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

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.