12-Alarm Cowboys (103 page)

In the next instant, he pulled her against him.

“Wrap your hands around my neck.” It wasn’t a request.

She did as told and shivered as her bare nipples pressed against his chest. Then he bent his knees and the tip of his erection found the lacy slit of her panties.

“I can’t wait.” His voice was strained. “I promise we’ll go slow next time.”

His words sent a thrill racing down her spine a second before he speared into her and raised her as he stood.

She gasped as her body lighted with fire and she wrapped her legs around him.

“Look at me.” His words were gruff.

She raised her face to him, expecting a kiss.

Instead he gazed into her eyes. “I promise, I’ll always believe you, always love you. You’re my perfect match.”

She quirked her mouth. “As long as I light your fire, I’ll be happy.”

His lips came down on hers, his tongue sweeping into her mouth. Then he moved his hips, fanning her fire, burning her up, like only he could.

The End

A Christmas Carol: Book 1

Coming November 2015

Though Jessica Thomas is thrilled to land the job of novice Spirit Guide, she’s been assigned a hot, arrogant Scottish mentor who confuses her heart. But what should concern her more is, will he protect her soul?

Available for order
here

Cowboy’s Best Shot

Poker Flat Series: Book 3

Coming April 2016

A cowboy who has lost so much. A woman who never had it to begin with.

Is this their best shot for happiness?

For updates, sneak peeks, and special prizes, sign up to receive the latest news from Lexi at
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Also by Lexi Post

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Passion’s Poison

Passion of Sleepy Hollow

Cruise into Eden (The Eden Series: Book 1)

Unexpected Eden (The Eden Series: Book 2)

Cowboys Never Fold (Poker Flat Series: Book 1)

Read on for a preview of
Pleasures of Christmas Past
.

A Christmas Carol: Book 1

Chapter One

J
essica Thomas floated
near the ceiling of the small Christmas ornament shop, anxiously waiting to find out who would be her mentor on this, her first case as a spirit guide. She had no idea what it would entail, which irritated her a little. When she was alive, she’d been an excellent social worker because she read the case file
before
meeting the client. The spirit guide position was very difficult to obtain, but her past expertise had helped her land the job and she was anxious to prove she deserved it. Having the file would assist her with that.

She scanned the shop, liking the feel of the place. It was cozy, with ornaments everywhere in every conceivable shape and size. With just three days until Christmas, the shop was full of people, all with lovely Scottish accents. She’d never been to Scotland while alive, though she’d always wanted to go. She’d just been too busy to take a vacation for any length of time.

As far as time went, her mentor was late, or at least it seemed like it. There was no time in the afterlife, a fact that had thrown her completely off balance at first, but she was learning to cope…somewhat. Maybe her mentor was still in class answering questions. One of the many instructors from the intensive training she’d gone through would be her mentor on this first assignment. She really liked old Archibald. He was an American from the 1880s. Mrs. Ferrisletter, from 1662 London, was very sweet and would be a lovely mentor. Jessica crossed her fingers. As long as she didn’t get Dr. Marley, she’d be happy. That man could put a saint into a depression.

“So are you ready for your first case?” The lilt of a heavy Scottish accent behind her caused her to turn.

Duncan Montgomerie floated there, not close enough to be touching, but near enough she caught the whiff of pine that was so much a part of him.

Oh no, not
him
. The man was the hottest instructor she’d had and even now she couldn’t remember a word he’d said. She’d been too busy having her libido stroked by his voice while her eyes feasted on his rugged looks and ripped body. He’d never told them what timeframe he was from, but his accent gave him away as Scottish and some of his vocabulary made her think it might be centuries back, even though he dressed in modern-day clothes.

Nervousness tamped down her excitement. There was no way she’d be able to concentrate on this assignment with him around. She was bound to screw something up.

“Jessica?” His blue eyes sparkled with an unearthly light as one brow rose. “Are you with me, lass?”

“Yes, of course.” She tried not to focus on his wavy brown hair that fell to his strong jawline or on his scruffy chin that led the eye to his quirking lips.

His arm stretched out past her as he pointed below them, revealing his forearm muscle which flexed as he moved his finger. “That’s our case. Mrs. Douglas.”

Despite the butterflies tickling her stomach as Duncan’s breath passed by her left ear, Jessica snapped her focus to the people below. There were many women in the shop. Mrs. Douglas could be any of them. She leaned away and looked her mentor in the eyes. “What’s her first name?”

“Huh?”

Jessica pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. “What’s Mrs. Douglas’ first name? To get a client to trust you, you must show an interest in them and knowing the person’s first name is the very tip of the iceberg.”

Duncan frowned. “I dinna teach you that.”

She took a deep breath. “No, you didn’t. It’s part of the experience I bring to the job. Do you know her first name?”

He shook his head, clearly perplexed by her request.

“How long have you been a spirit guide?” It was really none of her business, but she wanted to be sure her mentor was, in fact, more experienced than she was.

He shrugged his broad shoulders, drawing her focus back to his build.

“Since we have no time in the afterlife, I can’t tell you how long I’ve done this, but I can assure you it is no’ my first case.” He pulled the neck of his t-shirt away from his skin, as if it were too tight.

As far as she was concerned, the entire shirt was too tight with the way it molded to his chest muscles, showing a significant valley down the middle. Hell, if he just wanted to take the whole thing off, she certainly wouldn’t complain.

“Holly.” Duncan grinned and her insides turned to melting ice cream.

So why did he point out Holly? It was Christmas. There was holly everywhere…and mistletoe. Oh, maybe she could find some mistletoe and Mr. Distraction here could catch the hint and kiss her.

“Holly is her first name.” Duncan nodded to confirm his statement. “It’s also what that older woman down there just called her.”

Her? Oh right, the case. Jessica forced her gaze from Duncan and looked below. “Which one is she?”

“She’s the owner of the shop. The one with the shoulder-length brown hair and red Christmas hat on.”

Jessica forced herself to focus on the woman. Her straight hair was a very deep brown, like dark chocolate, and she had a round face with an adorable smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. There was a quiet sorrow about the friendly shop owner. She looked perhaps thirty years old, max. What could have caused such a poignant hurt in one so young? “She definitely has the Christmas spirit. Why does she need us?”

Duncan chuckled, a warm sound that sent pleasure from her heart to her fingertips and everywhere in between. “No’ every case is about some old Scrooge character. Each person we’re assigned needs something different, but it has to be very important for them. Cameron, he’ll be our supervisor on this assignment, received special permission for us to tackle this.”

“Cameron?” She couldn’t resist looking at him again and was surprised to see him frown, an unusual occurrence for him.

“Cameron Douglas is, excuse me,
was
her husband. There is a strict rule about handling personal cases, but I guess Cameron made a good argument with the boss.”

Even frowning, Duncan was gorgeous. His cheekbones were strong, but his nose did have a slight bump that kept him from being entirely perfect. Genetics? Or was that from an injury? She could see him modeling for a highland wool sweater catalog, looking scrumptious in a white turtleneck and tartan kilt. Oh. Just the idea of seeing this man in a kilt had her body flushing. What did they say about what a man wore under—

“Jessica? Are you listening?”

“What?” Oh no. She was afraid of this. “Sorry, my mind drifted. What were you saying?”

He studied her for a moment before explaining. “I said, we, or rather you officially, are one of three ghosts that will visit Mrs. Douglas. Your goal is to remind her of the happy times before she lost her husband. Cameron’s wife is no’ truly living, just going through the motions.”

Jessica’s heart melted for the woman. She’d had cases like this, but never tackled them with the ability she had now. The possibilities excited her, causing her adrenaline to kick in. “So we literally take her to wonderful moments in her past. This is going to be fun. I can already imagine her smiling and laughing.” She couldn’t help her grin at the thought of bringing a client such joy.

Duncan raised his hand. “Hold on, it is no’ that simple. Remember what I said in training?”

“Uh, you said a lot. What part?” Not that she remembered any of it.

“Don’t get too attached. You need to keep some distance. We only have one night to work our magic, so to speak.” He grinned.

“Do you really believe that?” How could he be a trainer of spirit guides if he thought they could do any good staying detached?

His grin faded. “I wouldn’t teach it if I dinna believe it. Trust me, lass, you don’t want to get too involved in someone else’s troubles. If you do, your spirit will become entangled with your case.”

She stared, open-mouthed. Had she really missed how shallow he was in the training? Or maybe he was talking from experience. She studied him closer. Was there something substantial behind those good looks?

His grin returned. “But don’t worry. I’ll be there to help.” His comment was said with such arrogance that for the first time she found herself not liking him at all.

She wasn’t exactly a novice at this. It may be her first case as a spirit guide, but she did have years of experience as a social worker. Maybe she needed to focus on the client and not on Mr. Distraction. “Where’s the file?”

“Don’t worry about that. I can give you all the basics.” Again he smiled, but this time she noticed it was the kind a person gives to a child when humoring them.

He had little faith she could accomplish this case. Well, he was in for a surprise. She had a mission of her own and that was to prove Duncan Montgomerie was no more than a redundancy on this assignment. Pasting on a fake smile, she took charge of
her
case. “I appreciate that, but I’d like to read through the file anyway. Sometimes, as a woman, I can catch a clue or two when trying to better understand a female client.”

He shrugged his huge shoulders once again and she forced herself to focus on his face.

“I left it on your desk. When you’re done looking for
clues
, let me know and we can get started.” He was clearly laughing at her.

She gritted her teeth. This wouldn’t work. She would have to request another mentor because it was obvious the two of them had radically different ideas about helping people. She forced her jaw to loosen. “Fine.” Without another word, she floated through the ceiling and back to her office to plan her attack and have a talk with her new supervisor.

Duncan watched Jessica
drift away and chuckled. That lass was wound too tight, as he’d heard Cameron say. Even her look was too professional. Blonde hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, wire-rimmed glasses hiding very bonny green eyes and a buttoned-to-the-neck Oxford shirt that made her look more like a librarian than a counselor. Her navy-blue pantsuit was boxy. It hid her entire body, and reminded him of a Christmas candle, rectangle bottom with a bright round flame at the top.

There was no chance she would get through her first case without messing up. Luckily for her, he was her mentor. He couldn’t see any of the other instructors handling her. He dinna doubt her heart was in the right place, but helping the living while dead was very different from helping them while a person was alive.

He had a hard time remembering what it was like no’ having the ability to move through space and time at will. It had been so long since he died. He looked upward. What year was that? Not receiving an answer, he shrugged. It had to be over a century…or two. He’d trained too many recruits for it to be less. No’ that it mattered. Time meant nothing now.

He grinned. Training new spirit guides was a fun adventure and he was perfectly happy where he was. It would be entertaining to watch the lass tackle her first assignment. And when she stumbled, because she definitely would, he’d be there to catch her. The idea of what she might feel like under all those clothes had his smile widening. First, she needed to lose the glasses and the ponytail. Then he’d be happy to help her slip into something more comfortable. Something he would do as soon as this assignment was over. The clothing in his time period was so much more comfortable, but dressing according to the year of the client helped keep the person from running away in pure terror when he showed himself.

Activity below caught his attention and his smile faded. He watched their client as she helped a teenager choose a unique ornament for his girlfriend. Cameron and Holly had had one of those rare love stories that deserved a happily forever after, no’ just a happily for thirteen months. Duncan had no idea what that was like, but he respected it. To see two people so in love suddenly separated by death even touched his hardened bachelor’s soul.