Read Online Holiday Man by Marilyn Brant - Free Book Online Page A

didn’t recognize once the door was shut. He didn’t make her feel anything but cherished for several wonderful hours. A part of her wanted to run back upstairs, wake him up and insist that they fully consummate their union right then and there. Wouldn’t that make him want to stay?
    She shook her head to clear it. This was exactly the problem. He wasn’t going to stay, whether he wanted to or not. And begging him to make love to her until they’d used up all the condoms in their Easter basket wouldn’t make the gnawing insecurity of that fact go away.
    This defined “risk” for her. She had to learn to embrace the inevitable, short-term nature of things—not cling to known entities just because they were safe.
    But, ohhh , she liked Bram. She couldn’t help herself.
    Trying to get to sleep now was futile. She showered, puttered around in her room until a reasonable hour and, finally, went down to her office to get some paperwork done.
    A few minutes after seven, she heard knocking. Figuring it must be Jake, she called out, “You know it’s open.”
    The door swung open. It wasn’t Jake.
    “Why’d you leave so early?” Bram asked her, leaning against the doorjamb, wearing travel clothes and a lazy smile. “I missed you in my bed.”
    She felt her face and most of her body heat up at his words. “I thought you might need the rest.”
    He nodded. “What I need is to get back to Minneapolis.” He held up his cell phone and frowned at it. “What I want is to drag you back upstairs with me. Any chance we’ll have a next time?”
    “I hope so,” she said but tried to let go of all expectation.
    “Me, too.” He took a few steps closer to her. “The Easter Bunny left you a present in my room. You might wanna grab it before someone else gets to it first.”
    She stood up from her desk and walked over to him. “A hint?”
    “Nope. You’ll just have to see for yourself. And promise that you’ll think of me when you use them.”
    Then he kissed her before she could say, “I promise.”
    She broke away and nodded.
    “Good. I’ve got to go, Shannon, but I’ll see you soon, and I’ll talk to you sooner than that, I hope.” He brought his lips to the back of her hand, which, while a gentlemanly gesture, still felt intensely intimate coming from him. “Happy Easter.”
    “Happy Easter,” she said as he rushed out the door. She trailed his shadow into the hallway wishing she, too, could set off on a journey. Maybe Bram’s adventurousness would rub off on her.
    “Good morning, Shannon,” Jake’s cool voice whispered behind her. “Have a restful night?”
    “Hmm? Oh, yeah.” Liar, liar. Would Bram really come back?
    “Seems that way.”
    She turned to look at Jake, his gaze piercing daggers at Bram’s distant form. She grinned at her friend. “Be happy for me, Jake. It’s nothing serious, really, but I like him. Okay?”
    Jake shrugged. “If you say so, babe.” Then, after a few beats, “Okay, okay.” He half smirked at her. “But he’d better treat you well, Shannon, or he’ll be rooming in the utility closet next time.”
    She laughed. “Thanks, Jakey .”
    He rolled his eyes at the nickname she rarely used when addressing him and mumbled a grudging “you’re welcome” back to her.
    She flashed him a grin, gave his arm a quick squeeze and then raced up to the Astaire Suite.
    Bram had hastily made the bed but much remained the same as when she’d left in the wee hours of the morning. In the middle of the table, however, sat the Easter basket, the black blindfold tied in a bow around the handle.
    She moved closer to get a better look and discovered the basket was now filled with sumptuous soaps, lotions and body oils…all from Lathericious . Bram’s company.
    She smiled as she smelled a few of the fragrances, her smile broadening when she spotted the note he’d left her. It read:
    Shannon,
    Slow, sensual seduction is not only my pleasure…it’s also my business. I brought these