"Mitch!" Jeff put the book down and launched off the chair, running to Mitch and throwing his arms around him. Mitch wrapped his arms around Jeff and hugged him tight.
"Hey Jeff! Merry Christmas."
Zoey came running in. "Mitch is here? Hi Mitch! Merry Christmas. Wait 'til you see all I got for Christmas." She hugged him and Mitch picked her up and hugged her back, closing his eyes tight as he did.
"Hey guys. I have gifts for you." He lifted a bag. "We'll open these in a bit. But first, I need to talk to your mom."
Greta felt the depth of his feeling for her children coming off him in waves. Her throat squeezed at the warmth and familial bond he already had with her kids. It was true and it was honest and she felt more like a jerk today than she had last night.
Greta's mother cleared her throat. "Let your mother talk to Mitch alone. You'll have plenty of time with him later. How about we go into the kitchen and eat some homemade biscuits?"
Distracted by food, the kids waved to Mitch, and the whole family eased out of the room.
And suddenly, the two of them were alone.
"Would you like to sit down?" she asked, feeling awkward, not knowing where to start.
"Sure." He moved to the sofa and sat.
She sat next to him, knowing she was going to have to make the first move, but suddenly tongue tied and nervous.
"I got your message last night," he started. "Thank you."
Her eyes welled with tears. "Mitch. I'm so sorry for everything I said. I was wrong--about a lot of things."
"Greta, it's okay."
She held up her hand. "It's not okay. Please, let me get this out before I end up falling apart."
"Okay."
"I was Daddy's little girl. We did everything together. He took care of me, was always there for me. And then Cody...well he took care of things, too, only he took it to the extreme. Then things got ugly with Cody, and Dad was there for me again to help me pick up the pieces. But he died right after that. So the motel was all I had left and I clung to that like it was the only thing important to me.
"I used the motel like a shrine to my father, the only man who had ever really meant anything to me, who had ever really loved me. And I see now how wrong that was, how much I've missed out on. Not only with my kids, but in life. And you're the one who opened my eyes to the things I could have. No monetary things, that kind of stuff never mattered to me. But time with my children, learning about who they are, what they want out of life. Just being able to be with them, enjoy life with them, before they're grown and gone.
"And also, time for me to be a woman, to fall in love again, to have time to myself to live. I had filed that part of myself away and that's not fair to me or to my kids. Thank you for letting me see glimpses of the woman I could be. I didn't even know she existed.
"I'll sell the motel to you, Mitch. But I don't want you to feel like you need to be part of our life. I just appreciate the time you spent with me, and with the kids. I'll never regret that."
She exhaled on a shaky sigh.
"Can I talk now?" he asked.
She nodded.
He slid his hand in hers, entwined his fingers with hers, and her gaze went down to where their hands were joined, then back up to meet his eyes.
"I have never been with a woman who wanted so little from me. All the women I've ever dated knew who I was, what I was worth, and what I could give them. I gave, and they took. Frankly, it was usually a mutually beneficial relationship. I had eye candy on my arm for whatever event I needed it for, and the women got whatever they wanted from me in return.
"I never did long term relationships because no woman wanted me just for me, and I didn't meet or was with any woman I was interested in getting to know better.
"Until you. You completely unraveled me and my expectations of what a woman wanted, because you didn't want a damn thing from me. Not my money, my connections, nothing. You asked for nothing, you expected nothing, and I had no idea what to do with someone like you, because instead of taking, you gave."
She frowned. "I don't understand. What did I give you?"
"Fun, warmth, laughter, family, heart, romance, sex, love. All without strings, without asking for anything in return. I've never in my life met a woman like you. And for the first time, I wondered what it would be like to...stay."
Greta swallowed...hard.
"I've never stayed before. I was always off on the next adventure, the next deal, never thinking twice about the woman I left behind, because there were never any strings.
"With you, Greta, there are strings. Not strings that you laid down, but the ones I've made. So, for the first time in my life, I find myself...attached." He dragged his fingers through his hair. "And I don't really know what the hell to do with all these feelings I have, because I've never had them before."
Greta lifted shaky fingers to his lips. "You've never been in love before, have you."
He shook his head. "No."
She smiled at the look of utter misery on his face. She could almost feel sorry for him if it wasn't so damned endearing, if he hadn't just laid his heart in her hands, if she didn't feel like bursting into tears she was so happy. "I thought I was in love once. But I was wrong. Love isn't giving and never receiving anything back. Love is when you give, and receive that same kind of feeling in return. Love is what I think I feel for you, Mitch."
He sucked in a breath and entwined his fingers with hers. "Is it possible to fall in love with someone after only a week?"
Her lips lifted. "I don't know. Maybe."
He squeezed her hands. "I will never hurt you like he did."
"I already know that. And I'm so sorry for ever thinking you could. That was my own hurt pride over not knowing my children as well as I thought I did."
"You don't have to sell me your motel."
She shook her head. "It's the right decision to make for me and for my kids."
He stared at her. "Then help me design it. And then help me run it."
Her heart leaped in her chest. "What?"
"You know this place better than me. You help me draw up the right plans for the resort. We'll work on it together. And then this will be your hotel, too. You'll run it."
"I don't know anything about running a resort."
He shrugged. "I didn't know anything about the hotel business before I bought my first one. Dive in and learn."
The thought of it scared the hell out of her, but excited her too. She could already envision the new hotel sitting on the sands right now. With a pool big enough for Zoey to swim laps in.
"You're already thinking, aren't you?"
She grinned. "Yes."
"Good."
But there was something else. "Mitch."
"Yeah?"
"That letter you left."
"Oh. Yeah."
"I didn't know about it when I called and left you that message. My mom brought it to me after I called you."
"Okay."
"I don't ever want you to think I did this because of the money you left my kids."
He smiled. "Greta, I've never met a woman who needed me less than you do. I would never think that."
She stood and took a few steps, then sat on his lap, twining her arms around his neck. "That's where you're wrong. I never realized how much I needed you until you were gone. But it has nothing to do with your money. I missed you."
He touched his forehead to hers, and when his gaze met hers again, there was a brightness in his eyes that she could swear were tears.
But big strong multimillionaires didn't cry, did they?
He cupped her cheeks and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her until her heart swelled so thick she was afraid it would burst from her chest.
"Merry Christmas, Greta."
She snuggled against him, realizing Mitch was undoubtedly the best Christmas gift she had ever received. "Merry Christmas, Mitch."
"Should we go tell the kids and your family all the news?"
; She grinned, then nodded and stood, clasping tight to his hand. "Yes, let's definitely go tell everyone."
The kids were shocked, excited beyond words, and unable to believe their good fortune. They of course had to call all their friends and tell them the good news. Greta's mother just nodded, seemingly pleased. Don and Suz were elated and said they expected the royal treatment at the new hotel, which made Greta laugh.
They all ate and cleaned up, then everyone went home. Greta's mother insisted on keeping the kids overnight, and shooed Greta and Mitch out the door to go spend a night somewhere else.
Mitch drove them to Daytona Beach, back to his suite at his hotel. As they walked through the doors, Greta stepped out onto the balcony to breathe in the night air.
Mitch moved in behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "What are you thinking about?"
"Gifts."
"Yeah? What kind of gifts?"
"The kind that don't have anything to do with money or presents." She turned in his arms. "The kind that have to do with how a man and a woman feel about each other."
She leaned against him, pressed her lips against his to show him how she felt about him, wanting to give him the only gift she had to give.
His arms tightened around her and he deepened the kiss, his tongue wrapping around hers, coaxing her to open so he could lick against hers with velvet softness.
He moved his hand down to her lower back, his fingers resting just above her buttocks. He pressed in, driving her sex against his erection, letting her know how affected he was by their kissing. Greta clutched his arms, so lost in the sensations of the kiss that she didn't care that they stood on the balcony where anyone could see.
Then again, who could see? They were shut in on three sides, they were so high up someone would need binoculars, and if she walked him backward and pressed him up against the wall...
"Greta," he asked when she did just that. "What are you doing?"
She smiled, then slid down his body, enjoying the play of his muscles clenching in surprise. "Playing."
She'd worn her black dress today. Now, she hiked it up to her thighs, her legs spread as she crouched down, putting her face at level with his crotch. She unzipped his pants, tilting her head back to watch his reaction. His half-lidded gaze told her he wasn't going to object to her drawing his cock out right here on the balcony.
He hissed when she began to stroke it, then slid her lips over the soft head, capturing his salty essence with her tongue. He reached out one hand and slid it into her hair, winding his fingers around it to hold her head in place as she loved his cock with her mouth and tongue, holding the base of the shaft with her hand, taking as much of it in her mouth as she could.
She loved the sounds he made, the way he talked to her, encouraging her while she sucked him. Giving a man a blow job had never been such a turn-on before, had never aroused her as it did now. But Mitch was so into it, and she could tell she gave him pleasure, which made her want to give him more. She loved his groans, the way he pushed into her mouth, held on-to her hair with a tight grip as if he was holding back just so he could enjoy the pleasure.
She knew that feeling.
By the time he pulled his cock away from her lips, her nipples were hard and her pussy was quivering in anticipation. Mitch reached for her hands and lifted her.
"I want to come inside you, not in your mouth."
Panting with excitement, she kissed him, ravaging his tongue with hers, showing him just how out of control sucking him had made her.
He moved her to the edge of the balcony, placing her hands around the thick iron railing. He lifted her skirt, sliding his hands under the fabric to reach for her panties and slide them down her legs. Suddenly she felt the warm wetness of his tongue between her legs, and she widened her stance, giving him access. He slid one hand in front of her sex and found her clit, his tongue sliding up into her pussy and along her lips to drive her to near madness.
Soon she was on her toes, arching against his hand, so close to coming she had to bite down on her lip to keep the whimpers at bay. But just like him, she wanted to wait.
"Mitch. Fuck me. Now."
He pulled away, rose, and she heard the tearing of the condom packet. Then he was behind her, lifting her dress again, pushing her forward so her butt was in the air and his hand was on her ass, spreading her cheeks apart while his cock probed between her legs. Just the touch of his cock head against her pussy lips made her pulse, almost sent her over the edge.
"Mitch, please."
He thrust inside her, his hips buried against her ass. She tilted her head back and moaned at the sheer pleasure of this bond they shared, of feeling him connected to her in this intimate way. Her pussy gripped him, and he pulled back, the sensation of his cock dragging against her nerve endings near shattering her.
But she held on, not ready to come yet, wanting to enjoy every second of this joining.
Mitch bent forward, kissed her neck, licked her throat, then pushed her hair to the side and lightly bit her nape. She shivered, the wild sensation shooting between her legs and making her pussy clench his cock.
"Christ," he whispered, then reared back and thrust harder. "You do that again you're going to make me come."
She gripped the railing and pushed back, unable to speak, just needing more of what he'd just given her. More of the sweet hot pleasure of his cock impaling her. She released one of her hands and lifted her dress, found her clit, and rubbed.
"Oh, yeah," Mitch said. "I want to feel you come all over me."
His words, as dark as the night surrounding them, tightened her even further. With her hands and the measured pumps of his shaft, she splintered, waves of climax pouring over her, making her cry out into the night. She didn't care, the pleasure was too great. And Mitch went too, only adding to the wild sensation of abandon and primal release that filled the night as he gripped her hips and pumped hard once, twice, then shuddered against her, shouting too as he came before falling against her.
She couldn't recall ever having an orgasm that hard, that deep, one that left her drenched and sweaty and unable to move a muscle. Mitch wrapped an arm around her waist and turned her around to face him. He was wet too, perspiration dotting his forehead and neck.
"Ms. Mason, I do believe you are something of an exhibitionist and a wild thing."
She laughed. "Would you like me to add that to my resume, Mr. Magruder?"
He cocked a brow. "I don't think I want Human Resources to know that aspect of your...talents."
They stripped, took a shower and climbed into the fluffy bath robes provided by the hotel, then Mitch ordered room service snacks for them and they piled into the king-sized bed to eat and drink.
"Did you have a good Christmas, Greta?" he asked, feeding her a strawberry.
"I had an incredible Christmas, Mitch." The first that she could remember since her father died where she didn't go home and stand at the shore, look back at the motel and miss her dad. That was a very good sign that things were changing for the better. She'd like to think her father would like the decisions she was making. And he had always loved Mitch.
"So will you take off after the deal is made?" she asked.
Mitch frowned. "Why would I do that?"
She shrugged. "I just figured you had other business interests to occupy your time."
He took a sip of champagne, then set it on the table behind him. "You and Jeff and Zoey and the new resort will occupy my time. I intend to stay here, Greta."
"Oh." Hope swelled inside her.
"When I said I was falling in love with you, that didn't mean I was going to have a relationship with you long distance."
"Oh."
He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles. "We need to see where this goes. You and me--it has nothing to do with the new resort. That's separate. Business and personal won't be mixing together."
"Can you do that?"
"Of course. Can you?"
"Yes. Though I will be
sleeping with my boss. What will people think?"
He shook his head. "No, you will be sleeping with your partner. I intend to give you fifty percent equity in this resort, Greta."
Shock made her eyes widen. "Mitch. Why?"
"So you never feel like some man has control over you ever again. You and I will share equal interests and equal decision making in this resort. You won't ever report to me."
God, she really didn't deserve him. "Thank you for that."
"Don't thank me. You'll work your ass off for it."
"I'm not afraid of hard work."
"I already knew that. But it'll be awhile before the attorneys sort all the paperwork out, and we go through the permit stage. In the meantime, I intend to focus all my efforts on the personal aspects of our relationship."
She sighed as he drew her against him and pressed a long, toe-curling kiss to her lips.
She didn't know what she'd done to deserve a gift like Mitch, a man who'd swooped in and completely unraveled her life, but she could never go back to the way things were a week ago.
And why would she even want to? A week ago she was miserable. And every day since Mitch had shown up at her motel, she'd been falling hopelessly, helplessly in love.
It was the stuff of fairytales. She really did feel like Cinderella.
About the Author
Jaci Burton is a National Bestselling author, published in multiple genres. Her life is spent juggling deadlines and trying to keep the characters straight in all her books. Jaci is an award winning author, and has won the Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine's Reviewer's Choice Award. Jaci makes her home in northeast Oklahoma with her husband and more dogs than she can wrangle. You can find out more about Jaci and her books on the web at www.jaciburton.com
Look for these titles by Jaci Burton
Now Available:
Rescue Me
Nothing Personal
Show Me
Unwrapped
Dare to Love
Coming Soon:
Crimson Ties
A bad boy is about to find out just how naughty a good girl can be.
Sweet Charity
(c) 2008 Lauren Dane
After eight long years of pretending a horrible one-night stand hadn't happened and wondering if it had been her fault, Charity Harris has finally coaxed handsome bad boy and lifelong friend, Gabriel Bettencourt, back into her bed. It's not just good, it's fanfreakingtastic! Trouble is, he's persisting with his story about not wanting a relationship and not being good enough for her even as their friendship blooms into something looking a lot like love.