Pleasures of Christmas Past (A Christmas Carol Book 1)

by Lexi Post

  Spikes of need skittered inside her passage. The man had her wound tighter than a hauling winch and she was ready to snap. She hit his ass with her heel and tried to pull herself onto him.

  He stopped her just as his cock slid down to her opening. “Shhh, slowly.”

  He would kill her with wanting, if she weren’t already dead. Maybe a little encouragement would help. She moved her hands up to her breasts and massaged them, not daring to touch her own nipples for fear she’d come again before he even entered her.

  His groan was her only warning before he pulled her toward him, slowly moving deeper and deeper inside her, spreading her wide with the thickness of his erection. Every nerve ending in her entire body tingled, waiting.

  She glanced up at Duncan and found his eyes closed, his jaw tense as he held her against him. If either of them moved she would come. She was so close. She let her gaze wander over his hard chest and stomach muscles. How did she get so lucky?

  How did she fall so fast?

  She bit down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out as the enormity of her situation hit her. She was in love with a man who didn’t fall in love. And she was dead on the verge of being stuck with the living for eternity.

  The tears welled as her sensitive body primed for the greatest joy. Then Duncan moved. His hands, gripping her hips, pushed her away and pulled her back in. It was the sweetest torture, as all the sparks ignited at once and he thrust again, this time faster and then faster, setting off her orgasm. She cried out.

  She was engulfed in hot fire as he pumped into her, sending another wave of heat rolling through her, threatening to burn her from the inside out.

  Then Duncan shouted and his come filled her, causing a chain reaction that burst inside her, turning her pleasure into a vortex of flame.

  Duncan’s thrusts became more uneven, and she felt as if she continued to be showered in the fragmented lights of sparklers, tiny pricks of pleasure still going off until Duncan slowed to a stop.

  He gathered her up into his arms and kissed her. “Jess, ye amaze me.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face on his shoulder. The tears flowed. Too many emotions finding release once her body had been satisfied.

  “Jess?” Duncan’s concerned voice forced her to look at him.

  “Ach, lass, I didn’t hurt ye, did I?”

  She shook her head and tried to smile. “That was just so beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.”

  A look of pure male satisfaction crossed his face, but she couldn’t begrudge him that.

  He brushed her hair away from her eyes. “It was for me too.”

  She couldn’t help the doubt that crept into her voice. “Really?”

  He nodded, his serious face revealing the confusion in his eyes.

  She placed a hand on his cheek. “It’s okay. I guess we are just a good fit.” She wiggled her brows, trying desperately to lighten the mood.

  He nodded absently before hugging her close again.

  She had no problem with that. Being held to his hard body, still connected to him, was the perfect place for her. If only—

  A scream rent the air.

  Jessica leaned back. “That was Holly!”

  Duncan pulled her off him, but despite her concern, irritation at having her own moment destroyed caught her off guard. How selfish was she?

  Duncan phased his clothes on and sped away toward the scream.

  She tried to phase hers on.

  Shit. Her right sleeve appeared on her left arm, her panties on her right arm and her bra caught around her legs. Okay, maybe not the best time to try something new. She quickly disrobed and pulled on her clothes. She’d just finished buttoning the last button on her blouse as she drifted toward the edge of the hill when Duncan floated up, Holly holding his hand and looking very pale.

  They stopped in front of her. She moved toward Holly to give her a hug, but caught Duncan shaking his head. Stifling her need to comfort, she made herself stay where she was. “Are you okay?”

  Holly nodded, still holding Duncan’s hand. She could let go anytime now. “What happened?”

  Holly looked at Duncan.

  “She ran into some ghosts.”

  Jessica swallowed hard. “Were they scary ghosts?”

  Holly finally let go of Duncan’s hand and crossed her arms. “I’ll say. They were bloody and old. Seriously, they could have come from a horror movie.”

  “What she saw was the English soldiers who were killed by Robert the Bruce and his men at a battle that took place here in 1307.”

  “They’re still here?”

  He nodded as Holly rolled her eyes. “Oh, they are definitely still here.”

  Jessica looked at Duncan. “But how can Holly see them?”

  He floated closer to her. “Because she’s phased. If she decided to take a hike up this hill tomorrow morning, she wouldn’t even know they are here.”

  “Oh, yes I would, and there is no way I’m ever coming back here.”

  That could be a good thing. Jessica glanced at Duncan and they shared an understanding. If Holly wouldn’t come back to the place where Cameron proposed to her because of the ghosts, the next spirits might actually be able to help her. It loosened a worry Jessica had deep in her heart.

  Duncan took her hand. “Holly, we’ll be right back. You stay right here while we discuss the next stop.”

  Holly’s brows furrowed but she nodded.

  Duncan pulled Jessica over to the small monolith that marked the top of the hill. “We are going to bring her to her second to last Christmas Eve with Cameron, but—”

  “Why not her last Christmas Eve? I would think that would hold stronger happiness for her since it was the last they shared together.”

  “I think so too.” Duncan pulled at the neckline on his t-shirt. “But Cameron insisted on the Christmas before. Of course, he wouldn’t tell me why.” Duncan’s frustration was clear in his face.

  “Did he tell you why he was testing me?”

  “No.” He hesitated. “He did admit this case is special and reassured me he had permission to take it, but he was different.” Duncan looked away for a moment then returned his gaze to her. “It was as if he were a completely different person. He’s always calm, but when I confronted him, he turned aggressive.”

  “Maybe that’s because his wife is involved. With the love they had for each other, I could see him being very protective.”

  “That could be, but I think it’s more. Something else is happening here and I wonder if even he has any control over it.”

  Jessica shuddered. “That’s concerning.”

  “It is. But I still need to find out what we need to do to bring you back to the afterlife before it’s too late.”

  “I don’t want to be stuck here.” She couldn’t keep her voice from shaking.

  He pulled her into his embrace. “I know. And I won’t let you. I will make Cameron tell me. And if he refuses, I’ll go over his head. I won’t let you be trapped here, but you have to do your part too.”

  “Disconnect from Holly.”

  “You can do it. You just need to have faith that what you have done so far for her and your counsel through the rest will set her up for her next visits. Remember, you dinna have to solve all her problems.”

  She nodded unenthusiastically.

  “Lass, look at me.”

  She raised her gaze to his. There was so much concern in his eyes, she could really believe he cared for her. Maybe he did, like a friend. That did lighten her heart a bit.

  “Remember the night of Holly’s fire? You did what you could and it set her and her mother on a positive path for their lives. This is what you must do here. Set her on the path and let others have a chance to help her too.”

  “Wow, I never thought about it that way. That’s how it worked with Mrs. Connors as well, but I hadn’t known that.” She studied him, a new appreciation for his abilities growing. “I guess there’s a reason you t
rain Spirit Guides.”

  He raised his brows. “Did you ever doubt there was?”

  She smiled. How could she not with him sporting such a shit-eating grin. “Frankly, yes, but I admit to being wrong.”

  He pulled away and stared at her in shock.

  She frowned. “Don’t you say a word. Not one word, Duncan Montgomerie.”

  He burst into laughter, the sound rippling through her and soothing her heart.

  He pulled her to him. “Then you’ll just have to kiss me to keep me quiet.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and gladly complied. As his tongue breached her lips, she met it with her own and melted into him, her stomach flipping over with desire.

  When he finally broke the kiss, she sighed. No wonder the man had slept his way through so many beds in the last two hundred years. What woman could resist him?

  “If you keep giving me that look, lass, I’ll be making love to ye right here in front of Holly.”

  She dropped her arms and looked over her shoulder to see Holly wasn’t even facing them. She turned back to him only to catch his wide smile and silent chuckle. “Not funny.”

  He shrugged. “It wasn’t supposed to be. I meant it.”

  Mr. Obsession was becoming far too sure of himself. “I don’t think we should.” She let her gaze roam from his blue eyes down to his sock-covered feet. She returned her gaze to his, a little disappointed his smile had disappeared. “As much as I’d like to, we’ve made Holly wait far too long. We are in her time right now and I’m sure she is anxious to see another moment in her past.”

  Duncan’s face remained serious. Was he still with her?

  “Aye, you’re right. We need to complete this assignment as soon as we can. I’m going to escort you both to the next Christmas Eve, but you are to keep her outside her home until I return.”

  She tensed. “You’re going to talk to Cameron again?”

  “This time, I promise I won’t leave until I get answers as long as you promise no’ to go inside Holly’s house no matter how much she begs.” He grasped her shoulders. “Can you do that? Can you deny her to save your soul?”

  She definitely wanted to. She just wasn’t sure if and when the time came, she could. “I promise I will do everything in my power to resist giving in to her.”

  “That’s no’ good enough.” Duncan’s eyes intensified, their blue becoming brighter. “You must promise you will no’ give in to her. This may very well be what Cameron is testing you on.”

  “Do you think so?”

  He nodded.

  She hadn’t thought Cameron would feel the need to test her ability to remain professional. She had been so focused on the big picture and doing whatever was necessary to achieve it, that she missed the fact her new supervisor may very well be testing protocol points or task management. She was such an idiot. “I promise I will deny Holly entrance to her home until you come back.”

  Duncan’s hands loosened and he patted her shoulder. “Good. Now let’s get Holly.”

  Chapter Nine

  Duncan raced back to Cameron’s office. The second Jessica had asked him to make love to her, he understood why. Her face had revealed no’ only her fear but a hopelessness that triggered a long-forgotten concern of his own. He’d known that feeling, but he couldn’t remember why. It had been so long. It frustrated him that there were now parts of his life he couldn’t recall. Some were no’ important, but that feeling was.

  He sped toward Cameron’s office. Last time he’d stormed in, concern for Jessica and distrust of Cameron’s motives were at the forefront of his mind. That hadn’t worked.

  Now he was far beyond concerned. He was as afraid as she was. He could lose her forever. The pain in his chest shook his soul.

  He halted, floating in darkness between planes as a memory brushed by. He’d felt like this before when he was alive.

  He embraced the fear and deep-seated terror that he couldn’t do anything about it, hoping to bring the memory to full fruition. But it drifted by, leaving a gut-wrenching pain that took his breath away. He leaned forward, hands on his knees as he tried to breathe. No air filled his lungs and blackness took his peripheral vision. Whispers seeped into his head of souls disappearing. The darkness grew, his feet melding with time so they no longer appeared.

  Breathe. He had to breathe. He had to save Jessica. Blast it!

  “Jessica!”

  The darkness disappeared, the whispers vanished and a dull pain took residence in the back of his head as air slammed into his lungs. He coughed, causing the pain to pulse.

  He had no doubt that to solidify would mean a pain so great he would pass out. He didn’t dare allow that. He had to save Jessica and fast. His heart raced as new knowledge permeated his consciousness. He didn’t have much time.

  He was ceasing to exist.

  That’s what Cameron didn’t want to tell him.

  He started for his friend’s office. If this was the end to his soul, he had to make sure Jessica was safe first. The ache in his chest grew. He wanted to be with her. How could he have found someone so perfect for him only to cease to exist? He fisted his hands even as he accepted the irony.

  When he arrived at Cameron’s office, an anguished resignation had fallen over him and he calmly walked in when bid to enter.

  “Duncan.” Cameron’s surprise was followed by lowered brows.

  He strode forward, his hands out as if he could pacify his supervisor and friend. “I need your help.”

  Cameron looked down at his paperwork. “I thought I told you to do whatever it takes to finish Holly’s visits.”

  Duncan sat in the chair across from the cluttered desk. He’d never even considered what Cameron’s job must be like. How many Spirit Guides did he command? A hundred? A thousand? Yet, they had been friends since he’d arrived. “Cameron, Holly is learning. It’s working.”

  The man lifted his face from the paperwork and met Duncan’s gaze and for a tenth of a second, Duncan witnessed a soul-deep torment in Cameron’s eyes before it was hidden and a slight smile curved his lips. “She is? That’s my Holly.”

  Duncan smiled encouragingly. If Jessica was his primary focus, Holly was Cameron’s. “Aye, we are on the last event and I think she’s even taught Jessica and me a thing or two.”

  Cameron leaned back. “Really?”

  Duncan nodded. “One of the reasons Holly has done so well is her connection to Jessica. You knew she would remember Jessica and have an openness to her, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Did you know Jessica would have an equally strong connection to Holly?”

  Cameron nodded.

  Duncan used all his willpower no’ to let his voice rise in anger. “Did you know Jessica would transform into a ghost because of it?”

  The man’s eyes widened. “No. How?”

  “She was good as a social worker while she was alive because she personally cared about every client she had. These visits you arranged for Holly that connect to Jessica have undermined a lot of what she was proud of.”

  “But they’ve shown her what she thought were failures were actually successes.”

  Duncan’s mind raced. So this was as much about Jessica as Holly. “Aye, but now she wonders how many of her successes were failures. And now she is stuck on the plane with the living, but she isn’t a ghost yet. Tell me there’s a chance we can bring her back.”

  Cameron’s concern was obvious. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. We have to get her back.”

  Hope flickered like an almost-lit candle before him. “So we can bring her back.”

  “Yes. But the only way to do that is if she has a connection with this plane that is stronger than her connection with Holly.”

  “Like what?”

  Cameron leaned forward. “Like her cottage or her position, or you.”

  “Me? What do you mean me?”

  Cameron’s gaze was intense. “Does she think of you like a case?”


  From what he could discern, she hadn’t even tried to counsel him. Maybe she recognized a lost cause. The thought was disturbing. “No, she accepts me for the way I am.” Now wasn’t that a positive spin on a lousy truth.

  “What about sexually? That’s your specialty. Have you connected with her strong enough on a sexual level?”

  Duncan tensed. “That’s no’ for you to inquire about.”

  Cameron stood, slamming his hands down on the desk. “If you haven’t established that connection, then you had better have established an emotional one or the woman is lost to us. And she is a damn good Spirit Guide.”

  Duncan’s anger had him rising as well. “She’s more than her job. She’s a warmhearted, caring, beautiful soul and deserves all the help we can give her because she’s worth saving simply because of who she is.”

  Cameron smiled. “So you love her.”

  It was as if Cameron had kicked him in the chest. His heart hurt and the ache in the back of his head throbbed anew. “How would I know? I’ve never loved anyone.”

  Disappointment shone in Cameron’s gaze. “So you still don’t remember how you died, even after over two hundred years.”

  “What? I thought we aren’t supposed to remember that.”

  “You’re wrong.” Cameron shook his head. “Your supervisors in the past have been so happy with your performance, they haven’t counseled you as they should have. I’m not that selfish.”

  “What do you mean counseled? I dinna need counseling. I’m the one to do that for the living and the mentees.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. My job is to counsel the Spirit Guide Mentors to help you move on.”

  Every muscle in Duncan’s body tensed. “What do you mean move on? Do you mean these episodes I’m having where I start to disintegrate? If that’s what you’re talking about, I’m afraid you are a bit too late. It’s already happening.” He gave a scornful laugh. “Guess I didn’t need counseling after all.”

  Cameron phased through the desk and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Is it getting worse?” The concern in his eyes soothed Duncan’s taut nerves.

  He looked away. “Aye. On my way here I almost lost it.” He returned his gaze to Cameron. “But I knew I had to save Jessica before I let it take me.”