The Christmas Stranger Read online

  Shocked pleasure punched the breath from her lungs, when she felt his hardness rising against her stomach. The dark encouraged her boldness, although she couldn’t help remembering how huge and demanding he’d looked when he left the bed. She shivered with a heady mixture of trepidation and excitement.

  Maggie sucked air into her starved lungs. He smelled like heaven. Surely she could live on his scent alone. She rubbed her face against him, feeling the soft friction of hair against her cheek.

  “May I touch you?” she murmured into his skin.

  “Oh, yes,” he groaned, nipping at the curve of her shoulder.

  Grateful that the banked fire left her in shadow, she pulled far enough away to untie the dressing gown. Her hands were clumsy, and by the time she’d released the knot, they were both panting with impatience. She pushed the heavy garment from his shoulders. With a rustle, it fell to the floor.

  Tentative hands fluttered up his arms and down his chest. She’d touched his chest before, but now every caress brought her nearer to their union.

  “You’re so warm.”

  He caught her hand and pressed it to where his heart hammered against his ribs. “Let me keep you warm.”

  What an irresistible offer. Until he came to Thorncroft, her life had been endlessly cold.

  “Yes,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss one firm male pectoral. The room’s dusky light brought senses other than sight to the fore. His scent hung rich in the air. His skin was smooth beneath her hands, and tasted of salt and snow. His breath was an erratic rasp in her ears.

  “Let me undo your hair.” Joss shivered under her kiss and spread his hand across the back of her head, holding her face against him. He nuzzled her temple. “I’ve dreamed about seeing your hair loose around your shoulders.”

  “Have you?” Maggie asked in surprise.

  His low groan was a growl against her ear. “Good God, yes.”

  Wonder flooded her, and she felt like she dissolved into a warm puddle of honey. He’d dreamed of her. How amazing. Perhaps they were more equal in this desire than she’d imagined. “I had no idea.”

  “Don’t you know you’ve haunted my every thought, since the moment I stumbled over the threshold and fell into the clutches of a cranky fairy?”

  With a choked laugh, she pressed another kiss to his chest. “That doesn’t sound very appealing.”

  His lips drifted down, and he nipped her earlobe between his teeth. The sting set desire churning in her belly and jammed the breath in her throat. Her fingers encircled the hard flesh of his arms, as she fought to keep her balance under the overwhelming onslaught of sensation.

  “A sweet, exquisite fairy.”

  “That’s better.” She’d arrived at his door in a grim spirit of necessity. Joss, bless him, showed her that starlight shone through the darkness.

  “I’ve had a million fantasies about your beautiful hair.”

  She straightened and stared up at him. When he smiled, she caught the gleam of his eyes. “You make me so happy.”

  He cradled her head between his hands and kissed her. “And I’ve hardly started.”

  “Undo my hair,” Maggie said, amazed at the way such a seemingly innocuous act became so significant, when she stood naked before the man she wanted. As he reached out and with a shaking hand untied the ribbon, she felt like she presented him with a precious gift.

  They stood so close, she heard the hitch in his breath when he began to part the strands. She trembled under his touch. As his hands moved, his knuckles brushed her breasts, setting off a cascade of thrills.

  It took him forever to unbind her hair, but some instinct held her back from helping. At last she felt the soft tickle of hair across her naked skin.

  With a reverent touch, he began to run his fingers through her long hair. His deep sigh of satisfaction communicated his pleasure in her in a way mere words never could.

  “Lovely,” he murmured, lifting a silky hank and letting it drift down through his fingers so it caught the red glow of the firelight. “Lovely, lovely, lovely.”

  Confidence unfurled in her heart. Joss wanted her. She already knew that, of course. But she hadn’t known he’d dreamed of her. She hadn’t known he yearned the way she’d yearned.

  Her hair cascaded in thick auburn waves down to her waist. With another of those wordless sounds of appreciation, Joss collected great handfuls and buried his face in it. She smiled, enjoying his pleasure, and stroked his head, the crisp curls cool under her fingers.

  “Let me light the candles,” he said urgently as he raised his head. “I need to see you.”

  “Next time,” she whispered, feeling daring and wanton as she thought of the nights stretching ahead of them.

  White teeth glinted as he smiled. “Yes, next time.”

  He swung her up into his arms, so she felt like she was flying, the way she’d felt she was flying when they skated. With Joss, her soul took wing.

  Helpless against the wild clamor of desire, she curved into his body and slid one arm around his powerful neck. “I love how strong you are.”

  I love you.

  That rumble of subterranean amusement always made her heart skip a beat. “I’m a big brute, that’s for sure.”

  “You can pick me up with one hand,” she said breathlessly.

  “Not quite.” He laughed softly. “How angry you were when I hauled you down to the kitchens that first night. I thought my boldness must bring a fairy curse down on my head.”

  She buried her nose in his neck, inhaling his essence as if she tested a fine wine. “I feel magical tonight.”

  His hold tightened. “You’ve always been magical.”

  If only she did have mystical powers. She’d wave her wand and keep Joss captive forever. “I’ve forgiven you for treating me like a sack of potatoes.”

  “I should hope so, after I did all that hard work with the Christmas decorations. I’ve been your beast of burden ever since I arrived. I thought you’d never finish ordering me around when we were cutting the greenery.”

  She gave the hair at his nape a sharp tug, loving that he teased her. “You enjoyed it.”

  Since she’d lost her mother, nobody had teased her. Growing up in the vicarage in Kent, Maggie had learned that laughter was an essential part of love. Laughter had been largely absent during her last five years at Thorncroft.

  Until Joss arrived. He’d given her so many gifts, not just the gift of this glorious passion burning between them.

  “I was cold and wet, and under orders from an otherworldly being.”

  She tugged his hair again. “So?”

  “So I did indeed enjoy it. I said you have magic, Maggie.”

  “I hope so.” Loving the subtle slide of her skin upon his, she laid her head on his bare shoulder.

  “Shall we make magic together now?” His voice was low and serious.

  When she nodded her head, her cheek caressed his arm in a silent declaration of love. “Don’t make me wait any longer.”

  * * *

  Gently Joss set Maggie on the bed and came down over her. How natural all this seemed. As if ordained to happen. He felt no guilt—although seducing an innocent went against every principle—just an overwhelming gratitude that he’d discovered her. It would have been so easy to bypass this unforgettable woman, hidden in this secret, snowy dale.

  Questions of servant and master didn’t matter. Had never mattered, despite her absurd and charming attempts to keep to her place when he first arrived.

  Now Maggie Carr was in his bed. What a marvelous outcome. He dedicated himself to exciting her, learning the places on her body that gave her pleasure. He scraped his teeth across her neck until she shivered in helpless response. His hands traced her breasts and hips and arms, the hollow of her navel, the sensitive skin behind her knees, the luscious curve of her buttocks. Her muffled gasps of surprise and delight were a symphony in his ears, sweeter than any music he’d ever heard.

  “You’re so soft,”
he said in appreciation, as his hand curved around one perfect breast.

  An exhalation of amusement greeted his statement. “And you’re so hard.”

  She was astonishing. He gave a bark of laughter and caught her hand, pressing it to his cock.

  “Oh, Lord…” she breathed in awe.

  “Touch me.”

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Like this.”

  Tensing every muscle against spilling into her fist, he curled her trembling fingers around him. Her hesitant exploration sizzled through him like lightning. Battling for control, he buried his face in her shoulder and inhaled the humid scent of her skin.

  Without his encouragement, her fingers tightened. The jolt of arousal nearly blew the top of his head off, and his jaw set so rigid, it ached.

  “Joss, are you all right?” Her other hand curved across his back, stroking him.

  “Yes,” he said in a strangled voice.

  “You don’t sound all right,” she said doubtfully.

  That rhythmic stroking threatened to send him over the edge. He felt torn between pleasure and pain, but when she began to withdraw her hand from between his legs, he caught her and brought her back.

  “Don’t stop,” he growled, lifting his head and trying to make out her expression through the gloom. Her spiky breathing betrayed rising excitement.

  She moved her hand up and down his length, squeezing as she went. It was exquisite. It was vilest torture.

  “How the…devil do you know to do that?”

  Maggie stretched up to kiss his lips. The melting sweetness of the kiss contrasted with her greedy hands on his erect prick. “I wondered if you might like it. I like it when you stroke me.”

  “Keep going…” he groaned, closing his eyes and letting her find her way.

  She was clumsy. She was breathtaking. She turned his world upside down.

  And eventually he had to stop her. Because he needed to be inside her more than he needed the hope of heaven. He placed one hand over hers. “It’s my turn to drive you mad.”

  When he shifted to his side, she spread before him like a banquet. He wished he could see every superb inch. But he was wise enough to know that in full light, his Maggie would likely prove shy, instead of happy to play the seducer.

  As she’d said with such heart-stopping naturalness, there was next time.

  The large bed remained mostly in shadow, but when she moved, he caught a tantalizing glimpse of her body. More impression than detail. Round breasts tipped with tight nipples. The slender line of her thighs. The dip of her stomach.

  His hand drifted down over her breasts, lingering to tease until she was moaning and shifting against the sheets.

  “You are driving me mad,” she said unsteadily.

  Smiling, he raised his head. “That’s the general idea.”

  He took her nipple between his lips, scraping his teeth over the sensitive tip. She shuddered, and a cry of startled pleasure escaped her. “That feels so wicked.”

  “But nice.”

  Her fingers tangled in his hair and brought him back to her breast. “Definitely nice.”

  Joss smiled against her softness. He drew on her nipple, while his palm traced random circles over her stomach. On each pass, he ventured lower, until his fingers tangled in the feathery hair above her sex. With every second, he fell deeper into her mystery.

  And a tantalizing mystery indeed were the secrets between her thighs. “Part your legs for me, Maggie,” he murmured.

  She obeyed unquestioningly. Her trust sliced through him like a sword.

  He leaned back on his elbow to watch her. His eyes had adjusted to the low light, so he made out her features and the sumptuous spill of her spectacular hair across the pillows.

  Slowly, using the delay to build his anticipation, he slid his hand down until he touched her cleft. She made a faint, startled sound as he stroked her sleekness. His thumb brushed the center of her pleasure, and she made another sound deep in her throat. She reached to catch his arm.

  “Don’t you like it?”

  “It’s…odd,” she said in a choked voice. “Do you like it?”

  Testing her arousal and finding her ready for him? Luring her along the path to pleasure? “Oh, yes,” he sighed, tracing a small circle around the pearl of flesh. “Trust me.”

  “I do,” she said shakily. If her actions hadn’t proven beyond question that she did, he might doubt her. “This is…more than I expected.”

  “That’s good, isn’t it?”

  The inhibiting hand still encircled his arm. “I suppose so.”

  “You don’t sound very sure.”

  “I’m not.”

  A disagreeable thought struck him, and he wondered if he went too fast after all. “You know what’s going to happen?”

  “In theory,” she muttered, kneading his biceps in a nervous rhythm. “My mother told me. She didn’t believe in keeping girls ignorant.”

  Relief filled him. “Good for your mother.”

  “But she didn’t tell me about…this.”

  Caressing her, he pressed his lips to hers. At first she was distracted, but she swiftly got into the spirit and relaxed against the sheets. At last she released his arm, and her hand drifted down to drape across her stomach.

  Slowly he pulled away, taking her lower lip in his teeth and biting down gently. Before she could start worrying about what came next, he slid a finger inside her.

  She was deliciously tight and slick. When he curled his finger against the walls of her passage and moved it in and out, a sumptuous liquid surge greeted him.

  “Oh…” she said in audible shock.

  “You’re perfect,” he said softly, bending to suckle one nipple. The pressure at her breast made her clench against his seeking finger, and she rewarded him with another of those quivery exhalations that sounded gloriously like the beginnings of pleasure.

  How he loved to hear her discover her capacity for sensual delight. She laid her hand on his chest, where his heart galloped fit to burst. When she was sighing with every stroke, Joss eased two fingers into her, relishing her body’s welcome.

  The scent of her need hung heavy on the still air. He licked his lips, longing to taste her.

  Something else for next time. Her quick response and the sweet sounds of her enjoyment pushed him to a point where he could wait no longer.

  He rolled over her, pleased that she instinctively moved to cradle him between her thighs. Her arms slid around his back, and she gazed up at him through the flickering light. Her blue eyes were dark and gleaming, and her kiss-swollen lips parted over small white teeth.

  Joss stared down into her vivid face. Despite his urgency, he paused. At this, the zenith of desire, he recognized this moment’s life-changing importance.

  He’d always been restless. Eager for the next challenge. But sharing this bed with Maggie Carr, he felt anchored for the first time. As if all his seeking found a purpose he’d never realized was lacking.

  She was his home.

  Joss kissed her with a reverence that was almost holy, even as he tightened his hips and pressed into her body.

  Chapter Eleven

  * * *

  Maggie bit her lips, as the pressure between her legs verged on the edge of pain.

  Above her, Joss was hard and huge. He was breathing in great noisy gusts, and beneath her hands, the muscles of his back were as unyielding as rock. As unyielding as that part of him invading her body.

  When he moved a fraction deeper, she couldn’t muffle a whimper. Immediately he stopped and rose on his elbows to stare down at her through the flame-tinged darkness. “My darling, I’m sorry.”

  He sounded like the Joss she knew, like the Joss she loved. She sucked a breath into starved lungs, and her discomfort faded a fraction.

  “I like you calling me your darling.” She lifted one hand to caress his stubborn jaw.

  “Is it so bad?”

  He sounded in such torment at th
e thought of hurting her that she almost forgot her pain. “I can bear it.”

  “I’ll be careful.” He reached down and hooked her knees up. The strain eased.

  “I like being so close to you.” This closeness, she knew, could well result in a child. She’d faced that possibility before she’d come to him and decided that she was willing to take the risk.

  “I’ll get closer yet.” He kissed her with all the passion she sensed he was reining in so he didn’t hurt her.

  Maggie closed her eyes and gave herself up to the pleasure of his lips on hers, so when he plunged forward and claimed her, the pain hardly registered.

  He raised his head. “Are you all right?”

  Better than that. Much better. She felt filled and possessed and united with Joss. Despite the shaky beginning, she found herself smiling. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

  She slid her bottom further down in the bed, and the angle of Joss’s penetration changed delightfully. At last she started to notice things, apart from the strangeness of a man’s body joined with hers. How his warmth radiated into her. How she felt his every breath. How his scent marked the air—and her.

  “There’s more.”

  She ran her hand down his face, whiskers prickling under her palm, and set it on his broad shoulder. “Show me.”

  Slowly he withdrew. She braced for discomfort, but the long glide set every nerve in her body singing.

  “Oh,” she said, astounded at the revival of the glorious responses she’d experienced when he’d first touched her. She’d imagined such pleasure belonged purely to the prelude. Most wonderfully, it seemed that she was wrong.

  Even more wonderful, he paused and thrust again, pushing her deep into the mattress. This time the sensation of being taken over was wholly rapturous.

  “Oh, Joss,” she sighed.

  When he kissed her, the sweep of his tongue into her mouth had her squeezing around him. He groaned against her lips. “Good God above, do that again.”

  “This?”

  His answer was a long, jagged sigh. “You’re made for delight, Maggie.” He paused. “You’re made for me.”

  Before she could question that hoarse statement, he started to move more purposefully, stealing all capacity for speech. But something in that husky bass declaration had sounded like love. And her last misgivings fled.