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Christmas Male Exerpt | page 1 | page 2 | page 3 | excerpts
Chapter One Police Lieutenant Fiona Gallagher looked up from her brochure to survey the crowd waiting to get a look at the legendary Rubinov Diamond. The long line was being threaded through the exhibition room in a zig-zag pattern similar to the ones used for security checks at airports. Her fellow viewers were a diverse group, ranging in age from school age kids to a couple just ahead of her who appeared to be in their eighties. She’d even spotted a couple of teens dressed in black and wearing red scarves and Santa hats in honor of the season. Fiona had yet to figure out what the hell she was doing at the exhibition. In the five years she’d lived and worked as a police detective in D.C., she had yet to visit the National Gallery. Two or three times during her wait in line, she’d been tempted to leave. Diamonds with romantic legends surrounding them weren’t her cup of tea. True, her boss, Captain Natalie Gibbs-Mitchell, had been nagging her to see it. But Natalie always thought she needed more in her life than the job. Fiona didn’t agree. Her work in the high profile crime division Natalie ran always challenged and never disappointed. Perhaps, she’d come today out of boredom. It was true that she wasn’t currently working on a case. That bothered her a bit. Christmas was far from her favorite holiday, and she always depended on the job to get her through the season. But it wasn’t like she didn’t have things to do. She was running a toy drive at the precinct which would benefit the families of returning vets, and she had a meeting at Walter Reed hospital in less than an hour. After that, there was an obligatory Christmas party which called for a change of clothes. The Rubinov hadn’t even been on her mind when she’d left the station, but the next thing she knew, her car was at the National Mall. Curiosity had always been one of her strengths as a cop, but it seldom extended beyond the job. And she rarely acted on impulse. As the couple in front of her moved on, Fiona got her first glimpse of the diamond. And she couldn’t seem to drag her gaze away. Had she ever seen a stone that blue? Legend aside, she couldn’t deny its extraordinary beauty. Even through the glass of the display case, the jewel in the center of the intricately carved necklace burned with a fire that seemed to grow even brighter as she looked at it. As far as possessing the power to irresistibly draw two people together? Fiona’s logical mind balked at that. But she couldn’t fault the National Gallery’s decision to promote the romantic legend surrounding the stone. Even in the midst of a busy Christmas season, the Rubinov Diamond had all Washington talking. And not about politics. Several people including a prominent senator’s son had announced their engagements and were attributing their wedding plans to the famous stone. In her experience, true love was a rare thing. She wanted to think that her parents had experienced it, but since she’d lost them when she was four, she had too few memories to rely on. She certainly hadn’t spotted any instances of true love in the series of foster homes she’d bounced through before she’d entered the police academy. True her captain was very happily married—and expecting her first baby. And Natalie’s triplet sisters, Rory and Sierra, were happy in their marriages too. But in Fiona’s view the former Gibbs sisters were very lucky and were exceptions to the rule. Was she secretly hoping to find what Natalie and her sisters had found? Was that what had lured her to the exhibition? Dream on, Fiona. Christmas is a time for broken dreams. She’d been four when she’d learned that lesson for the first time. Still, she couldn’t quite look away from the diamond, nor could she prevent the little tug of longing. She had to move on. Putting some effort into it, she tore her gaze away from the Rubinov diamond. It was only then that she noted a man standing on the other side of the glass case. He was tall and dark haired with broad shoulders. There was something essentially male about him even without taking into account the officer’s uniform. She was vaguely aware that an older woman stood to his right, her arm tucked through his. The younger woman to his left said something, and when he smiled, Fiona felt her heart skip a beat. Now she studied the three people standing directly across from her with the same intensity she’d looked at the diamond. They had their gazes locked on the necklace. Family, she thought. The tiny twinge of envy was pushed quickly away. Without warning, the officer’s eyes lifted and met hers over the display case. For one instant, all she could feel was the impact of his gaze moving through her like a bullet—penetrating first skin, then muscle, blood, and bone. Her mind went blank. Except for one word. Hers. She felt a pull and knew only that she wanted to go to him, needed to... When his gaze shifted back to the older woman at his side, Fiona realized that her heart was beating fast—as if she’d just raced to the top of a hill. And one of her hands had fastened onto the velvet rope in front of her. To hold on? To tear it away? She could have sworn the fire in the diamond glowed more fiercely. Ridiculous. She ordered herself to draw in a deep breath and let it out. This wasn’t like her at all. She wasn’t the type to be affected by the hype surrounding a supposedly magical diamond. And the officer—whoever he was—was a complete stranger. Icy panic shot up her spine. She shouldn’t have come here. It was always a mistake to wish for more than you could have. Without a backward glance at either the diamond or the man, she whirled away. Crumpling the brochure that held the legend, she stuffed it into her coat pocket and barely kept herself from running out of the exhibition room. # # # Joy to the World. The music poured out of the speakers in the sculpture garden at the National Mall, mixing with the chatter and laughter of skaters as they circled the ice rink. Usually, Army Captain D.C. Campbell loved Christmas music. The song playing right now was a particular favorite. He’d always believed that spreading and receiving joy was the purpose, the mission of Christmas. But this year, he had to admit, the spirit of the season had eluded him. Not even the lights winking merrily on the National Mall were helping. Nor did the sight of his mother and younger sister Darcy skating arm in arm as they rounded the corner of the rink. Using his cane to wave at them, D.C. gave himself a mental shake and turned to walk down the path toward Madison Drive. He knew exactly what his problem was—and he needed to solve it. He was bored senseless with his job. After his last tour of duty in Iraq, running the military police unit at nearby Fort McNair was as exciting as watching paint dry. It was a small base and occupied a scenic location in the South West section of the capital. The Anacostia River bordered it on the south and the Washington Channel on the west. The National Defense University was housed on the grounds, and D.C.’s main job was to oversee security. No problem there—since it ran like a well-oiled machine. Handling security had been a tad more challenging in Baghdad. The other part of his job at Fort McNair was to investigate any crimes committed by personnel assigned to the base. So far the most exciting thing he’d done in the six months since he’d been assigned there was to referee a fight that had broken out in the Officer’s Club. Pretty easy work compared to what he’d done in Iraq. The upside was that it was risk free. You didn’t have to second guess any decisions when you were signing requisition orders. No one’s life was on the line. Not his. Certainly not a partner’s. There was still guilt when he thought of David Eisley, the young man who’d been with him when he’d taken the hit to his leg. The young man who hadn’t survived. But he was dealing with it. Risks, wins and losses—they were part of the job. Part of what had driven him to join the military in the first place. At other times in his life, D.C. had embraced boredom. After a particularly rough day in a combat situation, a little tedium was welcome. Refreshing even. But enough was enough. No doubt it was his state of mind that had fueled his imagination earlier in the afternoon when he and Darcy and his mom had been viewing the Rubinov Diamond. That had to have been why he’d had such an...odd reaction to that woman. When he’d first met her eyes, the tightening in his gut had been unexpected. Raw and hot and sexual. That he might have explained away. After all, she was a beautiful woman. The whiskey colored eyes and the cameo face framed in a long fall of dark hair was enough to whet the appetite of any male with a pulse. And when she’d turned and strode away, the closer look he’d gotten at her body hadn’t disappointed. Despite the fact she’d been wearing a short jacket and slacks, he’d gotten a clear impression of a lean, athletic body and miles of leg. Desire had punched through him again. Understandable. Enjoyable. But the intense and possessive urge he’d had to follow her and stop her was more than surprising. It was unprecedented. He’d very nearly deserted his family without another thought to run after her. As it was, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of her until she’d disappeared. What would have happened if he had followed his mystery woman? The very nice fantasy that filled his mind helped him to fight off the increasing chill in the air as he continued down the path. The temperature had dropped steadily ever since the sun had set. But while they might warm him, distract him even, it was going to take more than interesting and pleasurable sexual fantasies to solve his current problem. All he wanted for Christmas was an adventure. Was that too much to ask? Not anything major...he wouldn’t wish a crime spree on his base. But he desperately needed something to jar him out of his mind numbing state. Thanks to the leg injury he’d suffered on his last tour of duty in Iraq, it wasn’t likely that he was going to see combat action any time soon. Hell, he couldn’t even join his mother and younger sister on the ice rink. Pausing, he turned back to watch the skaters. He barely needed the cane anymore, and the leg itself was at eighty to eighty-five percent. The problem was it wasn’t going to get to one hundred. His general had already had a conversation with him about transferring him to a desk job at the Pentagon. Problem was a desk job didn’t appeal to him any more than continuing on at the less than exciting Fort McNair. D.C. tapped his cane impatiently against the ground as he watched his mother and Darcy skate by again. He’d always thought he’d be a military career man just as his father had been. At least that had been his father’s plan before he’d been killed in Bosnia. But a career in the army was out if he had to spend the rest of his life on the fringe as he was doing today. |
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