by Lexi Ostrow
“Sorry, Mother, I wasn’t screening my calls.”
That seemed to calm her ruffled feathers because she took her volume down quite considerably. “Are you at Keystone, Nikolas?”
“Yes we made it in about ten minutes ago. The place looks spectacular as usual and the Christmas tree Marshal delivered is perfect. “
“Wonderful. Unfortunately I have some upsetting news. We are stuck in London. After dropping you off, the pilot apparently became grounded because of the storm. If all is clear he can come get us the day after Christmas.” Bitterness laced her tone and he understood why, Christmas was one of the few times a year they actually were together. “Do me a favor, see to it that the tree is decorated when we arrive? I know it is not normally done that way, but we are not due in until the twenty-seventh and I don’t want to waste any of the remaining four days with you.”
He nodded and grimaced a little. Decorating a Christmas tree had never been his thing. He didn’t quite see the need behind it all. It looked beautiful when it was done and he enjoyed spending time with his family, but doing it alone simply so his mother could have a Christmas tree in a photo seemed a little asinine. “Yes, Mother, I’ll make sure it’s done. I wonder if Jake’s flight made it out last night.”
“I haven’t heard from your brother, but he would be well into the second leg of his journey up to you by now. I will leave him a message to obtain a car or rent a helicopter service to take him to you, should he arrive; although his layover was in New York, the weather there is just as bad as here. I don’t know why he insisted on letting you take the plane.”
He leaned his head back and ran a hand over his neck. Leena had gotten up off the couch and was walking toward the bedroom. The conversation with his mother was doing nothing for his erection and she had very inconvenient timing.
“Ok, Mother. I’m not alone, Leena is with me, so don’t worry. There must be food prestocked here, so we will be fine for the holiday. Plus I’m certain the lodge must be open, even in this weather because there are other guests. I saw them as we flew over.”
“Leena? You mean your assistant? Why ever is she there?” Her voice was a little more irritated than he’d expected given his mother had been poor a good chunk of her life and never looked down on people.
He heard a door open down the hall and gritted his teeth together. “Mother, I will be fine and this is not a topic we need to discuss. I will call you tomorrow. Merry Christmas Eve.”
“All right then, Nikolas. There’s no talking to you when you don’t want to. Goodnight.”
The call disconnected and he put the phone back in his pants and walked down the hall to the rooms. He found her looking at a photo of his family before his father had passed; a Christmas photo of course. In his room and he rather liked the way she looked standing next to his bed.
He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and dropped a kiss to the side of her neck before nibbling on her ear lobe. “Now, where were we, Miss Kensy?” He spun her around to face him.
She kissed him, a peck and pulled back. “About to do something very foolish I believe, especially if you’re calling me that again.” She raised an eyebrow in challenge, but her voice was still a little husky.
“Mmm it could be classified as that. But not if I ask you a question.”
She sat down on the bed and leaned back on her hands. It pushed her breasts up and he was certain she had done it on purpose. “I’m waiting.”
“How long have you wanted that?”
Her face flushed and he immediately thought he’d ruined his chance. She pursed her lips together and looked at the floor before responding. “Since the day we made snow angels.”
A smile tugged at his lips. He knew everything he’d felt all these years couldn’t have been one-sided. “Then it’s not a mistake. I believe I have wanted it almost as long. Since the day you ran that meeting for me.”
She laughed and he sat next to her on the bed and put his hands on the side of her face. Her eyes were beautiful this close. He wasn’t expecting her to put her hands on his wrists and tug his hands down. “Then why not take this a little slower, Nick? Cat’s out of the bag and as much as I want to see what you’re packing down there, I’d like a romance to make up for the pretense of me coming here.”
He laughed and snorted. “You drive a tough bargain. But I don’t want to rush anything if you don’t. So meet me in the kitchen in two hours for dinner. I want to run some stats – and yes I would do this if the family were here, we all would.”
Leena smirked and pushed him off the bed. “Sounds fair.”
He stood up and didn’t move. “Leena, you’re in my room. Yours is two doors down.” He winked and then walked to the head of the bed and laid down with his hands behind his head grinning at her.
Chapter 4
The knock on her door the next morning shook her from her torrid dream; her and Nick locked together in bed. She let out a small mewl as she stretched her arms above her head and yawned.
“Morning, Leena. You up for some skiing?” Nick’s deep voice carried through the bedroom door and she smiled. His voice always made her smile when he wasn’t looking at her.
Confusion tickled her brain. He was never up before anyone. There were a number of days when she had to call him and wake him after a round of drinks with clients even. So why was he up first?
She swallowed, trying to wet her throat and grabbed her pajama pants off the bed and quickly hopped into them. “One sec, Nick, and I’ll open the door so we aren’t shouting.
She tripped as she put her left foot into the pants and got it stuck in the pant leg. Her hand crashed into the door as she fell forward. She flushed and shook it off and pulled them the rest of the way up. She didn’t sleep in bras and putting one on hadn’t even occurred to her as she yanked the door open.
Nick’s eyes didn’t even bother to linger on her face. There went the good morning kiss I’d secretly wanted. His eyes seemed glued to her nipples, which she knew were pebbled from the cold outside the warm comforter.
“Merry Christmas, Nick.”
He didn’t respond, just kept his eyes glued to her chest.
“Nick,” she said his name heatedly.
His eyes suddenly snapped up to her face and he offered her another one of his perfect smiles. Someone needed to tell him to stop that. “Oh, um right. Merry Christmas, Leena.”
He ran a hand up and down the back of his head and she punched his arm. He looked just as perfectly put together in the morning as he did at the office. Only he had shaved the sexy stubble from his chin and looked like an Eskimo ready to go out hunting with how many layers he had on. All she could see was his face.
“No I don’t ski, Nick.”
“Ever?”
She shook her head.
“Then what are you going to do all day?”
“I should be asking you that buddy. Snowstorm, remember? Who the heck is going to ski?”
He grinned. “Not me, don’t worry. I was just curious if you remembered we were essentially stuck here. I do want to go up to the main section of the resort and see about getting some extra emergency supplies. Just in case we really do get trapped. There aren’t any canned goods in here.”
The idea of being trapped inside with him was enough to set her blood boiling. She didn’t want him to know that and she coughed, trying to force herself to get past the lust that had her tongue-tied.
“Is it safe?”
He leaned down and finally kissed her. A gentle brush of his lips against hers, but he held their lips together and she felt his smile against her lips and she kissed him again. She didn’t think it would be possible to get tired of his kisses.
“As long as I leave now. I want you to promise me you’ll stay inside. No matter how long I’m gone.” He walked over the window and pushed the plush navy blue curtain aside. “I don’t know how long you’ve been awake to check, but the snow is thick. Not windy but still. That much snow comi
ng down means no snowmobile and slow walking. I’ll call you if I get stuck up at the lodge for any reason.”
She scrunched her face; she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of being left behind. “So what do I get to do while you’re gone?” Christmas alone wasn’t her perfect picture of this place, but the events unfolding between her and Nick certainly made up for it.
“My mother made mention of wanting the tree decorated when they got here. Most likely she wanted it up simply to feel more like Christmas since there really won’t be any gift giving today. They’re not due in for two more days minimum. The pilot is going to fly to them as soon as he can, but the weather is reporting a possible three day lock down.”
Decorating a Christmas tree was her favorite part of the holiday. She and her parents always got one shortly after the first of the month and would take a whole day to string popcorn and dust tinsel over it. Waiting till the last minute like this, Christmas morning, seemed pointless to even do it. “I’ll wait until you get back. You’d better stop chattering with me or you won’t be back in time for what I think is a good Christmas treat.” She grinned at him. Part of what she had packed was a red lace teddy, in hopes that this turn of events would come to pass.
“No, honestly. I’m not really into the tree thing. Plus you seemed so enamored with the ornaments. It’ll take your mind off being stuck here. Besides, the stereo system is surround sound and preprogrammed with a lengthy list of Christmas tunes to keep you going.”
So he did have a flaw, Nikolas DeMarco didn’t like to decorate a Christmas tree. She stored the information and moved past it. What a foolish thing to judge him on. She wrapped her arms around herself and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Sounds like a plan, boss. Just try and be safe, I kind of like my job.”
He laughed, grabbed her and tugged her into him. His lips found hers and he kissed her with enough passion to curl her toes. When he pulled back her eyes were closed and she felt a dreamy smile on her face. “I like it when you look like that after I kiss you.”
“It’s a shame you didn’t do it many years earlier then.” She opened her eyes and winked at him just as he was turning to leave the room. “Hmm alone in a beautiful chalet on Christmas Day with music and one of the biggest trees you’ve ever seen in a home. This won’t be so bad, Leena.”
The front door closed with a thud signaling Nick’s departure as she was tugging a snug candy cane red sweater over her head. He’d told her last year how much he liked her in it and of course she had never forgotten.
Walking through the house she stopped and smiled up at the mistletoe in thanks. Who knows what would have happened if she hadn’t realized it was above them. Just another wonderful perk of Christmas.
She walked up to the tree and ornament box and noticed there were two smaller boxes behind it as well. She let out a low whistle and put her hands on her hips. “Well let’s see just what goodies are in here to hang.”
She opened all three boxes and took a peek inside. There were certainly enough ornaments and tinsel to cover the gigantic tree, if not even a few outside should the snow let up. Chuckling at the mass amount of supplies she slowly began unpacking the boxes, careful not to break anything. A part of her was sad as she unpacked, not one ornament was unique or told a story. They were brilliantly beautiful glass orbs and icicles, but none spoke of family or memories. They were just pretty bobbles.
Carefully she organized everything by color, she let her mind drift as she set about the task at hand. Her thoughts were on Nick and on the empty Chalet. She’d stopped them last night, hadn’t wanted to think it was all lust. But when he’d agreed to take it slow she’d fallen for him a little bit more. It was a scary thing they were about to do, change such an old relationship. But she was ready.
Seeing a remote on the beige couch she realized how eerily quite it had been the past hour. Not to mention that it had been an hour and all she had done was unpack and insert a few hooks into the ones she had planned to use. Nick hadn’t called or texted, her phone volume was on, and she decided a little Christmas music would distract her from the quiet while she worked.
“White Christmas” filtered in so loudly she flinched at first and slammed the volume lower button on the remote. Christmas music was wonderful, unless it made you deaf.
Pushing off the floor she brushed at her knees and cursed at the tinsel that had stuck to her black pants. “This is why you should just wear shorts when doing this. You're inside, not as if the cold can get to you in here.”
Still talking to herself, she picked up a glittering red ball and slipped a hook through it. Placing the sparkling ball onto the tree she stepped back to assure her first placement was dead center so that she might have the decorations well and truly balanced. She continued the pattern, singing along to the music with the red glittering ball after the next until she was all out of that color.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw something pass by the window. Her heart momentarily leapt into her throat. It was far to cold right now for a bear to be out and the shape was too wide for a wolf. Shaking her head at her foolishness, she walked over to the pile of green ornaments and grabbed a handful of untangled hooks.
When the door slammed shut moments later she yelped and jerked up, even though she knew it was Nick. Smiling, she turned to go and tell him it was his turn to help with the tree now and she stopped dead in her tracks.
The person in the house could have been a dead ringer for Nick. Except a slightly older version, slightly bulkier in build and with a soft layer of stubble on his chin. Jake.
“Jake, so good to see you. Merry Christmas, Mr. DeMarco.” She walked up and went to hug him and he laughed.
“Merry Christmas, Leena, but I’m covered in snow and you want to hug me? You’ll freeze when our body heat melts the ice.” His midnight blue eyes, so similar to his brother’s, winked at her.
She bit her lower lip as a memory crashed into her. One drunken night at a gala when Nick had brought her and left with some floozy. Nothing inappropriate had happened between her and Jake, they’d just dropped a few glasses off the balcony and he’d winked at her as they ran away.
She hadn’t even noticed he took his coat off, lost in her thoughts as she was. He looked wonderful. He had the same perfect smile and cheekbones as Nick. Though where Nick was a slim build, Jake was built like a linebacker, big enough that when he hugged you, you were lost in a protective barrier.
He dropped onto the couch and put his feet up on the table, something that no matter how goofy Nick could be, he never would have done. That was something she remembered about them, their differences. Nick was fun underneath all the tight business suits. But Jake was almost like the best friend you had while growing up, always eager to cause mischief and party. He didn’t care if he did it and the whole business world saw it, but Nick covered his party boy side up.
Seeing him, stretched out and letting ice melt off his boots onto the impressive oak table she realized the problem. “How are you here?” She stared at him inquisitively and he grinned, making her stomach do the same thing it had always done with Nick’s smile since they were so alike.
“A little Christmas wish. I knew I was what you really wanted.” He winked at her again and she laughed.
“I think I may have already gotten the DeMarco boy I wished for. Although two strapping men trapped alone with me in a snowstorm does not sound terribly awful. But really, how did you get up here? The snow is so thick, Nick left an hour ago to walk to the lodge to get some canned stuff in case we got stuck here too long.”
“I didn’t use the life of the privileged this time. I took a plane from France to New York and then New York to Denver. I actually got to the wonderful Coloradan outback yesterday. But it took me almost all night to drive up here in the snow. Then I got my damn rental car stuck about two miles back and walked. Hence the dramatic flop into the couch. That and because my mother can’t make me feel like I’m five for doing it.”
She laughed. “It
sounds like you did some pretty stupid traveling there.” She raised a brow and went back to her pile of ornaments to insert the hooks so she could keep going. A part of her was overjoyed to have Jake here, they hardly knew each other, but he always made her feel special, like she was wanted. Then the other part of her was nervous he would get in the way of her and Nick picking up where they’d left off. She did have that red teddy after all.
“Well I do live dangerously. Something I’m sure my little brother avoids at all cost until all his work is done.”
Leena tried to bite her lip to stop the laughter at the perfect description of Nick but it didn’t stop it. “Well at least you know when he’s playing the job is done.”
Jake grinned and wearily pushed himself off the couch. “Glass of wine?” He walked into the kitchen before she could answer.
“Oh God, yes. I didn’t want to rummage trying to find it, but a glass of wine would be perfect.” Ten hooks attached on the green balls and she stopped and looked up to eye the tree to make sure adding the other four to it wouldn’t over do it for that color.
“So a bit of bad news, girlie.” Jake walked back out two huge red mugs in his hand. “Mom was apparently bringing all the wine with her. So it’s hard alcohol or hot cocoa.” He set one mug down in front of her and she snatched it up greedily.
“While not as mind numbing as the alternative at hand, hot cocoa is the best Christmas drink.”
He gasped as she took a sip. “Be still my heart, she didn’t mean to offend you so.”
She raised a brow at him.
“Eggnog is by far the superior Christmas beverage.”
“You only like it because it’s alcoholic too.”
He took a sip and had a huge whipped cream mustache when he grinned at her. “Touché.”
They drank in silence for a few moments and she put the mug down to finish the tree. Nick would be back soon and she didn’t know if he’d want to play catch up with his big brother.