Hell on Heels Christmas (14 page)

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

“What?”

“See that you don’t.”

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.

The temperature dropped after Johnny’s departure and before she knew it, Thanksgiving came in a flurry of preparation. Regan watched the shop for three days while Valerie and Paula got ready for
their annual Thanksgiving feast. Regan sat on a stool behind the counter in the shop with her laptop in front of her, selling items steadily online while she had less than five customers come in daily. She had no idea how the shop was still running at all.

As she swung her leg
s and looked out through the front window of the shop she smiled. Christmas tunes were already playing on the radio and although the wind whipped fiercely through town she was snug as a bug, wrapped in the smell of cranberry candles and sugar cookies. She was waiting until Thanksgiving to give her mom her first check from her online sales. If the website continued to do well maybe Valerie and Paula wouldn’t need to pay for their shop. They could stay at home and run their business from a computer.

Regan
closed the shop and walked the same route her mother did every day. It felt strange to literally walk in her mom’s shoes but she felt as if she was making a difference in White Mist and in her mom’s life. She was in a relationship with Brooks and they didn’t talk about the past or the future. They existed only in the present and Regan liked it that way. No pressure, just companionship and pleasure. She lifted her face up to the wind as it swirled around her. She slid her hands deep into her pockets and closed her eyes as she walked. She was… dare she say it? Content. Is this what it felt like? She didn’t feel the need to have everything figured out. She could exist as she was and let time pass her by. She would help her mom with her business, have amazing nights with Brooks and enjoy the holidays. She had a play to go to tonight that Luke and Angel were in. Who would’ve thought she could blend into this life? She approached her mom’s house and paused when she saw the Jeep parked at the curb. As she approached the driver’s door opened and a man stepped out. Regan let out a scream and ran to him.

“Jean-Charles!”

She leapt into his arms and he swung her around. He set her down and they looked at each other. Jean-Charles had a long nose with deep blue eyes and wide lips. He had a naturally arrogant look he wore very well. He was dressed casually in jeans and a trench and she was so happy to see him she had tears in her eyes.

“You’re finally here! Why didn’t you call me?”

He brushed her hair back from her face. “I wanted to surprise you. How are you?”

“Oh. You know,
my usual.”

He took in the simple neighborhood and the casual way she was dressed. “That so? I gotta say, when Johnny told me you seemed happy in a small town I thought he was lying.”

“I promised I’d stay for the holidays.” She kept saying it so panic wouldn’t engulf her. She wasn’t committing to a life here, just two months and she was free to do whatever she wanted after that. “My niece and nephew are in this play and I promised I would go. Want to come? How long are you going to stay?”

He blinked.
“I’m not sure.”

“You have to stay for Thanksgiving. My mom’s making enough for an army.”

JC paused and considered her in silence for several seconds. “You’ve changed.”

“In a bad way?”

He smiled. “No. You going corporate was a shock. I liked your hippy, free bird ways. This is somewhere in between.” He jerked his head at his car. “By the way, Daniel’s assistants put a ridiculous amount of shoes and clothes in my trunk.”

“God, I’ve missed you!”

JC was the only constant in her life for the past ten years. Within days of reaching Europe he’d swept her under his wing and been in the background ever since. He
traveled the world to do exotic photo shoots but he always came back to her. As time passed they saw less of each other but they always reconnected at some point. Seeing him here in White Mist made everything seem so right. He smiled at her as if he could read her thoughts.

JC
grasped her face and kissed her on the mouth. “I love you.”

Regan was suddenly
wrenched out of JC’s hold and thrust behind a broad back covered in a familiar worn leather jacket. She grasped the back of Brooks’ jacket in both hands as he started for Jean-Charles.

“Brooks, no! He’s
a friend.”

Brooks wasn’t listening.
Jean-Charles was staring at Brooks with his head cocked to the side, not the least bit concerned that a guy that outweighed him by eighty pounds of muscle was coming straight at him.

“Brooks? This is the guy you left behind?”
Jean-Charles said tactlessly.

Regan dodged between the two men and faced Brooks. She held up a hand and saw
that Brooks’ eyes were flat and dangerous and his hands were clenched into fists at his sides.

“She left but she’s back and she’s not going anywhere so you can go back to wherever you came from,” Brooks told
Jean-Charles.

“He’s a friend,” Regan
repeated.

Brooks
looked at her and her spine straightened. She knew he would never hurt her but the look on his face was intimidating enough to make her want to back off- slowly. She didn’t. She hadn’t clawed her way to the top by backing down from a fight.

“He said he loves you.”

Brooks’ voice was so gritty Regan could barely understand him.

“Because we’re
friends
,” Regan said, using her fingers for air quotes.

Brooks
’ eyes flicked to Jean-Charles. “You never slept together?”

“We used to,”
Jean-Charles began and let out a shout when Regan stomped on his foot.

Brooks started to push her to the side again so she jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He paused.

“He’s just a friend,” she said.

He stared at her, face set in hard lines. For a moment she thought he was going to push her away but then he leaned forward and kissed her. She smiled against his lips and enthusiastically joined in. One of his hands gripped her ass while the other slid into her hair and gripped, tilting her head to the side. She didn’t hold anything back and felt him relax. When they parted his eyes were heavy lidded with lust. He turned away from
Jean-Charles and walked away with her in his arms.

“Where are you taking her?”
Jean-Charles yelled.

Brooks didn’t answer. Regan waved at
Jean-Charles over his shoulder to reassure him that Brooks wasn’t crazy. When Regan tried to push off Brooks so she could walk he growled and tightened his hold. Neighbors stared and several women giggled as Brooks walked past with her in his arms. Regan smiled reassuringly until her face felt like it might crack.

“Where’s your truck?” she
asked quietly.

“I walked,”
he snapped. “I thought it might be nice for us to walk home together.”

She mentally paused over his use of “home.” She spent almost every night with him
but she still considered Valerie’s house her home. Some nights she took a stand and stayed at her mom’s house so she could work on the website. Brooks wasn’t happy when she sent him away and always insisted on recompense when she came over the following night. She refused to move her things to his house because it seemed too much like moving in and she wouldn’t do that.

“People are going to talk,” Regan hissed.

“I don’t care.”

She ran a hand down his face. He wouldn’t even look at her as he marched back to his house with her as if she
was a naughty child. She didn’t know what to think about what just happened between Brooks and JC. Of course if she caught Brooks with Allison she would want to kick her ass so she couldn’t fault Brooks for the way he was acting now though she did think him carrying her off was a tad bit much.

He
walked up the steps to his house and kicked the door shut with his boot. He set her down and briskly stripped off her coat and boots before boosting her over his shoulder and walking up the stairs to his bedroom. Despite her curses he didn’t break his stride until he dumped her on his bed. Before she could get up he unbuttoned her jeans and pulled off her top.

“Brooks-” she began but his lips silenced her.

She heard him unzip his jeans and then he pushed into her. She gasped and threw her head back, reveling in the feel of him. She moved against him and realized he was fully dressed while she was naked. She opened her eyes and stilled beneath him.

“I saw you kiss him and I wanted to kill him,” he said.

“Jean-Charles is European,” she said and tried to arch against him but he used his weight to pin her.

He cupped her face with
a shaking hand. “No more kissing.”

“That’s how he is!”

She thumped his shoulder as frustration got in the way of their sex session. Did he have to talk about this when he was inside her?

“You don’t understand. I almost ripped his head off. He said he loves you.”

“He’s my best friend.”

She gasped when he bounced on her, a punishing thrust that sent shockwaves of pleasure through her. She dug her nails into his shoulders and leaned up
to bite his lip.

“Brooks, he is just a friend. He’s not the one
in
me,” she said pointedly.

His eyes burned. “He knows how this feels though.” His voice was hoarse with ecstasy and jealousy.

“Jean-Charles and I dated but we’re better off as friends. That’s it. Now, are you going to finish what you started?”

His eyes glinted a moment before he pulled out of her and flipped her onto her stomach and slid in again. Regan moaned and grasped handfuls of
the bed sheets. He buried his face in her hair, warm breath fanning her cheek.

“I can’t let myself think about the others. It kills me,” he whispered.

Regan turned her head. “I’m here now.”

He thrust. “You’ll stay where you are if I have anything to say about it.”

Regan cried out and her forehead touched the bedspread. This position left her completely open to him and he took full advantage. She found herself pushing back against him and his groan of pleasure made her smile. When she felt herself getting close she tightened. In tune with her body to a ridiculous degree, Brooks flipped her onto her back again and kissed her as she came. She screamed into his mouth and he groaned into hers. He slumped on top of her and she ran her foot up and down his jean covered legs. She played with his hair until their breathing calmed. He kissed her neck and raised himself enough to meet her drowsy eyes.

“I love you, Regan. I always have.”

Regan stopped breathing. His mouth quirked and he kissed her still lips and brushed back sweaty strands of her hair.

“So when I say I can’t stand seeing you kiss someone I mean it. I just got you back and I can’t listen to someone else say they love you. No one loves you
as much as I do.” When he got no reaction from her he continued. “These past couple of weeks is exactly how I imagined it would always be between us.”

She swallowed hard and
still didn’t speak. He moved and she was still sensitive so she gasped and clutched his shoulders, trying to keep him still.