“You can’t tell me your father wouldn’t be gung ho to have spiked hot chocolate and ringli in a place that actually looks like Santa’s Village? He’s a Christmas nut.” Mason fondly recalled a few Christmases with the Ross family, “Remember that one year he was all Clark Griswold the entire night? He was so happy with his decorations that it didn’t matter that the house caught fire a little.”
The apprehension on Laura’s face dampened the playful mood. He didn’t want to go into dom mode, but Laura was being difficult. “Call your parents,” he ordered, and walked away.
Laura stuck her tongue out at his back. Of course she was going to call her parents, after the knot came unraveled in the pit of her stomach.
Yeah, this was just a vacation, but they had been back together less than six months, and spending that much time together under one roof again was scary.
Before she and Mason had broken off their engagement, nearly nine years before, Laura had happily slipped into the role of housewife-to-be. She knew Mason was taking it easy, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that a month away together was his way of test-driving the idea again.
Mason had never given her a reason to feel that way. He didn’t hint at marriage or living together. He had always understood when she wanted to go home and let her without an argument – except for the three strange letters she had received in September. He had forced her to stay with him for ten days in case the invader decided to come back.
It was only when she threatened him with bodily harm that he finally acquiesced and let her go back home.
Outside of those three letters, nothing else had happened. Laura installed new locks and an extra deadbolt on her door, but other than that her life had returned to normal.
She plunked down on her overstuffed leather couch. The fabric felt cool and soothing on the backs of her legs. It helped to calm her scattered thoughts.
She scrolled up and down through her contact list over and over, contemplating whether or not to call her dad. The knobs in her shower squeaked, and the sound of running water echoed into the room.
She and Mason had just had yet another fantastic midday romp. She had particularly enjoyed this one because, for the first time, she’d let Mason use an object on her. She squirmed against the smooth leather to agitate the welts from the paddle. The after-burn was almost as erotic as the act itself. It was a big surprise to her that she had enjoyed such a firm spanking.
“What the hell?” she whispered to herself. She hit the dial button and called her dad. With her parents there as a buffer, life wouldn’t get too awkward, right? The phone rang three times.
“Baby doll! It’s been a little bit. How are ya?”
“Hey, Daddy.” Her father was sunshine for her. She smiled the second she heard his voice. “I’ve been good. Is Ma around, too?”
“Of course! Did you need to talk to her too?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind, could you grab her and put the phone on speaker, please?”
“Sure. Gimme a sec.” Laura heard the tap as her dad placed the phone down, followed shortly by echoing shouts from across the room. A minute later he was back.
“I got you on speaker, honey. What’s up?”
“Hi, Laura. I miss you sweetie!” her mom’s baby voice cut in. The woman was in her fifties, but could pass for ten on the phone.
“Hi, Ma. I miss you, too.”
As usual, her mother grabbed the conversation in a chokehold and refused to let go. For a solid fifteen minutes her mom chatted away about everything and nothing. She told Laura about the new family at church, how the early frost had wiped out her tomatoes, and spared no detail about her latest doctor’s appointment. She had apparently had a colonoscopy.
“And the liquid they gave me to drink, my God, it was the most foul thing I have ever tasted. I thought I would actually sh–”
“All right,” her dad interjected, “the girl called us, and I’m sure she didn’t want to hear all about you having the shits or procedure.”
For another couple of minutes, Laura’s parents bickered back and forth. She had to mute her phone as she snorted in amusement.
“Sorry, Laura. You know how your mother is.”
“Hey! Robbie, you bastard.” Somehow her dad had managed to stifle her after that outburst.
“It’s okay, Dad. I just wanted to ask you guys about Christmas. Mason wanted to take a vacation and asked me to invite you guys along too.”
“Oh, honey, I am so happy you and that British boy got back together. You two were so good as a couple. And he’s so handsome!”
“Thanks, Ma.” Even over the phone she was mortified. “I’m glad too. Anyway, Mason wanted to have Christmas in Switzerland. Would you both like to come?” The silence following her question was unnerving. She couldn’t recall either of her parents not speaking for more than three seconds at a time.
“That sounds like fun, baby doll, but your mother and I have plans.”
“What?!” She hadn’t expected that answer. Every year she went to visit. It was their thing. “When were you going to tell me?” Laura whined.
“We were gonna call you this week, Laura,” Joanie explained softly. “Your father won a contest at the office. We’re going to spend five days in Aspen.”
“Yeah. You’d be so proud. I managed to sell the most piping out of everybody there.” She could hear him beaming in his voice. “One of the developers in Springfield was planning to rip up and repave where the roads were the worst. He ordered hundreds of miles of pipe from me because every road is a mess.”
“That’s great, Daddy.” Laura’s heart sank. She had gotten so used to the routine that it never occurred to her that one day, her parents may have something better to do. “I hope you guys have fun on your trip. I’ll try to figure out a time when I can come see you.”
“You too, honey,” Joanie chirped. “I’ve seen pictures. Switzerland looks so romantic this time of the year. I hope you two kids take advantage.”
Laura interjected, “Okay, Ma, Daddy, I love you guys, but I have to go. Mason wants to go to lunch. I’ll talk to you soon!” she lied. That was too close. Laura didn’t think she could handle another lecture about her mother wanting grandkids.
“So, did you call your parents?” Mason suddenly appeared and leaned against the bathroom doorjamb, looking casually sexy wearing nothing but a white towel.
“Yeah.” Laura had to take a second to put her thoughts back together. The towel hung low on his hips, revealing several inches of Adonis. “Um, I’m kind of surprised. They will be on vacation themselves.”
“Really?” Mason was genuinely surprised. The Rosses rarely went anywhere.
“Dad won a trip to Aspen from his job. Looks like it’s just you and me for Switzerland.” She watched a huge smile spread across Mason’s face. “Assuming I can get the time off. Daniel can be a bastard about time requests.”
“Of course. Any time you can get I can work around.” Mason stalked over to the sofa and bent down for a kiss. Laura gripped the back of his neck with one hand and claimed his mouth with hers.
“You naughty girl. I have to get to the office.” Mason grinned at her, his eyes gone sleepy with lust.
Laura hooked the edge of the towel, drawing him in closer. “Looks like you’ll be a little late then,” she declared as she stripped the towel off.
Chapter Seventeen
Laura sat at her desk, gaping at the insane number of emails staring back at her on her screen, ninety percent of which came from either Daniel or her team. “Oh, Monday. How I’ve missed you,” she murmured as she tapped her forehead against her desk.
“Well, they won’t deal with themselves.” She clicked and cleared memo after useless memo. A list of interviews to schedule popped up. Daniel wanted them all on the books by Thanksgiving. Three days was all he was giving her, “You have got to be fucking kidding me.” She split the list in two and printed one for her and one for Michelle. If Daniel needed this done so quickly, sh
e would have to borrow his assistant.
After a quick peek into her coffee cup and the realization that it was woefully empty, she took a trip to the break room. Having to work through lunch was one thing, but having to do it un-caffeinated was not an option.
The remnants of the morning editors’ meeting were laid out across the counter. Three half-stale donuts lay deflated in a torn white box with random smears of jelly and peanut butter decorating the interior. A box of cold, bitter coffee and a stack of Dixie cups sat next to the most promising choice of all. “Ooh, bagels.”
Laura popped a pumpkin spice one between her teeth as she stirred milk into the heavenly black depths of her coffee.
“Hey, Laura. There you are.” Tammy entered the room, pushing her thick black glasses up her nose. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
Laura removed the bagel from her mouth. “I just needed a quick break. What’s up?”
“There’s an envelope for you at the reception desk.”
The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. “Sure. Let me drop this stuff in my office, and I’ll meet you over there.”
Laura went immediately on guard as she sped back through the halls to her office. Could it be another poem? She had to take a minute to compose herself before seeing Tammy. The walk through the main office was probably the slowest she had ever taken.
“Here you go, Laura,” Tammy handed her a plain manila envelope. The return address smiled up at her. It was from Northampton, her parents.
“Thanks, Tammy.” She popped open the flap and turned the contents out on the counter. Her eyes lit up when her new passport fell out. See? No reason to be so paranoid!
“Why’d you have that delivered here? What’s wrong with your apartment?” Tammy asked.
“I’m not always there. Sometimes I stay at Mason’s. I’m guaranteed to get the important stuff if I have it mailed here.” Lying again. It was true Laura spent half the week at Mason’s, but there was also the lingering fear that someone may still have the urge to go through her stuff. She didn’t want her identity stolen on top of the personal violation.
Laura turned to walk away, but paused. “Oh, before I forget, could you take this list to Michelle for me? If I don’t get moving on this I’ll never get it done in the neurotic time constraint Daniel put on me.”
“Of course. I’m going to lunch with her; I’ll pass it along then.”
“Super. I’ll see you later, and thanks again, Tammy. You rule.” The smile she got from that adorable flame-haired girl perked her sagging day right up.
***
“Laura! How’s my favorite writer doing?” Daniel burst through her office door without knocking, per usual. His exuberance set off her bullshit detector.
“I’m fine. What can I do for you, Daniel?” She set aside her list and pen to give her boss her full attention.
“It’s about this time off request you put in on Monday. I’m not so sure I can sign off on it.” His face was placid, but his posture was anything but.
“And why would that be?” She listed off her reasons on her fingers. “I’m one of your top performers, I never miss a deadline, and I’m here early and stay late. I don’t think I’ve ever taken a vacation the entire time I’ve been employed by you, either. I have three weeks of time accumulated, and we’re off between Christmas and New Year’s anyway. So what’s the problem?”
Daniel let out a sigh. “It’s just a really long time for you to be gone, kid. I need you around here. Do you think you could take less time?”
Laura smiled sweetly at him. “I have the vacation time available, and frankly, I don’t want to.” Watching Daniel squirm was kind of fun, but she didn’t understand why he was being so weird about letting her take time off.
“Tell you what, Daniel. I’ll take some work with me. How’s that?”
He rubbed his finger over his mustache as he contemplated her offer. “That sounds doable.”
“Then I will do that for you, but…” She watched his posture droop. “I’m only bringing along ONE assignment. This is supposed to be my romantic Christmas break.”
Daniel wrinkled his nose and dismissed her with a wave. “Fine, Ross. I’ll have that to you before Wednesday next week.”
“You know this was all your fault, boss.”
His eyes grew wide. “Oh? How so?”
“You could have assigned the interview to anybody else, and you didn’t, so…”
“I get it. See you tomorrow, Ross.”
Chapter Eighteen
The clock on the bedside table glowed 3:00. It was the middle of the night, and once again Laura was staring at her bedroom ceiling. The only sound in the darkness was Mason’s shallow breathing. Laura glanced over at him sleeping peacefully. The urge to nudge him awake was overwhelming. She wanted someone to share her insomnia with.
Their flight to Zurich was scheduled for Monday, and with each day the trip drew closer, Laura became more anxious.
Finally, she got out of bed. Clearly, lying there did her no good. She paced the bare hardwood in her living room, trying to burn some of her nervous energy. “This is no big deal, Laura,” she whispered to herself. “It’s just a vacation. It’s not like he’s asking you to move in or get married.”
She froze, panic rising in her throat. Oh, God. What if I’m wrong and that’s exactly what he wants to do? She strode back into her room for her wool overcoat. She needed air, and badly. Grabbing her keys, she bolted out of the apartment and down to the street.
The first blast of frosty December air smacked her in the face and stung her eyes. She drew in a sharp breath at the initial shock. “Whoa.”
Laura had no idea why she was so worked up over this. She had been engaged to him before. This go round was proving to be rock solid and was moving along smoothly, so why be so crazy about committing?
She dropped down onto the stoop as the realization dawned on her: maybe she didn’t fully trust him again. She’d told him explicitly she would let the dominatrix thing go and treat them as being brand new again. Maybe she hadn’t yet.
Mason had done nothing to deserve being doubted, and they spent nearly all of their free time together; they were in constant contact otherwise if they weren’t actually with each other.
“I’m so stupid. Just go back inside, dummy.” Laura rose and padded back towards the elevator. As she approached her front door, she slowed and looked around. She didn’t see anybody, but couldn’t help the feeling someone was watching.
Taped at eye level on the heavy metal door was a plain white envelope. Her blood turned to ice. Alarmed, she scanned around again for anybody that may be lurking. That note had not been there when she’d come outside ten minutes before.
She snatched the paper and let herself in, securing every lock behind her. With shaking hands, she tore into the envelope and dumped the contents on her counter. Dried rose petals the color of merlot rained down on the granite and into her sink. A slip of notebook paper fell out last. The roses had left their lingering aroma on the blue-lined sheet.
A sense of foreboding tied a knot in her shoulder muscles as she unfolded the paper. Drawn inside was a bouquet of thirteen red roses and a short quote:
They played at hearts as other children might play at ball; only, as it was really their two hearts that they flung to and fro, they had to be very, very handy to catch them, each time, without hurting them.
She opened her junk drawer and swept the rose petals and letter into the cubby and slammed it shut. She leaned against the drawer as if the contents would spring to life and attack her.
Balling her hands into fists, she squeezed her eyes shut and willed her body to stop shaking. No good would come from her going off the rails. She could not tell Mason her admirer had started up again after more than two months of silence.
She tapped her fingernail against her teeth in thought. She would keep this quiet and in a few days they would be out of the country. She would just tell every neighbor on her f
loor where she was going and how long she would be gone. Someone would always be home to keep an eye on the place.
The clock on her stove ticked over to 4am. There was no point in going to bed. She would just lie there and slip slowly into madness doing that. Instead, Laura sprawled out on her couch and pulled her 1970s afghan over her and flipped the TV on. After switching through a few channels, she settled on an episode of I Love Lucy and hoped for the best.
***
Four episodes later, the sun peeked up over the skyline, beaming warmth and promise through Laura’s balcony doors and windows. Shades of pink danced over Laura’s sallow skin and burned her dried out eyes. Sleep did not make an appearance that night.
She heard her mattress squeak and footsteps fall across her bedroom floor.
“Laura? What happened to you last night? Are you all right?” Mason scrubbed his hands over his face in an attempt to fully wake up.
“I’m just not feeling well,” she lied. “My stomach was cramping last night and I couldn’t sleep, so I came out here so you could get some sleep. I didn’t want to disturb you.” She hugged the blanket tighter around her body, creating a protective cocoon of yellow and orange wool.
Mason walked over and sat on the opposite end of the couch, pulling her feet into his lap. Without prompting he massaged her feet and ankles.
“Mmmm. That feels amazing. Thank you.” Laura blissfully closed her eyes and drank in the relaxation. The man had magic hands.
“I can get you something if you’d like.” He circled his thumbs over her soles.
“Just keep doing that, please.” Slowly the rest of her body relaxed itself, and she sank into the couch cushions. “I’ll be functional after I get some food and caffeine in me. With any luck I may survive until six.”
“Okay. I just wanted to remind you that I’m going to need to be home tonight for a conference call with my Japanese partners. Are you sure you don’t want to spend the night?” Mason had asked her twice the day before, but each time she’d turned him down.
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