*
Matthias’s eyes popped open. He sat up in bed, growling at the hard-on he was sporting. Matthias threw back the blankets and grabbed his lounge pants. He slid them on as he climbed from his bed. As he debated what he was going to do, now that he was wide awake and frustrated, his stomach rumbled. I guess I might as well go find me something to eat. Matthias left his bedroom and headed for the kitchen.
He moved silently through the house. When he reached the doorway to the kitchen, Miranda’s presence caught his attention. He stood in the doorway and took in her appearance. She was rumpled, clearly having come from her bed. He could hear her heart racing and her quick breathing from across the room. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his thumping heart. Wrong move. With the deep inhalation, her scent invaded his senses. Arousal mixed with the smell of her hot chocolate and had his shields crashing down around him, carrying him across the room.
Miranda looked up when Matthias started toward her. Her eyes widened and her lips parted as she shakily put her cup on the counter. “Matthias…” That was all she got out before he pulled her tight against his body, and his mouth covered hers.
Matthias cursed silently as he took Miranda’s mouth. He’d tried, so damn hard, to not let this happen. He’d tried to not want her. He’d tried to ignore the way she made him feel. All of that was shot in the ass with this one kiss. He groaned, pulling her tighter against him. He could feel her breasts pressed against his chest. Her nipples were tight and hard, burning holes into his bare skin.
*
Miranda felt devoured, assaulted with every thrust of Matthias’s tongue. He left no part of her mouth untouched. She gripped his shoulders, digging half-moons into his flesh. Her mind had long since turned to mush, so thinking wasn’t possible.
Matthias’s hands slid over the satin of her robe and down to stroke the curves of Miranda’s backside. Lifting her by those curves, he set her on the counter and stepped between her legs. Her thighs hugged his hips as he pressed closer. She moved her hands from his shoulders to wrap around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair.
Miranda felt Matthias’s hands move from her ass, up her sides and across her belly to reach for the belt on her robe. He untied it, letting the soft satin fall apart. Matthias pulled back and stared down at her. Her satin camisole and short panty set left little to the imagination. He trailed his fingertips along the upper edge of her top, slowly drawing it down, teasing them both. Matthias covered the soft curves of her breasts. He drew his fingers out until they were holding her tight nipples between them. Her back arched and she whimpered. Matthias leaned forward, moving his hand and wrapping his lips around one of the hard peaks. He flicked the tip with his tongue, making her shudder.
Miranda was on fire. Everywhere Matthias touched her, she burned. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had touched her with such reverence. The feel of his hot mouth around her nipple was amazing. It was as if he knew exactly how she liked to be touched. That thought was enough to have her gasping and jerking back from him.
Miranda caught Matthias’s gaze. She pushed him away, surprised when he didn’t fight her over it. Miranda jumped down from the counter, hastily pulling her camisole up and tying her robe shut. “Oh my God, Matthias!” Her voice was breathless. She stared at him for a few moments, before escaping from the kitchen.
Miranda was panting by the time she returned to her room. She practically slammed the door shut, before leaning back against it. She concentrated on regaining her breath instead of dwelling on the incident in the kitchen with Matthias just now. Oh my God! I almost made love with my boss, in his kitchen!
She blamed the whole thing on the dream she’d had. If she hadn’t had such an erotic dream about Matthias, she would have realized what was happening before it had gotten as far as it did. Yeah, right. Who was she kidding? She’d been having dreams about Matthias for days now, and they were becoming more and more realistic…and erotic. Miranda chewed on her lip. He’d touched her perfectly. It was as if they’d done that before…but that wasn’t possible. Only in her dreams had he touched her that way. So how did he know what she liked? Maybe he was just experienced enough that he made educated guesses.
One thing was for sure, no more sleep would come tonight. She was shaking too badly, and the last thing she needed was another dream of him. She thought about taking another bath to relax but elected a shower instead. Might as well start my day.
Miranda stood under the hot spray, leaning back against the shower wall. She’d walked into the hot water, bound and determined to wash away the remains of what had happened in the kitchen with Matthias, but as the water slid over her body, she imagined that it was his hands caressing her. When the sharp spray of water had stung her tight nipples, she moaned. Now she had her head rolling back and forth against the wall while her hand was between her legs. She alternated between rubbing her clit and thrusting two fingers inside her slick sex. Her hips bucked as she approached climax. She closed her eyes, imagining the fingers thrusting inside her were his. With a breathless cry, Miranda came. She braced her hand on the towel rack to keep from falling to the floor when her knees went weak.
*
Matthias watched her rush from the room, his erection throbbing like an open wound. When she was gone, he let out the breath he hadn’t known he was holding and ran his fingers through his hair. As he turned around, he noticed the now cold cup of hot chocolate sitting on the counter. He gave a mocking laugh. Now, whenever he smelled hot chocolate, he would think of Miranda. He considered for a minute, taking the cup, reheating it and delivering it to her room, but he knew if she opened the door to him he would have her tonight. Damn, she tasted sweet, he mused to himself.
Matthias looked at the clock on the stove, and saw it was almost 3 a.m. He knew that, as wound up as he was at the moment, he wouldn’t find sleep anymore tonight. Might as well work, I guess. Matthias left the kitchen, walking back to his room. He’d shower and dress, then start his day.
Scalding hot water ran over Matthias’s head and down his back. He’d thought a shower would relax him, but when he’d stepped under the spray, images of Miranda had filled his mind. Now, here he was, standing in the shower with his hard cock fisted in his hand. He stroked over the length, squeezing harder with every touch His pace picked up as more visions played over his closed eyelids. Images of her head thrown back and her breasts thrust forward had him groaning out loud. He saw himself wrapping his lips around her nipple, heard her whimper—and spilled his seed on the shower floor. He panted for air as the last shudder ran over him.
* * * *
When Miranda got to Matthias’s office, coffee had already been started and his light was on. “Come in, Miranda,” was his reply.
Miranda opened the door and stepped inside. “Is there anything you need, Matthias?”
Matthias looked up. He was debating on whether they should talk about what had happened in the kitchen. He was debating a lot of things. When had his life become so damned complicated? He shook his head and looked back down at the papers in front of him. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”
Miranda nodded. “All right. Well, I have my PDA if you need me for anything. I’m going shopping this afternoon, but I’ll tell you before I leave.” She started backing out of the office.
“Sounds good.”
Miranda frowned but left without argument.
Everything was arranged. After Matthias hung up the phone, he allowed himself a satisfied grin. Hopefully this would help Miranda to forgive him for earlier. He looked at the time. It was just after lunch and he imagined that Miranda would be leaving to go shopping soon. He was planning for her to be gone a couple of hours, plenty of time to do what he needed.
When Miranda knocked on his office door a few minutes later, he schooled his face into a neutral blank. He tried to look busy, tried to sound distracted. “Come in.”
Miranda opened the door and poked her head in. “I’m heading out. I’ll be back befo
re supper.”
Matthias waved his hand in the air. “Okay. Have a good time.” He saw her head withdraw and the door close behind her, looking up when he heard the soft click. He walked to the window and moved one of the blind slats up enough so he could see the driveway. He watched as Miranda got into Vicki’s car and drove off, and then looked at the clock again. They should be here within the half hour.
Satisfied that everything was right on track, he went to the kitchen and fixed himself something to eat. Sitting at the kitchen table, chewing on a sandwich, Matthias thought of what else he should do to mend things with Miranda. It had been a long time since he tried to woo a woman…He stopped chewing at that thought. Was that what he was doing? Was he trying to woo Miranda?
Matthias was just finishing his meal when he heard the doorbell. Striding to the door with a purpose, Matthias greeted the man standing on his porch. The man handed him a clipboard and a pen, asking, “Where would you like it?”
Matthias signed his name and directed the man and his partner to the living room. The two men set up the tree in the room, centering it in front of the window. They stacked the smaller boxes that they had also brought beside the couch. As directed, the two men assembled the lights on the tree and stood back to check for symmetry. “Will there be anything else that you need, sir?”
Matthias smiled and shook his head. “No, gentlemen. I think that will be all for today.” He handed each man a hundred dollar bill as they left. He was feeling rather pleased with himself as he stood in the living room and gazed at the monster pine tree. Miranda was sure to love it. It truly mattered to him that she did love it. Curiosity got the better of Matthias, and he started sorting through the boxes. Carefully, he lifted out a delicate ornament, fingering the curves and edges of the glass angel. It was rather pretty with the lights flickering through it. He hadn’t realized he’d moved toward the tree until he saw the angel hanging from one of the branches. Thinking that the angel looked silly all by itself, he started unpacking more boxes, hanging more ornaments on the tree. Pretty soon, he had one side almost completely done.
Chapter 5
She gasped and then she fangirl squealed. Miranda was standing in the doorway to the living room with her hands covering her mouth.
Matthias gave her a beaming smile. “Surprise!” He laughed.
Miranda tore her eyes from the tree. She looked at the smile on Matthias’ face, the rolled up sleeves and the ornament that was dangling from his fingers. She couldn’t help but grin back. “You got a tree!” She rushed across the room so she could take a closer look. She’d never seen a tree that tall standing in someone’s living room. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised though, if Matthias was going to go to the trouble of getting a tree, he’d make sure it was the biggest one he could find. “It’s wonderful, Matthias!”
Matthias moved to stand beside her, holding out an ornament. “Would you like to help me decorate it?”
Miranda turned to him with delight. “Yes, yes I would!” She took the ornament and hung it on the tree.
Matthias went back to the boxes for more ornaments, with Miranda trailing on his heels. While he hung the ornaments she started humming. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you hum before,” he remarked, looking over at her.
Miranda smiled back. “I hope it’s not bothering you. I usually play Christmas music while I decorate.” She shrugged, unashamed. “It’s part of the fun.”
Matthias paused in what he was doing and strode from the room without saying a word. As he reentered the living room, Bing Crosby started singing about a White Christmas. Miranda’s head shot up from where she had been riffling through the boxes for more ornaments to hang. She gave Matthias a brilliant smile. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He grinned back at her. “No, I don’t mind. If we’re going to do this, we might as well do it right.”
Miranda and Matthias resumed their decorating until they were completely out of ornaments. Standing back, hands on hips, they stood and admired their handiwork. Miranda sagged a little.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
Miranda forced a smile and shook her head. “No, not really. The tree looks great. It’s just missing one thing but that’s okay. It’s no big deal.”
Matthias stuck his hand out in front of Miranda. In his hand was a box, wrapped in silver paper with a bright red bow. “Open it.”
Miranda looked at the box, frowning. “Matthias, you don’t give presents until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.” She took the box from his hand, intending to put it under the tree.
“This is a special gift, and it needs to be opened now.” Matthias’s tone brooked no argument, so Miranda sat down on the couch and started carefully unwrapping the box. When she lifted the lid, she gasped and looked up at him with misty eyes. “How did you know?”
“I’m who I am. Did you not think I had a direct line to Santa Claus?” He winked at her.
Miranda’s fingers brushed over the soft gown and gauzy wings. Her fingertips touched the blushing cheeks. With great care, she lifted the delicate angel from the tissue paper and held it up. She stood up, carrying the angel to the tree as if it was her first born babe. Looking over her shoulder at Matthias, she smiled. “I can’t quite reach. Will you help me?”
“Of course,” Matthias responded as he closed the distance between them. He took the angel from her hands and put it on top of the tree. “There. Now, it’s perfect.”
Miranda nodded. “Better than perfect.” She backed up until she was at the couch, then curled into the corner and stared happily at the tree, listening to the Christmas music that was wafting through the house.
She looked up when Matthias started to chuckle. “What?”
“I can see where you’ll be the rest of the night. What do you say to ordering out tonight and having a picnic in here? All this decorating business has given me quite the appetite.”
“That’s a great idea. I’m pretty hungry myself, now that you mention it.”
Matthias gave a slight bow. He called in their dinner order, paying for it, with a generous tip when it arrived promptly. Miranda helped him set it out on the floor beside the tree, and sat down. They both filled their plates with food and Matthias poured them each a glass of wine. “To Christmas trees,” he toasted, raising his glass.
Miranda giggled and lifted her glass, touching it to his. “To stuffy bosses who decorate Christmas trees.”
Matthias mock-gasped, holding his free hand to his chest. “Stuffy? Me? You jest.” Then he, too, started to laugh.
They ate in silence for a while before Miranda spoke again. “Thank you for the tree, Matthias. It really was a nice surprise.” She looked up at him through her lashes.
Matthias smiled back, lifting his glass toward her. “No problem, my ever-efficient assistant.” He went back to eating his meal.
Miranda lifted her glass and took a healthy swallow. “So, um, what happened last night?” She could feel her cheeks warming.
Matthias swallowed the mouthful he had and shrugged. “We shared a kiss in the kitchen.” He wiped at the corners of his mouth with his napkin before lifting his own wine for a sip.
“I know that part, Matthias. I mean, why did we share a kiss in the kitchen?” She tried to keep her voice level. She didn’t want to fight, and she surely didn’t want him to know how nervous she was to hear his answer.
Matthias shrugged, watching the polite interest her face. “You don’t have any reason to be nervous around me, Miranda. I did it because I wanted to.” He said it like it was obvious.
Miranda narrowed her eyes at him. “I have stakes on order, you know?”
Matthias chuckled. “I’m sure you do.”
Miranda growled. “Matthias. Please.”
He sighed, watching while he swirled his wine around his glass. “You aren’t going to let it go, are you? All right.” He lifted his eyes, their gazes connecting. “I walked into the kitchen and saw you standing there. Your hair wa
s all sleep-tousled and you had that thin little robe on. I couldn’t help myself. I needed to kiss you.”
She thought over that answer, chewing on her lip. “So, if it hadn’t been the middle of the night and me not dressed decently, it would have never happened?”
“I can’t really say one way or the other, Miranda…No, that’s not true.” He leaned forward. “Sooner or later, I would have kissed you anyway.”
Her eyes widened and she swallowed hard. Her heart gave a hard thud before beating faster. “But why? I’m no one important. I’m not glamorous. I’m not beautiful. Why me?”
Matthias smirked. “Do you think I care about glamour or prestige? It’s the core of a person that matters. You are a good woman, Miranda. And don’t sell yourself short, you’re also beautiful. Now, let me ask you something. Are you enjoying yourself this evening?”
Miranda nodded. “Yes, I am. Very much, in fact.”
“And the night that I joined you and your girlfriends at that bar? I enjoyed your company that night as well as this evening. We suit, Miranda.”
“We suit. Matthias, you make this all sound like some business arrangement.” What the hell? She threw caution to the wind, steeling herself in case he thought it a dumb idea. She didn’t really think he would with the way he was talking, though. “I think you should take me on a real date.” With that announcement, she sat back and waited.
He had been sipping from his glass when she made the last statement. Now, he was choking on his wine. He grabbed his napkin, dabbing at his mouth while he tried to quit wheezing. “Okay. When would you like to go?”
“Oh, no. That’s not how it works. I put the idea in your head, now you get to follow through with it. You pick the night, the place, and all the arrangements.” They had finished eating, so she started cleaning up their mess. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, and she just hoped that Matthias was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice.
Her Christmas Tree Page 4
