Page 5 of Miss Merry and Mr. Bright
He huffs and then leads me through the dark corridors of the huge house, barely giving me a chance to see the dark, victorian furniture and the closed-off rooms.
Taking a deep breath, I fight the urge to run screaming into the night. I need this job.
I eye the big brute with the surly look in his pale blue eyes. I think he needs me too.
I’m going to give him the best holiday he’s ever had. Before I leave he’s gonna wish he never had to tell me good-bye.
My chest aches and I reach up to rub it lightly, frowning. No way am I gonna miss this place. I’ll be ready to move on when the time comes.
But my eyes drag back to him when he leaves me at the door with a faint nod of his dark, messy head.
And that pain in my chest aches like a mother. Sighing, I turn into the room and groan. Dark and stuffy.
He’s definitely got a theme.
3
SHE’S DRIVING ME CRAZY…SO WHY THE HECK DO I LIKE IT SO MUCH?
JASPER BRIGHT
Ieye the window and groan when I see the sun starting to slip down and kiss the ground. Streaks of red and orange paint the last strip of daylight.
“Where the hell is she?”
She left hours ago. Yet I can still smell her all around me. The faint trace of soft florals and oranges kisses the air gently. Every time I breathe I could swear she’s right behind me and it’s really starting to mess with my fucking head.
Peaches grumbles at me from her little dog bed by the wall. She shivers and I can feel the faint bite of frost on the air. I need to turn the heat back up. Usually when I’m working I turn the heat down. I feel like it helps my creativity but it’s not doing a damn thing for me now except point out that it’s fucking cold out there and she’s not back yet.
She doesn’t know Starlight Bay. She could be lost on some dead-end road and freezing to death while I’m standing here. She could have run off with some asshole who’s smiling ather because she’s so damn cute when she starts talking about Christmas that he can’t resist stealing her away.
Shaking my whole body, I growl. She’s not that cute. I mean, her hair is long and kinda flat-looking. The color is so mousy that it barely looks brown. It’s just plain. And her eyes are colorless and gray. She’s pale and there are little tiny freckles on her pert little nose.
She’s no beauty. Her full lips are too wide and rosy-pink. Her cheeks are a little too pale. She’s so tiny and she’s got a lot of curve for such a little woman. Wide hips, soft thighs, narrow waist that curves in and would be perfect for a man’s hands.
My dick jerks in my soft jeans and I straighten with a soft curse.
“I don’t need this shit. I’ve got shit to do.” Peaches yips and her little head comes up as she eyes me carefully with her melty brown eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I know. We don’t need her. She’s just a problem that needs fixing.”
But my heart bangs against my ribs when I hear a car pull up outside and then something hits the door with a loud thump.
“What the hell?” I mutter, stalking back out to open the damn door. The door isn’t locked. Why isn’t she coming in?
Unless it’s the police to tell me that she’s hurt or in the hospital. Breathless, I yank the door open and grunt when she looks up at me with a huge smile.
“Thank heavens! I could use a little help.” I glance behind her and see that the back seat of her little car is stacked high with bright, shiny holiday crap.
“Oh fuck,” I groan, tilting my head back. “You weren’t kidding about the decorating.”
“Nope,” she huffs, grabbing a bag and dragging it across the doorstep.
Dragging in a steadying breath, I head out to the car to grab as much as I can haul in at once. “I cannot believe you found this much stuff here in town.”
She grins as she passes me by to grab more bags and boxes. “Yep. There’s this little place called Bay Boutique and when I talked to her she helped me find almost everything I wanted.”
Aghast, I stop in my tracks and stare at her. “Are you trying to tell me that you wanted more than this?”
She giggles and my dick jerks. Dammit! Why is she fucking cute?
