AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And that’s okay with you?”
“What do you mean?” For a second Caroline forgot she and Simon were supposed to be getting married. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to change who he is. That’s the man I—” She took a bracing breath and finished, “fell in love with.”
“So, you don’t think he needs to slow down?”
Slow down? After meeting the Holcrofts, his mother’s question stru
ck Caroline as completely bizarre. “No offense, but I don’t think any of you understands what it means to slow down.”
Silence filled the car for a long moment before Elizabeth burst out laughing.
“Well, you’ve certainly got us all figured out don’t you?” As Caroline sputtered an apology, Simon’s mother reached over to pat her hand. “You’re bright, levelheaded and attractive. Here I’ve been fixing him up for years and he went and found the perfect girl all by himself.”
“Perfect for Simon?” His mother’s words shocked Caroline to the core. What made her the right woman for Simon? “Do you really think so?”
“Yes. You are exactly what my son needs in his life.”
For the next hour, Elizabeth’s words haunted Caroline as she wrapped the gifts she’d bought and set them beneath the gold-and-crystal-festooned Christmas tree in the front parlor. She sat on the floor beside the tree. Her gifts blended in with the other presents, looking as if they belonged. But she doubted the items concealed beneath the Christmas wrap were of the same quality.
Just like her. Simon had made sure her outward appearance helped her blend in, but she was nothing more than a cheap version of the real fiancée he would someday bring home.
“Are you looking for your gifts?” Simon settled beside her on the floor, his thigh bumping her hip and sending a spark of awareness along her nerves.
“My gifts? Why would I have anything? Your family didn’t know I existed until two days ago.”
“I knew you existed.”
Her pulse skipped and twirled as his gaze caught hers. Although one side of his mouth tipped upward in a mischievous grin, the light in his blue eyes looked pensive.
“Simon, you didn’t—”
“I know, I know. I didn’t need to buy you anything because I’ve already give you too much. You seem to forget that my family will expect me to give you some romantic token.”
“Of course,” she murmured, shifting her attention away from Simon’s handsome face and toward the multitude of gifts beneath the Christmas tree. “We could just tell everyone we don’t exchange presents.”
He’d probably bought her another outrageously expensive piece of jewelry she’d just give back to him at the end of the two weeks. It was foolish of her to wish that he’d buy something inexpensive and personal that she could keep as a souvenir of their time together.
“And have Dane rub it in my face that he got Francine a better gift?”
Caroline elbowed him in the ribs. “Honestly, it’s Christmas. Can’t you think about something other than competing with your brother?”
“Well, now that you mention it, there’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot.” He cupped her face in his palm and turned her head toward him.
She let her lashes fall to block the longing in her gaze. The craving for his kiss seemed to grow stronger with each minute she spent in his company. Last night, she’d spent hours staring at the ceiling, waiting for the bedroom door to open. With desire gnawing at her body and logic prowling through her mind, she’d been torn by what she’d do when he returned. Yet in the end, she hadn’t needed to worry.
Now, with the first touch of his lips to hers, her doubts melted away. She knew what she wanted and accepted he could only be hers for a short time. She was tired of protecting her emotions, tired of shying away from anything fun or frivolous because it might distract her from her goals. She worked so hard. Why couldn’t she stop to smell the flowers just this once? Why not let Simon show her all the magic she’d been missing?
He teased her with butterfly-soft kisses against the corners of her mouth and gently rubbed his lips over hers. His thumb grazed her cheek. He caught her lower lip lightly between his teeth and let it go just as quickly. If he had stormed her senses, she might have been able to resist the hot ache between her thighs. Instead, this slow, sensual assault on her defenses, the tantalizing blend of demand and entreaty, made her tremble with hunger.
He ran his tongue along her lips, the inside of her mouth and the edge of her teeth. Half mad for more, Caroline sank her fingers into his hair and leaned backward, compelling him to follow her descent to the floor. Her brain shouted in triumphant delight as his weight pressed her into the carpet.
“Caroline.” Her name on his lips sounded like a question. He kissed down her neck, finding sensitive areas she never knew existed.
“Yes,” she sighed.
She had no idea what she was agreeing to. It didn’t matter. He drew her ragged breath into his lungs and took her mouth in a hot, sexy kiss. Her body flared to life beneath the dizzying seduction of his mouth. Christmas and the Fourth of July came together with an explosion of fireworks and joyful peace. She felt both wild and calm.
His heartbeat thundered in time with hers as one long, slow kiss melded into another. She lost all track of time, all sense of up and down. Her entire world consisted of Simon’s hands gliding along her hips, waist and ribs. His mouth covering hers. The swirling dance of his tongue with hers.
