Page 73 of His Christmas Wife

Fire flashed in her eyes.

“I mean it. This is one you can’t win.”

With a deep sigh, she finally relented. “In that case, thank you.”

“Much better.” He liked winning, and she turned everything into a battle.

As they left the bar, he possessively placed his fingertips against the small of her back. The idea of any other man feeling as if he had the right to touch her this way sparked agitation in him.

Realistically he realized he had no right to feel that way. But his rational mind held no sway over his primal instincts.

Except for informing Jennings where he wanted to go, the drive back to her place happened mostly in silence, and he wished he had any idea what to say to break the tension he didn’t comprehend.

When they arrived at her apartment complex, he turned toward her. “I’ll walk you up.”

“There’s—” Wisely she clamped her mouth shut.

A second point to him.

Once they were inside her home, he backed her up against the closed door. There was no way she didn’t feel his erection pressing against the softness of her belly.This, this was a language they both understood. “I’ll pick you up at three-thirty tomorrow.”

Then, with brutal dominance, he captured her mouth and devoured it.

When he finally ended the kiss, he dug a hand into her hair, dislodging some of the hair pins she’d used as armor against him. The pieces of metal hit the floor with a satisfying thud.

He tightened his fist, ensuring she couldn’t look away, couldn’t escape. “When I get here, make damn sure my ring is on your finger.”

CHAPTERTEN

Her nerves stretched to their breaking point, Kaylee glanced at the clock. It was almost three, which meant she’d be seeing Frost in less than half an hour.

Everything inside her was in turmoil.

Yesterday she’d decided to keep herself distant from him. With the way she reacted to him, that was a challenge.

And then, while she was still in the office, barely separated from Frost, she’d received a call from Sylvia, her previous boss.

Sylvia had accepted a position at a leading oil and gas firm and was planning to hire several of her own managers in the coming year. She asked Kaylee to think about joining her team. More responsibility. And more money.

She promised to think about accepting a job there.

That she hadn’t immediately seized the opportunity bothered her. After all, she wanted to get away from her bosshole.

If Sylvia had called even a week ago, Kaylee would have immediately turned in her notice.

So why the reluctance to leave Frost?

Maybe because of the way he’d turned her inside out.

After talking to Sylvia, Frost’s announcement that he intended to close Christoff for a week—and pay the employees for the time off—stunned Kaylee so much that her resistance to him began to melt away.

When he’d invited her to join him after work, she would have been smart to refuse. But as always, Frost knew how to get what he wanted. Picking up a gift for his grandmother was something she couldn’t resist.

To justify her actions to herself, she rationalized that she needed to finish her shopping too. The fact he was going to the Maison Sterling was an added bonus. She’d heard of the hotel and had always wanted to visit, but even grabbing a happy-hour cocktail there would seriously strain her budget.

Knowing the lobby would be decorated for the holidays was tinsel on the tree for her, and she’d ignored common sense in favor of spending time with her fake fiancé.

Which had, once again, been a mistake.

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