Where There's Smoke (13 page)

"Back to that Santa fantasy."

"Seriously, are you going to buy me a present?"

"Don't I always?"

She looked at him then. “I'm not talking about a gift certificate to Blockbuster."

He reached up and brushed his thumb over her lower lip. The caress sent a sizzle through her blood that had her wanting to hunt down that Santa throne. “You aren't talking about anything big and shiny, either."

"Why?” She nipped at his earlobe, reveling in the freedom to touch him in public, though not quite the way she wanted. “You don't want to buy me a new lamp?"

Lauren tried to tug her hand free when Seth headed for Victoria's Secret. “You are not buying presents for anyone I know in there,” she warned.

"I was thinking more about you buying me a present in there,” he said with a lascivious wink.

Oh. Well. That put a whole new spin on it. The libido she'd successfully fought back as they passed the Santa's Village reared again. Besides, it would be interesting to see what, besides the obvious, turned Seth on.

"I'm not a pink person,” she remarked when he stopped beside a display of distressingly frilled, hopelessly complicated ... things.

"Are you a red person? How about black?” He held up two identical bustiers with teeny matching panties, but she only gave them a cursory glance. Seth's eyes were on her, as if he was envisioning her in them.

She'd heard tales of lovers in a dressing room, and she was almost to the point she was willing to risk it. She swallowed hard. “It has a lot of fasteners. That could slow you down."

He bent close, his breath coming a little shallower. He brushed his lips against the shell of her ear, no doubt intentionally, and whispered, “You leave it on."

Lauren was about to yell, “I'll take two,” when she recognized a customer near the door. She froze for only a second, then hissed, “Your sister!"

Seth whipped around just as Lauren spun him and shoved him toward the back of the store, muttering, “Go!"

He didn't even know which sister he was hiding from as he tried to blend in with the other males in the store. Thank God for Christmas. He would have stuck out in the crowd otherwise.

He found refuge at the far end of the sales counter. One of the clerks looked over at him knowingly.

"Wife?"

"Sister."

The girl frowned and continued ringing up her sales as Seth peered past her to look at Lauren.

Lauren wanted to sink into the floor as Crystal glided toward her. “Lauren! I never would have expected to see you here.” She inspected the two bustiers Seth had thrust into Lauren's hands as he escaped. “Wow, these are pretty, um, spectacular.” A gleam lit her eyes. “Who are they for?"

Lauren's brain had ceased working from the moment Seth whispered in her ear. She could think of no answer for Crystal. “Um, a friend."

"Pretty intimate gift for a friend. Or do you mean, a ‘friend'?” Crystal lifted her eyebrows in much the same way Seth did when he thought she wouldn't catch an innuendo.

"A friend,” Lauren replied firmly. “Who's getting married."

"Another wedding!” Crystal squealed, causing heads to turn. “Anyone I know?"

"A friend from work.” Her voice wavered in uncertainty.

"A good friend, I take it."

"Just a friend."

"Lauren, did you look at the price of these things? You're such a bad liar.” Crystal edged closer, eyes bright with curiosity. “So who is he?"

Lauren's face heated. “There isn't anyone."

Crystal took the garments, inspected them. “These aren't your size, anyway. What's your cup size, 36C?” She flipped through the rack and before Lauren knew it, she was being shoved toward the dressing room. She was going to have the wrong Escamilla in there with her.

"I am not wearing lingerie your sister helped me pick out,” Lauren insisted on the drive back to her apartment, tossing the carefully wrapped gifts back into the pink bag. “She actually pushed my boobs up. I don't think I really want you to touch me after that."

Seth snorted another laugh. “I'm just glad she didn't see me. That girl is like a bloodhound, and all she has on her mind lately is romance."

"Well, don't think she's going to give up just because she didn't see you. She's going to be determined to find out who I'm buying lingerie for."

"Are you sure it's not me?” he asked, glancing plaintively at the bag.

"She had her hands on my boobs, Seth. To create cleavage."

He squeezed his eyes shut. “You're killing me, Lauren."

"Yeah, well, I was dying of embarrassment. I wanted you in there with me, not her."

"Yeah?” The interest in his voice had her flushing. “Public places turn you on?"

She shifted, not entirely comfortable with the direction the conversation was heading, but titillated all the same. “I don't know. I never have—"

"Never?"

She shook her head. “Always behind closed doors. With the curtains drawn."

"We'll have to do something about your education,” he murmured, pulling into her driveway.

"Miss Stokes!” The receptionist, Darla, spoke in a frantic whisper over the phone. “There's a Santa Claus here to see you. He said you're expecting him!"

Lauren dragged her mind away from the project at hand to peek above the wall of her cubicle past the warren of cubicles beyond. She couldn't see Darla, or the Santa. She shuffled through the stacks of papers on her desk. She vaguely remembered planning something with a Santa, but couldn't recall firming up the plans. Of course, the past few days, between nights with Seth and deadline hell, she couldn't remember where she put her head most mornings.

Then it hit here with the clarity of a bell. Seth.

"I'm sorry, Darla, I was trying to remember. Does my Santa have brown eyes, by any chance?"

"Why, yes, and, well, he looks pretty young. I don't think he's exactly what you had in mind."

"Wrong. He's just exactly what I had in mind. Can you send him back?"

Lauren's heart hammered. She'd never had a lover show up at work before, especially not one who showed up to help out. She stood to find him and lead him—where? Where was she going to take him to tell him he'd gone to all this trouble for nothing?

Diana Dixon was on vacation—she'd take him into her office.

He wasn't hard to miss, striding down the hall in a very un-Santa-like way, wearing a ridiculously expensive red velvet suit, leaving titters in his wake. All eyes were on them when he strode right up to her.

"I've got your wish list,” he said in a deep voice, affecting the trademark laugh.

"You really know how to keep a secret, don't you?” she muttered.

"What? I'm incognito."

"Right. Come with me.” She grabbed a handful of velvet and fake fur and dragged him toward Diana's office.

"Aha, so you've been naughty instead of nice?” he boomed just before she slammed the door behind him.

"I don't know how to tell you this, Seth, but I already made my presentation this morning."

He slipped an arm around her waist and dragged her up against his padded body. “What presentation?"

"The one I—oh.” He hadn't come here for her. He'd come here for
her
. While not as touching, it was certainly an exciting idea.

"Kiss me, little girl."

"Where's your mouth?” she laughed, searching through the beard with her fingers.

He jerked the beard beneath his chin and kissed her, sweeping off his hat and wig as he backed her toward the desk.

"You're ruining everything,” she teased, her pulse pounding as she curled her fingers through his hair. She couldn't believe he was doing this, that she was letting him do this. She could lose her job.

It would be worth it.

"I'll leave on the padding,” he promised. “Is this as private as you can get?"

"The walls are a little thin."

"Maybe I'll give you the padding, then."

He yanked off the belt and the hot jacket, revealing a white undershirt with a pillow tucked beneath.

"Is that my pillow?” she asked as her butt hit the desk.

"Yep.” He tugged it free and tossed it behind her before lowering her onto it.

"Oh, Santa,” she giggled. “What big muscles you have."

"Wrong fairy tale,” he growled and shed the pants, revealing boxers adorned with dancing reindeer.

She laughed. “God, Seth, I love you."

He froze, panic on his face. But before she could take it back, he kissed her, long and sweet, while the words echoed around them.

[Back to Table of Contents]

"So? Did he like it?"

Lauren swung her feet off Seth's lap as she spoke into the phone. “Your sister,” she mouthed. Then to Crystal, “I told you, it was for a girlfriend."

"Honey, women don't buy those kinds of things for other women."

"Sure you do. It was one of those lingerie showers."

On the other end of the phone, Crystal sucked in her breath. “You're seeing Eddie again, aren't you? I heard the two of you were talking at my wedding, but I thought after the way you split up—"

"I'm not with Eddie.” Seth sobered and frowned, Lauren rolled her eyes at him.

"Good. He didn't treat you right. Seth told me how bad he hurt you."

"Nice to know,” she grumbled.

"So is he a fireman?” Crystal asked.

Lauren blinked at the change of topic. “I'm not seeing anybody."

Apparently Seth took that as a challenge because he shoved her onto her back. She exhaled with a whoof! as he shifted his weight over her.

"I really wish you'd consider bringing him to our Christmas party,” Crystal persisted.

Lauren struggled, trying to get free of Seth. She had to keep a clear mind for this conversation. Crystal was quite canny.

"Y'all are still planning that? I'd think you'd be partied out."

"Oh, no. Seth and your dad both have to work on Christmas, so it's our only chance to all get together. In fact, I told Mom we'd have it at my house this year. I'm very excited about getting to use some of my new wedding crystal."

Most women would still be unpacking from their honeymoon. Crystal's house had been ready for a month. Lauren groaned, only partly because Seth skimmed his hand up her thigh. “It's going to be a nice party?"

"Well, of course. Do you have a nice dress?"

"Uh, yeah.” She pushed Seth's hands away from the hem of her shirt.

"Just show up. You haven't missed a party yet. I do wish you'd consider bringing your new guy. I imagine it's nice not to be alone this time of year."

"That's ... nice,” Lauren said on a gasp, bowing off the couch as Seth succeeded in pushing her shirt up and kissed a line up the sensitive skin of her waist.

"That's the spirit. See you tomorrow night at eight."

Lauren let the phone fall back into the cradle as Seth nudged her knees apart. She shifted to accommodate him.

"What did my sister want?” He nuzzled her throat, nipped her skin and she forgot the question, so he repeated it, emphasizing it with a push of his hips.

"Party. Tomorrow. Her house.” She wound her fingers through his hair, guiding his attention to that spot just below her ear.

He pushed up her shirt. “We better get this out of our system, then."

She batted his hands away. “Or practice keeping our hands off each other."

He smiled lazily down at her. “Is that really what you want?” He stroked the soft hair at the nape of her neck and she had trouble breathing.

Lauren tried to think, but it was really hard with his breath teasing the skin at the hollow of her throat. “Do you want them to find out this way?"

"I don't want them to find out at all."

She shoved at his shoulders when he trailed his tongue up her throat. “Ever?"

He looked down at her. His breathing was still heavy, but his eyes were serious. “I thought we'd agreed about this."

"Yeah, for now. While we see how it goes."

"And if we see it's going good, we'll tell. But not till after the holidays.” His eyes lightened and his dimple flashed. “I'm not up for another wedding just yet."

She didn't have time to figure out what he meant by that when his sneaky fingers found a particularly sensitive spot, and she pulled his mouth to hers.

They were significantly more involved and less clothed when the phone rang again. Lauren almost didn't hear it over the sound of their heavy breathing, but she'd be damned if she stopped this very pleasant activity to talk to someone on the phone.

She rose up over Seth, dragged her hands down his smooth chest, and reveled in the movement of his muscles beneath her hands.

He reached over picked up the phone from the nightstand, offering it to her. She shook her head frantically, biting her lip to muffle any sound she might make. All she could think was that her father could be on the other end of the line.

"Take it,” Seth mouthed as she heard Crystal asking, “Lauren? Are you there? Are you okay?"

Lauren shot Seth a nasty look and took the phone. “Yes, Crystal, I'm here.” The last word dragged out a little bit as Seth rolled his hips beneath hers.

"Have you seen Seth? I'm trying to get a hold of him to invite him tomorrow."

"You want—ah—to speak with Seth?” Lauren asked a little breathily.

"Yeah, is he there?"

"No, ho—” God, where did he learn to move like that? “No, I have-haven't seen him."

"Are you okay?"

"Just—ah—having a little trouble—catching my breath. I was—ah—coming in from the laundry room when you called."

Seth flashed her an approving smile for the lie and slid his hands up her thighs. Lauren almost managed to keep back her squeal.

"Are you sure?” Crystal asked.

"Just—a June bug got in,” Lauren blabbed, no longer coherent.

"In December?"

"Haven't seen Seth, gotta go, bye."

Lauren made sure the phone was disconnected before she bent over her grinning lover and promised retribution.

Seth hunched his shoulders in his suit jacket as he hurried toward Crystal's new house. He saw Lauren's car down the street and wondered how long she'd been here, how much she cursed his tardiness.