“You’ll have to forgive Rina. She’s off balance,” Emma said to Colin. “And I can’t really blame her, considering.” She propped an elbow on her desk.
“Considering what?” Colin spoke to Emma, but his blue-eyed gaze never left Rina’s. He hadn’t stopped staring since her blunt admission.
Emma sighed. “Young people. You never take time to look around you and appreciate the scenery.”
Oh, if Emma only knew how wrong she was, Rina thought wryly, realizing Colin’s eyes had small laugh lines surrounding them, a sexy attribute that added character to an already amazing face.
“Look up, children. You’re both standing under mistletoe,” Emma said with glee. With a huge smile on her face, Emma pointed up.
Rina groaned, and Colin, one eyebrow raised, followed Emma’s lead to look at the ceiling. Sure enough, the green sprig hadn’t moved, changed or fallen to the floor. And neither had Rina since the time Emma had called her over to Colin’s desk.
She’d been had. A notion the older woman verified when she not so subtly picked up her purse.
“Well, Colin?” Emma asked. “Aren’t you going to follow tradition?”
Rina knew from experience life rarely doled out second chances. Standing under the mistletoe with Colin was a one-time opportunity. She’d been doing a lot of talk about living a new life and starting over.
She glanced up at the mistletoe that teased her and tempted her to follow her most erotic impulses. Emma obviously caught the sexual undercurrents that had been running between Rina and Colin since day one.
No sense trying to hide them now.
“I wonder,” she whispered softly, for Colin’s ears only. Taking advantage of the new, liberated Rina, she leaned forward, closer to Colin and those super-sexy lips. “Do you have the nerve?”
CHAPTER TWO
FROM THE CORNER of her eye, Rina saw Emma slip out the door.
“Emma’s gone,” Colin said. He sounded as stunned as she felt at this sudden turn of events, and his voice held a husky, low timbre that resembled rough whiskey.
“And she definitely left some excitement in her wake.”
“Is that what you’d call it?” He studied her shamelessly, as if taking her measure. Looking for what, Rina couldn’t be sure, but with each passing second, those blue eyes seemed to see inside her.
To read her mind. If he could, he’d know she took this tradition seriously. Now that Emma had put the idea in her mind, she wanted to know what it would feel like to be kissed under the mistletoe. Right now. By Colin.
His hands came to rest on her shoulders, his palms hot and strong. Heat burned within her and her stomach curled with silken anticipation as the need to taste him grew.
“Rina?”
“Yes?”
He removed her glasses, placing them on the desk, and stared. “Did you know you have golden flecks in those brown eyes?”
Unable to speak, she licked her dry lips and was rewarded when his hungry gaze followed the movement.
“Reminds me of sunshine.”
Warmth tingled through her veins. Born and raised in the Bronx and a New York girl at heart, Rina wasn’t shy about asking for what she wanted. And she wanted her new life to begin now. Despite barely knowing Colin, she was going to test the waters. Take whatever he was willing to give. “You should know, I’m not one to let a mistletoe moment pass.”
“And you should know, I’m not a man who takes a challenge lightly,” he said, obviously referring to her earlier question. Did he have the nerve to kiss her? “Nor am I the type to defy tradition. No matter how unexpected,” he whispered an instant before he lowered his head and his lips touched hers.
He’d called her bluff, taken the initiative, and now he toyed with her, playfully testing, learning the feel of her mouth and letting her learn him. Then his tongue slid briefly, seductively, over the seam of her lips, electrifying her with his moist touch until their tongues lightly met.
The experiment yielded high-impact results. Colin tasted of pure male desire, a flavor that stirred a hunger long denied, and awakened passions she’d never experienced before. Passions she’d never thought existed before now. She trembled, and in response he squeezed her shoulders, his fingers biting into her skin, providing a carnal awareness of the fact that she affected him, too.
But from deep inside, caution clawed its way to the surface, breaking through the surprising desire that still burned hot inside her. She’d been floored by a simple kiss.
As if anything about this kiss—or Colin—was simple.
She lifted her head, breaking the kiss but not the awareness. He met her gaze. Heat flared bright in his eyes and flushed his cheeks, and the shock that reverberated inside her was evident in his expression. Another emotion shared.
She stepped back and ran trembling fingers over her lips. “That was…”
“Fun.”
Not exactly the word she’d have chosen and Rina blinked, startled.
“Isn’t that what kissing under the mistletoe is supposed to be?” Colin shot her a boyish grin.
She wished it was as easy for her. She exhaled hard and forced a casual smile before meeting his eyes. “Of course it was fun. Emma set us up and we responded like any two adults caught under the mistletoe would.”
She took a step backward, then another. A few more and she made it to her desk so she could regroup, leaving Colin alone under the mistletoe laden with tradition.
“Fun’s meant to be repeated.” His expression still showed shocked surprise, but he couldn’t hide the warm appreciation in his gaze.
She reached for her jacket, caught off guard when he stepped forward and helped her slip on her wool coat. His hands were gentle as he adjusted her collar, and his callused fingers brushed her nape, eliciting a tingling sensation that shot straight to her toes.
She hadn’t known he was a gentleman. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure.”
Without turning, unwilling to look into those blue eyes once more, she barely managed to grab her series folder, call a quick goodbye and beat a hasty retreat to the door.
“Rina, wait.”
She turned, her heart pounding hard in her chest. “What?”
“You forgot something.”
She accepted her glasses and bolted into the cold night.
As the icy whip of wind hit her cheeks, it was easier to think clearly. With that kiss, her experiment had taken on even more exciting, somewhat illicit overtones.
She still planned to experiment for her column. Starting tomorrow, she’d test out men as a group in general. But when it came to Colin, she was fully aware of his impact. With a single kiss, she’d learned he wielded power. Sexual, seductive power, and she found that lure thrilling.
Before tonight she’d merely toyed with the notion of a fling, but now the idea of an affair took on real possibilities. Colin possessed enough sex appeal to light Rina’s fire. He also used jet fuel to propel his frequent departures. Colin wasn’t a stick-around sort of guy. If she were looking for a future, he’d be the last man on her list. But after losing her husband, she was wary of a long-term relationship and was no longer sure she believed in forever. Which made a fling the perfect solution.
And Colin the perfect man.
COLIN KICKED BACK, propped his feet on the desk and watched the door slam closed behind Rina Lowell, the woman he’d just kissed under the mistletoe.
He’d been given an unexpected opportunity, and being human, as well as damned attracted to Rina, he’d kissed her. He shouldn’t have. Through Rina, Colin hoped to understand how to get through to Corinne, but he’d never intended to take advantage. Especially since he held her career in his hands.
Getting involved with Rina would tear at his loyalties, though he had no doubt who would win. Colin had let Joe down once before. He refused to do it again, so Joe and his paper had to come first. Yet the paper had been the last thing on his mind when he’d had Rina in his arms.
And now he wa
s in deep. Because he hadn’t counted on being completely seduced. And from the moment he’d opened the doors to the office and seen Rina shaking her hips and shimmying her body, he had been seduced. Enough to make him watch, like a damn voyeur, as she’d continued her conversation with Emma. She’d called out to him, luring him in, and by the time he’d walked over to the desk, he’d been entranced by her combination of natural beauty and erotic movement.
He couldn’t delude himself into thinking he’d imagined the combustion they’d created together. The heat. The texture. The intensity. The unexpected connection. She’d felt it too or else she wouldn’t have run far and fast.
He rubbed his hands against his jeans and groaned. In the aftermath, she’d stared at him warily, shock in those huge brown eyes. She didn’t know what to make of him.
Unexpectedly, that bothered him.
Guilt nudged at him again, stronger now when he contemplated his need to dethrone Corinne and her new entourage of employees. He liked Emma. And Rina, well, he’d more than enjoyed her. His gut told him not to mix business with pleasure, and everything about Rina screamed pleasure.
But Colin was a man cornered by necessity and all out of options, save one. A gorgeous brunette named Rina Lowell.
THIS WASN’T RINA’S first day of work, but excitement rushed through her veins. She was on a dual mission today, beginning her experiment at work and laying the groundwork for seducing Colin. She tried to swallow but her mouth had grown dry.
The day started like any other. Her first stop was the coffee shop downstairs from the Times’s offices. Because Ashford was a wealthy oceanside community, the café was an upscale place offering a variety of designer drinks. The owner, a good-looking man in his mid-thirties greeted everyone with the same compulsory smile. Rina had made many conversational openings in the past, but he’d never reacted or picked up on any of them. Yet she’d heard through the building grapevine that the more attractive women were offered an extra shot of caramel or mocha in their lattes, free of charge. Plain Rina had always paid for hers.
She’d only worked on some subtle physical changes today, as she was saving the big guns for the Christmas party over the weekend. She didn’t expect any special treatment just yet, but she intended to find out if makeup, even light brushes of color and hue, made a difference in how men treated women. And she planned to impart that wisdom in her next column.
“Next.” The man wiped down the counter and glanced at Rina. “What can I get for you?”
Coffee, tea or me sounded too clichéd, so she opted for a straightforward “Whatever you do best will suit me just fine.” She tipped her head, letting her ponytail hang down over her shoulder. Same head-tip she’d given him when she’d worn her plain old bun. But today, it was no coincidence that her hair dangled just over one breast.
He leaned down on one elbow, getting closer and meeting her gaze. Up close, he was too pretty for Rina’s taste. She preferred a dark-haired, masculine man whose kiss lingered and who’d starred in her late-night fantasies. At the thought of Colin, she could have purred out loud.
“Dave’s special is chocolate malted cappuccino,” he said with a ridiculous abundance of pride.
“Which means you’re Dave.” Rina forced a welcoming, wide smile for a man who did nothing for her. “Make mine with extra chocolate and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
Five minutes later, she walked back onto the snow-covered street with an extra-large chocolate malted cappuccino for the price of a regular-size latte in one hand, a black coffee in the other and a date request for Saturday night. Thank God she’d had Emma’s Christmas party as an excuse to decline.
Score one for men being visual animals, Rina thought. Dave had reacted to her looks, or maybe it was the hair. He’d hit on her today when he hadn’t given her a second glance yesterday. In this case, chemistry didn’t matter as much as superficial impressions. If she had a free hand, she’d jot notes on the pad she kept in her purse. She decided she’d handle it upstairs. Rina had no doubt she wouldn’t forget details about this particular outing.
She turned and headed inside her office building. Rina knew most employees’ schedules as well as she knew her own. Colin tended to arrive early in time to get Marty’s freshly made coffee before it’d had a chance to gel and petrify. She strode through the office, a room comprising desks, computers and an occasional portable divider for the more senior editors. And she immediately noticed that Colin was already in his chair, but he didn’t have a mug in front of him. Yet.
Instead, he sat flipping through mail and muttering to himself. Even aggravated, the man was so darn sexy. It wasn’t just the black leather jacket that hung on his chair, though it added to his rugged appeal. And it wasn’t his windblown hair or the intelligence lurking in his blue eyes. His allure came from somewhere deeper, somewhere inside him. Intensity defined Colin Lyons and every move he made.
She paused a moment, gathering her courage, and when she bit down on her lip, she tasted lipstick, a reminder of today’s changes. Like Dave, she expected Colin to notice and react. Her heart rate picked up rhythm at the prospect. Taking the coffee she’d purchased, she strode to his desk, coming up beside him.
He leaned back and glanced toward the corner, oblivious to her presence. “How is it I barely recognize this place?” he asked himself.
His dark tone didn’t bode well for her plan to dazzle him. Taken with the depth of his feelings, she felt an unexpected tug at her heart. She glanced around, wanting to view things from his perspective and see just what was upsetting him. Mistletoe still hung from the ceiling and a gorgeous tree stood in the corner adorned with gold and silver tinsel and exquisite decorations.
Yet despite the holiday cheer, he’d sounded distressed.
“That sounded depressing. Do you have something against Christmas?” she asked.
“Against the holiday? No. Against the tree? Hell, yes.” He didn’t turn to face her.
As someone who’d grown up with handmade ornaments, then progressed to the expensive, exclusive store-bought kind when she married, Rina recognized Corinne’s tree as the latter version. That obviously bothered Colin, though Rina couldn’t imagine why.
Despite all the reasons not to get emotionally involved, she wanted to know what he was feeling and why he was feeling it. “What do you have against some poor defenseless tree?”
“That corner is usually reserved for Joe’s hand-cut pine.” Colin’s voice held a hint of gruffness combined with tender emotion.
And this poor tree had obviously replaced Joe’s. “I’m sure Corinne meant well. Maybe she thought some tree was better than no tree,” Rina offered, trying to soothe the sting he suffered.
“Corinne didn’t mean anything except satisfying her own personal need to spend.”
It was the first time she’d heard him attack Corinne, and the shock rattled her. Though she didn’t know the other woman well, Rina had always been a decent judge of character, and Corinne seemed to genuinely care about people in general, her employees and especially her sick husband.
He shook his head. “Never mind. I didn’t mean that the way it came out.”
“Maybe not, but something’s bothering you. Whatever it is, you need to get it out.”
“And you want to hear?” He sounded surprised.
Was it so shocking that she wanted to help him? They were strangers, but the holidays often brought unexpected people together, and the mistletoe had begun their journey.
She nodded, then realizing he couldn’t see her, she answered with a soft “Yes. I’d very much like to hear.”
He leaned back in his seat. Silence reigned. Maybe he was considering whether he wanted to share.
“We had a yearly tradition, Joe and I,” he said at last.
Rina released the breath she hadn’t been aware of holding.
“It started the year Joe and his first wife, Nell, took me in after my parents died in a car accident. I was twelve at the time.”
Having grown up with both parents and having lived a decent family life, her heart squeezed tight at the admission that he’d lost his parents young. Family was important to Rina and she found herself glad that Colin had had Joe and Nell to compensate for his loss. “I didn’t know.”
“No reason you should. Joe and Nell ended up adopting me. And since it’s part of Joe’s earlier life, it’s probably not something Corinne likes to discuss.”
Rina doubted that, but Colin obviously had issues with his adoptive father’s young wife. It was the story of many families, so she chose to listen rather than defend Corinne now. “I’m glad you had people to turn to,” she said lightly.
“Me, too.” His harsh profile eased, along with something inside Rina. Something warm, compelling and far more dangerous than pure sexual desire. Which didn’t bode well for an emotionless fling. “Want to tell me about this tradition you two shared?” she asked despite her better judgment.
Standing, he walked to the big window overlooking a neighborhood park. She left the now-cold coffee on the desk corner and followed. In silence, she glanced out over his shoulder. Snow covered the ground and trees in true holiday tradition. There’d be a white Christmas this year, Rina thought.
“Joe’s as close to a father as I’ve got.” Colin’s voice intruded on her thoughts. “And every year since he took me in, we’d go stalking through the woods in search of the perfect tree.”
“You didn’t shop for one?” she asked. “Because where I grew up, we chose the cheapest tree off the neighborhood supermarket parking lot.”
His deep chuckle warmed her. “No, we played mountain man. We’d go to the far end of Joe’s property, which included forest, and we’d pick and cut our own tree.” He shoved his hands into his back pockets, staring, she assumed, at the pines behind the building. “We never missed a year, either.”
“Until this one,” she guessed.
She heard his unspoken words and felt the empty space in his heart as if it were her own. At heart, he was still the little boy who’d lost his parents and only had Joe to turn to.
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