Christmas Lone-Star Style

by Linda Turner

  “Give me five minutes,” he coaxed thickly, suddenly starving for the taste of her. “If you still want me to let you go then, I will.”

  He covered her mouth with his before she could say another word and wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d hauled off and punched him one. He deserved it. He was rough, his control nearly nonexistent, his arms too tight around her. If she’d insisted he let her go right then and there, he didn’t know where he would have found the strength. Not when he wanted her so badly.

  But although she immediately stiffened in his arms, she didn’t push him away. For what seemed like an eternity, she just stood there, and he could feel the struggle going on inside her, the fight against an attraction that had been inescapable from the moment they’d met. But she wanted him as badly as he wanted her—he knew she did!—and she couldn’t fight the need any more than he could. Moaning softly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, holding nothing back.

  He wanted her then more than he’d ever wanted any woman in his life, in his bed, under him, loving him like there was no tomorrow. But he hadn’t forgotten that he’d promised her that he would never take advantage of her—if they made love, it had to be because she wanted it as much as he did, not because she was caught up in the heat of the moment.

  Capturing her face in his hands, he pulled back a fraction, just far enough that he could see her eyes. “I couldn’t think of anything but you the entire time I was gone,” he said huskily. “Make love with me, Phoebe. I want you in my bed.”

  Her heart turning over in her chest, Phoebe couldn’t have protested if her life had depended on it. This was what she wanted, what she’d dreamed of and thought would never happen... Mitch holding her, loving her, showing her just how much he needed her. Later, there would be time for words, for declarations of the heart, for talk of the future, but for now, those things could wait. Nothing else mattered but being in his arms, loving him.

  Her smile coming straight from her heart, she went up on tiptoe to brush a soft kiss to his mouth and said simply, “Yes.”

  It wasn’t until then that she realized that he’d expected her to say no. Surprise flared in his eyes, and then he was walking her backwards toward his room, kissing her all the while.

  She couldn’t count the number of times she’d dreamed of making love with him, but when he laid her in a muted patch of sunlight on his bed, nothing was as she’d thought it would be. There was no darkness to conceal him from her or her from him as they slowly undressed each other, no starlight to set the scene with romance. Naked, skin to skin, there was just the two of them, alone in a golden glow of sunlight, and it couldn’t have been more beautiful.

  His eyes met hers, the heat in the dark blue depths stealing the very air from her lungs as he leaned over her. And then he smiled. A slow, intimate smile full of promise, just for her. And just that easily, the last, lingering doubts she had about giving herself to him vanished in a heartbeat. She wanted this, wanted him.

  With the sun shining down on them, the rest of a lazy afternoon stretched out before them. They had hours to slowly drive each other out of their minds, but the second he kissed her, fires that had been banked ever since the kids broke them apart last night sprang to life. Gasping, Phoebe clung to him, breathless, as his hands raced over her breasts, her hips, her belly, stroking and caressing and teasing until she shuddered and whimpered with need.

  She’d thought she knew what passion was, thought she knew her own body, but no one had ever taken her out of herself and given her what he did. She couldn’t think for the pounding of her heart, couldn’t breathe for the feel of his mouth pressing kisses to her breast, then latching on to her nipple to suckle strongly. Desire knotted like a fist low in her belly, and she cried out softly, clinging to him.

  With his mouth alone, he drove her up one peak and over the edge before she could do anything but gasp. Shuddering, pleasure rippling through her in waves, she was sure she was spent. But with a murmur of praise, he settled between her thighs and eased into her, and just that quickly, her heart was pounding, her blood hot. He moved, her hips lifted to his, and what she knew about loving took on a whole new meaning. His eyes, midnight blue with need, locked with hers, and then they were both racing for the stars, wanting, needing nothing but each other.

  Chapter 11

  He couldn’t seem to stop touching her. Even after he’d made love to her—again—and he should have been sated, he couldn’t get enough of her. And he couldn’t for the life of him understand why. He’d had his share of women, though not as many as reported, and a wise man knew how to keep a tight rein on his emotions. He’d never had a problem sticking to that in the past—he shouldn’t have now. But there was something about her...the softness of her skin, the feel of her arms around him, the way she cried out his name when she shattered under him...that left him reeling in a way he’d never expected. Somehow, she’d reached right inside his chest and turned his heart upside down; and he didn’t have a clue how she’d managed it. He just knew he wanted, needed, more than a day, a night, a week, with her.

  Tightening his arms around her, his only thought to keep her with him, he said impulsively, “When Alice gets back from L.A., I want you to come with me to Dallas.”

  Sprawled across his chest, she snuggled against him and pressed a kiss to his pounding heart. “You mean to visit?”

  “No,” he murmured, loving the feel of her in his arms. “For good. I want you with me.”

  “But I can’t just take off for Dallas. The kids are in school. And once Alice comes back, I’ll be out of a job. I have to find something—”

  “No, you don’t. I have enough money to support you and the kids. And they can go to school anywhere. We’ll enroll them in Dallas in January, and the three of you can move into my condó. There’s plenty of room, and then you can write to your heart’s content.”

  Caught up in the fantasy, he didn’t notice that she’d gone stiff in his arms until she abruptly drew back. Her face pale, she said carefully, “Let me get this straight. Are you asking me to live with you?”

  There was a look in her eye that told him she wasn’t overjoyed with the offer, and he knew why. In this day and age, a woman had to look after her own interests, especially when she had children to consider. He knew that, accepted that, but deep down inside, he was disappointed that she didn’t trust him to look after her and the kids even when they ended their arrangement. Hadn’t he looked out for her so far?

  “I’ll take care of you, honey,” he promised gruffly. “You don’t have to worry about me throwing you and the kids out in the cold if things don’t work out. I’ll arrange a nice settlement for you, enough for you to come back to San Antonio, if you that’s what you want, and take your time looking for a job. Money won’t be a problem.”

  It was, he thought, a generous offer. One that any one of the women he’d dated in the past would have jumped at because it was a well-known fact that he was not a stingy man—especially when it came to ex-lovers. He was promising her security, and wasn’t that what all women were looking for? He thought she’d be relieved.

  But the woman who extracted herself from his arms and stiffly pulled the sheet up to shield her naked breasts from his eyes was anything but pleased. In fact, she looked like he’d just stabbed her in the heart. Concerned, he started to reach for her. “Honey, what is it? I thought—”

  Lightning-quick, she scrambled out of the bed, dragging the sheet with her. “Don’t!” she choked. “You don’t have to draw me a picture—I know exactly what you thought. It isn’t as if you’ve ever tried to hide your opinion of me. Right from the first, you thought I was just like all the other women who have chased you over the years, wanting to get their fingers on your pocketbook.”

  “I never—”

  “Oh, please! Save it! I can’t believe I’ve been such a fool! I actually thought you were starting to care for me. What a joke! You don’t care about anything but your precious money and keeping i
t out of the hands of greedy little gold diggers—like me. Well, congratulations! You succeeded. You can take your bank account and everything else you own and stuff it where the sun don’t shine! I don’t want it!”

  But just to be sure there were no misunderstandings, she grabbed pen and paper from the nightstand and hastily scribbled a disclaimer. “I, Phoebe Smith, swear on my parents’ grave that I want nothing from Mitch Ryan, now or at any time in the future. There,” she said, shoving it under his nose. “Have I made myself clear enough? You’re safe from me. You haven’t got a damn thing I want.”

  That was an out-and-out lie—she wanted his heart— but a woman had her pride. And what was left of hers was badly bruised and hurting. How could he think... Not even able to finish the thought, she was so furious, she whirled away from him and started snatching up her clothes.

  “Phoebe, if you’ll just be rational—”

  It was the wrong thing to say. Straightening, she shot him a look that could have melted lead. “You want rational? I’ll give you rational. You stay away from me! Just leave me alone and we’ll get along fine.”

  She didn’t give him time to say another word, but simply stormed out, her chin in the air and her clothes clutched in her arms, too angry to care that she was magnificently naked. Just let him try and stop her, she fumed. She just dared him!

  But whatever else Mitch was, he liked to think he wasn’t a stupid man. He let her go. He couldn’t for the life of him, however, understand what she was so upset about. She acted like he’d just insulted her when all he was really trying to do was protect her interests. All he had to do was give her a little time to cool down and she would see that. Then she’d apologize, they’d make up, then spend the rest of the weekend making love and discussing everything that would need to be done to make her and the kids’ move to Dallas a smooth one.

  Wisely, he gave her the rest of the day to herself. It wasn’t easy. When she couldn’t manage to avoid him outright, she gave him the cold shoulder and barely spoke to him. Tension in the apartment was interminable, the temperature downright chilly. Frustrated, Mitch told himself that she couldn’t stay mad at him forever. She was too warm, too loving, and what they had shared was right there in her eyes every time she looked at him. Tomorrow, she would talk to him and they would work this out.

  But after a restless night, he woke to find her already up and packing. Stunned, he stood in the open doorway of her bedroom, sleep still in his eyes, and scowled at her in disbelief. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “What does it look like?” she retorted, not bothering to look up from her task as she packed the kids’ toys and books in a sturdy box. “We obviously can’t stay here any longer, so I’m packing our things. As soon as the kids get back Sunday afternoon, we’ll get out of your hair.”

  She was serious. She was going to leave, just walk out like nothing had ever happened between them! Stunned, he couldn’t understand how they had come to this. Had he hurt her that badly that she couldn’t wait to get away from him? He hadn’t meant to, dammit! Couldn’t she see that? He cared about her. Didn’t she realize that he never would have asked her to move in with him if he hadn’t? And he couldn’t just let her walk away. Not after what they’d shared yesterday afternoon. Even now, hours later, he was still reeling from it, and just the thought of losing her sent him into a panic. She had to give him a chance to explain, to make her understand and make things right between them, and he’d never be able to do that if she moved out.

  “Just because we had a misunderstanding doesn’t mean you have to move out,” he told her quietly. “Where would you go, anyway? Apartments are expensive—at least, the better ones are—and the kids like living here. You won’t be able to find anything comparable that you can afford.”

  If he’d wanted to touch a nerve, he couldn’t have found a better way. Her eyes narrowing dangerously, she leveled a chilly glance at him. “My finances aren’t your concern. The only thing you have to be worried about is whether I get to work on time, and I can assure you I will.”

  “But that wasn’t part of our agreement,” he argued. “You were hired to take over for Alice while she was gone, to be here for the tenants day or night. You can’t do that if you’re living somewhere else.”

  “So you’re firing me?” she demanded, outraged. “Is that what you’re saying?”

  There was no way in hell he would have fired her, but that was something she didn’t need to know. If that was playing dirty, then so be it. When a man’s back was to the wall, he did what he had to do. “With Alice gone, I need someone here around the clock to deal with whatever problems crop up. If you can’t do that, I’ll have to find someone who can.”

  “I’ll have a phone. The tenants can call me at the new place if something happens after hours—”

  “That’s not good enough,” he said ruthlessly. “You either live here, or you’ll have to find another job. It shouldn’t be too hard—you’re very well qualified. Of course, there may not be anything available until January. That could make things pretty tight.”

  “I’ll manage,” she said stiffly.

  “I’m sure you will if you get a cheap apartment. They’re out there—you just have to look for them. Of course, the low-rent districts aren’t always the safest, and the Mallorys probably won’t like the idea of the kids living in such a dangerous area, but you can only do so much when you’re out of work. Once you explain the situation, I’m sure they’ll understand. Hell, they might even loan you enough money to get a better place. They know you’re good for it,” he continued blithely. “You’re raising their grandchildren. If they can’t trust you, who can they trust, right?”

  She was going to kill him, Phoebe thought, seething. Dammit, why was he doing this to her? He’d stabbed her right in the heart yesterday, and it felt as if she’d been crying ever since. She’d thought he knew her, knew the type of woman she was. But how could he if he thought her first concern when it came to living with him was how much of his money she was going to get when she moved out?

  That thought had nagged at her all night, tearing her apart, and with the coming of the dawn, she’d known what she had to do. She could work for him because she couldn’t walk away from a paying job when Christmas was right around the corner, but there was no way she could continue to share an apartment with him. Not after yesterday.

  “Louise and Ward know I would never do anything to put the kids in jeopardy,” she said through her teeth, glaring at him. “But you’re right—it would be difficult for me to find another job this time of year. So the children and I will stay. But not here,” she said quickly, before he could get the mistaken idea that he’d bested her. “We’ll move upstairs to the attic—”

  “The hell you will!”

  “There’s a bathroom up there already,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken, “and we really just need a place to sleep.”

  “I thought the contractor was starting the remodeling Monday. You and the kids can’t stay up there in all that dust and construction.”

  “We’re not going to be up there in the middle of the day,” she retorted. “The kids’ll be in school and I’ll be down here working. I’m just talking about spending the nights up there. We have sleeping bags—”

  “No!”

  “What do you mean...no? Dammit, Mitch, you can’t have it both ways! You insist that I have to live here if I want to keep my job. I’m willing to do that—if we can stay in the attic. We’ll still continue to use the kitchen facilities down here, of course, until the kitchen is built, but we’re sleeping upstairs,” she warned, “or you really can find someone to replace me. Those are my conditions. Take ‘em or leave ’em.”

  She meant it. She’d walk out if he didn’t agree. At a stalemate, they glared at each other, and something in her eyes must have convinced him that she wasn’t going to bend. Not this time. Swearing softly, he said, “You don’t have to sleep in the attic. I will. There! Now are you happy?”


  “But—”

  “This isn’t negotiable, Phoebe,” he told her flatly. “The kids are happy and secure here, and that’s where they’re staying. It’s not going to hurt me to bunk down in the attic. But my computer stays down here—you can’t expect me to do business in a construction zone.”

  “Of course not—”

  “Then it’s settled,” he said quickly, before she could object. “Now that we’ve got that cleared up, I’ve got some work to catch up on, so I’ll be here to look after things if you want to go shopping. The malls will be packed, but since the kids aren’t here, I thought you might want a chance to go through the stores by yourself. Go ahead,” he said when she hesitated. “Most of the rest of the world is shopping today anyway, so you might as well go, too. I can handle things here until you get back.”

  It would still be several weeks before she’d saved enough of her salary to even think about buying the kids anything, but just the thought of staying there in the apartment with him all day, sharing the quiet, being aware of his every move, had her jumping at the chance to get away. “If you’re sure you don’t mind, I think I will,” she said coolly. “The kids have already given me their Christmas lists and I need to price things.”

  Out of all the shopping days in the year, the day after Thanksgiving was her favorite. The malls were packed, Christmas decorations that had been up since Halloween finally fit the season, and the sound of holiday music was in the air. She loved it. She very seldom bought anything, but spending money had never been what made the day special to her. It was the crowds that were fun, being caught up in the rush and excitement, and wandering from store to store, just looking. She could happily browse for hours.