A Fate Filled Christmas (6 page)

Leaning into his strong body, she absorbed his heat, his comfort. Resting her head on his chest, she listened to the lub-dub of his heartbeat as he soothed her.

"It was just a rotten day is all."

"I'm sorry. You want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

He nuzzled her ear. "You have two days off, right? A little break from the hospital?"

"Yeah. Thank goodness." She loved being a nurse. Unfortunately, high stress levels went hand-in-hand with her job as a floor nurse at the local hospital. Some days being a nurse didn't pay enough to combat all the crap she had to put up with.

"How about I treat you to one of my special massages?" He stepped back while still holding onto her waist and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Hot shower, then you can settle on the couch for a nice rubdown."

Brie tilted her head. "Why do I sense some hanky-panky about to happen?"

His lips twitched. "Because you're desperate for my body, drooling where you stand, and already wet with desire?"

She snorted and slowly grinned. "No ego there."

"Ego? What ego? I speak the truth. I can get references, if you want."

Her mouth opened and shut again. While calling his bluff might prove satisfying, knowing Rye, he would look up a dozen old girlfriends, have them write letters of recommendation, and place them on the kitchen table for her to read. Thanks, but no thanks.

As much as she loved living with Rye, lately, she'd wanted more. They loved one another, she would bet her life on it. However, a small piece of her carried uncertainty, wondering when the day would come that he tired of her, decided to sow some more wild oats, find a woman more beautiful and sexier than she.

Shoving the sobering thoughts aside, she pulled her attention back to the present. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed him with feeling, thankful for his lazy bantering to cheer her.

"I'll take you up on the backrub if…"

"Yes?" He arched an eyebrow at her.

"If you wear your pink boxers tonight."

"I thought we decided they look better on you?" The corners of his mouth turned up.

She smacked him lightly on the arm. "You just said that in order to get me into bed."

Rye chuckled and kissed her on the nose. "Prove it."

"Please? Wear your pink boxers for me?" She rubbed his lower belly. "You look so sexy in them."

He sighed dramatically, breaking the effect when he smiled widely. "For you, I'll wear those silly pink boxers anywhere." Brushing a kiss across her temple, he patted her rear before releasing her. With expert finesse, he flicked open the buttons on his jeans, pulling open the fly.

Sure enough, pink boxers winked at her. She smiled. "Ah ha. So you do like my dye job."

"It's… tolerable." He reached out, sliding a hand under her scrub top, cupping a bra-covered breast. "Need a shower mate?"

"Nope. If I shared my shower, I'd never get my glorious backrub." With a teasing grin, she headed down the hall, feeling better already. Rye did that for her. Boosted her spirits, pampered her with kindness, and filled her life with happiness. She could have done much worse.

"You'll get other parts rubbed."

Oh, boy.
Her female parts stood up and took notice. She ignored them completely. Backrub first. Play time later.

"Afterward, I'll dig out some good old porn for us to watch."

She spun on her heel. "You wouldn't."

He stuck his nose in the air. "Is that a dare?" With a waggle of his eyebrows, he strode over to his duffel bag and pulled out a small box with a ribbon around it. Walking back over, he handed her the item. "Here. Open it."

She eyed him warily. "It's not Christmas yet."

Rye shrugged. "It's not your main present. So open it."

Hesitantly, she pulled the lid open and peeked. A DVD sat inside. Quickly, she read the title. "
Vegas Nights
?" Her face immediately heated. "You got me a porn video for Christmas?" She sputtered, torn between shock and embarrassment. Not just any porn movie, either.

Months ago, he had led her to believe he'd starred in porn flicks, had a lead role in a film called
Vegas Nights
. She had stayed up late one night, found the movie on pay-per-view, and spent a hefty sum in an attempt to see his bare naked rear only to find out he wasn't even in the movie after all. Of course, he caught her red-handed and never let her live it down since.

"Yep. Since you never finished watching it a while back, I figured you could pop it in any time you wanted." His eyes flashed with mischief.

"Ohhhh. Bad. Really bad. Neanderthal bad." She scrunched her nose and set the box on the couch. "You're so getting it." Flipping her waist-length ponytail, she sashayed down the hall like a queen walking down the red carpet.

His laughter followed her each step of the way.

Chapter 10

Brie returned to the living room wearing a deep blue shift, one she had purchased a few months back when he'd pretended a cotton allergy in order to get her into sleepwear that lacked high collars and didn't extend to her ankles. The small fib paid off in spades. While she didn't own many items, the ones she did have took his breath away no matter how many times he saw her wearing them.

"Lovely." He raked her fine body with his gaze and licked his lips. Sure, he'd seen prettier women, even dated a few. Yet the sight of Brie in the silk nightie topped the scales of gorgeous.

"Thanks." She walked over and plopped down on the couch. "Does the backrub still stand?"

"Definitely." He never minded massaging her body, easing the strain, and turning her into a puddle of mush. First of all, she loved the experience. Secondly, he had free rein to touch and caress to his heart's delight. Not a bad way to spend an evening.

He patted the cushion beside him. "Turn around."

She instantly complied, presenting her back within easy reach of his hands.

Starting with her shoulders, he began to rub, noting the tight knots, and working to ease them.

"So…"

"So what?"

"Tell me about your porn career. What were the women like? Having sex with a camera right in your face or… in other parts."

He sputtered, paused, then continued with his task. "Brie. I'm not sure this is a good topic."

She angled into him, groaning as he used a circular palm motion over her shoulder blade. "Come on. I'm curious."

"Uh huh."

"Rye…"

He sighed and chose his words carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was remember his exceptionally short movie career when he could be enjoying other more pleasant activities with his girlfriend.

"The women were okay, I guess. Professional. And after a bit, you forget about the cameras and just do your job."

"Would you rehearse ahead of time?"

"Ummm… no." Working down her spine, he frantically searched his mind to come up with another more amicable and less volatile topic.

"All the noise and… climaxes… were fake?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Brie…" He needed a distraction and fast.

"What's the kinkiest thing you've ever done?"

The question hit him like a punch in the gut. He sucked in a breath and wondered how in the world to answer such an off the wall and personal inquiry.

"Well?" she prodded, leaning back farther and tilting her head to the side in order to allow him more room to access the point where her shoulder and neck joined.

Damn. What kind of inquisition is this?
If it were the guys at the station, sure, he'd toss out enough details to get some pats on the back for creativity and spontaneity. Brie, on the other hand, would probably be less enthusiastic and more prone to knock him in the head.

He kicked his sluggish mind into gear. "Well…" He considered a couple of answers and quickly discarded each one. Both would encourage her curiosity if they didn't shock her to her marrow. Finally, he managed to pull a memory from old times past. "There was this time at the family reunion when we went to the lake for a whole week of camping. Jenny Hanks came down for a day."

Brie sat up straight, but she remained mute.

He gently massaged from her shoulders down to her lower back. "We headed down one of the trails, found a bench, and started getting it on."

She sucked in a breath.

"I had my fingers buried insider her while she jacked me off. I looked up and saw you hiding behind a bush."

"I couldn't look away. Your gaze dared me to stay and watch." Her words whispered across the area. "I was shocked, mortified, but oh so intrigued." She spun around to look at him, her hazel eyes met his. "I couldn't believe what I saw but, at the same time, couldn't take my eyes off you."

"It started off as a dare but soon turned into something else." He nuzzled her cheek, then studied her face. "I don't know why I did it. Something about you watching us made the act hotter, more sinful."

"I never said a word, afraid you'd tell on me."

He grinned at her youthful innocence. "Brie, I wasn't about to tell on you. That would be admitting to the parents what I'd done. Besides, I couldn't get you out of my mind after that."

"Really?" A slow grin hitched her lips upward.

"Really. You became the subject of quite a few wet dreams after that."

She wound her arms around his neck and wiggled closer. "Watching you or participating?"

"Well, both," he admitted with a chuckle.

"And now?"

His smile matched hers. "And now, love, you own my wet dreams."

Chapter 11

A burst of gunfire sent Rye diving to the ground behind an air conditioning unit.
Shit.
His radio crackled as other officers reported in, yelling over the sound of shots being fired from the house they had surrounded a few minutes earlier.

Information led them to believe the storage facility for a large amount of cocaine and the place where sales transitions took place would be empty for another hour. Just their luck the thugs decided to change up their normal schedule tonight, leaving the cops out of position and in a gunfight with drug runners both inside and outside the house.

What was supposed to be an easy cat and mouse game turned into a small war zone.

A bullet whizzed by Rye's head only to bury itself in the metal currently serving as his only protection. Coming to a crouching position, he leveled his revolver in the direction the shot came from and fired. A hail of return ammo hurled back.

Curling into a ball, he scanned the darkened area for another position, anything that might serve as better cover and get him out of the middle of no-man's land. Nothing save a skinny tree within a thirty foot circle.
Fuck.
Pinned down, he couldn't shake the feeling of being a sitting duck, just waiting for one of those high-powered shells to hit home.

He quickly spoke into his communication microphone attached to his shoulder and ducked as more shots came his way. Others answered in a barrage of chaotic statements from adrenaline-charged officers. No one offered up suggestions on how to escape the certain death trap he waited in now.

For a split second, his thoughts turned to Brie. To the Christmas present he'd stashed inside their first tree. If he didn't get out of this mess…

A smaller body bumped into his as if he were a catcher defending home base and a runner had slid in just under his tag. "What the…?" He'd never even seen anyone close.

The man quickly righted himself and grinned in the dim light from numerous squad cars, pole lights, and flashlights. His green outfit said it all. "Jingle! Get out of here!"

The self-proclaimed elf shook his head, the ever-present bell on the end of his hat ringing, though the high-pitched sound proved hard to hear with all the guns being fired. "Come on. I know a way out."

Rye blinked. "We're pinned down, in case you haven't noticed. Although, how you got here, I don't have a damn clue."

Jingle crawled to the far side of the air conditioner. "Are you going to sit here and bitch or follow me out of this hellhole?"

Rye quickly did the math, figuring out his chances one way versus the other. "Lead the way."

Jingle peeked around the makeshift cover, then whistled sharply. Silence reigned where loud barks from weapons ruled before. "Now!" Grabbing Rye's sleeve, he tugged hard.

Leaping to his feet, Rye sprinted behind the smaller man, not stopping until he slid behind a parked police car, nudging in beside Jingle, well out of the middle of the gun battle. Breathing hard, he studied the elf for a long moment. "How? Why?" For the life of him, he didn't have a clue how Jingle had made his way to him in the first place, let along got them out without a single wound.

"Like I said. I'm an elf. Your guardian angel elf." Jingle grinned wide enough to show even white teeth and scratched at his forward slipping cap.

Rye shook his head. "I… thank you." While he didn't believe in elves or Santa Claus, he didn't understand how he'd just escaped unscathed. Maybe, just maybe, something magical did exist.