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TREAT ME, DOCTOR

SYLVIA FOX

CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 One Year Later Also by Sylvia Fox

Copyright © 2016 by Sylvia Fox All rights reserved.

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CHAPTER ONE

I didn’t know how I’d managed to pull this one o

, but I wasn’t about to tempt fate and ask. The hottest man on the planet—hell, the hottest man in the entire known universe— pulled his black Porsche right in front of me, rolled down the window, and gave me a long and lingering wink. Yeah, I know, I know. Winks aren’t long and lingering, are they? Well, you’ve never seen Liam Cox wink. This man was the pure definition of sex. Everything he did oozed masculinity, and he stared with such an intensity that time itself slowed as he raked that scorching gaze across your body….

Okay, I was getting a little carried away. His gaze wasn’t raking across me, and it probably wasn’t scorching to anyone but me. But every time that man laid eyes on me, my body temperature shot up a thousand degrees.

I’d always wanted this man. Who the hell wouldn’t?

The only problem was…he was sixteen years older than me.

Oh. And he was also my dad’s best friend.

“Evening, Callie.” He slid out of his sleek car and joined me on the curb outside the bustling airport. Even though it was small and local, it was heaving with passengers and their families now that the holidays were only a couple of

days away. My own family would be here if the snowstorm two hours north hadn’t delayed their drive down to the ski resort.

“Hi, Mr. Cox,” I said in a breathy voice I barely even recognized as my own. I always tended to get like this around Liam. Dumbfounded and lightheaded, squeaking or whispering like some kind of Alternate Me had taken over my body.

I mean, I wasn’t the kind of girl to squeak. Not usually.

“Call me, Liam. Please.” He grabbed my suitcase and tossed it into the trunk of the car like it didn’t weigh fifty pounds. (It did. I’d packed a million di erent outfit options, my ski boots, and five or six hardcover books I hadn’t gotten around to reading at college.) And yet, he tossed it in the air like it was a feathery pillow.

The kind of pillow he must have on his bed…

“Liam,” I said with a small smile as I stood there awkwardly watching him slam the trunk. I’d never known how to act around him before, and I certainly didn’t know now. Even though I’d never told him how I felt, I was pretty sure one look at my face made it clear enough. I was truly, madly, deeply in love with this man, and every single one of my high school friends had guessed way back then. The only people in the world who seemed oblivious were my parents.

And it was sure as hell going to stay that way.

He moved over to the passenger side door and cracked it open, ushering me onto the cool leather seat. Liam had always been a gentleman, even though I swore he held a dangerous glint in his eyes. Deep down, he was a good guy, but there was more to the story than just that. He had an edge to him that he didn’t let most people see, and I’d been dying to know that side of him from the moment I’d first noticed it…which had been right around the time I’d hit puberty.

But even though I was twenty-one now, I doubted I’d ever have the chance to find out. Not with Liam being my dad’s best friend and all. That kind of thing tended to slam the breaks on romantic notions for most people.

Unfortunately for me, I was not most people.

Instead, knowing he was o -limits made me crave him even more.

When he slid into the driver’s seat and cranked the engine, I fought the urge to stare at him as he drove. The way he gripped the steering wheel made him seem raw with power. It was such a turn on that it immediately made me wet, and I’d only been in the car for five seconds.

“Thanks for picking me up,” I finally managed to say.

He flicked a grin at me, but kept his eyes on the road. “No problem, Callie. Wouldn’t want you to miss out on our yearly ski trip, now would we? I don’t know about you, but it’s one of the highlights of my year.”

My heart thumped hard. Little did he know. I looked forward to this trip like it was some kind of lifeline. Every time I thought my head would explode because of an upcoming exam, I’d just imagine Liam’s gorgeous, rugged face, his sizzling dark eyes, his smile that could cut deeper than any knife…and all the stress and the worry would seem totally, one-hundred percent nonexistent. Because at the end of the year, I knew I’d see Liam again.

It was just too bad he didn’t see me the way I saw him.

“I look forward to it all year,” I said, shifting in my seat as my thighs began to squeeze tight. I wondered if he noticed how he made me squirm, just by being in the same car as me.

“Rick and Lucy said they’d try to make it up tonight but no promises,” he said, the words sending chills across my skin. Rick and Lucy were my parents. And even though I loved them with all my heart, I couldn’t help but yearn for them to stay home, so I could have a night alone in a

mountain ski cabin with Liam. It sent my pulse racing, got my lungs constricting, and made my eyes practically water from the intensity of it.

The logical part of my brain told me nothing could or would ever happen.

But the fantasy part of my brain took over where Liam was concerned.

If we were alone in a romantic, sexy-as-hell setting, surely the thought might cross his mind…

I’d just have to make sure I helped those kind of thoughts along.

“That’s okay,” I said, attempting a sultry sound to my voice. Instead of coming out sexy though, I came across more like a cat in heat. “I’m sure we can entertain ourselves.”

Liam raised his eyebrows and flicked his gaze my way. For a moment, I could have sworn I saw something there that I normally didn’t see. The scorching heat I usually fantasized about in my own mind. A lusty, suggestive tilt to his lips. His ass shifting on the leather seat, much like I had shifted on mine.

But then it was gone just as quickly as it had come.

That or I’d imagined the whole damn thing.

“How’s school going?” he asked, dodging my words as if I hadn’t even said them. “I’m sure the boys there must be beating down your door.”

Boys. I wrinkled my nose. That was the perfect way to describe them, after all. After crushing on Liam Cox for my entire adolescent years, the boys at college seemed so… lacking in comparison. So immature, so concerned about getting trashed and getting laid. They lacked substance. They lacked power. They cared more about their own orgasms than anything else.

Not that I actually knew much about that. Sure, I’d fumbled around with one or two when I’d been talked into going to a few frat parties during sophomore year, but their awkward, eager fumbles had turned me o . Tease, I’d been called. Blue-baller, I’d heard more than once.

Those boys didn’t like me very much. Which was totally fine with me because I didn’t care much for them in return.

I imagined Liam Cox would be the total opposite of them.

Fumbling? Hell no. Awkward? Forget about it. He’d be confident, sexy, powerful. Experienced. He’d care about my pleasure far more than he’d care about his own. Or at least that’s how I imagined him to be.

Uh oh, I thought as I realized that I’d let my wandering thoughts get the better of me. I was in the car with Liam Cox and there I was imagining his strong and powerful hands all over me. And my body was reacting to those thoughts. My thighs were squeezed tight, my breath was shallow, my face had warmed considerably.

And I was so wet. So wet I was worried I’d leave behind the evidence when I got out of the car. I was wearing a short skirt and tights and nothing else. And my tights were soaked through, dripping with my desire.

The logical part of me hoped he wouldn’t notice.

But the other, sex-craved part of me? Well, that part really hoped he would.

CHAPTER TWO

A n hour later, we pulled up in front of the familiar cabin. It

was the exact same one we rented every year. Or rather, the cabin Liam and my parents rented. It had become as much a traditional part of the holidays as putting up a tree and watching cheesy Christmas films, starting back when I’d been ten and lasting even until now, despite the fact that I was fully grown and no longer living in my parent’s house.

It was me, my mom, my dad, and Liam. No one else. And he’d never brought a woman in all these years.

I liked to tell myself that it was because of me, as nonsensical as it sounded. Fantasies don’t have to be realistic though, am I right? But I heard my dad say one night that Liam had impossible standards and that no real woman could ever live up to what he wanted. And well, if that was the case, then I knew he’d never be into me.

“Here we are.” Liam’s smile grew wide as we gazed up at the cabin. Truth was, calling it a cabin was doing it a massive disservice. It was more of a mansion in the shape of a cabin, and it sat right on the ski slopes. The window outside of the kitchen looked out on one of the black runs, and I liked to sit and watch the experienced skiers zoom past on their way down the mountain.

Expensive? Yes. But Liam Cox was one of the best doctors in all of Vermont, and he had the salary to prove it.

The two of us climbed out of the car and made our way inside. It smelled of winter and of Christmas, of burned firewood, of crisp air, and of mistletoe. I looked up above the doorway and saw it hanging there, bright red ribbon tied around it. The previous occupants must have left it behind.

Or Santa stopped by, knowing exactly what I wished for this year.

Liam paused and looked up, his arms full of ski gear. He saw it, too, and for a moment, electricity sparked between us. Would he kiss me? It wasn’t as if it would have to mean anything. It was a Christmas tradition, after all. We were standing underneath mistletoe, and only inches stood between us, and my parents were nowhere to be found.

But then he stepped away, taking all his body heat with him.

I thought about saying something, about calling him back.

But that would just seem desperate.

The phone on the wall began to ring, jerking me out of my fantasies. I dropped my suitcase on the floor and grabbed the phone, an old landline that only got used because cell phone service was so terrible on the mountain.

“Hello?” I chirped, turning my back toward Liam so that he couldn’t see the redness of my cheeks. And the disappointment in my eyes that he hadn’t taken advantage of the mistletoe situation.

“Oh, hi honey,” my dad’s smooth voice came over the line. “So glad you made it to the cabin okay. I’m assuming Liam had no trouble picking you up?”

“None at all. He was waiting for me as soon as I got through baggage claim.” I twisted toward Liam, who gave

me one of his long and lingering winks again, and my whole body turned to mush.

“Good, good.” Dad cleared his throat, something he only did when he had bad news to share. “Listen honey, I’m so sorry about this, but we’re not going to be able to drive up tonight after all.”

“Tell her the roads are piled high!” I heard my mom’s shout in the background. She’d always done that, for as long as I could remember. Anytime my dad got on the phone, she’d add to the conversation, shouting a sentence here and there like she was on the phone herself.

“The roads are piled high with snow,” Dad said. “It’s been coming down hard for hours, and we won’t be able to shovel out until the salt trucks come by, which may not be until the morning at this point.”

“Tell her there should be some red wine in the basement!” Mom yelled.

“Lucy, I’ll tell her no such thing,” my dad said in response, acting as if I couldn’t hear every word they said.

“She’s our daughter for goodness sake.”

“She’s twenty-one now, Rick. She can damn well drink if she pleases. And being stuck there with Liam all by her poor self, she might need to.”

“Callie, honey, don’t listen to your mother,” Dad said.

“There’s some wine in the basement, Callie!”

I couldn’t help but grin. My parents really were one-ofa-kind, and I missed them while I was away at college. But as much as I’d been looking forward to seeing them…one more night wouldn’t harm a thing. And one night with Liam…well, that was my Christmas wish come true.

After I’d unpacked my suitcase in the upstairs corner bedroom, I wandered downstairs to see what Liam was up to,

intent on making a beeline for that wine Mom had been talking about. What better way to lighten things up than with a little booze?

Truth was, I wasn’t really much a drinker and never had been, despite my roommate’s repeated pressure to party hard while we were young and worry-free. But it had never appealed to me all that much, mostly because drinking often involved those boys who called me a tease.

But tonight? Well, tonight was a di erent story. Relaxing with Liam with a glass of wine didn’t sound anything at all like a wild night at a toga party. It sounded…mature, refined, romantic.

Sexy.

And sexy was exactly what I was going for…hence my outfit. I’d donned my favorite bikini. Dark blue with white polka-dots. It was skimpy and barely clung to my large breasts. On top of it, I’d thrown a sheer robe that rested halfway up my thighs. I would have never worn it if my parents had been there, but I’d packed it just in case.

To say the entire ensemble was suggestive would be putting it mildly.

I found Liam on the couch. He had lit a fire while I’d been upstairs and was flicking through a magazine, his gaze dark and serious as he read the page. I cleared my throat and moved in front of him, and when he looked up, I caught his eyes widen.

I worked hard to suppress my smirk of satisfaction.

“I’ve been informed there’s a bottle of wine with our names on it.” I put my hand on my hip and tried to form a suggestive smile on my lips. “Care to join me?”

Liam’s eyebrows hit the top of his head, and my body warmed at the sight. As many times as I’d dreamed of getting a reaction out of him, I’d never truly thought I could.

Yet here he was, definitely dumbfounded by the way I looked

and definitely looking a little flushed. His cheeks had way more color in them than they had two seconds ago.

“I’ve never said no to a bottle of wine.” His answer caught me o guard.

He actually wanted to spend the evening with me, drinking wine. I fought the urge to reach out and hold onto the mantle to keep myself steady. I needed to play it cool. I could do this. I could act like a normal human being. But I was certain the way my chest heaved told a di erent story.

Liam dropped the magazine onto the co ee table and eased up from the couch. His eyes raked across my body. Yes, this time they actually did rake, slowly and suggestively, a darkness swirling in his pupils. “I take it you’re going for a dip in the hot tub.”

The way he said the words dip and hot made me…well, it made me hot.

“That’s right.” I swallowed hard, watching him watch me. “I thought we might as well enjoy ourselves while we’re here…”

He nodded. “That sounds like an entirely enjoyable way to spend our first night here together. I’ll go get the wine. Meet me in the hot tub.”

CHAPTER THREE

T here were a few di

erent ways this could go. But there was only one way that my mind seemed to clasp onto, the way that ended up with me in Liam’s bed with his dick inside of me. I mean, I was only a straight woman with a pulse.

How the hell was I supposed to think any di erently? We were alone in this gorgeous cabin together. We were about to be in the hot tub together. Drinking wine. Gazing into each other’s eyes through steam-shrouded air.

That alone sounded scandalous in itself, especially with Liam Cox of all people. My dad’s best friend and the man I’d wanted with every fiber of my being for basically all of my life. At least for all of my life that I’d understood what wanting someone meant.

Surely he must have known how this might come across to me. We’d certainly never hung out in the hot tub together before. It just wasn’t something we did, not with my parents around.

I shivered, even though my whole body was surrounded by the heat of the water. Steam rose into the cool night air, and the stars twinkled in the clear, dark sky. At this time of night, no one was skiing by on the slopes, so it truly was just me alone…waiting for the sexiest man alive.

He appeared only moments later, wearing nothing but snug swim trunks. They clung to him just enough to show the bulge of his cock. I couldn’t help but stare. He was big.

Bigger than I’d expected. So big I squirmed in the bubbling water. Liam smiled and held up two wine glasses, the bottle already open in his other hand.

I smiled back, heart lifting at the sight of him before me.

It felt like a date.

A very sexy date.

“You look as though you’re enjoying yourself.” He eased into the hot tub, holding the glasses high in the air while he settled into the water.

What did that mean? How exactly did I look? Flushed and excited?

A little bud of doubt sprung up in my mind. Maybe this was a terrible idea after all. He could see right through me, and there was surely no way in hell he’d ever take me the way I wanted. If my dad ever found out, he’d probably kill him. And I was certain Liam was as aware of that fact as I was.

“Here you go.” Liam poured the red liquid into one glass and held it out across the steaming water, just out of my grasp. He was on the opposite side of the hot tub, and it forced me to slide away from the edge and closer to him.

The second I took the glass from him, our gazes locked.

He licked his lips, and once again his eyes raked across my curves. My breasts heaved at the surface of the bubbles, my cleavage very much on display. And Liam was drinking it in far more than the wine he held in his hands. My breath caught in my throat, and I stayed there, hovering just in front of him as I took a sip of the wine.

And with a boldness I’d never felt before, I licked my own lips, dragging my tongue across the droplets of wine on my skin.

Liam took in a long and shuddering breath, and my heart skipped hard.

He was finally noticing me in a way he never had before.

And all because we’d had the chance to spend an evening by ourselves.

God, I loved snowstorms.

“How is it?” he asked in a voice that was two octaves lower than it normally was. His dark eyes scorched into my skin as I tipped back my head and took another sip. The wine was fruity and smooth, and it went straight to my already reeling head.

“Delicious.” I set the glass onto the side of the hot tub and rose slightly out of the bubbles so that the water dripped down my chest. Liam’s eyes went south to follow the trails across my skin.

“It certainly is delicious,” he said lowly. And I couldn’t help but notice, he hadn’t even had a taste of the wine yet.

“So, Callie. You never did answer my question about all those boys that must be knocking down your door on a daily basis.”

“No, I didn’t.” I sucked in a breath when he shifted slightly closer. There were only inches between us now, and it took all my self-control not to launch myself into his arms. “Because there aren’t any boys.”

His eyebrows quirked upward. “No boys? Surely not.

You’re a gorgeous girl, Callie.”

He’d just called me gorgeous. In the hot tub. While barely wearing any clothes.

“Thank you.” I felt myself blush. “It’s just that I haven’t met anyone at college I’m interested in. They’re all pretty shallow and self-absorbed.”

He reached past me to take my glass of wine, and his skin glanced against mine. I shivered, a move that didn’t escape Liam’s attention. His lips quirked just slightly enough to

show that he’d noticed the e ect he had on me…and that he liked it.

“So, you’re looking for someone with a little more depth, is that it?” He drank from my glass, and it felt so intimate somehow.

“Well, someone more mature, I guess. They all play beer pong and video games.” I held my breath as I watched the words sink into his brain.

“More mature, eh?” He smiled and handed me a glass.

“Someone who will drink expensive wine with you rather than spend their evenings chugging beer with the boys?”

I nodded, my breath still held tight in my throat.

“Well, there are men like that out there. I’m sure a beautiful girl like you could find one.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have to look very far.” The words flew out of my mouth before I knew it was happening. My eyes went wide, and I froze. What the hell had I just done? It was one thing to dance around how I felt, but it was another thing entirely to pretty much admit it out loud.

But instead of jumping away from me, Liam Cox edged even closer. His knees knocked against mine, and his hand found my waist. My whole body began to shiver almost uncontrollably, just at the slightest of touches. If things were to go even further, how in the world would my body even handle it? It might explode into a million tiny pieces.

And I couldn’t believe I was even thinking about the fact that things might go further.

But I could recognize the look in his eyes, even if I’d never before seen it from him.

His gaze was lust-filled, excited, hot. He wanted me, and I wanted him, and his chest was now pressing up against my breasts. My body continued to shake, and it only made the heat in his eyes grow hotter. I felt like he would burn me

alive if he came any closer. Hell, I was already a puddle, melting into the hot tub’s water and swirling down the drain.

“You better be careful what you say, little girl,” he growled.

My breasts pressed into his chiseled chest, nipples growing harder and harder with each passing beat. “I’m not a little girl anymore.”

“No, you most certainly fucking aren’t.” His grip tightened on my waist, and something hard and big poked me in my thigh.

Oh my god, it was his cock. My pussy clenched with intense need, and I pressed myself up against him, rubbing my ache against his hard length. He groaned as I continued to grind against him, lust overtaking every logical thought in my mind. I no longer cared what he would think or how he would react. All I cared about was feeling his erection between my thighs.

I wanted him inside me. I’d never wanted anything more in my life.

Hell, I needed it.

A phone rang and rang in the distance, but it was no concern of mine. All that mattered was Liam’s chorded abs, his dripping wet hair, the way his teeth nicked my neck as I opened my legs wider and wider and wider…

But just as suddenly as it had begun, it ended. His eyes widened and he glanced behind him at where the ringing phone continued to break through our moment like an annoying alarm clock interrupting the best possible dream.

“I should get that,” he said slowly as he stood from the hot tub, water pouring across his perfect, ripped abs. The bulge in his pants had grown so large that it looked as if would break through the material at any moment.

Disappointed, I sat back and waited for his return. I heard him say my father’s name, and all the warmth I’d felt earlier

disappeared into the cool air. A moment later, I heard Liam hang up the phone just before he poked his head around the door, refusing to meet my eyes.

“I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Callie.”

“Seriously?” I asked, my heart growing still. “Why? What about—” “That was a mistake.” He shook his head and backed away. “I’m sorry, Callie, but we can’t do this. Not now, not ever.”

I fought against the tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks. “What the hell did my dad say to you?”

Liam went very still. “He told me to look after you since they won’t be here until tomorrow. And this…well, I don’t think he’d consider this looking after you at all. It can never happen again.”

And with that, he was gone.

CHAPTER FOUR

T he next morning, I did my best to avoid running into Liam

Cox. It was pretty easy. The cabin was large enough for me to skirt around unseen. Hear his voice? Turn and run in the opposite direction. Notice a footfall on the stairs? Hide into the nearest bedroom. Smell the scent of co ee and pancakes?

Go out the back door and head toward the slopes.

As soon as my parents got here, there would be a solid bu er between me, Liam, and the most humiliating moment of my life.

I’d pretty much thrown myself at him, and he’d turned me down. Hard and fast, like the spark between us meant nothing to him at all.

But until my parents’ arrival later that day, I needed to steer clear of any alone time with Liam. The awkwardness might just kill me. And I wasn’t ready to die quite yet.

I slid into my boots and skis and took the lift to the top of the mountain, a tad nervous at the prospect of spending an entire day on the slopes by myself. Even though I’d been coming here most of my life, I hadn’t quite taken to skiing the way my parents had hoped. I preferred to sit in the cabin or the lodge at the top, sipping hot cocoa and watching everyone else glide around like gazelles.

Because I did not glide or swoosh around. I fell. A lot. And I’d never felt confident enough to level up from the easy green runs to anything more complicated than that. Which meant that no one else really liked to go skiing with me for more than an hour or two.

I didn’t blame them.

But today was di erent. I needed time alone, and the first place Liam would look for me—if he even cared enough to look—would be in the lodge where I usually settled in with a book and a steaming cup of cocoa. So, o to the slopes it was.

I’d take a bruise on my body over one to my ego any day.

When I reached the top of the mountain, I pointed my skis straight toward the nearest green run right at the same moment that a familiar pair of skis stopped right in front of me. Dark red and swirled with black. Liam had owned these skis for as long as I could remember.

I swallowed hard and gave him a weak smile, all the blood draining from my face. “Oh, hi.”

So, he hadn’t bothered to look for me to make sure I was okay.

That made his rejection feel a million times worse.

“Saw you heading out with your skis this morning.” He nodded toward the green run. “Thought you might want some company on your first go down. I know you always have a little trouble starting out.”

My face flamed, and suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to prove his stupid, sexy-as-hell ass wrong. “I’m not going that way.”

He cocked his head. “You ready to try out a blue run? It still might be a good idea to warm up on a green. Don’t forget it’s been a full year since you’ve been here.”

It infuriated me that not only was he telling me what to do, he was acting as if nothing at all had happened between us the night before. He seemed totally at ease, behaving like

the older “dad friend” he used to be to me. Not to mention the fact that it felt like he was only trying to help because my dad had called him up and asked him to look after me.

How insanely, brutally mortifying.

Well, I would just have to show him that I could take care of my damn self.

And that I could do far more than he gave me credit for.

“I’m going on a black diamond, and I don’t need to warm up, thank you very much.” Narrowing my eyes, I pushed my poles to the ground and slid past him.

In two seconds, he was by my side. “Callie, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You should stay on the greens.”

“I’ll do whatever I damn well want.” I narrowed my eyes and pushed harder, picking up speed. “I’m a grown woman.

Not some child you need to babysit.”

“Callie,” he pushed faster, calling out from behind me.

“If this is about what happened last night, please stop. I won’t have you breaking an arm because of me.”

“Maybe not everything is about you.”

My skis tipped over the edge of the slope, and for one crazy second, I hung there in mid-air. This was stupid, I thought to myself. Because as angry I was, Liam was right. I could break my arm. Or worse. I’d never even gone on a blue run, much less a black, and I never even made it down a green run without falling at least once.

But I couldn’t turn back. Not now.

So, my skis slid forward, and I was gone, flying down the slope at a speed that made my heart lurch into my throat.

Trees flew past, whisking by in a whir of brilliant green. I could barely tell what was in front of me and what was behind. Faster and faster I went, my skis stuttering on the icy snow.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to slow down, seeing a patch of rocks up ahead. In the back of my mind, my thoughts formed

together, telling me that I needed to simply turn my skis this way and that to avoid the obstacle. But I’d never been particularly good at controlling my skis. And as soon as I shifted to the left, my feet flew out from underneath me.

With a cry lodged in my throat, I slammed into the ground. My body skidded across the hard surface, skis twisted underneath me in a painful position that only got worse as I slid further and further across the ice. Finally, I jolted to a stop when a tree came out of nowhere to block my path.

Dazed, I stared up at the sky, ears ringing and lungs frozen.

A pair of skis swooshed a stop by my head. Groaning, I twisted my neck to the side. Red skis. Black swirls.

Liam, of course. He’d seen the whole thing.

Well, I’d certainly made a point alright. Just probably not the one I wanted to make.

“Callie, sweetheart, are you okay?” He dropped to my side and pressed his hands to my knee. The one that was twisted at an insanely awkward angle and throbbing like it had been stabbed by a very sharp knife.

“Ouch.” I winced and closed my eyes. I couldn’t bear to look at him, more out of humiliation than pain.

“Okay, we need to get you back to the cabin.” Before I knew what was happening, I was in Liam’s strong arms. He picked me up as if I weighed nothing more than a teddy bear and kicked o his skis. With the whole ski resort watching— or at least that was what it felt like—he carried me down the mountain toward the cabin, his heavy ski boots sinking into the tightly-packed snow.

I stayed quiet the entire way down, not entirely sure what to say. And to his credit, Liam didn’t point out that he’d been right, that I should have listened to him. He just held me in his arms protectively, a serious glint in his eye. With every

step, my knee throbbed, but I didn’t dare tell him, not when he was doing his best to get me somewhere safe.

“Callie.” He finally broke the silence between us. “Don’t you dare ever do something like that again. You scared the shit out of me.”

This time, I didn’t argue.

CHAPTER FIVE

W hen we finally reached the cabin, Liam kicked open the

door and deposited me on the couch before heading to his car for his medical kit. Apparently, he always carried it with him just in case some klutzy girl fell knee-first into a tree on a ski slope. He was always prepared, and it didn’t surprise me at all. It was so Liam Cox to be ready for pretty much anything, something that made me almost forget the pain in my knee. Not when he was looking all sexy in his doctor mode.

He knelt beside me and examined the torn material around my knee. “You’re going to need to take your pants o .”

My face flamed. “Excuse me?”

“The only way I’m going to be able to make sure your knee isn’t broken is if I can see it properly.” He sighed and shook his head. “Just take o your pants.”

Words I longed to hear, just not in these particular circumstances. It put a damper on the otherwise suggestive situation.

With my eyes still on Liam’s face, I unbuttoned my pants and slid them down my thighs, wincing when the material hit my knee. “I’m going to need some help.”

Liam frowned but nodded. “Right. Of course.”

Carefully, his fingers wrapped around the material. He gently pulled my pants past my knee and o my legs, dropping the heavy material onto the floor beside him. I was all too aware of the goosebumps parading across my skin, of my ridiculous polka-dotted panties and how young they must have made me seem.

But instead of pulling away, I swore I heard him let out a noise that sounded like a beast about to eat its prey.

Something animalistic, guttural, and filled with pure need.

He licked his lips and leaned closer to my knee, poking the tender skin with delicate fingers. Even though Liam Cox was pure man, rugged and strong and more confident than anyone I’d ever met, I was quickly finding out just how gentle he could be. He handled my wound with such care that I barely felt a thing.

Or maybe I was just incredibly distracted by how close he was to my half-naked body.

“Good news is, you have no broken bones.” He pulled a wad of bandages out of his bag, along with some sterile wipes. “Bad news is, you probably shouldn’t ski for the rest of the trip. You gashed your knee pretty badly, and it’ll only get worse if you fall on it again.”

I wasn’t sure that was terrible news when it came down to it.

“Thanks for patching me up,” I said in a soft voice, watching as he cleaned the wound. It stung a little, but I didn’t really mind. “I know you probably want to be doing anything other than this right now. Not really much of a Christmas holiday, huh?”

“Don’t be silly,” he said quickly. He dropped the wipe into a plastic bag and got to work on applying the bandage, his fingers quick and steady. “I just hate that you went down the black run like you had something to prove to me.”

Wincing, I turned my head. Liam’s fingers paused. “Did that hurt?”

“No, no.” I laughed a little bitterly. “Well, the bandage didn’t, at least.”

“Callie.” He took my hand in his. His fingers were strong and firm and sure. “Look at me.”

Sighing, I twisted my head to meet his eyes. My heart thumped hard just looking at him. I didn’t want to have this conversation, the one I knew was coming. Not here, not now, not ever. I knew what he was going to say, and I didn’t want to hear it. Getting rejected had hurt enough. There was no need to relive the mortification all over again. But his gaze was steady and serious, and I knew he was going to get on with it, regardless of the fact I knew I was pleading with my eyes for him to stop.

I mean, hell. I was sprawled out on the sofa in my panties.

“Last night.” Liam paused and cleared his throat, redness creeping up his neck. “Look, it wasn’t like I didn’t want it to happen, okay? And that’s the problem. I very much did. But I know it can’t, and you know why it can’t. Surely you can understand that, right?”

“Because of my dad.”

“Because of Rick, yes.” Liam shook his head. “He would kill me. Absolutely throttle me.”

“But he’s not here.”

Liam sucked in a breath, widening his eyes. “No, no, he isn’t.”

“Then, what’s the harm?” I pushed up from the couch so that my face was only inches from his. I slid my ski jacket from my shoulders and let it fall to the couch behind me.

Underneath I wore nothing more than a tight white thermal shirt, nipples hard and erect and poking through the material. And my polka-dotted panties were starting to get wet from the heated look in Liam’s dark eyes.

“Fuck me,” Liam growled, eyes caught on my nipples.

I licked my lips and moved one leg to the side, the one that Liam hadn’t bandaged up. He dropped his eyes down to my panties and found the spot where the wetness had crept through. In two seconds, he was on me, his lips hot on my neck, his hands tangled up in my hair. His hard body pressed down on me, pushing me back onto the couch with a ferocity that left me breathless.

Liam Cox was on top of me. He kissed my neck, my lips, my ears. My breaths came out in short spurts, the nerves on my skin electric from his touch. My desire drenched my panties and dripped down my thighs, and I felt the kind of need I’d only dreamed about before. If he so much as touched my wet lips, I was sure I would explode into an orgasm immediately.

“You’ve been a very bad girl,” he said before ripping my shirt over my head. My nipples stood to attention, desperately awaiting for his touch. And then his tongue found my areola, brushing softly and quickly and making my whole body sing with need. I arched my back and pressed my heaving breast against his lips. He took it eagerly, sucking more of me into his mouth.

“Oh my god.” I squirmed, opening my legs wide in desperation.

But instead of coming closer, he pulled away. He stood from the couch, leaving me wet and needy before him. “I think I need to teach you a lesson.”

“Teach me any lesson you want,” I begged.

He dropped his pants to the floor and pulled his shirt over his head, revealing those thick and chorded muscles that rippled with every move he made. He eased back onto the couch, but instead of pressing his hot body on top of mine, he flipped me over his knees and spanked me hard. The pain

sent goosebumps across every inch of my skin, and juices gushed from my opening.

“You’re such a bad girl.” He spanked me again. “You got me so worried, baby. You know the only way to make it up to me, don’t you?”

I shook my head and lifted my butt higher in the air, desperate for another spank. Never before had I thought I’d love the feel of his hand slapping against my skin, but it was driving me wilder and wilder with desire. It made me feel as if he was taking me in ways no one else ever had and never would.

“How do I make it up to you?” I whispered.

“You’re going to ride me, baby.” He lifted me into the air and settled me onto his lap, my legs spread open wide. “And you’re going to come so hard that you’re going to be sore tomorrow.”

His cock pushed inside me, spreading open my tight walls. The only dick to ever be inside me. I screamed out his name as the pleasurable pain shook through my trembling body, my juices dripping down his length and onto his thighs. With a grunt, he grabbed my hips and pushed himself further and further inside me until he filled me completely.

“My god, you are so tight, baby,” he murmured before pulling me close and stroking my breasts with his gentle fingers. My nipples throbbed at his touch, and my whole body screamed for more.

I began to rock against him, fuelled by desire. He felt so big, like he stretched me to my very limits. With each and every thrust, his massive cock brought me closer and closer to the edge. Pleasure built up inside me, my breasts bouncing, Liam’s tongue licking and sucking on my nipples.

His fingers dug into my ass, and he plunged deeper inside me.

And my whole body began to shake. I was so close, I could feel the orgasm building, and then…explosions dotted my eyes. I dropped my head back and screamed, overwhelmed by the tremors that shook my thighs. Panting, I held onto Liam will all I had and arched my back, giving into this new sensation, this pure pleasure, something I’d never felt before in all my life.

When the orgasm finally subsided, I let out a deep breath and met Liam’s eyes. He was watching me carefully, a sexy grin sliding across his face. “You sure sounded like you enjoyed yourself.”

“I did.” I blushed and glanced away. “That was…new. I’ve never done this before.”

“Are you messing with me, Callie?” He asked as he began to fondle my breasts once again.

“No, of course not.” I shook my head. “I…there’s just never been anyone else I’ve ever wanted.”

“My god.” He rammed his rod into my pussy, still wet and eager for more. “Get ready for me, baby, because you’re going to have me in ways you’ve never even dreamed about before.”

CHAPTER SIX

L iam

hadn’t been joking. He’d fucked me at least five di erent times. In five di erent ways. He especially seemed to enjoy it when my ass was grinding against him. He liked to spank me and tell me how bad I was, and I loved it when he did. We’d spent so long rolling around together that my thighs and pussy ached. I had a feeling I’d be walking funny for the next day or two. Good thing I couldn’t go skiing on my knee. Otherwise, it might be hard to explain to my parents why I was hobbling around.

My parents. I frowned and eased up from the floor to glance outside the front window of the cabin. Liam was asleep on the couch, a blanket draped across his thick body.

Darkness was beginning to tint the sky, which meant that they wouldn’t be long from arriving. This little bubble of happiness and sex was about to burst, and I had no way of knowing if I’d ever be able to experience it ever again.

I’d gotten my doctor for Christmas Eve, but he’d be gone in the morning all the same.

“Callie,” he said in a sleepy voice, shifting over so that the blanket fell from his body, displaying his perfect dick.

Even after all the sex we had, already I wanted him all over again. “What are you doing over there? Come back.”

“It’s getting dark,” I said in a soft voice. “I think it might be time, to uh, you know. They might be here soon.”

“Oh fuck,” he said, grabbing his clothes from the floor.

With tears threatening to fill my eyes, I turned back to the window. I didn’t want to watch his hasty scurry to hide all the evidence of us. It made me feel cheap and used and not at all how he’d made me feel only moments before when he’d looked into my eyes, when he’d made me feel wanted, needed, desired. Special.

I didn’t want to be someone’s secret, especially not his.

The phone rang, and I jumped.

Eyebrows raised, I twisted to see Liam staring at the landline like it was some kind of bomb. And maybe it was. A weapon of destruction for what was happening between us.

With a sigh, I picked up the phone and pressed it to my ear.

“Oh, hi, honey,” my dad’s voice came over the line, cheery yet concerned. “Are you doing okay up there all by yourself?”

“Hi Dad. I’m fine. Remember Liam is here, too.”

“Right, but I’m sure that doesn’t help much, does it? I’m sure you’d rather be out with your friends than hanging out with some old fogey.”

I wrinkled my nose but didn’t respond. Old fogey. My dad would die if he knew the truth.

“Tell her she doesn’t have to pay him any mind if she doesn’t want to!” Mom’s voice shouted in the background.

“How far are you from being here?” I asked, changing the subject as quickly as I could. Talking about Liam with my father was pretty much the worst way to end this incredible night I’d just had.

“Well, that’s what I’m calling about, hon…” Dad cleared his throat. “We’re still blocked in. We don’t think we’ll be able to get out until the morning.”

“You mean you’re stuck there for another night?” My voice hitched on the last word, and the hope and excitement I suddenly felt broke through. There was no way in hell my dad hadn’t heard it clear as day.

“I know. It’s Christmas Eve. If we could be there, we would.” Dad sighed.

“Tell her the salt trucks broke down!”

“The salt trucks—” “I heard, Dad.” “We’ll be there first thing in the morning,” he said. “I promise you, honey. We will. Before you even wake up. How does that sound?”

“Don’t worry, Dad. It’s okay.”

“I know this must be a terrible holiday for you.”

“It’s fine.” I glanced over at Liam, who was watching me with hooded eyes. “I promise. I’m having a great holiday.”

“Come on,” Liam said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the front door of the cabin. He was convinced that I was upset, no matter how hard I tried to convince that I was totally fine with more alone time with him. “You need to have a good old regular holiday like you would if your parents were here.”

“And how is that going to happen?” I asked as he handed me my thick jacket and gloves. He leaned forward, pulled my hat over my ears, and smiled. My whole body melted.

“I’m going to take you to get a Christmas tree, and we’re going to put it up right here the cabin’s living room, all festive and cheery.”

“You? Put up a Christmas tree?”

My parents and I did this every year. There was a small shop just down the road from the slopes that liked to sell trees on Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve only. Every year,

we hiked down there, picked out the best tree we could find, and spent the evening decorating the cabin with as much festive cheer as we could manage. Liam, I’d noted, had never really taken part in our tree tradition. He usually headed o to a local bar for some drinks, giving my parents and I some family time.

I’d never thought much about it, but now I couldn’t help but wonder why he’d avoided it for so long. And why he always spent Christmas with us, instead of his own family.

There was so much about him that I didn’t know, that I wanted to know. I hoped I had the chance to explore his mind just as much as I wanted to explore his body.

“I can do it just this once for you.”

My heart squeezed. For me.

Hold up, I told myself. Don’t get carried away. Just because he wants to help you decorate a Christmas tree doesn’t mean he wants to marry you.

But the logical thoughts did nothing to stop the smile from blooming on my face.

When we reached the Christmas shop down the hill, we were greeted by pure madness. It seemed we weren’t the only people who had come to the same conclusion. And even though night had already begun to fall, there were dozens of other shoppers winding their way through the pine-scented evergreens.

Liam fell silent by my side as we walked down row upon row of trees. Every single one would have been fine, but I was looking for something special. Something that grabbed me by the stomach and told me to never let go. A tree that would be worthy of Liam Cox. Finally, at the end of the second to last row, I spotted it. It was a tall and towering tree, its branches full and spanning out several feet. It commanded attention, making all the other trees around it look boring, squat, and stale.

This was the tree I wanted. Even though I wasn’t entirely sure it would fit in the cabin.

“You want this one?” Liam raised his eyebrows and laughed. “Out of all these trees, you picked the one that looks like it could eat us whole.”

“It’s an impressive tree,” I said, gazing up at it and already imagining how the lights would look stung through its thick branches. “All the other ones look small in comparison.”

“Hmm,” Liam murmured, his gaze locking on my face.

“And size matters?”

“It’s not the only thing that matters,” I dropped my voice to a whisper. “But a big tree certainly does catch my attention.”

“Well, if big is what you want, then big is what you’ll have.” Liam gestured at the nearest shop worker and nodded toward the dominating tree before us. “The lady would like this one, please. She likes them big.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Somehow, Liam and I managed to haul the tree back up to

the cabin, though Liam did most of the carrying, what with my knee still aching when I put too much weight on it. I had no idea how he did it. With every passing moment together, I was starting to think he was the strongest man alive.

Certainly stronger than any doctor I’d ever laid eyes on.

“Where would you like it?” Liam asked, grunting as he pulled the tree inside, its branches scraping against the hardwood floor.

“I’m thinking it might have to go in the middle of the room.” I glanced up at the sloping ceiling and frowned. The last thing I wanted to do was chop o the top of the tree in order to make it fit inside the cabin.

“You’ve got it.” Liam hoisted up the tree, and together, we got to work on adding the decorations. The owners of the cabin kept an old supply in the basement, and we’d used the red and silver ornaments for so many years that they almost felt as if they were our own. Liam helped out here and there but mostly he watched me dart around the tree, humming holiday songs as I went along.

After awhile, he left me to it and worked on stoking a fire.

Soon, the chill of the mountain air was replaced by a

flickering heat, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw that snow had begun to fall outside. I had to admit, I was feeling the Christmas spirit. And I got so wrapped up in the decorations that I was barely aware of Liam in the background, going in and out of the house with firewood.

So, when I placed the last red ball on the tree, I stepped back, surveyed my handiwork, and smiled brightly at Liam.

My heart flickered when he smiled back just as much. “What do you think?”

“You’ve done a beautiful job.” Liam gestured to a thick blanket he’d spread across the floor by the fireplace while I’d been too busy with the decorations to notice. He also held the same red bottle of wine from the night before, along with two plates of Christmas dinner.

Surprised, my mouth moved into an O. “Liam? How? Where? I don’t understand?”

“The lodge mentioned to me that they would be a doing a Christmas Eve dinner this year. I’d planned to go there tonight while you and your parents did your tree decorating thing, but plans changed when they weren’t able to come.”

“So, you…?”

He chuckled and handed me the glass of wine. “You really are something when your mind gets set on something. Did you not notice when I left for a few minutes earlier?”

I shook my head. “I just assumed you were bringing in the firewood.”

“No, my sweet thing.” His smile widened even more. “I popped over the lodge to get us dinner.”

My heart swelled, both at the nickname and at the thought of him trekking through the snow to get us food.

Not only had he carried a massive tree home for me, not only had he carried me home earlier to patch up my knee, but he’d created a romantic candlelit Christmas dinner for two.

Even though this whatever-it-was would surely end

tomorrow, I’d never felt more loved and wanted in my life.

Treasured, even.

“Shall we?” Liam asked, gesturing to the floor.

I nodded and settled down onto the blanket, breathing in the delicious scent of roasted turkey, stu ng, and creamy mashed potatoes. It was everything I wanted Christmas dinner to be and more. Because this year, I had Liam Cox beside me.

We clinked our wine glasses and dug into the food, the fire blazing heat onto our skin. The more I ate and drank, the more relaxed I began to feel, until suddenly I felt emboldened to speak.

“Liam?” I asked, taking a long sip of the wine. “Why do you spend the Christmas holidays with my family?”

Liam paused before cutting into his turkey. He frowned but didn’t look angry that I’d asked. “I was always the black sheep of my family. We don’t get along very well.”

“Really?” I cocked my head to my side and looked at Liam, trying to find evidence he was anything other than pure perfection. “I would have thought they’d love you.

Gentlemanly, handsome, successful doctor. How could they be anything other than proud?”

“Well, as nice as you make that sound, they just don’t see it that way.” Liam gave me a sad smile. “My family has run their own business for several generations. My father expected me to follow in his footsteps, but it’s not what I wanted. He’s a good man, but he wouldn’t accept anything other than what he wanted me to be.”

I nodded and pressed my hand on his knee. “What kind of business does he run?”

“Fishing business.” Liam’s lips went thin. “Hard work.

Good work. But not the kind of work I wanted to do. And they just couldn’t understand it. They saw it like a betrayal.”

“So, instead of going home for the holidays, you come here.” It all made sense now, and I was glad Liam had opened up to me. Though the reasons made me sad. He had a family he very clearly loved, I could tell by the pained expression on his face. But he no longer felt he had a place at their table.

“Your dad has always felt like family to me,” he said quietly.

“When’s the last time you spoke to them?” I scooted closer and leaned my head against his chest, feeling the warmth of his body radiating through his flannel shirt.

“My family?” Liam frowned. “It’s been a very long time.

Years.”

I looked up to meet his eyes and spoke as softly and gently as I could. “Maybe you should try speaking to them.”

“No, Callie, you don’t understand. They don’t want me in their life.”

“Just try,” I said. “The thing is, maybe they’re just as scared to speak to you. Maybe they miss you just as much as you miss them. You’ll never know if you don’t try.”

Liam fell silent for several long moments, and the only sound in the room was the crackling fireplace. I wasn’t sure if I’d overstepped my bounds, but even if I had, I didn’t regret what I’d said. Liam had helped me so much over the past twenty-four hours, I wanted to help him in return. And this felt like the only way I could. If he reconciled with his family, it would mean seeing less of him each year. He’d no longer come on these holiday trips with me and my parents, but I found that his happiness meant more to me than my own.

“Callie, you’re an incredible woman.” Liam wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his chest. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

“So, does that mean you’ll call them?”

“Yeah,” he said softly, pressing his lips to my ear. “I’ll call them. Just not right now. I have some other ideas in mind for this evening.”

Thrills shook through my body. “Oh yeah?” What kind of ideas?”

“They involve you being naked. I hope you’re ready for me again, baby.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

M y heart fluttered at the heady look in Liam’s dark and

swirling eyes. In the light of the fireplace, he looked even more masculine and powerful than usual. And that was saying something. He leaned forward and kissed me, hard and fast, spreading open my mouth with his tongue.

Moaning, I pressed my hand against his hard chest and trailed my fingers across his ribbed abs.

I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have this man before me, pressing against me with a need that my own body echoed right back to him.

“Lay back,” he said as he pulled away, breaths heaving.

“You’re going to spread your legs for me, and I’m going to lick you in ways you’ve never known.”

Shivering, I obeyed. I loved when he took command like this, ordering me to do whatever he pleased. Because mostly, whatever he please involved pleasing me. And I’d never had someone lick my pussy before. The thought of his head between my thighs, his mouth working wonders…well, my polka-dotted panties were soaking wet already.

He tore my panties o my body and opened my thighs wide so he could get a good look at me. I’d never felt more exposed in my life, but I didn’t feel embarrassed. Not this

time. Not in front of Liam. The appreciative glint in his eyes made me feel like I just wanted to spread my legs even wider and show him more of myself.

His head dipped down, and his tongue flicked across my clit. Sparks of heat tore through my body, and I trembled uncontrollably. Ass bucking on the carpet, I arched my back and held my breath, desperate for him to taste me more. And so he did. His tongue lapped against my wetness, drinking me in with an eagerness that left me breathless.

I could barely think from the sensations shooting through me.

He pushed his tongue through my pussy lips, and I lost all control. My body shook, the orgasm overtaking me before I even knew it was coming. Legs clenching, voice crying out, I came harder than I ever thought possible. And when I was done, stars dotted my eyes.

But Liam wasn’t done yet.

“Did you like that, baby?” He asked, easing up from the floor to stare down at me. At some point, he’d removed all his clothing, and his big cock dangled before me, hard and sti as a board.

“I liked that very much,” I said in a small voice, eyes locked onto his cock. Even though I’d just had the most mind-blowing orgasm imaginable, I was already for more. I wanted his dick inside me. Now. I reached for his length, to push him inside me, but he moved just out of my reach, a lusty glint in his eye. “Uh uh, not so fast. I want you to suck me, baby. I want your gorgeous lips wrapped around my cock.”

My excitement only grew at his words. I moved to sit up, but he pressed me back onto the floor, sliding forward so that he straddled my body, his dick bobbing into my face.

“Not like that, baby. We don’t want you to hurt that pretty little knee of yours.”

And then he slid his cock into my mouth. He was so big that he stretched my lips as wide as they could go, and his hard length hit the back of my throat. I’d never done this before either, but his groans told me I was doing something right. He rocked against me, fucking my mouth, slowly and carefully, but with a powerful intensity that made me feel weak and helpless beneath him.

And it made me so wet that I could feel my juices pooling on the blanket, leaving behind evidence of my overwhelming arousal.

He began to move faster, grunting out my name as his body shook. Only moments later, his seed exploded into my mouth. He pulled his dick from my lips and let his cum drip onto my face, his mouth open in a wide and masculine O. “You’re so sweet, Callie,” Liam said, shifting back so that he could get a better look at my face. “Why don’t you get up and clean that pretty little mouth of yours?”

I swallowed and licked the droplets of cum from my lips.

“I don’t need to spit it out.”

Liam’s eyes widened and he let out an unmistakable moan. “My god, woman. You are going to be the death of me.”

He eased down on top of me, holding up his body with his strong arms. Dropping a kiss to my neck, my cheek, my breast, he suddenly seemed far more serious than he had only moments before. His lips found mine, and the kiss he gave me then took my breath away. It was di erent than the ones that had came before. Those had been scorching hot and full of need. This one felt softer, gentler. It made my whole body sigh, less from passion and more from pure satisfaction.

I felt…more than just wanted. I felt cared for.

“You are so gorgeous, Callie,” he murmured between kisses. His hand traced down my cheek, sending shivers

through my body. “I want more nights like this with you for months and months to come.”

And then he slid inside of me, slowly and gently and full of more than just lust. He kissed my forehead as he rocked against me before pulling back to meet my eyes. I got lost in his gaze, a strange and surprising feeling washing over me. I suddenly felt like I was where I belonged, like I’d spent my whole life waiting to get to this moment. Here and now with Liam Cox. He was no longer fucking me, not like he had in our time together so far.

No, this felt di erent.

It felt like making love.

My heart grew six sizes larger, and tears pricked my eyes.

I didn’t quite understand what was happening between us or when we’d shifted from something lighthearted and fun to something more. But I never wanted it to stop. I wanted to feel like this for the rest of my life, and I knew without a doubt in my mind that this was the only man in the world who could give that to me.

There was no one else I ever wanted. No one else other than Liam Cox. There never had been, and there never would be.

I could spend the rest of my life wrapped in his arms.

Liam and I made love for hours, the fire flickering in the background, the Christmas tree spanning up to the cabin’s ceiling. We knew we only had hours together before my parents arrived, and while we didn’t speak it aloud, I knew it was on both of our minds.

So, we made the best of it, the only way we knew how.

CHAPTER NINE

W hen I awoke the next morning, I was no longer draped

across Liam Cox’s perfect chest in the cabin’s expansive living room. At some point during the night, he had carried me upstairs and deposited me in my bed. Alone. Despite the thick comforter covering my body, I felt cold and alone, aching for the heat of the fire and Liam’s touch.

As I sat up, I heard voices drifting toward me from downstairs. My heart went cold. It was my dad and Liam, chatting about something to do with work. So my parents had made it after all.

My breathing became more rapid as I let the thought sink in. This didn’t have to be a disaster. Not really. And I felt guilty for experiencing anything other than happiness at spending Christmas Day with my family.

But logic said my dad would go ballistic when he found out. Total, one-hundred percent rage.

Liam Cox was my dad’s best friend. They’d known each other practically all of their lives, and my dad liked to think of me as some little girl who would never have sex in her life.

But I was grown now. And Liam was a good man.

Maybe everything could turn out alright.

Hell, maybe that was what they were downstairs talking about right now.

Might as well get it out of the way.

Before last night, I’d assumed that Liam and I would go back to how we’d been as soon as my parents showed up, but I knew that wasn’t the case anymore. Not with the way he’d looked at me. Not with the way he’d made love to me like I was the only woman in the world. He wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with him.

It just meant this Christmas might be a little…interesting, to say the least.

I showered and dressed and braced myself for whatever was going on downstairs. But when I made my way into the kitchen, everything seemed calm and normal. I glanced at Liam, but he didn’t meet my eyes. He looked relaxed enough, but there was something hard about him that I couldn’t quite read.

“Callie, hon!” My dad boomed and wrapped his arms around me, lifting me from the floor. “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, Dad,” I said, almost with a questionmark at the end. He was sounding pretty jolly for a man who had just found out his best friend was banging his daughter.

“Liam here said you’ve been bored out of your mind.”

Dad smiled and ru ed my head, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “Sorry ‘bout that, darling.”

“He did?” I glanced at Liam again, but he averted his gaze. “We’ve actually been having a nice time.”

“No need to be polite there, honey. We both know a girl your age doesn’t want to spend her holidays cooped up with an old man.” Dad clapped his hands together, making me jump. My heart had taken a turn for the worse, squeezing and unsqueezing like some kind of boa constrictor had wrapped itself around my blood supply. It was becoming very clear that Liam hadn’t said a word to my dad about anything,

not yet. This was only going to make it worse when he finally did, because now it felt like we were lying to him. And I hated lying to my parents.

“Well, he helped me put up the tree,” I said, my eyes never leaving Liam’s face. He looked ashamed, and that hurt me far more than his silence did. Like I was some kind of mistake he didn’t want to admit to. Like what had happened between us meant nothing to him at all.

“He did?” My dad looked genuinely surprised. “Well, what do you know? Liam Cox has a festive bone in his body after all.”

Liam cleared his throat and backed out of the kitchen.

“I’ll leave you two to it. I’m going to have a few runs on the slopes so you all can enjoy some family time together.”

His words cut a hole into my heart. Why was he being this way? Not only was he acting di erent than he had all weekend, he was acting completely di erent than he ever had with me. Liam had always been friendly. He’d always been nice. But now he was acting like I was some kind of leper he couldn’t even look at for fear he’d catch a terrible disease.

I’d opened up to him the night before, and he’d opened up to me. But suddenly there seemed to be a huge chasm between us, swallowing up everything emotion we’d shared.

I stepped forward, desperate to erase the distance between us. “I’ll come with you.”

“No, I don’t think so, Callie.” Liam’s lips shifted into a strained smile, his eyes focused on the snowy slopes outside.

“You hurt your knee yesterday, and you need to stay o the slopes. Doctor’s orders.”

Irritation and pain flared up inside me. I liked it when Liam gave me orders, but this particular brand wasn’t the kind I wanted to hear.

Not now. Not ever.

CHAPTER TEN

M y parents and I had breakfast together, and I listened to

them chirp away about the snowstorm and the drive to the mountains. My mind wandered the whole time, drawn to the look on Liam’s face when he’d seen me that morning. He hadn’t even been able to look at me, much less speak more than three words in my direction.

This wasn’t what I’d expected at all. Sure, I’d known things were probably going to get a little dicey because of our rather…unique situation. But he’d just shut me out the moment he could. Maybe he was far more like the boys from college than I’d thought. You know the type. The ones who used their words to get girls into their beds and then tossed them out as soon as they got what they wanted.

I just never would have thought Liam Cox was anything like that. Another wham, bam, thank you ma’am guy without a heart.

He didn’t need to play that kind of game. But he had. With me. And I really needed to come to grips with it or I’d spend my entire Christmas holiday moping around like some sad puppy left out in the cold.

“Callie?” My mom’s voice cut through my thoughts. We were sitting on the back porch, looking up at the slopes and

sipping hot cocoa. She’d been talking to me about something, or probably asking me about my last few classes I had scheduled for next semester. I hadn’t heard a damn word though, too wrapped up in my thoughts about Liam.

“I’m sorry.” I took a sip of the hot cocoa, but I’d left it so long that it had turned cold, just like Liam’s heart. “What were you saying?”

“What’s wrong with you, Callie?” Mom frowned and brushed her highlighted air out of her face. She looked like the kind of mom you’d see in movies or in magazines.

Always picture perfect and totally put together. Always saying the right thing. She never got hung out to dry like I had.

“Sorry, I’m just a little distracted today is all.”

“Hmm.” She took the cup out of my hand and leaned closer, searching my eyes with hers. “It’s a boy, isn’t it?”

I glanced away and tried to hide the thoughts I knew were flickering across my face. My mother had always been able to read me better than she even knew herself. “Of course not.”

“Oh, Callie.” She patted my knee and sighed. “It was bound to happen eventually, no matter how picky you might be. What’s his name? What did he do? I’m sure you father wouldn’t hesitate to go teach him a lesson or two if you asked.”

“Mom.” I rolled my eyes and couldn’t help but laugh.

Always over the top, my mother. But I loved her for it. “It’s complicated.”

“Oh, honey. Love is always complicated.” She narrowed her eyes, reading my face with a clarity that made me want to squirm. “It’s love, isn’t it? Well, if that’s the case, then you should make sure he knows that. Let him know what kind of mistake he’s making.”

“It really is more complicated than that, Mom. Even if he wanted to be with me, I’m not sure he could.”

Mom raised her eyebrows, and I was afraid I’d said too much. “Care to elaborate?”

“Not really.” I kicked at a pile of snow near my feet.

“My girls!” Dad stomped outside, fully-clad in his ski gear. He was a big and boisterous man, and he filled the entire back porch with his presence. Powerful like Liam, but in a di erent way. He commanded respect with his voice while Liam commanded it with an aura that was impossible to ignore. “I’m going to head up the slopes to get my yearly Christmas runs in. Want to join me?”

Clearly he hadn’t paid much attention to Liam’s warning about my knee, and a sudden idea sprang into my mind. I just needed to get Liam alone. Talk to him. Find out what was going through his mind. It would be impossible to do here at the house, not with my parents around every corner.

He’d only closed up when they’d arrived, so I needed to find a way to speak to him when they weren’t around.

I knew which runs he liked best.

No more black diamonds for me, of course. I wasn’t a complete idiot.

But I didn’t have to go down the mountain to find him. He had to go to the top eventually.

This might be the only chance I had to speak to him about us before this trip was over.

And even if he was going to break my heart, I had to try.

The slopes were full even though it was Christmas Day. Families bustled about, their screaming kids hurtling down the green slopes with a feverish energy. My mom took one look at the crowd and retreated to the lodge just behind the lifts, choosing to settle in with a book and a warm cup of co ee instead.

A part of me wanted nothing more than to join her, but I was driven by the need to speak to Liam.

Dad gave me a salute before heading toward a blue run, and I hung back, my eyes on the black diamonds. It was chilly outside, a crisp and biting cold that sunk into my very bones. Even though I’d bundled up with thick mittens, waterproof ski pants, and thermal underwear, it didn’t take long for my stationary position to welcome in the chill.

How was this my Christmas Day? Waiting on top of a mountain for a man who may or may not want to ever speak to me again?

Last night had been the best of my life, snuggled in beside a fire with the perfect specimen of man, feeling his adoring eyes all over my body. And yet, everything had changed with the flick of a switch, and now I was left standing outside in the cold alone. Literally.

After what felt like hours, I finally spotted Liam’s redand-black–swirled skis. He had a woman by his side. Tall, tan, beautiful. She was as close to a supermodel as any woman could get, and a jealously rose up within me I’d never felt before. I’d never in my life seen Liam with a woman, and the first time just happened to be the day after we’d made love.

It was like a punch in the gut.

Gasping, I whirled around too fast. My skis slipped from underneath me, and I fell flat on my ass. Teeth knocking together, the ground reverberated throughout my skull. But even though it hurt, the pain I felt in my heart was far worse than that in my bones.

“Callie?” Liam’s deep, familiar voice rang out from behind me. My face flooded with color, and I forced my eyes to hold back the tears that threatened to spill down my cheeks. I couldn’t let him see me upset like this. I couldn’t

let him know that his sudden change toward me had dug a hole in my heart quite so deep.

I had to put on a brave show.

But I didn’t know how I could do that.

Not when my heart felt ripped right in two.

“You okay?” He slid to a stop by my side and knelt down, the beautiful blonde only inches behind him. “Why are you out here on the slopes? I thought I told you to stay at home.”

“Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I snapped.

Liam frowned. “Where’s Rick?”

“He’s o skiing down the slopes?” I shrugged and pushed o from the ground, but my skis only slid out from under me all over again. How freaking humiliating was this?

“Okay, come on.” Liam put his hands under my arms and hauled me to my feet, keeping me steady when my skis threatened to pull me under. He sighed and shook his head, closing his eyes for a brief moment before turned toward the blonde bombshell. “I’m sorry, Julianne. I need to get Callie back to the cabin. Rain check for tomorrow?”

“Sure.” She gave him a sweet but curious smile. She probably wondered what the hell he was doing helping a complete mess like me. And to honest, it was hard to blame her for that.

Liam gestured at my skis silently, a pointed command to take them o . With a sigh, I obeyed, and we began the trek down the slopes while skiers swooshed past us, happy and relaxed. Completely the opposite of me. Here I’d had the great idea of strolling up all casually, like a normal actual adult, and I’d come across like a klutzy child instead.

No wonder he’d shut me out this morning. How could a man like Liam want a girl like me?

Halfway down the slopes, Liam suddenly stopped and took my shoulders in his hands. “Callie, what the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that it’d be nice to talk to you,” I said.

“You were frankly kind of an ass this morning, and I wanted to know what was going through your mind.”

“You wanted to know…” He shook his head and let out a bitter laugh. “You really have no idea what’s going through my mind?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know?” My voice grew louder, and I propped my balled fists on my hips. I was getting angry now, not only at myself for being a massive moron but at him. For pretending to care. For dumping me the second he could and running o to spend the day with some random woman he’d probably only met this morning.

“You were hot one minute, then cold the next. How could you treat me the way you did this morning after the night we spent together?”

“Your father showed up at the cabin this morning, Callie.

How the hell did you expect me to act? Like some teenage boyfriend of yours who was there to meet your parents? I’m his best friend, for christ’s sake.”

“I thought…” I blinked hard. The last thing I wanted to do right now was cry. “After last night, I thought you would tell him about us.”

“Tell him about us?” Liam winced and dropped his head, his eyes cast onto the snowy ground. “Callie, there is no us. I thought you understood that we were just having a bit of fun to pass the time.”

“A bit of fun.” The words were a slap on the face, and it stung harder than any physical hit ever could. I’d been right.

He was just like any other boy I’d ever met. Only Liam Cox was way worse. He’d pretended that there was more to him than that. He’d made me think he felt something for me when in fact, it had just been another twisted game.

“You and me, we were never going to be more than that.”

He squeezed my shoulders. “I’m sorry if I gave you the

wrong impression. Surely you understand. I’m sixteen years older than you are and—” “You didn’t seem to have a problem with that last night.”

Liam sucked in a sharp breath. He finally looked up then, and the coldness I’d seen in him earlier was gone, replaced by that scorching gaze that made me weak in the knees.

Despite all of his words, despite all of his attempts to push me away, I knew right then that he still desired me no matter how hard he tried to deny it.

I put my hand on his chest. Through the thick material, I could feel his heart beating wildly against his ribs. With my own heart roaring in my ears, I took a step closer to him. The falling snow fell onto our faces, and one got caught on his lips. I pressed up onto my toes and kissed the spot where the snowflake melted on his skin. His entire body tensed.

“I can’t.” He stumbled back and looked around him wildly as if he expected my father to be peering at us from the bushes. “We can’t do this, Callie. We just can’t.”

And with that, he was gone.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I t was gift exchanging time, and I wanted to be anywhere

other than where I was. My parents were sipping on egg nog, donned to the max in their festive outfits. My mom wore a reindeer sweater, bright red and gold. They seemed so happy to be in the cabin that I felt even more miserable than I did before. Something about their cheer made me sad, probably because I felt the total opposite.

Liam sat on the couch where we’d first had sex. It was hard to see him there now, refusing to look at me, his jaw clenched tight.

“Okay!” My mother clapped. “Time to open the presents!

Callie, you’re up.”

As the only child in the cabin during our many years doing Christmas here, I’d always been the one to hand out the presents. In the past, I’d enjoyed feeling like I was personally giving the gifts myself. But I was grown now and humiliated from the heated exchange with Liam, and doing what I’d done as a kid only demoralized me even more.

With a tight smile, I grabbed the presents from under the massive tree and passed them to my parents. When it came to Liam, I dropped the heavy package into his lap. He

grunted from the impact, but I didn’t apologize. Served him right for being an ass.

Mom’s eyes narrowed as I moved back to my chair, her eagle eye vision never missing a thing. But at this point, I didn’t care if she caught on. What harm could it really do? It wasn’t as if Liam wanted anything to do with me anymore.

“Callie, who would you like to go first?” Mom asked, her eyes flicking between me and Liam. He was as stony as ever, staring intently at the flickering fire. Did it remind him of our moments together? Or was he too busy thinking about his date with the blonde the next morning? Maybe he was counting the minutes until he could get away from us again.

“Liam,” I said. “Liam should go first.”

Liam gave me a tight smile and began to unwrap the heavy gift with the skill of a surgeon. When he pulled back the paper, my heart faltered for one brief moment. My parents had gifted him three bottles of wine, and every single one of them was the same label from the night before.

It was purely a coincidence, but it didn’t stop the blood from draining from my face. For the rest of my life, I would forever associate that wine with Liam. And I couldn’t bear to think of him in another hot tub, on another night, drinking it with some other woman.

It was just too much to think about.

I abruptly stood from the chair, dropping my unopened present to the floor.

“Callie, hon…” My mom frowned up at me as I backed out of the living room, desperate for an escape from this horrible situation. “What’s wrong?”

“I just remembered that I promised to meet someone at the lodge tonight for a drink.” I cleared my throat and glanced away, hoping she couldn’t see the lie in my eyes.

“I’ve gotta go.”

I fled into the cool night, blinking back the tears that had bubbled up inside me. The air felt crisp and cold, and it cleared some of the cobwebs cloaking my thoughts. My parents would wonder what the hell had gotten into me, but I’d just deal with that later. Right now, I had to get away from Liam. And it pained me that this wonderful holiday escape in the beautiful mountains would be forever marred by what we’d done.

I never wanted to come back here.

Our holidays would never be the same.

We’d made such a horrible, horrible mistake.

But even though it felt like we’d ruined everything, a part of me wanted to hold onto it as tight as I could. I wouldn’t have changed it, no matter how much it hurt.

“Callie.” Mom stepped out onto the front porch. Panic gripped my heart, and I had the momentary urge to flee into the night. But she dropped a hand on my arm and squeezed, nodding her head like she understand everything that was going through my mind. “You don’t need to explain. I know.”

My heart thundered hard. “What do you mean you know?”

“My sweet, sweet girl.” She smiled and pressed my hair behind my ear. “You’ve never been very good at hiding your emotions, and I have to say that Liam isn’t being particularly subtle himself. Something happened between you two. It’s clear as the snow on the ground.”

“Mom, I can explain.” I shook my head, fear overtaking the pain in my heart. Even though it didn’t matter, truly, whether or not she knew, I still felt protective toward Liam, as much as I hated the thought. Dad would go insane if he’d spotted the tension between us like my mother had.

“You don’t need to explain. And neither does he. Not to me, at least.” She sighed, but she didn’t look angry or upset.

She seemed to accept it the way she did everything else in the world. With grace and poise and an open mind. Too bad my dad wasn’t the same way.

“Not to anyone.” A tear slid down my cheek. “He’s made it clear that it was…just a bit of fun.”

I hated using those words.

“I see. Is that why you ran out of the living room like a bat out of hell?”

“I just can’t do it, Mom.” I shook my head. “I’m so sorry, but I can’t sit in there with him, not when I feel like this.”

“Well, then you go do what you need to do.” She smiled at me. “But when you’re ready to talk more, I’ll be here.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

T he lodge bar was brutally empty. Everyone else staying on

the mountain had gone back to their lives, busy spending time with their families for the holidays. Luckily, the bar had decided to stay open a few hours longer, so I was making the most of it. As soon as I went back to the cabin, I knew I’d have to face Liam once again, and this time, my mother’s knowing look.

I ordered another glass of wine and fought the urge to guzzle it down when the bartender slid it across the wooden bar top.

“So, tell me.” He leaned his elbows onto the bar and cocked his head. “What are you doing hanging around here all by yourself on Christmas?”

Sighing, I tipped back my head and gulped down the wine after all. “I’m avoiding someone.”

“Let me guess.” He topped up my wine. “This someone is tall, dark, and handsome.”

“Ding, ding, ding!” I reached for the glass, but the bartender slid it just out of my grasp. “What are you doing that for?”

“Just another question. Does this someone look like he can power lift an elephant or two?”

“Yes. Why?” Was he teasing me over my broken heart or something? I couldn’t tell. If so, that was pretty rude! I opened my mouth, emboldened by the wine, but he shook his head for me to be quiet.

He flicked his gaze behind me before nodding toward the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out on the snowy hills.

“I think your tall, dark, and handsome dude is out there waiting for you.”

What?

I twisted on the bar stool, almost toppling over. Hope flickered in my heart despite myself.

But the bartender hadn’t been wrong.

Out in the snow, Liam Cox stood waiting for me. He leaned against a horse-drawn carriage, arms crossed over his bulky chest, a lopsided smile on his ruggedly-handsome face. The horse stomped its foot in the snow and neighed, sending shivers along my skin. Liam beckoned at me with the flick of his finger, and my body responded before my mind did.

I pushed up from the stool and walked dumbfounded out the door.

Snow fell softly from a dark sky overhead, and the horse stomped the ground again, spraying Liam’s shoes with wet chunks of ice. I glanced behind him at the carriage. It was dark red and welcoming, soft seats empty and waiting for someone to climb inside. A man in a Santa costume sat in front, waiting quietly with the reins in his hand.

This couldn’t be happening. This was a dream. Right?

“What’s going on?” I asked in a whisper, looking up into Liam’s dark eyes.

“Climb into the carriage, and I’ll explain.” He shot me a smile, brilliant but nervous at the same time. What the hell had happened in the two or three hours I’d been gone from

the cabin? How had Liam ended up here? With a Santa and a carriage and a hopeful look on his face?

“Are you serious?”

“Very much so.” He held out a hand and lifted me into the carriage. Liam followed behind me and settled onto the leather seat, patting the spot by his side. I sunk into the soft material and tried to calm the rapid beating of my heart.

“Do my parents know you’re here?” I asked.

“Yes.” He squeezed my knee before leaning forward to whisper something to the driver. And then we were o , shooting across the slopes. The horse galloped faster than I had expected, and I had to cling to Liam out of fear that I might topple right out of the carriage and fall into a heap on the snow-covered ground. Liam just laughed and held my hand, his thumb rubbing circles on my skin. His touch felt electric, tender. And confusing as hell.

Only hours before he’d been running away from me.

“What’s going on, Liam?” I asked, trying to pry an explanation out of him. But he remained silent, that goofy smile still lifting up the corners of his lips. After several moments, the Santa driver slowed the carriage to a stop in a small clearing on the side of the mountain, the very same spot where Liam and I had argued earlier that day.

Santa tipped back his red velvet hat and disappeared into the woods.

“Liam.”

“Shh.” He pressed a finger to my lips, and I froze, startled by the feel of his hands on me again. “Let me explain before you say anything more. There’s a reason I brought you here, and I need to speak my mind.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

He took his finger away, and I ached to bring it back to my lips, to kiss him, to taste him, to feel him touching every inch of me again. But instead of losing control of myself, I

waited patiently, my hands tucked into my coat and my heart held tight in my chest.

“I was an idiot before.” He ru ed his hair and sighed, shaking his head. “I’m so sorry, Callie. For saying what happened between us didn’t matter. For hurting you. For making you feel as if I didn’t want you.”

He scooted closer to me and took my hands in his. “The truth is, what happened between us yesterday meant far more to me than just a bit of fun. I’ve never…well, as crazy as it sounds, I’ve never felt like this before in my life. And it scared me, Callie. It scared me because of who you are and what you mean to the only people in my life I consider family. Your mother and your father, they’ve been so good to me. And how did I repay them? By taking their only daughter’s virginity. How could I risk losing them?”

I nodded. I understood. As much as it pained me to admit it, he had good reasons for turning away from me, and I felt selfish for not seeing them myself. He was a permanent fixture in my parent’s life, and I realized now that he needed that. Because he thought he didn’t have anyone else.

“I’m sorry I misjudged you, Liam,” I said, squeezing back. “I was being selfish, wanting you all to myself. I hope… well, I hope whatever happened at the cabin wasn’t too awful.”

“The last thing you need to do is apologize to me, Callie.”

Liam wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest, making my whole body tremble. Why was he doing this? He’d just explained why we couldn’t be together, and yet he was holding onto me like I was a lifeline in the center of the darkest of storms. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Did something happen at the cabin?” I asked, my voice mu ed against his chest.

“Well, it turns out your mother is the most observant woman alive, but I already knew that.” He chuckled, the total

opposite reaction of what I would have expected. “I should have known she’d see right through my desperate attempts of hiding the way I feel about you. She decided we should have a chat, and your dad overheard. I thought they would both throw me out on my ass, but they surprised me. They told me to go after you and make things right. So…here I am.”

“The way you feel about me?” My heart thumped harder.

“I’m head over heels for you, Callie. Can’t you see that?”

Liam pulled back and searched my eyes for signs that I believed his words. And I answered him the only way I knew how. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him close, pressing my lips against his. His mouth parted, and his tongue slipped into mine, needy and demanding.

We kissed like that for long, glorious moments, sitting in a horse-drawn carriage in the snow. My heart felt so full it might burst, and all the fear and pain I’d felt disappeared into the cold night air. Not only did Liam care for me the way I cared for him, but he’d made it a public declaration by showing up in the carriage, and it would go down in history as the best night of my life.

Liam lifted me onto his lap and kissed my neck. Shivers coursed along my skin, but it wasn’t from the cool air.

Everything inside me yearned for his touch, for me to show him exactly how he made me feel. His hands dipped lower and lower before they rested on my zipper. My eyes widened as he pulled it down and slid his fingers against my thighs.

“We’re outside.” But I gasped when he dipped two fingers into my pussy, as my juices began to flow. His other hand snaked up inside my shirt, and he squeezed my nipple hard as I began to ride on his hand. At any moment, we could get caught, but that thought alone sent a delicious thrill through my veins. I’d always known there was something more to Liam Cox, and now I was finally finding out what that was.

He liked the thrill of getting caught.

And as it turned out, so did I. Another finger joined his two, spreading my walls as wide as they could go. I moaned aloud, throwing all caution into the cold night wind. Liam looked at me hotly, his eyes swirling with an eager passion, but he didn’t stop to pull out his cock quite yet. Instead, he continued to fuck me with his fingers until I writhed against him, shuddering from the intensity of the orgasm that shook through me.

When my breaths finally calmed, he pulled out his rod, thick and twitching with anticipation. I wanted to take him as deep as I could, to have him fill me up to the very brink.

And when he plunged his dick into my folds, I opened my mouth and screamed. God, he felt good. Too good. I was already seconds away from another mind-blowing orgasm.

My clit ground against his crotch as I rode harder and faster on top of him, and the pleasure was almost more than I could take.

But I never wanted it to end. I wanted Liam Cox every night for the rest of my life. I wanted to be as close to him as I could possibly get. I wanted him inside me always. I wanted to feel his length spreading me wide. And I wanted to see that look his eye, the one he gave me now as he forced my rocking to slow. It was dark and delicious but something so much more. A light shone in his eyes, a warmth that spoke of forever.

No matter whose friend he was, this man was mine.

And I was one hundred percent his.

He reached up and cupped my face in his masculine hands. “I don’t know how, baby, but in these past few days you’ve gotten into my heart. I love you.”

My entire body felt full of light. “I love you, too.”

We held onto each other as our pleasure built, staring deeply into each other’s eyes. We no longer felt as if we were

two people coming together. Instead, we felt as if we were one. As my breaths began to quicken, and Liam’s thrust began to speed up, we came at once, our bodies shuddering in time with the other. Liam emptied his seed into my body and held me close, his lips pressing against my ear and whispering words of love, words I’d longed to hear, words I hoped he would never tire of saying. Overhead, the stars twinkled and the snow continued to fall.

It was the most perfect moment of my life.

ONE YEAR LATER

T he familiar cabin loomed before us as Liam cut the engine

of his Porsche. I smiled and felt my heart lift at the sight of the place where Liam and I had first come together, a house I would always think of as my own, even if we never truly lived there. The front door cracked open, knocking the festive wreath o is hook, and my mom and dad poked their heads outside. When they saw we’d pulled up into the driveway, smiles broke across their faces.

Their reaction to Liam and I had been far more than I ever could have hoped. Instead of exiling him from their lives, they’d welcomed him in further with open arms. It turned out that Dad had been dreading the moment I started dating, and when he found out I’d fallen for a man like Liam, his dread had been replaced by a sense of rightness.

I jumped out of the car and waved in the one behind us.

Liam had made up with his own parents after all these years, and we’d invited them to join us at the cabin this holiday season. Our tiny little family was growing…in more ways than one.

As Liam directed his parents into the driveway, I opened the backseat door and unbuckled little Sarah from her car seat. She’d slept the whole way to the cabin, but she awoke

the moment I picked her up and held her in my arms. She was the light of my life, conceived the night Liam had professed his love to me in the horse-drawn carriage, the night we’d made love under the stars.

And she was just the first. I rubbed the tiny bump on my belly. I’d already become pregnant after giving birth to Sarah three months before. It had turned out that Liam’s seed was particularly potent, though I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

I wanted to have his babies. So many babies that our house would be full to the brink with love.

After we’d carted everyone’s luggage inside, Liam disappeared into the basement with my dad. Most likely to search for another outstanding bottle of wine. I wouldn’t be having any this year though, and my mom wasted no time in rubbing my belly and making googly noises at the baby.

“Why don’t I take the baby for an hour while you and Liam go pick out the Christmas tree?” she asked, bopping up and and down while Sarah drooled on her shoulder. “I know how much you like that.”

“It’s okay, Mom,” I said. “I don’t mind staying here.”

“Oh, hush.” She gave Liam a nod when he emerged from the basement. “You two go have yourself some alone time together. Heaven knows you rarely get that these days, and it’s only going to get worse when you have your new one.”

“Come on, baby, let’s go.” Liam took my hand in his and squeezed. “You deserve an hour’s break, at least.”

The shop down the hill was as packed as it was every year, and festive music pumped through the winding display of trees from speakers mounted on the side of the small wooden shack. Liam gripped my hand in his and pulled me

along, putting on a relaxed front even though I could tell he was totally on edge.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, pulling him to the side. Trees loomed high all around us, blotting out the full moon above.

“Are you worried about spending the holidays with your folks?”

“No, that’s not it.” He coughed and shook his head. “I mean, I’m not worried about anything.”

“Is it my parents?” I pressed. Ever since he’d declared his love for me, he’d always been quick to share what was on his mind. It was strange that he’d turned quiet now and here of all places. Maybe he was still on edge about being so openly together in front of my parents, though we’d had dinner with them many times over the past year.

“Callie, babe.” He snaked an arm around my back and pulled me close. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“You’re lying,” I said. “I’ve seen that look on your face before, and you only wear it when you’re anxious about something. Why won’t you just tell me what it is?”

A smile cracked his lips and he laughed. “You know, sometimes you’re completely impossible.”

“Does that mean you’re going to tell me?”

“You know what? It sure does.” Liam extracted himself from my arms and dropped to his knee, his jeans sinking into the wet snow. I gasped, my hand flying to my lips, especially when he pulled a little black box from his coat pocket.

“Liam,” I whispered, eyes widening as he flipped open the box, displaying a gorgeous ring that probably cost more than all my belongings combined.

“I’ll admit, you’re right. I’ve had something on my mind tonight, but it certainly wasn’t anything bad.” His smile widened, his eyes full of warmth. “There’s been something I’ve wanted to ask you for months now, but I wanted to wait

until the right moment. And I knew it would be here, in this place, in the snow, back where we started.”

Tears pricked my eyes, and I nodded, my heart full of so much joy.

“Callie Johnson. You’ve been in my life for a long damn time, but last year, you became so much more to me than I could have ever hoped. You’re beautiful. You’re sweet. You have a heart of gold. And baby, you are a one-of-a-kind in bed. I want you to spend the rest of our lives by my side. Will you marry me?”

Liam held up the ring and swallowed hard, almost as if he was afraid I’d say no. But I had only one word for the man of my dreams, the man kneeling before me right now.

“Yes, Liam.” Tears streamed down my face. “Yes, yes, yes!”

I threw myself into his arms, and he lifted me from the ground, spinning me in circles so fast that the world was nothing more than a blur of festive red and green. I’d thought I’d had the perfect night of my life one year before, but I’d been wrong.

This was it, here and now.

ALSO BY SYLVIA FOX

I’ve had my eyes on my best friend’s dad for years. Brett’s a pilot, but beyond that, he’s all man.

I’m saving myself for him … even though my fantasies may never be realized. I get o to the idea of us so many times — I’m literally aching for his touch.

But then I need a ride home for Thanksgiving break … and Brett’s in town with his plane.

I finally have a chance to see his cockpit … and damn if I’m not hoping to join the mile high club with this pilot.

I’ll let him fly me anywhere … I just hope he wants to take me away.

Wyatt McDowell is the only man I’ve ever wanted. He’s ripped, rugged, and raw.

Too bad he’s my dad’s best friend and totally o -limits. At least, I think so…

When I head home from college for some peace and quiet while my parents are out of town, a string of robberies leaves me scared and all alone. There’s only one man I can call. And only one man who can protect me.

Turns out, there’s one thing he can’t protect me from. His c*ck.

Lock me up, sheri , and throw away the key. I’ve been a very, very bad girl.

EMILY: Coach Eric Sutton is the hottest man on campus. He’s what I call an Alpha Silver Fox… Older, hot, and delicious. Every co-ed on campus fantasizes about him. And every guy dreams about what it would be like to be on his team…which just so happens to be the #1 squad in all of college basketball.

Coach knows how to win.

I could care less about the basketball part. Couldn’t tell you anything about it. I’m just a bookworm who always has her nose in a steamy romance novel. And besides, Coach wouldn’t look at me twice. And not just because I’m too curvy and too nerdy…

I’m also his daughter’s best friend.

COACH: Emily Foster is my daughter’s best friend. She’s also a student at the college I coach at. Being with her would obliterate my career, no question about it. It would also make my daughter hate me forever.

But I can’t stop thinking about Emily’s body. And how it’s never been touched by another man. She’s pure as snow and all I can think about are the filthy things I want to do to her when we’re alone together in my house over Christmas break.

I need her. I want her. And one night, I’m able to make a choice… I just hope its the right one.

My dad’s best friend Colt is hot as sin. Like, late night vibe-fest kind of hot. Sure, he’s older, but that doesn’t matter one little bit because Colt Barrett is a man that deserves his own classification. Older. Younger. He transcends it all. He’s one hell of a man and my attraction to him was inevitable the minute I became woman enough to notice.

An early snowstorm traps us alone together in my parents’ house over Thanksgiving and the heat between us is more than either of us can handle. It should all work out just fine, right? I mean, we’re both adults and my parents don’t have to know anything about our little a air.

Until I get pregnant. All I want is a happily ever after with the man of my dreams.

It could all be mine as long as my dad doesn’t kill him first.

Dr. John Hardwicke is known as "Professor Hotness" around Moultrie College.

And I'm his student. Professor Hardwicke is head of the Political Science department, which just so happens to be my major.

He's the man who can make all my dreams come true ... in the classroom AND the bedroom.

He's also my father's best friend.

So I doubt he looks at me the way I look at him ... or does he?

When my parents decide to go on an anniversary trip during my Thanksgiving break, it puts me in a bind. I have nowhere to go ... until the professor o ers me a place at his table.

And on his c*ck.

Things just got a lot more complicated for this co-ed. But when it comes to the professor, this student is the highest of achievers. I always make the grade.