Her world spun off into blissful chaos. Goose bumps trickled down her spine. A rush of delight closed her eyes tight.
Each glorious inch his lips traveled over hers left a trail of fire, the same raging flames she’d felt before, though this time, he also ran a hand down her bare arm, to her wrist. He clasped her fingers in his and held her hand.
Something so simple. So defining and rich. Better than anything. Two promises in one. She wasn’t alone. Together, they would get through this, and be better for it.
Kim’s shoulders twitched. Her hips ground to his hips as she kissed him back, matching his hunger with hers and forgetting everything else but the desire to have this man inside her, and with her always.
She was going to take this chance. She was going to trust Chaz Monroe because she loved him.
She moaned into his waiting mouth. With a tight hold on her hand, he turned and led her toward the lights.
“The best Christmas ever,” he said over his shoulder.
Eighteen
“Kim?” Brenda called out from her cubicle, standing up quickly. “What happened? I haven’t seen you for days. I haven’t heard from you.”
“I didn’t get fired,” Kim said with a straight face.
“He left a message on your desk about wanting to see you the minute you came in.”
“Yes. I have to sign a new contract.”
“He convinced you?”
“He’s one hell of a negotiator, Bren.”
“You’ll fill me in, won’t you? There’s something strange in your expression. Not at all like a woman having lost a battle of wills. It’s going to be okay, isn’t it? You’re going to stay?”
Kim nodded. “I’m staying.”
“I knew you could work it out,” Brenda said, showing major relief.
Kim took the longest strides her tight skirt allowed, stopping in her cubicle just long enough to open a drawer and retrieve something she had stored there, before heading down the corridor to Chaz’s office.
Alice didn’t stop her or offer up a protest. Instead, Alice smiled, and nodded her head.
Kim didn’t bother to make a pretense of knocking or waiting to be asked to come in. This was her déjà-vu moment, and she intended to experience it to the fullest. Things had changed. She had changed, and felt downright hopeful about the future.
Her heart beat thunderously, tellingly, as she opened the door. The anticipation of seeing Chaz was always like that, and had grown worse over the last few days of spending nearly every waking minute with him. She’d been wearing a smile since his daring use of her fire escape.
He wasn’t at his desk. She waited, pulse soaring, body anticipating the onslaught of sensation.
She didn’t have to wait long.
All of a sudden he grabbed her by the wrist and swung her around. The door closed. The lock clicked.
His warm mouth covered hers immediately, and her lips opened in a ravenous response. Warm tongues danced. His hands explored possessively, already knowing what they would find. She had lost count of the number of times they had made love lately, but the vast number was a dizzying indication of shared feelings. They had talked, too, and laughed. Together, they had banished the dark and let in the light.
His incredibly steamy kiss was indicative of his new need for her. She wanted to protest when the treacherous bastard peeled his lips from hers way too soon and began to hum a tune that turned out to be a slightly off-key rendition of “Jingle Bells.”
Several seconds passed before Kim said, “See? I’m cured. And that’s behind us now.” Then she began to laugh. All the emotion of the past had just melted away. They had made Christmas wonderful; a time never to forget.
Chaz laughed with her as he began to raise her skirt. She loved that he never had enough of her. That’s the way she liked it. She loved everything about him, too. This was love at its most exhilarating.
But she placed her hands on his hands to stop his progress.
“We won’t do this kind of thing in my future office,” she said.
“Luckily, it’s still mine,” he countered. “And I have no such rules.”
“We already did it this morning.”
“Are you tired of me already?”
“What if they still say I slept my way to the top?”
“I’ll agree.”
Kim cuffed his shoulder then ran her hand along the seam of his perfectly ironed shirt, looking for a way inside. There was something hard in his shirt pocket. A tiny box.
She glanced up at him.
“I’m pretty sure I can’t show this to you yet,” he said, his grin firmly in place. “Seems too pushy. Too desperate. And after all, as the owner of this agency, I have a reputation to maintain.”
Kim waited this out, anticipating a punch line.
“But I have another present for you today, one that you might not have noticed.”
She raised an eyebrow, nervous and excited about the contents of the box in his pocket.
“To see the other surprise, you’ll have to open that door again,” Chaz said. “The one you just waltzed through.”
“I’m kind of content right here,” she protested.
“Well, then... Have you ever made love on a desk?” he asked teasingly.
Faking a fluster, Kim smoothed her skirt down and turned to open the door. She saw right away what she had missed on her way in, and her heart again began to thump. In black paint, outlined in gold, was her name, printed on the glass. Kim McKinley, Vice President.
It took her a full minute to realize this was going to be true.
“I’ve decided to hang on to the place for a while,” Chaz said. “So I’ll need someone I can trust in this office while I pursue other interests.”
Kim stared at the name on the door. After that, she looked to Alice, who was smiling. She looked to Chaz, also smiling. Heat began to drift over her. Way down deep in her body, in a place reserved for his touch, a drum beat started up.
Chaz Monroe was going to trust her with this promotion in a company he had decided to keep, at least for now, and hopefully long enough for her to prove herself. Waves of happiness washed over her. She squeezed her eyes shut to contain her joy.
“I won’t be around much, so rumors about us won’t matter,” he said.
Kim didn’t open her eyes. This Christmas, her wishes had come true. She had the job, and a relationship with the man beside her. That was all she needed. She could do this. Mutual trust was a beautiful thing.
“Will you say yes?” Chaz asked.
Her eyes again met his.
“About the office,” he clarified, his voice dropping to a whisper that told her he meant something else entirely.
She nodded.
He smiled.
“You’re an asset to the company, Kim Monroe,” he said. “Come on, let’s take a good look at your future desk, and see if there might be anything else you’ll need to put on it.”
It wasn’t until he pressed her across that desk with his arms around her that Kim dropped her stranglehold on the golden plaque she’d fished from her drawer. She’d soon be able to use the plaque that announced her new position in the agency.
Vice President.
She didn’t have to toss it away or wave it in his face.
Only then did she realize what he’d said. The name he had spoken. Kim Monroe?
He placed a finger over her lips to stop her from commenting. His eyes shone a merry, vivid blue. “Good. Great. Terrific,” he said. “More on that later, and plenty of time for that conversation. Just now, I find that I can’t let you waste another good, overheated breath.”
The kiss, probably the hundredth like it since she had met Chaz, each of them better than the first, told her all she needed
to know. He was not only going to trust her with the business, he was going to trust that she’d stay with him forever, too.
And the desk she had coveted for so long was as fitting a place as any to seal that new bargain.
“Happy New Year, my love,” Chaz said in a scintillating whisper before he proceeded to make good on the meaning of the sentiment.
* * * * *
Keep reading for a special excerpt from THE SECRET AFFAIR by Brenda Jackson.
Ten years ago one devastating night changed everything for Austin, Hunter and Alex. Now they must each play their part in the revenge against the one man who ruined it all.
Austin Treffen has the plan… Hunter has the money… Alex has the power!
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Avenge Me by Maisey Yates (June 2014)
Scandalize Me by Caitlin Crews (July 2014)
Expose Me by Kate Hewitt (August 2014)
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SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM
Here’s a sneak peek of
THE SECRET AFFAIR
by New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author
Brenda Jackson
Dr. Aidan Westmoreland entered his apartment and removed his lab coat. After running a hand down his face, he glanced at his watch, frustrated. He’d hoped he would have heard something by now. What if…
The ringing of his cell phone made him pause. It was the call he’d been waiting for. “Paige?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Is Jillian still going?” he asked, not wasting time with chitchat.
There was a slight pause on the other end, and in that short space of time knots formed in his stomach. “Yes, she’s still going on the cruise, Aidan.”
He released the breath he’d been holding as Paige continued, “Jill still has no idea I’m aware that the two of you had an affair.”
Aidan hadn’t known Paige knew the truth either, until she’d paid him a surprise visit last month. According to her, she’d figured things out the year Jillian had entered medical school. She’d become suspicious when he’d come home for his cousin Riley’s wedding and she’d overheard him call Jillian Jilly in an intimate tone. Paige had been concerned this past year when she’d noticed Jillian seemed troubled by something that she wouldn’t share with Paige.
Paige had talked to Ivy, Jillian’s best friend, who’d also been concerned about Jillian. Ivy had shared everything about the situation with Paige. Which had prompted Paige to fly to Charlotte and confront him. Until then, Aidan had been clueless as to the real reason behind his and Jillian’s breakup.
When Paige had told him about the cruise she and
Jillian had planned and she’d suggested an idea for getting Jillian on the cruise alone, he’d readily embraced it.
“I’ve done my part and the rest is up to you, Aidan. I hope you can convince Jill of the truth.”
Moments later he ended the call and continued to the kitchen, where he grabbed a beer. Two weeks on the open seas with Jillian would be interesting. But he intended to make it more than just interesting. He aimed to make it productive.
A determined smile spread across his lips. By the time the cruise ended there would be no doubt in Jillian’s mind that he was the only man for her.
Find out how this secret affair began—and how Aidan plans to claim his woman in THE SECRET AFFAIR by New York Times and
USA TODAY bestselling author Brenda Jackson.
Available December 2014, wherever Harlequin® Desire books and ebooks are sold!
Copyright 2014 © by Brenda Streater Jackson
ISBN-13: 9781460342633
The Boss’s Mistletoe Maneuvers
Copyright © 2014 by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom
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