by Elisa Leigh
Table of Contents
All For Erica at Christmas
Dedication
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Epilogue 1
Epilogue 2
Meet the Authors
Acknowledgements
His Sweet Treat Excerpt
Brother-In-Law to Love Excerpt
Candy Cane Kisses Excerpt
Copyright
All For Erica at Christmas
An All For Love Book
By Elisa Leigh and MK Moore
© Elisa Leigh and MK Moore 2017.
All Rights Reserved
By the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for brief quotations used in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
The use of actors, artists, movies, TV shows and song titles/lyrics throughout this book are done so for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as an advertisement. Trademark names are used editorially with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.
This book is intended for adults only. Contains sexual content and language that may offend some. The suggested reading audience is 18 years or older. I consider this book as Adult Erotic Romance.
ASIN:
Cover created using Picmonkey.
Table of Contents
All For Erica at Christmas
Dedication
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Epilogue 1
Epilogue 2
Meet the Authors
Acknowledgements
His Sweet Treat Excerpt
Brother-In-Law to Love Excerpt
Candy Cane Kisses Excerpt
All For Erica at Christmas
An All For Love Book
Officer Erica Stokes is done. She has nothing and no one left in Caraway, Colorado. Her family is gone and there’s no reason to stay. She never saw what was right in front of her. Never knew what love was or how to keep it.
Until him.
Captain Colt Montgomery has loved Erica for three long, lonely years. His position kept him away. When she unwittingly gives him the in that he needs to finally claim his woman, he will do everything to prove it's All For Erica.
Elisa Leigh and MK Moore have teamed up to bring you a safe and sexy holiday read. They do warn you that the chemistry is off the charts. This love story will melt your Kindle. Good thing Christmas is in just a few days.
Dedication
For Karlee. Unicorns all day, everyday. We love you!
#69unicorns
One
Erica Stokes
“Officer Stokes, in my office, now!” Captain Montgomery bellows through the Caraway County Sheriff’s Department.
What does that man want now? I roll my eyes, but get up from where I’ve been sitting filling out yet another report. I hate doing reports. He’s been riding my ass since the day I started working here and hasn’t let up since. I can’t ever get anything right, and he keeps reassigning my partners. I get the sense he thinks it’s my fault with the way he looks at me. I wonder if he got my letter of resignation yet? I placed it on his desk this morning. You would think he’d be happy about it if that’s what he’s hollering about.
Captain Montgomery is standing at the door to his office waiting for me to enter. Once I do he slams the door shut, but remains facing it, hands braced against the door frame. He’s typically a brusque man with a short fuse, mostly with me. Today he seems strung a little tighter. “Is everything okay Captain? You seem a bit-”
“A bit what, Officer Stokes?” I’m reticent to tell him how I really feel, worried about how he’ll react if I’m honest. I shift on my feet, not knowing what to say or do at this moment.
“Take a seat.” He commands, and as much as I’m intimidated by the man, I’m equally attracted to him. In his late thirties, the guy is a fox. I sit immediately in one of the two chairs facing his desk.
He sits down in his chair behind his desk and picks up what looks a lot like my resignation letter, except now it shows signs of being crumbled up.
“Do you want to tell me what the hell this is Stokes?” He asks, holding, yep, my resignation letter up for me to see.
I shrug and look around his office. I’ve been in here hundreds of times, but I couldn’t tell you much about the man from his minimalistic style. He doesn’t give away much of himself. I only know what other people in the department have said in passing and how he treats his people. He made captain when he was thirty-five, and now, three years later he’s helped turn the department around internally, bringing up morale and efficiency.
“I’m pretty sure it’s self-explanatory Captain Montgomery. I’m resigning.”
His jaw ticks and he glares at me. “Why?”
I can’t believe he needs me to spell this out for him. “You know why. I don’t belong here. I can’t even keep a damn partner for Christ’s sake.”
“Watch your mouth young lady.”
“Yes, sir.” My cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“Is this what you really want? You are the first person to resign since I’ve been in command here.”
“Don’t worry, my resigning has nothing to do with you or how you have led this department. You can sleep well tonight knowing it isn’t your fault I’m leaving. I’ll make sure to write that in my exit interview too.”
“You think I’m worried about how this will reflect on me?”
Shit. The man sounds pissed, was that the wrong thing to say?
“Absolutely not. I just meant. I mean it seemed that. I thought-”
“Finish a damn thought already. You thought what?” He snips at me.
My eyes fill with tears, but I refuse to let them fall. I’ve always been what my grandmother referred to as ‘sensitive.’ My brother Jacob wasn’t like that though. He was strong and courageous. He wanted to make a difference in our world. I was so proud of him and all that he’d accomplished even after we lost our parents as teenagers. Then our grandmother, our only living relative, died when I was eighteen and he was twenty-one.
While I was in my sophomore year of college Jacob, who had been in the Army for a few years, was killed in action. I hadn’t selected a major at the time and decided the best way to honor him would be to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer. I finally chose my major and two and a half years later I graduated with a degree in criminal justice. Three years later and I just can’t do it anymore.
“Officer Stolls. Erica?” He asks sharply.
“What were we saying? Oh, right. Captain Montgomery, like I wrote in my resignation letter, I’m no
t cut out to be a police officer. To be honest, I don’t even enjoy it very much.”
He studies me for a minute before he replies. “What are you planning on doing to support yourself? Do you have another job lined up?” He asks, speaking as if he cares.
“I haven’t quite figured that part out yet. I might travel, move maybe. Nothing is tying me to Caraway. All my family is gone.”
“There are people here. Friends. People care about you, Erica.”
I smile sadly at him and appreciate his attempt, but it’s utter bullshit. “Thank you, Captain. Is there anything else? I have a report to finish before I can leave for the day.”
I watch as he struggles to put into words whatever it is that he’s thinking. The man is friendly with most people, but always professional. Except with me. I don’t know what I did to upset him so, but I’ll be glad to not have to work under his scrutinizing eyes for much longer.
“That’s all. Have a great weekend.” He says as if he were chewing glass.
I don’t say anything to him, not a smile or a nod. I just walk away. The man unnerves me and the power he has over me is almost too much to bear. I finish my report, and by the time I get up to clock out, I can’t help but get one last look. Surprisingly his office door is shut and his lights off. The man who never leaves before six o’clock is out the door before four-thirty. Strange, I didn't even see him go.
Two
Colten Montgomery
This woman has been driving me mad since she came to work for me a few years ago. She’s had me entranced since she walked her cute little ass in here and owned her interview. The thing about Erica is she really isn’t cut out to be a cop. She’s warm and soft with a kind heart. She works her ass off and fulfills all her duties, but there’s always been something missing. Like a spark you’d expect from someone doing what they love. I can’t blame her, I know the reason why she became a cop. While I might not agree with it, I commend her for honoring her brother in that way.
Caraway is small enough that I knew her story long before she applied for an interview. She’s had a shitty lot in life having all her family die before the age of twenty-one. That would be hard for anyone. Instead of letting it get her down, she’s done the best she can for as long as she could.
I’ve left her alone for a few reasons, the most significant being I’m her captain. I can only begin to imagine the stories that would spread about us in the aisles at the Quick Mart. Not to mention I’m over ten years older than her. Now that she’s decided to leave the department I’m free to claim my woman without a scandal taking place.
I made captain early in life. I’m sure it had a lot to do with my career in the Army Military Police and soaring through the ranks there. I was running my own Police Company at Fort Bragg before I got hurt overseas and was forced to retire. I plan on running this department until I’m ready to retire.
The amount of time I’ve wasted became clear when I saw Erica’s resignation letter sitting on my desk this morning. I can’t believe I’ve waited three years and still haven’t told her how I feel. I’ve never been interested in chasing women. Truth be told I’ve only had three sexual partners in my adult life, and they were few and far between. The day I met Erica, no other woman could compare to her. She threw this resignation out of left field, and I didn’t know whether to spank her ass for daring to leave or bow at her feet for making the choice that set me free to claim her.
I have to say I didn’t react in the best manner when I saw it. I had a million questions running through my head. Why was she trying to leave? Where was she going? When I called her in, and she told me she was thinking about leaving town, I knew I had to do something. I couldn’t let her walk away, couldn’t let her go. She has been mine since the day she walked in here, and there’s no way I’m letting her go. I’ll just have to convince her there’s something, scratch that, someone worthy of staying for.
So that’s what the hell I’m doing out here in the twenty-degree weather sitting on her porch like a chump. I’ve got a six-pack of Stella and a couple pizzas on the way. I wonder what is taking her so long to get home, she was supposed to leave thirty minutes ago. I’ll lose my mind if I find out she’s out with another man.
I left earlier than I usually do, intent on making tonight something she would remember. It’s two weeks before Christmas. For a girl who loves this holiday, her house says otherwise. The place doesn’t have one Christmas light or decoration hung and it makes me sad. I hope there’s something inside. Erica finally pulls into her driveway in front of her townhouse, and she is sitting in her cruiser staring at me.
I crook my finger at her, but she shakes her head no. I bite my bottom lip willing myself not to laugh. My woman looks scared out of her mind. I walk up to her car and try to open the door, but it’s locked. I fold my arms in front of my chest and stare pointedly until she hits the unlock button. Once she does, I open the door before she does something squirrely and locks it again.
“Erica, nice of you to show up.”
“Captain Montgomery. What are you doing here? At my house. Why are you here at my house?”
“I thought we could play some monopoly.”
“Monopoly?”
“Yeah, have you heard of it?”
She glares at me, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Yes, I’ve heard of it. There wasn’t anyone else you could have played with?”
“There’s no one else I’d rather play with Erica, then you.”
I hold out my hand and wait for her to unbuckle her seatbelt. Her face turns red, and it takes her a few tries to get out of the car. When she finally places her smaller hand in mine, my eyes connect with hers. I know that she feels this thing that’s between us. She sucks her bottom lip into her mouth. I help her step out and wait for her to lock up. When she’s ready, I hold her hand all the way to her door. I pick up my supplies without dropping her hand, not willing to give up this connection we have. Unfortunately, she lets go of mine and turns to me before unlocking her door.
“Does this have something to do with me quitting?” She asks.
“This has everything to do with you quitting.”
“Oh. I guess, I don’t get it.”
“How about we get out of this freezing weather, and we can talk inside. That way you don’t catch a cold. I’d hate for you to get sick.”
She stares at me like I’ve grown another head, but eventually turns around and lets us into her house. She leads us to her tiny kitchen. When she goes to grab the beer in my hands, I stop her.
“I’ve got it, babe. Go shower and change. The pizza should be here by the time you’re done.”
“You ordered pizza? What kind?” She says almost drooling.
I might have kept my distance, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been keeping an eye on her. I know what she likes.
“Jay Baby’s. I got your favorite, and I got meat lovers. I also ordered some of those cheesy bread bites you go crazy over. If you're good, I might share.”
“I’ll be out in like fifteen minutes. You sure you don’t mind?”
“Babe I’ve already had mine. I’m sure you need one too. Go unwind so we can relax together.”
When her eyes go wide, and she stands there staring at me, I laugh and turn her around by the shoulders and pat her sexy ass.
“Hurry up babe. I don’t want the pizza to get cold.”
She walks away leaving me to look around her place.
Three
Erica
What is Captain Montgomery doing in my house? I think I have an idea, but I hope I’m wrong. I don’t want him thinking just because I won’t be working for him anymore that he and I can hook up. I’m not interested in giving up my virginity for a one-night stand, even if it is with Colten Montgomery.
As I take off all my gear and place it on my dresser, I can’t help the sadness and relief I feel knowing this will be one of the last times I get to do this. When I first started thinking about quitting the force
, I felt terrible that I was letting Jacob down. After thinking about it for a few weeks and visiting his grave, I came to the realization that what he’d want most is for me to be happy. So, I did what I knew would make me happiest.
When the Captain asked me what I was going to do after I left, I had no idea what to tell him. I really don’t want to travel or move. I love Caraway like it’s a piece of me. This tiny small town tucked into the mountains of Colorado is where I was born and raised. It’s hard to stay when you feel like you have nothing keeping you here.
I take my shower, not lingering even though the hot water feels great on my chilled bones. Having him out there, being in my space, looking at my things is just weird. I get out and put on a pair of black leggings and a long sleeve Caraway County PD t-shirt. I leave my long dark hair, down around my shoulders.
I stare at myself in the mirror doing my best to gain the strength to walk out there and not let things be awkward. I hear the doorbell ring, and I know that I need to get out there because the pizza is here. I can’t believe he ordered my favorite pizza and brought my favorite beer. I wonder how he knew.
I meet him in the kitchen just as he is setting the food on the counter.
“Where are your plates babe?”
I point up to the cabinet on the left of the fridge and say, “up there.”
He pulls down two plates while I grab a stack of napkins. This pizza is greasy as hell, but it’s delicious.
“Do you want to watch a movie or something? I have Netflix. I am about to restart The Office if you’re interested.”
“The Office it is. My sister keeps telling me that I need to watch it. She’s always sending me these gifs from the show, but I have no idea what she’s talking about.”
“You have a sister? What’s her name?”
“I do. She’s around your age, maybe a few years younger. I believe you two went to high school together. Her name is Gemma Montgomery.”
I think about it for a minute. “I knew of her. She was a freshman when I was a Junior I think. I pretty much kept to myself.”