Scratch The Surface - Mary Calmes Page 0,111
visiting our top clients and dropping off holiday gift baskets.”
“Gift baskets?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Why what, love?”
“Why would you be doing that and not have some delivery guy do it?”
“That’s the point, isn’t it? Normally I wouldn’t be dropping things off in different offices all over town as I’m a bit high up on the food chain, but to spread cheer before the holidays, it’s what we do. We visit and schmooze and bring good tidings like elves.”
I squinted at him. “Like elves?”
He gave me a dismissive wave. “You know what I mean.”
“Go on with the story, I’m sure it’s about to get good.”
“Your sarcasm is not lost on me.”
“Will you just finish.”
He huffed out a breath. “Well, it so happened that after we dropped off the last basket, when we got back out to Ryan’s car, there had just been an accident.”
The sound of his voice, the quiet calm as he explained, was working to get the air moving through my lungs again.
“From what the police told us, the man in the Ford Bronco ran a red light because he was in a hurry, and another car hit him, which sent him sideways into the driver’s side of Ryan’s expensive new Lexus.”
“That was the accident?”
“Yes.”
“So you two weren’t even in the car?”
He shook his head.
“Then what the hell?”
“Well, Ryan attacked the driver of the Bronco right in front of the police, because he’s clearly brilliant, and the guy—who was really big, by the way—picked him up and threw him into the police cruiser, because he also wasn’t that bright.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I groaned, straightening up, feeling even better when Cameron took hold of my hand.
“So they brought the driver to the hospital to get checked out, they brought Ryan to the hospital to get checked out, and I came along because he’s my colleague. It’s what you do.”
“Sure, but I’m still stuck on the Donna part.”
“Well, when Ryan called his assistant, he had to leave a message, since the guy was at lunch, and I heard him leaving lots of different voicemails because he kept getting cut off, so I suspected something was eventually going to get lost in translation.”
“Like his car getting sideswiped turned into you guys being in an accident.”
“Yes.”
It was nice, the whole being able to breathe again.
“And Donna, my lovely assistant, heard the mixed-up message from Ryan’s assistant, and that’s what she passed along, thinking it was right.”
“Got it.”
“And because she’s highly efficient, she called everyone.”
“Not your family, I hope.”
“No, thankfully, but she did get a hold of Mr. Stein, so that’s not great.”
“Oh no.”
“Ryan will either be demoted or fired, I don’t know which, but all of us reflect on Berg and Stein as a company, so you can’t attack people who have just been in an accident, no matter how pissed you are about your car.”
“Sure.”
“And an assistant should always take a call from their boss, so my bet is that Ryan’s assistant is out as well.”
“What about Donna?”
“Donna needed to take a moment, slow down, and ask more questions, but her heart was in the right place, and she totally worked the phone tree and notified everyone.”
“The what-tree?”
“Never mind. I think I’ll be able to hold on to Donna, but I need to speak to Mr. Stein, and I’m thinking I should do that now.”
I sat there quietly beside him as he made the call, listening to him explain what had happened as his hand returned to my hair, unable, whenever he was close to me, not to touch me.
“That can never happen again,” I stated when he disconnected the call, turning to look at him. “My heart can’t take it.”
“Mine couldn’t either.” He took gentle hold of my chin, stroking my beard before he kissed me, first a bare brush of his lips, and then again, harder, and the third time, deeper, parting my lips with his tongue, slipping inside, needing more.
I broke the kiss, taking his hands in mine.
“You can kiss me all you want but I need you to understand something.”
“What’s that?” he asked gently, leaning in to give me a quick kiss on the ear.
“Are you listening?”
“I am,” he swore, meeting my gaze. “Tell me.”
“You’re not allowed to put yourself in any kind of danger. No pressure, but you know, you’re my one shot at happily ever after, so think before you decide to go skydiving on a work trip or something.”
His chuckle made me smile in spite of myself.
“Don’t laugh at me.” I squinted, going for threatening but coming off like I was pouting instead. “You knew the job was a lifetime commitment when you signed on.”
“Yes, I did,” he assented, placing a kiss on the side of my neck, under my ear, and then at the corner of my mouth. “As did you. And I’m not going anywhere without you.”
“That’s good,” I murmured, turning to him as he slipped a hand around the side of my neck and eased me close. “Stay with me.”
“You know I will,” he assured me, and when he kissed me, I felt it like the promise it was.
Always.
A Note From the Author
Thank you so much for reading Scratch The Surface. I hope you enjoyed Jere and Cam learning that sometimes lust at first sight leads to love, and then building a life together. If you did, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. Reviews help so much with a book’s visibility and kind words are always appreciated.
If you enjoy romance with some action thrown in, please check out my ongoing Torus Intercession series.
Be sure to follow me on Amazon to stay up to date on new releases and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter here.
Please pop by my website or visit me on social media to stay in touch. I have some really cute pics of my furry ninja on Instagram. And if you like to listen to your books as well, you can find me on Audible as well.
I hope to see you soon!
Also by Mary Calmes
By Mary Calmes
WARDERS
His Hearth (Warders #1)
Tooth & Nail (Warders #2)
Heart In Hand (Warders #3)
Sinnerman (Warders #4)
Nexus (Warders #5)
Cherish Your Name (Warders #6)
L’ANGE
Old Loyalty, New Love
Fighting Instinct
Chosen Pride
Winter’s Knight
HOUSE OF MAEDOC
His Consort
His Prince
MARSHALS
All Kinds of Tied Down
Fit To Be Tied
Tied Up in Knots
Twisted and Tied
TORUS INTERCESSION
No Quick Fix
In A Fix
Fix It Up
THE VAULT
A Day Makes
Late In The Day
Any Closer
More Than Life
Stand In Place
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.comAcrobat
Again
Floodgates
Frog
The Guardian
Heart of the Race
Ice Around the Edges
Judgment
Just Desserts
Kairos
Lay It Down
Mine
Romanus * Chevalier
The Servant
Still
Three Fates
What Can Be
Where You Lead
You Never Know
CHANGE OF HEART
Change of Heart
Trusted Bond
Honored Vow
Crucible of Fate
Forging the Future
MANGROVE STORIES
Blue Days
Quiet Nights
Sultry Sunset
Easy Evenings
Sleeping ‘til Sunrise
A MATTER OF TIME
A Matter of Time Vol.1
A Matter of Time Vol. 2
Bulletproof
But For You
Parting Shot
Piece of Cake
TIMING
Timing
After the Sunset
When the Dust Settles
About the Author
Mary Calmes believes in romance, happily ever afters, and the faith it takes for her characters to get there. She bleeds coffee, thinks chocolate should be its own food group, and currently lives in Kentucky with a six-pound furry ninja that protects her from baby birds, spiders and the neighbor’s dogs. To stay up to date on her ponderings and pandemonium (as well as the adventures of the ninja) follow her on Twitter Facebook, Instagram and subscribe to her newsletter.