Temptation at Christmas

by Maureen Child

  “Enjoying you, Mia,” he said, then took hold of her hips and with one quick move, flipped her over onto her stomach.

  “Oh.” She threw her hair back out of her eyes and looked at him over her left shoulder. A tiny smile tugged at one corner of her mouth and then she licked her lips again. Slowly, slowly, she went up on her knees and Sam smoothed his palms over her behind.

  “That’s my girl,” he murmured and edged off the mattress, pulling her along with him. When he was standing behind her, he held onto her hips and drove himself inside her.

  Mia tipped her head back, pushed hard against him and moved in time with the rhythm he set. Back in her heat, Sam gave himself over to the moment. Rocking into her body again and again, he took them both as high as they’d ever been and then went further.

  “Sam! Sam!” Mia’s body shattered quickly, because she had been so close when he’d changed things up. She trembled and cried out again and now, when he was so close to joining her, he changed again.

  He pulled free of her, flipped her onto her back and lay down on top of her. Sliding into her once more, he stared into her eyes, shadowed, passion-glazed, and let himself take that long, last leap into the kind of passion pool he’d only found with Mia.

  * * *

  Exhausted, energized, Mia lay on Sam’s big bed and looked over at the wall of windows. She knew the glass had been treated, so that no one could see into the suite. Which made it easy to feel decadent, naked with her lover—her husband—and displayed to a world who couldn’t know what was going on behind the glass.

  She hadn’t meant for this to happen, but maybe it was always going to end here. In bed. She and Sam had always had an extremely physical relationship. When everything else in their marriage had begun to dissolve, the sex had never lost its magic.

  Turning her head on the pillow to look at the man sprawled beside her, Mia had to smile. Even in sleep, he was contained, pulled into himself. There was no leg tossed over hers. No arm reaching out for her. And that broke her heart a little, as it always had. She wished she knew why Sam spent most of his time trying to keep her at a distance. But his brother Michael had refused to talk, insisting it was Sam’s story to tell.

  She agreed. The only problem was, Sam wouldn’t tell it. And until she knew what she was fighting against, how could she win? She couldn’t. Which was why Mia had finally admitted defeat and accepted that their marriage was over. Outside, the storm had passed and moonlight was fading into the first hint of the coming sunrise. That thought propelled her off the mattress, which instantly brought Sam awake.

  “Where you going?”

  She stood up and scooped her hair back from her face. “I have to get back to the couch in Maya’s suite.”

  He went up on one elbow. “Why? Just stay here.”

  Mia laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think so. Maya doesn’t need to know what happened here.”

  That was all she needed. Wasn’t this exactly what her twin had been warning against? She really didn’t want to hear Maya on the subject because Mia was already giving herself a stern, internal talking-to.

  “Ashamed?” he asked.

  “No.”

  The one-word answer encompassed everything she was feeling. She wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed or whatever else he might accuse her of being. Heck, she couldn’t even regret this because she hadn’t felt this good in months. Her body was loose and limber and her mind was filled with new memories that would have to last her a lifetime. Because this time with him hadn’t changed anything.

  “Great,” he said. “Then stay.”

  The man was almost impossible to argue with because generally, he could not be budged from his point of view. That’s the way it had been throughout their marriage. Sam did what he wanted when he wanted. He’d never learned to bend. To give a little.

  And she needed more than that.

  “I can’t.” She turned then and walked naked out of the bedroom.

  Outside the sky was lightening and she knew that soon, the boys would be awake and Maya only moments later. Mia really had to hurry.

  Of course, Sam followed her into the living room, as naked as she and so tempting, she couldn’t trust herself to look at him for long.

  She passed the dining table and noticed the envelope containing their divorce papers. “Did you sign the papers?”

  “Not yet,” he said from right behind her.

  Mia grabbed her jeans and panties from the floor. Stuffing her torn underwear into one of the pockets, she pulled the still damp denim on and shivered with the cold. “What’s the problem?”

  “What’s the rush?” he countered.

  Sighing, Mia bent over to pick up her bra and shirt. Thankfully, Sam hadn’t ripped her bra as casually as he had her panties. She pulled on the black lace bra and hooked it. “I have plans,” she said. “Starting in January. I need you to sign those papers.”

  “What plans?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. His feet were braced apart and he stood there staring at her like an ancient god.

  Her mouth went dry, but still, she managed to say, “None of your business.”

  “It is if you want me to sign.”

  Mia paused to slip on her cold, damp blouse. “Blackmail? Really?”

  “Oh, I haven’t given you the blackmail offer yet.”

  Staring at him, she said, “You’re serious.”

  “Damn serious.” He walked toward her and Mia backed up. A naked Sam was far too dangerous. “You want those papers signed. I want more time with you in my bed. And I want to know your big secret plans.”

  “Sam.”

  Shaking his head, he said, “Think about it. You move into my suite for the duration of the cruise. When we’re back in Long Beach, I sign the papers and we’re done.”

  Her heart was pounding and her mind whirling. She should have expected this. Hadn’t he been trying to get her into his suite all along? Of course the businessman in him would use whatever leverage he had to get the outcome he wanted.

  “So you’re blackmailing me into having sex with you to get what I want.”

  “To get what we both want,” he corrected.

  She could fight him on this, but what would be the point? She’d proven only moments ago how much she wanted him, too. They had a little less than two weeks on this cruise together. Was she going to pretend that sex wouldn’t happen between them again? Would she pretend she wasn’t going to spend her nights slipping out of Maya’s suite to come up here and be with Sam, then sneak back to that couch in the morning?

  Sam walked closer and Mia knew she should move back, but she didn’t. It was a little late to be circumspect. Barn door open. Horse gone.

  He stepped up to her and slid his hands beneath the open edges of her shirt, skimming his fingertips across her skin until she sighed with resignation. There was simply no denying this. She wanted Sam. Always would.

  So if the next two weeks was all she’d have of him, then she could be called the world’s first willing blackmail victim.

  “What do you say, Mia?” Sam bent his head to the column of her throat and kissed his way up to her mouth. By the time he got there, she was weak-kneed and helpless to say anything but what he wanted to hear.

  “I say it’s a deal.” When he lifted his head, she met his gaze and tried to read everything written in those depths she had once thought she knew so well. But he was a master at negotiations and all he allowed her to see was his satisfaction.

  “So you’ll move in here tonight.”

  It wasn’t a question. “Yes,” she said, and batted his hands away so she could button up her shirt. Looking around, she spotted her shoes where she’d kicked them off a lifetime ago.

  She walked over, stepped into the slip-on sneakers then looked at Sam. He was exactly what Maya had always called him. Mia’s Kryptonite. Even now
, all she wanted to do was step into his arms and let him carry her back to the bedroom.

  “And you’ll sign the divorce papers.” Also not a question.

  His eyes flashed, but he nodded. “I will.”

  “Okay then. I’ll see you later.” While she still could, she opened the door, slipped outside and hurried back to Maya’s suite. And on the way, she tried to come up with the words she would use to tell her family about what she was doing.

  * * *

  By the following afternoon, it was as if the storm had never happened.

  Passengers were out enjoying the pool area, the spas and the shopping pavilions on the Sun Deck. At one end of the Sun Deck, the pool, hot tubs and the swim-up bar were busy. But at the opposite end, passengers were crowded around the five food stations, offering everything from sushi to sandwiches to stuffed Belgian waffles. And the shops were just as crowded. It looked to Sam as though everyone on board ship was determined to celebrate the end of the storm and the return of smooth sailing.

  He walked the perimeters of the crowd, because he’d learned long ago that the best way to learn what people thought of your business was to interact with them. Watch them with the employees, and make mental notes of where to improve.

  It was a party atmosphere, and even Sam couldn’t help smiling at the small group of children playing by one of the Christmas trees set up on the promenade. When he realized what he was doing, his smile slipped away. Kids? Really? What the hell was that?

  Were Mia and her family getting to him?

  He shook his head and kept walking, skirting the edges of the crowd, making more mental notes on the waiters, the stewards, the chefs working the food stalls. Nothing escaped Sam’s attention. Not the smallest detail. Though the traffic flow through this section seemed to be working well enough, Sam realized that putting more distance between the food stalls themselves would allow the passengers to get a better idea of what was being offered.

  Waiters worked the crowd, delivering meals and drinks and the shops on this level were packed with customers. He appreciated how well the Christmas-themed cruise seemed to be working. The passenger list was mostly families and he told himself that it might be time to consider adding a few family cruises to their yearly lineup.

  By banning kids from most of their voyages, they were cheating themselves out of hundreds of thousands of potential passengers. His brother Michael had made that same argument many times, but Sam had never been interested. Their father had started the adults-only cruises and Sam had never seen the point in changing something that was clearly working.

  But now, he had to admit that family cruises could be very successful for the Buchanans. He’d have to talk to Mike about it. And even as he told himself that, Sam realized that he never would have considered making the change before this trip and a part of him wondered why he was doing it now.

  He remembered the looks on the faces of his nephews—the excitement. The...well, the joy and multiplied it by the number of kids onboard. Maybe it was because this was a Christmas cruise and the kids would be excited by the holiday no matter where they were, but Sam had the feeling that being onboard a ship sparked the same kind of excitement in most of them.

  “Sam!” He stopped, looked around until he spotted Joe Rossi, sitting at a table with their father-in-law.

  Joe waved one hand and said, “Come sit down for a minute.”

  Sam hesitated, trying, he could admit to himself, to find a way out. But there wasn’t one. And damned if he’d go into hiding on his own damn ship. He could handle a quick conversation for God’s sake. He threaded his way past the crowded tables and stopped beside Joe and Henry’s. Each man had a beer in front of him and in the center of the table was a huge bowl of nachos, corn chips smothered in cheese, onions, peppers and shredded beef.

  “You make it through the storm all right?” he asked, looking from one man to the other.

  “It was rough for a while,” Joe admitted with a laugh. “But things are looking up now.” He pulled out a chair. “Sit down, Sam.”

  He glanced at Henry and the older man nodded. With no way out of spending a little time with his in-laws, Sam took a seat and signaled a passing waiter for a beer. He had the feeling he was going to need one.

  “Mia told me the kids and then Maya were sick last night.”

  Joe’s eyebrows arched. “She did, huh? Well, she wasn’t lying. But everyone’s better today. My A plus mother-in-law has the kids in the craft room making Christmas presents and Maya’s relaxing with Mia at the spa.”

  That explained why he hadn’t spotted Mia anywhere on the ship during his walkabout.

  “When did you see Mia last night?” Joe asked.

  Sam shifted a look to Henry. The older man was pretty cagey and always seemed to know more than he let on. So that led to the question—what did he know about what had happened last night?

  “During the storm, late last night. I found her at the railing by the pool.” Of course, that wasn’t where he’d left her, but they didn’t need to know that.

  Joe winced. “That’s probably our fault. Between the kids and then Maya getting sick...”

  Henry nodded, never taking his gaze from Sam’s. “No, Mia’s always loved a good storm. And living in California meant she didn’t get to see many.”

  “She does love the wind and rain,” Sam said. He remembered again how Mia would stand out on the balcony of their condo to watch anytime there was a storm. Be a part of it.

  Henry leaned forward, picked up his beer and sat back again. “I wanted to talk to you, Sam. Without the women around.”

  The waiter delivered Sam’s beer, then disappeared into the crowd again. Sam lifted it, took a sip, then held onto the icy bottle as he waited for whatever it was his father-in-law was going to say next. He didn’t have to wait long.

  “I’m listening,” Sam said tightly, waiting for the man to come down on him for breaking up with Mia. Or for hooking up with her last night. Or for not signing the damn divorce papers. Whatever it was though, Sam would take it. Out of respect for Mia’s father.

  He just hoped that Henry didn’t somehow know what had happened between him and Mia last night during the storm. And what was going to happen the minute he got her alone again.

  “You made a big mistake, Sam.”

  Well, that caught his attention. Sam didn’t make mistakes often, but when he did, he surely didn’t need someone else to tell him about them. “I don’t think so, Henry.”

  The older man laughed shortly and shook his head. “That’s because you can’t see far enough ahead of you yet.”

  “Henry...” Sam paused, took a sip of beer and used that moment to think of something to say. But Henry beat him to it when he continued.

  “Yeah, this is my talk, Sam,” he said. “So you just sit there and listen, all right? I want you to know, Emma’s still pretty pissed at you.”

  “Yeah, I caught onto that yesterday,” Sam said wryly, remembering how his mother-in-law had talked about him as if he didn’t really exist.

  Henry smirked and shrugged. “She protects our girls with everything she’s got. And when one of them gets hurt, then God help whoever caused that pain.”

  “Yeah,” Joe put in. “We’ve been married eight years and Emma still hasn’t forgiven me for standing Maya up one time when we first started dating.”

  “You’re kidding.” Sam just stared at him.

  “I wish.”

  “The point is,” Henry said, getting both of their attention again, “I want you to know that I get it.”

  All right, that he hadn’t expected to hear. “You do?”

  “You’re not the first man to have the crap scared out of him by marriage.”

  Well, that was insulting. If he’d been scared of marriage he wouldn’t have married Mia in the first place. He was scared of dropping his own issues
onto Mia and corrupting her with them. He’d wanted her—loved her—enough to try, though in spite of the niggling doubts inside him. Hell, a part of him had hoped that she would be his cure. But he hadn’t been able to let her get close enough to try. “I don’t get scared, Henry. And I sure as hell wasn’t scared of Mia.”

  “Didn’t say you were. Said you were scared of marriage.”

  “And you’re wrong again. I just wasn’t any good at it.” It cost him to admit that.

  “Hardly gave yourself long enough to find that out, did you?”

  “It was long enough, Henry.” Sam set his beer down and looked at the older man. He had never liked explaining himself and didn’t want to do it now. But maybe he owed Henry something. “I thought it was better that I leave when I did than wait until we were farther down the road.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  There was a smirk on Henry’s face that irritated Sam so that he spoke up again quickly. “Better I left when I did. Yeah, she was hurt. But if I’d stayed, it would only have gotten worse.”

  Joe gave a long, low whistle and Sam frowned at him. What the hell did that mean?

  “So you’re the hero, is that it?”

  His head snapped around to Henry again. “I didn’t say that, either.”

  “Son, I’ll tell you right now, you’ve cheated yourself and Mia out of what you might have made together. I don’t believe you’ve got the first clue about what you’re doing here.”

  Sam had had the same thought many times, but he knew himself. Knew that if he’d stayed with Mia, it would have become a misery and he wanted to save her—and himself—from that kind of pain.

  “Maybe not, but it’s my decision. Mine and Mia’s.”

  “No, just yours. If it was her call to make, you wouldn’t have split up.”

  “Mia’s the one who asked for the divorce, Henry.”

  “That’s true, but I’m guessing she didn’t expect you to agree.”

  “You should ask her how she feels about it now,” Sam muttered and took another drink of his beer.