Christmas with the Billionaire (Holiday Encounters Book 1) by Amy Lamont Read Free Book Online

of his thumb over my still tingling bottom lip. “If a kiss feels like that, don’t you want to see what it’ll feel like when we kiss with nothing between us? Or when the weight of my body pushes yours into the mattress? Or when I push inside you for the very first time?”
    His words cast a spell over me. I allowed my eyes to drift shut again as desire rippled through me, warm and languorous.
    Every sense went on high alert. I could feel his warmth seeping into me even with several inches separating us. The tang of his woodsy cologne mixed with the scent of burning candles teased my nose. Fat flakes of snow melted on my cheeks and stuck to my eyelashes, cloaking us in an air of magic.
    I pulled in a deep breath and opened my eyes. “Okay.”
    “You sure?”
    No . “Yes.”
    His sexy smile said it all. He tugged me from the enchanted midnight forest of the bar into the glittering holiday wonderland of the lobby. He stopped next to a large fir tree covered in snow and red bows and twinkling white lights. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”
    I stood exactly where he left me as he strode toward the front desk. Relief filled me as I realized I wouldn’t have to stand next to him as he rented us a room that we only intended to use for one thing. This wasn’t exactly the type of hotel that rented rooms by the hour.
    That thought brought up something else. Should I offer to pay half for the room? Was it bad form to let your one-night stand pick up the tab? My teeth worried my lower lip. How had I made it to the ripe old age of twenty-two without figuring any of this out?
    A surge of panic raced through me again. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t.
    Without another thought, I turned on a heel and all but ran to the revolving doors. I burst out onto the sidewalk and took deep, gulping breaths of frigid air. The cold stung my lungs and sent goose bumps skittering down my bare arms. But it wasn’t enough to stop me from trying to escape. I couldn’t run too fast on these heels, but I power walked my way down the slushy sidewalk as well as I could manage.
    “Emma, stop.” Nate’s voice came from right over my shoulder. His tone was that of a man used to having his commands followed.
    I picked up my pace. I couldn’t face him.
    His footsteps stayed right at my heels. “Emma, please.”
    I stopped dead in my tracks. Even though we’d only just met, I knew this was not a man given to asking for things. Especially in that tone of voice.
    I whirled to face him and nearly lost my footing as one heel hit an icy patch on the concrete. He snatched me into his arms, holding me close to keep me from going ass over elbows onto the city street.
    Only as his warmth started seeping into me did I notice how cold I’d gotten. I shivered and fought to keep my teeth from chattering. He pulled me closer and moved us over to stand in front of one of the storefronts, out of the line of all the pedestrian traffic.
    “Emma, what happened?” He kept his mouth close to my ear. “Why would you run out of there like that?”
    I stayed where I was, tucked into his hard body, absorbing his heat, but I raised my eyes to his.
    “I-I g-got scared.” I didn’t know if it was cold or fear that made my voice tremble, but I couldn’t control it.
    His arms tightened around me. “Scared of me?”
    I searched his eyes with mine and shrugged. How could I explain that it wasn’t him so much as myself I was afraid of?
    An impatient sound came from him. “Let’s get you back to the hotel.”
    I stiffened before he had the chance to get another word out.
    He gave me a gentle shake. “I’m not going to attack you, sweetheart. If you don’t want to go up to the room, then we won’t. But I’m not going to allow you stand here and freeze your lovely ass off another minute.” He pulled back and started to tug me toward the hotel. “Let’s get you inside and warmed up. We can talk and if you want to go, we’ll get your coat and a cab.”
    I could feel