Holiday Spirit Read online

  HOLIDAY SPIRIT

  Cathryn Fox

  Electronic Edition

  Copyright 2012 by Cathryn Fox

  Published by Cathryn Fox

  Cover by Crocodesigns

  Discover other titles by Cathryn Fox at www.cathrynfox.com.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Cathryn Fox.

  First edition December 2012.

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9878559-9-2

  HOLDIAY SPIRIT

  What’s a girl to do when she finds herself held captive inside a bedroom – with the man she’s been lusting after for months – by a voyeuristic spirit on Christmas Eve?

  Give it what it wants, of course.

  Elly Watson, Paranormal Task Force Investigator faces her most challenging and erotic assignment yet, and if she wants to free herself before Christmas morning, then she has no choice but to fulfill the spirit’s wild and wicked fetishes - even if that means engaging in a fun holiday romp with her sexy co-worker, over and over again, if need be.

  Chapter One

  “Bah humbug,” Elly Watson mumbled under her breath, and then, with much more force than necessary, planted her booted feet on her desk with a loud clunk. When the sound gained the attention of those around her, she lifted her glass of cranberry cocktail and saluted her drunken colleagues.

  Some office party this was turning out to be…

  Dammit, she wanted to be the one in the back room photocopying her ass, not the one who had to stay sober and man the phones.

  But oh no, she couldn’t be partying with the others because the goddamn spirits didn’t stop haunting to celebrate Christmas like regular old mortal folks.

  Nope. The holidays didn’t slow them down one bit, which meant that she, after having drawn the short straw from the stack earlier that morning, was stuck with the graveyard shift.

  If that wasn’t bad enough, ladies’ man Lucas Nichols, a.k.a. Chicago’s hottest bachelor – a man she’d been lusting after for the last six months – had also gotten the short end of the straw. Now she had to spend the night locked in the small office with him, her hormones shouting louder than the Bing Crosby carol blaring from a nearby speaker, with no way to hit the mute button, or any other button for that matter.

  Feeling edgy, distracted, and downright horny, Elly pulled the elastic from her hair, shook out her shoulder length locks and then pushed to her feet.

  Desire moved into her stomach as she maneuvered around her desk and cast Lucas a long, lingering glance. A melee of sensations rushed through her and her nipples tightened blissfully in response.

  Leaning against the dessert table, Lucas tossed a big piece of fruitcake into his mouth. When he licked his fingers, savoring every last morsel, meticulously laving his fingertips clean with the soft blade of his tongue, she damn near orgasmed right then and there.

  Her senses exploded as she watched the action in mute fascination, and somehow she just knew, ladies’ man Lucas would be as thorough and meticulous between her legs as he was with his dessert.

  Elly popped a cream filled chocolate into her mouth as she studied him a moment longer, taking in his roguish good looks, his dark hair, and even darker eyes. Her gaze panned the length of him, admiring all six foot four inches, stopping for a brief moment to linger around the vicinity of his crotch, where the word inches suddenly took on a whole new meaning.

  When he caught her gaze, he smiled. The quick flash of teeth told her this bad boy would gobble her up quicker than any gooey piece of Christmas fruitcake.

  She swallowed. Hard.

  Of course, there was one surefire way to quiet her restless hormones. By giving them what they wanted. And what they wanted was a hot passionate night with Lucas. Plain and simple. It wasn’t like she wanted a relationship with him or anything. She didn’t. At least she didn’t think. Yeah, she was pretty sure she just wanted to get down and dirty with him and answer the one question that had been plaguing her since she’d come on board six months previous.

  Could he deliver what his reputation promised…?

  Her gaze dropped to just below his belt buckle a second time. Damned if she didn’t want to find out.

  Too bad they had some ridiculous code of conduct clause in their contract. Fraternizing might have gotten her predecessor injured – after all, one needed all their wits when going up against nasty spirits – but Elly wasn’t stupid enough to let any inter office relationship or conflict interfere with her work. Actually, when she really thought about it, sleeping with Lucas would help put her antsy hormones at ease, thus making her a better Paranormal Investigator.

  How was that for logical?

  She took another swig of her cranberry juice and washed down the chocolate. A glance at the clock told her it was a little past six. She hoped like hell the spirits were as restless as she was on this holiday evening. Otherwise it was going to be one heck of a long night locked inside the office with Lucas.

  A short while later, after the last of her colleagues had staggered out the door and crammed into a cab, the phone rang.

  Thank God…

  She desperately needed the distraction. Lucas tossed another piece of cake into his mouth and swiftly brushed his hands together before making his way to his desk.

  Nodding her head, she gestured toward the shrilling phone. “I’ve got it.”

  With her mood lightening now that she had something productive to do, she sank into her cushiony office chair, grabbed the receiver and pressed it to her ear. Of course, as far as she was concerned, getting wild with Lucas could be classified as productive, too. How unfortunate that her boss didn’t see it that way.

  “You got the ghost, we’ll make ‘em toast,” Elly said in her most professional voice. Naturally, answering the phone in such a manner was strictly prohibited. Her boss would tear a strip off her hide if he’d been within earshot, especially since most people didn’t take the agency seriously – until they were able to cleanse their unwanted spirits, that was. Yeah, answering the phone like that was grounds for firing. But her boss wasn’t here and she was in a fairly shitty mood. Not to mention horny. So there.

  “…245 Wilson Lane. Ghosts. And hurry…”

  Elly leaned forward, perking up. “Whoa, whoa lady, slow down.” Cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder, she grabbed her pen and scratched down Wilson Lane. She caught Lucas’s glance as he listened to her end of the conversation. He angled his head and slanted his sensuous mouth with professional interest. His concern obvious in his expression.

  “My neighbors, they’re having sex like wild bunnies,” the elderly woman rushed out.

  Elly crinkled her nose and did an imaginary tip of a shooter glass. Why, oh why, did all the drunken nutcases come out of the closet when she was on shift?

  After rolling her eyes heavenward, Elly asked, “And you just thought you’d call to let me know?”

  Or rub it in…?

  “No, no you don’t understand,” the woman bit out, her voice crackling like brittle bones as she hurried on to explain. “Gloria and Phil don’t have sex. Ever. I should know. I’ve lived in the condo next to them for the last twenty years.”

  Elly fought a chuckle and made circles around her ear with her index finger. “Hey, it’s Christmas eve, maybe they’re just celebrating.”

  “This has been going on all day.” Annoyance seeped into the lady’s voice. “I think you need to come down here,” she said, the firmness and impatience in her t
one bringing back haunting memories of old lady Hicks, her strict elementary teacher.

  Elly frowned, remembering the day Mrs. Hicks confiscated her candy bar. Chocolate wasn’t good for growing girls, she’d said. What kind of bullshit was that? Elly just knew the old lady wanted it all for herself.

  Marshalling her thoughts and redirecting her focus Elly said, “Okay, let me get the facts straight. They’re having sex, have been all day, so you think–”

  The lady cut her off. “Yes, I think some spirit has possessed them and is using their bodies to celebrate the holidays.”

  A holiday spirit? Now that was a first. Elly wondered if the lady had drunk too many holiday spirits, herself.

  Her gaze locked with Lucas’s and she repeated the words for his sake. “So you think a holiday spirit has possessed your neighbors?”

  “Yes and you need to get down here fast, before their hearts attack them and they die from all that fornication.”

  Elly snorted. She hadn’t meant to snort, really she hadn’t, but how the hell could she be expected to take this seriously.

  And who the hell used the word fornication anyway?

  Concealing her disbelief, Elly pulled a professional face. “It sounds like Cupid is on the loose.”

  “Cupid?” the woman asked, her voice rising an octave. “Isn’t that a Valentine spirit?”

  “No, ma’am. It’s one of Santa’s reindeers. He’s always causing havoc.”

  With that, Lucas laughed out loud. Elly covered the phone and chuckled.

  Okay, so maybe it wasn’t so nice to play with the weak and elderly, although something told her this lady was far from weak.

  Elly cleared her throat. “You’d better give me your name and that address again ma’am, so we can check it out.” Her cranberry juice rose in her throat and she shivered at the thoughts of walking in on poor old Gloria and Phil while they were…fornicating.

  After jotting down the woman’s name and her address, Elly jumped to her feet, grabbed her winter coat and pointed a finger at their equipment. “Grab the toaster, Lucas. There’s a shagfest on Wilson Lane and it must be stopped.”

  Lucas tossed her his best sexy grin, and then grabbed the electrometric gage, the pulse meter, strobe light, and cage – the office’s state of the art ghost hunting gadgetry.

  “Poor old Cupid is not going to know what hit him,” he said, offering her his best panty soaking grin. And suddenly, as Lucas’s sexy smile warmed the greedy little spot between her legs, Elly was the one who felt like she’d been toasted.

  Chapter Two

  Less than thirty minutes later they pulled up in front of 245 Wilson Lane. “Over there,” Elly said, nodding toward the little old lady peering through her blinds, her eyes as bright as the Christmas lights framing her door, and her hair as white and fluffy as a freshly made snowball. “Must be Grace.”

  With his voice full of teasing warmth, Lucas leaned in and whispered, “You think she just wants in on the action?”

  Acutely aware of the moisture pooling between her thighs, Elly shifted in her seat. Christ, no wonder the guy had his own harem of women. That husky voice of his warmed her blood quicker that a double shot of rum and eggnog.

  “I just hope we don’t walk in on the action,” she responded with a mock shiver.

  They climbed from the car, grabbed their gear from the trunk and made their way up the snow covered walkway. Lucas pulled out the pulse meter and watched the way the needle red lined. They exchanged a knowing look while Elly rang the bell. No answer. Just then Grace inched open her door.

  “I have a key,” she whispered.

  Technically they weren’t supposed to enter without the occupant’s permission, but under the circumstances…

  “I’ll open it for you,” Grace said, reading their hesitation. After Elly nodded, Grace quickly opened the door and then hustled back to her condo. “I’ll be listening from in here,” she said, shutting the door behind her.

  “I just bet you will,” Elly murmured under her breath, waving her flashlight around while looking for the switch.

  The second she stepped through the threshold, a burst of heat raced over her body, flushing her cheeks and warming her from the inside out. Okay, that was odd. Cold she expected, but the hot spot really caught her off guard. She tugged on her scarf and moved to the center of the room, Lucas tight on her heels.

  Elly palmed the air. “What the hell–”

  “What the hell is right,” Lucas whispered into her ear, his muscular chest pressed against her back. He was standing so close she could absorb the heat radiating from his flesh. “Since when do spirits leave hot spots?” he asked.

  “Beats me.” She spun around and catalogued the room. “Let’s go find Gloria and Phil and then toast this ghost.”

  Lucas called out to the home owners as they searched each room. A noise inside the back bedroom caught their attention.

  Elly knocked. “Are you okay in there? Your neighbor Grace called to report a metaphysical disturbance. We’re from the Paranormal Task Force Agency, here to investigate.”

  Suddenly the door opened and one very tired, very worn out looking man stood before her in nothing more than a pair of tighty whiteys and a huge smile on his face.

  “We’re okay,” he assured them. “No problems here.”

  Elly looked over his shoulder and spotted a woman, who she assumed was Gloria, tying her robe. “You okay, ma’am?”

  Lucas cleared his throat and then purposely put his mouth close to her ear. “The electromagnetic readings are off the chart.”

  Phil looked down sheepishly, as though busted. “Yeah, it wouldn’t let us leave. It held us captive, turning up the heat in the room, and in us, making us do wild and crazy things.” Phil winked at Lucas. “I guess we must have finally satisfied its voyeuristic spirit since it just let us free.”

  Elly shook her head. Cripes, she’d never get used to the idea that ghosts had crazy fetishes.

  Phil took a look at the nuke box Lucas clutched in his right hand and frowned. “You don’t have to…”

  “Afraid so, sir,” Lucas said, unzipping his coat. “We have to contain it and take it with us.”

  Phil shrugged. “Guess it was good while it lasted.”

  “Perhaps you could head on over to Grace’s while we cleanse the place,” Elly suggested. “Right now, we have no idea how long it will take.”

  When his eyes lit up with excitement, Elly stepped back and cringed. If he was planning some sort of threesome with Grace, she didn’t want to hear anything about it.

  Elly did a sweep of the house while Lucas ushered the couple next door. As she moved through the hallway and stepped into what appeared to be a guest room, energy swirled around her, tingling her skin in the most provocative way. She fanned her face, astonished at just how hot the room was.

  What the hell was this spirit up to now?

  The sound of footsteps in the hall heralded Lucas’s arrival. “In here, Lucas. The readings are off the chart.”

  When she heard him at the door, she spun around, noting that he’d removed his coat and now stood before her in a pair of jeans and a navy, button up shirt. Christ the man was drop dead gorgeous. If it got any hotter in there she wondered if he’d remove that shirt, too.

  Or maybe even his pants…

  As soon as that thought popped into her head, the temperature in the room seemed to soar. She set her equipment on the floor and shed her coat. “It must be a hundred degrees in here.”

  “At least,” Lucas said, setting his gear down beside hers while his fingers worked the top two buttons on his shirt, affording her a view of a few sexy sprigs of dark chest hair.

  Yummy.

  Taking them both by surprise, the equipment slid across the floor and landed in the hall, the bedroom door slamming shut behind it.

  “Oh shit,” Elly cursed, spinning around, her mind orchestrating and strategizing her next move. “Oh, shit,” she repeated.

  Lucas tried
the door. “Fuck, it’s locked.”

  Feeling suddenly claustrophobic, she yelled, “Break it down.”

  Lucas put his shoulder into it, but it refused to budge. Elly tried the window and found it sealed shut. Goddammit.

  When she spun back around to face Lucas a burst of sexual energy hit her like a wrecking ball, knocking her backwards. “What the hell.”

  “Shit, Elly,” Lucas said. He grabbed her and crushed her body to his before she landed on her ass. When his hands slid around her waist and she felt his mounting desire, her nipples tightened with arousal.

  Passion like she’d never before experienced worked its way through her veins, stopping at every erogenous zone along the way.

  “Are you okay?” When she caught his glance, the raw ache of lust in his eyes evoked a myriad of sinful thoughts. Apparently the spirit was having a good old time messing with their libidos.

  She straightened and fanned her face. “I’m not so sure,” she said honestly.

  A look of genuine concern came over him. He pressed his hand to her forehead. “You’re burning up. Do you have your cell phone?”

  She reached into her coat and pulled out the phone, not that she expected it to work with all the electromagnetic interference.

  She put it to her ear. “It’s dead,” she assured him. She tossed it onto the bed and undid a few buttons on her blouse.

  Lucas tried the door again, cursing under his breath. He slid his hand through his thick dark hair and shook his head. “Rule number one is to never get separated from your equipment,” he mumbled, his voice thick with arousal because of the situation they’d found themselves in. “Stupid, stupid, stupid…”

  Elly dropped onto the bed beside her phone. “Now what?” She took a moment to mull things over as Lucas moved past her to try the window, his tight, squeezable ass – which was now at eye level thank you very much – dragging her focus with him. His spicy scent curled around her, bombarding her body with primal hunger. As warmth streaked through her, she pulled his aroma into her lungs.