Page 62 of Merry Kissmas

“Oh shit.”He slams the door shut.

“What?”

“Um…” He turns around.“Stay here.”

I pull him back by his jacket.“What is it?”

“I think I saw a rat or something scurry by when I opened the door.”

There goes me getting laid tonight.

ChapterTwenty-Three

Pierce

I’m not big on rodents, but I’m also not willing to look like a wimp in front of Brynn.

“I’ll be back,” I say, opening the door a second time, determined to catch this critter so I can finally have Brynn under me again.

“I’ll go with you,” she says, her hands clinging to the back of my pajamas.

“You don’t have to.”

“I don’t want to be out here by myself.I’m sure the little guy has friends.”

We tiptoe into the villa, and she slams the door.

“You’re going to scare him.”

The critter runs from under the couch to under the bed.

Brynn screeches and jumps around me onto the couch cushions.“I can’t.”

“Which is why I told you to wait outside,” I say, heading toward the bed.

“And I told you he has friends out there.It could be an entire plan.He’s the decoy.”

I chuckle and look at her for a second.“New thing I learned about you—you have an active imagination.”

“You have no idea if what I’m saying is false.”

I pick up a shoe by Brynn’s suitcase and toss it under the bed to hopefully get the rodent out.

“Use your own shoe!”she shouts.

“Our bigger problem is that there’s nothing in this villa for me to trap him with, so we’re going to have to resort to scaring him enough that he runs out the door.”I raise my eyebrows in question because this means she has to help.

“You want me to open the door, don’t you?”She bites her lip.

“Would you prefer to be the one who scares it?”

“I’d rather not do either.”

“Sorry, that’s not an option.”I’m standing next to the bed when the little thing runs out from under the bed at full speed toward the bathroom.

I jump up on the bed.“Bloody hell, he’s fast.”

“Pierce.”Her body squirms, and she wretches as if she’s going to throw up.

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