Christmas from Hell
Page 49

 
By the time that she came back…
 
She shivered as she did her best to block out the screams and pleas for mercy and forced herself to focus on this situation.
 
“What about your job? I thought you were off suspension. Don’t they need you?” she asked, already the answer was yes since the holidays were the busiest times for fire fighters and EMS.
 
“Had five months of saved time off and the highest seniority. I took a few weeks off to spend some time with my girlfriend,” he said with that charming smile as he reached over and entwined their hands together, confirming her suspicious that he was definitely up to something.
 
Then again, she’d known that from the second that he said her grandfather was involved in this.
 
 
Chapter 30
 
Wednesday, December 15th.
 
 
Groaning miserably, he rolled over on the small bed and tried to ignore the sounds of pots and pans being jostled accompanied by the most delicious aromas on earth, but he refused to get up and see what she was making.
 
He would not keep enabling her, he told himself as he grabbed what should have been her pillow and pulled it over his head, praying that it stopped those delicious aromas from penetrating his world and destroying his self-control. This madness had to stop and if that meant him laying there, refusing to eat whatever she was making then goddamnit that’s exactly what he was going to do!
 
Ever since she asked him to stop at the grocery store on their way here yesterday, she had a particular look in her eye that truth be told, scared the shit out of him. When he asked her if she needed help, she gave him a sweet smile, nodded and simply stepped out of the car, leaving him to follow her and follow her, he did.
 
God, if he’d known what kind of hell she’d had planned for him, he would never have followed her. Hell, he never would have stopped. When she asked him to stop at the grocery store he would have floored it instead, but foolishly he’d done as she’d asked.
 
Right when he was about to ask her what she needed, she turned the sexiest, most alluring smile that he’d ever seen on him and after that he’d been putty in her hands. For three and a half hours, she’d had him dutifully following after her with a second carriage as she took her time finding the most tempting ingredients. By the time they were in the check out lane it had been too late, she’d had him by the balls and they’d both knew it.
 
She’d simply acted on it.
 
As their order was being rung up, she turned around, wrapped her arms around him, stood on her tippy toes to give his chin a teasing kiss and then simply asked, “What are you up to, Duncan?”
 
When he’d tried to play it off that he wasn’t up to anything, she’d simply given him that smile that turned him into an idiot, shrugged off his answer as though it was of no consequence and proceeded to ask one of the bagboys if he wouldn’t mind going and getting her a few more pounds of sugar, flour, eggs and chocolate powder while they waited.
 
Wondering what she was up to, it had never crossed his poor misguided mind to tackle the bagboy before he could aid the damn woman in his torture. After they’d paid for the food, loaded the back of the SUV and the back seat, she’d simply sat in the passenger seat with the calmest, most serene smile that he’d ever seen in his life.
 
She didn’t ask any more questions or even seem upset that he’d kidnapped her. In fact, she seemed to be on top of the world and that had frightened the shit out of him. If her grandfather hadn’t warned him about that smile he probably wouldn’t have thought very much of it, but oh, he had and damn if the old man hadn’t been right.
 
It really was the most frightening fucking sight on earth.
 
Once they arrived at the cottage, she had the audacity to give him that sweet, adorable smile while they were unloading the car. He’d seriously considered making a run for it. He couldn’t explain why, but that terrifying feeling that something bad was going to happen kept hitting him harder and harder until he was nothing but a nervous wreck.
 
She’d give him that smile and his heart would race in fear, his breaths would double and that small voice of reason that warned you when something was wrong started screaming in his ear for him to run. Instead, he simply continued carrying bags in like some kind of drone until there were no more bags to bring in and she had him cornered in the kitchen.
 
At that point she’d given him that smile one more time, asked him what he was up to, but he kept his damn mouth shut like her grandfather had warned him, ground his jaw shut tightly and simply shook his head, refusing to say another word. She’d narrowed her eyes on him for thirty seconds, making him sweat like he was running up a three story tenement on fire and all he could do was stand there, waiting to see what she was going to do.
 
When he still didn’t give in, and God, how he’d wished that he’d given in at the time and put himself out of his misery before she could start this line of torture, she’d simply shrugged, turned around and grabbed a mixing bowl. It was without a doubt the most terrifying moment of his life.
 
For the next seven hours the crazed woman had baked, broiled and sautéed him to hell and back, but he refused to break, refused to tell her why they were really here and now as he smelled fresh baked cookies coming out of the oven, he realized that he’d underestimated the little jinx and now, they both knew it.
 
*-*-*-*
 
After she’d pulled out the last batch of her famous chocolate chunk cookies and placed them on the cooling rack near the cupcakes that she’d made, she looked around the kitchen, trying to figure out what she should make next, and of course trying to find a spot for it, when he finally came in the kitchen.
 
She’d admit that he’d held off a lot longer than she’d thought he would. She definitely had to give him credit, because she’d been positive that he was going to give in when she pulled that meatloaf out of the oven. Instead, he’d simply backed away slowly, turned and practically ran towards the room they were sharing, shutting the door and locking it behind him.