Jordan wound her way around the quiet, wide streets of River Oaks, carefully following the directions Google Maps had given her to Carter’s place. This would be her first time actually seeing it.

The Douglas family Christmas and New Year’s tradition always entailed a trip to Shreveport, Louisiana to visit Jordan’s grandparents. Jordan had nearly a month off between semesters and had no problem spending most of it in Houston.

Especially since a week of it would be with Carter.

By now, both her parents were aware of her long-distance relationship with him. Even her mother had managed to come around, grudgingly.

She had on a pair of stretch pants, riding boots, and a long, black cashmere sweater that she had received for Christmas. By the time she finished the waxing appointment she had scheduled and enjoyed a late lunch, it was almost 3 o’clock.

When she finally found the right number on the right street, she stopped and stared for a moment at the sprawling white house set back behind a wrought iron fence with a line of shrubs hiding it from view. She pulled up to the gate and pressed the buzzer for the intercom.

As though he’d been waiting for her, Carter answered almost before she could pull her finger away.

“Hey, beautiful, come on in.”

She smiled as the gates opened up and she drove her car into the open circular driveway. She turned off the engine and got out of the car. Now that she was behind the wall she had a better view of the house and grounds. Taking it all in she realized that “house” was a major understatement. Estate was more like it, especially since the entire thing could hold two—no, three of the house her parents lived in.

It was a cream colored, classic home with a dark tiled roof. There was a huge balcony overlooking the perfectly manicured lawn in front. The lawn actually looked more like a miniature park, or at least it would when the sculptured shrubs and trees grew their leaves back in.

“Hey there, Juliet,” she heard his voice say from above her.

She looked up toward the balcony that had been empty a second ago, and smiled at Carter leaning over the edge.

“I think you have the locations reversed, Romeo,” she said, smiling in response.

He just laughed. “Hold on a sec, I’ll be right down.”

She held on. She held her breath. Then she blew it out her mouth. She took one last long look around at his property, then made her way to the trunk of her car just as he was opening the front door.

“I got that,” he said rushing over as she was pulling her suitcase out.

Instead of taking the suitcase he grabbed her around the waist and swung her around in a hug.

“Carter!” she laughed, then wrapped her arms and legs around him.

Carter leaned in to kiss her and she smiled against it.

He pulled away, smiling. “It’s good to see you, Jordan.”

“It’s good to see you too, Carter.”

With that, he let her slide to the ground then grabbed her bag, carrying it in with one hand instead of rolling it inside. She shut the trunk of her car and followed him in. The floor of the front foyer was covered in white marble. Her boots tapped noisily against it as she followed him. It opened up into a huge living room. There was a gorgeously large Christmas tree, decorated with white ornaments.

She walked forward a bit and turned around and saw the staircases that rounded down on either side of the entrance. Above her was a huge chandelier. She couldn’t believe people actually lived in places like this.

“So, welcome to Casa de Carter,” he said, resting her bag by the stairs. “Let me give you the grand tour.”

“Should I take my boots off or something?” she asked.

He smiled. “You can take anything you want off.”

She hit him on the chest playfully.

“I’m going to take my boots off, and only my boots…for now,” she added with a teasing smile. The house was far too nice for her to feel comfortable treading around in them.

As she walked over to one of the couches, she could see the backyard through the windows. It was a larger version of the front, but with a grand pool and hot tub as the centerpiece. To the left was a huge grill area and patio with a seating area.

“The hot tub is ready to go anytime you are Ms. Douglas,” Carter said, sliding his body up behind hers and surrounding her with his large arms.

“In winter? It’s a bit chilly, no?”

“That’s the point,” he said laughing. “Plus, I’ve got something else that can warm you up.”

She laughed and turned around in his arms. “I wanna see the rest of this place.”

He gave an exaggerated sigh and let her go, taking her hand instead.

Other than the large living room, the first floor housed a large workout room, a small home theater, a large formal dining room, a smaller cozier eating area right off the kitchen, and one room he refused to show her.

“Now I’m really curious,” she said with a wicked grin. “What is the notorious Carter Fox hiding in there?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” he said, trying to pull her away.

“Come on, how bad could it be?” she insisted, keeping her feet firmly planted.

He cringed and grabbed the back of his neck. “Okay, fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He reached over and opened the door. Jordan eagerly peeked in…and cringed.

“It looks like—it looks like one of those hotels that—”

“Yeah,” he said, grimacing. “I’m going to have to get a decorator in there ASAP.”

He reached out and shut the door on her. “Okay, on to the upper floor.”

She followed him slowly, pondering what she had just seen. She knew Carter Fox had a reputation but that was weird. There were no chains hanging from the ceiling, or a wall of sex toys, but that was a room that pretty much screamed SEX!

She shook it off as he led her upstairs, one hand holding hers.

“First of all, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping,” he said, leading her around a walkway that circled the foyer below. He pushed the double doors in and led her to what had to be the master bedroom.

Unlike the travesty downstairs, this one was beautifully decorated in muted, neutral colors. Right in front of them was a large picture window with a balcony looking into the backyard, and a spectacular view of downtown Houston. To the left was a large master bathroom flanked by two huge, walk-in closets with more space than any man should have.

He led her to the right toward the bedroom area. The bed was centrally located in a spacious room with another picture window view of the backyard and downtown Houston to the left and a cozy seating area and fireplace to the right. It was the kind of room that you never wanted to leave.

“It’s beautiful,” she said in awe. Then she turned to him. “It doesn’t seem like you at all,” she said laughing.

“Looks can be deceiving,” he said with a grin. He walked over to the bed and plopped down on it. “Should we break it in?” he asked.

She swished her hips as she walked over to him. “Now there’s the Christmas present I’d been hoping for.”

“Well, let me help you unwrap it,” he said, furiously pulling his shirt off.

Jordan laughed as she followed, just as eagerly removing her clothes.