Christmas With The Billionaire (7 page)

“Where are you going?”

The words shot out of her mouth before she put her brain in gear.

“Me?” Jason shrugged. “I’m going to light the outdoor oven, put some music on, pull up a chair, and kick back with a glass of brandy. And then I’m going out.”
 

He glanced at a wristwatch that could probably tell his position in relation to the moon. “Perhaps you could look after Woolly for me while I’m gone?”
 

“Won’t Woolly be welcome, wherever it is you’re going?”
 

She sounded suspicious. She was suspicious. And it was too late to take those words back now. She couldn’t believe she’d been so dumb it hadn’t occurred to her before that the notorious Jason Kent, the man known to avoid Christmas at all costs, had never professed to avoid women; quite the contrary, in fact. No doubt all the time she’d been weaving erotic fantasies involving Jason Kent, billionaire, and Kate Black, farmer’s daughter, Jason had been lining up his next hot date.
 

“I hope you enjoy yourself.” She sounded about as sincere as a fortune teller’s assistant. “And of course I’ll have Woolly. He can stay overnight...” She paused “If you need him to?”

“Are you fishing, Ms. Black?”

“Me? No.” She pretended not to know what he was getting at.
 

“Great. Thank you. I was hoping you’d say that. I’m sure Woolly would love to have a sleepover with his friend.”

She ground her teeth, noting how Jason’s eyes, always so expressive, could shield his thoughts when he decided to hide them. “Don’t let me keep you, Mr. Kent.”
 

Curving a smile, he assured her, “Don’t worry, Ms. Black. You won’t.”

Chapter Eight

“Aren’t you coming, dear?”

“Sorry?” Kate recognized Lily’s voice immediately, and concerned that there was a problem, pressed the receiver to her ear. Glancing outside she saw it was already growing dark. “Would you like me to come and walk home with you?”

“No. I mean
you
should be here,” Lily insisted. “Why aren’t you here? You’re a resident of 1, Royal Buildings, aren’t you?”

“For now,” Kate agreed.

“Never mind ‘for now’,” Lily argued. “You’re one of us as far as I’m concerned, and it’s our Christmas party. We want you here. We’re planning more outings, and that’s all thanks to you.”

For once in her life, Kate didn’t know what to do. She had been opening gifts from her family and indulging in a pity party because she wasn’t with them over Christmas. She had been thinking of herself—not them, not Lily—and thrilled as she was to hear that the residents had planned more get-togethers after today, she didn’t want to bring Lily’s upbeat mood crashing down by telling her that the apartment was in a tip, and Kate was in a grump because she hadn’t been invited to the lunch.
 

On the other hand, she didn’t want to let Lily down.

“Honestly, dear, don’t even bother to change your clothes—just jump in a cab. They’re still running. Get over here as fast as you can—and that’s an order.”

Shaking the last of the grumps out of her head, Kate laughed. “Aye Aye, cap’n.” How could she refuse?
 

Fair to say, this wasn’t his comfort zone. The last thing on earth he had imagined was having a “Ho Ho Ho” moment on Christmas Day. But against all the odds, here he was, dressed up in a red gown and beard, waiting for the restaurant manager’s signal.

Having failed to find a single Santa Claus to perform the dirty deed this late in the day, he had been reduced to begging one of his accountants to share the costume he wore each year—apparently for no better reason than the dogs could bite him and the children could laugh. Some people never learned, he had scoffed, never thinking he would become one of them.
 

He peered inside the room where it seemed everyone was having the best of times. He had intended to stay away. Wasn’t it enough to pick up the tab?
 

Not according to Lily. “There’s only one thing missing,” she had told him in a plaintive tone when he’d rung to ask how it was going. “I always had a Santa Claus come visit my guests—sack over his shoulder,” she had reminisced with her voice growing increasingly doleful. “There would be gifts for all the guests in
my
day.”
 

The cunning senior had woken feelings in him he hadn’t even known he possessed. “Okay,” he had conceded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“I knew you wouldn’t let me down, dear,” Lily had said brightly, promptly cutting the line.

Right. This was his cue. He nodded in response to the manager’s signal. He couldn’t let Lily down.

She was too shocked to laugh. Jason Kent in a red robe and beard?
 

Yes. And he was still an imposing sight. She’d never seen Santa Claus, looking so dreamily tall and powerfully built before, or one with quite so much stubble, or such a crooked white beard. Her natural instinct propelled her from the table to straighten it up for him. Too many years of straightening her brothers’ ties, she supposed, wondering what on earth she thought she was doing when she reached Jason’s side. Conquering her concern, she got to work on his beard. “There... That’s better.”

“The damn thing itches.”
 

“You’ll just have to be brave.”

“Thanks for the advice, Ms. Black. Shouldn’t you be assisting me while dressed in your pixie costume?”

“The elf is off duty for the rest of the day.”

“That’s a shame...”

She might not be able to see his mouth beneath the whiskers, but she could see those dark, wicked eyes quite clearly.
 

“Well,” he said, hoisting the sack onto his shoulder. “Better get this over with—”

Jason was the hit of the party. Of course he was. When he turned his charm on people instead of business, he was bound to succeed. Even Kate Black, cynic from the North of England, where people were as blunt as they liked with no London polish at all, was completely transfixed by him. Resting her chin on the heel of her hand, she watched him work the tables. He had remembered gifts for all the staff in the restaurant, even those in the back. He was quite a man, stripped of a few layers of armor, this so-called hard-bitten billionaire. She would even be tempted to introduce him to her clan. Not that he’d want to meet them. Why would Jason Kent want to visit a remote sheep farm in the North of England?
 

“And last, but not least,” the red-clad figure bellowed, “I’ve got something here for Ms. Kate Black...”

She didn’t have a chance to think any dirty thoughts about what that something might be, because everyone was looking at her and had stood to applaud.

“What have I done?” she exclaimed, red-faced.

“Everything,” Lily told her firmly.

Kate watched with trepidation as Jason rootled in his sack. Goodness knows what he had in there. She didn’t even want to think about it—

A bone for Yappy, tied with a red ribbon. What a relief! She laughed and accepted it with a theatrical bow to more applause.

“And...”
 

Not more, she thought apprehensively as Jason plunged his arm into the very bottom of the sack.

“A personalized necklace with the names of all your brothers and sisters inscribed on it—”

Her mouth dropped open at the thought of how big that would have to be, and was surprised when the muscular Santa Claus handed her a small, gift-wrapped box.
 

“I hope you like it.” His lips came dangerously close to her face as he added, “We thought you’d like something to remind you of home.”

“Hanky, dear?”

If there was one thing Jason Kent was good at, Kate reflected as she knuckled her eyes, it was finding his target and striking a bull’s-eye every time. He’d made her cry.
 

The necklace was beautiful. A row of teeny-tiny hearts, each one inscribed with a name, glittered in the street lights as she held it up. “How did you know the names of all my family?” She examined the necklace she had already decided was the most precious thing she owned.
 

“The wooden hearts you hung up in the kitchen back at the apartment,” Jason explained as they walked back later.
 

“But how—”

“—Could I buy something and have it engraved on Christmas Day?”

“Exactly.” She shrugged. “Though I suppose money buys everything, including getting friendly jewelers to open up their shops?”
 

“Money buys most things,” he agreed wryly.

“But not me, Mr. Kent.”
 

“No. Not you.” He met her gaze and smiled.
 

He took her right to the door of her apartment, where he took the key out of her hand and opened the door for her.
 

“Would you like to come in?” She thought it only polite to ask.
 

Yeah, right—heart hammering at the thought of being alone in the apartment with Jason, and she decides to be polite?

“Why not?” he said.

Now she could think of a thousand reasons why not. She hadn’t thought he would accept. But he had. He was inside. And the door was closed.

“What’s all this?” He was staring around at the blizzard of wrapping paper, and other bits and pieces scattered around the Christmas tree.
 

“Gifts from my family. I didn’t have a chance to tidy them up when Lily called—” She had to stop. Her eyes had welled. She hadn’t realized just how much she missed everyone back home. The chaos of a Black family Christmas, with all the jokes and gifts and hugs, and enough food to leave her stranded on the sofa like a beached whale, couldn’t be outdone, and she had really missed it.
 

Then Jason’s arms were around her, and he was holding her close to his chest. So close she could feel his heart beating. His heat warmed her. His strength bolstered hers. He cut through the layers of ice that seemed to have formed around her body and her heart. She rested for a few seconds, enjoying his familiar scent, that intoxicating mix of spice and mint and soap, and then she registered the fact that he was in no hurry to pull away. And that this wasn’t just a brief, pull-yourself-together gesture from a man who cared for no one but himself, but a genuine hug from a friend.
 

“You’ve changed,” she said as she frowned up at him.
 

Jason’s brow knitted. “Changed from what to what, Ms. Black?”

“From cold and aloof, to...” she couldn’t find the right word, “to this,” she said with a shrug.
 

“This?” he queried, smiling faintly.
 

“Stop,” she insisted. “Stop teasing me, Mr. Kent.”
 

“What shall I do instead?” he said, pulling his head back to stare down at her.
 

“Kiss me?” she suggested.
 

Chapter Nine

He shut the front door behind them, keeping Kate close. She laughed as he backed her towards the bedroom, but glanced at the sofa on the way. He shook his head and kept her moving. What he had in mind would require far more than a couch.
 

“Where are you taking me?’ she demanded breathlessly.
 

“If you don’t know—”

“Third door on the right—”
 

“The one marked ‘Housekeeper’?” He frowned. He remembered it now from the party.

She laughed at his expression and told him, “I just got a promotion.”

“Who labels doors for staff?” Leaving that for later, he swung the door wide. As he had expected, the staff in this apartment were expected to live very differently, very spartanly, compared to the rest of the accommodations. “You wouldn’t work here at all, if I had my way—”
 

“And what way would that be, Mr. Kent?” Kate challenged him.

She wouldn’t like his answer, so he said nothing. The women he usually dated took it for granted that if they were with Jason Kent they didn’t have to work. He couldn’t see Kate Black going for that. If he suggested it, she’d likely tell him exactly what he could do, and how fast and hard he could do it.

“Are you laughing at me, Mr. Kent?” she demanded as he lowered her onto the bed.

“Laughing with you,” he corrected her.

Angling her chin to stare into his eyes, she said, “So, you’re ready to accept you’ve met your match?”

“Not so fast, Ms. Black.” That was enough talk. Stretching out his length against her, he drew her into his arms and kissed her long and slow.

“Wow,” she whispered when he pulled back. “I could almost believe you meant that.”

“Maybe I do,” he admitted. “You’re such a refreshing change.”
 

“Like a cold shower?” she suggested.
 

“Why do you always feel the need to make a joke of everything?”

“Because I have no confidence?”

He smiled. He hadn’t expected her to be so blunt. But why shouldn’t she be, when she was plainspoken about everything else?