Silent Night, Sinful Night Read online

  Why did that thought claw at her soul? How many of these events had those two children attended, yet still they asked Santa for a mother? Such hope in their hearts . . .

  A movement by the huge Christmas tree caught her eye, and Tess smiled at Johnny Gazara. He’d driven them into Cripple Creek today, to the Imperial Hotel, as Edgar rarely attended these events. The more Tess heard about Edgar Penney’s idiosyncrasies, the more she marveled at the man’s ability to delight millions with his candy creations while turning an astounding profit.

  But money was the last thing on her mind when she looked at Johnny. Again he wore a white shirt that set off his olive complexion, and his hair framed his face like wings of midnight. “The children adore you!” he exclaimed as he grabbed her hands. “Is it any wonder? You’re not much taller than they are, and you look so much like an elf—well, except for these.” When he gawked at her breasts, his wolfish expression made her giggle.

  “What a day,” she replied wistfully. “I had no idea I’d be so drawn to these orphans. Just the thought of them spending Christmas in an institution, without families, well . . .” She looked away, blinking rapidly.

  Johnny gently thumbed her tears. “That’s why Daphne and Blythe pressed Edgar to hire another Penney Candy girl. The hardest part is seeing the same little faces, year after year, as their eyes grow hopeless and their voices lose their music.”

  Tess nodded. She felt silly, crying this way. She couldn’t solve all the problems of the world no matter how badly she wanted to.

  “If you’ll come to my room tonight,” he whispered, “I’ll restore your sense of fun and frolic. I know a game to get you back into the Christmas spirit. Naked.”

  “A game?” She’d never considered sex as play. “If it’ll remind me of these children, I won’t guarantee you—”

  “Tess? Tess Bennett, is that you in that elf costume?”

  She dropped Johnny’s hands, turning to see who’d called to her. The children had gone and the merchants were leaving, too, so there was no mistaking the two mustachioed, vested men who approached with wide grins. “Spec! And Charley!” She hurried toward them, suddenly more aware of how her costume accentuated body parts she’d always camouflaged. “Thank you so much for looking after me on the train. And for your message to Mr. Penney.”

  “It was the least we could do, my dear.” Spencer Penrose bowed slightly. “And didn’t I promise you’d be the perfect Penney Candy girl?”

  “Well, no. You were too busy teasing me!”

  “And talking you out of those widow’s weeds, thank God,” Charley chimed in. “Begging your pardon, my dear, but you look much prettier in red and green than you did in black.”

  “Especially red and green that clings, so it wiggles when you do!”

  Tess’s cheeks flared. It wasn’t good policy to reprimand guests who’d probably ordered hundreds of dollars of Penney Candy, and yet... “I . . . I suppose that was intended as a compliment—”

  “Please excuse Mr. Penrose’s breach of etiquette,” Charley Tutt interrupted with a stern glance at his companion. “He’s so overwhelmed by the improvement in your spirits—your generosity and kindness toward the orphans—that he lost track of his tongue.”

  “Please forgive me, Tess,” Spec implored as he reached for her hands. “That was a crude remark. What might I do to make it up to you?”

  “I think we’d best move on, gentlemen. Mr. Penney doesn’t tolerate such behavior around his female employees.” Johnny Gazara stepped up beside her to gaze pointedly at the two men. “Thank you so much for participating in our charity event today.”

  The pair in tweeds and ties gave Johnny a looking-over, but then they nodded and walked toward the door. Tess felt even more uncomfortable now. Johnny had been protecting her honor, yet she hadn’t really felt offended by Spec’s suggestive remark. After all, Blythe and Daphne wore the same costume, and neither of them seemed ill at ease.

  “And how do you know Penrose and Tutt?” Johnny demanded.

  Tess almost told him it was none of his damned business. Or did that edge to his question imply he was seriously interested in her? Watching out for her in public? “I met them on the train. They were kind enough to get my connections changed so I would arrive in Cascade rather than Denver,” she replied evenly. “Is that jealousy I hear, Johnny? Envy, because—from what I’ve been told—they own a great deal of Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek, between them?”

  His mouth clapped shut. His eyes shone like hot obsidian.

  Tess knew an advantage when she held one. “I thought it very kind of Mr. Tutt, when he saw that I had no luggage, to offer assistance and the name of a seamstress,” she remarked with a purposeful smile. “And if Spec’s behavior seems inappropriate, well, he at least hasn’t hidden in my bathroom to catch me napping naked. Has he?”

  She pivoted on the heel of one pointy-toed elfin slipper, to help Blythe and Daphne gather the remaining candy and stockings. Then she turned to address Johnny again, hoping she wasn’t overplaying her ace. “Do I wiggle in these clingy clothes, Mr. Gazara? If I deserved Spec’s lewd remark, perhaps it’s I who should mend her ways.”

  His slow, wicked grin spoke volumes. “Don’t change a thing for me, Tess. But if you’d like more . . . personalized advice, come find me tonight. We’ll see who’s naughty—and who’s nice.”

  9

  “It’s a game Ed and I devised as an adult novelty. Something for a generation already loyal to Penney Candy, yet . . . hungry for a fresh adventure.” Curiosity fired Tess’s lovely blue eyes as he opened a red satin box. Down the hall, Penney’s suite reeked of peppermint—Edgar relived the triumphs of each charity event with his girls, over a hookah—so this tryst would go undetected as long as Tess returned to her room soon afterward.

  She picked out a gold-wrapped cube. “What’s the N stand for?” she asked as she held it to her nose. “Oh, my . . . rich, wicked chocolate!”

  “Not for the kiddies!” Johnny teased as he joined her on the side of the bed. “‘Naughty or Nice’ is Santa’s way of rewarding adults for being very good—or very, very bad.”

  She laughed, thank goodness. He’d overstepped this afternoon and she’d nailed his envy for what it was: distrust of anyone who, like Francine DuPont, could satisfy every whim with money. When Tess paused with her fingernail at the edge of the wrapper, he held his breath.

  “And which are you, Johnny? Naughty or nice?”

  His lips quirked. “Yes,” he teased. “Whatever you wish me to be, Tess. Open that carefully, read what’s written inside the wrapper, and then we’ll see what comes up.”

  “You don’t fool me for a second,” she whispered. “You’ve been up since before I found your room. You got perturbed with Spec Penrose for suggesting—Oh, my stars!”

  “Read it to me,” he murmured against the nape of her graceful neck.

  Tess cleared her throat as though she’d gotten a chunk of candy caught in it. “It says, ‘face away from your partner, lean over, and . . . and hold yourself open for inspection.’ What kind of game is this?”

  Johnny chuckled and kissed her. “If you feel naughty, you may follow through. Or if I feel nice, I can let you enjoy your chocolate while I unwrap a piece. No right or wrong way to play. We make it up as we go along.”

  She popped the chocolate into her mouth. Her eyes closed and she sighed languidly. “I don’t know what’s in this—”

  “Very potent liqueur. Flavors vary from one piece to the next.”

  “But things would get naughty even in a roomful of starchy old church ladies if you passed around that red box.”

  “That’s the idea. But we’ve no need for church ladies right now.” Johnny chose a fat candy with a green wrapper and twisted its ends loose. “It’s just you, me, and this nice box of naughty treats. So now that you understand the game, I’ll go first.”

  He popped the hard candy into his mouth and cracked the shell, so the buttery rum liqueur oozed over his t
ongue. As he smoothed the wrapper, he chortled. “Oh, Tess, you’ll like this one: ‘As your partner lies naked, spread-eagle, test for ticklish spots.’”

  She laughed, and then clapped her hand over her mouth. “Are you the partner, or am I?”

  “You choose. I live to make you happy, my dear.”

  Coyly she slipped her green velvet straps over her shoulders. “Do Blythe and Daphne wear these clingy outfits in public or only to the Penney Candy events? The children love to mingle with elves, while the merchants lay down a lot of cash as they ogle these costumes.”

  “Edgar wants everyone to have a good time.”

  She slid off the bed’s edge, yanked down her striped tights, and then leaned over, as her piece of chocolate had suggested. “I’m not ticklish here,” she informed him as she pointed to her pussy. “So don’t bother sticking your cock up it to find out.” She stuck out her tongue with her face upside down between her lovely legs, looking naughty, indeed.

  Johnny stifled a laugh. “That leaves me plenty of other places to test,” he said as he shrugged out of his shirt. “So I’ll leave your hot, needy little cunt to fend for herself. Or . . .”

  He quickly inserted a finger to tease the rim of her tight little hole. “You said nothing about what I was doing with my hands.”

  “Naughty! You are so bad, Johnny!”

  “So here’s where I make things up as we go along.” He reached under her tight shirt to cup her breasts, rubbing her bared bottom against his crotch. He had been ready for her, hours ago, and watching her lean over had taken him over the edge. Tess giggled, provoking him to gyrate and moan. “Change your mind yet, little girl?”

  “No, but you will be the one going spread-eagle for inspection.” She pivoted to tug him off the tall bed. “Feet to the floor, you! I’m taking down your pants, and then you’re to spread your legs so all is fully revealed. Understand me?”

  What could he say? Tess was pressed against him, her face in his, her voice brooking no argument. And his cock was responding. “You’re speaking my language, loud and clear,” he replied hoarsely. “So if you’ll get out of my fucking way, I’ll do as I’m told.”

  “You fucking well better,” she growled back, and then her eyes widened. “I can’t believe I said that word!”

  “Must be the candy. Have some more!” Johnny grabbed a red wrapper from the box and deftly twisted off the paper to read its message. “Hop on for a wild ride. Finish what you’ve started, elf.”

  “It does not say that!”

  “I say it does.” He popped the chocolate into her open mouth. “And I’m saying if you jump my bones, and I grab your ass and hang on for dear life, we’ll both explode.”

  She hopped and he caught her. The tights around her knees restricted her movement, and that added to the pleasure, didn’t it? As Tess undulated against his hard cock, he thrilled to the way she responded to this sort of play—as much because she loved it as because the candy was lowering her inhibitions.

  Then again, the way she moved so perfectly against him, positioning herself to accept his first thrust, told Johnny she had left any misgivings and disappointments about sex behind—all the way back in Memphis. And what a fine thing, that she allowed him to enjoy the newer, happier Tess Bennett now that she’d shed her widow’s weeds.

  “Stick that thing inside me,” she demanded in a raw whisper.

  “What thing? Call it a specific name, and tell me precisely where to put it.”

  She wrapped herself more tightly around him, her hips wiggling with need. “Fuck my cunt,” she commanded him. “Ram your cock up inside it and don’t stop until I’m calling out your name, bad boy.”

  With a groan, he obeyed, thrusting up inside her and holding on tight while she ground herself against him. Tess was rapidly approaching the point of no return. He could feel it in her clenching muscles, could hear the desperation in her moans.

  “Hang on,” he rasped. “I’ll slip my arms under your knees, slide those tights up out of the way so you’re hanging suspended, like—”

  “Oh, Jesus . . . oh, Johnny, this angle is . . . well, I feel so open! So—” Her head dropped back, and as she arched against him, she was the picture of utter ecstasy.

  Johnny slowed his thrusts to prolong the intense pleasure building between their straining, hot bodies. He focused on creating friction inside her, in all the right spots, and her immersion in their play—her body’s response to his—made his heart sing.

  “Don’t stop,” she whimpered, hunching and rubbing her clit against him. “I had no idea—have never felt these wild spirals of . . . oh, God . . . ohhh, gawwww—”

  Johnny grimaced with his own impending release as Tess stifled her scream against his shoulder. He surged with her, astounded by the way her inner muscles gripped his cock and demanded their due. He lost all track of time and place . . . shot into that hot center of pleasure where his body and hers became one on the deepest, most primal level. He convulsed. Lost himself in her.

  When he came back to his senses, he loosened his hold on her. Tess spasmed again, one last little shimmer of sensation, before she went limp in his embrace.

  “My God,” he murmured, kissing her neck. “I can’t . . . It’s never, ever been so intense for me, Tess. So gawd-awesome spectacular! I hope you—”

  “Shhhh,” she breathed, tickling the hairs on his nape. “Let’s drift a bit. This wonderland we’ve made is a nice place, and I want to live here for a long while . . . with you.”

  Johnny closed his eyes with the sweetness of her sentiment. He felt the same, and it scared him to death. What did he know about Tess Bennett, really? She looked cute in her elf suit . . . she gave heart and soul to those underprivileged kids . . . she seemed so fearless.

  But what was she running from? Or who?

  As she slid from his arms, Johnny hugged her close. “Tess, I—”

  “It was the best ever for me, too, Johnny,” she blurted. “I’ve never felt this incredible in my entire life—and I’d better get back to my room before I say things that terrify us both.”

  He nodded mutely. Watched her tug her tights over her sweet little backside and then tiptoe out of his room after checking the hallway. Her wiggling finger-wave did funny things to his heart.

  He was falling too damned hard, too damned fast. And for the first time ever, he felt deliriously, out-of-his-mind happy about that.

  But who was she, really?

  10

  Dear Margaret and George,

  I hope you’ve not been worried, as Warren said he’d inform you that I was safely on my way to an adventure he himself arranged for me. Well, I took a bit of a side trip. Would you believe it? For the first time in my life, I’m employed! Handing out candy to orphans as a Penney Candy elf. Sharing Christmas with children who are as lost and lonely as I—but not anymore.

  Please don’t feel you failed me. I simply couldn’t face an entire afternoon of Reed’s hovering and fawning over my money. I shall return sometime after the holidays.

  Tess paused, nipping her lip. Would she return to Memphis alone? Probably best not to hint that she’d gotten in over her head with a man who worked far more potent magic than Edgar Penney.

  She noted the candy canes in the company letterhead. The sweet tang of peppermint still lingered even though all had gone quiet in the master suite. When she’d peered through the stained-glass embellishments on Edgar’s door, the sight of two scantily clad blondes on the rumpled bed with Edgar confirmed Johnny’s initial warning: He hadn’t wanted her to become just another hapless, helpless elf lying in that heap of entangled limbs. The large hookah in the corner, striped in red and white, validated Johnny’s claim, too, making her wary of staying beyond the holidays. What was there for her to do after the Christmas season passed?

  Tess sighed and resumed her writing.

  Please close up the house and enjoy the Christmas season. After putting up with my moods these past months, you deserve a long vacation for you
r loyalty. And please believe I’m happy and well. When I return, I’ll have a better idea about how to deal with Reed. Please don’t tell him where I’ve gone.

  “Are you writing a novel, Tessie? Are we gonna be in your booky . . . with our nooky?”

  Tess glanced across her room, which was dark except for the candle that burned on her small desk. From the doorway, Daphne’s grin looked lopsided. Her hair hung in uneven rivulets around her pale face, some of it unpinned. She wore a rumpled white camisole and nothing else. As though unaware of where she was, the young blonde absently scratched the curls between her bare thighs and then sniffed her fingers.

  “We missed you, Tessie,” she continued in a childlike whine. “I was gonna come find you so you could celebrate with us, but Blythe said you might not . . . want to.”

  Tess hesitated. How did she answer that without further incriminating herself and Johnny? “And why would I not want to celebrate such a wonderful day?” she asked. Better to test Daphne’s faculties than be tested herself. “Such dear little souls, those children were. It was good to bring them some Christmas cheer.”

  The young blonde rested her head against the doorjamb, grinning sleepily. “Blythe spent several years in that place where they came from today,” she replied in a faraway voice. “That’s how Eddie found her. Then they took me in and . . . loved me.”

  “They’re very kindhearted. Both of them.” Tess wondered if Daphne was dazed from the opium, telling such a tale. “How old are you, Daphne? I swear the rarified air out here makes everyone seem so young and—”

  “Nineteen. I fibbed about my age when Eddie hired me.” She chuckled vapidly. “But he loved me, anyway, after he found out. We’re a happy little family here . . . but I’m babbling, aren’t I? Time for bed. We go to Colorado Springs tomorrow, and I need my beauty rest!”

  How much of that should she believe? Tess pondered Edgar Penney’s penchant for blondes—young, biddable, and seemingly desperate blondes. Why had he run his most recent advertisement and then acted as though he’d designed it specifically to find her?