Although the other guy seemed to be having trouble holding onto his phone because he was laughing so hard.
Wait a second. “Jack Wellman?”
Jack was trying to stop laughing. “Hi, Emma. Nice to see you again.”
Then that must mean…
”Nick?” Emma covered her mouth with her hand.
“Yes,” he muttered. “It’s Nick.”
“Also known as St. Nick to some,” Jack murmured.
Matt barked out a laugh. “That’s a good one.”
“Uhm, goodnight Matt,” Emma said, feeling muddled. “Jack, would you and Nick like to come into the cabin and maybe have a drink? I’m staying here through Christmas.”
“I want to talk with you. Alone,” Nick growled, stomping up to her and staring into her eyes.
Jack murmured, “How about giving me your car keys, Nick, so I can drive back into town? I can come back and pick you up later.”
“If you need a ride, I might be able to drop you off,” Matt offered.
“Our apartment’s directly on Main Street,” Jack answered.
“It’s on my way home,” Matt admitted. “Come on. Let’s leave these two to talk. I’m Matt Stevens, by the way.”
“Jack Wellman,” he answered, reaching out and shaking Matt’s hand, before they started making their way along the path toward the inn.
Looking into Nick’s eyes, Emma suddenly shivered, because his eyes were frosted over like shards of ice.
Deliberately, he yanked down his beard, before reaching out and pulling her into his arms.
Emma took the kiss that she wanted.
The kiss that she needed.
Their lips blended, as the coolness of his lips rapidly became warm, and then hard and hot.
Emma measured the broadness of his shoulders under the thick fabric of the Santa suit, her palms smoothing over the curve of the joint, feeling the hardness of his muscles.
She touched the hair under his white curly wig, thick, silky and cool, but warm underneath where it was soft near his skull. She felt the rasp of his shadowy beard against her face, inhaling the clean musky scent of his maleness, the faint odor of soap, and the dampness of the snow on his clothes and skin, as masses of beautiful flakes suddenly began falling down.
“Stop it,” he muttered against her mouth as she leaned back against the door of her cabin, his arms still wrapped around her.
Emma felt dazed. “What?”
“Sniffing me. I know I’m probably a little sweaty under this costume,” he murmured softly.
She grinned. “I was thinking you smelt good.”
Nick blinked, and then he grinned. “That’s a first for me. This is all kind of nuts.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
Nick grimaced. “I’m getting wet.”
“The snow is starting to come down hard.” Emma shook her head. “Come on inside the cabin. You can get out of the Santa suit and hang it up to dry.”
Wearing a strange look on his face, he finally let her go as she turned, unlocking the cabin, and following her inside.
“Can I get you something to drink? I have beer and rum, too, if you want something stronger.”
He raised a brow. “Rum?”
“It tastes good in my eggnog,” she admitted sheepishly. “I’ve been planning on getting a tree and decorating, but I’ve been too busy working at the inn. I’m on the Christmas committee.”
“Of course you are,” Nick answered, tugging off the top half of his Santa suit and stepping out from his boots.
“I’ll get you a hanger,” Emma said, hanging her coat inside the closet near the back door, and reaching for Nick’s red coat and belt.
She swallowed, staring at the breadth of his shoulders and size of his muscular chest under his thin t-shirt.
“What about the pants?”
Nick cleared his throat. “I’d better keep them on, since I don’t have much on underneath.”
“It won’t bother me if you feel more comfortable in your shorts.”
Nick’s slow smile suddenly went wide. “I don’t know about that. It sure as heck would bother me, and I’m already hot and bothered enough, if you know what I mean?”
Emma’s mouth formed a perfect ‘o’ before she grinned.
She cleared her throat. “You never said if you’d like something to drink?”
Nick answered, “Would coffee be too much trouble?”
He was giving her that heated stare again, so she tried the best she could to keep her voice steady. “Not at all.”
“Emma?” he said, sounding hoarse.
“Nick?” she said, turning to stare into his eyes. What she saw there was enough to make her put down the coffee.
“If I told you it wouldn’t be a fling for me, and that my intentions were honorable, how would you feel about having sex?”
Emma was stunned at the question. She wasn’t in the habit of hopping in the sack with just anyone, despite all the boyfriends she’d had. “Here? Now?”
He pursed his lips, nodding his head firmly.
“I…okay.” She couldn’t believe her answer once she said it.
“Good,” Nick growled, approaching quickly. “Truthfully, I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to keep my hands off you.”
Chapter Nineteen
She was even more beautiful than he recalled, Nick thought after she’d tugged off her coat. Her long white blonde hair was pinned back in some kind of fancy braid, and her violet blue eyes were even more intense than he remembered. She was so put together wearing a fuzzy cowl neck sweater and velvety lavender skirt which matched the color of her eyes.
Her kiss was everything he remembered but so much more. He’d been longing for her for weeks, and it was like he was starving for another taste of her when he drew her closer, raising his hands to cradle her face and explore with his mouth.
“Come on,” he murmured. “Lead me to the bedroom. I don’t want you to regret this or think of it as sordid. I was ready to jump on you at the beach that evening, and I think we would have come to regret it.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Emma answered, reaching for his hand. “I was ready to let you, and I wouldn’t have felt good about myself at all.”
Nick lifted her chin with his other hand, looking into her eyes. “I haven’t been able to quit thinking about you Emma. If I made you uncomfortable because of your occupation, I’m sorry. I was engaged to be married earlier this year, and then I discovered she was cheating on me, and part of the reason I wanted to get away to Bali was because I needed to figure what I wanted from my life. I was mad at myself for being so attracted to you, and I was beginning to question my judgement where women were concerned. We’ve been split up for six months now, but I’d understand if you wanted to wait before making love with me.”
“I’ve never been engaged, but I’ve sure gone through a lot of boyfriends. No one ever felt right when I thought about a future together. In fact I broke up with Matt five years ago when he began getting serious.”
“So I was right to be jealous?” Nick asked gruffly. “I came pretty close to punching him out.”
“I probably would have let him kiss me goodnight,” she admitted, looking sheepish. “Mainly because I wanted to compare the feelings I once had for him with the frustrating feelings I was beginning to have for you.”
“Don’t do that anymore, unless you want to see him get hurt.”
Emma blinked, and then laughed as she led him through the cabin.
“Come on,” she said, walking ahead of him into the bedroom. “I don’t need to think about it anymore.”
When Nick walked inside, the first thing he did was strip off the rest of the costume and slip off his tennis shoes.
But then he pushed shut the door and pulled her into his arms once again. Nick kissed her deeply, holding her still and steady while his mouth ravaged hers.
He felt the kiss along the length of his spine, causing him to shiver when she pressed hers
elf against him tightly, arching her body to match the curve of his.
“Let’s get this sweater off you,” he said softly, pressing his forehead against hers.
“Alright,” she murmured, stepping a half step back as he pulled it quickly over her head.
“Emma,” he groaned, gazing at her breasts heatedly. “What good does it do to wear a bra, if you can see through it?”
“It’s seems to be doing a lot of good for you,” she answered throatily.
“That’s a tame way of putting it,” he growled, turning away and inhaling a deep breath.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, looking concerned, he noticed as his gaze returned to her face.
He suddenly laughed. “Not at all. That’s the problem. You’re probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Looking at him in astonishment, Emma finally spoke. “That’s one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever had.”
“Well, here’s another one,” Nick murmured. “Even when you’re like seventy years old, I’m going to feel exactly the same way I do now. I know it with all my heart.”
She stilled, staring at him for a long hard moment, seeming to be confused.
He continued, “We can talk about all of that later. Okay?”
But now Emma was staring down below his waist, grinning. “You weren’t kidding, were you?”
“That see through bra didn’t help,” he muttered, slipping off his boxers before approaching her again. “I don’t think I can wait much longer.”
She laughed, working on the zipper of her skirt and slipping it off. She had on tights underneath, and when she sat on the bed, Nick bent down, helping her peel them down after tugging off her tall suede boots.
Laying her on the bed as he stood back up, he stared down at her, just taking her in.
He settled his mouth in the curve of her neck while his hand slowly unclasped her bra, tossing it away as he laid beside her on the bed.
Turning on her side and bending her elbow, she laid her head on her hand, apparently so she could study him too.
She wrinkled her nose, giving him an impish grin. “Nice.”
Her hand slid toward him, and he groaned softly, jerking his hips as her hand cupped his sac. When she started to wrap her hand around the long thick length of his erection, he held her back. “Okay, not too much of that right now.”
He didn’t think he could become thicker or harder, until the touch of her hand, and the scrape of her nails on the underside of his sensitive skin proved him wrong.
For some crazy reason, Emma touched him in ways he never knew he could feel, and he knew making love with her for the first time would be an experience he’d remember for the rest of his life.
She trapped his hand between them, his fingers grazing most intimately. The intensity caused her to arch and cry out incoherently, and his mouth covered hers, cutting of the sound of her satisfaction.
Nick’s chest swelled, his skin stretched tautly over the muscles of his back and chest. He arched under her, thrusting upward and twisting so that she was finally under him again. He drove into her hard, and she gave another cry at the back of her throat.
A shudder shook his body first, then hers. Twisting and spinning he felt himself falling from an unimaginable height, weightless and almost without substance.
With an arm over his eyes, Nick laid there quietly trying to steady his breathing.
“I’m stuck in a Santa suit in a cabin during a snowstorm.” He peeked at her from under his arm. “I have to get my clothes back from Jake’s apartment somehow.”
“The one at the top of the staircase?”
“That’s the one.” He moved his arm away from his face, taking in hers. Her lips were deliciously pink, and reaching out, he ran a finger over them lightly. “I don’t want to leave this bed right now.”
She gave him a playful smile. “Is there anything you need to do right now? I’m done for the night, but I need to be back at the inn tomorrow morning for the next installment of Christmas. I won’t have a problem bringing back your clothes before reporting at nine.”
“I could drive back to my apartment and get some other clothes, but that would still require some walking and traveling in the Santa suit.”
Emma laughed, and he kissed her again before yawning.
“How about a short nap?” he murmured, pulling her close and wrapping his arms around her tightly.
“I wouldn’t mind that at all. The snow is coming down pretty hard outside.”
The last thing he remembered before dozing was sniffing her hair. “Mmm. You smell good too.”
Nick heard her laugh softly before settling into his arms.
Chapter Twenty
Nick was awoken after midnight by the sound of a phone.
“Does your Santa suit have pockets?” Emma asked, sitting upright in the bed. “That’s not the ringer on my phone.”
“It does,” Nick answered, grinning when she caught his obviously appreciative look when she stood from the bed. “It’s probably Jack, checking in.”
When she disappeared into the bathroom and came out wearing a robe, Nick sighed loudly as he slid out from under the covers, fetching his boxers from the floor.
Nick sighted the Santa pants near the door and pulled out his wallet and phone from the pocket, glancing at the caller ID.
He hit the button to return the call.
“Nick?” Jack answered.
“What’s up?”
“I wouldn’t recommend driving back tonight if you don’t have to. You haven’t had that much experience driving on icy roads. There’s been a bunch of accidents tonight and they’re asking drivers to stay off the roads.”
“Geez,” Nick murmured, peeking outside through the bedroom window. “How many inches did we get?”
Emma answered before Jack. “I’d say about six. The plows should be out early morning. It’s still snowing, so they’ll probably wait a little longer.”
“Have you been with Emma this entire time?”
Nick cleared his throat, glancing at Emma and putting the phone on speaker. “I have.”
Jack laughed. “I won’t ask what you’ve been doing.”
“Sleeping, for one,” Emma answered loudly.
Jack laughed harder. “Hi there, Emma. Matt and I got along great. I had dinner with his family tonight and then we went out for a few beers afterwards. I figured I might need to make a few new friends in case Nick became otherwise occupied.”
Nick grimaced at Emma. “Sorry, Jack.”
“For what? I’d have done exactly the same thing if I were lucky enough to be you.”
Emma grinned. “I’ll pick up Nick’s clothes tomorrow morning and send him home as soon as the roads are clear.”
“I’d appreciate that, Emma,” Jack answered, sounding solemn.
“If you two aren’t busy, there’s something I’d like to do tomorrow afternoon before dark, when I’m done with my obligations at the inn.”
“Sure. Nick and I don’t know too many people in town.”
Emma continued, “We’ll try and remedy that tomorrow night.”
“What have you got in mind?” Nick murmured, when he disconnected the phone.
“You’ll know soon enough,” she answered. “Are you hungry?”
He looked at her, waggling his brows.
She rolled her eyes.
“Oh, you must mean food?”
“I do.”
“I could definitely eat. What have you got? I can help.”
The sooner they ate, the sooner they could go back to bed. Time was winding down and if Emma had to be at work early in the morning, he wanted to spend as much time as possible making love with her during the time they had left.
Chapter Twenty-One
Despite very little sleep, Emma woke up with a smile on her face, and after glancing at the clock to make sure she wasn’t going to run late, she took the opportunity to study Nick while he was still asleep.
Ge
ez, the man was built, and at only five-foot-tall, she’d never felt so tiny in someone’s arms. It was an incredible feeling, making love with Nick, and her smile went wider as she thought about him following her around last night, wearing the Santa suit.
“Hi,” he said, peeking out of one eye, and grinning.
“You’ve been awake the whole time, haven’t you?”
“I have. Emma, did I tell you that I’m moving here to Crystal Rock permanently?”
“You are? I never got much of a chance to think about it last night. We were kind of busy.”
Nick laughed.
“But aren’t you a stockbroker?”
“I resigned. Instead, Jack and I are running Northwest Realty and Property Management.”
“That’s the old realty building that’s had a facelift. It’s been empty for a long time.”
“I heard there’d been some terrible trouble for the original owners.”
“Terrible is right,” Emma murmured, sliding out from under the covers and reaching for her robe. “Murder, human trafficking. Apparently, it had been going on for several years.”
“I didn’t realize that.” Nick grimaced. “I’ll have to check out some of Crystal Rock’s history.”
“You’d be surprised. I guess I’d better get moving,” Emma said, heading into the bathroom and starting the shower.
“I’ll make coffee,” Nick called out.
Emma grinned. She’d been hoping he would join her, but she had to leave soon, so she’d have to settle for another time.
Fifteen minutes later, she entered the kitchen, standing for a moment and admiring the view. Nick was apparently feeling as lighthearted as she was, dancing around in the kitchen in his boxers, Christmas music echoing through the air. Emma had left her Ipod on the kitchen counter since she brought it along with her to Crystal Visions when she went to spend time with the kids.
She drew in an unsteady breath, remembering the night before when she’d run her fingers through the hair dusting his chest.
And the way it’d rubbed against her breasts…
Nick’s eyes went wide. “Emma. Stop. We don’t have time for that right now.”
St. Nick's Christmas Wish (Holiday Hunks Book 7) Page 10
