Hawk stood near the back of the armchair he’d been sitting in. He rested his hip against it and folded his arms. “If I knew what department she worked in, I could fire her for you.”
Ella laughed. The tears that had plagued her earlier were still too near the surface. “It’s okay. She needs her job, and she has good reason to be angry with me.”
“Not angry enough to attack you like that. To do it in front of everyone at my ball.”
His spiteful tone surprised her. If she didn’t know better, she’d say he sounded protective of her.
Though the clothes she wore were as comfortable as they could get, she suddenly felt tight. Truth threatened to leak from her lips, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to hold it in.
Ella focused on the tree behind Hawk. “She thinks I stole her boyfriend a few years ago, and she’s still pretty resentful about it. So she takes whatever chance she can get to rub it in.”
Hawk’s attention was reflective. Ella brought herself to meet it and was surprised to find a glint of mirth rather than displeasure. He was amused by this?
“Did you steal him?” Hawk asked.
His enjoyment was contagious, lightening the tension inside of her.
“I’m no thief.” She smirked, allowing her stiffness to dissipate.
He raised his brows and exhaled. “If you looked at him the way you’re looking at me now, I can see you stealing hearts.”
She pivoted, keeping a hand on the back of the leather chair. His direct gaze arrested her, making movement impossible. It was all she could do to voice the question. “And how am I looking at you?”
Gaze sultry, lips tugged upward at the corners, he inched closer to her. “Like you want to dance with me.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The moment quietened. The music shifted to something more gentle and intimate. Without another word, Hawk slipped his hand around her waist once more.
“May I have this dance?”
She forced her reply. “Now you’re asking?”
He shrugged. “I figured it wouldn’t hurt.”
He pulled her close, securing her to him again and severing the connection of her brain stem to the rest of her body. They moved in a small circle, in soft, gentle time. Was this really happening?
Christmas speckled the air around them via the soft music he had playing. It also permeated her attention, the way she saw only him, the way he gazed solely at her, and the way he held her, so carefully yet so deliberately.
“You know,” Hawk said, “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since we were in that elevator together.”
“Me neither,” she said.
“Won’t you tell me your last name? Or which of my departments you work for?”
“I never said I worked for you.” Her grin was coy and flirtatious.
A divot appeared between his brows. “But you were in my building just getting off from work. And you were at the ball. And I thought I saw you slip an employee badge in your purse.”
“It still doesn’t mean I work for you.”
His head angled. “You become more and more of a mystery the longer we talk.”
“What is it that’s such a mystery?” she asked. She couldn’t admit where she really worked. Not now.
He lifted a hand, guiding her out in a turn before drawing her back to him. “You. Everything about you.”
Ella burned under the heat of his attention. Not only the physical aspects of touch and sight, though those were enough to undo her. But his verbal interest, the sincerity in his statement. He wanted to know her.
She sifted through her mind and picked the first random thing she could think of. “My birthday is in December,” she said. “It makes Christmas hard, and it’s been harder since my mom died.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. When did she die?”
Ella cursed herself. She hadn’t meant to share something so tragic. Then again, she had mentioned it in the elevator too, and Hawk didn’t seem to mind. “Ten years ago, when I was fifteen. My dad got remarried and—”
“Hence the stepsister.”
“Two, actually,” she said.
“Two’s company. Look at us.” He beamed at her.
“What about you?” she asked. “What makes Christmas for you?”
“This is by far the best one I’ve had yet,” he said, stroking her spine with tender fingertips. “Stressful, but best too.”
“What has made it stressful?”
He exhaled. “Trying to expand my company. Our fiscal year is the same as a regular one, so my department heads wanted to get things moving for the New Year. It’s been good, just really hectic.”
“And what has made it the best?” she asked.
His expression shifted to something playful and unruly. “Hasn’t happened yet.”
“Oh? Is it something you’ve been wishing for?”
His jaw ticked. His attention focused. “I didn’t realize how much until this moment.”
Intuition tickled up her spine. She put her hands on his chest. “Hawk Danielson, if you’re referring to kissing me—”
He grinned, tightening his hold, not letting her go. “I can’t even return the chastising tone without knowing your last name.”
“Embers,” Ella said breathlessly, succumbing to the moment. “It’s Embers.”
“Ella Embers,” he said, slowing so they stood flush with one another before the tree’s glinting majesty. With the delayed motion and her name on his lips, the rest of the world disappeared. She pulsated, hyper-aware of her body, of him. She was safe with him. Safe and whole, in a way she never wanted to end.
“Are you inviting me to kiss you?” he asked.
Her mouth went dry. His office, the tree, the floor, faded. “I don’t know what to say to that. No one has ever asked me.”
He lured her closer. “I’ve never asked a woman before I kiss her either. I figure, since you claim you’re no thief, I thought I’d prove I wasn’t either.”
“If you wanted to kiss me, Hawk, you wouldn’t have to steal one.”
“So you are inviting me to kiss you.”
Feeling bolder than she ever had before, Ella pressed her chest to his. She tilted her chin upward just enough for his breath to stroke her skin. “Aren’t stolen kisses the best kind?”
She captured his gaze long enough to feel his heart pound against hers before detaching herself and turning away. Hawk didn’t let her. He snared her hand and reeled her to him.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
His gaze flicked to her mouth. “Stealing a kiss.”
His lips pressed to hers. His arms became the only security she would ever need. She allowed his kiss to soar through her like a snowstorm, blinding, diverting, causing her to slow and pay more attention to the swirl of disorientation and the rage of desire pulsing inside her. She could stay this way, warm and safe in his embrace, forever.
He was flickering fires, cozy afternoons, and hot cocoa. He was the refuge and the storm.
“I just had a thought,” he said after a few moments, stroking a thumb along her cheek.
“I think I’m having more than one,” Ella said with bated breath.
He grinned, dipping in for another kiss as he continued guiding her in a small circle to the soft guitar music beside his tree.
“Remember the project I mentioned?” he said against her lips. “Though I’m setting up a candy shop for the kids in the hospital in a few hours, I’m a little short-handed. Come help me.”
He cradled her face, pleading with more than just his words. He wanted her. To be with her. To have her help.
Ella was going to the hospital tomorrow anyway. She could do it. And after that kiss, she wanted as much time with Hawk as she could possibly snag.
“What time?”
“Early,” he said, pressing his lips to hers again. “I’m headed over about five am.”
She checked the time from the digital clock on his desk. It was already nearing midnight.
She was pushing things as it was. She still hadn’t talked to Stina.
Hawk rubbed her arms. “Come on. You made the kids pillowcases, right? You probably know them better than I do.”
“I do, yeah. They’re great. Really great. And they are going to be so thrilled once they see what you’ve done.” She wanted more than anything to be there and see the delight on their faces.
“Is it family?” Hawk asked. “I can understand. I know it’s Christmas.”
Unease washed the moment’s heat from her. Family, yes. But not the happy circumstances he was probably assuming.
What if it was, though? If her mom, her grandma, or even her dad asked the same thing Stina was demanding of her, she’d probably be far more inclined to work Christmas morning at their request.
But Stina? A hard woman who cared only for herself and her daughters, who went out of her way to use Ella and intimidate her over and over again?
Grammy was right. Ella didn’t owe Stina anything. And after Pris’s little stunt in the ballroom, she was even less inclined to go. Here was a man who was giving up his Christmas plans to spend them at the hospital. He had no one else to help him do this incredible thing for kids who deserved it.
An affirmation of rightness exploded in her chest. This was what she wanted. What she really wanted.
“Okay,” she said.
“Really?”
His excitement stoked the fire in her all over again. “Yeah. I’d love to. Let me just send a text, and then I’m all yours.”
He stroked his hands up and down her back. “I like the sound of that.”
“I meant I’m all yours to help you,” she teased.
Hawk chuckled and kissed her again. How could the same action have such a differing effect on her every time? This time his mouth coerced hers longer, tilting the room, making her blood spin.
“I should probably go,” she said, breaking away from him. “What time should I meet you at the hospital?”
“My sister has everything there,” he said. “All we need to do is be there and make sure everything is set up and ready to go. Kids get up early on Christmas morning. Or I did, anyway.”
“I did too,” Ella said with a laugh. “I used to sit out and stare at our tree, waiting for my parents to wake up.”
“Me too. So how about four forty-five? Is that too early? That way we can be all set when they start to trickle out.”
“You know,” Ella said. “You’re probably the most attractive man I’ve ever met.”
Hawk’s belly-laugh glimmered inside her. His generosity made him more appealing than anything.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said.
Ella gathered her belongings from his room and Hawk held her hand all the way down the elevator and to the coatroom. The music had ended. Staff members were busily tearing down the lovely decorations along the halls.
She was glad she’d opted to wear boots through the snow on the way here. Heels wouldn’t have worked with his sweats.
“Thanks again, for letting me borrow some clothes,” she said once she’d slipped into her coat.
“Happy to. It meant I got to spend the evening with you. I guess I’ll see you in a few hours?”
“Yeah,” she said.
She waited expectantly, and he didn’t disappoint her. Hawk’s mouth found hers, filling her with renewed heat to keep her warm all the way to her car.
Ella sauntered on starlight. She unlocked her door, slipped onto the chilled seat, and took a moment in the driver’s seat to throw together a hasty text.
Hey, something came up and I’m not going to make it to that job after all. Merry Christmas.
She tapped Send before she lost her nerve.
Her thoughts were jumbled as she drove. From the turn of the evening, her private ball with Hawk, dancing beside his Christmas tree, his stolen and not-so-stolen kisses, and the text she’d sent to Stina, Ella didn’t realize until she was back in her apartment that she’d made it home with only one of her shoes.
***
Hawk returned to his office in bewilderment. His hands still tingled from holding Ella. His mind still raced to solve the mystery of who she was, but he had a better sense after their conversation and their kisses.
She’d been so hesitant about helping him at the hospital. What had made her change her mind?
Hurriedly, he readied himself for bed, set his alarm, and settled onto the folded-down futon. The room still smelled like her, like cinnamon and pomegranates. It would have been all too easy to keep dancing with her, to forget the rest of the world and focus only on her. He was glad he hadn’t, though. They did need to rest before meeting the kids at the hospital in a few hours.
Something flickered in the darkness, catching on a rogue strand of moonlight. He pushed to his feet and lifted the single, glittering shoe.
“Ella Embers,” he said, running a finger along the thin heel. Thoughts of her stolen kisses made him whirl. She’d claimed she was no thief, but after an entire evening spent in her company, he wondered if she might be in line to take more than kisses from him. If he wasn’t careful, she just might steal his heart.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Ella’s brief midnight nap brimmed with visions of sugarplums and dances with a breathtaking billionaire. The instant her alarm sounded, her blood chugged with exhilaration. She’d done it. Not only had she stood up to Stina, but she was meeting Hawk in less than an hour.
Maybe now Pris could get off her case about Derek. Maybe she’d see Ella had moved on, and Pris could get a life and allow Ella to do the same.
As soon as she walked in, Ella had soaked her dress in the sink and slipped into a black, long-sleeved shirt and pants before crashing on her couch. Wide awake once more, Ella zipped calf-high boots over her pants and checked her appearance in the mirror. Her hair was still semi-decent, so she folded Hawk’s clothes, grabbed a muffin, and headed out into the cold Christmas morning.
As far as hospitals went, Harmony Children’s was imaginative and welcoming. It catered to children, filled with colorful montages on the walls depicting superheroes and popular figurines in full size for kids to stop beside and snap a picture with.
The facility was specialized, a place where children with severe or life-threatening conditions could stay to get the long-term care they needed.
Ella pressed the call button and waited in the chilled winter air for the back door to be opened. To her surprise, Hawk appeared through the glass, answering it instead of a nurse as she expected.
“Morning,” he said with a glimmer in his eyes. A black sweater hugged his torso and sculpted arms, blending in with his dark pants and shoes.
He took in her equally black garb as she removed her coat and hung it on a hanger in the room just off from the door. “Looking good,” he said.
“I know. We could be ninjas.”
Hawk laughed and answered her with a kiss that steamed to her toes. “Even in all black, you look bright and chipper.”
“I feel bright and chipper,” she said. “I brought your clothes, by the way.” She indicated the parking lot behind her where the clothes remained in her car. She hadn’t been sure whether or not to bring them in.
“Hold onto them,” he said, tilting in for another kiss. Mm. She could do just this and be perfectly content for the next several hours. “I’ll get them from you the next time we go out.”
“Will there be a next time?”
He rested his forehead against hers. “I don’t want things to end here, do you?”
She definitely needed more stolen kisses. “Next time sounds perfect.”
“How about ice skating? Tomorrow night?” he suggested, threading his fingers through hers and leading her down the hall. An answer formed in her mind but didn’t quite make it out as they stepped over the tiny colored tiles intermixed with the gray. She was too distracted by the set up in the hospital’s waiting room.
A bright scene of forest animals covered the far wall as usual, but th
e chairs were pushed aside to make room for two long counters with barstools standing in front of them. Several tall, wide shelves covered in cellophane bags filled to bursting with colorful candy stood waiting. Each bag was tied with sparkling ribbons of every color. Topping everything else off, a large banner swooped across the ceiling, carrying the Ever After Sweet Shoppe logo.
“Oh wow,” Ella said, stopping alongside a pair of nurses in red scrubs. Ella had come to know several of the nurses by name after all of her many visits here.
“Right?” Martha said. She had short, blonde hair and a friendly persona. Her red scrubs were perfect for the season. “The kids are going to love this. I can’t wait for them to wake up to their pillowcases. Add this to it, and they’ll have the best Christmas anyone could hope for.”
Hawk strolled through the space, inspecting the goodie bags and wrapped packages beneath the sparkling tree in the corner by the cash register on its counter. Ella loved this. If she ever had money like he did, she’d want to use it to help others like this.
He made his way back to her and handed her a pink apron set off with black and white-striped edging. He’d already slipped his on over his head.
“What’s the plan?” she asked.
“Each child has a stocking by his or her bed,” he said, tying his apron. Ella lifted hers on and tied it as well. “They’ve received redeemable tokens and can use them to ‘buy’ anything they want here in their very own store.”
“And the presents?” She pointed to the tree.
“One for each of them and the staff. And for you.”
Her mouth dropped. “What?”
She hadn’t even thought to get him a present. Then again, it wasn’t as though she’d had oodles of time or inclination that she’d be spending Christmas with him.
“Hawk, I—”
He nudged her shoulder with his own. “It’s okay. You’ll find your name on it.”
“When did you even have time to wrap a gift for me?” she mused.
“I got here before you did, remember?” He leaned in. She thought he might kiss her again when his gaze flicked behind her.
Ella And The Billionaire's Ball (Once Upon A Billionaire Book 2) Page 10
