What the Sleigh? Read Online Free

ever touch me,” she spat, backing up when she realized how close he was.
    He didn’t move, blocking her view of the alley with his broad shoulders. He was just how she remembered him. Tall and muscled, with the looks of a decadent rock star, he was as far from the archetype of Santa as it was possible to get. But he was Santa. The Christmas magic in her recognized the same in him and reached out in yearning. For him, for everything he stood for. For everything she’d lost.
    “Rudi, please…let me explain.” His eyes were tinged with heart-breaking sadness, holding her immobile as he took a step forward. She stiffened and her heart sped up. The need to push him away hammered through her with each beat but she couldn’t.
    “I don’t want to know.” The only thing she could move was her mouth, so she employed it. “I don’t want anything from you. Now get the hell out of my way, I have packing to do.”
    “You’re really going to do this then?” he asked, lifting a hand again as though to touch her shoulder. She blocked him with her forearm against his wrist, but try as she might she couldn’t knock his hand away. They froze in place like some kind of mime show. “You’re really going to let your pride get in the way of helping people?”
    “Bastard.” Her lip curled back as she hurled the insult. “Don’t you dare… My pride? You think I have any fucking pride left after what you did?”
    Pain darkened his eyes, but he didn’t move. “Rudi, I’m sorry. If I could go back and change it all, I would. I swear.”
    Anger surged through her at his words, allowing her to knock his hand away finally. “Sorry? Is that it?” She felt tears sparkle in her eyes, hot and heavy. “No excuses, no ‘it was an accident’?”
    He held her gaze steadily, moving closer until she was corralled in the corner, his body between her and freedom.
    “There are no excuses for what happened, for what I did. You found me with another woman in our bed, how can that be an accident?” He reached up, ignoring her flinch away to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “All I can say is I’m so so sorry. I love you, I always have, and these last five years have been hell without you.”
    Slowly he leaned down until his lips just brushed hers. “Please don’t let my mistake change the person you are. Please don’t let me stop you helping people.”
    Then he leaned down to kiss her and she was lost.
    His lips brushed hers with the softest of pressures. It was the merest brush of skin on skin, but it held her in place even though all her muscles bunched to push him away. She couldn’t though, her body frozen in place. He did it again, caressing her lips with soft, hesitant touches which seduced her into staying still.
    Her whispered moan escaped before she could stop it. Not her fault. It had been five long years since she’d kissed anyone. Kissed him. Memory aiding and abetting his seduction, clouding her reason.
    Hands cupping her neck, he moved closer. His lean, hard body pressed into her, her curves the perfect complement to his sculpted muscle. The kiss deepened, his tongue brushing the closed seam of her lips. It wasn’t a demand, instead it was a soft request. One accompanied by the gentle brush of his thumb against the side of her neck. Then against the soft spot just under her ear, the one that made her knees weak.
    Whimpering, she parted her lips to let him in. He knew her better than she did herself, knew how to play her body and her responses, and she couldn’t remember why she shouldn’t let him. Heat and desire filled her, effervescent pleasure sparkling through her veins like the bubbles in fine champagne.
    He cradled her in his hands and tilted her head so he could plunder her mouth. His kiss blew her away, scattering every thought process as he slid his tongue deep to taste her. Teased and stroked and touched until she couldn’t remember which way was up. Her world was dominated by him. His talented