by Elise Noble
“Sleep?”
Sometimes, I forgot how fast Black could move. In the blink of an eye, we were in an empty stairwell, my legs were wrapped around his waist, and he was kissing me breathless.
“Okay, okay. I’ll compromise on sex and coffee.”
Black leaned his forehead against mine. Gave me one more soft kiss on the lips.
“I’d like nothing more, but I still have one more task left to complete for Project Mistletoe.”
“Huh? No, Bradley ticked off everything on the list.”
Doris and her friends were happy. Kiara had seen the roof of her house from the air. Valerie and Chay were safe. José was with his dad, and Gwendolyn and her family were crying and hugging each other over mulled wine and sugar cookies. Job done.
“But the solution to Valerie’s problem is only temporary. I hear there’s a man in Iowa who needs his testicles rearranged.”
“I was going to take care of that after Christmas.”
“Apparently, I’m meant to be doing it.”
Suddenly, it clicked. “You’ve been speaking to James, haven’t you?”
“You seem surprised?”
“I guess I am.”
Black shrugged. “We still talk. Anyhow, what about it? You, me, Iowa?”
“Right now?”
“No time like the present. I’ve been tracking Wallace’s phone, and he’s home.”
“We’ll miss Christmas dinner.”
Black just stared at me, and my lips slowly curved into a smile.
“Sounds good to me.”
Black headed for the door, but I wriggled out of his arms before we left the building. If we just disappeared, Bradley would send out a search party, and nobody wanted to waste their time on Christmas Day.
“Black’s surprising me with a trip this afternoon,” I told Dan.
“You’re skipping Christmas dinner?”
“You know I’d love nothing more than to sit around eating turkey all evening, but…”
“Hallelujah. If you’re not gonna be at today’s shindig, I won’t feel so guilty when the fire alarm goes off at Ethan’s studio. Mack’s planning a water leak, and I’m pretty sure Tabby’s gonna get sick too. I overheard Ana coaching her on what to say.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I was worried people might get upset when we didn’t show up at our own party.”
“No, no, everyone’ll be good with it. I gave Mrs. Fairfax a heads-up, and she ordered a bunch of takeout boxes.”
“And this is why I love you, slut.”
I gave Dan a hug, and she squished me right back.
“Where are you going?”
“To a special performance of The Nutcracker.”
“In Richmond? I thought Bradley forgot about that?”
“No, in Cedar Rapids.”
Ah, now she got it. Dan pulled back and gave me a huge grin.
“And this is why I love you, bitch. See you tomorrow.”
“Could you do me one favour?” I pulled an envelope out of my purse. “Give this to Valerie when she takes a break from the reunion.”
“What is it?”
“Her Christmas present.” A twelve-month lease on an apartment in Richmond. “Have fun with Ethan. Don’t do anything I would do.”
“More champagne, Diamond?”
“Don’t mind if I do. And pass me another packet of peanuts, would ya?”
Three o’clock in the morning, and I lay back on the jet’s tiny double bed wearing nothing but a pair of candy-striped thigh-high stockings. By the time we’d finished with Spencer Wallace, it had been too late to find a hotel, so Black and I were reduced to foraging for snacks in the galley in between rounds.
And do you know what? It was perfect.
All I wanted for Christmas was my husband.
Spencer had terminated his parental rights, signed the divorce papers, and promised not to make a fuss in court when the judge finalised everything. He also assured us that he’d never come near Valerie again. Did I believe him? Yes, I did, because Black had made it quite clear that Spencer would have to go through him to get to her. And like all bullies, Spencer turned into a wreck when confronted by someone bigger.
Black topped off my glass and handed it back to me.
“Happy Christmas.”
“I didn’t think it was going to be, but it’s actually turned out okay. We’ve found new friends, made a bunch of people smile, threatened to mince a guy’s gonads, and now we’re here together. What more could we possibly desire?”
Black treated me to my favourite smile. The filthy, dirty, cunning, secret one that nobody else ever saw.
“I do have an idea.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“On your knees, Diamond.”
A flash of heat burned through me as I matched his smile with one of my own.
“Chuck, I thought you’d never ask.”
WHAT'S COMING NEXT?
The next book in the Blackwood Security series is Quicksilver…
Quicksilver
Help me.
English teacher Corazon da Silva attends the funeral of Isabella Morales, but soon afterwards, two desperate words whispered over the phone shake her to the core. Is her best friend really dead?
With little interest from the Colombian police, Cora goes undercover to hunt for Izzy in America. The journey promises to be dangerous, but she’s not worried because her big brother, Rafael, is watching her every move.
The only problem? Rafael’s an assassin, and he’s just shot somebody he shouldn’t have. Now they’re in a race against time to find Izzy before his enemies catch up with him, and Cora isn’t the only person with a hidden agenda.
Find out more here: www.elise-noble.com/silver
And the next book I’ll be publishing will be When the Shadows Fall, the fourteenth book in the Blackwood Security series…
When the Shadows Fall
From shot girl to assassin…
When eighteen-year-old Sky Malone left England to work for Emmy Black, she realised her new job wouldn’t be easy. After all, being Superwoman’s sidekick wasn’t a career you could half-ass.
In Virginia, she finds every day is a battle. Against exhaustion, against her tall, dark, and grouchy mentor Rafael, and against the ghosts of her past. And as if that isn’t tough enough, after just two months, she’s flung into the middle of an undercover operation that leaves her fighting not only for her place on the team but for her life as well.
For more details: www.elise-noble.com/shadows
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END OF BOOK STUFF
Finally! A Blackwood Christmas book! I’ve wanted to write one for the longest time. This story started life in my Team Blackwood Facebook group last year—I was playing around and wrote the first chapter or so as a little “Bradley” anecdote. But since people quite liked it and I did too, I decided to write the rest as well. It ended up sli
ghtly longer than I intended (okay, fifty percent longer), and James shoehorned his way in out of nowhere, but hey-ho. Stories turn out as they turn out. Rarely do they follow the path I originally set out for them.
Another unexpected change came after I sent Emmy on an impromptu trip to Washington state. I had two choices of airfield—McChord or Fairchild. Technically, the F-15s are kept at McChord, but the flight time from Alaska to Fairchild was shorter, and I figured James would have enough sway to get someone to move the damn plane. So Emmy went to Spokane. And long story short, I found out that two of my readers met when they were both in the Air Force at Fairchild AFB, so who better to pick Emmy up from the airport than the pair of them? Happy Christmas Gary and Harold!
And Happy Christmas to you too if you celebrate it :)
I’m writing this in September, so who knows what the festive season will look like this year? We usually spend Christmas Day with my parents and Boxing Day with my other half’s family, but he has a big family, so I guess we might not be able to go. If we have to stay home, at least I’ll be able to walk off Christmas dinner with the dogs!
If the nightmare that is 2020 has taught me one lesson, it’s to be thankful for the little things. Never take anything for granted. And if you can only give one thing this Christmas, give kindness. It costs nothing, but a few words or a small gesture can brighten somebody’s whole day :)
Festive thanks to the team that helped me with this book—to Nikki for editing, to John, Lizbeth, and Debi for proofreading, and to Jeff, Renata, Terri, Musi, David, Stacia, Jessica, Nikita, Quenby, Jody, and Sandra for beta reading.
Wishing you an amazing 2021!
Elise
OTHER BOOKS BY ELISE NOBLE
The Blackwood Security Series
For the Love of Animals (Nate & Carmen - prequel)
Black is My Heart (Diamond & Snow - prequel)
Pitch Black
Into the Black
Forever Black
Gold Rush
Gray is My Heart
Neon (novella)
Out of the Blue
Ultraviolet
Glitter (novella)
Red Alert
White Hot
Sphere (novella)
The Scarlet Affair
Spirit (novella)
Quicksilver
The Girl with the Emerald Ring
Red After Dark
When the Shadows Fall (2020)
The Blackwood Elements Series
Oxygen
Lithium
Carbon
Rhodium
Platinum
Lead
Copper
Bronze
Nickel
Hydrogen (TBA)
The Blackwood UK Series
Joker in the Pack
Cherry on Top (novella)
Roses are Dead
Shallow Graves
Indigo Rain
Pass the Parcel (TBA)
Blackwood Casefiles
Stolen Hearts
Burning Love (TBA)
Blackstone House
Hard Lines (2021)
Hard Tide (TBA)
The Electi Series
Cursed
Spooked
Possessed
Demented
Judged (2021)
The Planes Series
A Vampire in Vegas (2021)
The Trouble Series
Trouble in Paradise
Nothing but Trouble
24 Hours of Trouble
Standalone
Life
Coco du Ciel (2021)
Twisted (short stories)
A Very Happy Christmas (novella)
Books with clean versions available (no swearing and no on-the-page sex)
Pitch Black
Into the Black
Forever Black
Gold Rush
Gray is My Heart
Audiobooks
Black is My Heart (Diamond & Snow - prequel)
Pitch Black
Into the Black
Forever Black
Gold Rush
Gray is My Heart