Holiday Howlz: Mad at the Moon
Belinda McBride
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Copyright ©2009 Belinda McBride
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ISBN: 978-1-60521-345-3
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Holiday Howlz: Mad at the Moon
Belinda McBride
Merry Miller is a mail carrier at the only post office in town. After the deliveries are finished on Christmas Eve, all she wants to do is go to bed and sleep late on Christmas morning. But it’s the week of the full moon, and between the moonlight and the new neighbor’s off-pitch singing, she just can’t get any rest!
Noel Hollis has just moved to Arcada, and while the young teacher loves his new home, he’s a bit lonely and would like to get to know his neighbor better. So on Christmas Eve, he invites the sexy letter-carrier to dinner. Can he convince her to stop being angry at his off-key serenades and dance under the moon with him?
Furry meets Fairy on the most magical night of the year.
Chapter One
Merry squinted against the ray of moonlight that came dancing across her room, searing her eyes. Okay, so moonlight doesn’t burn, but in the middle of the night, it’ll wake you up like a slap in the face.
She rolled over to face the wall and groaned. The sheet over her head only cut the dazzle a bit. It was nearly bright as day!
“Wait for it… wait for it…”
Right on cue, the voice warbled through the air, singing a painfully off-key rendition of Van Morrison’s “Moondance,” punctuated by the mournful howl of the neighbor’s big-ass dog. After another eight bars, the dachshund down the street joined in. Pretty soon the stray cats would be yowling along as well.
Merry glanced at the clock and cursed under her breath. It was Christmas Eve morning, and she had to get up in just a few hours. If it was any other week of the year, she might just get up and dance around in the moonlight with her yummy new neighbor. But not this week. Not when she worked from dawn to dusk delivering holiday mail in Arcada.
He switched songs, the dog ratcheted up his howling, and Merry buried her head under the pillow with an exaggerated sob. She pounded her heels into the soft featherbed.
A few minutes passed before he moved on to sing Cat Stevens’s “Moonshadow.” After mangling that tune, he was singing about Moon River.
He had a theme going tonight.
Frustrated, she rolled out of her warm nest of blankets and crossed to the window that looked over the neighbor’s backyard. As a moonbeam slipped across her skin, Merry shivered as though she’d been touched by a warm hand. She cracked open the curtains and peeked outside.
There he was, sitting in a lounge chair, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a smile. In the middle of the night. In the freezing weather.
But hey, she’d heard he was from California, land of fruits and nuts.
Merry shivered a bit and sat on the chair that rested near the window. She draped a crocheted throw over her shoulders and leaned forward, peering through the curtains again.
He was built like the Greek idea of beauty, muscled and lean. His limbs were graceful and lithe. One hand hung down from the arm of the chair; his fingers were buried in the fur of the neighbor’s dog, which was looking up at the man with a look of blissful admiration on his face. The Griffiths would be hard pressed to reclaim the loyalty of their mutt.
The man’s ruffled blond hair looked like silver against the darkness. His face was handsome, with a square jaw and a smile that just didn’t stop. Even his obnoxious singing didn’t ruin his boy-next-door charm.
He fell silent, one hand running up the sleek, taut muscles of his abdomen. The other hand lay perilously close to his groin. Merry bit her lip, pressing her legs tightly together. The other nights she’d peeked, he’d come so close to touching himself, teasing her with the erotic image that he presented. She’d even stopped wondering how he bore the cold.
His right hand clasped his groin, and even from her upstairs window, Merry could see that he was swollen and erect, overfilling the worn denim cut-offs he wore. She held her breath as he stroked a couple times. Would she get the entire show tonight?
He stopped, his eyes at half-mast. He glanced up at her window, and Merry abruptly drew back. Had she twitched the fabric of the curtains? Did he know she was watching?
Impossible.
Nevertheless, the next time she peeked outside, he was gone.
She stepped out of the moonlight and crawled back into her bed, chilled, horny, and very wide awake.
The melody to Moondance was stuck in her head.
* * *
The postal delivery truck hummed quietly in the frozen dusk. Just seconds after turning off the engine, Merry could see the vapor of her breath on the air inside the tiny cab. She twisted in her seat, smiling with satisfaction to see that not an envelope, box or package remained in the back of the truck.
She pulled her furry hat snugly over her ears and jumped down, hanging on to the doorframe for balance. The wind was sharp with cold, and sheets of ice made the parking lot hazardous underfoot. Merry hugged her coat close and moved as swiftly as possible to the back entrance of the tiny Arcada post office.
She let the door slam closed behind her and took an appreciative whiff of spiced cider and hot chocolate on the air. If she was lucky, there’d be…
“Happy Birthday!”
…cake. Yum.
The Arcada Postal Center wasn’t that large, and a few of the staff members surrounding her were temps, faces that came in from the outside during the weeks before Christmas. They were familiar faces, but not family, not like Jen and Hancock and Mrs. Greene.
“With a name like Merry, I should have known you’d have a holiday birthday.”
She smiled at Troy Little and ignored the fact that she’d heard every conceivable comment regarding her holiday birthday that could be imagined. She carefully cut the rich chocolate cake and passed out slices, saving hers for last.
“I swear I could eat cake for dinner.” She sighed as the fudgy taste exploded on her tongue. “So, are we all finished for the day?”
“Right and tight, Merry.” Mrs. Greene wore her blue-white hair coiled tightly on the top of her head; a sprig of holly decorated the collar of her uniform. She looked like an ageless seventy, but Merry knew better. That blue wasn’t dye; Mrs. Greene’s hair had probably always been that color. As for her age… well, that was another story. If you turned your head just right and the light came in just so, you could see the elegant arch of a pointed ear, the shimmer of something not quite human. The illusion of age vanished momentaril
y, leaving one wondering just what they’d actually seen.
It was the same with Jen’s serenely beautiful face and Hancock’s tall, stooped posture. Merry was certain that it was the same for her as well.
It helped to know what you were looking for.
“So you guys are all finished tonight, eh? Will you be coming on board next year?” She looked around at the temporary staff.
“You bet. I have another year at the university, so I’ll be looking for seasonal work if you guys will have me.” Troy flushed, glancing over at Jen. It was hard not to look at Jen. She was the definition of sweetness and light, all wrapped up in a drab grey uniform.
During the summer, men and boys all over town watched for the pert letter carrier when she donned her uniform shorts. But as is so often the case in Arcada, things aren’t always what they seem. Sweet little Jennifer Pastor was actually a shockingly powerful witch who’d been in the Americas for centuries. She had little time for a young man like Troy. Jen had bigger fish to fry. She wasn’t evil; she was simply… ambitious.
And Hancock? Well, Merry had a pretty good idea of what existed under that pleasant, homely exterior. She was just surprised he was willing to work a day shift. The undead usually avoided the sun.
That was Arcada’s secret. Actually, it wasn’t a secret to the residents of the quaint little town; they just practiced that old adage of “live and let live.” For some reason, normal folks were rarely drawn to live in their little town.
Which returned Merry to thoughts of her new neighbor.
She’d peeked at him and he seemed fairly mundane. Granted, his hair was an amazing shade of pale blond, and even through her kitchen window she could see that his eyes were amazingly blue. The physique was mouth-watering. When he’d been in his backyard cutting wood and caught her peeking from the window, he’d grinned and fairly lit up the dim winter day. He was bright as the Fae, but as yet she hadn’t spotted the telltale aura of the Other Folk about him. He did project a raw, sexual aura that was alluring, though less spell-binding than that of an incubus.
“You should take him a piece of birthday cake.”
“Hmm?” She lifted a brow at Jen, who was leaning casually against a counter. “That’s a really uncanny habit you’ve got there, Jen. Were you reading my mind?”
“Your body language. Your new neighbor’s been keeping you awake for a few days now. That has been the usual topic of conversation with you lately.”
“Didn’t know I was that obvious.” Merry felt a trifle uncomfortable with Jen’s observant comment. And she was convinced that the witch was up to something. She was looking much too innocent.
“He moved in from Southern California. He’s the new chemistry teacher at the high school and will also teach girls’ sports.”
“Now there’s a disaster in the making.” Merry grinned, imagining the love-struck high school girls who’d be trying out for basketball this spring.
Jen continued. “I think he’s got a birthday this week. There’ve been a lot of cards going to his house.”
“It is Christmas, Jen; there are more than a few cards coming through the mail,” Merry answered dryly.
The blonde shrugged and continued eating her cake. “I wrapped up some leftovers. They’re in the kitchen.” She pushed off the counter and started to the back. “And his name is Noel. Noel Hollis.”
Merry laughed and shook her head. Another Christmas baby. Maybe she would take a piece of cake to her handsome new neighbor. It was the least she could do.
* * *
Noel hummed as he bustled around the roomy kitchen of his new house. It was really too much house for a single man, but moving to Arcada represented a new beginning for Noel. In Los Angeles he was always hiding, always worrying about who might see or hear him when the moon called to him. Here, the neighbor across the street had an ongoing relationship with a long-dead suitor, and the neighbor next door?
Well, she was something else completely. He just hadn’t quite figured her out yet.
He’d spotted an enchanting pair of Fae in a jewelry store downtown. While they hid behind their mundane human forms, when he looked just right, he caught a glimpse of their shimmering, elemental beauty. Fire and ice. Their combined scent was intoxicating.
He was fairly certain that the pastor of the local church was a vampire. Father Burgess conducted all the evening services, leaving morning worship to an assistant. Clearly, being undead wasn’t that bad in the eyes of the Lord or the good people of Arcada.
Noel moved the succulent turkey from the roasting pan to a serving platter and patiently arranged bright vegetables at its base. The gravy was simmering on the stove, and the rich smell of baking bread added the final touch to the symphony of fragrances that filled the kitchen. He checked the wall clock and shucked the apron, checking to make sure his clothing had survived unmarked.
So far, so good. Now he waited.
Chapter Two
Dinner’s ready at my place. Just waiting for dessert. Noel.
Merry flicked the note from the door and studied it, finally turning to look at the house next door. It was encrusted with fairy lights that swayed slightly in the cold breeze. The windows of the old Craftsman were foggy, and she caught the smell of roasted turkey on the air.
Her mouth watered.
She unlocked her front door, careful not to drop the platter of cake that Jen had carefully wrapped for her. Once she stepped in the door, fatigue settled on Merry’s shoulders like a heavy, comforting blanket. Christmas Eve signaled the end of her long winter. Every year was the same; she worked in a near frenzy from dawn till dusk for the entire holiday season. On Christmas Eve, she crashed and burned, sleeping through Christmas Day. This year she hadn’t even bothered with a tree. On her way home from work, she stopped in the town square and sat on a bench near the town’s tree, smiling at carolers and last-minute shoppers.
Sighing, she carried the cake into the kitchen. She’d have a bowl of hot soup and a slice of cake and do her best to make it to bed long before midnight. She’d dig out her earplugs and maybe sleep in the spare bedroom at the other side of the house. And then she’d sleep until New Year if she felt like it.
She ran hot water for a cup of tea and looked outside at her new neighbor’s house. His kitchen window nearly faced hers, and past the fogged up windows she saw his indistinct figure. He stood still and quiet, and somehow Merry knew he was waiting, aware of her scrutiny. His head turned her direction, and he smiled, causing Merry’s body to grip in a warm, sensual shudder. She smiled back.
She glanced at her uniform and headed for her bedroom, determined to find the perfect outfit for Christmas dinner with her sexy new neighbor.
* * *
If there’d been any doubt about his intentions toward his sexy little letter-carrier, they fled his mind. Noel stood blocking the open doorway, letting the frigid air flow into his house.
He’d caught glimpses of her, and her scent tantalized him nonstop, but he wasn’t ready for the reality of the vision on his doorstep.
Merry was all of five feet tall and was as slender and curvy as a willow in the wind. Her gamine face was crowned by short, spiky curls that played up the huge green eyes in her heart-shaped face. Her lips were pouty and full. Noel swallowed hard as sensation rushed through his body. She was wearing a form-fitting red sweater and a short green skirt. He had no idea how she’d made it through the snow without getting her black leather high heels wet.
She lifted an arched brow slightly and glanced down at the platter in her hands.
“I brought dessert.”
“That you did.” Finally gathering his wits, Noel stood back, allowing her into his house. As the full force of her spicy fragrance wafted through the air, his knees grew just a bit weak. She smelled like the holidays.
“The kitchen’s this way…” He flushed when she swept past him, treating Noel to the vision of her heart-shaped bottom in the short green skirt. In Noel’s opinion, many of the women who de
cked themselves out in red and green during the holidays looked slightly foolish. Merry made it work.
She halted at the arched entrance to the living room, surprised at the table he’d set. “Noel, that’s just beautiful!”
He flushed with pleasure. “My parents never let a Christmas go by without setting the table. Just keeping up with tradition.”
“But you’re alone now?”
“Yes and no. They moved to Alaska a few years ago. I guess LA grew too much for them. Mom didn’t want to take all of her household stuff, so I inherited it.”
The crystal and porcelain on the table was the legacy of many generations of the Hollis family. True, the glasses and china didn’t match, but he’d combined it in a way that pleased his eye. With the turkey gracing the table and banks of candles lighting the room, Noel almost forgot the loneliness that had dogged him since his family had moved.
He led the way to the kitchen and found crystal plates for Merry to arrange the cake on. He stood back and admired the graceful arch of her neck, the soft curve of her cheek. She glanced up at him and smiled.
And he knew that this was why he hadn’t gone to Alaska with his family.
“Merry.”
She set the plate down and turned slowly. From the rigid set of her shoulders, he knew she’d sensed something as well. She looked up at Noel, her eyes liquid with emotion.
“So you’re the man who keeps me awake at night.” Her lips curved up into a smile. “Can’t tell you how many times I wanted to throw an old shoe out the window at you!”
“I’m sorry.” He ducked his head in embarrassment. “I don’t really know why I’ve been doing that. I never did it at home. I guess maybe it feels more right here, under the stars and the moon.”
“The moon. Ugh.” Merry led the way back into the dining room, dessert in hand. “This past week, the sky’s been overcast and it snowed nearly every day. Then at night when I’m desperate for some sleep, it gets clear and the moon shines in my window like a streetlight. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
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