LITMIR.BIZ

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      Her moan sounded distant. Longing strummed over every nerve. She had intended to avoid moments like this, stay coolly removed from anything personal with him. Instead, she was tumbling into fires that consumed her. Need became a throbbing ache, more demanding than before.

      Their passionate kiss lengthened, became urgent. She wound her fingers in the tight curls at the back of his neck. Time vanished and the world around them disappeared. Zach’s kisses were all she wanted.

      How could it seem so right to be in his arms? To kiss him? They were far too different in every way that counted for it to seem like the best place to be when he held her. His kisses had become essential to her, yet their lifestyles clashed. She held him tightly as if his kisses were as necessary to her as the air in the room.

      One hand wound in her hair while he kissed her, his other hand caressing her nape.

      Finally, she leaned away. “Zach, this isn’t what I planned.”

      He raised his head, his blue eyes filled with hunger. He glanced overhead. “I’m surprised the mistletoe hasn’t burst into flames. Now I’m glad you got out the Christmas box. Let me see if there’s more mistletoe in there.” His husky voice conveyed lust as much as the flames in his crystal eyes. He turned to rummage in the box again. “Here are three more bunches. I have just the places. Come help me hang these.”

      “I still don’t think I should. Zach, we’re sinking deeper into something we were going to avoid.”

      “You started this. You can’t back out now. C’mon.” He left the family room and headed for the office, stopping in the doorway to hand her two of the bunches. “This is perfect,” he said, giving her a long look that shivered through her. “You wait while I get a hammer.”

      He disappeared into the hall. Common sense urged restraint. Now she wished she had left Christmas decorations alone. In minutes he was back. She watched him reach up to push a tack into the wood to hold a sprig of mistletoe tied with a red ribbon. He tapped it lightly with the hammer. She passed him, crossing the office to her desk. She wanted space between them.

      She could hear him hanging the mistletoe, but she didn’t want to watch. She straightened her desk and wondered if she could tell him to take the last sprig and go. She would put the box of decorations away when Zach wasn’t around. She had never thought about mistletoe, never expected to even see him tonight.

      She thought about the sharp tone in his voice when he had first spotted the Christmas decorations. Was he all bottled up over old hurts? When it came to interacting with other people, from what she had seen, Zach was warm and friendly. Were old hurts still keeping part of him locked away from sharing life with those closest to him?

      After he hung the mistletoe, he turned to her as he stood beneath it. “Emma, come here a minute.”

      “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, wanting to laugh, yet feeling her insides clinch over his invitation.

      “Emma, come here,” he coaxed in a velvet tone.

      “Zach,” she said, sauntering toward him while thinking about his past, “I’ll come there if you’ll go somewhere with me either this week or next.”

      “Deal,” he said, clearly not giving that much thought.

      With her pulse racing, she stopped inches away from him.

      He took her wrist to draw her to him. “Now we’ll test this one,” he said, framing her face with his hands as he placed his mouth on hers to kiss her again.

      He tasted of mint while his aftershave held that hint of woods. She slipped her arms around his waist and kissed him. His arm banded her, pulling her close against him while he leaned over her and his kiss deepened.

      When they paused, she took deep breaths, trying to get back to normal.

      “We have a deal,” she said. “Come home with me for the weekend and see what it’s like to be with a family who wants to be together.” She wanted him to see what a joy a loving family could be. Billionaire or not, she felt incredibly sorry for Zach, certain he was missing the best part of life and maybe with her family, he would see it. “When you see what you’re missing, you’ll want to start accepting your brothers’ invitations to join them.” Her last words tumbled out and she expected that curt tone and coolness he’d had earlier.

      “You took advantage of me.”

      “Oh, please,” she said in exasperation.

      “Besides, I’m supposed to stay home to stay off my foot,” he said. “I shouldn’t be going anywhere for the weekend. That’s the whole point of being stuck on the ranch.” His voice held the husky rasp. His breathing was still ragged and his lips were red. His expression conveyed a blatant need that he made no effort to hide. Even though he argued, she suspected he was giving little thought to their deal.

      “I’ll drive and you can put your foot up in the car. At my folks’ house, you can keep your foot elevated all the time you’re there. We’ll all wait on you. You’ll have a good time.”

      “Emma, I don’t want to go to my brothers’ homes for holidays. Why would I go to your parents’ when I don’t know anyone except you?” he asked.

      “Because you just agreed to do so.”

      He stared at her and she could feel a clash of wills and imagine the debate raging in his mind. “If I go home with you, won’t your whole family think there’s something serious between you and me?”

      She smiled at him. “No. We all bring friends home a lot. Growing up, I’d say we often had at least one person eating with us who wasn’t a family member.”

      “So how many men have you brought home?”

      “None until now,” she admitted. “It still doesn’t mean anything other than you’re my boss and I would like you to meet my family.”

      “Who takes her boss home to meet the family?” he asked and she was sure she blushed with embarrassment, but she wasn’t giving up. Zach needed to see some real family life.

      “As long as you’re coming this weekend, you might as well come for Thanksgiving.”

      “Oh, hell, Emma, that’s an extra two days.”

      “You said you would and you’ll enjoy yourself and you can sit off in a room alone whenever you want and prop your foot up all you want.”

      “Dammit.” He stared at her again with his jaw clamped shut and she was certain he would refuse. She felt silly for trying to get him to come. Her world-traveler billionaire boss was light-years away from her ordinary family.

      “All right. If I’m going home with you for Thanksgiving, I get more than that one kiss,” he said, pulling her back into his embrace and kissing her hard while he pulled her up against him. “A lot more,” he added.

      Startled, she was frozen with surprise for a few seconds and then her arms wrapped around his neck and she kissed him in return. His hand slipped down her back over her bottom, a long, slow caress, scalding even through the thick denim of her jeans.

      His fingers traveled up again, slipping beneath her shirt, cupping her breast lightly, a faint touch causing streaks of pleasure. He pushed away the lacy bra, his warm fingers on her bare skin.

      She moaned in delight, spreading her fingers wide and slipping her hand beneath his T-shirt to stroke his smooth, muscled back. Pleasure and need escalated swiftly.

      Taking his wrist to hold his hand, she looked up. “Zach, we have to stop this for now. I can’t—”

      “Yes, you can” he said, showering kisses on her temple, her cheek, her throat. Protests faded into oblivion. She kissed and caressed him until he carried her to a bedroom where they made love for the next hour.

      During the night she eased off the bed and slipped away from him, gathering her clothes as she went. She returned to her room,

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