All I Want For Christmas (2 page)

Kate nodded and gritted her teeth before she said something she’d regret.
High-handed, overbearing…billionaire
, she fumed in her mind for lack of anything better to say. She nodded so he’d get on with it and let her go.

“I happen to have a very large suite on the top floor of this hotel. It has several bedrooms for you to choose from, a sunken tub and all the champagne you could possibly desire.” He paused and his eyes seemed to darken. His voice grew softer, huskier. “Though I’d prefer for it to be my room you shared, and I should probably mention that the tub is big enough for two. And it might also be prudent to note that I’d like to sip the champagne from your body instead of a glass. But I’ll leave the choice to you. My offer stands either way. Spend Christmas with me.”

Kate’s heart pounded in her chest and she was finding it hard to catch her breath. She’d never lost the upper hand in a battle of wills, but boy was she finding it difficult to find her voice when those chocolate eyes already looked as if they were undressing her.

“I don’t think—”

He moved closer so her back was once again touching the wall of the alcove and they were hidden from curious eyes. He pressed his fingers to her lips, stopping her words.

“You seem like the type of woman who thinks too much,” he said. “You’re very beautiful. I saw you in the bar as I was passing through, and I knew then that I had to have you. What do you say about living dangerously until this storm blows over? Twenty-four hours of mind blowing sex with a complete stranger. There’s got to be a little adventure under that buttoned-up suit somewhere.”

It was everything Kate could do to keep her mouth from hanging open. “Are you serious?” she asked, her words sputtering out as she tried to decide if she should be flattered, offended or turned on. It was hard to admit to herself that she wasn’t offended at all, but she was very turned on. “Do you always proposition stranded women and ask them for a night of unbelievable sex?”

“I’ll have to admit,” he said, running the tip of his finger around the curve of her jaw and down to the hollow of her throat, so it rested on the pulse that was racing wildly out of control. “You’re the first.”

He leaned forward so his lips skimmed the lobe of her ear and sent shivers down her spine, just before whispering the words that made her so wet with need that she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to stand much longer.

“Sometimes you see someone, Ms. Carson, and you have no choice but to take a leap of faith. To live a little dangerously. I saw the look in your eyes when you first saw me. The attraction is there. All you have to do is act on it. Can you imagine what I’ll feel like inside you? How I’ll ride you relentlessly until the sun comes up tomorrow? How your pussy will clamp around me as you scream out my name in pleasure?”

He bit down on the lobe of her ear and she couldn’t contain the moan that escaped. Her breath caught as his hand brushed against the underside of her breast, and her head fell back in surrender as his fingers found their way beneath her skirt and barely touched the damp lace between her thighs.

“Mmm, I want my mouth right here,” he said as his finger slipped beneath her panties.

He was daring her to be bold. To accept the challenge of sharing his bed. Just for one night. She’d never done anything so wild and reckless as to have a one night stand before, but the adrenaline rush she was feeling was the same as when she’d first started climbing the ladder to partner in her firm. She loved challenges. And before her work load had increased to epic proportions, she’d loved adventure. Derek Worth was offering to give her everything she needed in one passion filled night. All she had to do was find the courage to say yes.

Kate took a deep breath and spread her legs a little further apart so his finger barely dipped inside of her.

“Ohmigod,” she moaned as he pressed closer.

Nothing had ever made her feel so wanton and daring before. He was arousing her in the middle of a busy hotel. Though they were hidden from view, anyone could come up behind them and see exactly what Derek Worth was doing with his very clever fingers. And if she didn’t make up her mind and have him take her upstairs, everyone in the hotel was going to be able to
hear
exactly what they were doing because she was about to have the orgasm of her life.

“Stop,” she panted, pushing at his hand before she embarrassed herself. “Not here.”

Her breath heaved in and out of her lungs like a steam engine. She leaned against the wall and tried to get control over her body once he’d done what she’d asked and stopped torturing her.

“So what’s it going to be, Ms. Worth? Can I interest you in some champagne?”

Kate smoothed down her skirt and took a step closer so they touched from chest to thigh. She nibbled at the underside of his jaw to the small dent in his chin, reveling in the difference in textures from the smooth skin of his neck to the rough stubble on his cheek. His eyes flared with desire as she finally touched her lips to the corner of his seductive mouth, accepting his dare and everything he had to offer. Just for the next twenty-four hours.

“If I’m going to scream out your name in pleasure, don’t you think we should be on a first name basis,” she whispered against his lips.

Chapter Three

Derek looked at the beautiful woman in his arms and didn’t know what particular gods were smiling on him right at that moment, but he was grateful anyway. All it had taken for him to fall was seeing her alone at the bar, the delicate profile of her face lined with disappointment, but not defeat. She was strong and independent, and he wanted her naked so bad he could have whimpered.

And then she’d stood up and he’d gotten his first glimpse of her from head to toe. It had been everything he could do to keep his tongue in his mouth. She was tall, only a few inches shorter than he was in her heels, and she had a pair of legs that went on forever. Images of them wrapped around his waist weren’t doing anything to help the painful erection that was straining behind his zipper.

All he knew was that he had to get her upstairs to his apartment before they both disgraced themselves in the lobby of his hotel. Things as trivial as introducing themselves hadn’t seemed important at the time. All he’d known was that his body had recognized her and reacted. It was the most primal reaction he’d ever had. She belonged to him.

“Derek Worth,” he said abruptly, putting an arm around her waist and ushering her out of the alcove. They went past the bank of elevators to a wooden door that was marked
private
with a gold nameplate, and he pretended he didn’t notice the subtle glances from his staff as he disappeared behind closed doors with a complete stranger.

“Kate Carson,” she replied, out of breath.

“Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,” he said, leading her down a wide hallway that had tastefully decorated offices on both sides until they reached a private elevator at the far end. “I find I need to have my mouth on you. And I’m going to put myself out there and ask you to please not change your mind or have regrets once we get to my suite. I’ve never wanted anyone else as badly as I want you right now.”

Kate looked at him with big gray eyes and said the two words that almost pushed him past the point of his control. “I promise. I’m yours for the next twenty-four hours.”

If he had anything to say about it, she’d be his for a hell of a lot longer than twenty-four hours. But he nodded—so he didn’t do something stupid like confess his undying love—and they got on the elevator.

“Penthouse,” he said, and the buttons lit up on the control panel as his voice was recognized.

As soon as the doors closed and they started the smooth ascent to the top floor, he had her backed against the mirrored walls of the elevator, his hands molding every lush curve of her body. His mouth descended on hers greedily, with a need he hadn’t known existed. Lips clashed and tongues entwined as they tasted each other for the first time.

Their bodies lined up perfectly and he slipped his hands beneath her skirt and pushed it up so it bunched around her waist. She brought her leg up and hooked it around his hip, so his hardness settled comfortably between the juncture of her thighs.

Derek kissed his way down her neck while his fingers unbuttoned her red silk blouse and found their way inside the lacy cups of her bra. He tweaked her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, and her leg tightened around his waist. Her skin was flushed with desire, and he could tell she was moments away from coming.

“Ohmigod,” she panted, as he pushed his hips against her in a rhythm that left her no choice but to join in the sensual dance. “Not yet, not yet.”

“Yes,” he demanded. “Let go, Kate. I’ve got you.”

He felt the heat and softness between her legs, and he knew all he had to do was let his jeans drop to the ground and he’d be deep inside her. Just the thought had him gritting his teeth and focusing on the gentle curve of her cheek so he wouldn’t come then and there. She writhed against him, fighting the need to find release even as she fought her body to stay in control.

“Stop fighting it, Kate. As soon as we walk through those doors I’m going to lick and suck every inch of your body. I can’t wait to have those rosy nipples and sweet clit under my tongue. And when I’m done making you come until you’re limp in my arms, then I’m going to push my cock so far inside of you that you’re going to feel me for a week. You’ll think of me stretching you, filling you, every time you sit down or bend over. And when you’re in bed at night, you’ll wish I was there with you.”

Derek cupped her bottom and spread her legs a little wider, so her mound enveloped his cock. He pushed against her a little harder, so his zipper bit against his sensitive flesh, and he pulled at her nipples, rolling the tight buds between his fingers.

“God, your pussy is so hot against me. I can feel how wet you are through my jeans.”

Derek bit gently at the lobe of her ear and she came apart in his arms.

“Oh, God. Oh, God,” she screamed out. Her body shook and her pussy flooded against him. Her hands tangled in his hair and her neck arched back in surrender.

Derek watched her face as the shudders slowed and she became pliant in his arms. This was a woman who could fulfill his every fantasy. A woman he would never get tired of. The thought didn’t scare him as much as it should have.

Chapter Four

Kate felt the heat rush to her face as she got her sense back under control. They were still in the elevator for God’s sake. The doors were wide open, and there was no telling how long they’d been standing there. She dropped her head onto his shoulder and tried to find a reasonable thought somewhere in her head, but all she could think of was how embarrassing it was to lose control like that.

She’d gone wild in his arms, as if she’d never felt the touch of a man before. Granted, she’d never had a man make her body feel that incredible before, but still, mortification didn’t even begin to cover it.

“Sorry,” she said, trying to laugh it off. She unhooked her leg from around his waist and tried to busy her hands by putting herself back together. “I guess I got carried away.”

He lifted her chin, so she had no choice but to look him in the eyes. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. I love knowing that my touch can make you lose control. I plan on doing it again and again.”

He kissed her gently, twining his arms around her and dancing her out of the elevator in slow circles. His tongue licked into her mouth erotically, sucking and massaging against her, tasting of the most decadent dessert she’d ever dreamed of.

Time and space blurred, and she only got hazy impressions of the room as she spun in his arms. High ceilings. Cream-colored walls and carpet. Sleek chairs and sofas in the same hue. Lots of glass and light, and an entire wall of windows that looked out into the white storm raging across the city.

Derek pushed her suit jacket from her shoulders. Her blouse was already unbuttoned and untucked from her skirt—she had no memory of when that had happened—and it soon followed her jacket to the floor. He broke away from her mouth long enough to pull his sweater over his head, and then he was back, kissing her as if he were a starving man at a banquet table.

His chest and stomach were hard and muscled, and it was very obvious he spent time doing more than sitting behind a desk all day. She ran her hands over the hard ridges, taking in the wiry texture of the dark hair that was scattered over his chest and the heat emanating from his skin.

He unzipped her skirt, and it pooled to her feet, leaving her in her black lace bra and panties, thigh-high stockings, and her four inch, black “fuck me” heels.

“Holy mother of God,” Derek whispered reverently. “Do you have any idea what you look like?”

Kate knew what she felt like after seeing the approval and sheer pleasure in his eyes at the sight of her. She felt like the most cherished and special woman in the universe. As if Derek might kneel at her feet and worship her beauty.

She knew she wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world. Her skin was smooth and her eyes were nice, but her face was just plain and oval in shape, and her top lip was slightly fuller than the bottom. But the way he was looking at her made her forget every imperfection she’d ever found on her body.

“Come here,” he said, taking her by the hand and leading her to the wall adjacent to the bank of long windows. There was a floor to ceiling mirror attached to the wall, and Derek positioned her so she could see their reflections.

“Oh,” she said on an exhale.

Derek positioned himself behind her and brought his hands around so they rested on her stomach. His skin was darker than hers, and she was fascinated by the contrasts between their bodies. She watched as his hands trailed up so they cupped her full breasts, and he flicked the front clasp of her bra so the lacy cups fell away.

“Mmm, baby,” he purred against the back of her neck. “Beautiful.”