Rock My Christmas (FlameSmith in Love Book 1) (11 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Marty unlocked the condo door, and Kendel entered, careful not to knock her newly slung arm into the doorframe. Dan’s assistant called out, “It’s not broken!”

Kendel tensed. She hadn’t seen Burn since she’d left him in the tail section of the airplane. Awkward didn’t begin to describe the idea of meeting him here. The intensity in his gaze would take on new meaning. Tension would ripple between them. Always they would have sexual magnetism and remembrance of what could’ve happened coloring every look and word. She didn’t want to work this way. Didn’t want to live this way.

Smiling, Dan came from the living room. “Great news. I’m glad to hear it.”

Kendel offered him a weak smile.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Does it hurt? I see they bandaged it right well and put it in a sling.”

She touched the white gauze encasing her knuckles. “They gave me pain medicine. It actually feels good now.”

“Glad to hear it. Feel up to going out? I’m on my way to get a Christmas tree.”

“Do you need me? ‘Cause we’ve been back for hours,” said Marty. “I really want to see Chuck.”

“Yeh. Of course. Go see your boyfriend. In fact, don’t come back until after New Year’s. Take the holiday. You deserve it.” He smiled and waved her out.

“She’s got the best boss,” said Kendel as the door closed.

“Yours isn’t too bad, either. I’ve noticed he’s being gentler with you. Want to help me pick out a tree?”

“Sure. Is Burn coming?” Her stomach knotted.

“He had to go out. It’s just you and me.” He held open the door.

Relaxing, she accompanied him to the elevator.

“He hasn’t always been so difficult. Did you know he’s my best friend?”

She stepped onto the elevator and hit the ground floor button. “I figured. You share a condo and act like brothers.”

He drew his long hair into a ponytail then used a band from his wrist to tie it in place. “I’ve known him since we were boys. We lived a few streets over and went to the same school. He thought math was a doddle. I couldn’t learn it to save my life. Our teacher assigned him to tutor me, and Bob’s your uncle. We’ve been friends ever since.”

“Wait.” She gave her head a shake. “You have the same Uncle Bob? Doesn’t that make you cousins?”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Sorry about that. Bob’s your uncle is a saying back home. It means
and that’s all
or
that’s it
.”

She smiled. “Gotcha. Burn confuses me sometimes with things he says. Usually I can make sense of odd words like doddle by taking them in context. I assume doddle means math was easy for him.”

“Doddle. Right.” He led her through the ground floor to a parking garage at the back and helped her into a black SUV. “Yeh. Burn was brilliant at math and science. Thought he’d be an engineer or something.”

“How’d you get into FlameSmith?”

He climbed behind the wheel and started the engine. Slowly making his way to the exit, he said, “His da, actually. Did you know his father’s a musician?”

“He mentioned it.” Her hand throbbed a bit, so she repositioned it until she found an angle where it stopped hurting.

“His da was one of those guys who could play any music you handed him, perfect the first time. He toured with some of the greats. Anyway, he taught us guitar on weekends, and we both took to it like stars. We met V in high school chorus.”

“Chorus?” She couldn’t imagine Dan signing up for such an activity. Burn and V, definitely. But not their bass player.

“Mandatory,” he simply stated. “We three started FlameSmith. Jay answered our ad for a drummer and auditioned in, and he brought Air with him.”

“You’ve got some unusual names,” she said as they headed into traffic. “Yours is normal, but Air? V?”

“Well, we didn’t really have a choice.” He chuckled. “Can’t have a kick-ass rock band where your lead singer’s name is Vernon, your lead guitarist is Bernard, and your secondary is Erol.”

“Erol. Wow. So Burn is really Bernard.” She stifled a giggle. He’d said he was a nerd. Now she believed it. He had nothing nerdy left in him, however. “So what’s with the lions?”

He shrugged, pulling into a large parking lot displaying pine trees on wooden cross stands under the shade of a blue tarp. “Dunno. He’s collected them as long as I’ve known him. Always has, I believe.”

“What do you collect?”

Dan grinned. “Memories.”

*    *    *

Laughter filled the living room, so Burn snuck in and hid his shopping bags inside the kitchen island. He strode to the other room where his flat mate hung an ornament on a Christmas tree that filled the window corner. Dan’s blonde kneeled at the coffee table and put hooks on more decorations.

“Where’s Kendel?” Burn asked.

Both turned, offering welcoming smiles.

Kendel stepped from behind the tree. She wore her bound hand in a sling and no smile. “I’m here.”

His gut twisted. He went to her and gently took her injured hand in both of his then met her gaze. She’d sustained this trying to protect him.

“It’s not broken,” she said quietly.

Relief washed through him. He eyed her long-sleeved lavender polo shirt and faded blue jeans. She’d worn this on the flight. Turning to Dan, he said, “You should’ve given her a chance to rest and unpack. Have you had her busy all day?”

She put a hand on his arm. “It’s fine, Burn. It’s not his fault. Going to the hospital on Christmas Eve probably wasn’t the best decision. They were short-staffed and it took hours to get me x-rayed then seen. I didn’t get here until after lunch. And I wanted to help pick out a tree and buy ornaments. This is my only Christmas this year.”

Her earnest expression and slight smile won his ease, but he didn’t want to let go of her. The spark seemed to have left her, and he suspected it had to do with their kiss on the flight back. He didn’t like this discomfort between them. It reminded him too much of how they’d begun.

“I’ll run you a bath,” he said. “You should rest before tonight.”

“That’s not necessary. Wait. What’s tonight?”

Dan slapped his thigh. “Shittity brickety. I was meant to tell you and forgot. I am so sorry, Kendel.”

“Damn it! You didn’t tell her?” Burn had never wanted to hit his friend more than in that moment. He put a hand on her shoulder. “I swear I’m not intentionally trying to leave you out of the loop. Dan and I are throwing a Christmas party tonight. A small to do, really. Most everyone is going home to be with family tomorrow, so this is more for those of us who have to stay.”

Dan nodded. “A bit of a consolation, I suppose.”

Kendel sagged. “Would it be alright if I pass?”

Disappointment waged with concern, and he gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Are you feeling unwell?”

She cut a furtive glance at the blonde then peered at him through her long lashes. “I mean, unless you need me to work.”

“Work? What kind of boss am I if I make you work on Christmas Eve? No, you’re not to work. I want you to come and enjoy.”

She cleared her throat. “I’m not really a party girl.”

“What does that mean?” he asked. Did she mean she didn’t like parties or that she didn’t know how? “There’s nothing to it. You put on something nice and simply come.”

“That’s the problem,” she said, her voice tight and tiny. “I don’t own anything nice except a suit I wore to present my dissertation.”

“You are taking a piss? Shit. I hadn’t…” He glanced at his watch. Most stores were closing since they approached the six o’clock hour. Why hadn’t he noticed she only ever wore jeans and serviceable tops?

Then again, he’d spent their first four days doing everything in his power not to notice her. Since then, they’d had a hectic schedule. Besides, how did she expect him to get past her spectacular eyes to pay attention to her apparel?

The blonde came and offered him a kind smile then took Kendel’s good hand. “Leave it to me. Makeovers are the most fun, and I know I’ve got some dresses that’ll fit.”

As she led Kendel toward the bedrooms, he somehow doubted his flat mate’s flavor-of-the-month had anything of the kind. The woman had five inches of height and at least two cup sizes on his delectable, petite PA.

*    *    *

After Dan’s girlfriend left to run back to her apartment, Kendel managed to relax in her large tub. Her room was wonderful and this bathroom couldn’t get any more luxurious, but she’d promised she would begin job-hunting when she returned from Korea. For a while there on tour, Burn had acted decent. Better than decent. She’d honestly thought she could work for him. Maybe even become his friend.

Then he’d gone weird at the music store and kissed her. The kiss on their flight home had sealed her decision, however. She’d never wanted a man so much in her life. If she stayed, she would give in.

She couldn’t work for a man she slept with. It went against every ethic. She absolutely couldn’t give him her heart. Then she’d become her mother, loving a man who lived a life that made her miserable. No. She wouldn’t do it.

As she awkwardly washed her hair with her good hand, she fought a weighted sadness. How had this gone so wrong so fast?

When she’d started, Burn had hated her. For some reason, he seemed to start liking her, but against his will. Then they’d taken a roller coaster ride of closeness and distance. Nothing she couldn’t handle as his assistant. She wouldn’t have even minded crushing on him if he’d kept them in the friend zone.

Why did he have to ruin everything by kissing her? And why couldn’t she find more strength to resist him? She slapped the edge of the tub then climbed out.

She didn’t want to leave. In her brief time here, she’d grown fond of Dan and Jay. She could handle V, and she’d even started enjoying Marty’s dry quips and efficient handling of her responsibilities.

But Burn. The one person she ought to despise had become the one person she adored the most. His edgy, sexy distance and anger came from a hurting place, yet it excited her. In unguarded moments, he shed that shell, and she glimpsed a softer, more real quality.

As his PA, she spent a great deal of time with him, yet it never seemed enough. She missed him when they parted, and that scared her more than anything.

Dried to the best of her ability, she went to the bedroom and took more medication. Then she booted her laptop. She only wanted a job where she could travel and have some fun. No emotional ties. No aching hearts. No damned regrets.

She pulled on a pair of clean underwear but couldn’t manage her bra, so she shrugged into a shirt and left it unbuttoned.

Settling into her chair, she put the computer on her lap. The idea of job-hunting on Christmas Eve depressed her, but the thought of leaving Burn actually brought tears pricking at the backs of her eyes. Why was she being so foolish? He wasn’t the man for her. Never had been. Never would be.

She had no luck on the posting site where she’d found this position. While answering an email from John, who planned to stay on the drilling platform through the holidays into January, Dan’s girl knocked softly then entered carrying a bag of shoes and a collection of dresses still on their hangers. They all looked tiny.

What had she agreed to?

Chapter Seventeen

Caterers had come, set out food, and gone. Guests from the record label and the marketing agency drank, talked, and mingled. And still, Kendel hadn’t emerged.

Burn tried to hold a conversation with a flirty brunette from the agency’s publicity division, but he couldn’t concentrate. His gaze kept going to the rear of their condo. How long did it take to don a dress?

Dan’s blonde came around the corner, beaming like she had the best secret. Burn’s stomach fluttered. He ceased pretending to listen to the brunette and took a step of anticipation toward the center of the living room.

Kendel turned the corner and almost sent him to his knees. She wore four inch red pumps that screamed
come fuck me.
No hose covered her white, toned legs, which showed all the way up to the hem riding slightly higher than mid-thigh. Red spandex hugged every curve, leaving her arms bare and nothing to the imagination. No bra or panty line marred the dress’s cling, and he realized she wore nothing underneath. Absolutely nothing.

Her sexy curls swept high and loose, leaving her slender neck bare. A tendril draped her temple and caressed her cheek, its spiraled end resting upon the delicate indentation above her collarbone.

For the first time since they met, she wore makeup. Dark eyeliner graced only her upper lids, deepening the blue of her eyes. Mascara blackened her already long lashes, and clear lip gloss made her kiss-me lips obscenely sexy.

Her eyes met his, and her nipples hardened. In immediate reaction, his body quickened and he sucked a breath through his teeth.

“Do I look alright?” she asked when she reached him.

“You’re drop-dead, gorgeous. Didn’t you have a peek in the mirror? Glance around. That you’re standing here talking to me has every guy in this room ready to defenestrate me so he can have a chance at you.” He grinned. How could she have a single insecurity looking like this? Women this stunning owned a certain power he admired. “You’re much taller in those shoes.”

She smiled, and he stopped breathing for a second. God, he should’ve suspected he had a world-class beauty under his roof when she’d looked so good in faded jeans and not a bit of cosmetics. Shit.

“Do you like me taller?”

His grin grew as he drowned for a moment in her endless-sky eyes. “Undecided. Fancy a drink?”

“Please.”

He went and poured her a glass of white wine. She kept her gaze on him, not moving. Was she nervous? She had no reason. Looking like she did, she could sit supreme over the party.

Dan went to her and said something that drew her attention and made her laugh. He didn’t want to harbor jealousy for his friend, but he couldn’t help it.

“Here you go.” He handed her the glass, and when she accepted it with both hands, he realized she didn’t wear her bandage. “Your hand appears much improved.”

She glanced at it while Dan moved off. She offered Burn a small smile. “I took more medicine. The swelling’s gone, and it doesn’t hurt at all.”

Gently, he drew the wine from her grasp. “If you’re on pain-killers, no drinking for you.”

Her smile widened a fraction. “Actually, I hadn’t planned to drink. The glass just gives my hands something to do. You probably didn’t notice, but this dress doesn’t have pockets.”

He had more than noticed. Narrowing his eyes, he reluctantly handed her the glass. “Promise you won’t drink any.”

Her eyebrows arched and she leaned forward. “I won’t.
Trust
me.” She chuckled.

He smiled at her teasing. “Let me introduce you around.”

He spent the next thirty minutes purposely avoiding looking at her lovely curves. He couldn’t escape her subtle perfume or the allure of her beautiful, smiling mouth, and he didn’t want to.

Part of him hated that every male eye followed her progress, yet part of him preened. She stood at his side and nobody else’s. Now he had to convince her she belonged next to him. It wouldn’t take these jackals long after tonight to come hitting on her.

As she made conversation, he began to realize how truly well-educated she was. She’d spent the past week learning her job and dealing with new situations. He hadn’t had a chance to hear her talk to people on a social level. She really understood business, especially marketing, and she impressed him.

The hour grew late, and their guests began to leave. She continued to mingle as he showed people to the door. She may not have been a party girl before, but she worked this one like an experienced hostess.

He tried to say coherent and sensible goodbyes and well-wishes for a pleasant holiday, but he struggled to get his gaze off Kendel’s body. She had his brain muddled. He could only contemplate how much he wanted to slide a hand between her thighs and learn if, indeed, she wore nothing underneath.

When he said goodnight to their final group of departing friends, he closed the door and pressed his forehead to the cool wood. He wanted Kendel so badly he shook.

Unbuttoning the top three buttons of his shirt, he went to the kitchen where she loaded flutes and glasses into the dishwasher. He said, “Leave that. The maid will see to it on Tuesday.”

“But it’s Christmas Eve. I thought it might be nice to have the place look clean in the morning.”

He glanced at his watch. “It is morning.”

Dan and his blonde came to the doorway. His flat mate jingled car keys and said, “We’re headed over to her place. See you in a day or three.”

Burn raised his eyebrows. Were they more serious than he thought?

His girlfriend offered a broad smile and draped her dresses over Dan’s arm. She said to Kendel, “Keep that one. It looks better on you, anyway. Merry Christmas, you two.”

“Thank you. Merry Christmas.” Kendel took two steps toward them, but they simply waved then headed out. She turned sad eyes to Burn. “And Merry Christmas to you, too.”

Closing the dishwasher door, he said, “I have something. It’s not wrapped. Sorry about that.”

“Please don’t.”

Ignoring her, he retrieved the bag from under the island. Handing her an envelope, he said, “Your pay for this week. There’s a Christmas bonus. Personally, I consider it a putting-up-with-my-shit bonus.”

She took it very slowly and stared at it, not opening it. “Thank you.”

“Get with our accountant next week so he can start direct depositing into your bank account.”

She didn’t respond. Didn’t move.

Holding out the bag, he said, “I got this for you. Merry Christmas, Kendel.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

Venturing half a step closer, he said, “You can. You must. I bought it especially. Won’t you at least have a look?”

Giving him a wary glance, she hesitantly brushed her soft fingers against his as she took the bag. She peered inside, and her lips spread into a wide smile. Lifting out the pink bean bag lion, she said, “I love it. It’s just like yours, but pink.”

“I wanted to thank you for not passing judgment. For not giving me a hard time about my lions. You were so accepting about the whole thing, and I know you’ll keep my secret.”

Her smile turned kind. “Of course I will. I hope you know I would never do anything to… I mean, well, I’ll always be loyal. I didn’t get you anything, though. I feel rotten.”

He took the final step that closed the distance between them. Putting his hands on her warm hips, he said, “There’s only one thing I want for Christmas, and only you can give it to me.”

*    *    *

Her heart thudding, Kendel fought to force air into lungs that failed her. Need unlike anything she’d experienced slammed into her then settled around her like a mantle of aching desire. Her entire body pulsed.

Burn took the bag, lion, and envelope and placed them on the island. “Kendel.”

She met his dark, intense gaze. After spending the day sorry they’d kissed on the plane then the entire party wishing he’d pull her aside and do it again, she trembled in confusion and arousal. Should she tell him she planned to quit?

She put her hand to his chest then rested her forehead there. How could such a powerful need feel both wrong and right? If she did this, she would have to live with the guilt. If she didn’t…

She’d regret it the rest of her life.

“I want you,” she whispered.

“God, Kendel.” He buried his face in her neck and cupped her ass, squeezing hard.

Moisture coated her folds where a throbbing began. She grasped his thick shoulder and let her head fall to the side, giving him access to her throat. He planted a line of licking, sucking kisses toward her ear.

“There’s no turning back,” she said.

He stopped and looked her in the eye. Placing her hand to the firm bulge filling his slacks, he said, “I wouldn’t want to.”

“I can’t work for you after this.”

His gaze dropped to her mouth. “We’ll worry about that later.”

He lifted her to the island’s cold marble top. Spreading her knees, he stood between her thighs and claimed her lips in a hot, open-mouthed kiss that engaged their tongues from the moment of contact. He cupped the back of her head, holding her where he wanted her. Flitting excitement in her stomach moved lower and blossomed into full arousal.

His other hand went to her exposed mound, and he groaned into her mouth. Her abdominal muscles bunched in anticipation a second before he slicked two fingers through her swelling, aching folds. She tensed then relaxed as he stroked and circled. Pleasure hardened her nipples and focused her brain. Only Burn existed. The scent of his cologne surrounded her, and she hungrily tasted the whiskey that flavored his tongue.

Her need increased, growing urgent. She wrapped her legs around his hips and rocked in time to his fingers’ strokes.

“Baby.” He growled against her lips as he moved his fingers to her opening. He circled once then tried to ease inside. He froze. “Fuck.”

She closed her eyes as he straightened. Now that he knew, would he change his mind? “I’ve had secrets, too.”

His voice sounded strangled when he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Relaxing her legs from around him, she met his gaze. His brown eyes had darkened to near black.

She swallowed. “I didn’t think we’d ever do this. As far as I was concerned, it was a non-issue.”

“It’s an issue.” He scooped her off the counter and strode from the kitchen.

She snaked her arm around his neck.

“I’m not going to take your virginity in a fast and dirty on a kitchen island. How have you reached the age of twenty-four and— Never mind.” He carried her to Dan’s room and had her grab a box of prophylactics on his bedside table. Then he continued to her room and deposited her on the bed.

Bending over her, he urged her head back and captured her mouth in a kiss so intense it made her wet and throbbing anew. He took her dress by the hem and peeled it upward. Releasing her lips, he moved so she could raise her arms. He removed her dress and tossed it onto her chair.

“Lay down so I can see you,” he said, pulling his shirt free of his slacks.

She stretched atop her covers, loving his eyes on her. For once, with the way he gazed at her, she actually believed he considered her beautiful. In that moment, she became the most beautiful woman alive.

“Kendel, my God. You’re gorgeous. I’m going to do this right. I swear to you.” He unbuttoned his shirt and sent it to join her dress.

His muscles rippled and bunched, creating the illusion that his dragon tattoos writhed upon his skin as he unfastened his pants and stepped out of his shoes. He removed his slacks and underwear in one bend to the floor. When he stood, her breath arrested.

The man was perfection. He’d grown the scruff at his jaw, which continued onto his throat. A dusting of dark hair filled a V at the top and middle of the squared muscled slabs of his chest. His shoulders rounded in striations of muscle that led to an array of curved bicep and triceps. Prominent veins webbed through his thick, tattooed forearms and continued into hands both manly yet fine from years of playing guitar.

His abdominals formed a series of chiseled squares to his belly button. Years of stage acrobatics had thickened bulges of muscle above his hips, and the flat expanse leading to his jutting member sported two prominent veins that attested to his lack of body fat.

Below his narrow hips, his thighs had lean but dense muscle under a liberal shadow of hair. His knees narrowed to flaring calves. Below strong ankles, he had feet as fine as his hands.

Her eyes returned to his hard-on, impressive in size and glistening at its pink head. She wasn’t ignorant about sex, but his size frightened her. At the same time, it excited her.

He went to her bathroom, and water ran. When it continued to run, she lifted to her elbows. The water stopped, and Burn emerged with a wet washcloth in his hand and a condom on his erection.