«That's not an excuse. As the leader of our people, it is your duty to play the part of St. Nick. It's tradition.»

«Not Carpathian tradition. It is not dignified, Raven.» Mikhail swept his black hair to the nape of his neck and secured it with a thin strip of leather. His black eyes glittered at her, making every attempt to intimidate her into submission.

She burst out laughing, completely unsympathetic and certainly not scared. «Tough luck, hotshot. It's your job. Carpathian tradition or not, you promised me we'd have a big Christmas party for everyone. Our people have come from the United States, South America and several other countries to participate in our celebration. We cannot possibly disappoint them.»

«It will not be disappointing to do this ridiculous thing?»

Her laughter deepened into a rich, appealing sound that played down his spine and made his stomach do a funny little flip. Only Raven could do that to him. Only Raven could make him want to do anything on Earth to please her.

«Trust me, Mikhail, the entire Carpathian race will be disappointed if they do not see you playing the role of Santa Claus.» She stroked his face with her fingertips. «A nice white beard.» Her hand ran down his chest to his hard, flat stomach. «A nice round belly…»

«You aren't at all amusing.» But she was, and it was taking everything he had not to smile at her.

«You promised me you would do everything to make our first Christmas gathering a success.»

«I was not thinking at the time. You were distracting me,» he grumbled.

«Was I?» Raven asked, blinking innocently. «I can't remember.»

Mikhail wrapped his arms around Raven and pulled her into his body. Nibbling on her neck, he tasted her pulse, felt her answering excitement and knew it would always be this way between them. Raven. He thought he couldn't love her more, yet each day the emotion grew stronger until he felt he was bursting with it. Sometimes, when she wasn't looking, he could feel blood red tears welling up in his eyes. Who would believe the powerful prince of the Carpathian people would be so enamored of a woman.