The Sheikh's Virgin Bride(129)

She noticed that he was changing the subject from home in the present. She thought back to Zadid’s melancholy face the other day when she’d found him alone in his office. What was going on back there that he didn’t want to talk about?

Deciding to let it go and enjoy the moment, she sank a little deeper into the couch. The fire had transformed into glowing embers, the night stretching on as snow continued to plummet from the sky.

“You’ve reminded me—my dad’s birthday is next week and I need to remember to call him.”

“My dad’s birthday is next week, too. It will be the first time I’ll miss it.”

“What day?”

“The twenty-ninth.”

“Get out! That’s my dad’s birthday too!”

“And does he throw an elaborate feast for the occasion, like mine does?”

Yvonne let out a chortle.

“Hardly. His favorite way to spend the day is alone on the lake, followed by a doze in his lounger in front of the TV with a craft beer. I’m pretty sure that’s how he’s finished every birthday in the last thirty years.”

Zadid laughed.

“He sounds like a man who has his priorities straight.”

“I think he does,” Yvonne agreed, enjoying the comfortable flow of conversation between them.

She had always been able to chat easily with Zadid, but in a business setting, everything always had a barrier up. There were so many things she wished to talk about that she couldn’t say, wanting to stay professional.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Yvonne feeling sleepy and content. She sat up and stretched her arms into the air.

“I think it’s about time for bed,” she said, turning to look over at him.

He reached for her hand, the meaning in his eyes clear as he tugged her to his chest and captured her lips with his own in a sizzling kiss. Yvonne met his passion, the taste of him exactly as she had always imagined—delicious.

Her body responded accordingly, aching for him in an instant. When he pulled back, their faces stayed close as he held her cheeks between his palms.

“I’ve wanted to do that since the day I started working for you,” she breathed.

He nodded.

“You and me both.”

With that invitation, he pulled her close once more, lying back on the couch as he pulled her on top of him, the two of them exploring one another in the cozy darkness of her apartment. Finally, he sat up, still kissing her as he hooked his arm beneath her knees and lifted her up.

“Bedroom?” he asked, breaking their embrace for a moment.

“That way,” Yvonne murmured, nodding in the right direction.

He nodded, kissing her again as he somehow walked at the same time, not bumping into a single item of furniture as he found the open doorway to her bedroom and laid her down on the soft mattress.

From the living room, the gentle glow of her Christmas tree shone through the doorway as they made love, Yvonne living out every fantasy she had ever had of Zadid. He certainly lived up to her wildest dreams.

They came together in a rush of passion before falling asleep in each other’s arms, warm, safe and content.

It was easily the best Christmas of Yvonne’s life.