CHRISTMAS CASH.

Maggie Casper.

Chapter One.

There was a definite nip in the air, enough to chill but not enough to freeze just yet. Standing on the street corner in a jacked-up costume on the day after Thanksgiving wasn 't Noelle Jacobs' idea of fun, but it was necessary.

Since hunk extraordinaire, Cash McCain, refused to give her a job at Raising Cain, the McCain family bar, Noelle had no choice but to take the seasonal work.

It was bad enough she'd decided on the spur of the moment to move back home with no job lined up. The decision left her no choice but to accept the graciousness of her parents and the small apartment above their garage.

But as wonderful as her parents were, Noelle wasn't thrilled about moving back home at the age of twenty-six. Especially when her parents were sure something horrible had happened to bring her back home.

She tried to tell them there was no huge tragedy in her life. It was simple, really. Noelle was just tired of the hustle and bustle of city life. She yearned for home.

Poking her eyes out with fiery hot nails seemed preferable to asking her parents for money. Instead, she'd swallowed her pride and asked Cash, who also happened to be her best friend's brother, for a job.

She'd gone into Raising Cain before opening time, intent on leaving employed, but Cash had not so nicely shot that idea to h.e.l.l with some lame excuse about her being too young to work in a bar. Their heated conversation and all that took place that day still made her ears ring and her core ache with need.

"How can you say that when Casey works here?" Noelle looked around the dimly lit interior of the bar, loving the rustic atmosphere. It had a definite traditional country feel to it. Everything about the place reminded her of Cash.

He'd shrugged his ma.s.sive shoulders, pulling Noelle from her thoughts, then crossed his arms over the wide expanse of his chest. "She's a McCain."

He'd evidently thought that little fact to be explanation enough, but once started, Noelle was like a dog with a bone. She didn't easily give up.

"Oh give me a freakin' break. What in the h.e.l.l does that have to do with working at a bar? We're the same d.a.m.ned age, Cash, and you know it."

Her words seemed to irritate him, causing a frown to crease his brow. His next words were spoken in a low, menacing voice.

"Everyone around here knows causing harm to Casey wouldn't be good for their health."

"You're nuts if you think her name is the only thing keeping her safe and the lack of it would make me a target. Think about how d.a.m.ned stupid that sounds, Cash!" Noelle was feeling a bit irate. Men could be such annoying b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.

Noelle opened her mouth to continue her argument but was cut short when Cash pushed off the bar to stand directly in front of her. He grasped her upper arms, turned and lifted her until her a.s.s landed firmly on the bar.

All thought of arguing fled when Cash wrapped his arms around her lower back, pulling her to the edge of the bar. When his head dipped toward the juncture of her thighs, Noelle thought she'd shatter into a million pieces.

He was so sinfully close Noelle could hardly catch her breath. His scent wafted around her, drawing her deeper under his spell. He nipped at her clothes, catching her thin pants and panties between his teeth in the process. Noelle couldn't help but gasp when Cash let them go with a snap. He seemed to enjoy teasing her.

The fingers of one hand kneaded her a.s.s but it was his other hand that caught her attention and kept it. With sure, deft movements, Cash rubbed her through the thin barrier of her drawstring pants. He had to feel how hot and wet she was.

Noelle was so consumed with l.u.s.t it never even dawned on her that she might want to say something, to insist he stop. When he used his thumb, adding pressure against the already sensitive bud of her c.l.i.t, Noelle nearly shot off the bar her climax was so sudden.

She was a boneless heap when Cash pulled her from the bar. "Careful," he murmured against her ear as he turned her away from him.

The feel of his warm breath against her neck sent shivers of delight coursing through her body even though his mouth didn't actually touch her.

"This," Cash growled while pressing the thick length of his c.o.c.k to her a.s.s, "is why you can't work here. You're a distraction I don't need or want."

His words struck like lightning, cooling Noelle's ardor as if she'd been doused with a bucket of cold water.

"You...you..." Noelle hadn't been prepared for the impact of Cash's refusal or how he'd go about doing it. She was so angry forming a coherent sentence seemed impossible.

"This conversation...this lesson is over, Noelle. The answer is no. You should know me well enough to know I won't change my mind."

The d.a.m.ned man was built like a brick wall and had the mentality to match. There was just no swaying him once he made a decision, and he certainly wasn't known for his willingness to compromise, which was why Noelle found herself standing on the street corner dressed as Mrs. Claus and ringing a stupid bell.

The only joy she got out of the whole d.a.m.ned fiasco was the knowledge that she'd been stationed right across the street from Raising Cain. Knowing Cash was trying to sleep in his apartment above the bar made everything bearable.

The giggle that escaped her chilled lips was one of sheer wickedness. Cash McCain was going to have a miserably annoying Christmas season if she had anything to do with it.

Noelle rang her bell with enthusiastic cheer, smiling at every pa.s.serby as if they were her best friend. Even though she was always prompt, Noelle was going to be extra responsible in the days to come. Showing up early for work every morning might not get her a bonus, but it was sure going to make things much more fun.

When the front door of Raising Cain slammed open ten minutes later, Noelle was digging through her duffle bag for lip gloss. The errant thought running through her mind to bring a purse instead of her duffle bag was cut short by the vision of Cash standing there in nothing more than a pair of drawstring pants, which nearly knocked the breath out of her, but she was easily able to cover her near blunder with a wide smile.

It bit the big one that the arrogant a.s.s knew just how much he turned her on. Now he 'd probably take the information and use it against her, relentlessly teasing and torturing her with it.

The thought of Cash doing anything remotely close to teasing or torturing her made her nipples swell and ache. He was so big. Big hands, big feet, big all over. Noelle's feminine core couldn't help but wonder what the rest of him was like.

Would his c.o.c.k be in proportion to the rest of his body? Noelle could almost picture it, thick and long with veins lying just below the surface. Her mouth watered just thinking about the utterly erotic possibilities.

She'd give just about anything to find out, but evidently Cash was hung up on age. At thirty-six Cash was ten years older than Noelle and therefore thought of her as off-limits. Of course, that didn't mean she was going to give up, it just meant she had to rethink her strategy.

Noelle loved a challenge. h.e.l.l, even her mama always said that if you didn't have to work for what you wanted, it probably wasn't worth having in the first place. The thought made her smile.

Knowing full well she had his attention, Noelle waggled her fingers in Cash's direction then loudly greeted those walking by.

Happy Holidays!

Cash wanted to murder someone. It was ten minutes after nine in the morning and cold enough outside to shrivel a man's b.a.l.l.s. Undeterred by the cold, Noelle dressed in a tiny red dress with no more than a sweater on for warmth, stood on the corner ringing the bell from h.e.l.l.

Her mile-long legs were covered in white stockings but they couldn't be enough to keep her warm in Cash's opinion. h.e.l.l, even the Santa hat perched on the top of her pretty little head sat at a jaunty angle. How was it possible for anyone to be awake so early in the morning, much less coherent and perky?

Cash wanted to march across the street and cover her in the bulk of one of his jackets. To haul her into the kitchen for a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows on top just as he'd done when she and Casey were younger. It didn't seem possible that they were already grown women.

Especially Noelle. h.e.l.l, when she'd left town, she'd still been stuck between being a child and a woman, sort of gangly and awkward, a definite late bloomer. Cash closed his eyes briefly, trying to remember the last time he'd seen her up close and personal, and for the life of him, he couldn't remember.

Surely he'd seen her in the time between her leaving for school and her return home just a few weeks ago? Life had been grueling and busy back then, but that was no excuse. Cash felt a twinge of guilt at the knowledge.

The persistent ringing of the bell stopped, leaving nothing but the normal sounds of life. Cash opened his eyes to see Noelle squatting down in front of a child. A beautiful smile curved her lips, it looked nothing like the mischievous grin she'd bestowed upon him when young or the sneer she'd been aiming at him lately.

Realizing she was no longer the gangly teenager she once had been was like a blow to the solar plexus, stealing the breath from his lungs. Time had been more than nice to Noelle, filling her out in a way that made Cash's mouth water.

From her large, obviously real b.r.e.a.s.t.s to the nipped-in expanse of her waist, over gently curved hips and down the long, long expanse of leg she loved to show, Noelle Jacobs was all woman.

My woman!

The caveman in him growled. Cash would love nothing more than to drag her off to his lair to do with as he pleased. No matter how hard he fought it, Cash could no longer act like the responsible, big brotherly type toward Noelle.

She'd probably run as fast as her pink-tipped toes would take her when she found out the way he liked his s.e.x. Being the impertinent minx she was, Noelle would probably plant her palm across his cheek, earning her an a.s.s-burning spanking in the process.

"Dammit!" Cash muttered the curse as he backed into the bar. He didn't slam the door. To do so would only prove how much Noelle was getting to him. Something Cash wasn't quite ready to admit. Admitting he had feelings for Noelle, feelings that went deeper than he was willing to deal with, would open up Pandora's box and, sure as s.h.i.t, all h.e.l.l would break loose.

Cash made his way back through the bar and up the back stairs to his apartment. He enjoyed the dark wood and earth tones that seemed to engulf him every time he stepped through the door. No matter what was going on in his life, his apartment was always a place of retreat, his castle. Cash showered and dressed even though he was nowhere near ready for the day. Coffee and food seemed to help but nothing could make the noise that blasted bell was making sound better.

At the end of his rope Cash stalked across the street. He didn't slow down to speak to those around him or acknowledge another soul. He didn't stop until he was face-to-face with Noelle, their chilled breaths mingling in the scant inches that separated them.

"What are you doing out here?"

She looked at him as if he'd grown horns. Then she began speaking slowly as if she were afraid he might not comprehend what she was saying. "I'm. Working." The d.a.m.ned imp even had the audacity to exaggeratedly move her lips. When she was finished mocking him on the street corner for all to see, she smiled.

She must be insane, Cash decided. Not many grown men were willing to go up against him, much less a woman who, when compared to his size, would be considered tiny.

Of course that didn't seem to stop her. Pulling herself up straight, Noelle glared at him before asking, "Why? What are you doing here?"

Cash wasn't certain how to answer the loaded question. If he admitted that her bell was driving him insane, she'd only ring it louder and even more obnoxiously. If he admitted that he didn't like the fact she was only partially dressed and standing out in the cold, she'd know he cared more than he should.

He knew she had a crush on him. She wasn't worldly enough to keep her emotions well hidden and even if she were, she'd never even so much as tried. Instead, she flirted shamelessly whenever the chance arose.

This one was going to be tricky. Cash was going to have to pull out the big guns and play the big overbearing brother, something he was very good at. If Noelle were anything like Casey, she'd be huffing mad in no time.

He was annoyed, just as Noelle had hoped. She had no problem with standing out on the sidewalk, freezing her a.s.s off, if that's what it would take to make it impossible for Cash to ignore her. He never should have refused her the job, especially for some lame-a.s.s excuse, because now she was on a mission, no matter the outcome. And to prove his point by using her s.e.xuality was plain wrong. Noelle was going to make sure he knew it too.

It was bad enough that she had to stand on a street corner ringing a bell instead of working in the nice, warm interior of Raising Cain, but to have him waltz across the street all high and mighty as if he owned the whole d.a.m.ned block was too much.

She could be making a nice wage, but nooo, her sarcastic side chided, the almighty Cash McCain had to go and refuse her. The more irritated Noelle became, the more calm her outer appearance seemed. She was raging on the inside, but kept her smile sweet and charming. Deep down, she knew it was the only way to deal with the larger-than-life man, especially if she had any chance of opening his eyes to the truth.

I might be the same age as your baby sister, but there is nothing childish about me. Not the things I want to do to every inch of your muscular body, or the things I want you to do to mine.

If only she could say the words aloud. Noelle inwardly sighed, knowing it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. If there was one thing about her that would turn Cash off, it would be blatant forwardness.

So, she'd walk right on the edge, be just forward enough to irritate the h.e.l.l out of him, flirting and sashaying about every time she was in his presence, not giving him any choice but to see her for the woman she was. And she'd do it all without crossing the line.

Who knows, Noelle thought to herself, maybe her actions would push him over the edge and he'd take her in a frenzy of angry s.e.x.

The thought made her shiver.

"It's too cold out here to be dressed the way you are."

His words caught her off guard, surprising the smile right off her face. "So either you go home and change or-"

Noelle couldn't help but laugh. Not a giggle, an outright laugh. "Or what, you'll put me on restriction?" she taunted, not at all believing the man really thought she would just fall in line and do what he said, just because he said it. It was unreal.

Cash didn't seem at all amused by her outburst. Noelle wiped tears of mirth from her eyes, but the laughter just wouldn't stop. She wheezed and snorted and just about the time she thought she had herself under control, she would look up, see his face and it would start all over again.

Cash on the other hand, had evidently had enough. "Noelle." His tone was undeniably peeved and brooked no argument.

"Oh sorry," she muttered, straightening from her doubled-over position. Noelle wasn't at all sorry, but when it came to Cash, it was best to act a bit repentant.

A dark brown brow arched over green eyes flecked with gold. "Either you change or you come to Raising Cain for a thicker coat, one that actually fits." Cash gestured to her too thin sweater.

His look of exasperation quickly changed to one of l.u.s.t. His hooded lids spoke of something dark and sensual. He seemed to be in a trance, as if he couldn't pull his eyes away from her chest, no matter the consequences.

Following his gaze, Noelle lowered her eyes only to find her nipples prominently displayed through the lace of her bra and the thin fabric of her dress. Instead of crossing her arms over her chest in an attempt at modesty, she slowly started b.u.t.toning her sweater, from the bottom up.

When her fingers reached the b.u.t.ton at the rise of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, Cash's gaze snapped up and locked with hers. His eyes were dark and his pupils dilated. Color rode high on his cheeks and Noelle would bet it had nothing at all to do with the cold.

It didn't matter how hard she tried, Noelle couldn't keep her eyes locked on his. Not when the possibility of glimpsing his straining erection made her mouth water. She lowered her eyes to his fly, not even trying to hide where she was looking.

d.a.m.n!

She'd always known he was going to be awe-inspiring, beautiful even, but the sight of the thick ridge straining against the zippered fly of his jeans was just too much.

"G.o.ddammit, Noelle! Knock that s.h.i.t off." Cash's voice thundered through the haze of l.u.s.t clouding her thoughts. Never before had he been able to embarra.s.s her, and yet, this time he'd accomplished it without even trying.

She cleared her throat, trying to hide her discomfort then looked around her, hoping no one had witnessed her blatantly gawking at Cash's crotch. "All right, already. I'll come to the bar and borrow a heavier coat."

Huffing a huge sigh of relief when Cash turned away from her, Noelle wondered for the first time since returning home if she was getting in way over her head.

Chapter Two.

She was following him. Cash knew it even though he had yet to turn and see for himself. Her scent enveloped him like a gentle breeze, tickling his senses while making his c.o.c.k throb to life. Knowing she had the ability to make him as stiff as a fence post without even trying irritated Cash to no end.

If Noelle ever really set her mind to seducing him, Cash knew he'd be screwed. Literally.

He opened the door to Raising Cain for Noelle. He had to hide his grin as she stomped through, making her anger known. She was a stubborn piece of baggage, that was for sure.

"Go on up and find something...warmer in my closet." Noticing once again the peaked tips of her beautiful b.r.e.a.s.t.s made Cash stumble over his words.

He didn't follow her up or offer to help. To do so would be asking for trouble Cash didn't need. Besides, it wasn't as if his place was so big she wouldn't be able to find the closet, he reminded himself as he set about making hot chocolate.

Noelle returned in moments. She looked utterly adorable and devastatingly s.e.xy all but swallowed whole by his coat. She didn't look too happy, however.

"This is never going to work, Cash. Dammit! I can hardly move."

Noelle flapped her arms like a bird taking flight to make her point. The sleeves of his coat stopped several inches below her fingertips. The hem didn't stop until nearly her knees.