The Night Before Christmas: Naughty Christmas Nights / The Nightshift Before Christmas / 'Twas the Week Before Christmas

Suddenly nervous, she wet her lips and tried to think of something to say. But nothing came to mind.

Nope. Definitely not drunk.

And not even relaxed anymore.

In silence, she coded them into the building, then punched the button for the elevator. She gazed at the stainless doors as if her blurry reflection was no end to fascinating, trying to pretend she didn’t feel the heat of Gage’s stare on her face.

Suddenly, all she could think about was the treat he’d served up at dinner. That delicious, mouthwatering orgasm, brought to her by just the tips of his fingers.

It was enough to make a girl beg.

All the more reason to keep her mouth shut. Just in case.

Which she managed to do for the entire elevator ride.

When the doors slid open, she gave him a sidelong glance. Yep, he still looked determined to see her to her apartment. She didn’t bother to suggest they say goodbye, and he followed her out of the elevator.

She silently led the way down five doors to her apartment.

“Well, here we are,” she said in a cheery tone, pulling her keys from her purse and giving him an it’s okay, go away now look. “Thanks for the ride home.”

“Thanks for the great double date,” he shot back with a grin. Then, probably because he’d got the message from her expression, he leaned one shoulder against her door frame and got comfy.

She rolled her eyes.

“Quit saying that.” She put her key in the lock and turned it, but didn’t push the door open. “It wasn’t a date. And if it was, it was a lousy one, given that half of our double didn’t show and the other half spent his time in a room with two women whose ages, added together, still don’t equal his.”

“Maybe we should try it again, just the two of us,” he suggested quietly. So quietly she had a feeling he was just as conflicted by all this crazy passion between them as she was.

The look he gave her was long and considering. Long enough to send the nerves in Hailey’s stomach tumbling all over each other. She didn’t have to wonder what he was considering. The passion in his eyes said it all.

Her chest hurt with the effort to breathe normally, to not give in to the need to whimper and beg. She stared into those dark, intense eyes, her fingers itching to touch his face. To give him back some of the same delight he’d given her earlier.

She forced herself to be practical. To think straight. In other words, to ignore the pounding desire that was screaming through her system.

“Don’t you think that’d be a mistake? You know, since we’re competing for this contract and all.” She tried to soften her refusal with a smile, wishing like crazy she’d taken her chance with him back when he was still just the guy she’d met at the party.

Or that she was the kind of person who could separate one thing from the other. Because she wanted him, badly. So badly, it made her ache.

“Yeah. Competitors,” he confirmed, his smile falling away. The intensity in his gaze didn’t. If anything, it got more powerful. As if he were through searching her mind and was ready to dive into her soul.

“Good night,” he said. His words were a whisper over her skin. A soft caress echoed by his hand sweeping over her hair, cupping the back of her head.

She stared, her eyes huge, as he leaned in. Not touching, except his hand to her hair. His lips descended, his gaze never leaving hers. She sighed as he brushed her mouth with the gentle promise of a kiss.

So sweet.

Who knew he had it in him to be so damned sweet. He made her heart melt. And her resolve, dammit.

He shifted the angle, tilting his head to one side and rubbing his lips over her lower one, then taking it between his teeth to gently, oh so gently, tease.

It was as if he’d connected her to an electric wire. Sparks shot through her body, powering up every cell, sending the smoldering passion into flaming heat in an instant. Hailey gasped. Her nipples hardened and wet desire pooled between her thighs. Desire he knew just what to do with, she recalled.

She finally understood what he’d been looking for with those intense stares. The switch that’d turn off her ability to think and turn her body’s need to desperate.

It worked, too.

Frantic for more, she shifted the kiss. Her mouth opened, enticing, tempting. Trying to tease him into taking more.

Gage groaned but didn’t take the bait. It was as if he was forcing her to make the moves. Daring her to take the role of aggressor.

Okay, then...

Hailey swept her tongue over the seam of his lips, smiling when he opened, letting her in. She sipped, as if he were sweet nectar, until he went wild.

Then he took over.

His tongue plunged, taking hers in a wild, desperate dance.

His fingers tunneled through her hair, holding her captive to his mouth.

Yes.

Excitement pounded through her. On tiptoes, she pressed her body against his, loving that there was no give. Just a brick wall of hard, male flesh.

Releasing her hair, he swept one hand down her back, his fingers curling around the curve of her butt, pulling her closer. Hailey shifted her body so her legs were pressed against his, her core aching, needing more pressure. Needing his touch. His erection, so temptingly hard, pressed against her belly. She wanted to feel it. To see it. Oh, baby, to touch it.

She wrapped one foot behind his calf, then slid it higher, angling herself tighter against his thigh. When her foot skimmed the back of his thigh, he stiffened.

He pulled his mouth away.

Hailey frowned. Forcing her passion-heavy lids open, she gave him a confused look.

“We can’t do this.”

“Sure we can. If we’re lying down, the height difference won’t be a problem,” she assured him breathlessly, releasing her grip on his shoulder to pat one hand on his cheek.

His lips twitched, but Gage still shook his head.

“We can’t. You’re drunk.”

“No,” she told him, giving her head a decisive shake. “I’ve already done a thorough inventory. I’m relaxed, but I’m not drunk.”

“Relaxed?” His eye roll was more a suggestion than an actual move. As if he didn’t want to insult her, but couldn’t hold back the skepticism.

“I’m not drunk,” she repeated. “I can prove it. Come inside. I’ll do that sobriety-test thing.”

“Why can’t you do it here?”

Eyes wide with faux horror, Hailey looked up, then down the hallway.

“Here? Where the neighbors will see and start gossiping? Seriously?”

A silly argument, given that she’d just been wrapped around his body like one of those stripper poles they’d discussed. If the neighbors were the gossiping kind, that would have fueled them plenty. But Gage fell for it, nodding and then slowly—as if he were reluctant to let her go—stepping away.

Hailey turned quickly toward the door to hide her smile.

Dismiss her desire as alcohol-fueled stupidity?

She didn’t think so.

This was pure determination. She wanted him, and for the first time in her life, she was grabbing what she wanted and reveling. If that reveling took place naked, so much the better. She wasn’t going to worry about how it affected others; she wasn’t going to let her fears stop her. She was going to enjoy every delicious second of Gage Milano tonight.

With that in mind, Hailey stepped across the threshold and tossed her purse in the general direction of the hall table. She didn’t notice if the clatter meant she’d hit it, knocked everything over, or if her bag was flying across the floor.

She didn’t care.

The second Gage crossed the doorway, she slapped the door shut and attacked.

With her body, wrapping it around his as tight and close as she could get with both of them in winter coats.

With her hands, skimming and skating them over his rock-hard form, reveling in the rounded muscles of his biceps under his coat, then across the granite planes of his chest.

With her mouth. Oh, baby, with her mouth. She tasted. She nibbled. She wanted to gobble him up.

For a second, a long enough second to inspire untold neurotic worries in her head, Gage was stone still. Other than the heart beating against her hand, he didn’t move.

Shit.

Had she attacked too soon?

Had she misread his signals?

Had that been a pity orgasm over dinner?

Before she could do more than wonder at the depths to which her paranoid mind came up with things to worry about, Gage came to life.

He shoved at her clothes. Her hands pushing his away just as quickly, Hailey shrugged out of her coat and let it fall to the floor at their feet. She wasn’t sure who pushed, shoved or pulled, but her scarf and gloves quickly fell, as well.

Their mouths slid, hot and wet, over each other. Tongues tangled in a wild dance, neither leading, both tempting.

He tasted so good.

He felt even better.

Finally, she was able to get her hands on that body. To scope out the hard planes of his chest, to feel the rounded strength of his biceps.

Hailey growled low in her throat, delighting in his shape. In the power of those muscles. He was built. He was hard. He was hers for the taking.

So took, she did.

She nipped at his lower lip, then soothed the flesh with her tongue. Her fingers made quick work of the knot of his tie, tossing the fabric aside so she could get to his buttons. Then, oh baby, flesh.

She whimpered a little when her hands found bare skin.

He felt so good.

She was so focused on his body, on discovering every little delicious bit of it, that she barely noticed how busy he was.

Not until cool air hit the naked skin of her thighs.

He’d unzipped her skirt, so it fell to the floor, billowing over her shoes. His hands skimmed already-familiar terrain, caressing her thighs there, just above the lacy tops of her stockings.

She shivered, even as heat gathered lower in her belly. Her thighs trembled a little, making it hard to balance on her high heels. To compensate, she wrapped one leg around the delicious hardness of Gage’s, her heel anchored below his knee. Her core pressed, tight and damp, against his thigh.

“We should...”

“Now,” she interrupted. “Here.”

Her words were barely a breath, her mind a misty fog.

She was pure sensation.

All she could feel was delight.

Sexually charged, edgy, demanding delight.

She wanted more.

She needed more.

Even though she was reluctant to leave the amazing hard warmth of his chest, her quest for more demanded she head south. Her hands slid, fast and furious, down the light trail of hair of his belly, making quick work of his belt.

She wasn’t a fashion diva for nothing, so fast did she unsnap, unzip and dispose of his slacks. His boxers went, too, everything hitting the floor with a satisfying thud.

“Babe...”

“No,” she protested against his lips, even though she had no idea what he was going to say. She didn’t care. This was her fantasy and she was going to lap up every delicious drop.

With that in mind, and grateful for all the fabric on the floor to ease the impact on her knees, she dropped down in front of him.

“Oh my God,” he said, his words a low, guttural groan as he stared down at her.

Loving that look on his face, appreciation mixed with fascination, coated with a whole lot of lust, Hailey held his gaze with hers as she leaned forward to blow, gently, on the impressive length of his erection.

Like a lollipop, she ran her tongue from base to top.

Gage’s eyes slitted, as though he wanted to close them but couldn’t resist watching the show.

The audience adding even more heat to an already-incendiary delight, Hailey shifted higher on her knees so she could wrap her lips around the smooth, velvet head of his penis. Just the tip. She sipped, swirling her tongue in one direction, sucked, then swirled it in another.

Gage’s fingers tunneled into her hair, whether for balance or to make sure she didn’t stop, she didn’t know. She didn’t care.

Her mouth wide, she took him in. Slipped her lips down the length of his dick, then back up again. Each time, she tightened her lips, until she was sucking hard, and he was squirming.

Just when his body tensed so much she thought he was going to explode, she pulled back so she was only sipping at the tip again.

“Enough,” he growled, swooping down to lift her high, spin her around and pin her against the wall.

His hands raced over her body, slipping down her curves, then back up again. With his lower half pressing deliciously tight against her belly, his erection a tempting reminder of the incredible promise to come, he cupped her breasts in his palms.

Even through the heavy satin of her bra, Hailey could feel the heat as his fingers flexed and squeezed. Needing more, too impatient for him to get there himself, she reached around behind to unsnap her bra, letting the cups fall over his hands.

Gage grunted his thanks, flinging the bra away then grasping her soft, full flesh in his fingers again. His look was intent, laser-focused. As if he was getting as much pleasure from watching the slide of his thumb over her nipple as he was feeling it.

Even if he was, Hailey decided, it wasn’t nearly as good as she was feeling. Her head fell back against the wall, her eyes closing so she could focus every single atom of her being on the magic his fingers were working.

He pinched her aching nipple, rolling it around gently, then swiped his thumb over its hardness. Over and over, until she was ready to scream. Heat, tight and wet, pooled between her thighs.

When she squirmed, he shifted. But not, damn him, harder against her aching core. No, he slid down.

His mouth took one nipple in, sucking gently, laving his tongue over and around the aching bud. His hand continued to work the other. Pinching, teasing.

Driving her crazy.

Hailey’s fingers slipped through the silk of his hair, holding his head in place as her other hand skimmed over his chest, giving his nipple the same treatment.

He growled.

As soon as he shifted, she did, too, wrapping her leg around him again, this time closer to his waist.

Taking a hint—bless him for being so perceptive—he released her breast, his hand speeding down her body to cup the hot curls between her thighs.

Welcome back, she thought.

Right at home, his fingers slid along her clitoris in teasing little pinches before plunging into her core.

Hailey exploded.

The power of her orgasm made her whimper at first, then as it built, she cried out, both hands fisted in his hair.

“More,” she demanded, greedy and needy.

“Oh, yeah.” His words were somewhere between a pant and a growl against her breast.

For just a second, Gage let her go, moved away. Before she could ask, she heard the rip of foil, felt him move away just enough to sheathe himself.

She wanted to help, but by the time she pried her eyes open, he was back in position, his hands on her hips.

Using his support, she lifted one leg up to anchor her foot behind his back. Then the other. There was something wildly erotic about trusting him so much, in believing that he’d keep her from landing on her ass.

His mouth took hers in a voracious, biting kiss.

Hailey’s body started the tight spiral toward climax once again with just the touch of his tongue.

He plunged.

She shattered in another miniorgasm.

Her back slammed against the wall at the impact.

Hailey wrapped her legs tighter, no longer worrying that the sharp heel of her stiletto might be cutting into his body.

She needed him to move harder.

Deeper.

And he did.

Plunging.

In and out.

Hard and fast.

Her breath came in gasps.

Her mind swirled in a rainbow of desire, thoughts decimated beneath the power of their passion.

His moves grew jerky. Short. He plunged hard. Paused. Plunged again.

She reached low, gripping the small of his back in her hands, her feet tight against his butt, as she tried to pull him in tighter.

“Baby,” he growled, plunging again.

“Do it,” she demanded.

As if he’d been waiting for permission, Gage exploded. His jerky thrust sent Hailey spiraling yet again, her body splintering into a million tiny pieces of heaven.

She thought she heard him cry out. She wasn’t sure, though, because her mind shut down with the power of her orgasm.

It might have been five minutes, it might have been fifty, before she settled back into her body.

It was still trembling, held against the wall by the hard power of Gage’s. Tiny orgasmic quakes still trembled through her.

His breath still came, fast and furious, against her throat.

“Wow,” she whispered.

“I think you took advantage of me,” he finally said, his words still breathless.

Her head cuddled against his chest now, Hailey smiled.

“Ooh, poor big, tough guy,” she teased, her fingers swirling through the hairs on his chest. Finally, she pulled her head back to gaze up at him. “Should I apologize?”

He looked as though he was contemplating that. Then he shook his head.

“Nah. I’ll take advantage of you now. Then we’ll be even.”

Her giggle was cut off to a squeak when he swept her into his arms. Grinning, Hailey wrapped her hands around his neck and crossed her feet at the ankle, loving the view of her stockings and sexy shoes from up here in his arms.

“Bedroom?”

“Down the hall and to the left.”

In swift, sure strides, he went that way.

She loved a man who knew how to follow directions.

Now to see what other instructions he might like to follow.

* * *

HAILEY WOKE SLOWLY, her body a melting pot of sensations. It was morning, wasn’t it? From the patches of light dancing over her closed eyes, it must be. She wanted to stretch, but at the same time didn’t want to move because everything felt so good.

But what might feel better was a hot, tasty breakfast of French toast and fruit. A quick mental inventory assured her that she had the ingredients to make Gage a delicious morning-after treat. Then they could come back to bed and enjoy another sort of treat. The naked sort.

And then, riding on a wave of passion and delight, they’d be able to amiably settle this whole silly competition thing. They were two intelligent, clever adults. She was sure they could figure out a way to keep that contract from being an issue. Or, more important, from keeping them off each other’s naked bodies.

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