Mistletoe Between Friends (4 page)

And then there were the times when they had gotten too close and all he'd wanted to do was take her back up to their room and say to hell with their friendship and finally—finally!—make Lily his own.

And then there was the mistletoe.

It still boggled Cam's mind how a simple Eurasian parasitic shrub could turn his mind to mush. Well, not so much the plant but what happened under it.

Lily had kissed him.

Not a small kiss, mind you. Oh, no. Apparently she wanted to act the part of girlfriend for all the room to see. When someone pointed out that they were indeed standing under a sprig of mistletoe, Lily had smiled saucily at him and silently dared him to kiss her. When Cam hadn't acted fast enough, she had simply grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him to her. He had expected a quick, sisterly kiss. That was their thing; that's what they did whenever the occasion called for a kiss. But the deep, wet, seductive kiss that she had given him? Cam had no idea where that had come from.

And he really wanted to try it again when he was more on board and not so shocked by the kiss that he spent most of the time it was happening trying to figure out
why
it was happening. Was it any wonder that he didn't have a steady girlfriend? If one kiss from Lily could stupefy him this much, Cam wasn't sure he'd make it through the next couple of months.

He was shaken from his thoughts when Lily asked if he wanted anything to drink. She was walking across the room as she took her sexy stilettos off, and that was a shame, in his opinion. After tonight, he'd have to consider taking her out to more functions so that she would have to wear the sexy footwear again. Now she was standing in the doorway between the bedroom and living room, looking at him expectantly. “Cam?”

“What? Oh, um…no. No thank you. I'm fine.” Pulling his tie loose and making his way across the room, he slid the curtains closed and removed his jacket before kicking off his own shoes.

“Want to watch a movie?” Lily called from the bedroom.

What was she doing in there?
The door was wide open; surely she wasn't getting undressed with him right here in the connecting room without closing the door! “Uh, no. I have another presentation in the morning. It's getting late, and I need to go over my notes and get some sleep. It's been a long day.” He could hear hangers shifting and did his best to focus on his presentation instead of the slinky red dress shimmying down her body and over whatever tiny bit of lingerie she was wearing underneath.

Over the years, he'd seen Lily in everything from a snowsuit to a bikini. But now? He was dying to know what she was going to sleep in. He ran a weary hand over his face and sighed. For something that was supposed to be such a good idea, this pretend relationship was slowly making him go mad—and it was only the first day! They easily had another six weeks to make this completely work to their advantage, dammit!

Doing his best to keep his back to the open bedroom doorway, Cameron searched through his briefcase for his notes on his presentation for the following morning. Once he had them, he yanked the red silk tie off, unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, and rolled up his sleeves, making himself a little more comfortable. Had it gotten hotter in the room? He was about to check the thermostat when Lily suddenly appeared beside him.

“Are you sure you don't want to just kick back and relax for the rest of the night? I'm sure you know this stuff by heart. Why don't you take tonight to unwind?”

Unwind? She wanted him to unwind? She was wearing a pair of red flannel boxers with snowmen on them and a white cami with the outline of a snowman right in the middle of her chest. Was she trying to kill him? “What is with all of the red today?” he asked suddenly, unable to remember if he had ever seen her wear the color this often.

Lily looked at herself and wondered at Cam's odd question. “Um, we're going into the holiday season. I always go a little overboard with the festive wardrobe at this time of year. I know it's silly but I can't help it. Even though my mother does her best to ruin the holidays for me with her barrage of potential husbands, I can't help but get into the spirit with my clothes. Surely you've noticed that about me over the years.”

Had he? Cam couldn't remember. Maybe there had been a funny sweater or two or the occasional sweatshirt with some sort of holiday design on it, but she had been fully covered in those. Never in all of their years as friends had she pranced around half-naked like this—and the holiday decorations adorning the skimpy getup did nothing to dampen his growing arousal. He had to get her to go into the bedroom and close the door before he lost his mind.

“Maybe,” he said distractedly. “I don't really pay attention to that sort of thing.” He looked around the room, desperately searching for anything to focus on rather than her. “Um, listen, I have a lot of work to do, so why don't you watch a movie and get some sleep? I know you don't really have anything planned for tomorrow, but I have to go over this stuff and get a good night's sleep. I need to be downstairs by nine for breakfast.”

“Oh,” Lily said with a pout. “I thought we'd have breakfast together before you headed off to the conference.”

Great, now he had guilt. “I suppose I could,” he said, although it would really be an inconvenience. “All the more reason for me to get through these notes tonight, Lil.” Taking a risk and touching the bare skin of her shoulders, he gently turned her in the direction of the bedroom and gave her a little nudge. “I'll see you in the morning.”

“I get the feeling you're trying to get rid of me,” she said over her shoulder. “I get it, I get it. You've got work to do and I'm bothering you.”

Cam hung his head and counted to ten. “Lily…”

“Relax, Cam, I'm just kidding with you. I know you have work to do. I promised not to get in your way, and I'm sorry I'm still standing here talking to you. Don't stay up all night reading. Make sure you get some sleep too.” When he simply nodded, Lily wished him a good night, walked into the bedroom, and closed the door with a little wave and a smile.

* * *

Two hours later, Lily was still awake and still questioning how much she appealed to the opposite sex. All night while they were at dinner, Cam was the perfect date. They'd laughed and talked and danced, and when he'd held her close, she'd felt confident that what she saw in his eyes was definite interest. Anytime another man had paid her too much attention, Cam had pulled her close as if staking his claim.

And then there was the kiss.

Lily wasn't sure what had come over her, but the fact that Cam had simply stood there contemplating what to do had hit a nerve. So, since impulsiveness was one of her strongest attributes, she'd done what any woman would do when there was an attractive man under the mistletoe with her. She'd kissed him. She had put everything she had into that kiss, and although he'd taken a little bit longer than she had hoped to get on board, the kiss was over way too soon.

Sigh.

Wasn't that just her luck? She had finally taken a chance and kissed the man who had captured her heart years ago, and they had to have an audience around them. The room was dark now except for the TV. Fortune had been on her side when Lily had found a channel with a marathon of some her favorite holiday classics. Glancing over at the clock, she saw it was nearing 1:00 a.m. The light was still on out in the living room, and she had a feeling Cam was probably asleep on the sofa with a pile of paperwork in his lap.

Quietly climbing from the bed, Lily paused as the announcer said
Frosty the Snowman
was up next. That was an all-time favorite of hers. Torn between going out and waking Cam so he could sleep properly on the sofa bed or curling back up in her own king-size bed so she could watch the best talking snowman ever, she envisioned Cam trying to do his presentation with his back aching from sleeping sitting up. Lily would never be able to forgive herself if she caused a problem for him with his morning meeting.

Opening the door, she found he wasn't asleep but pretty darn close. Without a word, she walked over to him and took the papers out of his hands even as he protested. She placed them by his briefcase and then came back over to him and held out her hands. “What?” he asked, but still she stood with her hands outstretched toward him. He placed his hands in hers and stood when she started to pull him to his feet. “Lily, what are you still doing up?”

“
Frosty
is about to start,” she said by way of explanation. “Go and get your pajamas on, and I'll open the sofa bed for you. It's late.”

“I can do this. Go watch your special,” he said gently, not wanting to prolong his exposure to her in her tempting sleepwear.

“The faster you do what I say, the faster I can watch it. Now go.” Cam knew Lily had a stubborn streak so he simply nodded and headed to the bedroom to get flannel pajama pants and a T-shirt to change into before heading to the bathroom. Lily made fast work of the sofa bed and turned down the lights before jumping back into her own bed just as the special started.

Cam came out of the bathroom and smiled at the picture she made. “I can't believe you're still awake.”

“It's a holiday special marathon. How could I possibly sleep through it?”

Unable to help himself, Cam sat beside her on the bed. “You know they'll play this a dozen times before the end of the year, right?”

Lily nodded but didn't look away from the television. “Yes, I'm aware, but it's just so exciting to catch it the first time it's on.” As the opening credits and song began to play, she reached out and pulled him beside her so that he was lying close. “Stay and watch it with me, and then I promise to go to sleep.”

The bed did feel good after sitting hunched over the coffee table for the last several hours, so rather than object, he simply made himself more comfortable. For the next twenty minutes, they laughed together. The show was almost over when Cam realized that Lily was curled toward him, her head on his shoulder, a hand on his chest. Somehow his arms had gone around her. As he hugged her a little closer, he noticed that her eyes were definitely beginning to droop.

“Hey, sleepy girl,” he said softly. “I think it's time to go to sleep.” Lily sighed and snuggled even closer and then seemed to fidget a bit in frustration. “What's the matter?”

“You're on top of the blankets and I can't move,” she said and then yawned. Cam was just about to speak when Lily nudged him. “Get under the blankets with me until
Frosty
is over.” Looking up, she saw his hesitation. “Please?”

Knowing there was no point in arguing, Cam climbed under the blankets and nearly groaned when Lily immediately wrapped herself around him and sighed again. “Thank you,” she whispered. Cam wrapped his own arms back around her, and together they watched the last five minutes of the cartoon.

“I do love that one,” she said sleepily. “Thank you for watching it with me.”

Cam kissed the top of her head. “My pleasure. But it's very late and we both need to go to sleep.” He looked around and found the TV remote and turned it off. But when he tried to get up, Lily held on tight.

“Not yet,” she said quietly. “Don't go yet.”

They had often sat together on her sofa with her head on his shoulder while watching a movie but this was the first time they were in a bed and she wasn't letting him leave. Part of him wanted to be strong and just do the right thing by getting up and leaving. “Lil, sweetheart, it's late. I need to go in the other room and get some sleep.”

“Sleep here.” Her voice was barely a whisper, and Cam wasn't sure what to do. They were simply sleeping—nothing wrong with that. He was so exhausted that even walking the ten feet to the next room felt like a Herculean task. Settling farther under the blankets, his decision made, Cam finally allowed himself to relax.

Pulling Lily a bit closer, he ran one hand gently up and down her spine. The urge to venture just a little farther and cup her bottom was almost too much to bear. She was temptation, pure and simple, and Cam was only human. He was allowing his fingers to barely graze below her waist when Lily stirred slightly.

“Cam?”

His hand instantly froze. “Hmm?”

“It's okay.”

“What is?”

“You can touch me,” she said so quietly that Cam wasn't even sure that he'd heard her correctly. “I've always wanted you to touch me.”

Surely he'd misunderstood her. “Lily?” he murmured and waited a heartbeat before realizing she was already asleep.

The next morning, Lily woke up alone. She sat up a little dazed and confused, and looked around and listened for any sign of Cam. Turning her head, she looked at the bedside clock, saw that it was after ten, and groaned. He had left hours ago and she had missed it. Stretching, she got out of bed and wandered around the suite, noticing that the sofa bed was folded away and was back in its daytime position. Clearly Cam had taken care of it before he left, but she wondered if he'd ever slept in it last night.

She knew he'd joined her on the bed to watch a little TV and vaguely remembered asking him to get under the blankets with her, but she couldn't be sure what happened after that. At one point in the night, she had dreamed of Cam being in bed with her, spooned against her back with an impressive arousal nuzzled against her bottom and one hand cupping her breast. It had to have been a dream because Cam would never have done something like that.

Or would he?

The thought made her giddy. With a little more pep in her step, Lily went to the phone and ordered herself breakfast before jumping in the shower. Today she would do some sightseeing around Times Square. While Cam was deep in conferences, she was going to shop and experience some of the foods he would definitely tell her to stay away from, and then she'd return in time to get ready for tonight's dinner.

Breakfast arrived just after she had finished with her shower, and Lily felt rather decadent as she lounged in the fluffy, spa-like robe the hotel provided. Looking at the view through the window, she wished Cam were there with her. It was so exciting to see all of the activity going on below. The snow had stopped, but everything still had a coating and looked magical. While she knew that Cam had come here for a definite reason, Lily wished she could encourage him to play hooky and go sightseeing with her.

After breakfast, she threw on jeans and a sweater, added a touch of makeup, and put her hair up in a ponytail. She'd do something more glamorous with it later. Grabbing her coat and room key, Lily left the room and went off on her adventure.

* * *

Cam was mentally and physically exhausted when he returned to the room at five thirty. He had wanted to call and meet Lily for lunch, but he'd been sidetracked by colleagues eager to discuss future projects. All he wanted now was a little peace and quiet and a lot less socializing. God, he hated these conferences. They were too loud, too crowded, and by the end of the day, he always ended up craving solitude.

His mind immediately went to Lily, knowing that he wasn't going to get that solitude with her around either. The only difference was that it wasn't solitude he was craving where she was concerned. Last night had been like some personal brand of torture. He had no right sharing a bed with her or touching her the way he had. Even though Lily had said that she wanted his touch—hell, that she'd always wanted his touch—she was half-asleep when she said it. Could he believe her?

Cam cursed himself mentally as he walked into their suite. Part of him hoped she was furious with him for last night and would yell at him when she caught sight of him. The other part hoped she was prancing around in that silky robe she'd worn yesterday and would greet him wearing only it and a sexy smile.

He had a problem. A very serious problem because things were not going as he'd planned, and Cameron always made sure that his life followed his plans. He and Lily were just supposed to be friends on a trip together. He had never given any thought to what looking like a real couple would entail or how it would affect him. So much for being a genius. If he wasn't careful, Lily was going to realize his feelings for her were more involved than just being friends. And then she'd walk away. Lily always tended to walk away from the men she was dating when things got serious.

And Cam wanted serious.

Or did he just seriously want?

Either way, he noticed then that the suite was eerily quiet. Housekeeping had been through, so the room was spotless, but he had no clue where Lily was. Cam immediately pulled out his phone and dialed her number. He waited and then cursed when the call went directly to voice mail. “Lily? It's Cam. I'm back at the room. It's five thirty-five, and you're not here. Please call me.” He hung up and then cursed himself again.

“What if she's pissed about last night and left?” he asked out loud. But he sighed with relief when he walked over to their closet and saw her belongings all still there. That relief was short-lived when he thought about what could have happened to her as she wandered the streets of New York by herself. Raking a hand through his dark hair, he began to pace. “Where do I even begin to look for her?”

Unsure of what else to do, he called the front desk to ask if she had used any of the hotel amenities today, or if anyone remembered when she left the building. They told him about her ordering breakfast, but after that, no one knew where she'd gone. Cam felt sick. What if something horrible had happened to Lily? It would definitely be his fault. All he'd wanted was a chance to enjoy the holidays without the hassle of his family, but thanks to his selfishness, maybe something had happened to her.

Grabbing his coat from the closet and the room key, he pulled the door open—and ran smack into Lily. “Cam? What the hell?” she said as she nearly fell backward. “Where were you going in such a rush?” He pulled her into the room and then into his arms and simply crushed her to him with relief. “Uh…Cam? What's going on? Did something happen?”

Pulling back, he stared at her beautiful face. Her cheeks were red, her green eyes were wide, and her smile was nervous. God, how he loved her. “You scared the hell out of me, Lily,” he finally said, a tremble in his normally strong and stable voice. “I got back to the room and you weren't here, and…and I thought that something… I don't know.” Then he noticed all of the packages on the floor around them and chuckled. “You went shopping.” It wasn't a question; he was just stating the obvious.

“Boy, did I!” she said excitedly. Bending over, she began to pick up her packages and smiled when Cam helped. Together they brought everything over to the sofa, where they sat and she told him all about her day. “There were so many places to see, Cam! It just seemed endless!”

Cam looked at the seemingly endless pile of packages and then back at Lily. “Seriously? What could you possibly have needed that required this many bags?”

Lily smiled at him wickedly. “Silly, silly man. Never underestimate the shopping powers of a woman.” She started going through each bag one by one and showing him what she had purchased while telling him about the store. Thirty minutes later, Cam stopped her. “What? Too much?” she asked.

“No, no… This is…riveting, really. But if we don't stop, we'll be late for dinner. As it is we only have”—he looked at his watch—“about twenty minutes to get ready.”

“Well, damn,” she sighed and then looked at all of the stuff around them. “Sorry. I didn't mean to lose track of time. Again.”

“No worries, Lil,” he said, standing and holding out a hand to her. “But we really should get ready.”

Lily took his hand and stood. “Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“We don't go to the dinner and play tourist instead,” she said quickly, clearly excited at the prospect of having time to explore with him. The look on his face told her they weren't on the same page.

“I promise we'll go out tomorrow night,” he said solemnly. “Tonight, I need to talk with some people about an upcoming project. I'm sorry.” Cam saw the disappointment on her face and hated being the one to put it there.

Doing her best to shake it off, Lily pulled her hand from his. “No biggie. Let me go freshen up and change. I promise to be quick.” She flounced away, and although her tone was light, Cam knew she was putting on an act for his benefit. When he heard her go into the bathroom, he went to the bedroom to retrieve his things and use the half bath to get ready. A shower would have gone a long way to revitalize him after such an exhausting day, but he'd just have to make do with what he had.

Fifteen minutes later, Lily joined him in the living room, wearing a more conservative dress than before but still with a killer pair of stilettos—black this time to match her dress. Cam stood back and admired her while she gathered up her purchases and took them into the bedroom. The dress came to just above her knees but was still formfitting like the red dress from the night before. The simple black sheath was sleeveless and delicately adorned with black sequins along the hem, and had a sheer back. Her accessories were minimal, and when she came back into the room, he noticed a simple black wrap.

“It helps so much that we don't have to leave the hotel to go to dinner,” she said as she draped the wrap around herself. “I get to wear pretty dresses without having to worry about freezing to death.” Walking toward Cam, she admired his dark suit and then smiled at his light-blue silk tie. “Nicely done, Cam,” she complimented him. “Not quite so somber.”

“I'm learning,” he teased and then held out his arm to escort her to the elevator.

They rode down to the main floor and joined a group of Cam's colleagues as they walked toward the banquet hall. Outside the entrance, they had all stopped and were chatting when Lily spotted the mistletoe from the night before. Turning toward one of the other women in the group, she said, “I love the holidays. Everything looks so festive and bright. Plus”—she pointed upward and winked—“it gives us an excuse for a little PDA, right?” The other woman nodded, and before Lily knew what was happening, Cam turned her in his arms and kissed her.

Oh, and how he was kissing her.

It took Lily less than a second to happily wrap her arms around him. When Cam's tongue gently grazed her lower lip, Lily more than willingly opened for him and let him deepen the kiss. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that Cam could kiss like this. He was all heat and passion, and she let out a small whimper of need before she could stop herself.

Someone cleared their throat behind them, and Cam reluctantly ended the kiss. Pulling back, he looked at Lily's flushed face and hated that they were here in this crowd. All day he had dreamed about kissing her again under the mistletoe. This time he wanted to be the one to initiate the kiss, to see if it would be any better than his fantasies.

And it was.

Without a word, Cam took Lily's hand in his and joined the group heading into the banquet hall for dinner.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Cam couldn't say why he was doing it, but he was being a jackass. There was no other way to put it. By ten o'clock he had had enough of social chitchat and talk about projects and research and work in general. He was done. Every time he heard Lily laugh at something somebody said, he felt rage building inside him. When she turned to talk to anybody else, he wanted to demand that she talk to him. He was out of control and mad as hell, and he didn't know why.

Actually, he was lying to himself. He knew exactly why.

The kiss.

Looking around the room, Cam decided he was done for the night because he wanted Lily all to himself. They had danced, they had mingled and socialized, but now it was time for them to be alone.

And to hell with the consequences.

He stood suddenly and made their excuses and then held his hand out to Lily. She looked at him questioningly but didn't object. After she said her good nights to everyone, she and Cam walked out of the room. They silently rode the elevator up to their floor, neither saying a word until they were safely back in their suite.

“Are you okay?” Lily finally asked. The room was bathed in only the soft light of one small lamp set in the corner. It felt oddly intimate and she had to wonder why neither of them seemed willing to move from the confines of the entryway.

“No,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “I'm not.” He didn't elaborate, didn't think he'd be able to find the words, so he did the only thing that he could. He stepped in close and kissed her again. Without the crowd, without the noise and the flurry of activity around them they'd had earlier, he was completely focused on the scent of her perfume and the feel of her body pressed against his as he backed her up against the wall. It was madness, and Cam made sure that he never let himself succumb to madness.

But it couldn't be helped.

He had wanted Lily for so long, and all of the pretending in the world wasn't going to be enough—not after he'd touched her and tasted her. That only made the longing worse. His mouth left hers only long enough to trail kisses along the slender column of her neck, and then he needed to feel her lips under his again. He said a silent prayer of thanks when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him even closer, her hands seeming as frantic as his to explore and touch.

“Cam?” she whispered when he broke away to stroke his tongue along the delicate shell of her ear. He reached up and placed one strong finger over her kiss-swollen lips. Her own tongue reached out and licked a path along his finger, and she smiled when he groaned with pleasure. “Is this wrong?” she asked. “We never… We've always been…”

His mouth silenced hers. Cam didn't want to think about before or what they'd never dared to do. If he allowed his mind to go in that direction, his overly practical side would take control and he'd never get the chance to experience this incredible sensation of intimacy with Lily again.

Just tonight.

For just this one night, he'd allow himself the pleasure of stepping out of himself and loving her the way he had always wanted to. “Tonight, Lily,” he murmured against her lips. “Please. Just give me tonight.” His words were tinged with a hint of desperation that was foreign to Cam. He almost didn't recognize himself. His own voice sounded like it was coming from somebody else. When Lily didn't immediately respond, he forced himself to pull back, hating how cold and alone he suddenly felt without her body pressed against his.