Down the Rabbit Hole
Down the Rabbit Hole
Monica Corwin
Breathless Press
Calgary, Alberta
www.breathlesspress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Breathless Press and this author, acknowledge that Lewis Carroll holds all the rights to the Wonderland Characters and their respective original stories.
Down the Rabbit Hole
Copyright © 2014 Monica Corwin
ISBN: 978-1-77101-355-0
Cover Artist: Justyn Perry
Editor: Jen Bradlee
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
Breathless Press
www.breathlesspress.com
Dedication:
To my sister, Jessika.
A storm raged as hail and water hit the glass windows of The Rabbit Hole hard enough to make Elsa jump. As she closed her station, all she wanted to do was go home and get out of her clothes. A long, hard day slinging coffee had her neck muscles unrelentingly tense. Days like today she wished she had someone at home to rub the knots.
One man existed in her life and unfortunately he was so far out of her league he might as well have been in wonderland.
Elsa gathered the newspapers from the various tables. All of them had the same headline, “Cheshire Cat Garrots Again.” The last murder occurred only a few blocks from Elsa’s house. When would it end? The killings started three months ago and the newest victim ratcheted the body count to ten. Six women and one man. Just last week she overheard the police in her shop mentioning the killer targeted people based on criminal history. That meant she should be safe, but a serial killer on the loose still scared her. A shiver slid up her spine at the thought. The psycho might have walked down her street, passed her door, and caught her gaze on the street. She took a deep breath trying to calm down. So much had happened in the last few weeks, and people were on edge praying for an arrest. Stores were even refusing to sell the specialty wire the murder had been using to commit his heinous crimes.
Just as she gripped the sign store to flip it to
closed
a police officer tapped on the glass. Her heart shot into her throat, and she jumped back before she realized who it was.
Speak of the devil.
A hot flush crept up her neck as she opened the locked door.
“Are you closed?” Officer March asked while his heavy puppy dog eyes begged her to say no.
“Come on in. I’ll get you the usual,” she said, locking the door behind him. Water dripped from his slicker, and he removed it, then placed it on a peg by the door before crossing to the cash register.
“Thanks so much, Elsa. I have a long shift tonight, and I really need the caffeine boost before I go in.”
“It’s no problem, Officer. I don’t mind at all.”
“Elsa,” he admonished. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Harris?”
She knew her faced flamed red as she ducked away to fix his order. Her ears burned hot, and she really hoped he didn’t notice. Luckily, she hadn’t closed her station entirely. Elsa prepared his drink aware of his gaze on her.
A loud buzz from his radio scared her, and she spilled the coffee. She cleaned it up as Harris answered the call on his radio.
She only caught snippets of the conversation. The mention of The Cheshire Cat caught her attention, and she stopped working to stare at him.
He looked grave when he turned back to face her.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It seems that there’s a lead. The Cheshire Cat has been spotted in this area. They said to keep people where they are while a search is performed.”
Her heart seized, and she closed her gaping mouth. “Am I in danger?” she asked once her heart resumed beating.
He smiled, and her knees threatened to collapse.
“Not as long as I’m here. I’ll stay with you until they’re done with the search. The guys would never forgive me if I left their favorite barista unprotected and she got hurt.”
“Well, I guess I’ll make one of these for me too,” she said pouring another cup of coffee.
“Do you have a back room? Somewhere away from the windows where we could go?”
“Yeah, there’s an employee lounge in the back.”
She grabbed the coffees and led him through the back storage room to the lounge. A small couch took up one side of the tiny space, and some books were stacked on a short coffee table.
“I like to give the employees a real place to take a break instead of hanging out in the storage room,” she said.
When she opened The Rabbit Hole she wanted her employees to have a sense of home here just as she did. Unfortunately, the high turnover rate between cashiers and baristas made the place feel more like a hostel than a home.
Her heart raced not only from the threat of the Cheshire Cat but the idea of spending some alone time with Harris. In the three years he’d been coming to The Rabbit Hole she had wanted to ask him out but could never get the courage. He always looked so handsome in his uniform. All tanned skin and sexy smile. He was like a cross between a Baywatch lifeguard and a straight laced cop. Never a bad thing, but Baywatch lifeguards didn’t notice girls like her and neither did sexy police officers. Most of the time her mousy brown hair was tied up in a bun and her clothes stained with various caffeinated beverages. No man ever noticed her.
He rearranged himself so he sat on the couch comfortably with his belt on and took the coffees from her as she sat across from him.
She went for the obvious conversation starter once she settled a respectable distance from the good officer. “So how long have you been a cop?”
He pursed his lips and looked up at the ceiling. “About five years now. I started out with no intentions and I grew to enjoy the work. There are criminals out there who need to be stopped.”
The passion in his voice mesmerized her. Elsa fidgeted rubbing the rim of her coffee as she grasped for another conversation topic, anything to stop staring at his lips. “The last murder was only a couple blocks from my house.”
She pointed in the direction she lived like he would have any idea what she meant. This time she spoke without looking at his face at all. “Some nights I’ve been scared to walk home when I get off of work.”
Elsa could hear his smile it in his voice. “Do you want me to come by and walk you home until the guy is caught?”
Yes.
“No, I’ll be okay. It shouldn’t be that much longer, right?”
“Well this is nice,” he said in an attempt to ease some of her tension no doubt. Elsa wasn’t sure if he meant the lounge or her company.
She shook her head reaching for her beverage. “I’m sorry you are stuck with me for a little while. I’m sure you have more important things to do.”
“Elsa, look at me.”
She glanced up to meet his eyes.
“There’s nowhere on Earth I’d rather be than here with you.”
For a second Elsa let those words sink into her heart pretending he meant them as more than his duty as an officer of the law. She leaned back into the gray plush cushions and surveyed him discreetly over the rim of her coffee cup. His short, blond hair lightened by prolonged sun exposure stood up at odd angles most likely from the rain. When he smiled, his blue eyes sparkled crinkling at the corners.
Get it together woman.
Her reaction to him hadn’t lessened in the time they’d been acquainted. Harris always wore a smile when he showed up at the shop. She sighed, and he looked concerned for a moment.
“Are you all right? Not scared are you?”
Elsa shook her head. It surprised her that she really wasn’t scared. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Harris would protect her and lay down his life if necessary.
“Good. Nothing will happen. They will probably be done with the search in a couple of hours, tops.”
She smiled and rearranged herself on the couch in an attempt to at least look more attractive. As alluring as one could possibly be while covered in coffee bean dust. But as she moved so did he. When her elbow hit the wall her funny bone pinged, and she dropped her cup of warm coffee right in his lap.
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry!” She jumped up to help him.
“It’s ok. It’s not hot, but I should probably dry these.”
“Here let me,” she said dropping to her knees in front of him. Before she could even think about the situation she had his belt open and then stood to help him out of his pants.
“This really is a full service place,” he said with a chuckle.
She jerked away from him as realization dawned. “I’m such an idiot tonight,” Elsa said as she turned away so he wouldn’t see the tears pooling at the corners of her eyes.
She heard the rustle of cloth and turned back around to find him standing in a white T-shirt, black boxer briefs, and his socks. A naked pistol was clutched in his hand. He laid the gun on the coffee table. Elsa gathered his clothes and took them to the dryer in the other room. Luckily, she had washed all the towels in the shop earlier, or he’d have been stuck in wet clothes all night.
When she came back into the room, she found him lounging just as he had been completely comfortable in his partial nudity.
Comfortable was not the word she could use for herself. An electric heat shimmered under her skin and her clit pulsed as she tried not to stare—especially not at the bulge in his tight underwear.
“So tell me about yourself, Elsa. You’re here all the time so I assume you don’t have a significant other. Do you have any kids or pets?”
She laughed. “I honestly don’t have time for either. With the damn one shot coffee makers on the market now, the coffee business isn’t as big as it used to be. Most of my customers come in for the free Wi-Fi. How about you?”
He shook his head. “Nope. The girl I’ve liked for a long time never seems to notice me.”
Elsa swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and glanced down at her hands. “Well, she’s an idiot if she can’t see you.”
She felt him shift on the couch. When she looked up, his face was only inches from hers.
“It’s you, Elsa. You’re the girl I’ve wanted to notice me.”
Her gaze met his, and she shook her head. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that? I’m having a hallucination.”
He grinned that sexy grin, and his dimple deepened on the right side. As if in slow motion, he scooted closer until his bare knee touched her thigh. Her brain raced at ninety miles an hour trying to tell her what she should and shouldn’t do, where she should and shouldn’t put her hands. Her mind cleared in an instant when his lips pressed against hers in a feather-light caress.
With her brain shut down her body took over, and she threw herself into his arms deepening the kiss. His tongue tangled with hers. She sighed. He tasted of coffee and rain. The scent of precipitation from the outside storm still clung to him. She slid her fingers along the back of his neck and into his short hair. It bristled against her palm as she clutched his head, trying to draw him in further.
Harris pulled away after a moment, and she stifled a groan of disappointment. His hands disappeared under her shirt and lifted it off. She had a sports bra on underneath, and he met her eyes challenging her to say no as he reached around to undo the clasps.
She wasn’t about to say no to him or this moment. Elsa held his gaze until she needed to move her arms so he could pull the shirt off. When the bra fell away she wanted to cover herself aware of her body’s imperfections. Her pasty white skin contrasted with his tanned complexion as he leaned down and took her right nipple between his lips. She had always thought her breasts were small, but they fit his palm perfectly. Pleasure rolled through her as he laved the sensitive bud.
“What’s happening?” she asked as she threw her head back allowing him even more access to her skin.
He pulled back and palmed her breasts, one in each hand massaging them gently. “I’m going to make love to you, Elsa, just as I’ve been dreaming about doing for three years.”
“How long?” she whispered, wondering if she’d heard him right.
“For three years I’ve imagined throwing you across every flat surface in your shop. I’ve imagined how you’ll moan against my neck if I lay you down and take you on the big, old kitchen table you keep in the corner. Your whimpers call to me at night as my mind drifts to your silken taste on my tongue. I’ve been madly in love, lust, something with you for so long. This seems like a dream.”
“If it’s a dream, is it my dream or yours?”
“Does it matter? We’re both believing the impossible.” He pulled her hips toward him and gently pushed her back so her head rested on the arm of the couch.