Hot for Santa

by Fox,Cathryn

  She looked worried. “What if he didn’t believe you?”

  Nick rolled one shoulder. “I guess I never thought that far ahead. Besides, something tells me he’s not known for his intelligence.”

  She grinned and nodded in agreement. “You looked like you were itching to lick him like a dog.”

  He angled his head and laughed at her expression. “Uh, Rachel, I’m not really sure how to take that.”

  Her soft chuckle carried in the breeze and curled around him, doing the most delicious things to his libido. She whacked him playfully. “You know what I mean.” Her eyes turned serious for a moment, and her voice dropped an octave. “Really, Nick, what would you have done?”

  He grinned. “I guess I would have licked him like a dog.” Although he’d much prefer to lick her like a cat and make her purr.

  She pulled a face. “I’m just glad it never came to that. I really like the way you handled it.” She threw her hands up in the air. “Even though come tomorrow morning the whole town is going to think I have herpes.” She groaned but the amusement dancing in her eyes belied her emotions. “But better that than a fight.”

  “And here I always thought most women wanted big macho men who solved problems with their fists,” he teased.

  “I guess I’m not like most women.”

  “So I see.” He let out a slow breath and it hung heavy in the air as he recalled all the frequent and sometimes violent parental fights he’d witnessed in his childhood. “It’s Christmas, Rachel. I threw the guy some charity because the last thing I wanted to do was cause a commotion in front of all those children.”

  She stared at him for a long moment, then said in a quiet voice, “And I see you’re not like most men.” Respect flashed in her eyes as dark lashes blinked up at him. “You have a real strength of character, Nick.” Something in her expression softened and touched him deep. He cleared his throat, shaken by the emotions she brought out in him

  Flustered, he stopped and turned to her. “Look, you seemed like you were having second thoughts, like you’d gotten yourself into a situation that escalated beyond your control, so I stepped in to help out. No big deal, okay?”

  She swallowed and her voice was so low, he had to strain to hear her. “I appreciate the way you considered the children’s sensitivities. Most guys wouldn’t.” She dipped her head and studied her boots. “It never fails to astound me the way you’re always so caring and considerate of everyone’s needs.”

  He placed his hand under her chin and tipped her head until their eyes met. He winked at her. “For a girl I just met you sure seem to know an awful lot about me.”

  As though knowing exactly what he was getting at, her eyes widened and she moved half a foot away, stepping toward the narrow road. He saw the truck coming around the corner, its plow dropping as it approached. Nick grabbed for Rachel, but it was too little, too late. Cold, wet slush crashed down on her like a tsunami wave, leaving her standing there soaking wet and gasping for air.

  Looking like a melting snowman, she lifted her arms out to her sides. “What . . . the . . . hell . . .” she muttered, her lips quickly turning an odd shade of blue.

  “Jesus, Rachel.” As her body began trembling from head to toe, Nick brushed the slop off her clothes, and opened his coat to her. He slipped his hand around her waist and splayed his fingers against the small of her back to offer his heat.

  He shook his head and scoffed. “Now what makes me think that was Luke?” He anchored Rachel to him, cradling her body in his arms, and she relaxed into him. His muscles bunched in response, and his cock tightened to the point of pain. He pressed against her skin, his body registering every delicious detail of her sexy curves.

  A pause and then, “Nick . . .” When she tilted her head, her eyes were dark, and full of urgent need.

  “What?”

  She wet her lips. “Thanks . . .” Her voice came out raspy, broken, and he wasn’t exactly sure what she was thanking him for. Getting her away from Luke? Considering the children? Offering her his warmth? Or keeping it a secret that they knew each other?

  Pleasure forked through him when he felt one of her hands snake around his waist. Hunger consumed him and, completely caught up in the moment, his eyes shifted downward to examine her lips. Her mouth slanted as she ran her thumb over his cheek and brushed away a drip of slush. The gesture warmed more than just his flesh. With his mouth hovering only inches from hers, all he could think about was ravishing her and taking full possession of her body. He ached to strip off her clothes, drive his cock deep inside her, and fuck her like he’d never fucked anyone before. His muscles bunched, his dick thickened, and common sense packed a bag and headed south.

  She wet her blue-tinged lips. “Nick . . .”

  Reality came crashing down at the sound of her shaky voice. Unease hit him and he sucked in a sharp breath in an effort to pull himself together. He stepped back, extricating himself, needing the distance to help bank his desire and push back the lust. As his passion slowly receded, his brain cleared and he paused to consider the ramifications of his actions.

  Rachel had been drinking, and he would not take advantage of the situation. No matter how much his cock clamored for attention and screamed for release. Acting purely on his sexual urges would lump him with the likes of Luke. Besides, she was Mason’s sister, and with his strong brotherly instincts, he knew he’d be crossing the line if they indulged in a wild sexual affair. What a way to repay a friend for opening his home to him over the holidays.

  “Come on. We need to hurry home to get you out of these wet clothes and into something warm before you get hypothermia.” Gorgeous brown eyes full of desire stared up at him and he rushed on, “I promised Mason I’d take care of you, so don’t go and freeze to death on me now, or he’ll kill me.” He flashed his teeth, an attempt to bring a smile to her face.

  His efforts backfired. At the mention of her brother, her eyes blinked back into focus, and desire immediately segued to dismay. He felt her retreat, both physically and emotionally. The quick change took him by surprise. He’d never seen anyone go from hot to cold so quickly. Was it the alcohol? Or was it something else entirely?

  Ten minutes later, Nick guided Rachel through the porch and into the kitchen. Except for the embers glowing in the fireplace and the flickering tree lights in the living room, the place was dark and silent. He turned on the fluorescent kitchen light and glanced around. “Where is everyone?” he asked in a whisper, not wanting to wake her parents if they were upstairs asleep.

  “Ro . . . man . . . tic . . .” she chattered, and shook her wet gloves. “Din . . . ner.”

  The sight of her wet clothes and rosy cheeks propelled him into action. “We need to get you warm and we need to do it fast.” Nick peeled off her gloves, and unzipped her jacket while she kicked off her boots. Once he had her sufficiently undressed, he pulled off his own outerwear and slipped his arm around her back. “Come on.”

  She could barely lift her legs as he ushered her up the creaky stairs and into her bedroom. After a quick scan of the room, he turned on the corner lamp and pulled down her blankets. “Strip down to your underwear,” he commanded and began to shed his sweater.

  Her eyes widened and moved over his face. “What . . . what are you doing?”

  He pinned her with a glare and turned serious, professional. “This is what I do, Rachel. It’s my business.”

  “This is what you do?” She gave him a perplexed frown. “You get naked with half-frozen women.”

  “I sell gear and outerwear for all different types of activities, including mountain climbing,” he said, stating the obvious to the woman who’d just completed a campaign for him and knew all about his business dealings. “Trust me, I know all about frostbite and the best ways to deal with it.”

  He pulled his sweater over his head and her eyes strayed to his chest. “Couldn’t . . . couldn’t I just have a warm bath?”

  Jesus, she looked terrified. A few minutes ago her
eyes were dark with desire, and now she was gawking at him like he had the plague. He shook his head in confusion. She really was a whole lot of contradictions.

  “No, your skin will burn and you’ll itch something fierce. This is the best way. Now, unless you want to lose dexterity in your extremities, I suggest you get undressed and use my body for heat.”

  He averted his gaze to give her privacy. Concentrating on his own clothes, he released his zipper and wondered if he was some kind of masochist. Having Rachel between the sheets was like dangling a lamb in front of a hungry lion. Temptation to the extreme. He just hoped—prayed—that the seriousness of the situation would help cut through the lust and keep him focused.

  He pulled his pants off and tossed them over her rocking chair. When he glanced at Rachel, who now stood before him in her lacy bra and underwear, fire pitched through his blood and his cock damned near ripped a hole in his leggings.

  She crinkled her nose, and questioned in a soft voice, “Are those women’s tights?”

  He cleared his throat and shed the rest of his clothes, taking care to keep his boxer shorts in place. “Yeah.” Technically, they were women’s Icebreaker Leggings, but he didn’t bother to explain that he personally tried out every piece in his outerwear line before putting it on the shelves. The well-being of each and every customer, both male and female, was most important to him, and he refused to offer a product that he didn’t back fully.

  As he moved to the bed, he held open the blankets to her and lectured himself on keeping his cool and not taking advantage of the situation, despite the way his cock was clamoring for him to do just that. Not only was Rachel frozen to the bone, she’d been knocking back rum. Besides clouding her judgment, the rum also aided in decreasing her core body temperature, and he needed to warm her up and warm her up fast.

  He patted the empty spot beside him. “You coming?”

  3

  You coming?

  Oh God, she just might be.

  Gathering every ounce of strength her frozen, yet needy body could muster, she dragged herself across the room and slipped between her warm flannel sheets. Even though she’d purposely put her back to Nick, she was still conscious of his every breath, his every movement. Her gaze fluttered about the room, drinking in the intimate ambiance, the soft light, the comfy mattress, and the hot guy next to her. It made her feel warm, cozy, snug.

  Horny.

  Nick moved closer and she could feel the heat radiating off him. “Damn, you’re like ice,” he murmured.

  Even the deep cadence of his voice made her wet. She bit down on her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood and forced herself to focus on something else. Nick was only in her bed to warm her. It was not a ploy to get her naked and make wild passionate love to her.

  Unfortunately.

  Nick was a man of strong character, a man with integrity, a man who was sweet, kind, and caring, and was only helping his partner’s sister out in a time of need, she quickly reminded herself.

  He draped his arm around her and pulled her in tight, her cold body sucking the heat from his. Sucking . . . Oh God, she did not want to think about sucking at a time like this.

  She forced herself to divert her attention and concentrate on thawing her extremities. Trembling, she shimmied in closer and noted the huge difference in his body temperature. “Your body is so hot.” She worked hard to sound casual, like she climbed between the sheets with her brother’s boyfriends all the time. “I think I’ll have to invest in a pair of those tights.”

  “I’ll send you a few pairs,” he offered, and rubbed his hand up and down her arm to smooth out her goose bumps. In one slick movement, he turned her to face him, grabbed her feet and placed them between his thighs. Her feet immediately began to warm but Nick damned near jumped off the bed. His eyes widened and he made a tortured face. “Sweet mother of God!” Rachel couldn’t help but chuckle at his reactions.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled, then poked him in the chest and followed up with, “But this was your idea.”

  “Hey, be careful before that mouth of yours gets you into trouble.” He gave her a playful wink. “I’m sure I can still find a snowbank out there with your name on it.”

  She relaxed into him, enjoying the easy comfort that had fallen over them. Silence descended upon the room and seconds turned into minutes as he worked his hands over her flesh.

  His long strokes and callused palms scraped over her curves, as he slowly introduced himself to her body. He touched her with such gentle care that she could feel all her composure slipping away. Mesmerized by his soft caresses, her mind wandered and a surge of excitement raced through her as she once again pictured Nick between her legs, his tongue on her hot center, working her into a frenzy of lust until she climaxed all over him. Her body shook with urgent need and there wasn’t a damned thing she could do to stifle the erotic whimper bubbling up from the depths of her throat.

  Her sound of pure carnal delight seemed to have gained Nick’s attention. His throat worked as he swallowed and the concern in his eyes became her undoing. “You okay?” His breath was hot on her neck when he spoke and the hypnotic tone of his voice brought on a shudder.

  Shaken from her fantasies, her voice thinned to a low whisper. “I still can’t seem to get blood flow back into my feet.” When she wiggled her toes between his legs, he drew in a sharp breath and she forced herself to focus on something other than how close her feet were to his private parts—private parts she ached to touch, kiss, feel inside her.

  Nick is Mason’s partner. Nick is Mason’s partner. She continued to repeat her new mantra until her brain cleared.

  She watched him for a moment, his primal essence completely overwhelming her. “Nick.”

  “Yeah?” He propped his elbow up on his pillow and rested his head on his palm. Soft blue eyes met hers, and her stomach fluttered.

  “How long have you known Mason?”

  “A little over a month.”

  His raspy voice sent a barrage of erotic sensations through her body and his warm breath had her aching to taste the sweetness of his mouth. “He’s a great guy.”

  “Yeah, he is. Even though he hadn’t known me that long, he wouldn’t condone my spending the holidays alone in New York.”

  She swallowed, guilt eating at her like a thousand hungry locusts for fantasizing about Mason’s partner. “I wouldn’t ever want to do anything to hurt him.” And she wouldn’t want Mason to hurt Nick either, but the way Mason was cozying up to Sheriff Jack at the town hall hadn’t gone unnoticed by her. Obviously, Mason had a thing for tall, muscular men. Her brother really was a great guy, he just wasn’t a long-term guy. She wondered if Nick knew that.

  He gave her a perplexed look. “Me neither.”

  He brushed his hand down her side, his fingers coming perilously close to the outer edge of her breast. His intimate touch seeped under her skin and she fought the urge to squirm—right underneath him. Her nipples tightened in bliss and hunger prowled through her. She bit back a breathy moan and shivered. Almost violently.

  Nick mistook her shiver. “Christ, girl, what am I going to do with you?”

  Oh, she had a million possibilities. . . .

  He pulled her in tighter. Heat and strength radiated off him as he offered his warmth and she damned near went out of her mind. Her sex throbbed when his hands raced over her flesh. His warm fingers burned everywhere he touched and deepened her desire for him. Her body practically convulsed when he ran his hands down her legs and cupped her feet.

  He shifted his position and lowered himself on the mattress. He closed his palms around one foot, brought it to his mouth and exhaled. His warm breath sent heat charging to her sex and she lubricated in response. Oh good God! The tang of her arousal saturated the room and she wondered if he smelled it. Mortified by her body’s reactions, she squeezed her eyes shut, but when she felt something hot and wet against her toe—something that felt like a tongue—her lids sprung back open.

  “Nick.
”

  She spotted the thin sheen of sweat on his upper lip. He dragged in a huge breath, and for a fleeting moment need flashed in his eyes and she sensed something inside him give.

  “Rachel . . .” The urgency in his voice surprised and excited her. He slid up her thighs and over her stomach until they came face-to-face. His nostrils flared, his jaw clenched. Shaky hands raced through her hair and rattled her passion-drenched mind. He tipped his head to look at her. His eyes were dark, intense. Carnal. Oh Lord, one minute he was warming her toes with tender concern, and the next he was climbing over her, looking completely wild and out of control. His mood changed without warning and she had no idea what brought the shift on, all she knew was that she felt equal measures of fear and excitement. “I can’t quite seem to get you warm,” he murmured, his lips hovering over hers.

  She began panting, and her brand-new mantra drifted away like dust in the wind. “It . . . it could be dangerous, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, I do.” His blue eyes darkened, triggering a craving inside her. A craving only he could sate.

  “That’s not good.” Breathe, Rachel, breathe. “Not good at all.” Her gaze raced over his face, trying to read him.

  His brow furrowed. “What should we do?”

  A wave of passion overcame her, and her sex muscles undulated. Her pulse kicked up a notch and without conscious thought, she darted a tongue out in invitation. “Your lips. They’re warm.”

  “You think I should put my mouth on you?”

  Warmth spread out over her skin, and raw desire seared her insides as she pretended to mull it over for a second. “Under the circumstances, I don’t think we have a choice.” Dear God, she’d never been so bold before, so brazen. But there was something about Nick that brought out the vixen in her, making her feel wild, sexy . . . naughty.