Deadly Christmas (11 page)

“Baby?”

James let himself in through the garage door, tilting his head as he listened for signs of his curious wife. Her car wasn’t in the garage, which meant she wasn’t home from work yet. She was such a sneak when it came to ferreting out gifts, though, he wanted to make sure he was clear to open the safe.

Once he was satisfied the house was empty, James took the steps two at a time and headed toward his office. He opened the safe, smirking when he saw the small pile of jewelry boxes inside. He really did go overboard this holiday season.

James shoved the box with the owl charm in with Mandy’s other booty and shut the door. He was going to have to find time to wrap when she wasn’t around. Her shopping excursion with Jake and Finn promised to be a good opportunity. He made a mental note to find out exactly when they were hitting the mall.

After checking his email to make sure nothing pressing sprouted up during his drive home, he turned off his computer and headed back downstairs. As much as he liked to think Mandy was the snoop, it bothered him that he had no idea where she stashed his gifts.

He didn’t want to see them. Well, he kind of wanted to see them … but he would never ruin her happiness and go through all of them. They weren’t in their bedroom, though. He’d even checked her closet, rifling through the memory box she had tucked away and the bins of lingerie in case she got crafty.

Where would she hide them?

The attic jumped to mind, but just a few days before she’d admitted to being afraid of the attic. He’d been up there to retrieve the Christmas decorations and hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary. That didn’t mean she didn’t stuff them up there afterward.

Intrigued by the idea, James changed directions, not stopping until he reached their bedroom. There was an access panel to the attic in Mandy’s closet. If she hid things in the attic, she would want them close so she didn’t have to wander around up there.

James looked out the front window to make sure Mandy wasn’t pulling into the driveway and then hoisted himself up through the attic hatch, wrinkling his nose as he glanced around. The space immediately surrounding the opening was empty, and even as he peered into the darkness he knew she wouldn’t put anything up here. Between the dead bugs and dust, she wouldn’t dare.

James jumped down, making sure to close the door properly so Mandy wouldn’t be suspicious, and then wandered back into the bedroom. Wherever her hiding place was, it wasn’t here. He considered going through her office, but that seemed too easy. She was rarely in the room. She had a desk and bookshelves, but that was it. She would want to hide his gifts in a place that she could have regular access to them.

That’s when things shifted into place for James. He hopped down the steps, looking through the front window one more time for good measure, and then moved through the back sliding glass doors.

He’d shoveled after the big snow, making sure to clear a path between the house and guesthouse at the back of the property. He’d also made sure the area around the hot tub was clear. He’d been considering buying a snow blower. As much as he fancied himself manly and strong, he couldn’t ignore the way his shoulders and back ached after shoveling for an hour Sunday morning. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go through that numerous times every winter.

James let himself into the guesthouse, breezing past the kitschy saloon and heading straight for the stairs that led to Mandy’s art studio on the second floor. That was her second home now. She loved the space and she was getting more comfortable with her talent. James hoped she would finally indulge him – and herself – and leave her job at the courthouse so she could focus on the art full time. She deserved to enjoy life, and he was desperate for the peace of mind that would come with knowing she wasn’t constantly hanging around with lowlifes and criminals. He wasn’t particularly fond of the horny lawyers either.

James was surprised to find the door to Mandy’s studio closed. It was never closed. They didn’t put up barriers in their home. They were both welcome in each other’s space whenever the mood suited. James knew that Mandy wasn’t shutting him out with this little maneuver, though. She was shutting his gifts in.

James told himself that he shouldn’t be doing this. He knew he would be angry if she managed to snoop and open the safe. Still, he had to see. James grabbed the handle and twisted it, frowning when it didn’t budge.
Holy crap! The door is locked.

James was flabbergasted. She didn’t trust him enough to leave the door unlocked. That was insulting.

Look at what you’re doing
, he reminded himself. James silenced his irritating inner voice and glanced around. The door handle was old. He would have no problem picking it if he set his mind to it. Did he want to go that far?

Before he even realized what he was doing James had his lock-picking set out – he always carried it in his back pocket for emergencies – and he set about to unlocking the door. When he heard the lock tumble after a few seconds of work he wanted to crow. He didn’t get a chance.

“Well, well, well … if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.”

James cringed at the sound of Mandy’s voice. He risked a glance over his shoulder and found her standing at the bottom of the stairs, her hands on her hips and her blue eyes nothing more than narrow slits as she regarded him.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” James offered. It was a lame answer, but he didn’t have anything else to give her. He jerked his hand away from the door and shoved the lock-picking kit back in his pocket.
Crap! This is going to get ugly.

“So you weren’t breaking into my studio to see if I hid your Christmas presents in there?” Mandy asked, her tone dark.

“I … I thought I smelled gas,” James lied. “I wanted to make sure there wasn’t a leak. The last thing we need is a fire.”

“You smelled gas?”

“I … .” James knit his eyebrows together. “What answer is going to get me out of trouble?”

“None of them,” Mandy said, moving her hands from her hips so she could cross her arms over her chest. “Frankly, I am disgusted with what you’re doing here. You invaded my personal space because you wanted to see what gifts I bought you. Admit it.”

“Fine,” James snapped. “It’s driving me crazy to know where you’re hiding them. I don’t even need to see what they are. I just want to see where you put them. It’s the detective in me. I can’t help myself.”

“Oh, that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in my entire life,” Mandy scoffed. “How would you feel if I snooped around and found all of my Christmas gifts?”

James saw an opening. “Are you honestly telling me you didn’t search this house from top to bottom while I was gone to see if you could find something?”

“I only looked around while cleaning.” Mandy was suddenly all faux innocence and light.

“Wife, you don’t clean,” James shot back. “That’s why we have a weekly maid. You don’t cook. I know darned well you ate out every night while I was gone. You did throw out the food containers, so I guess that counts as cleaning.”

Mandy jutted her lower lip out. “Is that what you really think about me?”

“Don’t you even think of turning this into something it’s not,” James warned, descending the stairs. He knew he was caught. He wasn’t going to let Mandy turn a minor misunderstanding into a full-blown screaming match. “It was driving me crazy not knowing where you hid my stuff. I admit it. Don’t you even pretend for a second that you weren’t trying to break into that safe while I was gone.”

“You changed the combination!”

“How would you know that unless you tried to get in?”

“I … crap,” Mandy muttered, running a hand through her windblown blond hair. Her nose and cheeks were red from the cold and James found he was suddenly overcome by the urge to warm her up. “I only tried once,” she said. “I … I couldn’t help myself.”

James smirked as he moved closer. “You know that safe has an electric relay, right? Every time someone tries to open it without the correct combination it reports back to my laptop.”

“I did not know that,” Mandy said. “I … all of those times weren’t me! Ally tried, too.”

“I know,” James said, grinning. He was close to her now. “Do you want to know what’s funny? Every time my laptop dinged with an attempted security breach in my own home it made me happy.”

Mandy was confused. “Why?”

“Because I knew exactly what you were doing at that moment,” James replied. “I knew you were safe. I knew you were probably having a good time with a bottle of wine and Ally. I didn’t feel as lonely when that happened.

“And let me tell you something, wife,” he continued. “That happened a lot. You guys tried two hundred different combinations to get into that safe.”

Mandy’s already rosy cheeks reddened further. “I … that’s not the same as trying to pick the lock on my studio.”

She was trying to retain the upper hand. James found it adorable. “It’s exactly the same,” James said, his hands moving to her waist. She was wearing one of those pencil skirts he loved so much, and he had a feeling a pair of his favorite garters lived beneath the thin material. “How about we make a deal?”

Mandy waited.

“We only have a few days until Christmas,” James said. “How about we both promise to stay out of each other’s stuff and be surprised on Christmas morning?”

“I guess I can live with that,” Mandy said. “I … I’m sorry I tried to break into the safe.”

“You are not,” James scoffed, laughing. “You’re sorry you got caught. If you’d managed to get in there, you would have opened every single box and looked inside. Don’t bother lying to me.”

“Fine.”

“Your curiosity and enthusiasm are only two of the reasons I love you, wife,” James said, his voice soft as he rubbed his nose against Mandy’s cold cheek.

“Oh, yeah? What are the other reasons?”

“I think I’m about to show you.” James wrapped his arms around Mandy’s tiny waist and lifted her on top of the pool table, settling her there before slamming his mouth against hers.

Mandy returned the kiss, melting into him as James tugged her heavy coat off. He slipped his tongue into her mouth as his fingers fumbled with the buttons on her no-frills white shirt, pulling it off of her shoulders and revealing the simple lace bra underneath.

James pulled away so he could study his next task. “Does this open in the front or the back?”

“The back.”

James slid his arms around Mandy’s back, relishing the warmth of her skin as he pulled her against him and unclasped the bra. He pulled it off her, sighing as he caught sight of her rigid nipples. “Are you cold, or are you just happy to see me?”

“You’re so full of yourself,” Mandy snorted.

James lowered his mouth and flicked his tongue over one of the hardened nubs, causing Mandy to moan and tangle her fingers in his hair. “I think you’re happy to see me,” James murmured, tapping her nipple with his tongue.

“I’m always happy to see you,” Mandy sighed, arching her back as James played conquistador with his mouth.

“Me, too, baby,” James said, licking his way up Mandy’s breast, past her collarbone, not stopping until he reached the sensitive ridge of her ear. “We’re in the saloon.”

“I noticed.”

“I’m thinking of riding you.”

“I noticed that, too.”

“Lay back,” James whispered, darting his tongue into her ear.

Mandy did as instructed, resting her bare back against the purple velvet of the pool table and tilting her chin so she could watch James unsnap her skirt. She lifted her hips to help him yank the fabric down, and James’ approving whimper when he saw the garters was enough to make both of them forget what they’d almost fought about minutes before.

“Not only are you wearing my favorite garters, but you went commando for me today, baby,” James said, running his hands over her thighs. “You’re supposed to tell me when you do that.”

“You left before I was out of the shower,” Mandy replied. “I texted you a photo.”

James frowned. “I … dammit! I had my phone on silent today because we were on the job at the jewelry store.”

“Well, that will teach you to ignore your wife.”

“You have no idea,” James growled, reaching for the button on his own pants. “Baby, I promise to go slower for round two after dinner, but I cannot explain how much I need you right now.”

“Oh, really?”

James shoved his pants and boxer shorts down, not bothering to remove his shoes and instead letting the fabric pool at his ankles. He grabbed both of her ankles, spreading her wide and tugging her down to the lip of the table. “You have no idea how turned on I am right now.”

James usually liked a little foreplay to loosen his wife up. He couldn’t wait that long now. He plunged inside of her, surprised to find she was more than ready. Mandy gasped as he made full entry with his first thrust, her shoulders hopping up from the pool table.

James hit a steady rhythm out of the gate, pumping hard as he moved his hand to her folds and started rubbing her pleasure center. “Baby.” He wouldn’t last long. He had no idea how things got away from him so quickly.

Mandy’s head lolled to the side as she licked her lips, mewling as an orgasm approached. “James.”