Read Online A Very Merry Christmas: WITH "Do You Hear What I Hear" AND "Bah Humbug, Ba by Lori Foster, Janice Maynard, Gemma Bruce - Free Book Online

little elf was a neat freak. He’d honestly expected her to be scattered and somewhat disorganized. Ainsley had been so chaotic all the time, in her emotions and in her surroundings.
    But then most of what he’d learned of Marci today had proved she was not only different from Ainsley but from most other women he’d known.
    Her incredible vulnerability, combined with her compassionate tears when Magnus finally reunited with his family, had pushed Ozzie right over the edge. Marci was one of a kind.
    He’d have her today, and to hell with what Lucius had said.
    To hell with his own misgivings, too. Getting too involved with her might be a bad idea, but he couldn’t resist the sexual lure any longer.
    As he left the bathroom, he thought he heard her muffled chatter. Cocking a brow, he called out, “Marci?”
    “Be right there.”
    Curious now, Ozzie wandered to her bedroom door and silently pressed it open. He found Marci on her knees beside the bed, looking under it.
    The position elevated her sexy backside and put thoughts of sex on the fast track in his brain. “Damn, I love your ass.”
    Laughing, she looked over her shoulder at him. She balanced herself on one hand, and with the other she held a phone to her ear. “Sorry. I can’t find my car keys. They’re here somewhere. The donkey sort of bumped things around so I think they must’ve fallen off the nightstand—”
    “Who are you talking to?”
    “My sister.”
    “So your sister knew you’d stolen a donkey? Does that mean Lucius knew?”
    Suddenly Marci blushed and whispered into the phone, “No, Bethany. No, that’s not what he said.”
    She cast an uncomfortable look at Ozzie, but he wasn’t about to budge.
    In an even lower tone, her face red-hot, she said, “Not me, my ass.”
    Ozzie grinned. So, Bethany had heard his comment about Marci’s backside.
    “It’s not at all the same thing,” Marci argued while turning her back on him. “I have to go. Yes, I know. You, too.” When Marci faced him again, she wouldn’t meet his gaze, and that bothered Ozzie enough that he decided not to tease her.
    “You don’t need your keys. I’ll drive.”
    She shook her head. “No, thanks. You’ll be at work at night and I don’t want to be stranded.”
    That made sense, so he let it go. “Then let’s find the keys and get out of here before the roads get any worse.”
    As he started to bend down to help her look, she straightened with the keys in her hand. “Got ’em.” Still flustered, she started to close her overnight bag, and Ozzie noticed the thermal pajamas she’d included.
    “You won’t need those.”
    She nudged him aside and shoved the bag shut. “Maybe not tonight, but after that…Um. I am staying more than one night, right?”
    Damn, but her uncertainty got to him. Catching her shoulders, Ozzie drew her toward him and kissed her soft mouth. “Through Christmas, if you like.”
    “I like,” she whispered back.
    She tried to kiss him again, but he leaned out of reach. “If we start that, we’ll never get out of here.”
    Her tongue came out to slick over her lips. Her big blue eyes darkened. She laid one hand lightly on his chest. “Well, my bed is right—”
    “No.” She’d be the death of him. From one second to the next, he got so primed he hurt. “I don’t want to start anything here, because I haven’t been to bed yet. Let’s get to my place so I can sleep afterward.” If she objected to his third-shift lifestyle, better to find out now.
    Her touch went from seducing to soothing. “I bet you’re pretty exhausted, huh? You’ve been up so long now.”
    He was horny, not sleepy, but he didn’t say so. “If it’d been a normal day, I could just stay up and sleep tonight. But it’s been nonstop since I got to work.”
    “How come?”
    He shrugged. “We had a barricade/hostage situation with lots of gunfire. Everything worked out, but that kind of situation gets the adrenaline pumping. When it fades, so does the