Love for the Holidays (five book Christmas bundle) Read online

  “I can do this; go watch your special,” he said gently, not wanting to prolong his exposure to her in her tempting sleepwear.

  “The faster you do what I say, the faster I can go and watch it. Now go.” Cam knew that Lily had a stubborn streak and simply nodded and headed to the bedroom to get something to change in to before heading to the bathroom. Lily make fast work of the sofa bed and turned down the lights before jumping back in to her own bed just as the special started.

  Cam came out of the bathroom and smiled at the picture she made. “I can’t believe that you’re still awake.”

  “It’s a holiday special marathon. How could I possibly sleep through it?”

  Unable to help himself, Cam went and sat beside her on the bed. “You know they’ll play this a dozen times before the end of the year, right?”

  Lily nodded but didn’t look away from the television. “Yes, I’m aware but it’s just so exciting to catch it the first time it’s on.” As the opening credits and song began to play, she reached out and pulled him down beside her so that he was laying down. “Stay and watch it with me and then I promise to go to sleep.”

  The bed did feel good after sitting hunched over the coffee table for the last several hours so he didn’t object; he simply made himself more comfortable. For the next twenty minutes they laughed together and it was almost the end when Cam realized that Lily was curled toward him, her head on his shoulder, a hand on his chest. Somehow his arms had gone around her and he hugged her a little closer and looked down and saw that her eyes were definitely beginning to droop.

  “Hey, sleepy girl,” he said softly. “I think it’s time to go to sleep.” Lily sighed and snuggled closer and then seemed to fidget a bit in frustration. “What’s the matter?”

  “You’re on top of the blankets and I can’t move,” she said and then yawned. Cam was just about to speak when Lily nudged him. “Get under the blankets with me until Frosty is over.” Looking up she saw his hesitation. “Please?”

  Knowing that there was no point in arguing, Cam, dressed flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt, climbed under the blankets and nearly groaned when Lily immediately wrapped herself around him and sighed again. “Thank you,” she whispered. Cam wrapped his own arms back around her and together they watched the last five minutes of the cartoon.

  “I do love that one,” she said sleepily. “Thank you for watching it with me.”

  Cam kissed the top of her head. “My pleasure. But it’s very late and we both need to go to sleep.” He looked around and found the TV remote and turned it off. When he made to get up, Lily held on tight.

  “Not yet,” she said quietly. “Don’t go yet.”

  They had often sat together on her sofa with her head on his shoulder while watching a movie but this was the first time they were in a bed and she wasn’t letting him leave. Part of him wanted to be strong and to just do the right thing and get up and leave. “Lil, sweetheart, it’s late. I need to go inside and get some sleep.”

  “Sleep here.” Her voice was barely a whisper and Cam wasn’t sure what to do. They were simply sleeping; nothing wrong with that. He was exhausted and even walking the ten feet to the next room felt like a Herculean task. Settling down further under the blankets, his decision made, Cam finally allowed himself to relax.

  Pulling Lily a bit closer, one hand ran gently up and down her spine. The urge to venture just a little further down and cupping her bottom was almost too much to bear. She was temptation, pure and simple and Cam was only human. Carefully, he allowed himself to barely graze beyond her waist when Lily stirred slightly.

  “Cam?”

  His hand instantly froze. “Hmm?”

  “It’s okay.”

  “What is?”

  “You can touch me,” she said so quietly that Cam wasn’t even sure that he heard her correctly. “I’ve always wanted you to touch me.”

  Surely he misunderstood her. “Lily?” he murmured and waited a heartbeat before realized that she was already asleep.

  Four

  The next morning Lily woke up alone. She sat up a little dazed and confused and looked around and listened for any sign of Cam. Turning her head she looked at the bedside clock and saw that it was after ten and groaned. He had left hours ago and she had missed it. Stretching she got out of bed and wandered around the suite and saw that the sofa bed was folded away and back into its daytime position. Clearly Cam had taken care of that before he left but…did he ever sleep in it last night, she wondered?

  When Lily had asked Cam to watch a little TV with her, she remembered him joining her on the bed and vaguely remembered asking him to get under the blankets with her but after that, she couldn’t be sure. At one point in the night, she had dreamed of Cam being in the bed with her, spooned against her back with an impressive arousal nuzzled against her bottom and one hand cupping her breast. It had to have been a dream because Cam would never have done something like that.

  Or would he?

  The thought actually made her giddy. With a little more pep in her step, Lily went to the phone and ordered herself some breakfast before jumping in the shower. Today she would go and do some sightseeing around Times Square. While Cam was deep in conferences, she was going to shop and experience some of the foods that he would most definitely tell her to stay away from and then she’d get back here in time to get ready for tonight’s dinner.

  Breakfast arrived just as she had finished with her shower and Lily felt rather decadent as she lounged in her fluffy spa-like robe that the hotel provided. Looking at the view through the window, she wished that Cam was there with her. It was so exciting to see all of the activity going on down below. The snow had stopped but everything still had a coating and it looked magical. While she knew that Cam was here for a definite reason, she kind of wished that she could encourage him to play hooky and go sightseeing with her.

  Once breakfast was completed, she threw on jeans and a sweater, a touch of makeup and put her blonde hair up in a ponytail. She’d do something more glamorous with it later. Grabbing her coat and room key, Lily left the room and went off on her adventure.

  ***

  Cam was both mentally and physically exhausted when he arrived back up at the room at five-thirty. He had wanted to call and meet Lily for lunch earlier but he had been sidetracked by colleagues wanting to discuss some future projects. All he wanted was a little peace and quiet and a lot less socializing. God, he hated these conferences. They were too loud, too crowded and by the end of the day he always ended up craving some solitude.

  His mind immediately went to Lily and he knew he wasn’t going to get that solitude with her around either. The only difference was that it wasn’t solitude he was craving where she was concerned. Last night had been like some personal brand of torture. He had no right sharing that bed with her or touching her the way that he had. Even though Lily had said that she wanted his touch – hell, that she’d always wanted his touch – she was half asleep when she said it and he had foolishly believed her.

  Cam mentally cursed himself as he walked into their suite. Part of him hoped that she was furious with him and would yell at him when she caught sight of him. The other part of him hoped that she was prancing around in that silky robe that she had on yesterday and that she’d greet him wearing only that and a sexy smile.

  He had a problem. A very serious problem because things were not going as he planned and Cameron always made sure that his life followed his plans. They were supposed to be friends on a trip together. He had never given any thought to what looking like a real couple would actually entail or how it would affect him. So much for being a genius. If he wasn’t careful, Lily was going to realize that his feelings for her were more evolved than just being friends. And then she’d walk away. Lily always tended to walk away from the men that she dated when things got serious.

  And Cam wanted serious.

  Or did he just seriously want?

  Either way it was then that he noticed that the s
uite was eerily quiet. Where was Lily? Walking around he saw no sight of her. Housekeeping had been through and so the room was spotless but he had no clue as to where Lily was. Cam immediately pulled out his phone and dialed her number. He waited and then cursed when it went directly to voicemail. “Lily? It’s Cam. I’m back at the room and it’s five-thirty-five and you’re not here. Please call me.” He hung up and then cursed himself again.

  “What if she’s pissed about last night and left?” he asked out loud and then walked over to their closet and sighed with relief when he saw that her belongings were all still there. His relief was short-lived when he thought about what could have happened to her as she wandered the streets of New York all by herself. Raking a hand through his dark hair, he began to pace. “Where do I even begin to go and look for her?”

  Unsure of what else to do, he called down to the front desk to inquire if she had utilized any of the hotel amenities today or if anyone remembered when she left the building. They told him about breakfast but after that, no one could help him. Cam felt sick. What if something horrible had happened to her? It would be all his fault. All he wanted was a chance to be able to enjoy the holidays without the hassle of his family and thanks to his selfishness, something had happened to Lily.

  Grabbing his coat from the closet and the room key, he pulled the door open and ran smack into Lily. “Cam? What the hell?” she said as she nearly fell backwards. “Where were you going in such a rush?” Cam pulled her into the room and then into his arms and simply crushed her to him with relief. “Uh…Cam? What’s going on? Did something happen?”

  Pulling back, he stared down at her beautiful face. Her cheeks were red, her green eyes were wide and her smile was nervous. God how he loved her. “You scared the hell out of me, Lily,” he finally said, a tremble in his normally strong and stable voice. “I got back to the room and you weren’t here and…and I thought that something…I don’t know.” It was then that he noticed all of the packages on the floor around them and then chuckled. “You went shopping.” It wasn’t a question, he was just stating the obvious.

  “Boy did I!” she said excitedly. Bending down she began to pick up her packages and smiled when Cam helped. Together they brought everything over to the sofa where they sat and she told him all about her day. “There were so many places to see, Cam! It just seemed endless!”

  Cam looked at the seemingly endless pile of packages and then back at Lily. “Seriously? What could you possibly have needed that required this many bags?”

  Lily smiled at him wickedly. “Silly, silly, man. Never underestimate the shopping powers of a woman.” One by one she started to go through each bag and showed him what she had purchased while telling him about the store. Thirty minutes later Cam stopped her. “What? Too much?” she asked.

  “No, no…this is…riveting, really. But if we don’t stop, we’ll be late for dinner. As it is we only have…” he looked at his watch, “about twenty minutes to get ready.”

  “Well, damn,” she sighed and then looked at all of the stuff around them. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to lose track of time. Again.”

  “No worries, Lil,” he said as she stood and held out a hand to her. “But we really should get ready.”

  Lily took his hand and stood. “Unless…”

  “Unless what?”

  “We don’t go to the dinner and we go and play tourist,” she said quickly, clearly excited at the prospect of having time to explore with him. The look on his face told her that they weren’t on the same page.

  “I promise that we’ll do that tomorrow night,” he said solemnly. “There are some people that I need to talk with tonight about an upcoming project. I’m sorry.” Cam saw the disappointment on his face and hated being the one to put it there.

  Doing her best to shake it off, Lily pulled her hand from his. “No biggie; let me go freshen up and change. I promise to be quick.” She flounced away and although her tone was light Cam knew that she was putting on an act for his benefit. When he heard her go into the bathroom, he went to the bedroom to retrieve his things and went to use the half-bath to get ready. A shower would have gone a long way to revitalize him after such an exhaustively long day, but he’d just have to make do with what he had.

  Fifteen minutes later, Lily joined him in the living room dressed in a more conservative dress than the night before but still with a killer pair of stilettos. Black this time to match her dress. Cam stood back and admired her while she moved about gathering up her purchases and bringing them into the bedroom. The dress came to just above her knees but was still form fitting like the red dress from the night before. The simple black sheath was sleeveless and delicately adorned with black sequins along the hem and the back was sheer. Her accessories were minimal and when she came back into the room he noticed a simple black wrap.

  “It helps so much that we don’t have to leave the hotel to go to dinner,” she said as she draped the wrap around her. “I get to wear pretty dresses and not have to worry about freezing myself to death by going out in the cold.” Walking toward Cam she admired his dark suit and then smiled at his light blue silk tie. “Nicely done, Cam,” she complimented. “Not quite so somber.”

  “I’m learning,” he teased and then held out his arm to her so that they could leave the room.

  They rode down to the main floor and joined a group of Cam’s colleagues as they walked toward the banquet hall. Outside the entrance, they had all stopped and were chatting when Lily spotted the mistletoe from the night before. Turning toward one of the other women in the group she said, “I love the holidays; everything looks so festive and bright. Plus,” she pointed upward and winked, “it gives us an excuse for a little PDA, right?” The other woman nodded and before Lily knew what was happening, Cam turned her in his arms and kissed her.

  Oh, and how he was kissing her.

  It took Lily less than a second to completely get on board as she wrapped her arms around him. Cam’s tongue gently grazed her lower lip and Lily more than willingly opened for him and let him deepen the kiss. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that Cam could kiss like this. He was all heat and passion and she let out a small whimper of need before she could stop herself.

  Someone cleared their throat behind them and Cam reluctantly ended the kiss. Pulling back he looked down at Lily’s flushed face and hated that they were here amongst a crowd. All day he had dreamed about kissing her again under the mistletoe just so that he’d have an excuse to do it. This time he wanted to be the one to initiate the kiss, to see if it would be any better than his fantasies.

  And it was.

  Without a word, Cam took Lily’s hand in his and joined the group that was heading into the banquet hall for dinner.

  It was going to be a long night.

  ***

  Cam couldn’t say why he did it, but he was being a jackass. There was no other way to put it. By ten o’clock he had had enough of social chit-chat and talking about projects and research and work in general; he was done. Every time he heard Lily laugh at something somebody said, he felt rage build inside of him. When she turned to talk to anybody else, he wanted to demand that she talk to him. He was out of control and mad as hell and he didn’t know why.

  Actually, he was lying to himself. He knew exactly why.

  The kiss.

  Looking around the room Cam decided that he was done for the night because he wanted Lily all to himself. They had danced, they had mingled and socialized but now it was time for them to be alone.

  And to hell with the consequences.

  He stood suddenly and made their excuses and then held his hand out to Lily. She looked at him questioningly but didn’t object. She said her goodnight’s to everyone and walked with Cam out of the room. They silently rode the elevator up to their floor; neither said a word until they were safely back in their suite.

  “Are you okay?” Lily finally asked. The room was bathed in only the soft light of one small lamp set up in the corner. It
felt oddly intimate and she had to wonder why neither of them seemed willing to move or to move away from the confines of the entryway.

  “No,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “I’m not.” He didn’t elaborate, didn’t think he’d be able to find the words so he did the only thing that he could. Cam stepped in close and kissed her again. Without the crowd, without the noise and the flurry of activity around them as they’d had earlier, all he had to focus on was the way that she smelled, the scent of her perfume, the feel of her body pressed up against his as he backed her up against the wall. It was madness and Cam made sure that he never let himself succumb to madness.

  But it couldn’t be helped.

  He had wanted Lily for so long and all of the pretending in the world wasn’t going to be enough; not after he’d touched her, tasted her. It only made the longing worse. His mouth left hers only long enough to trail kisses down the slender column of her neck and then he needed to feel her lips under his again. He said a silent prayer of thanks when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him even closer; her hands as seemingly frantic as his to explore and touch.

  “Cam?” she whispered when he broke away to stroke his tongue along the delicate shell of her ear. He reached up and placed one strong finger over her kiss-swollen lips. Her own tongue reached out and licked a path along his finger and she smiled when he groaned with pleasure. “Is this wrong?” she asked. “We never…we’ve always been…”

  His mouth silenced hers. Cam didn’t want to think about before or what they’d never dared to do. If he allowed his mind to go in that direction, his overly-practical side would take over and he’d never get the chance to experience this incredible sensation of intimacy with Lily ever again.

  Just tonight.

  For just this one night he’d allow himself the pleasure of stepping out of himself and loving her the way that he had always wanted to. “Tonight, Lily,” he murmured against her lips. “Please. Just give me tonight.” His words were tinged with a hint of desperation and it was foreign to Cam. He almost didn’t recognize himself. His own voice sounded like it was coming from somebody else. When Lily didn’t immediately respond, he forced himself to pull back and hated how cold and alone he suddenly felt without her body pressed up against his.