Snowbound Christmas Read online

  “Oh no,” the man said. “Talking to you would be great in any situation, but it’s especially wonderful under these circumstances.”

  Kara felt a smile lifting her face. He was flirting and that had been a genuinely nice thing to say.

  Evidently responding to her smile, the man offered her his hand. “I’m Ron.”

  “Kara.”

  “So you want to make a bet on whether or not we fly to Detroit today?”

  “Do you want to get there or not?” Kara asked.

  “Oh, I’d like to fly home,” Ron said, “but for some reason I don’t think Mother Nature is going to let us.”

  Kara shook her head. “Snow or no snow, we have to get to Detroit today. Tomorrow is Christmas.”

  Ron’s growing smile might almost be considered a smirk. “So you want to bet?”

  She decided to see what he had in mind. “What are the stakes?”

  “If we get off this plane here in Newark, you let me buy you a drink in the bar.”

  “I have a boyfriend,” Kara reminded him. She decided not to mention that she was also a lot older than Ron.

  “It’s just a drink,” Ron insisted.

  “And when the plane lands in Detroit like it’s supposed to?”

  “You buy me a drink.”

  Despite the delays, the cramped conditions, and the crummy weekend with Bobby, Kara began to enjoy herself. There was something about a handsome man working hard to keep her attention that completely tickled her fancy.

  “So let me get this straight,” Kara said. “If I win, my reward is that I get to buy you a drink?”

  “Why not?” Ron answered. “I can’t think of a better prize than winning the right to buy you one.”

  His gaze suddenly dipped toward Kara’s cleavage. It was just a fraction of a second before he looked up again, but it was enough to prove a drink was only the beginning of what he wanted. Still, they were in a public airport. How far could he expect to go?

  Kara crossed her legs, better exposing her shapely knee and sleek calf. She was beginning to have fun with this. “You seem mighty certain of yourself for a guy who probably graduated college last May,” she told him.

  Ron completely ignored her reference to his age. “If you’d feel better about it,” he suggested. “You can buy me the drink in Newark and I’ll buy you the drink in Detroit.”

  “That seems fair,” Kara agreed.

  He leaned closer to her, and for a moment she thought that rugged square jaw was positioning for a kiss. But Ron lifted his hand before she could protest and pointed toward the window. “I really think I’m going to win.”

  Kara twisted in her seat so she could see what he was pointing at.

  “It’s starting to snow here as well,” Ron told her. “Somehow I don’t think we’ll be making it to Detroit today.”

  Chapter Three

  Another hour passed before the pilot made it official, and by then the announcement surprised no one.

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, I regret to inform you that the tower has just directed me to take you back to the terminal. Detroit is still snowed in, and as weather conditions continue to deteriorate here in Newark, they want to de-ice the plane.”

  “Well at least they haven’t cancelled the flight,” Kara said.

  “They’ve cancelled it,” Ron corrected her. “They just aren’t admitting it to us yet. They wouldn’t have us disembark if all they were doing is de-icing the plane.”

  Kara suspected Ron was correct but she wasn’t willing to give up on her white Christmas yet. “I don’t think you’re right. Didn’t Congress pass a law not so long ago forcing the airlines to let us off the plane to stretch our legs in situations like this?”

  Ron smirked. “And do you really think these airlines care what Washington says? If they thought we’d get out soon, we’d be seated on the tarmac waiting.”

  “So why aren’t you unhappy about this?”

  “What do I have to be unhappy about?” Ron asked. “At home I’ll be surrounded by a band of hyperactive nieces and nephews. Here, I’m getting taken out for drinks by a fabulously beautiful woman. Which choice would you prefer?”

  “Well, I would choose the kids,” Kara said with mock seriousness. “But then, I’m not attracted to other women.”

  “Point well taken,” Ron said. “But I am a heterosexual male. I would choose spending time with you ten times out of ten.”

  Kara smiled. She couldn’t help it. When was the last time Bobby had spoken to her like this? “Just keep in mind that this isn’t a date. I still have a boyfriend. I’m just making good on a gambling obligation.”

  “Well then, we’ll have to increase the stakes for our next bet,” Ron told her, “because I definitely want a date.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Kara asked, the words slipping out before she could censor them.

  Ron grinned. The Cheshire Cat could not have shown more teeth or happiness. “We’ll discuss that while you’re paying off your first obligation.”

  Chapter Four

  Ron wanted to hold Kara’s hand as the plane taxied into the terminal, but he knew it was much too early for that. Hell, she had a boyfriend. It was never going to be time for that. All that he could realistically hope for was a few diverting hours of conversation in the airport while they waited to find a plane to Detroit.

  The plane braked to a halt, and the passengers at the front began to collect their overhead baggage and file out. There was much confusion as some people tried to get a jump on the line. The woman with the packages began to try and rise even though it would obviously be several minutes before they could disembark.

  Ron decided to ignore her and kept talking to Kara. “Are you ready to buy me that drink?”

  “We can still get to Detroit,” she answered.

  “That wasn’t the bet,” Ron reminded her. “But do you really think they would let us off this plane if there was any chance of it flying out of here today?”

  He watched Kara’s face while she considered his question. She truly was beautiful: the curve of her lips, the wide brown eyes…

  “I suppose not,” Kara conceded. “I’ll pay up, but first I need to call my family and let them know what’s happened.”

  Passengers continued to file out of their seats. Ron stood up, staking a claim to part of the aisle, and opened the overhead compartment. “At least you have your luggage,” he told her. “I only have my laptop. The rest of my baggage is checked.”

  “Oh, I checked two bags as well,” Kara told him while Ron retrieved their coats.

  “How long were you here?” Ron asked her.

  “Three days.”

  He stared at her until she smiled defensively. “What can I say? I’m a woman. I had to bring clothes to cover all the possibilities.”

  Ron wondered how much of Kara’s baggage was devoted to nightgowns and lingerie. Her boyfriend must have been ecstatic that she’d come to visit.

  The aisle cleared in front of him, so Ron pulled down Kara’s suitcase, picked up his laptop and led the way out.

  He’d much rather have followed Kara so he could stare at her ass.

  Chapter Five

  Kara disconnected the call to her mother and turned to face Ron. Evidently, he had finished his call earlier than she had. His cell phone had been put away, leaving him nothing to do but stare at her back.

  “Mom says it’s still snowing hard in Detroit,” she told him.

  “That’s what CNN says as well,” Ron agreed. “And the storm is moving this way. We’ve seen nothing yet, compared to what’s coming.”

  “I guess I should call Bobby to come and get me,” Kara announced. She was surprisingly reluctant to do that.

  “Not quite yet,” Ron insisted.

  “You think we can still get a plane out in this?” Kara indicated the large windows that lined the spokes of the terminal. Through every one, large white flakes filled the air. Two or three inches must have already fallen.

 
; “No, not anytime soon, I guess. I was just thinking that you owe me a drink before your boyfriend arrives to sweep you off to an impromptu Christmas celebration.”

  Kara liked that idea. Bobby could carry her through the snow and into his apartment building. He could kiss her in the elevator, explore her mouth with his tongue while his fingers unbuttoned her blouse to free her breasts. He could bite her nipples through her bra while she felt his hard dick through his pants.

  She’d brought four different nightgowns on this trip, and that meant two were left to tease and tantalize him…

  If he could shake off his funk and get interested…

  “I’d better call him,” Kara decided.

  Ron’s face fell, which truly touched her deep in her heart. “Oh, don’t worry. We’ll still have our drink. It will take him a while to get here, even without the snow.”

  Ron perked up at this promise and Kara turned her back on him to make the call. She could almost feel him watching her, staring at her body.

  It took four rings before Bobby’s answering machine picked up. Puzzled, Kara disconnected without leaving a message and dialed again. Bobby hadn’t taken her to the airport because he thought he was getting a cold. Surely he must be in his apartment now.

  Four more rings and she hung up again, hitting redial with growing impatience. It was three more rings before Bobby finally answered, his voice hostile and out of breath.

  “Hello?”

  “Bobby?”

  The anger in Bobby’s tone transformed to one of startlement. His voice dropped from a growl to a shade too low to hear properly. “Kara?”

  “Yes. What’s wrong, Bobby?”

  “Nothing’s wrong,” he assured her. His voice was still a touch too low. “Are you home?”

  “No, we’re snowed in. I’m still in Newark.”

  Bobby asked his next question hesitantly, as if he was searching for the right words. “So you haven’t seen my card yet?”

  Card? Kara hadn’t seen Bobby slip a card into her suitcase. A rush of delightful heat flushed her body. Maybe there was some romance left in her man after all. “Did you stick a present in my suitcase for me?”

  “It’s just a card,” Bobby corrected her. “What’s going on?”

  “I need you to come pick me up. There’s snow everywhere. I don’t think I can get a flight out tonight.”

  “Pick you up?” Bobby repeated.

  “I know you’re not feeling well, Sugar, but I really need you to come get me.”

  “In the snow?” Bobby asked, as if that point needed clarification.

  “Of course,” Kara answered. Her initial flush of pleasure was quickly turning into irritation.

  “Do you think the Turnpike is still open?” Bobby asked.

  Irritation was rapidly becoming anger. “How would I know if the Turnpike is still open? Will you just come and get me?”

  “Okay, okay,” Bobby said. “I’ll get there as fast as I can.”

  “Call me on my cell phone when you arrive,” Kara told him.

  Bobby hung up without answering.

  Chapter Six

  “Oh, this is nice,” Kara said before tasting the champagne a second time. It was dry and bubbly and just what she needed.

  Ron had picked the drink and, despite their bet, insisted on paying for it. Dom Perignon, he’d insisted, and then toasted the white Christmas that had made it possible for him to meet her.

  “If not for this snow,” he said, “we’d have likely sat next to each other on an uneventful flight and never shared a word.”

  He took a healthy pull from his glass. “But thanks to this storm, I am now drinking champagne with you, the envy of every man in this room.”

  Kara really enjoyed a fine glass of champagne. It seemed to rush in all directions, filling her head with bubbles while a wonderful heat suffused her body from breasts to inner thighs. “They’re envious,” Kara corrected him, “because you somehow managed to snag us a table.”

  “They’re envious,” Ron insisted, “because you are quite simply the most beautiful woman in the bar. Every man here wishes he was sitting where I am.”

  Kara looked down at the table, wondering if Ron could tell how deeply her face was flushing. It was such a ludicrous thing to say, but oh how she liked to hear him say it. He made her whole body tingle with excitement.

  “Now we promised to discuss the matter of our next wager,” Ron reminded her.

  Kara instantly returned her gaze to his face, wondering what Ron had in mind. His blue eyes locked upon hers without any trace of discomfort or embarrassment. Where did a man this young get so much self confidence?

  “It is now 4:07 pm,” Ron noted. “I suggest that your boyfriend will not be able to get here in the next ninety minutes. If I’m right, and he doesn’t, you owe me a very serious kiss.”

  Kara caught her breath. The thought of kissing Ron brought her flesh to life. She couldn’t do it, of course, but the thought of him wrapping her in his strong young arms made her giddy with excitement.

  She realized she was enjoying the thought. What was wrong with her? She couldn’t kiss this stranger. What would Bobby say? What would her mother or her sisters say if they learned she had fooled around with a strange white man in the airport—not to mention one who was probably fifteen years younger than her?

  Still, it was a very pleasant image to play with—Ron lowering his mouth to hers, pressing his lips against her, letting his tongue dart inside her mouth…

  She shook her head in an unsuccessful effort to clear it of the tantalizing image. “I…what would happen if I win?”

  Ron shrugged as if to say he didn’t think there was any chance of that happening, even as he demonstrated he’d given careful consideration to a stake that might interest her. “I will do everything in my power to slip away so that Bobby never sees us together.”

  Kara hadn’t even considered that problem. With all of the trouble she and Bobby were having, the last thing she’d want to do is give him an excuse to sulk some more. All things considered, it was damned considerate of Ron to suggest it. Still, it never paid to appear too eager. “Ninety minutes isn’t much time.”

  “It is if you want an excuse to kiss me,” Ron countered. His cocky smile made him appear oh so sexy. “Besides, it’s been more than twenty minutes since you called him so he’s really getting nearly two hours for the trip. The snow can’t be that bad here in Jersey yet so the odds really favor him.”

  Kara decided to go for it. “All right,” she agreed, “one kiss.”

  “One deep and serious kiss,” Ron corrected her.

  He reached out and took her hand between both of his and began to stroke her fingers.

  Kara couldn’t bring herself to object. The sight of his young white flesh on hers captivated her attention but she couldn’t explain the fascination. Why was she doing this? Why was she letting this young white man flirt with her, hold her hand, and set wagers so she’d kiss him? Why was she risking her relationship with Bobby for a few minutes of fun with Ron? She knew better! White guys had been exploiting black women for centuries! She should put an end to this right now, but all she seemed able to do was watch his pale fingers gently caress the back of her hand.

  She forced herself to look up and meet Ron’s piercing blue eyes. He looked genuinely happy to be sitting here with her. She felt her lips curve into a smile and the tension in her shoulders ebb. They were just holding hands. What could be the harm in that?

  Chapter Seven

  Ron looked up from his watch. “Time’s up!” he said, his voice bursting with uncontainable enthusiasm.

  He stood up, embarrassed by the growing bulge in his pants but unable to do anything about it. He was simply that excited. A fabulously beautiful, deeply interesting, woman was waiting for him to kiss her. The fact that she was also black simply made her more exciting. Kara’s ebony hue gave her an intriguing and exotic flavor that was far outside of Ron’s experience and her age gave her a dept
h in insight and understanding that he found absolutely fascinating. She was like no one he had ever met and he couldn’t wait to move beyond holding her hand.

  What he wanted to do was step around the table, pull Kara out of her chair and crush her against his body. He was dying to hold her and feel her weight in his arms. He could lock his lips against hers and fuck her mouth with his tongue.

  What he actually did was slide his chair around the small table until it stood next to hers. Then he sat back down and reclaimed her hands. With any luck, they were going to be in this airport together a very long time and Ron was not going to scare Kara away by acting too hot and horny now.

  Chapter Eight

  Kara’s eyes widened slightly when she saw the evidence of Ron’s erection. The discovery both embarrassed and excited her. When she thought about how difficult it had been to get Bobby hard last night, and here was this hunk of a man all charged up at the mere thought of kissing her —it just didn’t seem fair.

  When Ron first rose, she’d been afraid he would pull her to her feet and press his hard body against her. The thought of him claiming his prize so publicly embarrassed her. It wasn’t that she didn’t want the kiss, but she wasn’t twenty-five anymore and she didn’t want to make a spectacle of herself.

  When he pulled his chair over next to her she went wet with anticipation. How could he understand her so well in such a short time? His left hand sought hers upon the table and she squeezed her thighs together to help control her excitement.

  Ron leaned forward, mouth slightly open as his right hand lifted to cup her cheek.

  “Maybe,” Kara began, “I should call…”

  Ron kissed her. His hard lips pressed lightly against hers, and his tongue gently asked permission to enter her mouth.

  Kara opened to him, welcoming Ron’s tentative quest with the tip of her own tongue.