and moved slowly around the table to where Tanner sat. With a smile, he pushed back his chair and waited for her to make the next move. His patience decided her next action.

  Straddling his legs, she sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Make love to me,” she whispered, and she connected their mouths, hoping he could ease her loneliness, if only for a single night.

  Tanner hes
itated no longer. He wrapped his arms around her, deepening the kiss, and letting his hands travel beneath her sweater, scorching her skin with his touch.

  “Yes, Tanner,” she moaned as he cupped her breasts, sending fire straight to her core.

  He broke away from her, making her whimper until she realized he was holding the bottom of her sweater. With a quick motion, he tugged it over her head and threw it somewhere behind them, then pulled her against him again, his hands roaming all over the skin of her back.

  She felt him unclasp her bra as he continued to worship her mouth, driving her loneliness away and replacing it with excitement and joy. Yes, this is exactly what she needed. This was the best Christmas gift he could possibly give her.

  When he removed her bra and then his shirt, she delighted to feel her straining nipples rub against the smooth skin of his chest.

  “Please, Tanner, I want more,” she moaned as his mouth trailed down her throat, licking her skin, soothing one ache only to cause another.

  “I’ll give you all that you want, and finish what we started in your apartment last week,” he promised, and moved her from his lap so they both could stand.

  Lifting her into his arms, he carried her to the kitchen, much to her surprise, and set her down in front of the counter. She looked at him with a question in her eyes, but he just smiled as he undid her jeans and peeled them from her legs, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her panties.

  A full-on blush suffused her cheeks when she remembered her impulsive buy. She squirmed in front of him. Obviously, she hadn’t been expecting to make love this beautiful Christmas Eve.

  “I love them,” he said, chortling as he began removing her Rudolph panties.

  “Ummm, it was a weak moment,” she said, embarrassed until he kissed her stomach and then began blazing a trail upward to her swollen breasts.

  Crying out when he clasped a nipple between his teeth, she forgot all about the poor reindeer. When he lifted her onto the counter, sending a few dishes crashing to the floor, she wrapped her legs around him, pulling him close.