All I Want For Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page A

of butterfly kisses across her shoulders, and she smiled in drowsy contentment as she stretched lazily.
    “Wake up, sleepyhead. It’s almost midnight,” Derek said as his kisses moved from her shoulder to the corner of her lips.
    She opened her eyes slowly and looked at the man in bed beside her. Just the sight of him made her heart jump in her chest, just as it had three years ago.
    “Merry Christmas,” she said huskily. “We did good this year. Though I think Marco might be a little tired of playing our game.” She trailed her fingers over his chest and reveled in the fact that she could make his eyes darken in desire like that.
    “He doesn’t have a choice. He knows where his Christmas bonuses come from. And you’re right. I think tonight was almost as good as it was when I picked you up three years ago. Thank God for winter storms. Otherwise I would’ve had a hell of a time thinking of an excuse for you to stay with me that night.”
    He smiled at her with love in his eyes and she sighed with contentment. A girl couldn’t get much luckier than she was.
    “I’m sure you would have thought of something. You’re very clever like that.” He rolled them so she was leaning over him and she kissed him deeply. When she pulled away and they were both a little breathless she said, “By the way, I loved the honey. Though it was a little messy. If we’d done that three years ago, I wouldn’t have left on the first available flight, and you wouldn’t have had to chase me all the way to New York.”
    “You did try to play hard to get for a time, but I’m a master of negotiating. As a matter of fact, I have one last negotiation to bring to the table.” He looked at the clock and smiled. “It’s midnight, sweetheart. Merry Christmas.” He reached in the drawer of the table beside the bed and pulled out a small square box tied with a red ribbon.
    Kate sat up and pulled the covers around her nervously, eyeing the box with something akin to dread. She was already shaking her head by the time he started talking.
    “Just hear me out, Kate. I love you more than anything in this world. I loved you three years ago when I saw you sitting alone on a barstool, trying to think of every way possible you could make it home for Christmas. That love only grew as I made love to you the first time and got to know you better. I can’t imagine my life without you. Marry me.”
    Kate’s breath caught in her chest painfully as he opened the box to reveal a marquis diamond. It was absolutely beautiful and before she could control them, she felt the tears slip down her cheeks.
    “Derek, you know you can’t marry me,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes. “You’re too important of a man to saddle yourself with the sins of my father. You’ll lose business and there will be talk.”
    “Don’t bullshit me, Kate. Not now. Not when I’ve just laid my heart at your feet. You know I don’t give a damn about what your father did. He’s not what’s standing between us right now. Tell me the real reason. You owe me that at least. I’ve bided my time, knowing you were skittish about marriage, hoping your love for me would outweigh your fear. But it looks like I was wrong.”
    “That’s not true. I do love you. I’ve never felt this way about anyone else, and you’re the man I can see myself with forever. But marriage is so permanent. So binding. I deal with clients who are in financial positions similar to yours on a daily basis. Do you know how many of those clients are still married to their first wives?”
    He shook his head no, and she tried to ignore the anger and hurt she saw in his eyes.
    “One! One couple managed to beat the odds and stay together. All my other clients say I do, and then the wife turns into someone who only cares about how much of her husband’s money she can spend so she can keep up with the other trophy wives, and then her husband resents her and starts looking for someone else to spend time with.