Her Secret Santa Read online

  And then hoped she could make true.

  * * *

  EDDIE ORDERED pizza and beer, then bribed Sam over to help him add some patio stones to the backyard. They devoured the pizza and were still laying the stones when a knock came at the door.

  “It’s probably Sara,” Sam said, groaning as he got off his knees. “She said she might come by with dessert. I’ll get her.”

  Eddie set another stone before Sam came back with a funny look on his face. “Well?” Eddie asked. “Did she bring dessert?”

  “Yeah, man. I think so.” Then Sam did the oddest thing. He grinned broadly, slapped Eddie on the shoulder, grabbed his keys, and headed out. “Set your alarm. We have an eight o’clock morning shift, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a late one for ya.”

  And then, still chortling, he was gone.

  What the hell? Eddie straightened, stretched his aching back and moved into the living room, then stopped short.

  Ally stood there, wearing a hot little black dress, emphasis on the little, and four inch heels, showing a lot of skin and nerves. He just about staggered. He put a hand to his heart, checking to see if it had stopped. Because it sure looked as if he’d died and gone to heaven.

  “Hey,” she said softly, a little uncertain. “You said late was okay, so…”

  Because his voice suddenly failed him, he nodded.

  She took a deep breath, then reached down and did something that started his heart again, as if he’d been jolted with 220 volts. She ran her hands up her right thigh, bringing up the already heart-stopping hem of the dress even farther, revealing…ah, Christ…a holster.

  She was armed.

  “I’m going to have to ask you to turn away from me,” she said in a soft but authoritative voice. “Spread ’em, and place your hands on the wall.”

  His jaw hit the floor.

  “I only want to ask you a few questions, and as long as you cooperate, I won’t have to get rough.”

  Already hard as a rock, he turned to the wall, put his hands flat on the plaster texture. He felt her come up behind him and put her hands on his hips. Her breasts brushed his back and he closed his eyes, loving the feel of her.

  “Did you mean it?” she whispered against the nape of his neck, leaving her lips on him, slowly gliding them back and forth across his heated flesh as her fingers slid beneath the hem of his T-shirt.

  “I meant it,” he said gruffly. “I love you, Ally.”

  He could hear her breathing, a little too quickly, and he felt as if he could feel her heart pounding through her chest and into his back.

  “What were your plans?” She ran her fingers over his abs, which appeared to make her breathe even faster. “Eddie?”

  He was having trouble thinking. “Plans?”

  “With me,” she clarified.

  “I’m going to lick every inch of you until you’re screaming my name.” He set his forehead to the wall. She was no longer the only one panting for air. “And then I’m going to—”

  “No.” She pressed her lips to his shoulder and let out a shaky laugh. “I meant with us. After…this.”

  He tried to turn to face her, but she tightened her grip on him, silently asking him to stay still.

  Her fingers drifted up and down his abs and chest beneath his shirt, over his nipples, then down, playing with the buttons on his Levi’s, making him groan out her name. “My plans are to love you for as long as you’ll let me,” he managed to say, his voice low and raspy even to his own ears. When she lightly stroked a finger over his button-fly, his knees nearly buckled. “I want to be with you,” he said. “See where this goes.”

  Needing to see her reaction, he turned to face her.

  She stared at him, then once again reached beneath her dress. She removed the holster and set it aside. Then in one fluid motion, she pulled the dress off, leaving her in nothing but—

  “Just the lip gloss.”

  His greatest fantasy.

  She drew a shaky breath. “I love you back, Eddie. And I want to be with you. To see where this thing goes. But I hope to God it’s going to the bedroom at the moment. I wasn’t sure because you never did finish telling me about your fantasy…”

  He felt the wide grin split his face just as love for her split his heart. In one step, he had her against him, in his arms. “You’re the rest of my fantasy,” he told her. “Just you.”

  * * * * *

  If you enjoyed reading this story,

  then you will love

  ONE HOT DECEMBER

  by international bestselling author

  TIFFANY REISZ

  Never mess with a woman who carries a blowtorch in her backpack. Welder and artist Veronica “Flash” Redding’s playful sense of evil sometimes gets the better of her. Like when her insanely handsome, wealthy, suited-up boss gave her the most sensuously wicked night of her life…then dumped her. Yep, revenge is a dish best served hot.

  Only Ian Asher isn’t letting Flash get away quite so easily. He’s not ready to forget the intensity between them. The searing heat when they touch. And the deliciously demanding control Ian wields in the bedroom. Now he has only the holidays to convince Flash that they belong together…and that even the most exquisite, broken things can be welded back together.

  Don’t miss ONE HOT DECEMBER

  by Tiffany Reisz,

  available now wherever

  Harlequin® Blaze® ebooks are sold.

  www.Harlequin.com

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  One Hot December, Tiffany Reisz

  Read on for a sneak peak of Tiffany Reisz’s ultra-hot holiday story, ONE HOT DECEMBER, part of her Men at Work trilogy for Harlequin Blaze!

  CHAPTER 1

  VERONICA “FLASH” REDDING slammed her locker door shut for the last time. She pulled on her leather bomber jacket and popped her collar to hide the red welt on the side of her neck. Trading her steel-toed work boots for bright red Pumas, she put the boots in her backpack, slung her backpack over her shoulder and took a quick steadying breath. She could do this. More importantly, she had to do this. She would have told herself to “man up” but with the way the men in her life were behaving lately, manning up would be a step down. She’d have to woman up instead.

  She found her boss, Ian Asher, standing behind his desk, poring over a set of blueprints for their next construction project—a small and desperately needed medical clinic in the rural Mount Hood area. A handsome thirtysomething black man stood next to him—had to be Drew, their recently hired project manager. She listened as he listed off changes they’d have to make to comply with new building regulations that might pass the Oregon legislature next year. Flash stood in the doorway while she waited for them to acknowledge her existence. Considering how good Ian had gotten at ignoring her, this might take a while.

  “What if these regs don’t pass?” Drew asked Ian. “You really want to redo the whole plan to comply with building codes that aren’t even on the books yet?”

  “They’ll be on the books,” Ian replied.

  “You sure?”

  “He’s sure,” Flash said from the doorway.

  Ian glanced up from the blueprints and glared at her.

  “Flash, how can we help you?” Ian asked. He did not look happy to see her.

  “Our boss’s dad is a state senator,” Flash said, ignoring Ian to speak to Drew. “That’s how he knows the codes will probably pass.”

  “If we don’t build it to the new codes and they go through, then we’ll have to retrofit it next year,” Ian said. “We’re going to do it right the first time. And my father has nothing to do with it.”

  “What’s the deal with all the new regs, anyway?” Drew asked. “Four bolts per step? And that’s a lot of steel reinforcements for a one-story medical clinic.”

  “You moved here from the east coast, right?” Flash asked.

  “DC,” Drew said. “Why?”

  “You