Hot for the Holidays (21 Holiday Short Stories): A Collection of Naughty and Nice Holiday Romances

by Anthology

  After collecting what we needed for the kids’ breakfast, I grabbed Hope's high chair and walked back to the living room. There was no way I was going to leave Selene alone with Luc. I wasn't about to risk him doing anything to hurt her in his current inebriated state. I trusted him when he was sober. Being drunk was an entirely different thing altogether. The man was snoring under a Christmas tree, for fuck's sake, possibly unaware of his surroundings.

  Luc groaned, his hand searching out blindly and found Selene's leg. Climbed up to her thigh, sliding dangerously close to her hip.

  My body tensed, my eyes fixed on that hand. He groaned again, but this time it sounded different.

  Pleasure.

  "Luc." I was two seconds away from yanking his arm from its socket and shoving it up his arse.

  Luc's hand froze. His eyes snapped open, and he blinked blearily. Selene's hands shot forward to support his head. Hope grabbed the spoon from my hand and tugged it, oblivious of what was happening.

  "Remington?" Luc croaked from the floor, looking confused. His bloodshot eyes narrowed to keep out the light streaming in from the windows.

  My gaze was still on his fingers on my woman's body.

  Mon Dieu, help me. Blood was about to splatter on the walls. Then my children would be spending the next years visiting their father in prison after I put my own brother to the ground.

  Calm down, you big Neanderthal.

  "Mon frère." He finally grinned as recognition of where he was dawned on his face. He flinched, his free hand shooting out to grab his head. "What the hell is that noise?"

  Adrien stopped scraping his plate and craned his neck to get a look at his uncle.

  Luc's hand flexed on Selene's hip, but she seemed unaware of my mood, too, her primary focus on my brother. She and Luc had become close the past year, something I'd missed when I was married to Colette. She never bothered to interact with my family and kept mostly to herself.

  Finally, he seemed to realize where his fucking hand was. His eyes snapped to mine and his hand quickly dropped away. My body loosened a bit and I exhaled long and hard.

  I sighed. I was one lucky bastard, married to one of the most beautiful, kind-hearted women I'd ever met. My possessiveness knew no limits when it came to Selene.

  I leashed my jealousy and continued to feed my daughter, but the urge to rip her from Luc's side still snuck its head out every few seconds.

  Selene looked up past me and my son who was humming under his breath while gulping down his breakfast.

  "Adrien, honey, could you please get Oncle Luc a glass of water?"

  He dropped his spoon with a clatter on the plate, shot to his feet and dashed out of the room. He returned moments later, carefully balancing the glass in his hands to stop the water from sloshing over the sides.

  "Come, take Hopie, I will help Luc to the bathroom," I urged her in a gentle voice.

  "Let me patch him up," she murmured, as she examined the cuts and scrapes on Luc's face and arms.

  She rose to her feet, leaned into me, kissed my jaw, and walked past me. I turned to watch as those hips swayed naturally, gracefully, toward the bathroom downstairs. She returned seconds later carrying a first aid kit. After grabbing a pillow from the couch, she dropped it to the floor and carefully went on one knee followed by the next.

  Luc swayed as he hoisted himself on his elbows and blinked at her with that besotted look I'd seen several times over the past couple of months since I first introduced him to my wife.

  After removing what she needed and laying them neatly on the towel, she began to clean the cuts. She was done within ten minutes and placed everything back in the kit.

  I snatched the kit with one hand as she walked past me. "Sit." I jerked my chin to the couch then strode to the bathroom. I returned seconds later and crouched next to Luc. After making sure he was lucid and responsive, I took his arm, slung it over my shoulder and hoisted him off the floor.

  "Bloody hell. Are you made of stone?" I muttered under my breath. He mumbled something under his breath as I led him toward the bathroom. "Do you need help taking a shower?" I asked, as I assisted him to sit on the edge of the tub.

  He shot me a disgusted look, and then slid a hand down his face. He opened his mouth to say something, seemed to think otherwise and closed it. "Merci, mon frère," he said. He pulled his shirt off, his movements wobbly at first.

  I eyed him, taking in his appearance. The short strands of his black hair faced every which way as though they were eager to escape his head. Dark circles marred his usually lively brown eyes. He looked like shit.

  "What's gotten into you anyway? This is unlike you to come home so drunk that you can't take your arse up the stairs to the guest room."

  He sat back on the edge of the tub, dropped his head to his hands and looked at me through blood-shot eyes. "Her. She devil."

  I cocked my eyebrow at him.

  "Human ‘her’. Fuck it all to hell. I will stick to cars next time," he mumbled to himself.

  "Who is this 'she'? Your girlfriend, Charlotte?"

  His head jerked up and winced, but somehow managed to glare at me through the pain I knew he was going through. "She wasn't my girlfriend. And no. Not Charlotte."

  I grinned. "That bad?"

  "You can wipe that smirk off your face any time now, Sunshine," he gritted the words as he rose to his feet. "Merde!" he cursed fiercely, his eyes watering. "I'm dying, Remington, and I haven't drafted my will yet. Just tell Maman and Dominic I love them."

  I rolled my eyes. "Stop being such a toddler. You made your bed, now you sleep in it." I walked to the cabinet above the sink and returned with two pain medication pills and a glass of water.

  As soon as I handed him the painkillers, he tossed them in his mouth and drank deeply from the glass. He lowered it and took a deep, long breath.

  "I met her at an after-party two days ago. We hit it off. Night was perfect until she ruined it." He scowled into the glass.

  "What? She didn't allow the almighty Luc Olivier to fuck her?"

  He grinned. "Oh, she did. Who can resist this?" He motioned to his body with his free hand.

  Cocky bastard.

  "Then what has your knickers in a twist?"

  That wiped the smirk off his face. He dragged his fingers through his hair, and squeezed his eyes shut as though the mere thought of whatever happened caused him physical pain.

  "She left," he replied bitterly. "She woke up and left."

  "Christ, Luc. She left. So? Is that a reason to get wasted? How did you even get home in the middle of the night?"

  "Taxi," he snapped at me. "It's not what she did. It's what she said before she left me spread-eagled, my feet and wrists shackled to the bed with my own handcuffs and ties." He shuddered, focusing his gaze on me. "She said she had had better. She slayed me, brother."

  My lips twitched as a grin tried to break free. "Do tell."

  "No other woman has ever reacted to me like she did. She said she'd had men better than me. Jesus Christ, I mean, how can someone decimate my manhood purely with words? Fuck her."

  Ouch. That was harsh. Knowing my brother, talking shit about his manhood was right up there with committing murder on his list of laws not to break.

  Then it hit me. "You like her."

  "Like fuck I do. She was just pussy for the night. Women. Not even going to bother again. Too much trouble and headache for nothing."

  I grinned. "They might be trouble, but damn worth it when it's the right one."

  He rubbed his face with his palms and shook his head. "You say that because you were lucky enough to have Selene stumble your way."

  "Indeed I'm lucky. If you want it, want someone like her, you will have to go out there and find her. Go after her and hold on to her. Never let go."

  He shook his head. "Too much of a nuisance. I'm sticking with cars."

  I stared at him for a few moments and then shook my head. "If you say so." I turned and walked toward the door, but stopped a
nd looked at him over my shoulder. "One thing, Luc. That memory of touching my woman still lurking inside your head? Erase it from your brain."

  I pulled the door shut to let him have his shower, and joined my family in the living room.

  Chapter Three

  Luc

  The second the door eased shut I exhaled, long and hard. I was dying. Either that or my head was about to explode.

  Fuck.

  I couldn't remember the last time I’d drunk so much in my life. I couldn't even remember letting myself in the house. All because of a woman. Adam should have listened to God in Eden. Women were trouble. The entire lot of them.

  After stripping down, I gingerly climbed in the shower next to the tub and closed my eyes, letting the feel of the spray from the shower calm me, while attempting to get rid of the visions of that red-haired witch with her talented mouth. My cock stirred in the wake of the memory of those lips wrapped around him that made him come twice in a row.

  As I said, witch. No other woman had ever made me come twice in a space of ten minutes with just her mouth.

  Twenty minutes later, I returned to the living room dressed in jeans and shirt, feeling as human as anyone can feel after a night of reckless alcohol consumption. Remington must have taken them from the wardrobe where I keep a fresh change of clothes for when I visited, and dropped them off while I was in the shower. The smell of freshly baked croissants and brewed coffee smacked me head first, causing me to stagger and stop. I hadn't realized how famished I was. Selene lay on the couch, bouncing Hope Estelle on her stomach. Adrien was on his father's back, his small arms wrapped around Remington's neck tight as he peered over my brother's shoulder. He flipped eggs in a pan on the stove while talking to his son without breaking his stride. Anyone could see that this was their normal morning routine.

  Comfortable and easy.

  Hope suddenly let out a giggle. My gaze returned to mother and daughter on the couch and my chest grew warm just looking at Selene. I quickly amended my claim from before. Not all women were trouble. Just the red-haired kind with freckles on their nose.

  Selene was beautiful and kind. She was everything my brother deserved after all he had gone through with Colette. Crazy bitch, that one.

  "Are you going to hover over there all day, Grumpy?"

  My gaze snapped from Selene to Remington, standing at the dining room table with a tea cloth thrown over one shoulder. Adrien was no longer piggy backing like a baby monkey. He had taken his usual seat next to my brother.

  Remington lifted a brow at me, smirking. His gaze went to his wife now sitting up on the couch and murmuring words to Hope, the look on his face full of warmth and love.

  The man was completely taken by his wife.

  Remington switched his gaze to me and that grin grew bigger as if to say, women are worth the trouble. I remembered the conversation we had in the bathroom and wondered if I had made a mistake telling him. It wouldn't be the first time I told him my personal business. We had always been close growing up. He was my best friend and brother. He had bailed me out of situations that would make any other person give up on me.

  I rolled my eyes at him and bit back a smile. I drew two hearts in the air and framed them against my eyes, telling him he was wearing love goggles as we used to call them when we were going to events. He was utterly in love with Selene and he couldn't see anything beyond those killer curves of hers.

  My blood heated up. Shit. I had been trying not to think of Selene that way, but mon Dieu, that body of hers stirred things in my chest. Things I had no right to feel. Remington was a lucky bastard.

  Remington’s growl broke through my thoughts. The smirk had vanished, replaced by a glare.

  "Luc."

  That single word held warning, letting me know he knew what I had been thinking about. The woman was a knockout and I was a guy. Some things were meant to be appreciated from a distance. As much as I had this little crush on Selene, which was a one-sided infatuation at best, I would never hurt my brother like that. I'd shove a knife through my chest first before acting on my feelings. I was never a home wrecker. If at any time I had the knowledge that the woman I was fucking was married or was in any kind of relationship, I'd send her on her way.

  I rounded the table and sat next to Adrien, directly opposite Selene. Hope Estelle sat in her high chair between her mother and Remington's seat. I settled on my chair and stared at Remington just to ruffle him a bit. It had been a while since I saw this protective side of him and I quite enjoyed witnessing him going all caveman.

  He shook his head just as his mobile started to ring in his pocket. He pulled it out, frowned at the screen, before looking up at Selene.

  "I'll take this in the office." He sounded distracted as he glanced back down at the screen of his phone.

  He turned and strode out of the room. Selene stared after him until he disappeared down the hall, her lip caught between her teeth, a puzzled look on her face.

  Selene cleared her throat, and said, "Adrien, pass Luc the croissants." Her voice was two pitches higher than normal.

  She rose from her chair, went to the kitchen, and came back with the pot of coffee.

  "Is everything okay, Selene?"

  "Yeah." She spared Adrien a look. He was cutting his croissant in half, his tongue stuck at the corner of his mouth. She glanced back at me. "Everything's fine."

  I caught her hand just as she finished pouring coffee in my cup.

  "Selene."

  She sighed, placed the coffee pot on the placemat on the table and looked over her shoulder in the direction Remington disappeared before turning to Adrien. "Hey, Tiger, please run upstairs and get me a feeding bib for Hope."

  Adrien dropped the butter knife on the table and smiled at Selene. "Oui, Maman." He leaped from the chair, did two wobbly cartwheels, then stumbled upright before running upstairs.

  Selene smiled and shook her head before looking at me. I could see how much she loved that little boy; it was written all over her face.

  "Colette has been calling us."

  "What?" I demanded in a whisper.

  "She wants to see Adrien." Her jaw was clenched tight as she spoke the words through gritted teeth.

  "Wait, wait. Please tell me you and Remington are not thinking of taking Adrien to see her."

  She dropped her head into her hands. "I don't know what to think, Luc. All I know is that Colette tried to kill me. That woman is Adrien's mother. He has a right to see her, even though she abandoned him and left. Jesus, he was a baby."

  She inhaled a long breath. "The therapist says involving the family might be beneficial to her, especially since her only living family other than my mother, my sister and me is her son. But she doesn't want to see us. Just Adrien."

  She clamped her lips shut, threw her head back, blinking fast as she stared at the ceiling as though she was trying to fight back tears. Adrien yelled he'd found the bib, his feet thumping down the stairs.

  "What did my brother say?" I murmured, half of my attention on Adrien as his feet hit the bottom step.

  "He doesn't want to, but I'm not sure we have a choice. Her therapist says she has become more stable during the past couple of months since she was admitted to hospital. She won't be released soon, not after what she did, but if this goes to court as both she and the therapist are threatening to do, we might be forced to comply. We don't want to put Adrien through that. He was already confused after what happened when Colette dropped by the house."

  "Here, Maman!" Adrien dropped the bib in Selene's waiting hand, rounded the table and kissed his sister on her forehead before settling back on his chair.

  I leaned back, seething over what I just heard.

  Remington returned to the room, gripping his neck with one hand, his nostrils flaring and a tense look on his face. Shoving his mobile in his pants pocket, he leaned down and kissed Adrien and Hope on their heads. He moved to Selene and whispered into her ear and kissed her neck, then settled in his usual place at
the head of the table with Hope and Adrien at his sides. Whatever he'd said to her made her sit up straighter and tension fill her body. Hope seemed to sense the tension. She stretched out her hands toward her father to pick her up, squirming on her seat and grunting impatiently.

  After picking up his daughter and settling her in his lap, we ate breakfast in silence, the tension tight in the air.

  Merde! That crazy bitch was spoiling the festive mood already. There had to be a way for this to work out without dragging it to court or destroying my nephew's happiness.

  By the time breakfast was done with, Remington and Selene looked like they were about to break. Hope was back in her high chair, giggling and clapping, while Adrien pushed a red toy truck along the table, making car noises with his mouth.

  I couldn't take this anymore. This situation was killing them both. They needed a distraction and I was going to give it to them, or die trying. Well, not really die.

  "I need you two to do something for me." I eyed Remington's frowning face then Selene's distracted one. They focused on me. "Remington. Selene and I spoke while you were on the phone, so I know Colette has been calling you. You two don't need this, especially during this time of the year. Go out tonight. I will take care of Adrien and Hope."

  They exchanged a glance. Selene shook her head.

  "I can't leave them, especially now. I'm sure Adrien senses that—"

  "Yes, you can. Just for a few hours. You two haven't had time to yourselves, and now these news. Adrien is stronger than you give him credit for. Go out and focus on just the two of you. Besides, the kids adore me." I grinned and glanced at Remington who was studying me with a grateful expression before turning to look at his wife, and leaning forward. He wrapped his hand around hers.

  The poor bastard wasn't getting sex on the regular.

  "Selene, ma belle. It's all right." He moved closer, kissing her neck and placing his lips to her ear. "You and me. Alone. No distraction."

  "Jesus. Keep it in your pants, brother." I took that as my cue, stood and picked up Hope from her chair and walked to the window to watch the snow fall. My head was feeling better. I could tackle two kids for an evening. In fact, I was looking forward to spending time with my two favorite nephew and niece.