Have Yourself a Naughty Little Santa

by Karin Tabke

  • • •

  KIM SNUGGLED INTO THE CROOK OF HIS ARM AND smiled. “Did you like that?”

  “Which part?”

  “All of it!”

  Ricco laughed and drew her back to him, the heady scent of their sex enshrouding them like a warm blanket. Their scents meshed well, creating an entirely unique scent unto them. It smelled good, strong, and potent. She would remember it always. That thought triggered another one. What would happen after the New Year? They lived at opposite ends of the state. Her body stiffened. Nick! She’d forgotten about Nick.

  “What’s wrong?” Ricco asked, his voice low and sleepy.

  She traced her fingertips across his chest, trying to memorize every detail of every inch of him. “I was just thinking about Christmas.”

  He rolled over onto her, his hooded eyes searching her face. “What do you want for Christmas?”

  She smiled. “World peace.”

  “Something realistic.”

  What she wanted she couldn’t have, so she would settle for what she could have. “I just want every day leading up to New Year’s Day to be as perfect as this right now.”

  He dropped a kiss on her nose. “I know this guy in a red suit. I’ll see what he can do.”

  The vision of Ricco as the hunky Santa made her smile. “I think I have a way to help Evergreen. But it’s going to take everyone pooling resources.”

  He frowned. “That may be difficult. Especially with the residents who aren’t drowning.”

  “Then there is no chance, unless a benefactor comes forward. The balloon payment is large, and it’s due at the end of the year. If it’s met, there are still the mortgages, which are pretty hefty, but they can be refinanced to lower rates and payments, but not until the balloon payments are made.”

  “I thought a balloon payment was the balance of the loan.”

  “Not in this case. The loan was structured to infuse cash back into Evergreen, and the payments were deferred. For three years. Three years is up December thirty-first. There is still the principal and interest balance of the original mortgage. If the combined total of the deferred payments plus the interest they accrued—because it was, in a sense, a loan in a loan—are not met, the entire loan goes into default.”

  He frowned. “So let me get this straight. For the last three years those merchants who mortgaged their properties deferred their monthly payments. For that break they have to not only pay back those payments with the interest of the original loan but more as well, for the mortgage holder fronting them the money?”

  “Exactly.”

  “How the hell did that happen? Who the hell okayed that?”

  Kim took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Your mother.”

  “What?”

  “I can see why she took the risk. It was a good bet. If you played the odds, the weather had to break. But she didn’t count on five straight years of bad weather, then a recession the last two of those years. No one saw it coming. And when she mortgaged the city properties, she did so at a higher rate and higher appraised value than what the properties are worth now. The foreclosure rate in California is among the highest in the country. You can be sure the consortium that holds the notes will not be in the mood to restructure. I checked out the company. They are cash flush. This is the perfect scenario for them. And then you have Land’s Edge wanting to buy up everything for a fraction of what it’s worth. It’s a win-win for everyone except Evergreen.”

  Ricco rolled over onto his back and slapped his hand across his forehead. “Son of a bitch.”

  “Yeah. No bueno. We need to come up with three and a half million dollars in cash by December thirty-first.”

  “Christ.”

  “Yeah.” She pressed her body against his. “Let’s get a shower and get some sleep. We have a lot of convincing to do.”

  “Yeah, and my lieutenant is coming up from Montrose to boot.”

  “Why?”

  “I killed a bad guy, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Her gaze searched his face for fear or anxiety. “How are you feeling about that?”

  He shrugged. “The guy was trying to kill me, he could have killed you. I did what I had to do.”

  “It doesn’t bother you, that you took a life?”

  “It was him or me. I’m glad to be the one here.”

  “I’ve heard stories about cops who end up killing themselves because they couldn’t bear the guilt.”

  “Lots of guys nut up over a shoot. Sometimes it was a bad deal for everyone involved. This is my seventh officer-involved shooting and my second kill. Every time, I was justified.”

  “I couldn’t do what you do.”

  “I couldn’t do what you do.”

  “Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I’m a good listener.”

  Ricco smiled, rolled off the bed, and grabbed her up to his chest. “I just did. Thanks. Now let’s get in the shower so we can get all sweaty again.”

  • • •

  KIMBERLY WOKE TO SUNLIGHT STREAMING THROUGH her window and the aroma of fresh brewed coffee. She stretched and reached over to where Ricco had passed out after another round of really good sex. She sprang up in the empty bed. She knew he wasn’t in the bathroom.

  Wild thoughts ran through her head, different scenarios of his having had his fill and sneaking off to his own room, not man enough to tell her he was done and thanks a bunch, the sex was great. She washed her face, brushed her hair, and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater. She couldn’t pull her boots on fast enough. She was halfway down the stairs when she heard his deep, robust laughter. “Jase, I never would have pegged you for the marrying type. Congratulations.”

  As her pace slowed, she heard an equally deep male voice. “You and me both, brother. You and me both.”

  “Are you sure you want to stick around with this guy, Jade? He has a habit of taking off like a tomcat and only coming back when he’s hungry.”

  A deep, sultry, extremely sensual voice ruffled the downy hair on Kim’s neck. “He can go as long as he wants. Just so long as he doesn’t tomcat around.”

  Kim walked into the parlor and stopped dead in her tracks. The black-haired goddess sitting on the love seat next to a dark-haired Adonis struck her dumb. Now that was the kind of woman she saw Ricco with. Not her, a plain-Jane blonde.

  “So Cinderella joins us,” Ricco said, coming up to Kim and taking her hand. The handsome man on the love seat stood and extended his hand. “Jase Vaughn.” He turned beaming eyes down to the beautiful creature beside him. She smiled warmly up at Kim. “My fiancée, Jade Devereaux.”

  Kim extended her hand to Jase’s big warm one. Wow. “Kimberly Michaels.” She shook the big hand, then the soft, finely boned one of Jade. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

  Jade’s smile widened. “Ricco has been telling us about the dilemma Evergreen finds itself in and what a whiz you are with the numbers. I wish you the best of luck.”

  “Thank you,” Kim said, feeling a wee bit out of her class at the moment.

  “Ty and Phil are on their way up for a few days, but he says Phil has to puke every other mile, so he’s not sure when they’ll be here.”

  Ricco grinned. “Pregnant?”

  “Yep, due in May.”

  “How about Reese and Frankie? He said they were going to try and make it out for a few days before heading to Sedona.”

  “Snowed in on the ranch right now.”

  Ricco nodded. “I’m glad those two managed to work things out.”

  Jase nodded and sat back down next to Jade. “I wasn’t sure there for a while, but they seem to be okay with six months in the city and six months on the ranch.”

  Ricco poured Kim a cup of coffee from the urn on the sideboard and pulled her to the other love seat, then down next to him. He sat back and stretched out a long arm behind her on the backrest of the sofa.

  “Is Ricco in trouble?” she asked Jase.

  His ocean blue eyes widened in surprise. T
hen he smiled. “If I know my man there, it was one hundred percent justifiable, and that being the case, he’s not in any trouble.”

  “How do you determine that?”

  “An IA. I’ll start by interviewing witnesses, including yourself. When I’m done with witness contacts, I’ll write a report. In the meantime, Ricco will be interviewed by one of the DA’s investigators. It’s arduous but necessary.”

  Kim sipped her coffee and nodded, feeling stressed out for Ricco. She glanced up at him; sensing her anxiety, he smiled and squeezed her shoulder. “It’ll all work out. It always does.”

  “Ricco tells us you’re into real estate. Are you into commercial or residential?” Jade asked.

  Kim’s hand shook as she set the coffee cup down on the end table. “Both, mostly corporate buyouts, but I dabble in an occasional residential property here and there.”

  “Is that why you’re here in Evergreen, or are you just vacationing?”

  “A little of both,” she said quietly. Suddenly lying seemed really dirty. “I have a client who’s interested in property here. I’m trying to get the lay of the land.”

  Jade sipped her coffee. “Ricco told us what’s been happening. How terrible for everyone here.”

  Kim nodded, feeling very uncomfortable in the hot seat. Jade must have sensed her unease, because she smiled softly and sat back, leaning into Jase’s arms. Kim looked up at Ricco, and he smiled down at her. Not caring his friends were just across the room, he put his hand beneath her chin and raised it up to his lips. He smiled and said, “I didn’t get to say good morning.” His lips brushed across hers and heat swelled in her body. The sound of the front door of the B&B opening and then closing didn’t stop her from melting into Ricco’s arms and lingering there.

  “I can see why you didn’t want me to come up,” a familiar male voice said much too close. Kim stiffened and broke away from Ricco. She thought she was going to throw up.

  Nick!

  She moved away from Ricco, but he caught her hand. She yanked it away and stood, feeling very guilty. She didn’t look at Ricco’s friends; she stared at Nick instead, and her anger erupted. “Why are you here?”

  “Why are you kissing that man?”

  Ricco came to stand behind her. She wanted to just melt into him and let him take her out of the room, but she couldn’t. She would have to face her fiancé sooner or later, and it looked like sooner was here. Kim took a deep breath. Not wanting to make a scene, she stepped toward Nick. “I can explain.”

  “Explain what, Kim?” Ricco asked.

  She stiffened and turned to face him. Very discreetly Jase and Jade moved from the sofa to the kitchen. Kim stood between both men and closed her eyes. She took a big, deep breath, but before she could utter a word, Nick stepped past her and extended his hand to Ricco. “I’m Nick Gold, Kimberly’s fiancé, and if you touch her again, I’m going to kick your ass.”

  Kim cringed. She could barely glance at Ricco, who looked as if he had just been kicked in the gut. The color drained from his face and his eyes looked shocked. Slowly, anger replaced his shocked expression. Kim shook her head. “No he’s not, not yet, not until—” She almost let her reason for being there slip. She swallowed hard, suddenly unable to get air into her lungs.

  “You can tell him now, sweetheart. He served his purpose.”

  Kim whirled around to Nick. “What are you talking about?”

  “Pumping him and his family for all of the juicy information. I trust you documented everything.”

  “What the hell is he talking about, Kim?” Ricco demanded.

  She whirled back around to face Ricco. “Nothing! I—”

  “Kimberly is Land’s Edge’s number one shark, and her job was to exploit Evergreen’s weaknesses so I could capitalize on them.” He grinned at Kim. “And she delivered, as she always does. That’s what I love so much about her,” Nick threw at Ricco.

  Kim froze where she stood and felt her blood drop to her feet. Suddenly she was very cold and very afraid. But not for herself.

  Ricco nodded and stepped back from her. His face clouded over so quickly that she could not read him. But she knew what he was thinking, and it broke her heart. “You almost had me, Cinderella, you almost had me,” he softly said, and with his words she crumbled inside.

  He turned and stalked off to the kitchen. She turned to go after him but stopped after three steps. Would it matter? Their time was up in just a matter of days anyway. Yet she took two more steps toward the kitchen when she heard the back door slam shut. She stepped through the threshold to see Jase and Jade looking at her, shock clearly written across their faces as well. “I-I didn’t mean to fall in love with him,” she whispered, then turned and ran back to the parlor, where Nick stood holding his Gucci bag.

  “It’s been a long trip here. Where’s your room?”

  She felt like she was outside of her body, watching a play. She saw herself point up the stairway and say, “Vixen suite.” She watched him go up the stairway and heard Esmeralda asking Jase and Jade why her brother had stomped past her. Kim stood alone in the parlor, not knowing what to do. She wanted to go upstairs and calmly tell Nick to fuck off, then run after Ricco and tell him—what? That she wanted to keep seeing him even after Christmas? That she loved him? The thought struck her numb.

  She wanted to be angry with Nick for barging in on her time here and telling the ugly truth to Ricco, but could she blame him? For the first time since they’d made their agreement to marry, he’d acted like he was remotely invested in her as a woman. She started to laugh. How ironic was that? After all this time, her fiancé actually showed he cared.

  Her laughed turned sour, then to a strangled sob.

  It didn’t matter. Not now. Not anymore. She’d lost something more precious than her marriage to Nick. She’d lost the trust and respect of the only man who had put her on the pedestal she had so desperately wanted, only to take herself off because of her own duplicity.

  Eighteen

  SEVERAL MINUTES LATER ESMERALDA CAME INTO THE salon and stopped short when she saw Kim. Their gazes locked. “I’d like you to leave,” Esmeralda said tersely.

  Kim’s heart fell to her feet. “I—”

  “Just go,” Esmeralda said and swept past her and out the front door.

  Slowly Kim walked up the stairs. For a long time she stood at the door, not wanting to go inside. She turned the knob and pushed open the door to find Nick sprawled out on the comforter, the sheets in a heap on the floor beside the bed. The scent of sex swirled in the warm room.

  “This room smells like a cathouse.”

  Kim closed the door and pressed her back against it. She closed her eyes and envisioned Ricco laying on the bed, a damp towel draped around his narrow waist. When she opened her eyes, she saw Nick. “I want you to leave.”

  “Not on your life. I’m too close to clinching this deal. I’m going to call Evergreen’s hand. I’m going to personally make the next offer. Personally. I’ve already contacted the council.” He looked at his watch. “In one hour at city hall.” He lay back into the striped pillows, put his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes. “I didn’t peg you for the sex kitten type, Kimberly, but I have to say it’s a pleasant surprise.”

  She moved to the armoire and pulled her bag out from the bottom drawer. She began to pack. She needed separation.

  “What are you doing?” Nick asked from the bed, his gaze locked on her.

  “I was asked to leave.”

  Nick laughed. “It will only be temporary; you’ll own this dump by the end of the week.”

  “I don’t want to own this dump. I just want to go home.”

  He sat up and hopped off the bed. Slowly, as if weighing her acceptance of him, he came closer to her. He reached out a hand and touched her cheek. “I can make you feel like he did.” He moved in closer. While he smelled really good, he didn’t smell like Ricco, and his touch did nothing for her. No, it did—it made her want to pull away. He raised her chi
n up to look at him. His clear blue eyes quietly questioned her. When his lips lowered to hers, she expected to feel repulsed. She only felt nothing.

  And after what Ricco had done to her she would not be satisfied with nothing the rest of her life.

  Slowly she pulled away from him. “I don’t want to marry you, Nick.”

  He stiffened and backed away. “Because that guy gets you off?”

  She gasped at his crudity. “No, because when you touch me I feel nothing.”

  “Fine! Fuck him all you want, just be discreet about it.”

  She shook her head and felt the hot rush of tears. Nick would never cherish her over all other women. He cherished what she could bring him. Money. And the status her last name would bring. And with perfect clarity, she understood. He was like all of the rest. He’d never wanted her.

  She moved past him, packed her overnight case, then opened her drawer. A small wrapped box was tucked into the fold of her sweaters. A small note written in Ricco’s handwriting attached to it read Do Not Open Until Christmas. Her heart rate accelerated, and she put it along with the sweaters into her suitcase. She was done in less than fifteen minutes. Nick watched her the entire time, a nasty scowl twisting his face.

  Several minutes later she was in her car and driving south out of Evergreen.

  • • •

  RICCO STORMED DOWN MAIN STREET LOADED FOR BEAR. Son of a bitch! How could he have been so blind? He’d been played by a pro. She’d made damn sure she’d snagged him at the Legacy, and it had been easy pickings for her after that. And he had fallen for it! He’d actually—He punched the air with his fists. He’d actually thought there might be some way they could still see each other after the New Year. It was only a forty-five-minute flight from San Jose to L.A.—or a five-hour drive, or four hours the way he drove. They could meet up on the weekends and see where things went.

  Son of a bitch! He’d trusted her! He’d actually thought she could help the town. Holy hell! When his mother found out she’d played right into the Wicked Witch’s hand, she would be beside herself and blame the fall of Evergreen on herself. Shit.