Santa Wore Spurs

by Various

  Cord Dixon snorted as he pulled the end of the belt then dropped it to the floor. "If you don't want to see the goodies, honey, you better get out of the kitchen," he warned with a dark laugh. "My modesty flew out the window three years ago. I've stripped in front of crowds in broad daylight at photo shoots."

  He toed off his shiny black boots then, without hesitation, Cord shoved the red Santa pants down his legs and stepped out of them. The coat still covered his upper body, but Hope's eyes soaked up his perfectly muscled thighs then slid all the way down to his large, sexy feet. Even his toes were perfection.

  Sexy feet? Either Hope was really hard up, or Cord Dixon had hit the gene pool lottery with every body part. Everything about this man seemed to be custom designed to send a woman's libido into overdrive.

  Being with Jason, her libido had been in cold storage so long Hope worried it had dried up and blown away in the wind. Now, she was completely sure that wasn't the case. But while it thawed, it must be in shock or something because she was finding things sexy about this man that she hadn't even noticed about any man before.

  Hope's feet felt melded to the cement floor, and her breath hitched when his long fingers worked the buttons of the top. Cord shrugged the coat off his broad shoulders and let it drop to the floor. He stood there in all his glory wearing only tight, white boxer-style underwear. An underwear commercial in the making.

  If she had her camera, she would get the money shot. Joe Boxer wouldn't be able to keep a pair on the shelf. Stunned, Hope stood with her mouth hanging open and her heart playing like a banjo in her chest. When she found her voice, she said, "I guess I'm leaving too then. Without a Santa, I don't have a job."

  Those hot eyes of his roved over her again then he turned back to the locker as he mumbled, "I'm sure you'll find some other job to play at while daddy's at the club." Hope's eyes latched onto his gorgeous backside, and she swallowed hard as her entire body became liquid heat. He jerked his jeans from the locker and stepped into them. He stood back up to ask as he zipped them, "What are you doing here anyway, Tinkerbell? Slumming?"

  "Slumming?" she repeated, not getting his meaning. When his implication finally registered, the hackles at the back of her neck raised. At that moment, Sexy Santa became a little less sexy to her. "I could ask you the same thing, Mr. Laramie."

  "Dixon. The name is Cord Dixon," he ground out then jerked his t-shirt off the bench to angrily shove his arms through the sleeves before dragging it over his head. "I'm a fucking cowboy, not a socialite, a male model, or a Santa."

  That was the problem. Cord had forgotten his place in life. Gotten too big for his britches. Forgotten what was important in his life. His family. He didn't need a fancy high-rise apartment in downtown Dallas. All he needed was them. He had some apologies to make and some crow to eat.

  Hope’s green eyes narrowed thoughtfully, standing out starkly in her flushed face. "Well, Cord Dixon, I have an idea that might help us both, if you're through insulting me."

  Guilt shot through him, but then he reminded himself he'd had enough bullshit spoon fed to him by beautiful women over the last three years to last a lifetime. He didn't need more. "Not interested. Like I said, I'm going back to Tyler."

  "Wouldn't you like to pay Tonya Laramie back?" she challenged as he stomped his feet into his worn, dusty boots. Cord grabbed his hat and slapped it down on his head then folded his arms over his chest to stare at her.

  He snorted. "Don't need to. Karma will take care of her when one of the other guys get tired of it."

  "One of the other guys?" the sexy elf repeated. His eyes drifted to that hole in her stockings again, and heat shot through him.

  "She does the same thing to all the men who model for Laramie. They didn't complain, so they still have jobs."

  "She's sleeping with them too?" Hope squeaked, her eyebrows raising.

  "Yeah, she rotates them. I'm sure she has a calendar on her computer, and she double books a lot, I've heard."

  His meaning penetrated her stunned brain and her eyes widened. "Two at a time?"

  Cord snorted. "On a slow day."

  "Holy..." she whispered, and her cheeks got redder. Cord wanted to laugh at her stunned expression. Yeah, Tonya practically had orgies over there at night. Cord just hadn't wanted any part of it, so he got the hell away as soon as he heard the last click of the camera. Evidently, this woman hadn't ever seen the ugly side of the modeling industry, or life, for that matter. The cute redhead had led a sheltered life, nestled in her socialite family's cocoon.

  He glanced at the clock on the wall above the lockers. If he hurried, he could probably pack his stuff up at the apartment and make it to Tyler before dark. "I've got to go." Cord reached down and grabbed his duffle to heft it up onto his shoulder.

  "Wait, you haven't heard my idea!" she shouted behind him as he walked toward the back door. He stopped, huffed a breath then turned back toward her.

  "Spill it, I'm in a hurry," he said shortly. Cord wasn't interested in her idea, but curiosity made him stop. He'd hear it then he would walk out that door and never look back. The elf was on her own.

  "Do you still talk to the other guys who work for Laramie?" Her hesitant smile widened and she took a step toward him.

  "A couple of them. Why?" After he left a month ago, he hadn't wanted to talk to anyone affiliated with Laramie, but a couple of the guys called to check on him.

  "Are they as mad as you are about the situation?" she asked, taking another step closer.

  "Some are, but they aren't stupid enough to bite the hand that feeds them. Laramie pays too well," Cord said with a frustrated breath, trying to keep his patience. "Can you please just tell me what you want so I can leave?"

  "I want to do a Christmas calendar."

  Cord turned back toward the door and shoved it open. He didn't have time for this. The woman evidently had a screw or two loose. Those guys weren't going to help him and lose their jobs like he had. He'd taken two steps into the parking lot when her hand closed around his bicep. Her touch sizzled up to his scalp, setting every hair on its end.

  "Listen to me, please," she begged. "I want to do a Cowboy Christmas calendar, and we don't have much time to get it done. I have a friend who works at Texas Tomboy and she would love to push the calendar in their stores and on the website. They would probably even buy them to give away with purchases."

  "Texas Tomboy? Laramie's women's wear competition?"

  "Yes, them. My friend, Tina, is the assistant marketing director there, and I think she's half in love with you."

  Cord snorted. "I'll be old news by next week. Besides, there's not enough time before Christmas to get it done."

  "We have seven weeks. There's plenty of time. If you could get the other guys to agree, we could do the shoot this weekend and have the calendar printed next week. I'm sure Tina knows someone who can rush it. We could probably get enough sales before Christmas to help both of our situations."

  "Why the hell would you need money? Your father is Liam Carlisle, right?" Cord asked sarcastically. That man was one of the richest bankers in Texas.

  "My family isn't speaking to me. I screwed up," she admitted and her hand loosened on his arm then dropped to her side.

  Cord couldn't imagine what she could have done for her family to cut ties with her. The Carlisle family was wealthy and connected. Surely it wouldn't look good to their rich friends if they shunned their daughter. Usually, people like that kept their dirty laundry behind the golden front doors of their mansions.

  "The other guys probably won't agree. Like I said, they are pretty comfortable where they're at, and if they did a calendar for the competition, they would be out at Laramie. I don't trust some of them either. They could let the cat out of the bag and she might try to stop us."

  "Hmm...You have a point." Hope hugged herself and started pacing beside him, her breath coming out in puffs of warm mist in the cold air. "Do you know anyone else who might agree to do it? Attractive, rugged men? Other c
owboys?"

  Cord thought about it a minute then his mind settled on a few possibilities from his rodeo days. If they were still around and had all their front teeth. Bull riding was not for the faint of heart, or for a man worried about his appearance. Broken bones and missing teeth were part of the job. He had just been lucky and hadn't stuck with it long enough for that to happen to him. "I can make some calls, but no guarantees." Why Cord was agreeing to this he didn't know, but the idea of paying back Tonya Laramie did have its appeal.

  A helluva lot of it.

  He saw her shiver then she told him through chattering teeth, "I'll call T-T-Tina and pitch the idea to her."

  Cord knew he was making a mistake, probably a bigger one than he'd made with Tonya Laramie, but he said, "Grab your stuff and let's go to my apartment to talk about it."

  CHAPTER THREE

  Hope sat, nursing her second beer, on the opposite end of a big, L-shaped sofa from Cord Dixon. She hated beer, but she didn't mind so much since she was drinking it with the sexy man on the other side of the sofa. She was so tuned into him, she barely noticed the gorgeous view of downtown Dallas through the floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side of the apartment.

  "I have two guys who are willing to help, so far. My friend, Ryan, is asking the others. I think if we offer them five hundred bucks each, they'll probably do it."

  Unease settled in Hope's chest. She didn't have five hundred bucks, much less a thousand. But she would find it if these guys were good enough. Or she would ask Tina to pay their fee.

  "These guys will work, right? You've been in the business long enough to know what type we need to make this successful."

  "I'm a guy, but yeah, I know," he said, taking another long sip of his beer. "They'll work. The good thing about it is these guys are real cowboys, not city boys dressed up to play a part."

  "I don't have a studio," she told him. She lost her studio a month ago, along with everything else.

  "I've been thinking about that. Outdoor shots would work best." His rich voice worked its way along her nerve endings to settle between her thighs.

  "I agree, but I don't have access to any ranches or farms. I'm a city girl," she said with a forced laugh then took another sip of her beer.

  Cord's sexy mouth curved up at one side. "I'd never have guessed that, Tinkerbell," he said sarcastically. His eyes dropped to her lap, and he seemed very interested in the hole in her stockings. Tingles followed his eyes, and Hope shifted on the sofa to cross her legs.

  "You have any connections at ranches?" He was a cowboy. He had to know someone. Shooting outdoors at this time of year could be dicey, but maybe the weather would cooperate.

  "One or two. I'm not a city boy," he shot back playfully then dragged his gorgeous eyes back up to hers. "The easiest thing I can think of would be to do the shoot at my daddy's ranch in Tyler."

  "Is that where you were headed when you left the mall?"

  "Until you stopped me, yeah. Did you talk to your friend on the way here?" Cord asked.

  "Tina is excited, but also worried that we won't pull it off in time. She's going to pitch it to her bosses in the morning and she'll let me know what they say."

  "I'm with Tina. It's only seven weeks until Christmas and we have a photo shoot, editing, layout and printing to get done. Christmas calendars after Christmas will be worthless."

  "Not these. The only thing that will be seasonal is the cover. At least, that's what I had in mind. We can change the cover after Christmas. If we can get Texas Tomboy to sponsor it and buy giveaways for their customers, we won't have any costs either."

  "That's a smart idea," he told her with a grin.

  Pleasure shot through Hope and her cheeks heated. "I'm more desperate than smart. I've got the lemons and I'm trying to open a lemonade stand." She smiled as the old saying her grandmother used to use rolled off her lips.

  Her granny was the smart one. Where her inheritance was concerned, she had sure outsmarted Hope. It was a shame, but Hope would survive without her grandmother's inheritance, and the money would go to a good cause. On December 27th, the day after her 26th birthday, it would go to charity because now that Jason had dumped her, there would be no wedding on Christmas Eve.

  "You keep saying that kind of thing, but I have to wonder what your definition of desperate is, Tinkerbell. Mine is no job, no home, and having to run back to Tyler and admit I was wrong. You have a wealthy family, even if they're not talking to you. What could you have done that was so bad?"

  "I ruined Brittany Weston's wedding and embarrassed my family."

  Cord's dark brows lifted over his blue eyes and he sucked in a breath. "Weston, as in Weston Oil?"

  "One and the same," she admitted, taking another swig of her beer and cringing as the bitter brew slid down her throat. "They're suing me."

  Cord snorted, sipped his beer, and then asked, "So what did you do? Outshine the bride? Wear last season's shoes to the ceremony?"

  "I wish it were that simple."

  Cord leaned forward and put his forearms on his knees to study her intently. "What happened then?"

  "I was hired to photograph the wedding, and the bride better remember the ceremony because she won't ever have photographs of it. My camera card malfunctioned."

  His face paled to match hers, she was sure. He thought for a moment then asked, "That had to be a big shindig. You didn't have help?"

  Hope took another sip of her beer and flinched. "My partner was across town doing another wedding, and I thought I could handle it. I should have hired a subcontractor to make sure we were covered, but I didn't want to spend the money."

  "Wow, I bet they were pissed. When did you discover your card was bad?"

  "Right after the ceremony. I tried to review my shots and saw that the card was blank. When I was shooting, the images flashed on the viewfinder but they weren't recording. I had to tell them at the reception. I wanted to do set shots after the honeymoon, but Brittany was so upset, they didn't even go on the honeymoon."

  "And you're still alive?" he asked with a hoot.

  Heat rushed up her throat. "Just barely. But I'm broke. My partner bailed on me, my fiancé dumped me, and my family disowned me."

  Cord shook his head then tilted it to the side to ask, "What does your fiancé dumping you have to do with anything? Why did he dump you?"

  Now that she'd stepped into this conversation, she didn't have any choice but to finish. "Jason is the bride's brother, and he dumped me because his family told him to. And it has everything to do with my situation."

  Cord's smile wavered and his eyes darkened. "Were you marrying him for his money?" he asked with a snort.

  "No, I was marrying him for my money, and he was probably marrying me for the same reason. My inheritance was going to be pretty substantial."

  "Do you always talk in circles, Tinkerbell?" Cord asked as he stood to walk over to her, holding his hand out for her empty bottle. "Want another one?"

  Hope shook her head. She could probably use another ten or so, and still wouldn't feel better about this conversation. Although she was comfortable around Cord Dixon, too comfortable, the subject definitely wasn't comfortable. He was a stranger, she reminded herself. An outsider. Not part of her family. But everyone in Dallas knew about her disgrace. Why shouldn't she tell him too?

  "No, I just don't like spilling my guts to people I don't know. It goes against everything I've been taught my whole life." Her mother always told her not to spread family business on the street because someone would use it to make them look bad. The beer had definitely loosened her lips.

  "Before we're finished with this project, we're gonna know each other very well. I don't like working with people I don't know either, so the more you tell me about yourself, the easier this is gonna be on both of us."

  Very well. The inflection he put on those words sent a thrill dancing down her spine. Cord stood in front of her, staring down at her, with the two bottles dangling between his fingers while he wa
ited. It looked like he wasn't going to let the subject drop until he had an answer. "I can't get my trust fund unless I marry before I turn twenty-six. That's the day after Christmas."

  "I see. And since Jason dumped you, that's not happening?"

  "Exactly. The money will go to charity, which is fine with me. I'll figure something out. I never wanted the money to begin with." And she never wanted Jason. Now she realized he was a spineless mama's boy. Marrying him wouldn't have been worth the money. She'd figured that out even before the fiasco at the wedding.

  "Then why did you agree to marry him?" Cord asked, staring into her eyes intently.

  "Because I needed a husband and he asked." Hope shrugged then laughed nervously. "The money would have helped me expand my business. Now that I don't have a business to expand, it doesn't matter."

  Cord's phone rang, and he walked over to pick it up from the end table. Glancing at the display, he answered it with a smile. "Hey, buddy," he said as he strode toward the kitchen.

  Hope watched the firm muscles in Cord's backside as he walked, remembering how delicious he’d looked in only those tight, white underwear. This calendar idea was a stroke of genius. She was going to make a lot of women very happy for Christmas, and make herself happy again at the same time. The money they made from the calendar would help her dig out of the financial black hole she was in. She'd pay off Brittany and make her family proud of her again.

  Her phone rang in her purse and Hope grabbed it. "Hello?"

  "Texas Tomboy is in," Tina said with excitement. "Get the shoot and layout done," she said. "My boss thinks I'm a genius. The giveaway idea sold her. Cord Dixon sold her. She was shocked he was available and wanted to do it."

  Relief and victory pulsed through her. "Thanks for going to bat on it, Tina. Do you have a printer you can recommend?"

  "Sure do. I'll call you tomorrow and we can work out the details."

  Hope disconnected the call then put it back in her purse. She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face.

  "Who was that?" Cord asked as he walked over and handed her a cold beer. This time he didn't sit on the other side of the sofa. He sat down beside her and laid his arm across the sofa behind her. The heat from his arm raised the hair at her nape.