A Million Kisses or More Read online

“Hmm, I’ll have to think about that,” he said sternly before his lips curved into a smile. Reaching out, he lightly touched the tip of her nose with his forefinger. “Of course, I’m not entirely sure how I’m supposed to react to being crushed on by a zombie. God, you look gruesome. Very impressive.”

  “Thank you. Um, are you going to be coming to Jesters tonight?” she asked, strangely nervous. The feeling that something was going to happen was swamping her and she was excited and terrified and jumpy all at once. Her heart was racing a million miles an hour, her stomach was floating in sludge, and she wasn’t sure whether or not she was going to be sick. Whatever it was, it seemed his answer was vitally important.

  “I’m not sure,” he said, a slight frown marring his forehead as he watched her watching him. “I’m supposed to get off on time but Jagger has been sick this past week and he’s the one who is supposed to take the second half of my shift. I hope to but I just don’t know.”

  The disappointment that filled her stomach with lead was instant and just as irrational. Running her tongue along her lower lip, feeling the soft latex and remembering the makeup, she nodded, “No sweat. I’m sure we’ll be incredibly busy anyway.”

  “I’ll do everything in my power to be there, Ana,” he murmured, understanding in his voice, understanding and some other emotion. At her nod, he reached up but then hesitated. Laughing to himself, he let his hand drop as he said, “I don’t want to mess up your makeup.”

  She smiled at that because she had forgotten for a moment that she was wearing any. Great, here she was flirting with the man and she looked like death. Literally. This time when he reached up, he did touch her, and she felt it in her toes. Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned closer, lowered his voice to a whisper, and said into her ear, “I plan on spending the night with you whenever I get off. Just so you know.”

  Her lips parted as her eyes rolled back into her head at the sensual promise in his words. When she opened her eyes, he was watching her closely until she felt the heat beneath the makeup and she broke eye contact first. Staring at her a moment longer, he suddenly clapped his hands together and went back over to his desk. While he was rummaging around in his surprisingly messy desk, Ana exchanged a bemused look with Jolie, each wondering what madness had possessed him. Finally, he held up a camera and grinned, “Aha! I knew it was here somewhere.”

  “Does it have batteries in it?” Jolie asked. “Remember last time it was dead?”

  “I charged it this morning, smarty pants,” he grinned. Pulling the camera up, he started snapping pictures as he said, “Act zombie-ish!”

  *****

  After getting the most out of trick or treating, hitting as many houses as possible and getting as much candy as they could, Ana had taken Jolie to her grandparents’ house, both of whom she met the week before when she had dropped Jolie off before work. Though she didn’t have time to sit down and pick their brains about Harrison, she had the impression that they were very nice, even if they were a little taken aback by the gruesome makeup. She was just happy that they were okay with her changing at their house before she headed into work. Washing off most of her zombie makeup and taking out the blasted contacts, she changed as quickly as possible. Throwing on a long sweater that covered her outfit, she went and found Jolie. She helped get her cleaned up while Jolie’s grandma watched from a safe distance.

  “So, you’ve been spending some time with my son and granddaughter,” Mrs. Miller murmured casually, her eyes narrowing as she watched Ana. When they had first met, she introduced herself as Jillian but Ana couldn’t bring herself to use the woman’s first name, not even in her thoughts, so Mrs. Miller it was.

  “Yes, I have,” Ana answered, focusing on getting Jolie cleaned up and not the thumping of her heart. She had never been interrogated before, not that this was an interrogation, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. “Tilt your head to the side, sweetie. I can’t quite get the eye gunk off.”

  Jolie giggled as she did as she was told, her eyes bouncing between Ana and her grandmother.

  “Is it serious?” Mrs. Miller asked.

  The corner of Ana’s lips tilted upwards because the response that was on the tip of her tongue was wildly inappropriate. Telling a boy’s mother that you hadn’t made love to her son yet but you were hopeful was probably unwise. “You’d have to ask him.”

  “I did,” she said through a tight smile. “He says you take his breath away.”

  Oh, he was so getting lucky the next time she saw him. Trying to steady her suddenly shaking hands, Ana managed, “He takes my breath away, too.”

  “He also says you’re leaving at the end of the year,” Mrs. Miller continued in that same disapproving tone.

  “I am,” she confirmed, washing the last of Jolie’s makeup off. Turning to Mrs. Miller with a strained smile of her own, Ana crossed her arms beneath her breasts and said, “He’ll have a lot more time to write when I’m not around to distract him, I’m sure.”

  “His writing is just a hobby,” his mom said, a strange look on her face as if she had just discovered the moon wasn’t made out of cheese and she wasn’t sure if she was okay with that or not.

  “He’s amazing,” Ana gushed, forgetting for the moment that she was talking to his mom. “Haven’t you read his books yet?”

  “Books?” Mrs. Miller said, her lips pursed in bemusement. It was a look she had seen on Harrison and the reminder was almost enough to make her shut up. Almost.

  “The Justice Kane Chronicles?” Ana said, her own brows pulling together as she realized something. “He hasn’t told you about them, has he?”

  “He hasn’t,” Mrs. Miller confirmed. “But that’s just like Harrison, keeping his secrets close to his heart. How many books are there?”

  “Four… well, three,” she said. “The fourth one will be out in a few weeks but Harrison let me read it early. It’s probably his best book yet, which is saying something because they’re all amazing.”

  “The Justice Kane Chronicles?” Mrs. Miller asked again for confirmation. At Ana’s nod, she bobbed her head, “I’ll have to look them up.”

  “He writes under Harris Fallen,” Jolie added, beaming her million watt smile as she slipped her hand into Ana’s and gave it a conspiratorial squeeze.

  “Thank you for telling me,” Mrs. Miller said, slightly less adversarial than just moments before. “If I had waited for my son to say anything, I never would have known.”

  “Oh my god, I’m so excited for you to read them,” Ana continued to rave, excited to find a new Justice reader, even if it was the writer’s own mother. But then she thought about what was in some of those books and she felt the heat in her cheeks as she stammered, “Um, he’s very… descriptive.”

  It took a moment for Mrs. Miller to understand but once she did, her color deepened as well. “I see.”

  “But you’ll be so engrossed in the story that you won’t even think about who wrote it,” Ana rushed to assure her, certain she was only making it worse as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

  Mrs. Miller was still suspicious of her but Ana was almost confident that they had passed the first hurdle. It didn’t hurt that Jolie was firmly on Ana’s side. The path of Ana’s relationship with Mrs. Miller wasn’t going to be strictly determined by whether or not Mrs. Miller loved the Justice Kane Chronicles books but it was going to be influenced by it. Ana wasn’t above holding a grudge if necessary.

  Giving Jolie a hug, she said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jelly Bean?”

  “Bright and early,” Jolie grinned. “We have a lot of Halloween candy to go through.”

  Ana exchanged a slight smile with Mrs. Miller before grabbing her jacket and heading off to the restaurant. She looked ridiculous with her long sweater beneath her heavy coat but there was no way she was going to go outside without her protective armor on. Also, her working zombie costume was not winter friendly.

  She was showing a lot more skin than she was normally comfortable with
, all in the hope that Harrison showed up while she was working. All of her clothes were torn, from the mesh tights to the short skirt to the tight shirt. Her zombie make up was limited to a few artistic bites and she still looked mostly human. She figured if she was a real zombie, she’d only be a few hours dead.

  Sexy zombie. Jeesh. Only for Harrison, who might not even show up to appreciate her efforts.

  Since Harrison’s parents lived so close to Jesters, it only took five minutes to get there, park on the side of the building and head inside. The lot was already filling up and she knew it was only going to get worse. Pulling her jacket and sweater off, she stuffed them into her little cubby hole and prepared for another night of work. Not just any night, but Halloween. On a Friday. It was going to be a madhouse and the one thing she had to look forward to might not even make it in. She let out a low groan because she could already hear the rowdy crowd from the back room.

  “Nice outfit,” Dan said, letting out a low whistle as he came into the back room. He was dressed as a twenties gangster, with the pin stripe suit and fedora. When he pulled off the hat, his hair was slicked back and he looked really good. She could see a little bit of Harrison in him and she could imagine that he’d be a very attractive man in a few years. Not that he was unattractive now.

  “You, too,” she returned. It was just before nine o’clock and she had three hours before she could go home and then another seven to nine hours before she saw Harrison. It was going to be a long night.

  “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you,” Dan continued on, distracting her from her thoughts.

  “That’s because we usually don’t work together,” she told him, since she usually worked during the week and he worked on the weekends. Plus, she had only worked for a total of ten hours since starting two weeks before. Luckily, she hadn’t worked during the karaoke nights yet and she was hoping her luck would hold up through the rest of the year. Then she’d be in California and never have to dread it again.

  “I’m pissed off at you, you know,” Dan said from out of the blue. Startled, she looked up at him, relieved that he wasn’t glaring at her, though she had no idea why he would be mad at her. “I saw Jolie’s makeup. It sucks when an eight-year-old makes a badder assed zombie than a fully grown man.”

  “You’re not dressed as a zombie, Dan,” she pointed out, a little surprised by that fact considering everything Harrison had told her about Dan’s obsession with the undead.

  “Well, after seeing Joles, I decided to ditch my half-baked attempt and go with last year’s costume.” He held his hands out to the side to model for her. “It still fits.”

  “Nice,” she offered, heading out to the main area, Dan following after her like a hapless child

  “So, are things serious between you and my brother?”

  “We haven’t slept together yet, if that’s what you’re asking,” she returned, her stomach flipping over itself at her words. “I just help out with Jolie every now and then.”

  “But he talked about you at dinner the other night,” Dan continued, making her suck in a breath.

  “Really?” she asked, trying to sound casual and not terribly interested even though her mind was buzzing with excitement and nerves. “What did he say?”

  “Not much,” Dan admitted, popping the bubble that was building in her tummy. “But then again, he never talks about anyone at dinner and he certainly doesn’t talk about girls.”

  A pleased smile curved her lips even as she fought the urge to do a victory dance. It was silly, really, but she still felt like celebrating.

  “And what did you mean by yet?” he asked, coming to a sudden stop and gaping at her.

  She snorted, “As if I’d discuss that with you.”

  “Ana banana!” Maris sing-songed over the noise of the restaurant, putting an end to a conversation that was quickly becoming uncomfortable. “How do you feel about picking up a few more shifts? Just for a week or two.”

  “I feel okay about it?” she said, knowing that the added income would definitely help but it would mean giving up some of her nights with Jolie and Harrison. Still, she needed the money. If only she could clone herself so one of them could work while the other hung out at Harrison’s.

  “Excellent.” With a wicked grin, Maris added, “We’ll even get you up on the stage one of these days.”

  “I’m suddenly feeling uneasy with the idea of extra shifts,” Ana returned, not completely lying as she grabbed a half apron and tied it around her waist.

  Maris chuckled, “One of these days, Ana. Anyway, the place is already hopping so you should make some decent tips tonight, especially with that slutty zombie thing you have going on.”

  Ana frowned, looking down at her costume. It wasn’t that slutty… and anyone who got turned on by the living dead surely needed to have their head examined. Since Harrison might not make it in, she should have stayed in the other makeup. Of course, that probably would have cut into her tips. Swallowing her discomfort, she forced her lips into a smile as she thrust out her chest, “I’ll be sure to use my dead body to its best advantage.”

  “Fuck, Annie, if dead girls looked like you, there would be a rash of necrophilia,” a familiar voice murmured from the doorway. When she looked up, she almost forgot to breathe because she hadn’t seen Asher in three years and she had forgotten how attractive he was. She also hadn’t realized how much he resembled Harrison, at least superficially. Of course, Asher’s hair was blond and his eyes were blue but she could definitely see the family resemblance. He was smiling at her as if they hadn’t parted on such a unfriendly terms, as if he was thinking about kissing her once more.

  “That is deeply disturbing, Asher,” she scolded in a teasing voice. In the three years since she had seen him, he had broadened out in the shoulders and developed even more impressive abs. In fact, he was probably even more built than Harrison, which made sense since Asher didn’t have the same responsibilities and could spend his time at the gym. His cockiness was on full display in the costume he chose to wear: a toga. His sculpted arms and legs were completely bare while his chest had the narrowest length of material that highlighted more than concealed. And was it her imagination, or had he oiled his skin?

  He grinned at her, crossing the distance and hugging her before she realized his intentions. His embrace was more intimate than she had anticipated and she wasn’t exactly comfortable with it. Up close, awkwardly returning the hug, she felt the sculpted body that bordered on the narcissistic side of muscular definition. Letting her go, he took her hands in his and looked down at her with fondness and perhaps something more, which was odd. “God, Annie, it’s good to see you again.”

  “Um, you, too,” she managed, subtly trying to tug her hands from his. It was as if he had never called her an infant and she didn’t understand him or his actions. Wasn’t he supposed to be in Asia? Frowning at him, she said, “I thought you were in Japan until next year some time?”

  “I came home early,” he told her. When she didn’t reply, a confused and slightly hurt look passed over his face. But then his smile returned, as charming as ever, and she couldn’t help but to compare it unfavorably to Harrison’s genuine smile that made her tummy tremble. “It’s been too long. I thought you were going to call?”

  She couldn’t help herself and she laughed at that. “Why would I call? You broke up with me because I wouldn’t have sex with you.”

  He tilted his head to the side and looked at her, his handsome face stirring old memories. There was something about Asher that was purely primal, sexual, and she wondered how she had forgotten. Probably because he was also an asshole. Reaching up, he lightly drew his finger along her jaw, making her flinch. Furrowing his brow, he asked in a soft voice, “Is that what you think?”

  “It’s what you told me,” she said. Then forced herself to admit, “Though not in so many words, or any words really. Either way, your feelings were made pretty clear the last time we saw one another.”

&nb
sp; His brows drew together but she was saved from a longer conversation by Maris yelling, “Get your ass to work, Ana. I didn’t hire you to flirt with my brother.”

  “I’ve got to go,” Ana said with a pained smile, grateful to Maris for rescuing her from yet another uncomfortable conversation. She gave her boss a small smile of gratitude and Maris nodded in understanding, concern in her eyes. From the moment she took the first order, Ana was swamped and completely forgot about her unexpected reunion with Asher.

  Chapter 7

  Harrison saw Ana as soon as he walked through the door and the sight had him stopping in his tracks. His first instinct was to cross over to her, wrap her up in his coat, and get her the hell out of there before anyone else saw her. But then he realized she had been there for several hours already and plenty of people had seen her. The clothes that she was wearing were torn in ways that seemed very provocative but actually revealed very little. Still, it was enough to give a man ideas and he didn’t want to share her with anyone. He realized he was acting like a jealous idiot but he couldn’t help the possessiveness he felt towards her.

  As if sensing him, she looked up and gave him a smile so brilliant his heart skipped a beat and then leapt towards her, thudding against his ribs. The way her face lit up made his breath catch in his throat. In that moment, he knew that she was who he was going to spend the rest of his life with, a thought that was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. His heart was racing and his palms were itching and if he didn’t know he was experiencing a life changing epiphany, he’d consider going to the hospital.

  Somehow, he found himself sitting in a booth with Liverpool and Jones, two of his fellow cops. In the next moment she was there, smiling down at him. “Hey, Harrison.”

  “Ana,” he said, his throat tight as he found himself drowning in her eyes.

  “You made it,” she said.

  “Jagger was feeling better and made it in,” he explained, trying not to stare at her like a damn fool and failing miserably. Her eyes were sparkling with laughter, her lips were full and glossy and he wanted to devour her whole. The makeup was toned way, way down and instead of looking scary, she looked sexy as hell, like she was still alive or freshly turned. The bite mark on her neck looked like a hickey, like a mark he wanted to give her. Letting his eyes roam over her body, the tight and torn clothes emphasizing her beautiful figure, he asked, “Where’s the rest of your costume?”