Free Holiday for Two (a duet of Christmas novellas) by Elyssa Patrick Maggie Robinson Page A

chin.
    “Hm?”
    “Life is short.” Her lashes dropped.
    Where was she going with this? He waited.
    “What if something comes up?”
    Oh, something was up, all right. Griffin willed himself to ignore it.
    He swallowed. “You mean an emergency?”
    “I might not be able to stay all summer.”
    “I see.” He pretended to think. “Well, what do you suggest?”
    “That’s just it—what I’d like to do, I can’t. We don’t have—we don’t have the necessary equipment.”
    “You aren’t proposing something acrobatic, are you? I’m in pretty good shape, but I draw the line at sawhorses or swings.”
    Carrie chortled. “No, silly. I mean protection. I’m on the pill, but—” She let the rest go unsaid.
    She didn’t trust him, and so she shouldn’t. He might be an intimate stranger at the moment, but she was wise not to take a risk. Griffin knew his sexual history, what there had been of it lately. But the world was a dangerous place and Carrie Moore was a smart young woman.
    “Are you saying you’d sleep with me if I had a condom?” Griffin asked.
    “I don’t think much sleep would be involved.” She smiled ruefully.
    “What if I told you I had an entire box of condoms? Unopened. Shiny foil packets.”
    Carrie elbowed him. “Get out.”
    “Don’t hurt me for telling the truth.”
    “Why would you bring condoms to your aunt’s Christmas dinner?”
    “No aunt, remember? No Christmas. No snow. No Maine. Let’s just say like a good Boy Scout, I come prepared.”
    “You aren’t joking?”
    “Why would I get your hopes up? You do want to make me the happiest of men, don’t you?” He waggled an eyebrow.
    “That’s what a Regency hero says in romance novels when he proposes.”
    Griffin’s throat dried. He was not proposing. He might never propose to anyone ever again.
    Carrie giggled. “Sorry, but I had to take you down a peg. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to compromise you. But I wouldn’t mind seeing one of those condoms in action. Maybe even two.”

Chapter 5

    S O MUCH FOR good intentions. Well, she could make a New Year’s resolution to avoid gorgeous British men who carried around boxes of condoms in blizzards, but New Year’s was a week away. But right now? Seize the day. Or night, as it were.
    Lord Griffin Archer had already proven his worth and should be rewarded for his efforts. He had been such a good sport over the car and the dog and the cottage and her own reluctance to own what she was doing. Not only was he playing along, but he was leading the way. Carrie would find it difficult to say no to him under any circumstances, but after what he’d just done—
    Wow. He was right—she couldn’t find the words to describe what had just happened.
    Right now he was the one looking adorable as she invited him to ravish her further. Trooper that he was, he was rummaging into his overnight bag, his cock at full mast. Wow again. Carrie didn’t have a ton of experience, but she was pretty sure she’d never seen anything as exquisite as Griffin’s physique.
    She caught the box he tossed at her. So, Little League had not been a total waste of time.
    All right. She could do this. She’d practiced on bananas at bachelorette parties. Griffin was a lot firmer than a banana, and there was no reason she had to do it with her teeth this time. Honestly, who thought up these lame party games anyway? She opened the box, took out a packet and peeled it open.
    Her hands didn’t shake too much. Griffin’s eyes were half-closed and he grunted in affirmation at her technique. Then he pulled her down and kissed her, a desperate, hot blend of tongues.
    Man, could he kiss. He’d come off as kind of reserved and cold in the beginning, but he’d warmed right up. The calm, controlled Griffin was entirely absent. In his place was a wilder, freer man, whose hands were everywhere his mouth wasn’t. Carrie was so glad the ferry hadn’t run, for if it had, she’d probably be up in her room right now