Love Under the Mistletoe Read online

  Without another word he turned and left, leaving me sat on the bed in a warm and rather plush bedroom, blinking at the now-closed door. What a turn of events. And I still didn’t know his bloody name!

  Chapter Three

  I hadn’t meant to fall asleep. After hanging my wet clothes over the radiator I’d curled up under the duvet to keep warm while they dried, but obviously tiredness had overtaken me because I’d just opened my eyes and it was definitely light outside again. Glancing at my watch I saw it was gone eight in the morning and I quickly climbed from the cosy covers hoping I could get home now. Considering I was in a strange house, in a strange bed I must have slept incredibly well, because I was feeling rather good. My light mood lasted all of about ten seconds though, when I spotted the snow still falling outside the window and laying in thick blankets all around the garden. Grimacing I ran my hands through my hair in aggravation, what was this? A new ice age? I quite literally couldn’t remember a winter where it had snowed in England like this.

  Sighing heavily, I dressed in yesterday’s damp clothes and headed in the direction of the delicious aroma of coffee that was permeating the air. Thank goodness for caffeine – I might be snowed in somewhere in the English hills, but from the smell of it there was at least some decent coffee in the house. Entering the kitchen I found the mystery man sat at the counter with a mug of coffee reading his iPad. ‘Morning,’ I murmured, feeling awkward and decidedly out of place.

  His eyes grazed over my appearance and seemed to linger on my lips for longer than necessary which, for some reason, made me instinctively lick them. ‘Apparently the snow is set in for at least a week,’ was his reply as he snapped his eyes away. No ‘good morning’ or niceties, just ploughing in with the bad news. And what bad news it was! My face fell.

  ‘A week?’ I squeaked, ‘I can’t be stuck here, it’s Christmas soon! Can’t you drive me out?’

  ‘It isn’t exactly my dream situation either,’ he replied dryly, draining his mug and putting it in the sink. ‘You better make yourself at home because there’s no way any car is getting though these country lanes for a while, sweetheart.’ I was about to complain about his casual endearment, but he suddenly struck me dumb by walking across the room and encroaching right into my personal space. My breath caught in my throat. He was now standing so close to me that I could smell his aftershave and had to tilt my head up to see his face. Pausing, he simply stood there and scrutinised me for a second or two, as if he knew what devastating things his close proximity was doing to my composure, and then breaking the moment he lifted a hand to finger the damp material of my jumper.

  This was all getting a bit much. My body seemed out of my control when he was around. As if my throat could take no more of the tension, a loud swallow suddenly forced its way down as one of his knuckles accidently brushed across my stomach as he continued to run the hem of my jumper between his fingers. Self-consciously flicking my gaze to his our eyes met and for the briefest of seconds I could have sworn I saw a flash of mutual attraction reflected in his irises before he looked away again.

  ‘This won’t keep out the chill,’ he muttered finally. Letting out a weary sigh he shook his head and stepped back from me breaking the spell he’d seemingly cast upon me. ‘I’ll leave some clothes out that you can borrow. Layer up, this is a big house and it gets cold.’ With that he abruptly left the kitchen and I immediately sagged onto the nearest work surface and tried to calm my raging heartbeat. What the heck was happening to me? He was a virtual stranger, but for some reason I found myself absurdly drawn to him, it certainly wasn’t for his personality that was for sure, but the way I had caught his eyes on me twice had been unnerving in a ridiculously exciting way. Rolling my eyes, I decided that I’d been single way too long if I was hankering after a man as miserable as this one seemed to be, I thought with a sigh.

  Filling up my mug I decided to put my strange attraction down to nothing more than some sort of chemistry between us. I’d heard tales of instantaneous lust and attraction so strong that people did crazy things, but I’d never actually experienced it myself. Sipping my coffee as I stared at the snow-covered garden I shivered as I relived the sensations he had awoken in me, and decided with a frown that I was probably getting a first-hand taste of it.

  Passing several hours in my room with a book I eventually headed back downstairs to stretch my legs and get a cup of tea at about four that afternoon. The house had been silent all day, so I could only assume that Mr Conversational was hiding away somewhere. Deciding it might be wise to try and build some bridges with him if I was going to be here a few days I made him a coffee – he didn’t strike me as a tea man – and then set off in search of him.

  It took a while, this house really was massive, but eventually I saw a light on around the crack of a door and made my way towards it. Once I got to it I saw that the door wasn’t technically shut, so with a small knock to alert him of my presence I stepped in and found myself in an office.

  Ignoring the room my eyes instantly settled on the house owner and his handsomeness once again hit me and briefly struck me speechless. I’d never responded to a man like this before and as my traitorous body heated and buzzed with energy I decided grumpily that it should be illegal for a guy to be this good looking. He was wrapped up in a large beige fleece jumper, but no item of clothing could hide his impressive build, no matter how bulky. Getting a grip on myself I smiled politely, stepped forwards, and held the mug up, ‘I thought you might like a coffee.’

  Nodding his thanks he reached out to take it and our fingers briefly touched, causing the hairs on my arm to stand up as some kind of strange electricity shot between us. A gasp disturbed the silence, and I was fairly sure it came from him, not me, which was a very interesting development. I was still half-holding the bloody coffee mug, but I seemed frozen to the spot and unable to move away as he ran his fingers over my hand and smiled, ‘You have very soft hands for a cleaner.’ His bizarre observation brought me back to the present as I laughed softly and shook my head, ‘I’m not a cleaner, I’m a schoolteacher. Sarah’s my best friend, she needed someone to cover this shift and seeing as I was on school holidays I got lumbered with it.’

  Perhaps it was my phrasing, or the fact that I was getting too chatty, but the man stared at me intently for a few more seconds before practically snatching the mug from me and turning his attention back to his laptop, all traces of friendliness now vanished. ‘Thanks,’ he murmured sullenly. Wow, he really was a grumpy bastard, wasn’t he.

  As I trailed towards the door it became obvious why he was wearing the fleece; his office was freezing. A small shiver shook my body so I pulled my jumper closer around me and decided to head to my room to read in bed to warm up.

  ‘Allie. Stop. Come over here,’ he asked, just as I had reached the door, but it was more a statement than a request and beyond all logical reasoning I found myself turning back into the room, and responding to him instinctively by walking back towards him.

  Once I got closer I suddenly felt awkward and didn’t quite know what to do, so I leaned my hips on his desk hugely aware of the way he was watching my every move with those intense dark eyes of his. Several silent seconds passed, and so in the absence of conversation I crossed my arms for something to distract me from the charged static that seemed to be hanging all around us.

  ‘Do you know who I am?’ he asked quietly, causing me to blush. How embarrassing, I’d spent the night in his house and hadn’t even bothered to find out his name. But then again, what kind of host was he to allow me to stay and not introduce himself? A grouchy, miserable host, that’s what, I thought with a barely supressed snort.

  ‘No, Sarah didn’t mention your name,’ I mumbled, to which he merely nodded at my response. ‘You look vaguely familiar, but I can’t place where from,’ I added, voicing my thoughts, ‘Have we met before?’ A frown creased my brows as I considered him again, he looked a fair few years older than me, late thirties maybe, so perhaps I went
to school with him? Maybe he was one of the college guys I’d always been pathetically gazing at in the canteen with hormonal longing back in my teenage days of braces and bunches.

  ‘No. We’ve not met before.’ His response was immediate, but deep down I already knew that if we had crossed paths before I would have remembered someone this devastatingly attractive.

  Expecting him to share his name I was caught completely off-guard when instead he swivelled his chair, gripped my hips, and guided me sideways so I was leaning back on the desk directly in front of him. A small gasp of shock escaped my lips, partly from his unexpected actions, but partly from the fire that leapt across my skin where his hands were still resting lightly on my thighs.

  ‘W … what are you doing?’ I whispered raggedly, my breathing now short and sharp from his sudden contact. I was too shocked to really want to know the answer to my question, but also too intrigued to consider moving away.

  In one fluid movement he stood up and stepped closer to me, then, using one of his thighs to part my knees he positioned himself between my legs, well and truly within my personal space. I gulped loudly. Talk about a smooth mover. ‘You were shivering, sweet girl, I thought I’d warm you up,’ he murmured, shortly before his lips descended on mine, crushing my mouth below the completely unexpected contact.

  Sweet girl. His bizarre turn of phrase rang in my head as my lips parted involuntarily and a moan escaped my throat. Rational thought told me I shouldn’t respond to his kiss, I’d only met him yesterday, I didn’t even know his name, for God’s sake, but I simply couldn’t help myself. For whatever reason this man attracted me like no other I had met, and my body’s response was immediate as I joined in his kiss and reached up to wrap my arms around his shoulders where I dug them into his jumper and pulled him closer.

  My heated reaction seemed to please him because I heard a growl of approval shortly before his hands slipped behind my hips to grip and massage my bum. The next second he had pulled me forward and began to grind his growing erection against my stomach, causing both of us to let out moans of pleasure into each other’s mouths.

  God, this was hot. This man was an incredible kisser, he had my whole body alight with arousal after just a few seconds of his touch. I literally couldn’t get enough and arched myself against him, feeling totally alive for the first time in years. He seemed to ignite my body, and my desperate, almost primal response surprised even myself, as I keenly allowed his hands to explore before reciprocating with curious exploratory touches of my own.

  Before I even realised what was happening he had gripped the hem of my jumper and pulled it over my head to expose my lacy bra and aching breasts. Then with a groan his head dipped to explore one of my nipples through the fabric, causing me to let out a high keening noise, which sounded nothing like me and made me blush with embarrassment. The feel of his tongue laving at me though the lace was so incredibly erotic that I quickly forgot my embarrassment as my head began to swim with lust.

  The nipple that was getting his attention tightened almost painfully and I wiggled in his embrace to try and press it more firmly into his mouth. His response was immediate, as he used his teeth to tug harshly on the bud, pulling it to its full size and causing me to moan out loud and grip the edge of the desk for support. Quite frankly, I was so aroused by this point that he could rip the bra clean off with his teeth and I wouldn’t care.

  After driving me almost insane with need, his hot mouth diverted its attention to my other breast, trailing wet kisses across my chest and leaving goose pimples in his wake. At the same time his free hand traced a path down across my flat abdomen, sending shivers of pleasure radiating across my now overheated skin. His hand gently began to push inside the waistband of my jeans and knickers, and then seconds later I let out another cry of pleasure as his fingers made their first contact with my swollen nub.

  I couldn’t believe I was doing this, it was completely out of character for me, but as soon as his fingers found my sensitive spot and began their slick, wondrous circling I knew I couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to stop. This just felt right, not to mention really, really good. He might be a miserable, nameless bastard, but he certainly knew how to flick my buttons, and right now the sensations were just too all-consuming to care about anything else.

  Raising his lips to claim mine in another kiss his dextrous fingers had my jeans undone in a flash before he pushed his hand back inside my underwear to run a finger down the slit of moist skin between my legs. He caught my moan of pleasure with his lips, swallowing it in a deep kiss, his tongue exploring my mouth as his free arm tightened around me possessively and dragged me even closer.

  ‘You’re so fucking wet for me, Allie,’ he murmured in my ear, pasting a trail of kisses across my collarbone, his dirty words making even more moisture pool between my legs. ‘Take off your jeans,’ he instructed quietly, as he stepped back and removed his jumper and shirt in one fluid tug. I didn’t hesitate to follow his lead and soon my jeans lay on top of his discarded shirt on the floor as we pressed our hot naked flesh together.

  I slid my arm around his neck and was about to reach up for a kiss, but with a purposeful look in his eye he pushed me backwards so I was sitting on the edge of the desk before lowering himself to his knees in front of me. There was no time to feel embarrassed about what this man was about to do, because no sooner had I realised what was going on he had parted my knees with his hands and buried his face between my legs. Wow. There was no hesitancy or gentle introductions, he dived between my legs and began exploring with his mouth and fingers as I gasped and writhed under his touch.

  My head rolled backwards as the warmth of his breath touched my sensitive flesh through the thin material of my panties before I felt his tongue returning to tease me, this time pushing against my opening with strong warm movements. One deft flick of his thumb was all it took to push aside my knickers allowing his tongue to run the length of my soaking slit, before circling the sensitive nub and causing me to push myself forwards to increase the pressure. His murmur of approval caused ripples of desire to rush across my skin and then with no warning he gripped my hips and plunged his tongue inside me.

  This time there was no hiding the yelp of pleasure that escaped my lips as he thrust his tongue inside me again and again, sending me spiralling towards a dizzying peak so quickly that I could barely keep up. Shifting his position slightly he moved his tongue to my throbbing clit before thrusting two fingers deep inside me and starting a slow, hard rhythm, curving his fingers so they pressed against the front wall of my channel, zeroing in on my G-spot. The combination of tongue and fingers was too much for me and after just seconds of his attention a tightly coiled spring inside me burst, causing me to spasm against his mouth as wave after wave of pleasure swept over me.

  My body felt completed sated and my head was spinning. I’d never climaxed with that intensity before and that knowledge made me blush to my core, not to mention the volume of the noises I’d been making, which was just so unlike me. Mind you, it hadn’t seemed to bother him, in fact, every time I’d moaned or mewled he had upped his efforts even more, so perhaps being a bit vocal had its benefits.

  I felt utterly exhausted in a wholly pleasurable way and was just considering if it would be acceptable to lie back on his desk to rest when he stood up and leant into my field of vision. Seeing my sleepy looking eyes my mysterious stranger slowly shook his head, a dark expression on his handsome face, ‘I’m not finished with you yet.’ he promised, and I immediately felt more awake as my gaze was drawn to him stripping off his trousers.

  Crikey, my eyes widened as he dispensed with his boxers and it became clear that his large build extended to all areas of his anatomy. Flicking through his wallet he donned a condom, then chucking his wallet down he laced a hand through my hair and brought his lips to mine, re-igniting the fire within me and sending heat coursing between my legs at his continued attentions. Pushing his body between my legs again he tilted me back slightly and the
n I felt the hot tip of his erection rub against my slit. It felt so amazing that I nearly came just from the anticipation of how it would feel buried within me, but then my anticipation was replaced by the real thing as he slowly began to push inside.

  He was barely halfway in me when he paused, his rough breathing hot against my face as he cupped my chin and leant over me with a frown, ‘Are you a virgin, Allie?’ he questioned, his tone gritty and strained from holding himself back, but his thumb was displaying the opposite emotion as it gently stroked my cheek.

  Embarrassment flooded through me and I felt my face flush, ‘No … but it’s been a while … quite a long while.’ This was the complete truth. I was far from a virgin, but I’d been so engrossed in work over the past few years that my love life had taken a serious backseat. ‘I’m OK, it doesn’t hurt. Please don’t stop.’

  Nodding, he placed a brief kiss on my jaw. ‘You’re so fucking tight,’ he exclaimed with a groan. As he edged himself in another inch and paused again I began to wonder if he found it uncomfortable, but as he suddenly pushed himself fully inside me to the hilt with a lusty growl I suspected not, ‘God, you feel so good …’ he muttered against my neck, his hot breath tickling my skin deliciously and adding to the overall eroticism of the act.

  Barely two thrusts later we were disturbed by a shrill ringing to our right. The mystery man – for want of a better name – glared at the ringing phone, then looked back at me intently. His breath was coming just as hard and fast as mine, but he shook his head as if clearing his mind and then pulled out of me so quickly that I winced at the sensation, ‘Get dressed. I’ve been expecting this call, I need to take it.’