Michelle Celmer - Christmas with the Prince - Christmas with the Prince

She broke the kiss and burrowed her head against Aaron’s shoulder, feeling the deep rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, the rapid beat of his heart. Her own breath was coming in shallow bursts and her heart rate had climbed to what must have been a dangerously high level. Had anyone under the age of seventy ever actually died of heart failure brought on by extreme sexual arousal?

“What’s wrong?” he asked, genuine concern in his voice.

She struggled to catch her breath, to slow her pounding heart. “We’re moving too fast.”

He chuckled. “Um, technically, we haven’t actually done anything yet.”

“And we shouldn’t. We can’t.”

He was quiet for several seconds, then he asked, “Are you saying you don’t want to? Because, love, that kiss was hot as hell.”

He called her love. No one had ever used a term of endearment like that with her. Certainly not her foster parents. Not even William. It made her feel special. Which made what she had to do next that much harder.

“I want to,” she said. “A lot.”

He rubbed his hands softly up and down her back. “Are you…afraid?”

She shook her head against his shoulder. She was anything but frightened, although maybe she should have been, because nothing about this made any sense. It wasn’t logical, and her entire life revolved around logic and science.

Maybe that was what made it so appealing.

“There’s something I haven’t told you,” she said.

“What is it?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up at him. “I’m kind of…engaged.”

“You’re engaged?” Aaron backed away from Liv, wondering why this was the first time he’d heard this. Especially when he considered all of the blatant flirting that had been going both ways between them the past couple of days. Well, some of it went both ways, but in all fairness he was always the one to initiate it.

“Um…sort of,” she said, looking uneasy.

Sort of? “Wait, how can a person be sort of engaged? And if you are engaged, why aren’t you wearing a ring?”

“We kinda didn’t get to that part yet.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “What part did you get to exactly?”

“He asked me, and I told him I would think about it.”

There was this feeling, low in his gut. A surge of sensation that he didn’t recognize. The he realized he was jealous. He envied a complete stranger. “Who is he?”

“His name is William. We work together.”

“Another scientist?”

She nodded. “He’s my mentor.”

“Are you in love with him?” he asked.

She hesitated a moment, then said, “He’s a good friend. I have an immense amount of respect for him.”

Was that relief he’d just felt? “That isn’t what I asked you.”

She chewed her lip, as though she was giving it deep consideration, then she said, “Love is highly overrated.”

Normally he would have agreed, but this was different. She was different. He couldn’t imagine Liv being happy with a man she only respected. She deserved better. She’d fought all of her life to get exactly what she wanted. Why quit now?

And how did he know what she wanted when he barely knew her?

Somehow, he just did. And she was special. He couldn’t even vocalize exactly why. It was just something he knew deep down.

“He must be a damned good shag, then,” Aaron said, aware of how peevish he sounded.

He expected a snappy response, a firm, Butt out, buster, or Mind your own business. Instead Liv bit her lip and lowered her eyes. It didn’t take him long to figure out what that meant.

He folded his arms across his chest and said, “You haven’t slept with him, have you?”

“I didn’t say that.”

But she didn’t deny it, either. “Out of curiosity, how long have you been dating this William fellow?”

Her gaze dropped to her feet again and in went the lip between her teeth. She didn’t say a word. But her silence said it all.

“Are you telling me that you two have never even dated? Let me guess, you’ve never kissed him, either?”

She leveled her eyes on him. “I have so!”

He took a step toward her. “I’ll bet he doesn’t make you half as hot as I do.”

He could tell by her expression, from the sudden rush of color to her cheeks, that he was right.

“I wasn’t that hot,” she said, but he knew it was a lie.

“You won’t be happy,” he said. “You’re too passionate.”

She looked at him like he was nuts. “I’ve been accused of a lot of things, but being passionate is not one of them.”

He sighed. “There you go, selling yourself short again.”

She shook her head in frustration. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. I hardly even know you.”

“I know. And that’s the bizarre part, because for some reason I feel as though I’ve known you forever.” He could see by her expression that she didn’t know how to respond to that, and she wasn’t sure what to make of him. And oddly enough, neither did he. This wasn’t at all like him.

She grabbed the knob and opened her door. “I should get to sleep.”

He nodded. “Promise me you’ll think about what I said.”

“Good night, Aaron.” She slipped inside her room and closed the door behind her.

He turned and walked in the direction of his own room. What he’d told her wasn’t a lie. He’d never met anyone quite like her. She sincerely had no idea how unique, how gifted she was.

At first he’d planned only to seduce Liv and show her a good time while she was here, but something had happened since then. Something he hadn’t expected. He really liked her. And the idea of her marrying this William person—a man she obviously didn’t love—disturbed him far more than it should have.

Liv closed the door and leaned against it, expelling a long, deep breath.

What the heck had just happened out there? What did he want from her? Was he just trying to seduce her? To soften her up with his sweet words? Or did he really mean what he said? Did he really think she was interesting and fun? And beautiful. And if she really was, why had no one told her until now?

Just because no man had said the words, it didn’t mean it wasn’t true. And although she would never admit it to his face, he was right about one thing, no man had ever made her even close to as hot as he just had. With barely more than a kiss. Had it gone any further, she may have become the first scientifically genuine victim of spontaneous human combustion.

And oh how she had wanted it to go further. But to what end? A brief, torrid affair? Yeah, so what if it was? What was so wrong with that? They were consenting adults.

Yeah, but what about William?

So what if William wasn’t an above-average kisser, and who cared that he didn’t get her all hot and bothered the way Aaron did. William was stable and secure, and he respected her, and she was sure that he thought she was beautiful, too. He just wasn’t the type of man to express his feelings. She was sure that once they were married he would open up.

But what if he didn’t? Was that enough for her?

She heard a muffled jingle coming from her backpack and realized her phone was ringing. She pulled it out and saw that it was, speak of the devil, William. She hadn’t spoken to him since she left the States. No doubt he was anxious for an answer.

She let it go to voice mail. She would call him back tomorrow once she’d had a night to think things through. When she’d had time to forget how Aaron’s lips felt against hers, and the taste of his mouth, and what it had been like to have his arms around her, his fingers tangling in her hair.