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

heat hit my cheeks at his chiding words. I was such a dork. He was right. I could have said no or told him I rather get to know him better. But instead I ran outside with no more sense than the toddler he’d stopped earlier. All I could do was nod and follow him back inside.
    As soon as we hit the hotel, Nate steered us to the back of the lobby where a fire blazed in a stone fireplace. I held out my hands to the heat and almost sighed in relief. But when Nate wrapped his arms around me from behind, I jumped.
    “Easy, sweetheart,” he whispered in my ear, resting his cheek against the side of my head, “I just want to get you warm.”
    I sighed at my own idiocy. Of course, he had nothing else in mind. Why on earth would he want to pick up where we left off after I acted like a lunatic?
    “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
    He rocked us back and forth a little bit. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
    I let my eyes drift closed, relieved he was being so sweet about my behavior. Just for a minute, I allowed myself to melt back into him, absorbing his heat and letting my senses swim at having him around me.
    It didn’t take long for me to warm up again, but I hated giving up his body heat, the hard planes of his body at my back.
    Oh, God. I was such an idiot. As I breathed him in, it hit me. I could be upstairs right now. Instead of standing in the hotel lobby surrounded by people and with several layers of clothing between us, I could be upstairs, alone and naked and under the sheets with this gorgeous man. This man who called to me on a visceral level in a way I couldn’t explain, even to myself. What had I been thinking?
    “I panicked.” I said.
    He gave me a squeeze. “It’s okay.”
    “No it’s really not.” I turned in his arms. “Everything hit me all at once and I freaked.”
    “Everything?” he asked, keeping me in a loose hold, his arms resting around my waist.
    I nodded. “I sort of came here tonight to…well…do what we were going to do.”
    He froze, his amber eyes turning glacial. “You came here to pick me up in the bar?”
    I nodded then stopped and shook my head. “No, well, not exactly. Not you. Someone. It wasn’t specific.”
    I stopped my senseless rambling and pulled in a deep breath, gripping his biceps as I tried to figure out the best way to explain. Then I realized the only thing I could do was to tell him the truth.
    Before I could give it any more thought, I blurted everything out to him, this gorgeous man who I’d only met an hour ago. I told him about the bet, Paige’s idea, and how she made me pledge to give it a try.
    “So you only came here tonight to win a bet?” The beginnings of a smile turned his lips up a little and amusement lightened his eyes. He kept one arm around me while the other reached up to twirl one of my curls around a finger.
    Okay, how weird was this? I was the queen of avoiding social interactions. Yet, for some reason, I felt totally comfortable standing in the arms of a complete stranger in the middle of a busy hotel lobby, spilling my guts.
    “I wouldn’t say I came to win the bet. More to humor Paige. I didn’t really think anything would happen.”
    Now he outright grinned. “Technically, nothing has happened.”
    My heart sank just a little at his words. I bit my lip as I gazed up at him.
    “I know,” I murmured. “I guess it all hit me at once. I was nervous and worried I’d…”
    His grin fled and his voice came out low and raspy. “Worried you’d what?”
    “Disappoint you.” I could barely get the words out and heat flooded my face at my admission.
    “How would you disappoint me?”
    “I-I’m not exactly the most experienced woman in the world.”
    At my whispered words, something flared to life in his eyes and he pulled me closer. “And you thought I’d find that disappointing?”
    I nodded and once again found myself fascinated by the buttons on his shirt, unable to raise my head to meet his gaze.
    “Hey.” He shook my