Cinderella's Christmas Affair (8 page)

She didn’t want to be responsible for him feeling that way ever again. “I’m not going to change my mind.”

“Leave that to me.”

“Are you sure you want to try?” she asked. Marcus had left her shattered and she wasn’t sure she wanted to risk herself again. She didn’t want to be back in that emotionally desolate place again.

She’d had to leave her job and start over with another company at the bottom. She didn’t want to do it again. And on the emotional side she cared for Tad in a way that she never had with Marcus. Marriage had sounded like a business transaction when Marcus had mentioned it but it sounded so right when Tad did. Maybe that was why she was fighting so hard to keep him at arm’s length.

“Hell, yes. The best things in life are the ones you have to work for. Haven’t you found that?”

She pushed a row of M&M’s into the roof of her gingerbread house. Her career was the only thing she had in her life. She had nice possessions and a house that was the only place where she let her guard down. It had taken her three years of saving and living in a shared three-flat in a so-so neighborhood before she’d been able to move here. “I can be really stubborn.”

“I’ve seen that side of you. And I think I can get around it.”

“How?” she asked, absently licking the icing off her finger.

“With a kiss. Babe, you were putty in my arms.”

She set down the icing bag and stood up. If he hadn’t kissed her today. If she hadn’t kissed him then it would be so much easier to walk away. But the powerful desire arching between them was the one thing that had been missing in her life. And she needed him. It scared her. The emotional connection or the physical bond, one or the other, would be okay but not both. “Yeah, I was.”

How had he guessed? But then she thought that maybe when you stood a guy up and then confessed to wanting him that he might suspect that you had dating issues. Heck, she had more than issues, she had phobias and she wasn’t sure she wanted to explore them with Tad. He made everything about her life seem sharper. She hated lying so she changed the subject. “Will you be in your office tomorrow?”

“I’m not going to stop asking,” he warned.

Stubbornly, she refused to say anything else. Finally Tad sighed. “Yes, I’ll be in my office. Why?”

“I’m going to send some cookies over.”

“Homemade ones?”

“Yes. I’ve been baking all night.”

“Did you figure anything out while you were riding the range?” he asked.

She laughed. That was definitely a Mr. Randolph comment. Tad’s dad used to tease her about all the time she spent in the kitchen cooking for Tad when they’d been friends. She’d always liked his folks. They had the kind of marriage that made young girls dream some day they might find their true love and live with him.

“The only conclusion I came to was that I didn’t want to hurt you again.”

“You can’t,” he said.

She felt small when he said it. And didn’t really know how to respond to him. “Oh.”

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

“There really isn’t a good way to take that.”

“You’re not the only one who’s been hurt,” he said, softly.

She hadn’t thought of that. She’d been so focused on protecting herself she hadn’t thought that Tad probably was doing the same thing. Perhaps that was why he’d proposed the marriage of convenience with her.

“Are you sure you want to pursue this?” she asked.

“This? What are you talking about?”

“A relationship,” she said, knowing he was being deliberately obtuse.

“I intend to pursue you, Cathy Jane. The rest will work itself out.”

He hung up and she leaned back against the counter feeling the first tinge of hope that maybe this relationship would be different from the rest.

Six

“H
old the elevator,” CJ called as she entered her office building. Plagued by fevered dreams of her and Tad making love in her kitchen with gingerbread houses all around them, CJ woke late and had to rush to make it to work on time.

She’d called her office but Rae-Anne hadn’t taken the phones off voicemail. She was more than a little concerned that things were going to be a mess in her office on this Monday morning.

A large masculine hand blocked the doors and she entered the car, juggling purse, briefcase and scarf. She glanced up to say thanks and met Tad’s bright green eyes.

“Good morning, CJ.”

“It hasn’t been good yet,” she said. Seeing him now seemed an extension of the dreams she’d had last night. The spicy clean smell of his soap surrounded her. He wore an Icelandic sweater that brought out his eyes and made him look like a Norse god. And she wanted nothing more than to move closer and confirm that he felt as good as she remembered. But she was at work and Tad didn’t belong here.

“Let me see what I can do about changing that,” he said as the elevator doors closed. He tugged her into his arms and tilted her head back.

His warm breath brushed against her cold cheeks and she knew this was something that had been missing from her life for a long time. She refused to think about it, having decided on her cab ride to work that she was going to take whatever Tad offered her physically.

Slowly he lowered his head, taking her mouth with his in a deep drugging kiss that soothed the frantic pace of the morning. She responded eagerly in his embrace, holding him closer to her. Sensation spread throughout her body. He backed her up against the wall of the elevator car, his big body surrounding hers.

She felt small and very womanly in his arms. He groaned deep in his throat and thrust deep in her mouth, tasting her with languid parries of his tongue.

He slid one leg between her thighs and she rocked her hips against his jeans clad thigh. One of his hands traveled down her back and squeezed her hip, urging her to keep moving against him.

Her breasts felt full and heavy and she shivered, needing more. She pushed her hands under his sweater and felt the warmth of his back through the layer of his cotton T-shirt. She scraped her nails down his back and he groaned again. He was hot and hard between her legs. And she wished she’d worn a skirt to work today instead of pants.

The elevator binged. Tad cursed under his breath and moved away from her. Dazed, CJ had no idea where they were for a minute. But it came rushing swiftly back to her. “My God, I’m at work.”

Tad picked her purse and briefcase up off the floor and handed them to her. His lips were swollen and his eyes narrowed on her body. The flush of arousal was on his face and she knew he was as flustered as she was.

“You make me forget everything I’ve learned in the last five years,” she said.

“Like what?” he asked. There was an intensity in his gaze that made her shiver.

“That men and work don’t mix.”

“Same tune different verse, Cathy Jane. You’ve been saying that to me every time I get too close and I’m still not buying it.”

“Do you want an account manager who is so easily distracted?” she said.

“You’re right,” he said.

His words cut her but then she didn’t really expect anything less. “I’ll ask Butch to assign someone else.”

“I don’t want anyone but you. You’re very good at what you do,” Tad said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

He gestured for her to exit the elevator and she did, grateful to see that the hall was empty. She hurried to her office but then slowed as she realized it might seem to Tad that she was running from him. And she’d decided to take control of the attraction between them.

She stopped in the kitchen area and selected a decaf cappuccino from the coffee machine. “So, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here for you,” he said in his husky morning voice. She crossed her arms over her chest and scooted away from him. He was too tempting. She wanted to say yes to the vague innuendo in his voice and drag him down the hall to her office, close the door and finish what they’d started in the elevator.

The crotch of her panties was damp, her heart was pounding, her nipples tight and only time or a quickie was going to give her a reprieve. And she didn’t want anything quick with Tad. She wanted long hours spent together on a comfortable mattress.

“Don’t look at me like that or I’m going to kidnap you and say to hell with the contract negotiations.”

“Contract negotiations?”

“That’s why I’m here.”

Dammit. She closed her eyes and tried to will her mind back to business.

“Here’s your coffee,” Tad said, handing her the foam cup.

Tad pushed a button to select his drink and she suddenly realized she didn’t care how cowardly it looked she had to get away from him. She wasn’t in any position to talk to him about terms this morning. She edged toward the exit.

“Where are you going?”

“I need some time to get myself together for this meeting.”

“You aren’t prepared?” he asked.

Great, on top of everything else, now he thought she was incompetent. “I am. It’s just you’ve rattled me.”

“Only fair since you do the same to me.”

“Tad, we have to work together. Let’s put that first, okay?”

“We are but I thought we decided last night to test the waters.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Pierce and I are having our annual rock climbing race at the store this afternoon. Why don’t you stop by for that and then we’ll go grab some dinner?”

She watched him, afraid to be alone with him, but needing to more than she’d expected. “I’ll be there. But this morning let’s just concentrate on work.”

“For now,” he said and started down the hall to the conference room. She watched him walk away and felt the pressure of his presence tightening in her gut. She needed to figure out what she wanted and take control of this thing with Tad before it destroyed her.

The meeting with CJ’s group went well and afterward she’d rushed back to her office without saying a word. Satisfied with the agreement he’d gotten from her in the coffee room earlier, he’d let her escape and returned to his office in the flagship P.T. Xtreme Sports store on Michigan Avenue near Water Tower Place. His office was on the third floor of the building they leased and overlooked the busy retail floor.

They had a rock-climbing wall that was busy with kids and other tourists taking a break from shopping to work out something other than their wallets. He and Pierce were scheduled for their annual rock climbing/light decorating competition.

Despite the fact that Pierce was a paraplegic and had lost the use of his legs during a fall on Mt. Hood, he still climbed. Pierce refused to let his disability change his life. Tad credited Pierce’s outlook and drive as the influence that had made him stop feeling sorry for himself and take charge of his life.

Pierce used his massively strong arms and upper body to pull himself up the rock wall. It was incredibly hard to do—most climbers used their legs for balance and strength but Pierce had refused to give up the lifestyle he loved and had learned to climb without the use of his legs.

It was time for the event to start and Tad had a feeling he would be stood up again. This time he wasn’t going to be gentlemanly about it. He was going to CJ’s house as soon as the event was over and he wouldn’t leave until she told him why she kept running away from him.

The local media were here to cover the event and he and Pierce had both been interviewed earlier. They also had a tree-lighting ceremony that featured the state champion long distance runner from a local high school. The entire affair was innocent but then again so was riding in the elevator most of the time.

“Ready, old man?” Pierce asked from the doorway.

Tad was beginning to think it was past time to throw in the towel where CJ was concerned. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“What are you waiting for?” Pierce asked.

He grabbed his harness and climbing shoes and walked out of his office. “Not what. Who.”

“Am I supposed to understand that?” Pierce kept pace in the wheelchair, pushing it with his muscled arms. The chair rolled past Tad and into the waiting elevator.

“Nah.”

“How’d the meeting go with the new advertising company?” Pierce asked. Pierce was in charge of product development and would be working closely with CJ and her team. He had just returned from a two week vacation in Montana where his family owned a large cattle ranch.

“Good.”

“I’m still not sure we made the right decision.”

“You’ve seen the presentation boards. I know they’ll do a good job.”

“If you say so.”

“I do. You know I’m always right when it comes to these decisions.”

“I know you think you are. Remember last year you said the Bears would go all the way.”

“I remember you saying the same thing about the Falcons.”

“Better not let this get out or we’ll look like we don’t know a thing about sports.”

“I was right about opening this store.”

“So you had one good idea,” Pierce said.

His cell phone rang before he could respond. “Randolph.”

“It’s CJ. I’m on my way to your store but traffic is heavy.”

“I wasn’t sure you were coming.”

“I said I would.”

“You’ve changed your mind before.”

“Not anymore.”

“Promise?” he asked.

“Promise,” she said, disconnecting the phone.

Pierce watched Tad with a shrewd gaze. Tad didn’t want to talk about CJ with his friend. Pierce had said on more than one occasion that Tad had horrible taste in women. He didn’t want Pierce’s opinion on CJ.

“Who was that?”

That was the thing about working with your best friend. Pierce felt free to poke his nose into all of Tad’s business. “No one.”

“The woman you were waiting for, right?” Pierce asked. He maneuvered the wheelchair around as they approached the ground floor.

“Pierce, I don’t meddle in your personal life.”

“Enough said. Ready to get your butt kicked by a handicapped man?”

Pierce had won the past three years. And it wasn’t because Tad let him win. Pierce was a fierce competitor who’d honed his body into a winning machine. He spent a good portion of the year winning wheelchair road races. “You bet.”