Page 54 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

Anna rubbed her hand down his back, the gesture genuine. It unlocked an old feeling at the core of him.Belonging. That’s what it was. Being back here, in this moment, he felt like he belonged, like the circle of people around him would never close with Gabe on the outside.

But he’d never get to that closeness without somebody like Anna at his side. His heart beat hard, a triple drumbeat of sadness for the day when they inevitably weren’t together anymore. Those were the rules of a fake engagement. They didn’t go on to become real weddings. So as wonderful as this moment was, it was doomed to end.

Not yet.

He straightened up. His family didn’t care if he couldn’t sing. They’d all known it when they decided to go caroling in the lobby. And they wouldn’t care now. The pianist went into the next carol—Silent Night.And Gabe, with Anna close by his side, opened his mouth and sang.

6

ANNA

The wine at dinner had gone straight to Anna’s head, and the effects persisted long after the singing was done. It made her skin feel warm, almost overheated, as she and Gabe took the elevator back to their suite. He didn’t drop her hand when they stepped out into the hall. He held it all the way back to the room, giving a little squeeze as he pushed the door open and led her inside.

He brought her knuckles to his lips, brushing his lips across them with a satisfied light in his blue eyes. “That felt good,” Gabe said, his voice husky. “Didn’t it?”

“Felt pretty real to me,” Anna said breathlessly. The two of them had stood with his family in the glittering lobby of Elk Lodge. The tree was nothing short of perfection with its red bows, glass ornaments, and warm lights suffusing everything with a homey feeling. The kind of holiday she’d seen in commercials and movies, but nothing she’d ever experienced.

Gabe was right in the middle of everything that made it perfect. There was a good chance the warmth she felt was not all wine and Christmas cheer, but instead, Gabe. Maybe it wasn’t just warmth, but a fierce, hotwant.

He stepped closer, pulling her in with a soft touch on her hand, and Anna thought she’d never felt so much power concentrated in one tiny gesture. Gabe was strong. He scheduled enough gym time to keep himself lean and muscular, and he could have had her in his arms—but he didn’t. He waited, those eyes on hers, asking a silent question that she wanted to answer.

Anna drew in a breath to say something, anything, but his lips hovered over her knuckles again. He lowered his mouth to the ridge of her fingers, drawing the pad of his thumb across the back of her hand. He kissed the place where his thumb had been, following it up to her wrist bone. “Yes,” she said breathlessly. Then, faster than she could blink, he closed the distance between them, and Anna was in his arms.

She collided with the hard expanse of his chest, covered only in his dress shirt, and Gabe’s hand slipped down to her waist as her arms went around his neck. His lips met hers in a burst of heat and something like possession. Like they really were together, and it wasn’t all an act. Anna could taste it—a real holiday with him, a real heat in his touch.

Gabe groaned and his hands tensed on her waist. She pulled back, struggling to catch her breath. It was like a movie set, this hotel room, all sleek cream furniture and fancy touches, and Anna wanted to belong here. Wanted to be the kind of woman who curled up on the sofa with Gabe and watched the snow falling outside before family dinner. Wanted to go to bed with him at night, not because they were acting but because they needed to be together.

He was close now, his handsome face slightly flushed, and pupils dark with desire.

Anna could kiss him again. And she knew, deep down, where that would lead. It would lead to clothes coming off and a rush to the bed, leaving all of her on display for Gabe.

But then what?Could they shake it off and go back to the parts they were playing? It would be challenging at best, and at the end of this vacation, she’d be no closer to what she wanted out of life. He knew about her goal to start her own firm. What he didn’t know about was her desire for arealrelationship. One with love and compromise and commitment.

As if he could hear the storm of thoughts crowding her head, Gabe tilted her head up until their eyes met and held. “One night wouldn’t hurt.” He sounded so sure of himself, but Anna wasn’t. “It’s not unethical.”

She trailed her fingers down the back of his neck until they met the collar of his shirt.Not unethicaldidn’t have the ring to it thatyes, let’s go to beddid.

“Maybe we shouldn’t.”

She took a half-step back, and Gabe broke away from her. “You must be exhausted.” His voice was a bit strained, so unlike how he sounded when he sang with his family.

“I am.” So not true. But it wouldn’t do any good to tell him she was breathless with want and wouldn’t be able to sleep. “An early night would probably do us good.”

They carefully avoided each other while they took turns brushing their teeth and preparing for bed. Anna came out of the bathroom just as Gabe was on his way out to the living room with a pillow tucked under his arm.

“Oh, don’t.” Guilt crashed into her. “You don’t need to sleep on the sofa.”

His eyes met hers with a searching focus. “Are you sure?”

The question shimmered in the air. They’d been close to doing much more than sharing a bed, but sending him away didn’t feel right, either. “We managed it last night just fine.”

He seemed to consider it, then headed back toward his side of the bed. Anna’s body thrummed with awkward pressure as she crawled in beside him and turned off the light on the nightstand. Gabe did the same, plunging them into the half-darkness of the room. Moonlight bled into the room through the cracks around the curtains, so she could still make out the shadowy shape of him.

“Goodnight, Gabe.”

“Goodnight.”

Ugh. Now she was arm’s length away from him in bed and feeling more needy and frustrated than ever. A pillow wall might be the only solution to keep her from rolling against him in her sleep. Nothing would be more embarrassing than waking up on his side of the bed wrapped around him.

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