by Blue Kincaid
She thought about calling Sheridan – who was gone on a day trip with some friends – to let her know, but decided maybe a note would be better. Her best friend hadn’t been exactly supportive of her decision to not give things a go with Harry. She had no idea when the wild child she’d met five years ago had become a sappy romantic, but she wasn’t in the mood for another lecture. So she scrawled a note, stuck it high on Sheridan’s mirror where Chino couldn’t get to it and chew it up, then went to pack.
And then, while she packed and planned all kinds of things she knew her Brit would love for their time together, he crept in. Harry. Like a devil on her shoulder – or an angel, more like. Looking at her with sad eyes, wondering why she would go be with that guy when she wouldn’t be with him. Didn’t she know Harry was lonely again? Eating all the focaccia alone and watching Roman Holiday by himself and probably working too hard? Didn’t she care?
December grit her teeth and shook her head. No, she wasn’t doing this. She had a life and it was time to get back to it. Time to move on. Harry was special, no way around that, but he wasn’t…
Then she stopped, panties in hand, open suitcase half full. He wasn’t what?
The love of your life? Her inner voice sounded so hopeful. Isn’t he?
She sat down on the edge of the bed, staring down at the champagne colored satin in her hands. The panties she’d worn for Harry, when she’d stalked into his office in nothing but these and some Louboutins.
What was wrong with her? It was business as usual. She was going to Australia, dammit.
She threw the panties into the suitcase and then slammed the top shut, zippering it up. Forget it, whatever she hadn’t packed she could make Charles buy for her when she got there. She grabbed the handle, yanking the suitcase off the bed and went to call a cab. She was not going to be an idiot about this. Harry deserved better. She’d fixed him so he could find better, not so she could keep him herself. He’d get over her and she…well, she’d get back in the swing of things soon. She was sure of it.
Unfortunately, her inner voice and the sulking Harry-angel on her shoulder didn’t seem quite as convinced. And as she sat on the front porch waiting for the cab, December found it impossible to get Harry off her mind.
She found herself wondering if he’d maybe Googled her, like she had him, and if he’d found her Twitter or Instagram accounts. The thought that he might have, might be following them discreetly made her heart pound and she grabbed her phone to check for new followers. None that seemed as if they could be Harry, though.
Still, she snapped a quick selfie, with the caption “Missing the snow here in sunny LA, never thought I’d say that.” Then immediately regretted it because what if it hurt him, what if he knew she meant him and it gave him false hope? So she deleted it, hoping if he followed her, he wouldn’t have seen it yet. She sighed.
She did miss him.
When had that happened? Before she could ponder it, the cab pulled up and she hurried through the tiny front yard to let the cabbie take her bag and put it in the trunk while she climbed in the back.
“Where to, miss?”
“Airport, please.”
The man grinned as he pulled away from the curb. “Goin’ somewhere fun? Or business?”
She hesitated, then shrugged. “Business, mostly.”
“Ah well, can’t always be fun and games, can it?”
No, it couldn’t. Except…it had been with Harry. It’d never felt like work. She’d liked him so much from the beginning and he’d been fun and made her laugh…as kind as Charles was and as earnest, Sydney was not going to be fun. It was going to be work. Five weeks ago, she’d have loved the trip and had fun, drawn Charles out of his stuffy shell and made sure they both enjoyed their impromptu vacation. Now all she wanted to do was get it over with and come back home.
No, scratch that. What she wanted was to go back home. Oh god. When had Harry’s become home?
Just then, her phone buzzed and she glanced down at a text from Sheridan.
Jeremy keeps texting me wanting to know if you’ve changed your mind. Give me an answer so I can shut him up.
While December fretted over what she could say that wouldn’t hurt Harry when Jeremy relayed it to him, the phone buzzed again, also from Sheridan.
Also, he says Harry’s a drunken bear, whatever that means. I think J is drunk too. You’ve driven both our men to become lushes, I hope you’re pleased with yourself, brat.
Tears sprang to December’s eyes immediately, so fast it took her breath away. Not because Harry was drinking – though that wasn’t good – but because… Brat. Harry called her that, had called her that the last night, with love and affection and so much warmth in his voice. And all she could think was she’d give anything to not be going to fucking Australia, but to be flying right back into the ice and snow and Harry’s drafty old house where only his arms could keep her warm.
So why aren’t you?
The truth was… She had no good answer for that at all. Why was she flying to Australia when she didn’t want to, to be with someone she didn’t want or…or love? Why, when Harry was 3000 miles away aching for her to be with him? She was torturing him, and herself, and why? She felt so stupid suddenly.
With shaking hands and blurry vision from the tears she couldn’t seem to stop, she tapped out a quick reply to Sheridan.
Tell him to take the alcohol away from Harry and to get out of there. I don’t want a bunch of frat boys masquerading as grown men hanging around when I show up.
Life as she’d known it no longer existed. Her life was never going to be what it’d been before Harry. She realized that now, so suddenly and so clearly. He’d ruined her for other men, for the life she’d built. But maybe…maybe they could build a new one together.
* * * * *
Harry frowned as suddenly, from the kitchen, he heard Jeremy laugh out loud. He scowled darkly. Some best friend, laughing at a time like this, when Harry’s heart was gone, when his life was over. Where the hell was the rum? He felt a bit like Jack Sparrow in search of his rum stash.
“Harry, we have to go. And you need to sober up.” Suddenly Raphe was there, hauling Harry up – or trying to, the asshole wasn’t nearly as big as Harry. Served him right for doing all that stupid yoga instead of weight training. “Come on, big boy, coffee and some sleep will do you good. We can continue this tomorrow.”
Harry narrowed his eyes, bring the two of Raphe into focus as one. “I’m fine. And coffee and sleep don’t go together anyway, you idiot.” He gave Raphe’s shoulder a push. “Fine, you go. Me an’ Jeremy an’ Bas will – ”
Bas and Jeremy appeared beside Raphe, both shaking their heads. Traitors, the lot of them.
“C’mon, man. Sleep it off and get a fresh start in the morning. You’ll feel better for it.” Bas, this time, trying to pull him up and being the massive Viking jerk he was, he actually managed it, steadying Harry on his feet.
“It’s only eight…and I can sleep till forever an’ it isn’t gonna make a difference.” His face fell, emotions abruptly switching from angry to sad as he remembered why he was getting drunk in the first place. December was gone.
Jeremy hurried ahead as Bas helped Harry up the stairs. “Still, do us all a favor and try. Come on, let’s get you into bed. One of us will come by in the morning to check on you, all right?”
Oh what the hell? What did it matter? Fine, bed then. Maybe he’d forget for a little while. The liquor certainly hadn’t helped. Of course, he was probably fooling himself. He couldn’t escape her in sleep. It was ironic, almost, that he’d tried their last night to leave an impression so strong he would haunt her, when in fact she was the one doing the haunting. Every time he closed his eyes, everywhere he looked. His own house was a mausoleum to what might have been.
And now he sounded like fucking Journey lyrics or something. He decided his friends were right. He needed to get a grip.
So he stopped fighting and started helping them get him in
to his bedroom, managing to kick off his shoes and collapse like a fallen tree into his bed. With pillows that still smelled like December because he’d refused to change them when he’d changed the sheets. He didn’t even care that it was kind of skeevy. He figured he deserved some slack at the moment.
Bas gave him an amused look, shaking his head. “I love you, man. Get some sleep. And just so you know, we’re taking the rest of the alcohol with us, so don’t even think about going down to get another drink. Just get some rest. You’ll need it.”
For a second Harry wondered what Bas meant, then as they left decided he meant to get over December. As if he ever could. It was all he could do to keep himself from getting on a plane and going to beg her. But she’d made her choice and if she was going to change her mind, only she could decide that. He couldn’t force it.
So he rolled over onto his stomach, buried his face in a pillow scented with cinnamon, and fell into a restless sleep filled with dreams of her.
He woke to the insistent ringing of his doorbell along with the faint sound of pounding on his door. His head immediately protested, as did his stomach when he shoved up to sit on the edge of his bed. What the hell was going on?
He stood up, hissing as his cold feet hit the even colder floor, then clumsily made his way downstairs to the continuing din of doorbell and pounding. It had to be one of the guys. Maybe all of them. He was going to be minus a few friends when he finally got down there, that was all he knew.
“God damn sorry bastards, you better have brought back my fucking rum because I – ” He never finished his sentence, never even finished the thought, because he was too busy staring at what he feared might be a drunken hallucination or maybe a memory. Standing on his doorstep in the snow, flakes landing on her dark lashes. “December.”
Please let this not be a dream.
Harry stared at her, still not entirely sure he wasn’t making the whole thing up thanks to all the liquor he’d consumed. “Are you really here?” he asked in a quiet voice, the city silent behind her with the snow and the dark at two am. Where had she come from? All the way from LA?
December nodded. “I’m really here, Harry. And I’m freezing out here. May I come in?”
Harry stepped back from the door. His eyes closed as she passed, her cinnamon scent invading his senses. The faded threads of it lingering on his pillows were a sad replacement for the real thing. His heart pounded – what if she wasn’t here to stay? Maybe she’d forgotten something or…but no. At two a.m. all the way from LA?
He shut the door behind her and leaned back against it. “Hi.”
She smiled up at him. “Hi.” She let out a soft sigh. “Well, you’ve ruined me, Harry.”
He blinked, chest clenching tight. “How?” So she was here to berate him? Maybe this was a nightmare, not a dream. But she was still smiling, which seemed uncharacteristically cruel for December if she was there to rip him apart. What was going on?
She took a step closer to him, into his space, so close he could feel her warmth, could see the fine droplets of melted snowflakes lacing her hair. “I thought I could turn around when our time was done and go home, Harry. Go back to my life, back to my world. Back to work.” She shook her head. “Home. That’s not LA anymore. And as for my job, well… I couldn’t even get on the plane, Harry.”
It took a few seconds for him to understand. She couldn’t get on the plane. She had been planning to go see someone else. His heart ached at the thought. But she couldn’t go. She came here instead. Hope bloomed in his chest. “You got on one to come here, though.”
December nodded, peeling off her gloves one by one. He couldn’t help but watch, the slow reveal of any part of her was erotic to him. “That’s what I’m saying, Harry. You’ve ruined me. So, I guess…I guess that means you’re kind of stuck with me.”
It was as if every knot in every muscle, every worry that’d been eating him alive ever since he’d woken up in that motel alone in Kentucky…it was all gone. He grinned, one arm snaking out around her waist and hauling her up against his chest. She slid her arms around his neck.
“So what you’re saying is…”
“I love you, Harry.”
The words took his breath away. He pressed his forehead to hers, eyes closed for a minute. “Say that again.”
Her lips brushed his own. “I love you, Harry. And you have my consent.”
His chest tightened with emotion. Her consent. Because like he’d told her from the first night on – nothing happened without her consent. He took her lips in a slow, deep kiss, one that left them both breathless when it broke. His eyes opened and their gazes locked. “You’re mine.” There was no question mark on that declaration.
“I am. Maybe I’ve always been.” She smiled then, teeth nipping his lower lip. “I’ll have you know I have precisely zero marketable skills. I’m not very good at anything.”
Harry shook his head, nuzzling her mouth. “Not true. Besides, the one thing missing from my life is not someone with a stable career and a 401k.”
“No?” she teased, leaning into him. “What is?”
“You.”
December met his eyes in the shadowed entryway, one hand coming up to press against his cheek. “Not anymore.”
End.
Enjoyed this book? If so, keep reading for an exclusive excerpt from the next book in the Twisted & Tied series – Taming Drew, coming March 2014!
Taming Drew-Twisted & Tied Book 2
Coming March 2014
Chapter One
“Harry, she’s here.” Bas leaned back against the wall of the club, eyes locked on the delicate little blonde across the room.
“Who’s where?” His best friend Harry, on the other end of the phone, sounded distracted.
“I don’t know her name. I’m at the club.” Twisted & Tied, the premier BDSM club in Washington DC, of which both he and Harry were long time members. Though Harry didn’t frequent the club much anymore, not since he’d fallen head over heels and spent his days and nights worshipping the love of his life, December. “I told you about her a few months ago, when she was here before. She’s with Chad again.”
From the inhaled breath on the other end, that got Harry’s attention. Chad Gordon was trouble, in more ways than one, and Harry knew that on a more personal level than most anyone. “I remember now. How do you know it’s the same girl?”
Bas couldn’t help but smile watching the girl look around curiously, the way she seemed torn between staring at her surroundings and not wanting to get caught doing so. “Oh, believe me, I know it’s her. She’s…there’s something about her, Harry.”
Harry’s silence spoke volumes. Bas sighed. “Don’t use that tone with me,” he joked. “I’m going to buy her.”
“You’re what?”
“You might have forgotten, being as you have your dick on a leash that December holds tight to, but tonight is the annual Sub Auction. She’s got a number pinned on her so she’s been listed. The plan is probably for asshole to buy her, some kind of game they’re playing with each other – a role-play, but I’m going to buy her instead. And I’m going to keep her.”
“I’ll tell you what you told me once, Bas. She’s not a stray puppy. Be careful. Especially where he’s concerned.” Harry chuckled then. “And by the way, my dick’s not on a leash…right now December is. Gotta go. Let me know what happens.”
Bas lowered the phone and tucked it away, never looking away from the girl. She looked much the same as she had four months earlier. He’d been drawn to her then, too. With her big dark eyes and wild blonde curls falling to her waist and the sense of insatiable curiosity she gave off. She’d disappeared on the arm of that son of a bitch Chad Gordon before Bas could find out so much as her name. Not again. Not tonight. He wasn’t going to watch that sorry excuse for a Dom ruin anyone else’s life.
She was going to belong to him, signed sealed delivered, before the night was over.
* * * * *
Drew
Minola side-stepped a pretty young man crawling along behind his Master. Her eyes widened and her cheeks grew hot when the leashed man caught her eye as he passed and gave her a salacious wink.
Beside her, Chad chuckled and slid his arm around her waist. “Don’t worry, princess, I’ll protect you.”
Drew wasn’t sure she needed any protection. Everyone seemed very…normal. Besides the whole crawling and collars and people on leashes, anyway. It was exciting, not scary, but Chad seemed to think she was afraid so she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. He seemed very invested in being her ‘protector’ tonight. Which she understood after the last time he’d brought her here and she’d basically made an idiot of herself.
She shook off the memories of that visit to the club, determined to make this a much more successful outing. So she smiled at him and nodded. “Thank you. So…you’re sure no one else is going to bid on me? How do you know?” When he’d first mentioned the auction and asked if she’d like to try the club again and participate, Drew thought it’d sounded incredibly exciting. The idea of putting herself up ‘for sale’, maybe a sexy stranger buying her. Having to do whatever they wanted…
But Chad told her that wasn’t how it worked. That the auctions were mostly show, a game for couples to play and he’d make sure no one but him bought her. Part of her was a teeny bit disappointed, but Chad was nice and she’d decided that she was definitely going to let him try some of the stuff she’d read about – bondage and spankings and things like that. He’d been pushing for them to go that next step for a while, and tonight seemed like it’d be the right time to do so.
“I’m sure, don’t worry. I already talked to the guy hosting the auction. He knows you’re mine.”
Drew didn’t know why she bristled at that. She knew he didn’t mean it like it sounded. They were far too casual an item for that. Not like some of the other people here, who clearly did belong to one another. She was just curious, that’s all. She had no intention of being anyone’s slave, and certainly not Chad’s. But playing at it would be fun, she thought.