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Once Upon a Holiday

Page 12

by Beverly Jenkins


  His every other breath came out in a long hiss and if that wasn’t enough, Candace reached a hand down in between them and gave his balls a nice squeeze while they bounced hard against her ass. “Oh. Hot damn,” he panted. He turned to the left and then to the right to make sure that he hit every wall in her pussy an equal number of times.

  Minutes later, they were in the “couch canoodle.” Monty eased back on one of the bungalow’s chairs. Candy straddled his lap with her legs splayed apart and her knees bent up against his chest. Slowly, she leaned back with a smile until she was practically upside down with her arms stretched behind her to the floor. While he started slow grinding against the roof of her pussy, Candy thrust back and forth while opening and closing her legs.

  Monty was hypnotized watching his cock thrust in and out of her while simultaneously watching her large breasts bounce and jiggle. Damn, she was beautiful. Hot, sweaty and just down right beautiful. A few grinds and deep strokes later, Monty pulled out of her creamy trenches and shot out a hot, sticky cum-load that sprayed across her flat belly and in between her heaving full breasts.

  Smiling, he gazed down at his work of art and convinced himself that he was in love.

  Chapter 5

  “What do you mean you don’t have a reservation for me?” Candace asked, barely holding onto her temper. “My assistant booked the room yesterday—or last night—or I don’t know. The time difference is mixed up in my head. But I do know that she booked the room.”

  The petite black woman forced on a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. But clearly she was trying her best to be professional. “I’ll check again,” she said.

  “Thank you.”

  Montel waltzed up to the corner next to her and plopped his bags down. “Happy holidays, ladies.”

  “Happy holidays,” the entire line of women behind the front desk chorused like grinning teenagers mooning the captain of the football team.

  “Reservation for Starks. Montel Starks.”

  “Oh, Gawd.” Candace rolled her eyes and then tapped a nail in front of the woman who was supposed to be rechecking the system for her reservation.

  “Oh, sorry, Ms. Lahane,” the woman said, wiping the smile off her face as she returned her attention to the computer. “I do see your name, but we have you checking in on Saturday, not today.”

  Frustrated, Candace cursed under her breath.

  “Here are your keys, Mr. Starks. The Presidential suite. I hope you enjoy your stay and happy holidays.”

  “Thank you…” Montel read the woman’s name tag. “Candy. Well, what do you know.” He elbowed Candace. “You two have the same name.”

  “My name is Candace, you ass.”

  True to form, Montel laughed.

  She gritted her teeth. “Okay. I’d like a room, please.” She reached over to her purse and pulled out her wallet. “I don’t care what kind of room. Just a room—so I can shower, eat and go to sleep.” Teana, per her nametag, frowned. “I’m sorry ma’am, but we’re all booked up.”

  “You don’t have any rooms?”

  Teana frowned again and gave her fake puppy dog eyes. “I’m sorry. We get a lot of tourists during the Christmas holidays.”

  Oh, what I’d give to be able to snap this bitch in half. “Fine. I’ll find another hotel.”

  “You don’t need to do that.” Montel butted in and swung an arm around Candace’s waist. “You can share a room with me.”

  Candace quickly scrambled out of his embrace and looked at him as if he’d just sprouted a second head. “You have seriously lost your mind. I wouldn’t share a room with you if you were the last man on earth.”

  The women behind the counter all looked at her like she had lost her mind.

  Montel pressed a hand against his chest. “You hurt me. Deeply.” He curled his lips downward but his eyes danced with amusement.

  “Oh, go to hell.” She gathered her things and scuttled over to the lobby seating area.

  Montel turned toward the women. “A lover’s spat.”

  “Oooooh,” they chorused.

  Candace flopped down on a short, kidney-shaped upholstered sofa in the lobby and pulled out her BlackBerry. “C’mon, Mia, pick up.” She glanced around as she listened to the phone ring and then spotted Montel walking toward her. “Oh, God, no. Make him go away.”

  No such luck.

  “Who are you calling?” Montel asked.

  “I really can’t see how that’s any of your business.”

  He leaned a hip against a stone pillar and folded his arms. “Well, I just wanted to remind you that it’s two in the morning in New York. Mia is probably not in the office yet…or even conscious at this hour.”

  “I know that.” Candace ended the call and jumped back onto her feet. “Not a problem. I’m just going to hop into a cab and go to another hotel. One of them is bound to have a room available.”

  “Probably one in a questionable part of town. You heard the woman at the front desk. Hotels are all booked up because of the holidays.”

  “As usual you’re always eavesdropping on my conversations. That’s probably why you’re here in the first place—to spy on me. You know I’m meeting with…an important businessman.”

  “How vague.”

  “Anyway…if you think that you’re going to snatch the rug from under me—”

  “Oh?” Montel rocked on his heels. “Does this businessman have a name?”

  “Like I’d tell you.” She grabbed her bags. “I’m out of here.”

  “Whoa. Whoa.” Montel rushed to block her exit out of the hotel. “What’s the problem? You need a room. I have a room. You have to be just as exhausted as I am.”

  “And you’re just sooo concerned.” Candace rolled her eyes. “Get out of my way.”

  Montel tossed up his hands. “All right. Don’t say I never offered you anything.”

  “Duly noted.” She shoved past him, determined to put as much space between them as possible.

  “In case you change your mind, I’ll be in room 2623,” he yelled after her.

  “Don’t hold your breath.” Candace stopped and turned around. “Scratch that. Go ahead and hold your breath.”

  Montel laughed and watched her stumble around with her bags as she exited the hotel. He had a reason to start panicking right now since he had no idea where or how to get in contact with Walter Anderson. His and Georgine’s sketchy plan was to stick to Candace like glue until he pried the information from her. Of course, prying was a nicer way to say steal, but who wanted to split hairs?

  “All right. Time to retreat and come up with a plan B.” He picked up his bags and headed to the elevator. A few minutes later he entered his suite, yawning. He was exhausted and the queen-sized bed was definitely calling his name.

  The room was divided into two sections: a living room area and bedroom area. He dumped his things beside the television and warred with himself as to whether to jump in the shower or just dive face-first onto the bed and pass out. The shower won out. However, when he did step out of the steamy bathroom wearing the hotel’s robe, he gave in to the call of the fluffy-looking comforter and pristine sheets and dove in.

  It felt like he’d just closed his eyes when a hard, persistent knocking invaded his dreams. “Go away,” he mumbled into his pillow. The knocking didn’t stop. He rolled out of bed, and, even though he could barely open his eyes, he sort of sleepwalked his way toward the door. “Who is it?”

  No answer.

  Frowning, he reached the door and then had to open one eye a little wider to see through the peephole. Who he saw there woke him like a full alarm fire. He jerked opened the door with a smile as wide as Texas. “Hello, Candy.”

  Chapter 6

  The muscles along Candace’s jawline twitched as she glared at Montel’s smug-looking face. This was the last place she wanted to be, but she was cold, hungry and tired—not necessarily in that order. “One night,” she said tightly.

  “Excuse me?” he chuckled.
r />   “Okay. Not a whole night—since it’s not quite noon. Just a couple of hours so I can just take a nap.”

  Montel leaned against the doorframe. “All the hotels are booked up?”

  Candace rolled her eyes. She had known that he would be an asshole about this. “Can I stay here or not?”

  He pulled the door closed a bit and glanced over his shoulder. “Well, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea right now.”

  Candace’s gaze narrowed as she seethed. “Do you have a woman in there? Already? Man, you don’t waste any time, do you? What did you do—order a hotel massage?” she asked with air quotes. “Or maybe you asked one of those barely legal girls downstairs at the check-in counter. Typical.”

  Montel roared with laughter. “You’re a pistol when you’re jealous.”

  “I’m not—”

  “I was just teasing you. There’s nobody in here.” He stepped back and swung the door open wide so she could see for herself. “I don’t know what the rumor mill says about me at the j-o-b, but I’m not easy.” He clutched the top of his robe close. “I’m a guy who likes to be wooed. You know, dinner—flowers.”

  “A bottle of Patrón.”

  Montel’s smile stretched wider. “See. You do know the way to a man’s heart.”

  “Oh, God. If I stay around you for any longer period of time, my eyes are going to be permanently rolled to the back of my head.” She tugged her bags into the room.

  “Let me help you with that.”

  Before he could touch her luggage, she pulled away. “I got it.” She slowly crept into the room like she still expected a naked woman to jump out and flash her jiggle biddies at her.

  Montel chuckled and closed the door behind her. “Well, make yourself comfortable. Mi casa es su casa.”

  Candace sat her bags down over at the workstation in the living room. “There is only one bed.”

  “Good eye.”

  “I’ll take the sofa.”

  “You’re more than welcome to share the bed,” he offered. “I promise I won’t bite—hard.”

  “Not happening.” She glanced around the room again. “All right. Let’s go over a few ground rules.”

  Still amused, Montel crossed his arms. “Okay. This should be good.”

  “I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

  “Okay.”

  Candace frowned. “You’re not going to offer to take the sofa?”

  “Oh, God, no. The bed is sooo comfortable. It’s like sleeping on a cloud.”

  She stared at him, shaking her head. “Unbelievable.”

  “What? I said you were more than welcome to sleep in the bed. We’re two mature adults. I’m sure that we’re more than capable of being able to stay on opposite sides.”

  “Two?”

  “Well, I was giving you the benefit of the doubt.”

  She tossed up her hands. “Whatever. You’re giving me a headache.”

  “Are you finished with the rules?”

  “You just…stay away from me. I don’t trust you.”

  Montel shook his head as he headed back toward the bedroom area. “This is what happens when you try to help people. Sweet dreams, diva.”

  “I’m not…never mind.” Why on earth did she keep allowing him to drag her into the most ridiculous arguments? Candace watched him as she slipped out of her coat. She removed her high, high heels and instantly her aching feet sang her praises. “Mind if I jump into the shower?”

  “Uh, no. Go right ahead.”

  Candace grabbed her overnight bag and headed to the bathroom. Once inside, she made sure to lock the door. She didn’t put it past Montel to creep inside the minute he heard the water come on, and frankly she didn’t trust herself to turn him away if he did. The entire time that she was in the shower, she berated herself for being in this predicament. Mia’s bonus just got a little smaller because she was not her favorite person at the moment. After she managed to get just a couple of hours of shut-eye she was definitely going to make sure that Mia got an earful.

  Montel lay in bed with a hard-on listening to the shower. Just picturing Candy wet and covered in bubbles was doing a number on him. He could just imagine her long delicate fingers massaging the soap in small circles around her full, perky C-cup breasts, sliding down her firm tight abs and then gliding in between her thighs.

  “Sweet baby Jesus.” Swept up in the moment, he wrapped his hand around his cock, which was as straight as a flag post, and stroked it to relieve some pressure. However, the porno that was playing inside of his head had Candy bending her back low and twirling what her momma gave her while her soapy fingers caressed the back of her knees.

  Then came her melodious humming that blended with the sound of the shower spray. Whatever relief he’d managed to find to soothe his throbbing cock was erased when the humming sound he heard from the bathroom transformed to moaning inside his head. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to be able to just walk into that steamy bathroom and offer to scrub her back, her ass and any damn thing else he could think of. Montel tossed back the covers and tiptoed to the bathroom. When he twisted the knob, he nearly laughed out loud at discovering it was locked. Some things never changed.

  He returned to the bed just as the water shut off. In his XXX fantasy this was the time she’d bust out the baby oil and take her time smoothing it into her skin. Drip. Drip. Drip. The oil rolls down the valley between her tits and then she’d smear it over that hypnotizing ass he’d loved to watch sway back and forth for the past year.

  Montel was just about to reach for his hard-on again when suddenly the bathroom door jerked opened. He quickly rolled over and pretended to be sleeping. For whatever reason, he held his breath while he listened to her feet pad softly across the carpet.

  Was he busted? Did she see him?

  Montel added some fake snoring to sell his sleeping act. Yeah, it might’ve been overkill, but what the heck?

  “Good God, I have to listen to that?” Candace complained as she zipped and unzipped bags.

  Montel smiled. He absolutely loved this game he played with the anal-retentive—though sexy—ad executive. The proof was that his dick was still as hard as a rock while he listened to her move around the hotel suite in…what? What was she wearing right now? He had on the only robe that was in the bathroom. So what did that leave? A towel?

  Some sexy lingerie?

  One of those cute, sexy nightshirts women loved to wear?

  His mind ran wild with possibilities—all the while his dick was probably turning purple with the amount of blood that was rushing to its head. Playing it cool and slick, he moaned and staged a dramatic flop over to his other side so he could sneak a peek down toward the living room area.

  Flannel.

  What the hell? Couldn’t a brother catch a break? He huffed out a long breath and went back to pretending to be asleep.

  Candace was not about to ask Montel for either his comforter or a top sheet or even a pillow. The very idea of even walking toward that big bed made her light-headed. Montel Starks was a devastatingly handsome man in a suit, but when he had answered that door in just a white terry cloth robe, he had taken sexy to a whole other level. It had taken everything she had not to jump his bones and play rodeo until she passed out.

  But he is who he is and hormones be damned. She wasn’t going anywhere near that bed with him in it. She plopped down on the stiff upholstered sofa and crammed its tiny square-shaped pillows under her head. She just needed a quick nap and then she could go on a search for the elusive Walter Anderson.

  Candace drew in a deep breath and then waited for sleep to come.

  It didn’t.

  The sofa was so hard and uncomfortable, it felt like she was trying to sleep on a bed of rocks, and the pillows had absolutely no fluff whatsoever, and she was getting a crick in her neck. She tossed and turned but just couldn’t get comfortable. Frustrated, she sat up and glanced over at the bed.

  I’m not going over there. I’m not going over there.
r />   She shifted her eyes over to the large window and thought it would be easier to catch some shut-eye if she closed the curtains and blocked out the sun. Once she did that, the room darkened, but sleep still eluded her when she returned to the sofa.

  Montel’s snoring stopped, and once again she found herself sitting up and staring at the vacant spot on the queen-sized bed. The pillows were huge and the comforter looked like one gigantic fluffy cloud.

  It looks like there’s enough room over there. I’ll stay on my side and he’ll stay on his side. She nibbled on her bottom lip while contemplating the situation. She was exhausted, and that bed was like the apple that tempted Adam in the Garden of Eden. Exhaustion won out, and Candace found herself tiptoeing toward the bed with bated breath. When she neared the foot, she wanted to make doubly sure that Montel was fast asleep, so she whispered, “Montel, are you awake?”

  No answer.

  “Montel,” she said again. When only the soft sound of his steady breathing reached her ears, she took a deep breath and rushed to peel back the covers and then climbed inside. There was an instant sigh of euphoria as her body’s muscles relaxed into the mattress’s heavenly pillow top, but she made sure that she skooched her body along the edge to avoid any accidental touching of the giant sleeping beside her. A couple of seconds later, she was fast asleep.

  However, Montel was wide awake.

  Chapter 7

  Mia strolled into the office of Nu4us, smiling and humming “Jingle Bells.” If everything went according to plan, she was going to have one helluva Christmas. A big bonus and a sweeeeet haul from the office pool by the end of the month. “Morning, Wendi,” she said, breezing past the receptionist’s desk.

 

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