Read Online Cinderella's Christmas Affair by Katherine Garbera - Free Book Online Page B

time she spent in the kitchen cooking for Tad when they’d been friends. She’d always liked his folks. They had the kind of marriage that made young girls dream some day they might find their true love and live with him.
    “The only conclusion I came to was that I didn’t want to hurt you again.”
    “You can’t,” he said.
    She felt small when he said it. And didn’t really know how to respond to him. “Oh.”
    “I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”
    “There really isn’t a good way to take that.”
    “You’re not the only one who’s been hurt,” he said, softly.
    She hadn’t thought of that. She’d been so focused on protecting herself she hadn’t thought that Tad probably was doing the same thing. Perhaps that was why he’d proposed the marriage of convenience with her.
    “Are you sure you want to pursue this?” she asked.
    “This? What are you talking about?”
    “A relationship,” she said, knowing he was being deliberately obtuse.
    “I intend to pursue you, Cathy Jane. The rest will work itself out.”
    He hung up and she leaned back against the counter feeling the first tinge of hope that maybe this relationship would be different from the rest.

Six

    “H old the elevator,” CJ called as she entered her office building. Plagued by fevered dreams of her and Tad making love in her kitchen with gingerbread houses all around them, CJ woke late and had to rush to make it to work on time.
    She’d called her office but Rae-Anne hadn’t taken the phones off voicemail. She was more than a little concerned that things were going to be a mess in her office on this Monday morning.
    A large masculine hand blocked the doors and she entered the car, juggling purse, briefcase and scarf. She glanced up to say thanks and met Tad’s bright green eyes.
    “Good morning, CJ.”
    “It hasn’t been good yet,” she said. Seeing him now seemed an extension of the dreams she’d had last night. The spicy clean smell of his soap surrounded her. He wore an Icelandic sweater that brought out his eyes and made him look like a Norse god. And she wanted nothing more than to move closer and confirm that he felt as good as she remembered. But she was at work and Tad didn’t belong here.
    “Let me see what I can do about changing that,” he said as the elevator doors closed. He tugged her into his arms and tilted her head back.
    His warm breath brushed against her cold cheeks and she knew this was something that had been missing from her life for a long time. She refused to think about it, having decided on her cab ride to work that she was going to take whatever Tad offered her physically.
    Slowly he lowered his head, taking her mouth with his in a deep drugging kiss that soothed the frantic pace of the morning. She responded eagerly in his embrace, holding him closer to her. Sensation spread throughout her body. He backed her up against the wall of the elevator car, his big body surrounding hers.
    She felt small and very womanly in his arms. He groaned deep in his throat and thrust deep in her mouth, tasting her with languid parries of his tongue.
    He slid one leg between her thighs and she rocked her hips against his jeans clad thigh. One of his hands traveled down her back and squeezed her hip, urging her to keep moving against him.
    Her breasts felt full and heavy and she shivered, needing more. She pushed her hands under his sweater and felt the warmth of his back through the layer of his cotton T-shirt. She scraped her nails down his back and he groaned again. He was hot and hard between her legs. And she wished she’d worn a skirt to work today instead of pants.
    The elevator binged. Tad cursed under his breath and moved away from her. Dazed, CJ had no idea where they were for a minute. But it came rushing swiftly back to her. “My God, I’m at work.”
    Tad picked her purse and briefcase up off the floor and handed them to her. His lips were swollen and his eyes narrowed on her body. The flush of arousal