Smutty Advent - Day 4

I have a new Christmas story coming out this December - the 21st to be specific.

If you leave a comment on this one, you'll be entered into the contest to win an ebook copy of this book.

A Tale of Two Spirits

Danny knows the bookstore he owns has a ghost haunting it, and for eight years they've lived in harmony. Three days before Christmas -- Danny's busiest time of year -- his ghost suddenly turns nasty, throwing books at him, knocking displays over, and deliberately hurting him.

Knowing he needs to deal with this quickly, Danny calls on the medium Denim to help him with his ghost problem. One spirit actually turns out to be two, one of whom isn't all happiness and light.

Can Denim banish the evil spirit haunting Danny's store and save Danny's Christmas? Danny sure hopes so, especially after he meets the handsome medium.

buy links:
Changeling Press (available December 21)
Amazon - available now for pre-order

Excerpt:

Danny checked his watch. Five minutes past ten. It was time to close up. He scanned the store, confirming that there were no lingering customers, then locked the front door and turned the sign from “Open” to “Closed.” It had been a really busy day, and they’d been flat out until about nine when he’d finally sent Samantha home; it was going to be another busy day tomorrow. He both loved and hated the holiday season. He enjoyed decorating the store, and he loved helping customers find just the right book to gift someone with. But he was often run off his feet and usually worked from eight in the morning until ten every day for the two weeks leading up to Christmas.

There were only three days left until Christmas now and he was tired. He couldn’t wait to close the door at three on Christmas Eve and have a day and a half off. After Christmas were the sales, which was also busy, although less so in his little independent bookstore than at the bigger retailers. He’d also have to catch up on all his paperwork before the end of the year, so it would continue to be super busy until January.

A book dropped off the shelf in front of him as he made his way back to the counter to cash out. He sighed and picked it up, reshelving it. Another one landed on the floor in front of him.

“Stop that.” He picked up and reshelved that one, too. He’d no sooner put it away than two more flew past him, slamming up against the counter. He glared around the shop. “Stop it right now. It’s three days before Christmas, and I’ve had a really long day. I’m not in the mood for your shenanigans.” Normally he would have pondered  how wonderful a word shenanigans was, but he was honestly too tired today.

Four books dive-bombed him from the very top shelf, knocking him around the head.

“Hey! That hurt!” He rubbed his head, hurrying to the sales counter.

He knew he had a ghost problem. There had been, in fact, a spirit living here since he’d first bought the place, and, he suspected, for a lot longer than that. But he thought they’d come to some sort of understanding where they both more or less left each other alone. Okay, so Mavis, as he’d decided to name his spirit, didn’t exactly leave him alone, but she’d knock books off the shelves, or ring the bell over the door, making him think there was a customer. One time Mavis had hidden all the Dickens books. He couldn’t find them anywhere. Then he ran across them, neatly stacked, in the back.

Deliberately knocking books on his head was not her style.

He opened the cash register and started counting out the money for deposit. He had a slip that went in with the deposit, while he retained the bottom copy for his records. He did the twenties and went back for the tens. The cash drawer closed so quickly it nearly caught his fingers.

“You really are in a mood today.” He took out the tens to count, and when he was done with those, he went back for the fives. Only to have the drawer slam closed again, this time catching two fingers on his right hand. That hurt hard enough he yanked his hand away and exclaimed out loud. “Ow!”

He glared at the shelves of books that littered the store, but none of them seemed inclined to move under his scrutiny. The place seemed as empty as usual.

He was nearly finished counting when books started flying around the place again. He had to duck, twice, and he hurried through the last of his evening routine. “I don’t know what your problem is, Mavis, but I don’t like it. I’m tired and I’ve worked really long hours and I just want a glass of merlot with my feet up.”

The keychains on the stand next to the cash register rattled vigorously enough that a whole bunch of the book-shaped pieces fell onto the floor with a terrible clang. More books winged narrowly past his head when he bent to pick them up. He decided he could clean in the morning.

Grabbing the deposit, he made a beeline for the door, ducking as more books flew at him. He got out the door and pulled it closed behind him. He locked it and was halfway down the block when he realized he’d left the lights on at the store. Rubbing his head, he decided it could wait. He didn’t know why his store spirit was suddenly so angry, but it seemed very clear to him that she was.

He made his deposit and headed home quickly, eager for that glass of wine. He knew he should probably stop somewhere to grab something to eat, but he also knew everywhere was going to be packed and, honestly, he wasn’t that hungry. He was just exhausted and knew he needed to head to bed fairly soon. Not to mention his head hurt from being pummeled by books.

If Mavis kept it up tomorrow, he was going to have to close the store rather than risk customers getting hurt. He really couldn’t afford to do that. He would easily make tomorrow what he usually did on a decent week any other time of the year.

Sighing as he found himself at home, he let himself in. An aspirin for his head, a glass of merlot for his spirit, and then bed for his body. It was a plan.

Sean
smut fixes everything