Ghosts of Christmas Passion Read online

  “Scott…” She moaned and leaned her head against the door.

  “No man will touch you, Toni. You’re ours only. That man in the bank should have his head ripped off for thinking those things about you.” He rammed into her, biting her nipple through the dress. “I think I’ll pay him a visit tonight. I’m still furious.” He pumped into her. “Wrap your legs around me,” he grumbled as he lowered his head, then nipped her lip.

  Toni wrapped her legs and arms around him as he sucked her neck.

  “Hello? Anyone home? Toni, you here, girl?” her best friend, Mandy, yelled from downstairs, and Toni groaned. She had forgotten that Mandy was coming over. Talk about a quickie. Scott never batted an eye or released her as he loved her banging against the door.

  “Scott, move. I’ll be down in a minute,” she called, then moaned as his cock hit the right spot, sending her over as he released his seed into her.

  He growled and lowered her legs to the floor, then straightened her dress. “Did you forget to tell us we were having company?” He smacked her ass and opened the door, then pushed her into the hall.

  Toni stopped walking and reached up to her hair, moaning. “Damn it, Scott. I must look like I just got fucked, not to mentioned I know I smell like it.” She had turned to run into the bathroom, when her hair was put back into her braid. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.” She smiled and kissed Drake and Scott. “Now behave. She’s my best friend and drove all the way up here to spend a couple of hours with me.”

  They both groaned and she laughed, taking off down the stairs and running straight into Mandy. “Hi!” She laughed again, glancing behind her as both men came down the stairs with promises of paybacks later.

  Mandy looked up at them as they stepped up next to Toni, each grabbing one of her hands. Toni sighed. How the hell was she going to explain this? “Mandy, I’d like you to meet Scott.” She lifted his hand. “And his brother, Drake.” She nodded to him. “Guys, this is my best friend, Mandy Roth. We’ve been friends since I was about four. She lives on the other side of town.”

  Mandy raised her eyebrows. “And they are who? Do they live here with you?”

  Toni had never lied to her best friend, and she wasn’t about to start. “Okay, this is going to sound crazy, and no, I’m not nuts. They’re my husbands, at least according to their customs. We got married in their way last night.” She walked into the kitchen and began making coffee. Both Drake and Scott had followed her and were now leaning against the counter, watching Mandy.

  “Okay, if this is a joke, you got me. Now give.” Mandy laughed, glancing at Scott, then at Drake.

  Toni shook her head and smiled at her. “No, Mandy. It’s not a joke. You’re my best friend, and I’ve always told you the truth, but you can never repeat what I’m about to say. They’ll lock you up for sure in the loony bin. Believe me, I’ve already thought of committing myself.” She laughed, glancing at Drake. “Show her something so she knows I’m not nuts.” Toni nodded to Mandy.

  Drake smiled and nodded. “We do this for you.” He disappeared.

  Mandy gasped, then screamed as she was lifted into unseen arms. She glanced at Toni in shock and fear.

  “Okay, Drake. You made your point. You’re scaring Mandy. You didn’t have to pick her up. How would you like it if one of your friends picked me up like that?” She placed her hands on her hips and frowned at him. What the hell? She was actually jealous. Wow, she had it bad.

  Scott growled as Drake put Mandy down and appeared next to Toni. “We’d rearrange his face,” Drake grumped. “You’re the one who wanted me to show her what we can do.”

  “Yeah, but that didn’t mean touching her,” she snapped and stepped back as they both smiled and moved toward her.

  “Our wife is jealous. How precious,” Scott purred and kissed her neck as Drake ran his hand down her arm.

  “Guys, we have company here.” Toni sighed and laughed as she pushed away from them. “You okay, Mandy?”

  Mandy busted out laughing. “Oh, this is too much! Only you would be lucky enough to get two men, or whatever they are. But I’m warning them now. They might be able to disappear or do whatever they can do, but they better not hurt you like that jackass Hank did.” She glared at both of them. “I know how to use a knife.” Mandy glanced at their crotches and both men cringed.

  Toni burst laughing and pulled Mandy into her arms. “Mandy, they are part gods,” she whispered in her ear.

  Mandy jumped back. “You mean I just threatened… Oh, I’m so going to hell.” She plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs.

  Drake and Scott laughed, walking over to the table and sitting down by her. “Relax, Mandy we don’t bite, unless it’s Toni, and we plan to bite her a lot.” Drake wiggled his eyebrows at Toni.

  Toni rolled her eyes at Mandy, who laughed. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about Hank hurting you like last time. With these two guys here, Hank won’t stand a chance if he shows up.”

  “Oh man, did you have to bring up the biggest mistake of my life? Now, we were going hunting for a Christmas tree. Want to come? We can make a big lunch afterward, just like old times.”

  “Well then, let’s go. Oh, I forgot to tell you. Mark and Clarissa send their love and they want you to stop by on Christmas Day. Clarissa has made her aunt Toni a present,” Mandy teased as they grabbed their coats. Drake and Scott took them from their hands and helped put them on.

  “Okay, now I know you’re lucky. Gentlemen too, in this day and age! Make sure you bring the two studs with you. Maybe Mark will pick up some pointers.”

  “We go everywhere she goes, and we’d be happy to stop by on Christmas Day. We won’t be able to stay too long, though, because our parents are coming over. If you want, why don’t the three of you come here? Toni has a big fat turkey she bought and there will be plenty of food.” Scott wrapped his arm around Toni’s waist and kissed her nose.

  Scott looked directly at Mandy. “Tell me something. Was Toni always prone to tripping? I swear, all Drake and I do is prevent her from falling on her nice ass.”

  Mandy stopped and glanced at all three of them, grinning. “You should have seen her as a kid. She had so many black-and-blue marks her father wanted to wrap her up in cotton,” she teased.

  “Hey, you’re supposed to be my best friend, not telling them things like that. They

  already refuse to let me do anything by myself,” she grumbled.

  At the sound of crunching gravel, Toni glanced down the long driveway and saw a familiar truck barreling toward them. “See? You jinxed it. Damn it, I don’t need this now.”

  “Shit, he got here fast. He must have driven all night.” Mandy glared at the truck as it slid to a halt.

  Drake and Scott moved in front of them and crossed their arms over their chests. “Not a word, Toni, if you don’t want to see this human dead. We’ll handle this.” Drake glared back at her.

  She held up her hands. “Hey, you can handle him all you want. I’m done.”

  Hank stepped out of the truck, glaring at the four of them as he approached.

  Scott stepped forward, stopping his advancement. “That’s far enough. You are not wanted here, so I suggest you turn right around and head back from whatever rock you climbed out from under,” he snapped.

  “This is none of your business. It’s between me and Toni.” He tried to push Scott out of the way to get to her.

  Toni stepped back, grabbing on to Mandy’s arm.

  “You have no business with my wife, and this is private property, so bug off, little man.” Drake grabbed Hank by the neck and threw him toward his truck. “I won’t warn you again. If you call her or even come near her again, I’ll destroy you.”

  “What? She can’t be married. She just moved here.” Hank glared at her. “So you were screwing around on me, you stupid slut. I should have known it when you refused to let me touch you. Did it start last year after your punishment?” he spat. He stood back up, brushing the
snow off himself.

  Scott and Drake moved forward, growling. “One!” Drake counted as they advanced.

  Hank opened the truck door and jumped in. “You can have her. There are plenty of rich bitches out there.” He slammed the truck door and gunned the engine, still glaring at Toni.

  Mandy wrapped her arms around her and hugged her. “Okay, what the hell was he talking about? Punishment? Did he hurt you, Toni? Because I swear I’ll hunt him down and skin him.” She shook her.

  Toni smiled and patted her friend’s arm. “It was over a year ago, Mandy, and I’d like to just forget about it, okay? Now let’s get our tree and forget that worm ever showed up.” She stepped out of Mandy’s hug and turned toward the woods and her foot slipped on a piece of ice. She grabbed for Mandy and they tumbled to the ground.

  She peeked up at Mandy, who shook her head and looked at her. They both busted out laughing and rolled in the snow. “I knew you hadn’t changed. Damn it, Toni! We’re both going to have bruises on our asses. And what happened to your men stopping your fall?”

  They looked up to see Scott and Drake grinning at them, holding out their hands to help them up. “Well, we got distracted.” Drake nodded to the road, where Hank had stopped his truck and was sitting there. “Looks like he’s not getting the hint. Scott, take the ladies tree hunting while I take care of this imbecile. I’ll join you in a few minutes.” Drake moved toward the truck.

  Toni stepped in front of him. “Be careful, Drake. I don’t trust him, and he’s always kept a gun in his truck.” She dragged his head down for a kiss. “Don’t let him hurt you.”

  Drake smiled down at her. “He’s not going to hurt me. He won’t bug us again after today, I promise.” He kissed her nose and pushed her into Scott’s arms. “Go on and find that tree. This won’t take long.”

  * * *

  Drake watched Scott escort Toni and Mandy into the woods, then turned toward Hank, who stood outside his truck with a pair of binoculars, watching them. Drake smiled and disappeared, only to reappear right behind Hank.

  “I warned you, didn’t I?”

  Hank jumped and swung around to meet Drake’s fist, which slammed into his face. “What the hell are you?” He covered his broken nose as blood dripped between his fingers.

  Drake could see the craziness in his eyes. This human wasn’t safe for anyone to be around. He glanced back toward his brother, then turned and grabbed the front of Hank’s jacket and lifted him in the air just as Hank raised the gun and shoot into the woods. He sucked in his breath and turned to see Toni fall to the ground. Drake couldn’t believe Hank had not only gotten off a shot but hit his wife. Hank had been leaning against the door of the truck, but he hadn’t seen him reach into the truck.

  “Now, no one will have her,” Hank sneered.

  Every nerve in Drake’s body tingled as he grabbed Hank’s neck and snapped it. He dropped the body and ran to Toni.

  Scott and Mandy hurried to her as Drake cradled her in his arms.

  “How did she get away from you, Scott?” Tears slipped down Drake’s face as Mandy fell to the ground next to him.

  “Is she okay?” She brushed Toni’s hair out of her face.

  Scott knelt next to them. “It seems she learned how to flash where she wanted to go.” He shook his head. “I swear, I’m going to beat her ass tonight,” he snapped and traced his finger down her cheek. “She’s totally in our world now.”

  Mandy looked up at him, then at Scott. “What do you mean in your world?” Her hands shook.

  Drake sighed, waiting for Toni to heal and awaken. “She died, Mandy. As soon as she did, Toni entered our world. She will be like us now. Humans can only see us if we want them to. We walk in a different but parallel world. She wasn’t supposed to be able to do what she did, but somehow she was able to draw on her family’s magical heritage and our powers.”

  Toni stirred in his arms. “I was just trying to make sure you would be okay. Didn’t want to lose you.” She traced his jaw with a shaky hand. “Lost too many I love.” She smiled up at him.

  Drake sucked in his breath and hissed, “Damn it, Toni. You knew I could handle Hank, but instead you placed yourself in danger and got yourself killed. I’m so furious at you right now that I don’t know whether to beat your ass or to kiss that stupid grin off your face.” He shook her.

  She giggled, making him even more furious. “Well, I, for one, would go for the kissing,” she teased and tried to sit up, but moaned, glancing down at her coat. “Damn, he really did shoot me.” She trembled as she looked at the blood and the hole on her coat.

  Scott stood and looked around. “Drake, take her and Mandy into the house. I’ll clean this mess up and bring the tree in. She shouldn’t be walking around. She’ll be weak for a couple of days. Mom and Dad are waiting at the house, and Mom will help her adjust to her new body and powers.”

  He looked down at Mandy. “I’m sorry you had to witness this, Mandy. You know you can’t tell anyone about this, not even your husband. But please, do come for Christmas Day and bring your family. We’ll decide then if he is worthy to be trusted with our secret.” Scott disappeared, as did the truck and Hank’s body and gun.

  Mandy stood as he cradled Toni. “Come, Mandy. We can discuss this next to a warm fire. You’re in shock. Grab on to my arm. I’m going to flash us into the house.”

  Her hand shook, but she placed it on his arm. They disappeared and reappeared in the living room. A fire roared to life as Scott placed Toni, whose bloody clothes had been replaced with new ones, on the couch. He tucked a blanket around her and kissed her head. They had come too close to losing her.

  Chapter Six

  Toni watched as Drake hugged a tall woman who materialized in the living room. The man who stood next to them frowned down at Toni and shook his head. “You two are going to have your hands full with this one. I thought your mother was bad.”

  She gasped and glared at him. “Excuse me?”

  Mandy flew to her side and covered her mouth with her hand. “Will you shut up, for Pete’s sake? They’re gods!” She glared at her.

  Toni rolled her eyes and pushed her hand away. “They are still my in-laws, and it would have been nice if hello, nice to meet you were the first words out of his mouth instead of an insult.” She twisted her hands in the blanket.

  Drake’s mom slapped her husband’s head. “What in the hell are you doing? You’re scaring the poor girl. She just suffered a severe trauma trying to protect our son. Show some manners, will you?” She moved over to Toni and Mandy. “My name is Fran, and that jerk behind me is my husband, Drew. I’m so sorry about what he said. You have to understand that my sons are just like him, always trying to control everything. I think it’s the god thing, even though we’re really not gods, just another race.” She winked at Toni and smiled at Mandy.

  Toni smiled back and burst out laughing, and Mandy sighed. “You really thought you were going to hell.” Toni giggled at Mandy. “You’re too much. Every Christmas you and Mark are at the homeless shelter helping others. You could be placed on the saint list, you do so much for others.” She pushed her arm.

  “Thank you, Fran. It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry about all of this. I knew what Hank was capable of and I couldn’t let Drake face him alone. Even though he could handle it.” Toni glanced up at Drake, who glared at her.

  “He hurt you in the past, didn’t he?” Fran sat on the sofa and hugged her. “Tell us. It might help these jerks behind us understand better.”

  Toni has only told one other person about that nightmare weekend. Mandy nodded at her. “It wasn’t your fault, Toni. You couldn’t have done anything.” She squeezed her hand.

  “It was a year ago, on Thanksgiving weekend. Since I had no family, and neither did Hank, he arranged for us to go to a resort in the mountains. I still don’t know where it was. He blindfolded me the whole way there and back. Said it was part of my training.

  “When we got there, Hank led me inside. There were
other people there, and Hank knew them all. The other women were all handcuffed and blindfolded, so I just took it for another BDSM club.” She shook, and Fran ran her hands up Toni’s arms.

  “The first night, all the women were tied and placed on display. We were poked, pinched and whipped. The second night was the worst. One girl was taken down and placed on a table and strapped down with a ball gag in her mouth.” She glanced at Drake as Scott appeared next to him. Drake nodded for her to continue.

  She glanced down at her hands. “They tortured her, putting things in her, cutting her, while each man raped her. The girl threw up with the ball gag in her mouth. An ambulance came and took her away, and she never came back. Hank told me she choked to death on her own vomit. I don’t know if it was true or not. He said we would be next if we caused trouble. For the next two days, men did what they wanted to us.

  “By the time we got home, I’d shut myself off from everyone. It took Mandy’s guidance to break me out of my shell, but I still couldn’t leave him. I was too scared. They told us they would always find us, so when Hank left me, I knew I was lucky he had given up on me. After that weekend, he had also stopped touching me. I slept in the downstairs bedroom with the door locked every night. Grandfather knew something was wrong, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him, plus Hank had always threatened to kill him. He knew how to play me. I was scared to do anything.”

  Fran stood and stared at her sons and husband. “Not another word about what she did. So help me, if I hear you spanked her for what she did, I’ll bring out my own whip.” She placed her hands on her hips.

  Drew stepped up to his wife and grinned. “Really, you think I will allow such a thing?” He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him, then smiled down at her. “You are a brave woman, Toni. I’m sorry my words hurt you, but what you did was foolish. My sons could have lost you if they hadn’t married you. Our lives are long, tedious and dangerous enough. When we find our wives, we protect them in any way possible. We have rules for a reason, but under the circumstances, I have to agree with my wife.” He looked at his sons. “She is new to our life and she has been through enough. Let us forget about this. Toni needs to be taught and guided. Now, if she does something like this again, then, she will have earned her punishment.” He turned to her and smiled.