Baby, It's Cold Outside (12 page)

She laughed again, the memory of the hot sex making her cheeks flush. “Will you please stop!”

He levered himself up, nibbling kisses along her collarbone, while his hand cupped a swollen breast. “No can do,” he said, his voice husky with arousal. “But I tell you what, I’ll let you call me Daddy this time.”

She was still smiling when he sent her flying over the edge.

Chapter Nine

“Hey, Sleepy, it’s time to wake up,” Ryder whispered, nobly resisting the urge to nibble on the tempting earlobe next to his lips, which was infused with the addictive scent of cinnamon.

He sat back on the bed and gazed at Katherine’s face, soft and seductive in sleep despite the harsh fluorescent lights that had come on when the power was restored.

He’d exhausted her. They’d exhausted each other. During a night that had held so many surprises, he’d been wide awake for the past hour—trying to figure out what to do. He didn’t want this to end here. That much was for sure.

Last night, he’d discovered that beneath Katherine Braithwaite’s prim and proper English exterior was a smart, sensitive, and incredibly sexy woman he wanted to continue seeing. But he’d been puzzling over the practicalities while he got dressed and packed up the stuff from the night they’d spent together. And whatever way you looked at it, he couldn’t offer her anything other than a long-distance, half-assed relationship. Now that he knew what she’d dealt with as a child, from a mother who had been anything but reliable, and knowing how important her routine and her job were to her, he knew she needed and deserved much more than that.

His life was complicated enough—he was already struggling to juggle his commitments to a growing daughter and a career that took him to far-flung parts of the globe at a moment’s notice. He couldn’t even offer to see Kate in the next couple of weeks, because he was bringing Gully back to stay with him in New York after spending the night in Ithaca. And then he had a trip to Disneyland lined up for them both over New Year’s.

And that was only the start of the problem. His commissioning editor at the press association where he worked was already making noises about him doing a story on the deforestation of the Amazon rain forest at the end of January. It would be a hard, grueling assignment, lasting at least a month, maybe longer. It was a story he would have relished doing five years ago. Right now he wasn’t relishing the idea so much.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that he would have to leave Gully again so soon, how the hell could he consider starting a new relationship in the little personal time he had?

He touched Katherine’s cheek, the petal-soft skin beneath his fingertip and the frown line that appeared between her brows making every part of him ache. Damn, he was going to have to let her go. And it hurt more than he would ever have imagined. She’d come to mean more to him in the space of a single night than any woman had in way too long to remember.

“Katherine, honey, wake up.” He gave her bare shoulder a gentle shake. “The security cameras came back on a couple of minutes ago,” he continued in a firm voice. “You need to get dressed before you end up butt-naked on YouTube.”

He grinned as her eyelids fluttered open. That had gotten through.

“What?” she said groggily, the sheet dropping.

He tucked it back around her shoulder. “Here, I’ve got your PJs,” he said, slipping them to her. “You better put them on under the sheet. We don’t want to give the security guys too much of a thrill.”

Her eyes snapped wide open as she went from semi-sleep to full-shock mode in the space of a single second, then flinched as the bright lights made her eyes water.

“Bloody hell,” she croaked, grasping the sheet and whipping it over her head. “For Pete’s sake,” came the muffled, indignant squeak from beneath. “Don’t just sit there, shield me or something.”

He started to laugh, despite the ache still clutching at his heart. And continued to laugh as she swore ripely and the sheet billowed and bobbed while she scrambled into her clothes.

“You know those cameras are wired for sound, right?” he teased.

“I’ll get you for this, Sinclair,” she hissed, before emerging at last, her soft brown hair in disarray, but her pajamas securely on—even if the buttons were all over the place.

“Hey, Grumpy, there you are.” He got off the bed and held out his hand to her.

She took it but sent him a furious scowl. “Get lost, Dopey.”

He saluted the security cameras as she climbed down. “Sorry guys, the show’s over.”

“Oh, shut up,” she muttered as she stomped off toward the stairwell.

He followed, the chuckles dying as he realized how much he was going to miss Katherine Braithwaite—especially the chance to tease her in the morning, when she was all cute and rumpled and out of sorts.

…

Kate had regained her temper by the time she’d changed back into her dress and boots and coat. The snow was still falling in fat flakes outside her office window, but she didn’t suspect there would be any problem getting home now from the small sounds of activity she could already hear in the store beyond.

Ryder stood with his butt propped against her desk and his arms crossed over his chest, the wicker basket full of the debris from their wild night at his feet.

She brushed her hair, swallowing down the lump that had been lodged in her throat.

So this was it. The end of their one-night affair. They’d agreed that was all it was. And as he hadn’t said anything to suggest otherwise, she didn’t plan to either.

Their lives couldn’t really have been any more incompatible. And however delicious it might have been to pretend they could begin a relationship, she had to be practical. The way she’d always been before—until last night.

“What are your plans for today?” she asked, keeping the tone as casual as possible.

He glanced up. “I’m catching the 8:00 a.m. train to Syracuse, if it’s still running.”

Of course, to see his daughter. The thought had emotion closing her throat. She would have loved to meet Gully. The little girl was probably as much of an original as her father.

She nodded. “I bet Gully can’t wait to see you.”

“The feeling’s mutual,” he said in a low voice. “Although she’s not going to be too impressed with the lack of a Christmas present.”

“Why don’t you get her one now, before you go?” she said, forcing a brightness and enthusiasm into her inquiry that she didn’t feel. “It’s only six-thirty. You have loads of time.”

He pushed off from the desk. “Nah, I don’t think I can face all those dolls again. I’ll give her an IOU. I’m taking her to Disneyland next week. I can get her something there.”

“Don’t be silly. You have to get her a Christmas present.” She shoved the brush into her bag, determined to keep the helpful smile fixed on her face. “I could help you find something. In fact…” Inspiration struck and she thanked God for her in-depth knowledge of the store’s merchandise—pathetically grateful that she could do this small thing for him and the child who meant so much to him. “I think I might know the perfect gift.”

Ten minutes later, they were standing in the computer department.

“Damn, this is…,” he paused, staring at the brightly colored packaging of the ComicArt Toolkit she’d handed him. “This is really great.”

“You see, it has a digital camera and the software has loads of different layouts, plus she can add dialogue and thought bubbles to the action,” she babbled, pointing out the different features like a shop assistant on acid. “You said she liked making her own comic strips. With the camera she could take pictures of her new puppy and make one about that. And given your expertise in that area, you could help her with the photos.”

“It’s perfect. She’ll love it. I love it.” He turned the box over to read the copy on the side, and her gaze caught on the long tanned fingers, the dusting of dark hair on the back of his hands. Large, capable, caring hands that had held her so securely all through the night.

The lump grew to boulder-sized, and she swallowed painfully. She needed to make a quick getaway now, before she made an idiot of herself.

“Right, I should dash,” she said, hoisting her purse onto her shoulder. But before she could shoot off, he grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb across the knuckles.

“I’ll walk you down,” he said, tucking the box under his arm.

They headed down together, bumping into the sales staff who had started to arrive to prep the store for the big sales opening that had been put back a day due to the inclement weather.

She managed to hold it together despite the feel of his rough palm against hers. Although she did have one major wobble, after she’d apologized to Charles for her earlier rudeness and they said their good-byes, and stepped into the snowbound alleyway together.

The drifts were several feet high, but before she could start to pick her way through them, he passed her the gift.

“Here, hold this,” he said, and scooped her up into his arms.

“For goodness’ sake, Ryder,” she protested, the feel of his arms around her almost more than she could bear. “I’m perfectly capable of walking.”

But he just slanted her that sexy, lopsided grin. “Shut up, Katherine.”

So she shut up and, holding onto his neck, snuggled against him for the last time as he toted her down the alleyway to Fifth.

And while she was in his arms, she made her first ever Christmas wish. A silly, fanciful, foolish wish that she knew had no hope of coming true, but she made it anyway, in honor of her best Christmas ever.

He put her down gently when they reached the curb, took back the gift, and whistled for a cab.

A yellow taxi skidded to a halt in front of them far too soon. “You take it,” he said, his voice strained. “I’ll get the next one.”

“I don’t need one. I’m only going a few blocks. And you have your train to catch.”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Right, well, I guess this is good-bye then.”

“Yes,” she said, wanting to think of a clever comeback, but completely unable to think of anything that wouldn’t put her at risk of bursting into tears.

And then he dragged his hands back out of his pockets, cradled her face in cold palms, and kissed her.

His lips felt chilly on hers but the heat still shot up her torso and all the memories came flooding back. She knew the tears weren’t far behind, so she covered his hands and drew them away from her face to break the kiss. “Go, Ryder, you don’t want to miss it.”

He stared at her for the longest time, brushed a finger down her cheek, then nodded and jumped into the cab. The taillights had flickered down the street and disappeared around the corner out of sight before she turned to trudge back up Fifth toward her empty apartment.

She managed to get all the way home before she burst into harsh, racking sobs, the sense of loss engulfing her.

Chapter Ten

Boxing Day was hard work, but by December 27, Kate had clawed back enough self-control to haul herself into Sinclair’s and go through the motions.

The day was the longest of her entire life, and she spent most of it wishing she and Ryder hadn’t covered pretty much every single department in the store on their nighttime raid, because it meant everywhere she turned there were memories of him. Not only that, but when she went to offer to pay Gerry Garcia for the pilfering they’d done, he informed her with a gentle smile that Mr. Ryder Sinclair had already covered it. So much for Ryder being a veteran of Santa’s Naughty List. The big faker.

But the worst moment of all came when Lachlan Sinclair, a man whom she’d only spoken to twice before, greeted her while passing through the upper floors with a coterie of his minions in tow and made some caustic remake about her getting stuck overnight with his son.

Having been tongue-tied with awe the two other times she’d met her boss, this time she almost choked on the urge to tell him what a failure she thought he was as both a father and a human being. As it was, once the encounter was over, she realized she would have to look for another job. All the joy was sucked out of working for the heritage department store now, knowing what she did about the man who owned it.

When she got home that evening, her feet ached, her head ached, and her heart wasn’t a whole lot better. Then she opened the fridge door and saw the gourmet turkey dinner for one still sitting in her fridge, and tears welled.

“Oh for Pete’s sake, get over yourself,” she muttered to no one.

Ryder had his own life. He had a daughter and a challenging, demanding career, and all her abject loneliness proved was that it was about time she started making a life for herself, too.

She dashed the moisture away with an impatient hand, picked the dinner up, and slung it into the kitchen’s bin.

The ringing of the phone was a welcome distraction from contemplating the two eggs and one stick of rather wimpy-looking celery that were now her only dinner options. Not that she felt particularly hungry.

One step at a time, Kate.

She picked up the handset and ignored the twinge of heartache at the realization that she had no clue who it might be, because no one called her at home unless it was work-related. And the store had closed two hours ago.

“Hello, Kate Braithwaite.”

“Katherine, it’s Ryder.”

Oh no.
The shock of hearing his voice had her hand trembling on the handset.

“Ryder, hello. How are you?” Why was he calling her? She couldn’t cope with having to part with him all over again.

“I’m all right, I guess,” he said. “Can you talk?”

No! Not without dissolving into a puddle
.

“Yes, of course,” she heard herself say, and realized she must have masochistic tendencies she’d never been aware of before, because she couldn’t make herself hang up the phone with him on the other end of the line.

“Okay, great,” he replied. Then there was a long pause.

“Um, hello, Ryder? Are you still there?’”

“Yeah, I’m here, it’s just so good to hear your voice. I’ve missed you.”

Please kill me now
.

“Me too,” she said, because it was the truth. “How did Gully like her present?” she offered when he went silent again.