Wrapped in black the ori.., p.10
Wrapped In Black (The Original Sinners Christmas Stories),
p.10
“I’ll tell Nora to pony up for your birthday next time she’s here.”
“Then I’ll see you in December.”
“I’d give you a hug goodbye until then, but I know—”
He stepped forward and took her in his arms. She was so surprised by the hug she almost forgot what to do. Then she remembered, and she wrapped her arms around his back and patted it like she was the grandfather and he the grandchild.
It was a short hug but sweet. He turned, walked out, and got on his motorcycle.
She stood in the doorway. “You’re a good hugger, Granddad.”
“And you’re an excellent therapist. Five stars.”
With that, he put on his helmet, turned the key to the engine, kicked up the kickstand, and rode away.
She had a feeling she’d never see him again.
Too bad. Mr. S really did give good hugs.
In the old days, Kingsley couldn’t have told anyone what eight-thirty in the morning looked like. He thought of that time as B.C.—Before Céleste. Now he’d been up for an hour, and Juliette even longer. Breakfast was over, and he and Céleste were in the back yard. Although it was a cool sixty degrees that morning, she’d wanted to swing. So he’d bundled her into her shoes and her coat, and here he was, pushing his daughter on her swing set, laughing as she squealed every time she went a little higher, a little higher.
Even in these happiest moments, melancholy threatened. He’d never gotten to do this with Nico. Did Nico even have a swing set growing up? They probably had a tire swing or a thick rope tied to a sturdy tree branch. His son had a good childhood, Kingsley reminded himself. Even if he wasn’t a part of it. And though it hurt to admit it, even if only to himself, that if he’d been a part of it, it probably wouldn’t have been so good.
“Higher?” he asked Céleste when he caught her in the swing and held her suspended in his arms. She loved when he did that—grabbing her on the upswing and letting her feel the gravity before he let her go again.
“Can we do water balloons?”
The non-sequiturs that came out of his child’s mouth never ceased to surprise, amuse, and confuse him.
“Water balloons are for summer, not for January.”
She was about to argue when Kingsley heard a voice behind him.
“Can I push?”
Kingsley pulled Céleste off the seat of the swing immediately and turned around, twisting her away from danger, if there was danger. His old instincts always lurked under the surface, no matter how relaxed he might seem.
He stared across the yard to the gate in the back fence, the one Nora always used when she came and went from the house.
Nico was standing there. Only fifteen feet away. Nico. Standing there. Nico was in jeans, a dark jacket, a black weekender bag over his shoulder. He looked healthy but tired. He looked like a man who’d had a long but very good night.
Nico. And Nora, too. She stepped in after him, looking sheepish in her tan wool coat and black boots. So this was Søren’s “gift” to Nora—a visit from Nico.
He was too shocked to say anything but, “What are you doing here?”
“I was in town. I have to go to the airport soon, but I had time to stop in for a few minutes. Bonjour, Céleste,” he said, smiling. “You remember me?”
Shyly she shook her head. She didn’t have much long-term memory for faces at her age.
He swallowed. “That’s Nico,” Kingsley said. His heart was lodged like a rock in his throat. “That’s your brother. Can you say hello?”
She gave the tiniest little wave.
Nico started forward. Juliette came out onto the back patio. She gasped, smiled.
“It’s good to see you,” Juliette said. “What a surprise.”
“Nice to see you, always,” Nico said, unfailingly polite to Juliette. Not nearly as polite to Kingsley.
“I have a client who needs me this morning,” Nora said. “Can you take Nico to the airport?”
“Can I go?” Céleste said.
“We’ll all go,” Juliette said. She came to Kingsley and took Céleste out of his arms. “Come in and have some breakfast if you have time, Nico. I’ll pour some coffee.” She left them alone. Alone but for Nora. This was a good gift for their game. He knew giving up even an hour with Nico had to have hurt her. And it certainly hurt Kingsley to know Nico had been one street away all night, and his son hadn’t told him. But no regrets. He would take what he could get, including the pain.
Kingsley looked at Nora. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “Merry Christmas, King.” She took Nico’s arm and kissed him on the cheek. “See you soon.” She said something in his ear, some private whisper. Nico smiled and nodded.
Then she turned and was gone.
“You didn’t have to give up your time with her for me,” Kingsley said to his son.
Nico walked slowly toward him, shrugged. “I wanted to see Céleste.”
“She’ll remember you when she gets older. You can spend a little time with her before we go.”
Nico looked past him at the house. He seemed to be working up the courage to say something. Probably, This is the last time we are going to meet. I’ve decided I don’t need or want you in my life at all. Stop trying to replace my real father…
“I have a meeting in New York with some investors today. Would you go over their prospectus with me, so I know what I’m getting into?”
Kingsley couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He would have given Nico an arm, a leg, and a kidney if he’d asked for it.
“Of course. Come inside.”
Nico walked up to him, and together they went to the French doors that led to Kingsley’s office. Kingsley opened them for Nico. Nico paused, studied the floor before finally meeting his eyes.
“I’m sorry I forgot to call on Christmas.”
“It’s fine. You’re busy at home. We know that.”
“Joyeux Noël, a little late,” Nico said.
“Better late than never.”
He followed Nico inside.
Next year, they were definitely playing the game again.
Nora heard the tell-tale purr of a classic Ducati engine outside her kitchen in the alley behind her house. She had just finished cleaning up the mess she and Nico had made. Good timing.
She went out and met Søren in her back garden.
“So, how did it go?” she asked with a nervous smile. “Did you absolutely hate it?”
“You owe Lucky two-hundred dollars.”
Nora’s eyes widened. “You made it a whole hour?” She was so happy she threw her arms around him and kissed him on the mouth.
“One of the longest hours of my life,” he said after she stepped back, but he did seem relaxed. Or as relaxed as Søren ever got with his clothes on. “But not universally awful.”
“Did she do the leg pull and shake?“
“Why does that feel so good?” he asked, his voice hushed with awe and wonder.
“I have no idea. Probably Voodoo. Are you mad at me?”
“For forcing me into an uncomfortable situation that I did not ask for? I should be.”
She crossed her arms, met his eyes. “Seriously, are you pissed at me?”
He touched her cheek. “No. It was…nice. Enough.”
He pointed at her nose. “Never do it again.”
“Yes, sir.” She rose up on her toes and kissed him again. “Come in. I’ll make you breakfast. A good massage always makes me hungry.” Nora wasn’t the world’s greatest cook, but she’d learned how to make kick-ass French toast from Nico. She’d joked that they probably just called it “toast” in France. No, he told her, it was called pain perdu—lost bread. Only the French, she’d said, could make French toast sound bleak.
He glanced at the back door. Nora knew what that look meant.
“He’s gone. He’s at King’s house.”
“Really? That’s…surprising. Isn’t it? Your orders?”
She raised her hands. “Nico’s idea, believe it or not.”
“Even more surprising. Kingsley will be thrilled.”
“As they say—Christmas comes but once a year. Luckily, I’m not Christmas.”
No, she came at least three times last night alone.
“Breakfast sounds very nice.”
They went into her kitchen. Both of them had slept with someone else the night before, and yet as soon as she and Søren were together again, back in her kitchen again—he made the coffee, she started breakfast—it was like they were an old married couple once more. Contented. Happy. Comfortable.
“You think we should play the game again next year?” Nora asked as she took the plates from the cabinet. Søren poured two cups of coffee.
“I prefer our traditional Christmas celebration, actually,” he said, leaning back against the counter, cup of coffee in his hand.
“Right, right,” she said. “Sodomy under the Christmas tree. Noted.”
He lifted his cup in a salute. “Yes, and a priest can never have too many pairs of black socks.”
THE END.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
About the Author
Tiffany Reisz is the USA Today bestselling author of the Romance Writers of America RITA®-winning Original Sinners series.
Her erotic fantasy The Red—the first entry in the Godwicks series, self-published under the banner 8th Circle Press—was named an NPR Best Book of the Year and a Goodreads Best Romance of the Month.
Tiffany lives in Kentucky with her husband, author Andrew Shaffer, and two cats. The cats are not writers.
Subscribe to the Tiffany Reisz email newsletter to stay up-to-date with new releases, ebook discounts, and signed books:
www.tiffanyreisz.com/mailing-list
This FREE ebook sampler features excerpts from seven Original Sinners Pulp Library titles. Download at www.tiffanyreisz.com or wherever ebooks are sold.
The Mistress Files collects five of Mistress Nora’s favorite client stories from Kingsley’s files, from a rock star with a secret to a male “switch” with an itch for more than just pain.
Previously released as two separate novellas, Immersed In Pleasure and Submit To Desire are now available in one book.
You’re invited to New York City’s hottest dating event: Kingsley Edge’s annual King’s Trust Charity Auction. This novella features Daniel from The Gift/Seven Day Loan, the very first Original Sinners publication.
More Books by Tiffany Reisz
The Original Sinners Pulp Library
THE AUCTION
IMMERSED IN PLEASURE/SUBMIT TO DESIRE
THE LAST GOOD KNIGHT
LITTLE RED RIDING CROP: ADULT TOY STORIES
MISCHIEF: A HALLOWEEN NOVELLA
THE MISTRESS FILES
Full-length Original Sinners Novels
THE SIREN (Book #1)
THE ANGEL (Book #2)
THE PRINCE (Book #3)
THE MISTRESS (Book #4)
THE SAINT (Book #5)
THE KING (Book #6)
THE VIRGIN (Book #7)
THE QUEEN (Book #8)
THE PRIEST (Book #9)
The Original Sinners — The Chateau
THE CHATEAU (Book #1)
THE RETURN (Book #2)
The Original Sinners — Stories
THE GIFT (previously published as SEVEN DAY LOAN)*
A MIDWINTER NIGHT’S DREAM
PICTURE PERFECT COWBOY: A WESTERN ROMANCE
SOMETHING NICE*
A WINTER SYMPHONY: THE MISTRESS EPILOGUE
The Original Sinners — Collections
THE CONFESSIONS: COMPANION TO THE QUEEN
MICHAEL’S WINGS: COMPANION TO THE ANGEL
WINTER TALES: A CHRISTMAS ANTHOLOGY
Gothic Romances
THE BOURBON THIEF
THE HEADMASTER*
THE LUCKY ONES
THE NIGHT MARK
The Godwicks
THE PEARL
THE RED
THE ROSE
Men At Work
HER HALLOWEEN TREAT
HER NAUGHTY HOLIDAY
IAN’S FORBIDDEN DREAM GIRL*
ONE HOT DECEMBER
Cosmo Red-Hot Reads
MISBEHAVING*
SEIZE THE NIGHT**
* ebook only
** out of print
Tiffany Reisz, Wrapped In Black (The Original Sinners Christmas Stories)
