by Alyssa Dean
She was taking the vegetable tray out of the fridge when the sounds of Christmas music filled the condo. Josh came into the kitchen. “How’s that?”
“Good. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Say, where did I get that collection of Christmas music? I didn’t think I had any.”
“You didn’t,” Amanda said. “I brought it with me.”
“What about the tree? Did you bring that with you, too?”
“No. That I had delivered.”
His forehead wrinkled. “I didn’t know you could have a tree delivered—complete with ornaments and strings of lights.”
“You can have almost anything delivered, as long as you’re willing to pay for it,” Amanda informed him. “This is not going to be a cheap party, Josh. There’s the food, the cleaners, the caterers... Oh, and I also had to buy Christmas ornaments because you didn’t have any.”
Josh shrugged. “I never needed them before.” He put his head to one side. “You think of everything, don’t you?”
“That’s why us elves are paid the big bucks,” Amanda quipped. “We’re supposed to think of everything.”
“Ah,” said Josh. “Well, you’re very good at it.”
There was a gleam in his eye that hadn’t been there before. Amanda’s heart rate increased. She bent her head and busied herself with the vegetables. “I like doing it. And it’s fun working in your kitchen—when the appliances cooperate, that is.”
“Is it?” Josh shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t cook here much. As a matter of fact, no one cooks here much.”
“I gathered that from the dust in the oven.” Amanda glanced over her shoulder at him. “You must have had other women in here to cook you a meal?”
“Nope.” He examined the bottles of wine sitting on the counter. “Should I open these?”
“Yes. You mean...never?”
“No,” said Josh. “Never. At least, not that I can remember.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged as if it wasn’t important. “I don’t know.” He finished opening the wine, and rounded the corner to stand behind her.
“You must have people over sometime,” Amanda persisted.
“Just some guys.” He was so close she could feel his breath against her neck. “You know, a bunch of propeller-heads talking techy-byte stuff, drinking beer and eating pretzels.”
The doorbell rang as Amanda was setting out the vegetable tray. She straightened her dress, whisked off her apron, and found her shoes. “How do I look?”
She expected him to say “elflike” or something of that nature. Instead he said, “I think you’re missing something.” Then he stepped forward, put his arms around her and before Amanda realized what was happening, he was kissing her—a hard, hot kiss that started with his mouth stroking over hers, then his tongue licking along her top lip, moving around to her bottom lip, then sliding inside her mouth. His body was hard against hers, her breasts crushed against his chest and Amanda couldn’t think of anything except how good it felt, and how much she wished it would go on forever.
But it didn’t. The doorbell rang again. “I suppose one of us better get that,” Josh mumbled against her lips.
He released her, and stepped back. Amanda blinked up at him, her mind still numb from his kiss. “Just a minute,” she said as he started to move toward the door. “You’ve got lipstick...”
“That’s okay.” He grinned. “Now we both look as if we live together.”
IT WAS ONE O’CLOCK in the morning when Amanda and Josh bade goodbye to the last of their guests and collapsed onto the couch, with the enthusiastic comments from Josh’s family still ringing in their ears.
“It was fabulous, Amanda. However, I would add a dash of cinnamon to the veggie dip. It gives it such flavor.”
“A Siamese would be perfect here, Amanda. And it could even let itself out!”
“Wonderful gadgets, Josh. I had no idea they used these sorts of things on trains.” And, obscurely, from Aunt Judith, “What an amazing bathroom, dear. The sink is so...white!”
Edwina and Harold were the last to leave. Edwina had given Amanda an extra-long hug just before she went out. “Thank you so much, Amanda,” she’d said, and Amanda knew she wasn’t just thanking her for the evening.
Josh rubbed an eye and yawned. “That’s the problem with having your own party,” he groaned. “You can’t leave when you feel like it.”
Which was probably a good thing, thought Amanda. If they’d been somewhere else, she probably would have dragged him out the door after that mind numbing kiss in the kitchen. She’d spent half the evening, trying not to think about it, and the other half thinking about it anyway. And every time she’d looked at him, she’d thought about it again.
She looked up at him. His head was back against the pillows, his eyes were half closed and a small smile of satisfaction played across his lips. “You don’t look like someone who wanted to leave,” she accused. “You look like someone who had a good time.”
His lips curved upward. “Yeah, I guess I did. Except when Uncle Frank started reciting actuarial tables to me.” He dropped a casual arm around her shoulders. “He had on that same ugly blue tie, too. It’s a good thing we got him a new one.”
“Uh-huh.” Amanda rested her head against his shoulder. “What about your mother? Did you have any brilliant ideas for her yet?”
“No.” He sighed, then brightened. “But I did come up with something for Aunt Francine.”
Amanda glanced up at him. “You did?”
“Yup.” Josh sounded smug. “She wants a variable speed, battery-operated reversible drill.”
Amanda tried to imagine the proper-looking Francine with a variable-speed drill and failed completely. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely positive. She kept playing with mine.” He chuckled. “Although I’m not too sure she knew what it was. It didn’t look as if Wendell and Charmaine hit it off, after all. They hardly said a word to each other all evening.”
“I think they were connecting,” Amanda told him. “And they did leave together.”
“Good.” He stretched back, his lips widening into a smile. “Did you see Aunt Mimi and Uncle Reg? They spent the entire evening wandering from room to room saying ‘lights on, lights off.’”
“They were impressed,” Amanda said. “Your whole family was impressed, Josh. You should have shown them all this years ago.”
“I never thought about it.” He shifted sideways so he was facing her, and raised a hand to brush a strand of hair off her cheek. “What I should have done is gotten a Christmas elf years ago.”
His palm moved across her face, and he ran his thumb along her bottom lip. Amanda could hear her own heartbeat, feel herself gasping with pleasure at his touch. Then his mouth was where his thumb used to be, hot and heavy against hers, while his tongue curled around hers and his hands pulled her closer. This was strictly a business function, Amanda reminded herself hazily, but it was impossible to think about business functions when his large palms were gently stroking down her back.
He slid back, taking her with him, so his head rested against the arm of the sofa, still kissing her, his arms wrapped around her. When they finally came up for air, Amanda was sprawled on top of him, her legs entwined with his, her hips pressed against his. The heat emanated from him, and the knowledge that he wanted her as much as she wanted him increased her desire.
She raised her head. His face was ruddy, his eyelids drooping sensuously, and his breathing was as rapid and uneven as her own. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she said, having trouble catching her breath. “This is supposed to be a business relationship, remember? I’m just your Christmas elf and...”
“I know,” Josh said. “But I’ve never made love with an elf before.” His hand moved up and down her back. “Do you really think it’s an experience I should miss?”
Amanda hesitated. If she refused, he wouldn’t make a fuss about it. He’d just say something lik
e “Too bad” and never mention it again.
But he was right underneath her. She could feel his hardness and she could see the passion in his eyes. She didn’t want to refuse. Right now, she just wanted him. “I don’t think it’s an experience you should miss, either,” she whispered.
“Good,” said Josh. He eased her head back down to his. “Because that’s all I could think about all evening.”
Then he was kissing her again, holding her hips against his so she could feel him against her, and even though they were dressed, the sensation was so erotic and so arousing that Amanda moaned and bit against his neck, squirming against him to get closer. He fumbled with the zipper on her dress, finally raising his head so he could see what he was doing. “That’s going to be my next invention,” he growled into her ear. “A voice-activated zipper.” The feel of his breath, the knowledge that he was as aroused as she was, excited Amanda even more.
He finally got it undone, and raised her up into a sitting position so he could work the dress off her shoulders and down to her waist. His hands trembled slightly and when he freed her breasts from her bra his eyes widened and his lips curled into his slow, sexy smile. He cupped a breast in each hand, and rubbed his thumb across her nipples. Amanda gasped with pleasure and his eyes darkened. “You like that?” he asked.
“Yes,” Amanda breathed.
“So do I.”
He fondled her breasts while she undid his shirt. When she pressed her palms against his warm, bare chest, he closed his eyes and groaned and pulled her down so he could take a breast in his mouth. Amanda was so mindless with pleasure that she only half realized he was trying to remove the rest of her clothes until he raised her up a little. “We have to move, Amanda,” he mumbled against her skin. “I’m no good at undressing someone on a sofa.”
He eased her up, but instead of taking her to his bedroom, as she expected, he slid down to the floor, taking her with him. “I want to do this here, beside the Christmas tree,” he explained. “It seems rather...fitting.”
Amanda didn’t care where they did it as long as it happened right now. She helped him get her clothes off, laughing as he complained about her panty hose—“I have no idea how you women get these things on”—then, seeing the expression on his face as he looked at her, she didn’t feel like laughing anymore.
He knelt to remove his pants, then stretched down beside her, pulling her against his naked body, easing his thigh between her legs, then gently parting her and sliding a finger into her. Amanda arched against him. He took her breast in his mouth again, caressing a nipple with his tongue, while his fingers searched and found the sensitive place between her legs. He kept moving his fingers and touching her and licking her breasts as the pressure built inside Amanda, finally driving her over the edge into a shuddering climax.
Then Josh was rolling away from her to pull a condom out of his pants’ pocket. “Just a little planning ahead,” he explained, catching the surprised look on her face. He used his teeth to rip open the foil packet. “I told you. I’ve been thinking about this all evening.”
Then he pulled her down onto him, parting her, easing himself up into her. “Oh, Amanda,” he groaned into her ear, as he wrapped his arms around her. They moved together, at first slowly, then faster and harder and deeper, and Amanda moaned her pleasure into his ear.
Afterward, they cuddled together on his carpet, with the Christmas tree lights pulsing down on them. “I liked that,” Josh announced in a satisfied-sounding voice.
“Me, too,” Amanda murmured. She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes.
“Good.” He caressed a hand up and down her arm. “Let’s go up to the bedroom and do it again there. And then we could try the kitchen...”
Amanda raised her head to look at his face. “Are you planning some sort of marathon here?”
“Why not?” Josh asked. He took her into his arms and smiled up at her. “After all, we’ve got all night.”
We’ve got longer than that, Amanda thought. We’ve got until Christmas Eve.
10
“YES. I KNOW,” Josh said to Mable as he walked into his office three days later. “I’m a little late, aren’t I?”
“You’re not just a little late,” Mable scolded. “It’s almost eleven.” She frowned at him, although her eyes sparkled. “First you start leaving at five. Now you don’t come in until eleven. What’s next? Are you going to stop coming in at all?”
“I’m considering it,” he said, chuckling at her expression. “It’s Christmas, Mable. People have things to do at Christmas.”
“Like what?”
Like spending most of the morning making love with Amanda. Josh almost blurted that out before he remembered it wasn’t the sort of information Mable needed to know. “Just...things,” he said. “And I’m going to be leaving early, too, so if I’ve got any appointments after three, you’ll have to reschedule them. I’m going shopping.”
“Shopping?” Mable looked more astonished than ever. “You’re going shopping?”
“Uh-huh. I told Amanda I’d give her a hand.” He grinned again as he recalled the way Amanda’s eyes had sparkled when he’d offered to accompany her.
“Amanda, hmm?” Mable cleared her throat. “You two sure seem to be spending a lot of time together these days.”
Josh nodded. He had been spending a lot of time with Amanda. She’d spent every night since their Christmas party at his place. When they weren’t attending a family or a business function, they spent the evening together, watching television, reviewing their Christmas shopping list, talking and making love.
Josh was enjoying every second of it. It wasn’t at all like any of his other brief relationships. He didn’t feel obligated to spend time with Amanda. He wanted to do it. She never got annoyed with him because he forgot an appointment they’d made, because he never forgot an appointment. Most of the time he was early, because he was eager to see her. He liked going to his place and finding her there, and he liked not having to eat alone.
“With all this going on, it’s a wonder we get any work done around here,” said Mable.
Josh was already lining up his work for the day. “Don’t worry,” he said absentmindedly. “Soon it will be Christmas.”
Mable paused at the doorway. “And then what?”
Josh shrugged. After Christmas he wouldn’t be going to all these parties. He wouldn’t be looking for presents, or trying to find out personal things about people. “Then things will get back to normal.”
“And...uh...what about Amanda?” Mable pursued.
“What about her?” Josh hadn’t thought that far ahead. Right now, he was enjoying having Amanda around. But somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that Amanda would drift out of his life, the same way other women had drifted away. The idea bothered him, so he pushed it to one side. Right now everything was perfect. They’d nearly completed his Christmas shopping list. His family was happy with him. And best of all, he had his evenings with Amanda.
Getting a Christmas elf was definitely the smartest thing he’d ever done.
“I’M STARTING TO FEEL as if we’ve got this under control,” Brandy advised. “I’ve got the exhibitors arranged for the Internet trade show we’re doing next month. We sent out the invitations for VisTech’s open house. And we’ve got the corporate gifts for Dawson’s Building Supplies.” She looked down at the boxes. “Although I still don’t understand why a building supply company wants to give their corporate pals books on horse breeding.”
“Neither do I,” Amanda murmured. Her mind wasn’t on horse breeding...or even work. It was busy thinking about Josh...the way he’d looked this morning after his shower. She smiled.
Brandy leaned back against the sofa and studied her. “We’ve been so busy these past few days that it feels like I’ve hardly seen you.”
“I have been busy,” Amanda said. She’d been busy organizing Josh’s office party, finishing the last of the shopping, wrapping presents...
and when she wasn’t doing that, she was with Josh.
“You certainly have been working long hours,” Brandy said, with an innocent expression on her face. “Although I’ve been here before you just about every day.” She paused. “Which is rather startling, since you live here.”
Amanda flushed and averted her face. “That’s another problem with using your apartment as your office. There’s just no privacy.”
“I’m you’re best friend. We aren’t supposed to have privacy from each other.” Brandy’s eyes sparkled. “I gather you and Josh don’t have a ‘business relationship’ anymore.”
“Not exactly,” Amanda admitted.
“How about that!” Brandy said, flushing. “You and me in the same weekend.”
Amanda saw the color on Brandy’s cheek and the sparkle in her eyes and wondered if she looked the same way. “You mean, you and Harvy...”
“Finally,” Brandy said, with a satisfied sigh. “Oh, we talked about it first. Endlessly, as a matter of fact. He had all these deep thoughts about not offending me, and what we meant to each other... It was really sweet. And then it was...wonderful. Of course I knew it would be. Harvy is so...sexy.”
“Harvy?” Amanda pictured the short, rotund Harvy Denton. “Harvy is sexy?”
“Well, he is when you get to know him.” Brandy’s flush deepened. “He’s really getting serious, Amanda. He’s even invited me to meet his mother.”
“Really?” Amanda smiled. She’d already met Josh’s mother.
“Yes.” Brandy got a dreamy look on her face. “You know, I think this might be the real thing.”
Amanda had been too busy and too happy to dwell on the faint, niggling worry at the back of her mind. However, Brandy’s words brought them to the front of it. “I wish I was so sure,” she murmured.
“What do you mean? This has to be something, Amanda. You and Josh are together all the time—and you have been for most of the month.”
“I know,” Amanda said. She was positive Josh felt something for her. He certainly had to be attracted to her, considering how much time they spent making love. And she was sure she saw genuine affection in his eyes. “It’s probably silly,” she said. “But I think it’s because Josh keeps referring to me as his Christmas elf.”
