HOLIDAY HEAT
4 Sexy Novellas by Four NYT Bestselling Authors
Janelle Denison
Carly Phillips
Julie Leto
Leslie Kelly
Seducing Santa
First published by Kensington Books, October 2003, as All She Wants for Christmas
Copyright © Janelle Denison. October 2003
EBook Copyright Janelle Denison, November 2011
Midnight Angel
Original Copyright 2004 by Karen Drogin
eBook Copyright © 2013 by Karen Drogin
Dirty Little Christmas
eBook Copyright © Bookgoddess, LLC, 2012
Wrapped and Sealed
Copyright © 2013 Leslie Kelly
Kindle Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the Author.
Box Set Contents
Seducing Santa
Midnight Angel
Dirty Little Christmas
Wrapped and Sealed
SEDUCING SANTA
by
Janelle Denison
First published by Kensington Books, October 2003, as All She Wants for Christmas
Copyright © Janelle Denison. October 2003
EBook Copyright Janelle Denison, November 2011
Cover Photo Copyright Earthly Charms, October 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Author.
Chapter One
“Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas everyone!”
Even though Faith Roberts had been anticipating his arrival, she shivered as the husky greeting slipped down her spine and an all too familiar heat gathered deep in her belly. There was only one man lately who’d been able to illicit such a thrilling response, and his visit at today’s festive, holiday celebration was no exception.
“It’s Santa!” one child exclaimed in joyful excitement, and that’s all it took for the activity room in the children’s ward to break out in squeals of delight. The kids erupted into a mad rush toward the jolly man in the red suit and gathered around him, all sixteen of them vying for his attention, all at once.
Faith laughed, not that she could blame the little imps, or the young nurses who’d left their stations to watch Matthew Carlton, Pediatric Surgeon, in action. Even dressed in a bright red Santa suit, complete with a padded tummy, fluffy white beard, and wire rimmed glasses, the man still managed to exude mass quantities of sex appeal, and no one of the female gender seemed immune to his easy-going charm and affable personality.
Especially her. And if all went as planned, by the end of this holiday party Santa would be granting Faith her fondest wish come true.
All she wanted for Christmas this year was one hot, unforgettable night of passion with playboy Matthew Carlton before she moved on to the next phase of her life and started dating seriously again. No more wondering what it would feel like to have Matthew’s mouth on hers and his hands sliding across her curves. No more tossing and turning in her bed all alone as she fantasized about having that solid body of his moving over hers, sliding deep inside where she was soft and warm and wet. She craved the real thing, and if his interest in her was any indication, she didn’t think he’d refuse her seductive request.
She’d spent the last six months skirting his flirtatious advances and turning down dinner invitations because of his love ’em and leave ’em reputation around the hospital, but after a year of remaining single and cautious due to a past relationship gone bad, she was ready to give in to the attraction and restless desire she’d been fighting for too long. Ready to give in to temptation and enjoy every sensual delight he had to offer. And this time she’d do so with her eyes wide open, and keep her heart out of the equation.
As Santa made his way to the red velvet throne next to the gaily decorated Christmas tree, with his entourage of youngsters in tow, his twinkling blue eyes swept the area and stopped on her for a moment. Faith saw his beard twitch with a smile, and he winked at her before he settled himself in his chair and returned his attention to the ecstatic kids.
Another rush of heat tingled along her skin and scattered across her breasts, pebbling her nipples into tight aching points. Doing her best to subdue her body’s reaction to Dr. Sexy, as he’d been appropriately dubbed by the female hospital staff, she immersed herself in the carefree, festive mood that had been created for the sick and recovering children who’d be staying in the hospital through Christmas.
While everyone had shuffled forward to greet Santa, and her good friend, Chayse Douglas, snapped pictures to document the occasion, Faith remained behind with five year old April, who sat on her lap clutching her soft, worn blanket. She watched the commotion from afar with big, round eyes, fascinated but unsure whether or not she wanted to join in on the melee.
Faith didn’t push the little girl, certain she’d come around once she saw Santa pull gifts from the big velvet bag he’d brought with him and discovered he’d given the kids precisely what they’d asked for. As a volunteer in the children’s ward, last week Faith had helped each child write a letter to Santa, then afterward had gone shopping with Chayse to make sure that all the kids received at least one item that they’d asked for.
As the procession around Santa continued, Chayse came over to Faith, sat in the vacant seat beside her, and proceeded to reload a new roll of film into her camera. “Do you think Santa would be up to being a hunk in my Outdoor Men calendar project I’m doing for charity next year?”
Faith chuckled at the frustration threading through her friend’s voice, knowing the source of her discontent. “I take it you haven’t been able to recruit Adrian Wilde to pose as your last subject yet, hmm?”
“No, but not for a lack of trying,” Chayse grumbled beneath her breath. “The man is absolutely aggravating, and so darn gorgeous and sexy that I refuse to give up on him.”
“So, are you interested in him for more than just charitable reasons?” Faith asked curiously, and loosened her arms around April when the girl shifted restlessly on her lap, seemingly trying to gather the courage to approach Santa.
Chayse dug into her camera bag for a different lens. “No more or less than you want Dr. Sexy for more than his pediatric skills, I suppose.”
“Touché, though I’m also very attracted to that soft spot he has for kids,” she said in her own defense, and let her gaze drift back to Matthew, who had a bright-eyed boy perched on his knee and was listening avidly to what he had to say.
As a third grade school teacher, and having always loved children, Faith appreciated how gentle and focused Matthew was with the kids in the hospital. Being attentive was all part of his job, of course,
but Matthew’s caring was genuine. She could see it in his striking blue eyes as strolled through the children’s ward a few times a week and made sure he stopped and visited each child, no matter how sick, and the way he handled them with an abundance of gentleness and compassion. He even entertained them with slight-of-hand magic tricks that brought a bit of joy and amusement into their sometimes lonely, confined days.
But for as great as he was with the younger generation, he was a reputed ladies’ man who enjoyed playing the field. He had one broken engagement under his belt, and he’d dated a few of the nurses in the hospital who hadn’t been shy about admitting that he was “the best they’d ever had”.
Faith knew and accepted that Matthew wasn’t a forever kind of guy, and that was fine with her, since what she wanted from him was just one night of erotic, breath-stealing pleasure, to finally get him out of her mind, dreams, and nightly fantasies.
Stroking a hand over April’s soft hair, Faith glanced back at her friend, who was busy fiddling with her camera settings, and decided to let Chayse in on her plan. “I’m going to ask Santa over there for a very intimate Christmas present this year, one only he can deliver personally.”
Chayse’s grin widened, and her violet hued eyes glimmered with amusement. “Well, it’s about time you treated yourself to such a decadent and yummy gift, especially after the way things ended with Martin.”
Martin, a successful lawyer, who’d strung her along with false promises until someone better, and more exciting and sophisticated, had piqued his interest and libido, shattering both her heart and her trust. But she was no longer that guileless woman who believed in fairy tale endings, especially not with a man who was known for his prowess with the female gender.
Matthew might agree to an affair with her, but she wasn’t so naive that she’d ever believe she was the type of woman he’d eventually marry. And she knew that particular score upfront, and she wasn’t looking for anything long term, either.
“It’s the right time,” Faith countered with a shrug. “With my sister living in Houston with her husband and new family, and my parents off on vacation in Paris, it’s the perfect Christmas gift to myself.” She hated to admit it, but she’d been dreading spending the holidays alone, without her parents or sister, for the first time ever. If Matthew agreed to her wish, he’d provide her with a nice, sensual kind of distraction, and plenty of fond, Christmas memories to look back on.
“I’m certain Santa is just the man to give you exactly what you want and need,” Chayse said.
He was definitely that. But for all she knew, he might already have plans for the evening. It was Saturday, the 23rd of December, and two days away from Christmas, a time when many people were booked up with parties, celebrations, or family affairs.
Everyone except her, of course.
Chayse stood and slipped the camera strap around her neck, her gaze suddenly serious, as if she had direct insight to the thoughts tumbling through Faith’s mind. “By the way, you know you can always spend the holidays with me if things don’t work out with Dr. Sexy.”
“Thank you.” Faith smiled gratefully. “I might just take you up on that offer.”
“Good luck with Santa.” With a quick, sassy wink, Chayse went back to taking pictures.
For the next half hour, Faith watched the festivities along with April, waiting patiently for the little girl to come out of her shell and join the fun. Finally, all the children had their turn with Santa and were busy playing with the toys he’d given them, but there was still one present left.
Holding a gaily wrapped gift in his hand, Santa looked over the rim of his gold framed glasses, searching the room for the recipient. “Is April here today?” he asked.
The little girl stiffened in surprise, and not sure whether or not April would speak up for herself, Faith gently coaxed her to approach Santa for her gift. “Come on, sweetie, I’ll go with you.”
With April clasping Faith’s hand tightly, they made their way to Santa. The young girl didn’t want to sit on his lap, but standing so close to him, she stared up at him in awe as he handed her the last present. She opened the gift tentatively, and her entire face transformed with gleeful excitement once the box was unwrapped.
“I got the doll I wanted,” she squealed in excitement. “Thank you, Santa!” She rushed off to share her gift with the friends she’d made during her stay in the hospital.
Feeling warm and fuzzy inside, Faith smiled from April, to Matthew. “Very well done, Santa.”
“Thank you,” he murmured in that low, velvet-lined voice of his that sent shivers down her spine. Before she realized his intent, his gloved fingers wrapped around her wrist and he pulled her onto his lap.
Suddenly self-conscious with the nurses and kids looking on in avid interest, and very aware of his hard, muscular thighs beneath her bottom and legs, she tried to make light of the situation. “Don’t you think I’m a bit too big to be sitting on your lap?”
“Not at all. You fit just right.” His eyes sparkled playfully, and the tilt of his moustache hinted at the sexy-as-sin smile hidden beneath. “So, what about you, Faith? Have you been naughty or nice this year?”
He’d placed his gloved hand on her knee, and the heat of his touch seeped through her slacks and spread upward, wreaking havoc with her sexually deprived body. She inhaled a deep, steady breath, and the warm, male scent of him invaded her senses, increasing the wanting unfurling in the pit of her belly.
“Oh, I’ve been very nice.” Too nice and good, but all that was about to change. And he’d just presented her with the perfect opportunity to act on her intentions, to be the kind of bold, assertive kind of woman she’d always admired from afar, but had never been before.
“So, what would you like for Christmas?” he asked quite innocently, but there was no mistaking the sexy dare in his gaze.
Caught up in the sensual awareness thrumming between them, Faith seized the moment and made it hers. Cupping her hand over his ear so that no one could hear her very private wish, she whispered, “I want to be naughty, Santa. Very naughty. With you.” She gently nipped his lobe to prove how brazen she was willing to be, and heard him suck in a startled breath. “I want one night of unforgettable, anything-goes sex with you, any way I please, and any way you want.”
She pulled back, not certain what to expect, but the arousing heat and desire in Matthew’s eyes reassured her that she’d definitely piqued his interest, and his libido, with her shameless request. And his next words confirmed her hunch.
“Well now, since you’ve been so good this year, I think your request can be arranged,” he drawled, and followed that up with a hearty, jovial, “Ho, ho, ho!” that had everyone wondering what, exactly, she’d asked for.
Chapter Two
Finished with his St. Nick duties, Matthew headed into the nurse’s lounge to change out of his Santa suit and to wait for Faith to join him. After initially stunning him with her unabashed and very naughty proposition, he’d told her to meet him in the private lounge so they could discuss the details of her Christmas wish, which he was more than willing to fulfill, in every way.
Taking off the fluffy gray wig and beard he’d donned for the children, he set them in the rental box, along with the wire-rimmed glasses, then combed his fingers through his hair to restore some order to the thick strands. For the past six months, he’d been waiting patiently for a moment like the one Faith had presented this afternoon. He’d bided his time, subtly flirting and pursuing her despite her rejecting his invitations to lunch or dinner, hoping she’d eventually come around and take a chance on him.
A slow grin lifted the corner of his lips as he unbuckled the wide, black leather belt around his padded waist. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that Faith would turn the tables on him and make such a brazen advance, or issue such a seductive overture. Not that he was complaining. She’d just given him the opportunity he’d been angling for, and he had no qualms using her request to his adva
ntage.
There was no denying the chemistry between them, and while she might just want a one night affair to sate her desires, he craved something far more long-term with her. Over the ensuing months he’d come to realize that she was the kind of woman he’d been searching years to find—genuinely sweet and caring, inherently sensual, and one of the few women who didn’t have one eye on being the wife of a pediatric surgeon, and the other eye on his bank account and all that his money might be able to buy them.
Since he’d had so much time to get to know Faith on a casual, amicable level, he’d learned that what you saw was what you got. And because she’d never tried to pretend otherwise like so many other women he’d dated, he was already half in love with her. Now, if all he had was twenty-four hours to convince her that what was between them was more than a sizzling attraction, then he was going to make the most of every minute with her—physically and emotionally.
But first, they’d start with their basic, mutual attraction, because that was the reason why she’d finally come to him. From there he was certain that trust and intimacy, the foundation of any solid relationship, would develop naturally.
Just as he unzipped the fancy, fur-trimmed coat, Faith entered the room and leaned against the closed door. She tipped her head, causing her rich, brown hair to frame her classical features in soft layers, beckoning him to run his fingers through those silky strands like so many times before.
An irresistible smile curved her glossy lips and her green eyes glowed bright with anticipation as they met his gaze from across the room. “Hi there,” she said, the husky tone of her voice flowing through him, warm and smooth, like fine, aged whiskey.
He took in her black sweater top, embroidered with candy canes for the holiday, and admired the way the knit fabric outlined her full breasts, tapered into a trim waist, and followed the curve of her hips to a pair of black slacks. “Hi, yourself. I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind,” he teased.
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