A Very Merry Temptation: 'Twas the Season / Mistletoe in Memphis / Second-Chance Christmas

But it wasn’t Monday morning, and everyone was having a goooood time, she thought, giggling, the free-flowing alcohol and great music agreeing with her as she nodded her head at Tony, cosigning on his statement. Nope. She was definitely not mad at anyone for enjoying the event.

So when she bumped into him, spinning away from her current partner’s arms and smack dab into his, she raised her eyes and her hands seemed to, of their own volition, come up and touch his chest. Her fingers widened, as did her eyes, when she felt the...strength of the hard wall.

Hmm.

The man was fine, she thought. And in the words of her friend, she most definitely wasn’t mad at that fact, she thought, and giggled.

He smiled down at her. Placed a thick finger beneath her chin and raised her eyes to meet his. “Having a good time, baby?” he asked.

Any other time, a man calling her “baby,” particularly one she didn’t know, would immediately turn her off.

But when Max called her that... She kept her eyes on his, unable to look away as she held her breath, feeling a blush warm her face.

“I’ve been watching you all night. Dancing, having a good time.”

“It’s...it’s been wonderful, all of this,” she said, breaking eye contact to glance around.

At that moment, the bandleader grabbed the microphone and announced a small break, and immediately the sounds of a popular, bluesy R & B song filled the ballroom. Couples began to sway together to the music.

She swallowed, unable to look at him.

But he wasn’t allowing her even that. He brought her face back around, locking his gaze with hers as he wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her even tighter, more flush against his body as he began to sway them in unison to the music.

The lights had been dimmed even more and although she knew no one could see her expression, she felt as though her lust for this man was on display for all the world to see.

Her lust made her feel vulnerable. Exposed.

“And seeing you having a good time has made me quite excited,” he murmured low, for her ears only.

Her eyes widened and she inhaled a sharp breath.

His shaft pressed hotly, thickly against her stomach while his hand moved up and down her back. She moaned, her eyes closing as she exhaled the long breath she’d been holding.

Damn.

He did this to her and they were both fully clothed. She was on fire for him....

“More,” he whispered, bending his head down so that their foreheads nearly touched.

Startled, her eyes flew open and glanced up at him, their gazes locking.

A soft frown creased her brows. “Excuse me?”

“I want you more.”

She gulped. It was as though he read her mind. There was no way she could hide from him.

She stared up into his beautiful emerald-green eyes, which blazed down at her. Watching her.... She read his need, one that matched her own.

She felt a rash of goose bumps feather down her legs, something that happened whenever she was sexually aroused.

It had been so long since that had happened, she’d forgotten the telling goose bumps appeared without fail when she was...wet.

She clenched her legs together, her core seeming to throb. Inhaling a deep breath, she broke eye contact with him, forcing herself to look away.

This is insane, she thought, her heartbeat racing out of control.

“It’s okay,” he breathed against her ear, again reading her mind. But it was as though he held some sort of key or magic wand, because as soon as he voiced the assuring words, she felt the tension begin to ease from her. When he hugged her tightly, she allowed her body to meld, once again, into his.

As they danced, their bodies moved as one, in perfect harmony, as though they’d practiced for years. They naturally seemed to catch the other’s rhythm with the ease of seasoned pros.

This connection...whatever they had was unlike anything Nikki had ever felt. Maybe it was the wine making her feel this way, she thought. Maybe it was her desire to let loose and enjoy. To enjoy being a woman and all that meant. Maybe it was the fact that he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Or maybe a combination of all of the above.

As she pressed her cheek against his chest, their bodies moving as one to the slow beat of the love song, she didn’t care what it was. She knew one thing and one thing only. She wanted this man to sex her up six ways to Sunday. And she wanted him in the worst kind of way.

A smile kicked up the corner of her mouth.

She moved her head from his chest, suddenly aware, afraid someone was watching, that someone would see what he was doing to her, even though her desire was not overt.

“I want you so damn bad, Nikki Francine Danes. In the worst way.”

And just like that, her desire and lust for him grew exponentially. His seductive pronouncement, whispered in her ear, made her glad she’d worn panties. If she hadn’t, her cream would be running down her legs right about now, she thought. She bit back a groan and restrained herself from grinding her body against his.

“Come with me, Nikki. I have a room in the hotel,” he said, and Nikki watched his sensual lips as they framed the words.

Without thinking, she lifted a finger to trace his mouth.

So sexy. Just like the rest of him.

He smiled. Her eyes were drawn to the sexy little dimple at the corner of his wickedly sensual mouth.

“Come play with me,” he said, and she moaned at the immediate response of her body.

Why not? Why not...play? The thought rushed into her mind. A naughty thought. One that, had she had a little less champagne humming through her veins, she wouldn’t dare to think. Taking him up on his offer would be unlike anything she’d ever done.

She was going to allow a man she didn’t really know to take her to his room and, God willing, have the best sex of her life. She wanted him to spank her ass...and make her like it.

She nodded her head and without a thought to anyone looking, she allowed him to guide her from the dance floor and away from the party.

Chapter 4

The ride up the hotel elevator was mercifully empty and as Max ushered Nikki inside, his glance stole over her.

She was nervous, he could tell.

He refrained from hauling her sexy body close to his. Barely.

She was shy and lived with her grandmother, he thought, an unknown smile tugging the corners of his mouth as he recalled the many things he knew about Nikki Danes.

But right now, her excitement was the most relevant thing about her. Her excitement for him.

When he’d been unable to take any more of the hot glide of her sweet body against his, the subtle way she was grinding against his shaft, Max had known the time had come. He’d felt her reaction to him. She was as turned on as he was.

Her reaction had only confirmed what he’d felt from the moment he’d met her: she was shy yet there was...fire, untapped for sure, just below the surface.

He felt like a little boy in a candy shop, mentally rubbing his hands together at the thought of what it would feel like to have her beneath him, to be the man to blow across the embers of her sensuality and release the heat.

He wanted to be the man to do the job.

She kept her face down, shyly, away from his. Instinct was guiding him with her, as it did for everything.

Everything that mattered, he thought.

He shoved that thought aside, as for a moment the relevance she had for him was...new. Something he’d never experienced.

He’d examine that later. Right now it was all about having passionate sex with her.

Again he ignored the inner voice warning him it was more than just sex. He was marking his territory, an instinctual need to claim what his subconscious had marked as his three weeks ago.

He reached for her and brought her closer to his body. He knew that he needed to keep her grounded to him, that like the little hummingbird she appeared to be at the moment, it wouldn’t take much for her to take to the air and fly away.

She was shy, he got that. She didn’t seem to have much experience and there was no telling what was going on in her mind.

She seemed to have a war going on inside her, one he’d give any amount of money to get a true view of. He found that the more he was around her, the more...vested in her he was becoming.

But if he had his way about it, by the end of the night—the weekend, as he’d booked the room for Friday night through Monday morning—his little hummingbird’s wings would be firmly and decidedly clipped.

Without thought he reached over and brought her close, giving her no time to react. He wrapped his arms around her slight body, bringing their bodies into tight alignment, and slanted his mouth over hers.

Max couldn’t deny himself the feeling of her lips, the softness of her touch, for another moment.

* * *

When she felt the smoothness of his firm lips against her mouth, Nikki melted against him.

Not sure what to expect after the suddenness of the kiss, she braced herself for the sensual assault he’d given her on the dance floor.

Her hands fisted the fine cloth of his shirt and she held her breath. He softly kissed her, feathery strokes teasing her mouth, his tongue snaking out to lick her lips.

As he kissed her, he kept a hand on the back of her head, keeping her steady, but without pressure. She moaned into his mouth, the gentleness of the kiss her undoing.

Soothing her. Guiding her. Like an animal in the wild stalking its prey...before it pounced.

The ghost of a warning rang in the back of her mind, but she forced it away.

When the elevator came to a halt, he pulled away, his hands still holding her. An enigmatic smile graced his sensual lips.

Again he held out a hand and wordlessly she placed hers in it, giving him silent permission to guide her into whatever the night had in store.

She followed him out of the elevator, her nerves taut. It wasn’t until he stopped and turned to face her that she glanced around, surprised to find that they were inside the room.

“Is this what I think it is?” she asked, and felt foolish the minute she did, laughing lightly.

If she’d been in the right frame of mind, she would have recognized that they were going to the top floor when he placed the key in the slot on the elevator panel that gave access to the top floor. The penthouse.

She glanced around, surprised, but trying her hardest to be the picture of cool sophistication as she took it all in.

“Wow,” she blurted, and felt inadequate and gauche the minute the words left her mouth. The very antithesis of cool sophistication, she thought, and rolled her eyes at herself. But it was such a spectacular room, so vast, so elegant and beautiful that wow was the only word she could come up with.

She jumped when she felt his big hands land on her shoulders and felt slightly embarrassed by her nervous reaction. He turned her around to face him.

He smiled lightly, but in his eyes the fire from what they’d started, what was burning, lingered. Yet he tilted his head to the side, considering her.

She felt the nervousness that began in her gut bubble and churn, and she swallowed down the sudden anxiety.

What the hell was she doing with this man? She knew next to nothing about him and had simply decided that he would be the one to “clean out her cobwebs”? Her doubts about her mission began to war with the light buzz from the alcohol.

“I don’t want you to do anything you aren’t ready for, but I want you,” he said, his deep voice sending shivers over her body. He brought her close so she could feel the evidence of his arousal. “But only if you want this.” He brought his mouth down to touch hers lightly, his firm lips covering her mouth as he lightly bit down. Not hard enough to hurt, not at all. But enough that she felt the sting.

Her pussy began to throb.

“I know you enjoyed the party,” he said when he released her, a small smile toying with the corners of his sensual mouth. “It’s what I wanted, why I planned it. But again...I don’t want you to do this if it’s not what you want.”

He brought his hand up and caressed the line of her jaw, the small smile still lurking in his deep green eyes.

It was as though he read her mind. Again.

Nikki knew she couldn’t and wouldn’t blame it on the alcohol.

She reached up and traced a finger down the line of his aquiline nose until her finger reached his lip, brushing over the hard yet sensual line of his mouth.

He took the tip into his mouth, sucked on the digit, eliciting a moan from her.

“I want you to want me as badly as I burn for you. As badly as I’ve wanted you from the first time I saw you in the elevator,” he said, and tugged her toward him.

The tug was slightly...rough. Matching the tone in his voice. She knew he was holding on by a thread. Yet he wanted to make sure she was comfortable with her decision.

For whatever reason that calmed her, even as her passion for him grew.

“But...only if you want it,” he said, and with that he took her hand in one of his while the other unzipped his slacks. Deftly, he brought his shaft out and he boldly used her hand to cover his hard, thick, long dick.

“Oh, God...yes,” she moaned, closing her hand around him. He lifted her into his arms and carried her across the room toward the king-size bed. She reached a hand up and said softly, “It’s been a while. Please be...careful with me.”

She saw a flare of something flash in his beautiful green eyes before he nodded his head. He whispered softly against her mouth before covering it with his own, “As though my life depended on it.”

Chapter 5

“Be careful with me,” she’d whispered, her voice hesitant.

Those four words had nearly been his undoing. In them he heard more than the obvious. He heard her telling him something more, something his heart recognized as meaningful, deep and pure.

After placing her on the bed, he’d made quick work of his own clothes, shucking his slacks from his body, nearly ripping his shirt from his chest in his haste to feel her skin on his.

He watched her in the soft amber glow as she in turn kept her gaze on him.

Watching him undress.

His dick thumped against his shorts. He withdrew his wallet from his slacks and quickly, deftly, removed three of the tiny square foil wrappers. It would be enough to start.

“Do you like what you see?” he asked, his voice rough as he turned to face her. He saw her eyes widen at the three condoms. He kept their gazes locked as he drew his shorts down his legs.

She inhaled a swift breath, her eyes widening even more as she took all of him in.

His laugh was low and purely masculine.

“Yes,” she breathed, her tongue coming out to snake across her full, beautiful lips. And just like that, she had his cock swelling in response. From just one glance at his cock.

If he wasn’t careful, this would be over before he started.

His inclination had been to strip her clothes from her body and see just how beautiful she was, naked and exposed beneath him.

He’d forced himself to chill and try his damnedest to take it slow and not scare her. So he started at her feet, removing the sexy high heels after carefully untying the pretty ribbon tied in a loopy bow.

He brought her leg close to his after slipping the shoes from her feet, one by one, and ran his face along the silky skin, his eyes closing shut.

When he placed her dainty foot in his palm, he brought it instinctively to his mouth, his eyes seeking hers.

He ran his tongue over the top, up the length until he reached her ankle, his tongue stroking and licking the smooth skin.

When she moaned softly, he bit back a groan.

She was so responsive to his touch. His dick hardened painfully.

“God, your skin is so soft, so smooth,” he said, and allowed his hands to run up the length of her thighs. She moaned as he found her panties and pulled them down, past her knees, her legs, until finally he tossed them to the floor.

“We won’t be needing those.” His voice was heavy with need.

He brought his mouth to her thighs, working upward, his tongue leaving a hot, wet trail as he moved up her body. When he stopped at the junction of her thighs, he felt her body tremble.

Slowly, he lifted her dress, easing it up and away, releasing the front ties of the wraparound dress to reveal her beautiful naked body as she lay before him like an erotic offering.

He nearly came on the spot. He grabbed his cock unconsciously as he beheld her beauty.

He’d had an idea what she would look like naked, but no way in hell could he have imagined she’d look like this.

His hands came out to grasp her tiny waist loosely as he stared, transfixed with her magnificence. Her hips were full and jutted out enough to make a man salivate. He stared at her high, firm breasts and imagined the feel of them in his hands.

Slowly he traced up the length of her body to take the small, perfectly sculpted globes into his hands. Like her ass, her breasts had just the right amount of...overflow. He bounced them lightly, stroking a finger across the nipples, and groaned when the dark wine nubs hardened beneath his probing fingers.

Perfection.

She laughed softly, bringing him out of his dazed fascination. Her full mouth curved upward. Her feminine laughter mirrored his earlier one. It was the kind of soft laugh that let a man know his woman knew exactly what she was working with...and what she was doing to him.

Max’s dick was hard as granite, yet he forced himself to go slowly. He ran an appreciative glance down her body.

She allowed her legs to drop to the side so that her pretty kitty was exposed. He brought a hand up to stroke across it.

Although her hair was cut low, she had a tiny tuft right above her lips. He ran a finger over the curls and a growl of need broke from his throat.

“So damn fine...even your pretty pussy is fine,” he said roughly.

He brought his eyes to meet hers. There was an air of expectancy in the room. One they both knew would be fulfilled....

He went down on her.

Placing his hands beneath the bend of her legs, he lifted her thighs, nudged them apart and lowered his head.

His tongue stroked one long caress across her pussy, end to end, from the back of her entry to the tip of her clit. He laved and sucked.

Her moans filled the room as she tossed on the bed.

He chuckled low, lightly against her pussy. He knew she loved his oral loving. Truth was, he loved giving it to her just as much.

Her scent, her taste were unique and different. Intoxicating.

He paused and heard her whimper. “Shh...I’ll take care of you, baby. I just need time with this pretty kitty of yours,” he said, his fingers coming out to separate her lips. “Is that okay?” he asked as she moaned, unable to answer him.

He separated her lips with his fingers and groaned at the sight of her glistening inner lips. It made his balls tingle when he noted that the inner skin of her lips was a slightly lighter shade of brown than her outer lips, the contrast sexy as hell to him. He dipped his fingers inside and gently skewered them in her body, withdrawing her moisture. He brought it to his lips and sucked her juices clean.

His nostrils flared as her heady, unique smell of arousal engulfed him, making his balls tighten and his cock thump, hard, painfully, against his thigh.

“Max...” she groaned, her feminine pleas for him to continue making his own breath catch.

“Okay, baby...I’ll give you what you need,” he said. “Do you trust me?” he asked. And as badly as he just wanted to do her, suck her and fuck her, her trust was...important. More important than his raging hard-on. More important than the fact that he didn’t know if he’d ever felt like this about a woman he’d been around for such a short time. Much less not had communication with outside of one time.

He waited for her reply, as hard as it was to do that and not touch her. She nodded her head, her tongue coming out to lick her lower lip. “Please...make love to me.”

That was all Max needed to hear.

He brought his face down again, to her entry.

He gloried in her pussy, suckling the clit deep into his mouth as his tongue came out and flicked rapid strokes over her lips. He couldn’t get enough.

Her moans and cries filled the room as he continued laving her, his tongue doing to her what his cock would soon be doing, stroking, fucking...loving.

He knew she was close to the edge. Max’s index finger came out to feather over her tuft as he continued stroking her, using his mouth, lips, tongue and fingers to bring her to screaming release.

He didn’t stop suckling her until her cries stopped and her trembling body collapsed.

He moved his head, taking in her glistening pussy, the sexy way her legs were wide open, her dress not completely shed from her body as she lay on top of it.

Sexy as hell. He grabbed his shaft, running a finger over the top, feeling his own precome as he stared down at the woman who, for whatever reason, had become more important to him than any other woman had in all of his thirty-two years.

The thought should have scared the shit out of Max.

But it didn’t. He reached over for the first condom of the night....

“I’m not through with you yet...”

Her drowsy eyes flew open.

Chapter 6

In blissful contentment Nikki lay in the center of the king-size bed, her body melting into the soft mattress.

Satisfaction buzzed in every fiber of her being after being on the receiving end of Max’s oral loving. Even as her body finally began to calm, her quivering thighs beginning to relax and her thudding heartbeat slowing to an even rhythm, every molecule was still alive with feeling, every nerve ending sensitive to the lightest touch.

She inhaled a deep breath. The breeze, coming from the lazy sway of the ceiling fan overhead, was like little erotic pricks to her overly sensitive skin.

It wasn’t only the fan that was causing her hypersensitive nerve endings to jump. Most of that had to do with the slow, wickedly sensual flicks of a talented tongue and soft kisses from a pair of firm lips delivered to her clit as she came down from her high, from the hottest man she’d ever had between her thighs, she thought. She felt a small giggle bubbling forth out of sheer happiness.

She felt sooo good.

She inhaled a deep breath, but kept her eyes closed. No way could it get any better, she thought....

“I’m not through with you yet.”

Her eyes flew open and she stared down at the dark head between her thighs.

“Max, wait, I—” The rest of her plea broke off when she gasped, her back arching high when he spread her legs wide and blew on her pussy.

Immediately her body reacted. As though she hadn’t just had the best orgasm of her life—she’d never had the type of sexual satisfaction that she’d just experienced. But she wasn’t tired or listless...that same satisfied body got energized in less than two-point-two seconds.

The minute she felt his warm breath on her kitty, she felt her clit engorge, as though in welcome of what was to come. What more sensual delights it was going to enjoy.

Her nipples hardened and those goose bumps returned with a vengeance when she heard his deep, masculine laugh. She opened her eyes and sought his gaze and her heart seemed to clench just the smallest bit when she caught the sexy little dimple that appeared in the corner of his cheek. And then she felt his cock, hard, thick...long, brush against her thighs as he raised his body.

With feline grace he leaned over and grasped the condom from the bedside table. Her heart began to thud, her nipples tight as she watched him tear it open with his teeth and discard the wrapper.