White-Hot Christmas by Serenity Woods Read Free Book Online Page A

looked at the pyjamas and back at him sheepishly. “I only brought two pairs with me and the other one is even worse. Neon—I didn’t come to New Zealand planning this. I don’t usually… I mean…”
    “Hey.” He frowned. “You don’t have to justify yourself to me. You’re over eighteen, right?”
    She stared at him blankly.
    “Merle, please tell me you’re over eighteen.”
    She laughed. “I’m twenty-five, but thank you for the compliment.”
    “And you’re single?”
    “Yes.”
    “So am I—so we don’t have to explain ourselves to anyone. What two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own…tent is nobody else’s business.”
    She smiled. “You have a great attitude to life.”
    “It’s got me into trouble a few times.”
    “I can imagine.” She looked at her hands. “It’s just…I don’t want you to think I do this all the time. I’m not a hussy.”
    He grinned. “You think I’m insulted at your forwardness? Merle, you’re young, you’re beautiful, you’re feeling horny and you chose me to help you out? Hey, I’m stoked!”
     
    Merle couldn’t help but laugh. Bree had been right—he was nice as well as hot.
    She met his warm gaze and her heart thudded. What should she do now? Did he want her to take her clothes off? She was too nervous, plus she wasn’t sure she had enough room to remove them.
    He reached up and leaned over her, and for a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. But he rummaged around in a bag at the end of the tent, and when she looked, she realised it was a small cooler. He extracted two plastic cups and a bottle of wine and held them up, raising his eyebrows. “Fancy a glass?”
    She grinned. “I thought you were on duty tomorrow.”
    “Oh, I’ll only have a splash. It’s more to set the mood than anything.”
    He wanted to set the mood? She felt strangely touched. He wasn’t just going to jump on her then. She took the cup he offered and held it up as he opened the bottle. There was so little room they had to manoeuvre around each other, making them both laugh.
    “Cheers,” he said once they’d tipped an inch into the two cups.
    “ Skål! That’s Swedish.”
    “ Skål! ” They clunked cups and drank.
    He looked at her, smiling. Her heart—which had been beating pretty rapidly all evening, increased in pace. His hair was ruffled and he had a scattering of sand on his arms. He was gorgeous . And he was looking at her as if she were covered in maple syrup and he wanted to lick it off. She couldn’t believe her luck.
    “Are we really going to have sex?” she said before she could stop herself.
    He laughed and fixed her with a hot gaze. “Absolutely.” He pointed to the tent zip. “I’m not letting you out of there until I’ve seen you naked.” His eyes twinkled. “As endearing as those pyjamas are.”
    She poked her tongue out at him. “I may have to leave them on, anyway. I have no idea how I can possibly get undressed in here.”
    “I’m getting you out of those if I have to cut them off.” He finished his wine and threw the cup in the cooler. “Okay that’s it, I’m getting too hot.” He grasped the back of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. With no room to move his arms, however, he got stuck halfway and she had to help him out with the final pull.
    Laughing, he ran a hand through his hair and then pulled her tight against him. He lowered his lips to hers, and electricity zapped through her from the base of her spine to the top of her head as she inhaled. It was nothing like the kiss on the beach. That had been slow, tentative and exploratory. Now she felt the full heat of his passion, the kiss searing her lips, his tongue hot and insistent, sweeping hers firmly. Exhale, exhale , you can’t breathe in continually or you’ll hyperventilate . But it was hard to catch her breath. She’d never been kissed like this in her life. How could she compare this to the fumbling advances of Simon, or the wet, selfish