Santa Baby~Chapter 17

Five Days Until Christmas: Asthor Estate; Kennesaw, Georgia



As proud and elegant as its former owners, Asthor stood out brilliantly against the sunlight and was an instant hit with the young lovers who were looking to make it their reception location. Though it wasn't as grand as it once had been, Shawn hadn't allowed it to deteriorate with its years of disuse. Instead, he'd used some of his hard-earned money to hire a caretaker to look after the physical aspects of owning a thousand-acre plantation. That way Shawn never had to go down to visit it. Never had to see it. Because even today, almost five years after his parents' accident, he became physically sick at the sight of it.

Blake and Jules were too busy being in love--with the house and each other--to notice their friend's discomfort. "Ohh..." Julianne let out a purely feminine sigh and threw her arms around Blake. "It's beautiful. It's perfect. Oh, I love you!"

Trying desperately to rid of his sickness, Shawn focused his attention on his friends. "Hey, it's not his house." He pouted, smiling when Jules looked over at him. "Wanna share some of that gratitude?"

The redhead giggled and averted her attention to Shawn. "I love you, too, ya big sweetie." She placed a smacking kiss on his cheek, then wiped away the remnants of lipstick in a gesture that reminded Shawn all-too-much of his mother. "In fact, if I had met you first, Blake would've been the best man, and you would've been the groom."

Shawn furrowed his brow, chewing on that possibility for a few moments. Finally, he let out a whoop and scooped the petite girl into his arms. "I knew it! I knew it was me you loved. What'd'ya say you marry me now instead of this jerk?"

Jules laughed and looked over at her fiancee, raising an eyebrow. Blake smiled slowly, then slipped his hands into his pockets."I wouldn't turn a proposal from Shawn Brady down so quickly, Julianne. It's not everyday that Mr. Fear-of-Commitment-Brady proposes."

This was about as good as it got for Jules. She, her future husband, and his best friend laughing and joking as if they'd been friends forever. Before wiggling her way out of Shawn's arms, she kissed him hard on the lips. "I'm flattered, really I am, but I'm kind of already attached to the jerk." Her smile softened then as she touched a hand to his unshaven face. "Someday a special girl is going to come along and take your breath--as well as that fear of commitment--away. All I ask is that you invite us to the wedding."

Shawn almost squirmed at the words commitment and wedding being used in the same breath. His own wedding was, in fact, his worst nightmare. "You betcha. I love you, Jules."

"Me too, Shawn." She slipped an arm around Blake's waist and went back to her evaluation of the house. "It's perfect." She said decisively. "Just perfect."

Perfect wasn't the exact word Shawn would've used to describe his old home place. In fact, in his mind, it was as far from perfect as it could get. Filled with ghosts and demons and memories of the past and its mistakes, Asthor was more like a curse to him. He sighed as he got down to business and unlocked its large, unwelcoming front door.

The draft of cold air that cut through him when he jerked open that door was not only terrifying but hollow. Terribly hollow. He let Blake and Jules enter first, watched in amazement as the two gushed over the extravagant foyer of the house. "My God, it's like something out of a fairy tale." Jules whispered breathlessly. She turned to Shawn. "You lived here as a child?"

Shawn could only manage a nod, then continued towards the sunroom--where he'd imagined the reception being set up. "There's a lot of work to be done, I imagine; but the caretaker has left it in relatively good shape. I'm sure your mother can handle decorations and whatnot."

"Yes." But she wasn't paying attention, her eyes and mind were capturing every tiny detail of the mansion. The high ceilings with their crown molding. The gleaming hardwood floors that creaked under their feet as they made their way through the house. The brilliant sunlight that streamed in through the large windows at almost every turn. Yet, the one the thing she didn't see was a home. No pictures lining the walls. No trinkets and clutter sitting around on the empty desks and tables. She reminded herself that no one had lived in the house for quite some time, and any place would lose its heart without occupants. Pushing back the loneliness that seemed to vibrate off of Asthor's walls, she smiled up at Shawn who was somber and pale. "Thank you. It's absolutely perfect."

Relieved that the viewing was almost over, Shawn's tense shoulders relaxed. "Good. Glad I could help."

Blake threw an arm around his friend's shoulders and tried to nudge a chuckle out of him. "So, how are things with the stripper?" He immediately felt Shawn tense again under his touch and instinctively stepped back.

"She's not a stripper." Shawn said flatly.

"No, of course not. It was a joke, buddy. Just a joke." He chuckled nervously, then ran a hand through his hair. "I guess things are either really good or really bad judging from that reaction."

"Maybe you should just mind your own damn business, Blake. Not everything can be as perfect as it seems to be for you." Shawn paused, watched Julianne move away, then leaned in closer to Blake. "And if you ever call her a stripper again, I'll personally beat the shit out of you."

Blake's smile came quick and naturally. The two had been friends since childhood, and it was an ongoing joke that Blake had won every fight they'd ever engaged in. And there had been plenty. Mostly boyhood fights over silly things like girls and baseball. "Sure you will, buddy. Sure you will." He punched Shawn's shoulder companionably, then left to catch up with his fiancee.

Shawn stayed back, letting the past float around him in the thick air of the mansion. The sickness was gone, though there were still traces of nervousness jumping through his system. He wondered if he'd finally learned to deal with the past or if he'd finally had a reason to deal with the future instead. He thought of the two new women in his life, with their dancing blue eyes and their warm giggles, and he voted for the latter.




Santa Baby~Chapter 18



"What about Shawn?" Meredith had actually showed up to work early for the first time in--well, for the first time ever, just so she could get the goods on Belle's liaisons with Shawn from the night before. Madison had certainly shared some sketchy information about her mother and Shawn dancing, but Meredith wanted all the gory details from the mother herself.

"What about Shawn?" Belle responded, applying a thin layer of mascara to her lashes. The costume for tonight was much more low-key than the one from the night before. At least if Shawn showed up tonight, he wouldn't disapprove of her attire.

"Don't play coy, Belle, it doesn't look good on you. Come on, Maddy told me about walking in on you guys fighting or dancing or whatever the hell you were doing. I tell you a six year old is awful at gossip, she kept on getting her words mixed up, her tongue tied together. Damn! I was about ready to choke it out of her." She received Belle's warning glare and smiled innocently. "Figuratively, darling, figuratively."

"Sure. Listen, to make a long story short, and since you aren't going to give up until I give you something, Shawn kind of--" She paused to fill in her lined lips with a deep mauve lipstick. " Well, he kind of got weirded out when he saw me in that costume."

Meredith lifted an eyebrow. "Weirded out?"

"All right, he got jealous. And a little--"

"Possessive?"

Though she tried, Belle couldn't bite back the grin. "Maybe a little."

Meredith laughed then. "And now you're pleased with yourself because you managed to make a man jealous? And insecure? Oh Belle, hon, I don't know how I could have ever thought you were a bitch. You, my dear, couldn't be one if you tried." She leaned over Belle and looked at their reflections in the dressing mirror. "Just look at that smug face! You'll be impossible to live with now that you have a man drooling over you."

Shawn watched them from the doorway. Early still, Belle and Meredith were the only dancers there yet, and he didn't feel so much like an intruder with only them there. To his disappointment, Madison Renee was nowhere to be seen--probably already in bed, he mused. Her mother didn't like for her to be in the club during business hours, a fact which Shawn both admired and respected. And though he wanted to cross the room and draw Belle into his arms, he waited, wanting to hear a little more of what they were saying.

Belle's face turned serious in the reflection as her eyes met Meredith's. "I don't want to sound cliché, but it's never been like this before."

"Really?"

"Yeah, with Phillip it was always about sex and passion and heat. All that was ever really between us was an intense physical attraction. We were two rangy teenagers with raging hormones who stumbled into each other's arms. With Shawn--"

His stomach tightened so violently that he automatically stepped forward before she could finish her thought, and made himself known. "Excuse me, ladies."

Both Belle and Meredith wheeled around, their eyes wide with shock and something that resembled embarrassment. Because Belle was at a loss for words, Meredith took the initiative to speak first. "Shawn, hello there."

He said a quick prayer for the strength to take a step in the right direction. It's never been like this before. "Hi. Meredith, right?" He offered a sweaty hand. "Nice to see you again."

Sex was Meredith's answer to awkward situations. Playfully, she let her gaze run over him. She then took his hand and practically purred. "Likewise."

Getting more nervous by the minute, Shawn averted his gaze to Belle. "'Evenin', Belle."

"Hello, Shawn."

Meredith watched them as they allowed awkward silence to settle into the room. Amateurs, she thought with a snort, grabbing her makeup bag from the desk and heading for the door. "Well, I hate to leave good company, but I believe I heard Alex come in. I think I'll try to seduce him before the show. A good way to kill time, you know?" That said, she left the her friend to deal with things herself.

It was Shawn who decided to break the silence. "Not shy is she?"

"Hmm? Oh Meredith? Nope, not shy. Anything but shy. Did you know she hated my guts up until the day I met you? Isn't that strange?"

Ignoring the burning in his heart, he stepped over to the vanity, leaned down and left a trail of kisses down Belle's neck. "Yes," he said against her skin. "Very strange. Where's the monster?"

God, she couldn't speak. How could he think she could speak at a time like this? "Hmm?"

"Madison? Where is she tonight?" He lifted a hand and ran it over her shoulder, enjoying the feel of the silky fabric of the costume and the softness of her skin.

"Upstairs." She jumped involuntarily when that hand skimmed the side of her breast, closed over it through the fabric. Her eyes flew open and met his, which were dark and intense, in the mirror. "Shawn--"

The rest was lost as he rounded the chair and lifted her into his arms. "I'm sick of lonely, restless nights, Belle."

"Not now." She managed, though his mouth closed over hers consuming the desperate words. Her taste was fascinating and femine and left him wanting more every time he was under lucky enough circumstances to sample it. God, he wanted her. He wanted her unlike he'd ever wanted any other woman. He wanted her for those sad eyes, that happy giggle, that amazingly tender heart that he already knew so well.

He pulled back from the kiss violently, and when her gaze would have dropped, placed a hand under her chin and held it to his. "Not now." He repeated her words in a thick voice that he barely recognized as his own. "But soon." His lips sought hers again just as they heard voices begin to fill the club. "Soon."