“I’m okay.” I assured him quickly, slipping into his arms more fluidly than a silk camisole slides over skin.
His body temperature was higher than mine, making me purr and push a little closer. The tip of my nose nudged against his neck, and my lips itched to press a kiss against the skin I found addictive.
Like a true addict, I didn’t deny the craving, instead pressing my slightly open mouth against him, indulging in his taste. “I’m sorry,” I whispered and felt the muscles in his midsection ripple. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m okay.” I assured him again.
The palms of his hands slid against my hips, tightening in a grip I found reassuring as his lips grazed my hairline. “I thought you’d fallen or something.”
A sympathetic sound filled the room as I lifted my face. Our lips met with familiarity, but sparks of excitement still skittered along my frazzled nerves. Opening my mouth, I welcomed every stroke of his tongue, melting into his frame and accepting the escape he always so readily offered.
His sigh was like velvet when he pulled away, touching our foreheads together while resting his hands on either side of my face. “Why don’t you tell me why you were yelling like a drama queen just a minute ago?” The timbre of his voice was deep and delicious, making it hard to focus.
I smiled softly, pushing my cheek against his palm a little farther.
Then reality dawned.
Jolting back, I felt my eyes narrow dangerously on his stupidly handsome face. “What did you just say?”
His smile was rueful, and it turned into a chuckle that made the back of my neck tingle. But I would never, ever tell him that.
“I’m a drama queen?” I challenged.
Eyes crinkling at the corners, lips trying not to tug into a smile, he glanced around behind him as though he were looking for someone else in the room.
Stepping forward, I jabbed a red-painted nail in the center of his chest. “You’re the one who made a no-heel policy at Ansoft and told everyone to wear sneakers.”
Instantly, his humor morphed into a scowl. Regarding me with some of the “icy CEO” vibes he gave everyone else, he said, “I wouldn’t have had to do that if you didn’t fall over in every pair of heels you own.”
My mouth dropped open.
He reached over and, with one long finger, pushed up my chin, effectively closing my mouth.
Smacking him away, I glowered. “I do not fall over in all my heels.”
“Shall I call Knox and ask him to provide testimony for all the times he’s saved you from busting your butt?”
“My bodyguard would never rat me out!” Too late, I realized I’d basically admitted Knox had all the dirt on my clumsy feet. My mouth fell open again.
“Keep doing that, and I’m going to kiss your mouth shut,” he murmured, angling his body closer and pushing up my chin once more.
Any other time, I would have called his bluff, which I knew wasn’t a bluff because Carter Anders did not bluff. And man, could he kiss.
But not right now. Right now, we had urgent business.
Jabbing my finger toward my cell, I announced, “I just got off the phone with my mother.”
His brow furrowed. “Shouldn’t they be on a plane?”
A low whine emitted from my throat. “The airlines are shut down.” My lower lip wobbled. “They can’t come.”
His eyebrows turned down. “What?”
“Some freak blizzard is taking over all of the northern East Coast!” I wailed, tossing my hands up into the air.
Hooking his palm around the back of my neck, Carter tugged me into his chest where I clung, sniffling into his silk shirt. “All right now, good girl.” He soothed. “They’ll get on the first flight they can when everything reopens.”
“By then, it will be after Christmas.”
“Then they can come for New Year’s. I’ll have a private fireworks show set up to watch from the beach.”
I pulled back, blinking up at him through damp lashes. “It won’t be the same. I haven’t been apart from them for Christmas in my entire life.”
“You still have me,” he said gently, hugging me again.
A strangled sound ripped from my throat as I pulled back once more. “That’s even worse!”
“I’m flattered,” Carter mused, making a face.
“Not like that!” I gasped. “But that’s what makes this even worse. It’s our first Christmas together, and I wanted to give you the family-style holiday you haven’t had in so long.”
A shadow passed behind his onyx eyes, and all I could think about was the ghosts of Christmas past haunting him. Taunting him.
My husband-to-be deserved so much better. I wanted to give him so much better.
Suddenly, I felt haunted too. Haunted by all the past holidays this man spent alone, locked up on this beautiful yet secluded island just waiting for the days to pass, remembering what his life was like before his family shunned him.
No tree. No presents. No holiday cheer of any kind. Just a man rattling around his gorgeous yet empty island, telling himself that it didn’t matter when, in fact, it mattered very much.
“Stop.” The word was soft but commanding, knowledge lacing his tone.
My eyes sought his, and I found him watching, luminous eyes reading my thoughts like it was no trouble at all.
“I wanted to give you the best Christmas ever,” I confided.
“Ah, good girl, it’s already the best Christmas ever because I have you.”
He meant it. Truth shone in his eyes like all the twinkling lights I hadn’t even strung up yet. I’d been waiting for my parents. For our best friends, Aaron and Val, who were off visiting their family.
Almost on cue, Carter’s phone went off. He read the text and grimaced. “Aaron and Val can’t get flights either.”
Dejected, I stared out the giant windows. The sun shone brightly, and there was a cool breeze in the air. The weather wasn’t as warm as it was in the middle of summer, but I was still able to wear shorts and a T-shirt. The sky was a beautiful shade of cerulean blue with puffy white clouds floating lazily along. There was no sign of snow or a blizzard angry enough to shut down Christmas, yet up the coast, that’s exactly what was happening.
“I’m sorry,” he told me, pulling me into his body. “I know this isn’t the Christmas you wanted.”
It wasn’t, but what made it nearly unbearable was that he was only sorry for me. He wasn’t upset for himself because he couldn’t miss what he hadn’t had in so very long.
“You know what?” I decided instantly. “It doesn’t matter. No blizzard is going to keep us from having an amazing first Christmas together.”
Across the room, someone walked inside from the terrace through the billowing white curtains. “I just got a message from Aaron. Did you hear about the blizzard?” Knox looked up from his phone. “Am I interrupting?” he asked, taking us in.
“No,” I said, waving him farther into the room. “My parents can’t get here till after Christmas either.”
“Looks like it’s just us three for the holiday,” Carter mused.
Knox shifted uncomfortably. “I’ll head out to my apartment in Miami, then. Let you two have the holiday to yourselves.”