Hell on Heels Christmas

by A. P. Jensen

  Brooks wasn’t for her but… he was great in bed and their chemistry was off the hook! Was it so bad that she had fun with him? He would be her present since she agreed to stay on in White Mist and endure their holiday cheer. She had to work hard to suppress the goofy grin on her face. She forced away all naughty thoughts and brought out her rational bitch. She wasn’t going to live at her mommy’s house, be unemployed and have amazing sex for an indeterminate amount of time. She had a goal, a plan. She was not staying in White Mist for Brooks. No sir. She was staying because she’d decided to take a break and help out her mom. A month and a half was enough time to reconnect with her mom, torture Missy and watch Max attempt to control his family. She could give her mom something she’d never had- financial security.

  As Regan neared the clearing she heard Johnny calling at the top of his voice. “Oh Regan Lee, where art thee?”

  Valerie and Johnny turned when she walked out of the trees. They both looked her up and down and she stiffened instinctively. Her ruined shirt was safely covered beneath her zipped jacket and she fixed her hair into a tight, no nonsense ponytail.

  Johnny pointed at her with an accusing finger. “You’re in trouble.”

  She tipped her nose in the air. “Why?”

  Johnny strummed his guitar and sang. “Regan Lee should know better but she can’t keep herself from loving the electric man! She craves his fire and most of all his-”

  Regan bent down to get a rock to hurl at him and he danced away, singing outrageous lyrics that made her blush and chase after him. Johnny laughed like a loon while Valerie watched with a wide grin on her face.

  “Not the guitar!” he screeched when Regan dove at him.

  Regan unsnapped his guitar strap and shoved him in the lake. His scream was the most beautiful music she had ever heard. She ambled up to her mom who was slapping the table as she laughed so hard tears dripped from her eyes. She plopped down on the picnic table across from her mom.

  “I want to put your store online,” Regan said.

  Valerie wiped her eyes. “What?”

  “I think if I can broadcast your store I can make you a nice holiday bonus.”

  Valerie eyed her warily. “How much?”

  Regan grinned. “Don’t worry. Leave it all to me.”

  “You vindictive bitch!” Johnny chattered as he stumbled up, shaking convulsively. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  When he tried to grab her she held up his guitar like a shield and he blanched.

  “Don’t play with Baby,” he warned. “You know she’s the secret source of my star power.”

  “Promise you won’t write another song about me?”

  No hesitation. “No deal. I think this new album is going to be my biggest yet.”

  Chapter Nine

  “What are you doing?” Paula asked.

  Regan glanced at her as she draped a table cloth over a chair in direct sunlight and fixed the plate so the pattern popped in the photo.

  “I’m putting together an online store,” Regan said and shushed her out of the way so she could take the picture.

  “A what?” Paula snapped.

  Regan took the plate off the chair and arranged a beautiful tea set she secretly liked but would never admit it since Allison made it. When she glanced at Paula she saw the consternation and irritation on her face.

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “We don’t have time for an online store!”

  “Well, I do. You guys will make a lot more money.” Regan went behind the tripod to take a couple of shots, jostling for the best light.

  “And when you take off again how are we going to continue this online store?”

  She hadn’t thought about that but she didn’t hesitate in answering. “I can show you both how to do it and even if I’m gone I can still help.”

  “How much is this going to cost?” Paula demanded.

  “Nothing.”

  That shut Paula up for the time it took Regan to set up some candles and dishes. She added a branch of autumn leaves and nearly patted herself on the shoulder. Damn she was good.

  “There’s no way it doesn’t cost anything.”

  “I’m taking care of it and believe me, it’s not a lot.”

  “I don’t want you handling this,” Paula said flatly.

  Regan finally stopped and faced Paula. “Why not?”

  “I don’t feel comfortable with you putting a hand in our business.”

  Paula shifted and Regan’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t want me helping you make money or you don’t want me to stay in White Mist?”

  Paula flushed. “I don’t want you meddling in our lives and then taking off again.”

  “If I go or stay isn’t your business,” Regan said firmly and added, “Isn’t it partly your fault I stayed away so long in the first place?”

  Paula looked around hastily but Valerie was in the storage room, rummaging up more items for Regan to take pictures of.

  “I did what was best for Brooks,” Paula said fiercely.

  For a moment Regan did feel a pang of guilt because Paula was right but she didn’t care what was right or wrong anymore. She was staying until the New Year. She promised and she wouldn’t go back on her word. If she decided to leave on New Year’s Day that was her choice. It wasn’t Paula’s responsibility to monitor Brooks’ life. He made his choice and Regan had been making hers too long to be dissuaded by Paula again.

  “I walked away when you tried to pay me off,” Regan said quietly. “I didn’t take the money even though I needed it. I made my own way in life and I left Brooks alone. I’m back and if it’s two days or two weeks that I’m here that’s none of your business. If your son wants me and you think that’s a bad choice you take it up with him. Your business hasn’t been doing well and I’m going to help out not for you but for my mom. You have a husband to fall back on. My mom doesn’t have anyone so I’m going to do what I can. The best thing you could do is stay out of my way.”

  Paula held her gaze for several seconds before she went behind the counter. Regan let out a breath and got back to work. She had shit to do. She would take pictures while her mom gathered product details. She also had to create the website which would take time. For the first time since she arrived she felt a different kind of rush. It was the adrenaline rush of business she gained when she moved up the ranks in Martin Hotels. Her no nonsense approach had gotten her far and she was about to use what she learned for a much better purpose. Instead of making the rich richer she could put a little store in the middle of Montana on the map.

  “Regan?”

  She glanced up distractedly and saw Brooks in her doorway.

  “Hi. I’m busy,” she said.

  Regan continued to type on her computer and wasn’t prepared when he shut her laptop. When she tipped her head up to blast him he grabbed her face and kissed her. Her words of anger died in her throat. She could take a break, right? Just a short one.

  “I’ve been thinking about you all day. Let’s go,” he said hoarsely.

  “Where?”

  “To my house.”

  He would have tugged her out the door but she pulled away and threw some clothes in a duffel along with her laptop. He impatiently took the bag, grabbed her hand and tugged her out of the room. In the living room Holly was babying Johnny. Holly shot her a reproving look which she ignored. Johnny perked up when he saw Brooks.

  “Well, well if it isn’t the electric man,” Johnny said.

  “Electric man?” Brooks echoed, bewildered.

  “Johnny’s handicap,” Regan volunteered.

  “Because you pushed him in the lake!” Holly snapped.

  “He’s alive,” Regan said with a shrug. “You’d shove him in the lake too if he wrote songs about you.”

  Holly softened. “That’s so romantic!”

  Brooks hand tightened on hers and Regan squeezed him back in warning.

  “It’s not like that,” Regan explained. “It’s more l
ike he writes about my biggest mistakes and makes hits out of them.”

  “Is My Hellion Regan Lee?” Holly exclaimed.

  Regan dragged Brooks out of the door and slammed it behind her. Why had she brought Johnny to White Mist? She fumed as Brooks pealed down the street. When he didn’t say a word she glanced at him. He was stiff as a board.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Do you know how close I was to just walking out on my job today? Jesus, all I could think about was having you again.”

  She cleared her throat and smoothed her hair. Hearing his voice get all growly made her instantly hot. “You know what I did?”

  “No.”

  “I went to the store and took pictures of all the merchandise at the shop. I’ve contacted a couple of people I know that decorate homes and hotels and I’ve already sold a few pieces.”

  “That’s good,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “I started the website and made a logo which is a picture our mom’s took the first year they opened the shop.” Her fingers itched to get back to her laptop.

  Brooks pulled into his garage, yanked out her duffel and strode into the house. Brows raised, she followed and let out a yelp when he grabbed her and plopped her on the island in the kitchen. He spread her legs, placed himself within the v of her legs and rubbed himself against her. She gasped when he ripped her shirt down the middle.

  “I just bought that shirt!” she said breathlessly. She wouldn’t tell him she liked it.

  “What else did you do today?” Brooks said more calmly now that he had access to her body.

  While she tried to focus he opened his fly and put on a condom.

  “What did you do?” he repeated.

  She knew he was toying with her so she scooted further back on the counter so he couldn’t push into her and swung her legs.

  “Oh, you know, I had a great talk with your mom, threw Johnny in the lake and waited long enough to get him warm to give him hypothermia but it didn’t work. On top of starting the website I’m planning another way to make him gravely ill so he doesn’t write about me.”

  He grasped her hips and tried to bring her back to the edge but she braced her knees against his lower belly. When his eyes narrowed she raked her nails down his chest. He sucked in a breath and quivered.

  “What did you do today?”

  He palmed her breast. “What?”

  “What did you do today?” she said and slapped his hands away.

  “I have no idea.”

  When he just stared at her body she continued in a chatty tone, “I contacted a friend I know in Scotland. She’s a sucker for glass. When I showed her what my mom had she went crazy and demanded all the wineglasses in the shop!”

  “That’s nice,” he said distractedly and slid a finger into her.

  Regan gasped, tilted her head back and rolled her hips. He groaned and slipped another finger in. She continued to talk, not willing to give into him so easily.

  “By the end of the month I want to double the shops income,” she said raggedly.

  “Are you turned on by me or the business you’re generating?” he asked as he nibbled his way down her neck.

  His fingers twisted and she tugged his body between her legs. “Both.”

  “You want me Regan Lee?”

  “Let me think about it.”

  He bit her at the base of her neck and she moaned.

  “We’re gonna have a lot of fun,” he said, green eyes gleaming.

  In the man she saw the boy she once knew and it lifted her heart. Being with him now erased that horrible Christmas Eve ten years ago. The raw pain on his face when she said no had always haunted her dreams but now she could replace those memories with him like this- alive and euphoric.

  “Tell me you want me,” he growled.

  She nipped his lip. “I want you. Now do me.”

  He smiled as he tested how wet she was and thrust home. They both groaned as he braced his hands on either side of her and began to move. Regan bowed back and heard him murmuring a prayer of thanks and ran a hand from her breasts down to her belly. She absorbed the feelings rushing through her. Excitement, need, euphoria. Because it was Brooks bent over her, breath billowing out of him and hands contracting on her skin her arousal shot to sky high limits.

  Brooks pulled out and she snarled in response as he placed her in the middle of the island and leapt on the cold surface with her. While she cursed at him he placed her legs over his shoulders, lifted her hips onto his thighs and thrust back into her.

  “Oh yeah,” Regan hummed.

  In less than two minutes she grasped fistfuls of his shirt and jerked herself upright so they were face to face. Sweat dribbled down his face and his eyes were dilated with lust. She wrapped a hand around his corded neck and kissed him.

  “I’m almost there,” she gasped.

  “Thank God,” he grunted.

  He speeded up his thrusts and they moved together as they both climaxed. As she went limp her head lolled off the edge of the island and he fell on top of her. They gasped for air and he found the strength to stand, get rid of the condom and pull Regan to the floor. The floor was warm and Regan moaned in appreciation. Brooks played with her hair, an old habit she’d forgotten. Her mind drifted and she realized her mom’s house didn’t have heated floors. She frowned. Her mom’s house was old and needed some work. Maybe she could- Brooks rolled her off him and tugged on her arm. She opened one eye to glare at him.

  “What do you want now?” she griped.

  “I want you in my bed. Now.”

  “Are you taking something?” she said as he lifted her over one shoulder and started for the stairs.

  “This is what happens when I’m around you.”

  “You turn into a walking commercial for Viagra?” Regan chortled.

  He slapped her ass and dumped her on the bed.

  “I must not be doing a good job of wearing you out,” Brooks growled.

  She looked up and blinked in surprise to see him standing in front of her. She was wrapped in his robe which trailed a foot behind her when she walked. The sleeves were rolled up to the elbow so they wouldn’t get in the way as she used her laptop. She was cocooned into the corner of his monstrous couch and as she glanced at the clock she saw it was now three in the morning.

  “What are you doing up? You have to get up for work in a few hours,” she admonished.

  She gathered enough information to know how dangerous his job was. She wasn’t sure how much contact he had with electricity now that he was a supervisor but his job was important and being sleep deprived was something he couldn’t afford.

  “I thought you went home,” he said.

  He lay on the couch and moved her laptop out of the way so he could rest his head on her lap. She made an impatient sound as he got comfortable.

  “I’m not used to you like this,” he murmured.

  “Like what?”

  “Focused on work. You didn’t take anything seriously and you hated the shop.”

  “I grew up.”

  He hummed in the back of his throat as she played with his hair. “I’m glad you’re helping with the shop. They need it.”

  She examined his face. So similar yet… his skin was darker, more weathered. Tiny crow’s feet around his eyes and his lips were the tiniest bit chapped. She rubbed his stubble and his mouth curved.

  “What do you want for Christmas?” he asked.

  “To survive.” He chuckled and she plucked at his hair restlessly. “Brooks, aren’t you afraid history is going to repeat itself?”

  “No.”

  There was no hesitation, no tension in him at all. She stared down at him. He hadn’t even bothered to open his eyes when he answered. He was on the verge of sleep.

  “How are you so sure?” she demanded.

  “I’m not planning on proposing,” he said bluntly.

  Even while his answer sent amusement, hurt and relief through her she slapped his shoulde
r. He opened one eye.

  “What?”

  “See that you don’t.”

  Chapter Ten

  They fell into a routine. Brooks bullied her into spending the night at his house where they performed sexual experiments that left them sleeping like the dead through the night. They drank coffee together in the mornings and he went to work whistling after extracting some kind of sexual favor from her. Regan drove around in his SUV and lended her old Honda to Holly who couldn’t afford to buy a new car.

  Regan spent most of her time at the shop, cataloguing everything and learning about the vendors. Now that Regan was older she could appreciate the hard work Valerie and Paula put into the shop. She wanted to expand Valerie & Paula’s beyond their wildest dreams. She spent days pouring over merchandise, taking pictures and maintaining the website. Paula stayed out of the way although she sent disapproving glances at her throughout the day. Regan showcased all of the holiday merchandise and was thrilled that within hours of getting items online there were purchases being made. Uncle Al visited every now and then and watched over her shoulder as her hands flew over the computer.

  Johnny spent most of his days parading through town with a hoard of women following like puppies. He enjoyed playing in the café across the street and tried his new songs out on the locals who lapped it up, oblivious to the fact that Regan was his muse. Regan refused to listen to the songs but Johnny didn’t mind. He was too caught up in inspiration and lyrics to care about Regan’s snit. Johnny’s agent called him two weeks into his stay and urged him to come back to New York. Johnny obeyed but not without the whole town throwing him a party at the local bar, The Mountain Man. It was Regan and Brooks first outing as a couple. Brooks took it all in stride which made the gossips easier to deal with. Regan saw Kerry across the bar but she kept her distance and Regan was grateful because she had a feeling Brooks would intervene if she tried to brain Kerry with a beer bottle.