His Christmas Wish Read Online Free Page B

other in a while. It felt like…”—She paused, her eyes the color of rain on a dreary winter day—“we were meant to be.”
    They were!, he wanted to shout. Instead he cleared his throat, struggling for the right words. “It was supposed to be my apology. A way to start over. Show you the man I’d become.”
    “ Right now, you don’t seem much different from the boy I knew.”
    A low shot from her, considering what he’d given up for her. “I’d like the chance to prove to you that I am; that those letters were me, and I wrote what was in my heart. Consider spending Christmas with me.” He held up his hands. “No strings attached. No expectations—just you and me as…friends.”
    “ On one condition,” she replied, so softly that he couldn’t be sure she’d actually said the words.
    “ Anything.” And he meant it. He’d salsa butt naked down Broad Street if she wanted him to.
    She held out her hand, the tiny diamond ring glimmering, making it hard to breath. “Get this off of me.”

Chapter Four
     
    Coffee colored eyes blackened and his jaw hardened. Sage thought for sure Joaquin would say no. That he would stomp off and go brood.
    But he didn’t. Instead, he gently caught her hand and her breath hitched. She had missed his touch, but now she knew she’d also craved it.
    “ Stuck?”
    She could only nod.
    Holding it closer to his face, she could feel his hot breath on her skin, and she shivered. “You already tried getting it off?”
    “ I’ve tried everything, but it won’t budge.”
    He turned her hand sidewise, his brows coming together. “There’s a raw spot on your knuckle.”
    “ Yes, I—”
    “ Poor thing.” He kissed that little red spot and her eyes went wide. She tried to snatch back her hand, but his grip tightened. “No, it’s my turn to get this ring unstuck.” Then he did the unthinkable. He put her finger, ring and all, in his mouth and began to suck.
    Good Lord, she didn’t want to pull her hand away. Not only did she not want to pull it away, she let it stay there. She might had even let it slide deeper into the recess of his mouth. He swirled his talented tongue around the ring and her finger, making everything slippery and hot.
    Oh, so very, very hot.
    She placed one hand on her chest as it rose and fell. As if that could calm her wild heart.
    He stared into her eyes as he licked and sucked on her finger, and to her mortification her nipples tightened. Unable to take his knowing gaze, she closed her eyes and simply felt. remembering their last night together:
    His tongue licking the backs of her knees and between her thighs. His hands cupping her breasts and his fingers pinching her nipples. He’d whispered how sexy she was, how beautiful she was, how much he loved her, before he thrust inside of her and the world went up in flames.
    A moan slipped past her lips as his teeth grazed her skin, then cold air hit her finger.
    Her eyes snapped open to find Joaquin holding her ring, longing and desire etched on his face. Her gaze dipped down to his lap. She drew in a sharp breath, then jerked her gaze back to his.
    “ I told you I want you. Only you,” he rasped, then a hard smile covered his face. “I’ll come by tomorrow and take you to breakfast, in public.”
    Her mouth dropped open as he tucked her ring in his pocket and walked away. She started to argue, but he stopped in his tracks. “You made the condition and it was met.”
    “ You said consider .”
    He gave her a look and she let out a thick sigh. He was right. She had only made that condition because she’d thought he wouldn’t be able to get the ring off. She had gambled and lost.
    “ I’m done playing games, Sage.”
    So was she. She thought she was finally done with him. Finally able to move on with a man the opposite of her should-have-been ex. For a long while she studied him. There were dark circles under his eyes, his mouth was drawn tight and weariness worn in the lines of his face. The boy