Making Merry: A Christmas Romance Page 6

  “Savoring, Holly. I’m savoring the moment… I’ve been waiting for this for a while,” he answered, but he moved then, lowering himself onto the bed until the whole length of his body was pressed to hers. Hard muscles and smooth skin slightly roughened by hair and the unbearable heat of him had Holly melting into him. And then his hands were everywhere, touching her, southing her, stoking the desire that he’d already brought roaring to life inside her.

  And then his mouth followed, coasting over her skin in a trail of burning kisses and feverish nips. She was mindless with it, clinging to him. After the longest time, when she was on the verge of begging because she just couldn’t stand it anymore, he levered himself over her and parted her thighs. Holly welcomed him eagerly, feeling the hardness of him as he pressed into her. And then she couldn’t think, she couldn’t even form words, she could only cry out breathlessly as he drove them both over the edge and the pleasure of it all crashed in on her as she wrapped her arms around him and held on.

  Laying there together afterward, the room quiet around them, Nathan drew the covers over them and held her close. Holly snuggled against his chest as his fingertips traced lazy patterns over her back and her hips.

  “Merry Christmas, Nathan,” she whispered.

  “Merry Christmas, Holly,” he replied and she could hear the smile in his voice. “At some point, we need to think about dinner, you know.”

  “Sex and food,” she laughed. “It doesn’t get any more basic than that does it?”

  He rolled her to her back and pressed a kiss to her breast, directly over her heart. “Not sex. Making love. There’s a big difference…”

  Her heart stuttered in her chest. “I know there is.”

  “Nothing basic about it… food, however…” he teased.

  “Well, you’re out of luck on the turkey dinner with all the trimmings, unless you want the frozen diet variety. But I could probably whip up some pasta?”

  “Pasta,” he said, “Will always be the winner. Hands down.”

  8

  It had been a magical Christmas. And now, back in the real world, of being dropped off for work by her boss, the one who’d spent the night in her bed and who had done wonderfully wicked things to her just that morning, Holly felt her nerves kicking up. But as she walked into Bishop’s there was no angry mob with pitchforks trying to pin a scarlet letter to her chest. Nathan had let her off at the employee entrance in the back before entering the garage. They were early, only the security guards beating them there that morning.

  Once inside, Holly clocked in and made her way to the coffee kiosk where she began her morning routine. She started the regular coffee and the decaf, prepped the espresso and cappuccino machines. And while all of the brewed, she refilled the display case with the baked goods that had been delivered bright and early, signed for by Hank.

  With those tasks done, she began chopping ingredients for sandwiches for the lunch hour, prepping as much as she could so that everything would run smoothly. And then the morning customers began pouring in. Most of them, at that hour, were employees needing a morning pick me up as their shifts started. Each cup was served with a smile and genuine warmth. By and large, Holly liked and respected all of her coworkers. They were part of a team. And thinking about that, and about all that Nathan had disclosed to her regarding the store’s dire financial straits, she prayed that her idea would work, that it would salvage things and allow him to turn it around. She didn’t even care if she was getting the credit for it.

  Soon after, it became so busy that she didn’t have time to think any more about it. The rush of customers bringing in returns and exchanges kept her hopping, filling one order after another. And then, before she knew it, noon had rolled around.

  Finishing the espresso she was making, she placed it on the counter before one customer, thanking him as he stuffed a bill into the tip jar. As she was reaching for the phone to call for one of the other employees who pitched in during her breaks, a dark shadow fell over the counter. Looking up, Holly found Kurt Bedwell from HR staring at her. As always, he made her uncomfortable. She always felt as if his words and intentions never quite matched up. He’d also been Elizabeth’s minion while she was at the helm of Bishop’s and given her current situation with Nathan, there was no good that could come from him snooping around her. In his dark suit and glasses, he wasn’t an unattractive man, but there was a weaselly quality to him that had always set her teeth on edge. For someone who worked in human resources, he wasn’t very good at reading people, or he just didn’t care.

  “Good afternoon, Holly.”

  She didn’t want to call him by his first name, but she didn’t want to say Mr. Bedwell either. There was an ick factor there that she just couldn’t get past. Calling him sir was out of the question. “Hello. What can I get for you?” It was a neutral response, she reasoned. Friendly, appropriate and yet not overly inviting.

  “I just wanted to stop in and see how you’re doing. The ordeal you had of being locked in the store over night... It must have been terrifying.”

  How did he know that? “I wasn’t aware that you knew about that.”

  He smiled, but it was a cold and rather reptilian expression. “Miss Merriweather—Holly, if I may—there’s nothing that happens in this store that I don’t know about. Rest assured that Hank will be dealt with for his breech of protocol.”

  Holly’s head snapped up. “What do you mean dealt with?”

  “Well, he’ll be terminated, of course.”

  “Is that your decision to make? Surely Mr. Bishop would be the one to make that call! Hank has been with this store for ages… Why, he’s on the verge of retiring!” Holly protested.

  “Well, now he will be retiring a little early… minus his pension, of course,” Kurt stated.

  “You can’t do that! It was nothing. Really. I’m fine. There were no issues at all from it. I was probably safer locked in here than I was trying to make my way all the way home in the storm… Please, Mr. Bedwell—you can’t fire him,” Holly implored, almost on the brink of tears.

  Mr. Bedwell smiled. “I see… Well, perhaps I’ve been hasty in deciding Hank’s fate. Is there anything you’d like to tell me about your overnight stay here, Holly? With Mr. Bishop?”

  He knew. Somehow, Holly thought, he knew. Just that morning, she’d talked to Nathan on the drive in to work about keeping things quiet, at least for a while. Had he seen her getting out of Nathan’s car? How did he know?

  “Mr. Bishop was very kind to me. Professional. Courteous and made sure that we were safe and warm through the night,” she stated. All of that was true. He’d been all of those things. He’d been a few other things besides, like an amazing kisser, but that wasn’t something she’d ever discuss with the man in the front of her.

  He pasted an expression of concern on his face but it read so patently false that it was comical. “I understand that you don’t wish to discuss it. If there is anything you need to tell me about that night, Holly, I’m here for you. I am on your side.”

  No. He most emphatically was not. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  He leaned over the counter, close enough for her to have an up close view of just how oily his skin was. “Holly, you were locked in this store overnight with the man who is ultimately in charge of your livelihood. If anything happened that was inappropriate—”

  Stepping back, Holly glared at him. “What are you implying, Mr. Bedwell?”

  He held up his hands in a universal gesture of ‘don’t antagonize the walking hormone because all women are crazy’. “It’s naturally upsetting for you... but people do talk. There are rumors that perhaps your evening in the store was less than professional. It would be very easy for a powerful man to manipulate an employee such as yourself, one who is utterly dependent on her job for survival. Single, alone, recently bereaved.”

  “I’m not a sheep and I’m not gullible. If people have time to spread rumors then clearly they are not being kep
t busy enough at their jobs. Mr. Bishop was a gentleman.” Until she wanted him not to be, she added silently. “Now, for the last time, leave this alone.”

  His smile shifted a bit. “You know, Holly, you’re a lovely woman. If it weren’t so inappropriate, given our stations, I would have asked you out myself.”

  “Well, it is inappropriate. Glaringly inappropriate... Now, coffee?”

  Nonplussed, he nodded. “Black, please.”

  Pouring the hot liquid into the paper cup, she placed the lid on it very carefully and handed it to him as she took his card to swipe it.

  “Think about what I said, Holly. If there is anything you think I should know—”

  “Is there a problem here?”

  Holly looked up to see Nathan standing near the counter. His brown eyes, normally so warm when he looked at her, were cold. “There’s no problem, Mr. Bishop. Mr. Bedwell was just leaving.” To move that along, she handed his card back to him.

  “Funny, it didn’t sound like he was leaving. It sounded rather like he was fishing.”

  Kurt picked up the coffee cup, dropping a too large bill into the tip jar. “No problems, sir. Just taking my afternoon coffee break. I’ll be seeing you around, Holly.”

  As he left, Holly breathed a sigh of relief. She knew Nathan was angry, but that she felt she could handle. Meeting his gaze, she tried to keep her expression neutral, but she had the feeling she was failing miserably.

  “What the hell is going on?” Nathan demanded.

  “It’s nothing that I can’t handle. He is fishing, hoping I’ll confess some deep, dark, scandalous secret about our Christmas Eve lock-in incident.”

  “Is that all?” Nathan demanded. Holly watched his eyes darting around the shop, ensuring they were alone. “It looked a little like he was trying to ask you out. Or did I misread that?”

  “He’s never asked. He’s hinted a few times that he thinks I’m attractive, but he never pursues it because I never give him reason to,” she explained. “I have no interest in Kurt Bedwell.”

  “A few times? When a woman turns you down, Holly, you don’t keep asking.” There was just a hint of accusation in his voice, as if she had somehow invited the other man’s advances.

  She was unprepared for just how angry Nathan was, and she realized in that moment, that not all of it was directed at Kurt Bedwell. Part of it was directed at her. “What should I do? Tell him I’m sleeping with our boss?” she hissed at him. “We agreed that we can’t go public with this. Not for a while!”

  “No, damn it, but you could tell him you’re seeing someone.”

  Her own anger flared then. “Yes, because that won’t raise any questions at all. And are we seeing each other? We slept together once! That’s not really a relationship!”

  “Holly, that isn’t true. Why would you think that?” His whispered retort was just as heated. “You know that this thing between us… this is something special. Not just some convenience for us both!”

  She couldn’t keep the hurt out of her voice when she responded. “Maybe because all the things that normally happen when you’re dating someone, can’t happen with us. Maybe we jumped too fast? I didn’t think about how complicated all this would be until suddenly, I’m standing here in the middle of this store that you own, and I have to lie to everyone I know… people who have been my friends for years.”

  His voice lowered, becoming softer. “Holly, this was your choice. I’d shout it from the rooftops if you’d let me. You know that, don’t you?”

  She did know. Part of her even believed it. He’d fought so hard to regain control of the store, and he was struggling to regain the trust of employees who’d been badly burned by Elizabeth’s greed. Another part of her felt that maybe he was embarrassed by her, that she was just his dirty little secret.

  “I do… but you’ve got an investor to court. And you can’t do that if you’re embroiled in a scandal over dating one of your employees,” she said.

  “I’ll find a way,” he insisted. “Investor or no.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said, pushing back the hurt feelings and the doubt. “I don’t want to go out with him, regardless. I certainly don’t want to talk to him about whatever is happening between us... but you don’t get to play dog in the manger over me. I’m not the kind of woman who’d spend the night with you and then be looking into other options.”

  “I know that. I do. And I didn’t mean to insult you or hurt you… but I didn’t like seeing him talk to you. I sure as hell didn’t like the way he was looking at you.” He sighed, a small smile tugging at his lips. “You’re kind of cute when you’re pissed off.”

  “Don’t even.”

  His smile widened, showing perfect white teeth and causing his eyes to crinkle at the corners the way that she loved. It wasn’t fair. No one should be that good looking. “Fine,” he agreed. “And you’re right. My jealousy is my problem, not yours.” He started to walk away, but then paused to turn back to her, doubt in his eyes. “Will I see you tonight?”

  A part of her wanted to say no, to run far and fast because she knew just how much he could hurt her if she wasn’t careful. But it was that little bit of doubt and hesitation she saw in him that made her give in. She hated herself for it, but she nodded. “Yes. I’ll be there.”

  The look he gave her was hot enough to set the counter on fire. “Till tonight.”

  Holly watched him walk away and for just a moment, she almost wished their Christmas Eve lock in hadn’t happened. She was falling for him hard, and it didn’t take a genius to know that he was going to break her heart.

  * * *

  Kurt Bedwell watched Nathan Bishop leave the coffee shop. Back to his ivory tower, he thought bitterly. Looking back at Holly, he caught the sadness on her face. For a split second, he felt sorry for her, but he pushed those feelings down.

  Sleeping with the boss was one of the oldest stories out there. She wasn’t the first woman to do it, she wouldn’t be the last. Anyone watching the heated exchange between them would have no doubt that they were an item. Turning off the record feature on his phone, he smiled.

  It was just the sort of information that Elizabeth Bishop was looking for. Now all he had to do was find out who the secret investor was. Elizabeth wanted Nathan ruined, and it was always to his benefit to want what Elizabeth wanted.

  “Very useful indeed,” he muttered.

  “Did you say something, Mr. Bedwell?”

  Kurt looked over at the young employee who’d spoken. Bethany or Brittany. He couldn’t remember. Not that it mattered. “This department is a mess.”

  Her jaw dropped. “I’m sorry... I just got here, but I’ll take care of it.”

  “See that you do,” he said, turning on his heel to walk away.

  Moving through the double doors that concealed the entrances to the cash office and his department, he made his way quickly to his office. Once inside, with the door closed, he made the call.

  “I think I have something for you?”

  “The surveillance footage?” Elizabeth Bishop asked, so giddy she was almost breathless.

  The moment he’d learned that Holly and Bishop had been locked in the store together all night long, he’d been on a mission to get it. He’d also texted her to let her know what had occurred. She would be like a dog with a bone until he had that footage in hand. “No, not yet. I’m still warming up the security guard. Gaining his trust. But I did manage to record a video of them arguing together... it was clearly a lover’s spat. It seems your stepson has a jealous streak.” The crowing tone of his voice was obvious.

  Elizabeth sighed. “I want that video from Christmas Eve. I want something so salacious that investors will run from him... He wanted that store so badly, well, we’ll see how much he wants it when it’s sinking like the Titanic.”

  “I’m meeting Jerome, the security guard, for beers tonight. Guys night out. After a few beers, he might give me something we can use.”

  “Kurt, you�
�re so utterly diabolical. I love it. You’ll be rewarded very handsomely,” she promised.

  Kurt swallowed nervously. He’d never had sex with Elizabeth, but she’d held out the promise of it often enough that it was all he could think about. Bedding her would be the ultimate prize. Wealthy, beautiful, avaricious and she’d probably try to kill him afterward, but he had the feeling it would be worth it. “Whatever it takes,” he promised.

  “Get it for me. I want to see Nathan ruined.”

  The call ended abruptly. He stood inside his office, holding the phone and feeling like he always did after any contact with Elizabeth—like he’d been caught in a sudden storm.

  9

  Nathan had just emerged from the shower when he heard the front door open. Recalling how hesitant Holly had been to accept the key he’d given her, he smiled. She’d been hurt earlier, and he understood it. After having a few minutes to cool his own temper, he knew he’d been an ass. It wasn’t easy for him, to keep their relationship a secret. He didn’t want that, but dating an employee made him look like a villain in some Victorian melodrama. There was too much at stake, at least for now. The dozen roses in a crystal vase that were sitting on the dresser were part of his apology.

  “Nathan?”

  He could heard the uncertainty in her voice. “I’m in the bedroom,” he called back.

  Listening to her steps as she made her way down the hallway, he sighed. They needed to talk and if he was naked, he’d wind up getting her naked too, then it would never happen. Keeping the towel wrapped around his waist, he turned to face the door as she entered.

  “Hey,” she began, entering the door, “About today...Oh.”

  The soft ‘o’ of her mouth as she looked at him was derailing his good intentions. “Today, I was an ass. End of story.”

  “Well, yeah. You kind of were. And I was really, really mad... and I’m trying really hard to remember that right now. Have I mentioned that I really like the way you look naked?”