Mistletoe’s Kiss

2. Chapter 2

2

Chapter 2

“There is always romance in crime.”

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

M addy smiled politely at the group of guests gathered near the large fireplace at the far end of the room. She took a moment to glance around the cosy space, appreciating the effort that had gone into recreating the 1920s vibe. The room was furnished with a pair of bright teal velvet sofas, matching armchairs, and a large, geometrically patterned rug. Metal and glass nesting tables added an art deco touch, while a wall of sturdy bookcases gave the room a lived-in feel. A lively festive jazz tune, possibly Jelly Roll Morton, played from a modern speaker system, though Maddy couldn’t help but wish for the warm crackle of vinyl.

A Christmas tree, standing about six feet tall, sat in one corner of the room. Its twinkling lights illuminated bronze, silver, and gold baubles, with strands of shimmering pearls draped over the branches. The fresh, woody scent of the fir tree, most likely from the nearby forest, filled the air. Whoever had planned the evening had clearly done their historical research, capturing the setting of Blood under the Mistletoe with remarkable attention to detail. Maddy felt as if she’d stepped into her novel, as close to the world she’d imagined you could get without a time machine.

Sara noticed Maddy’s reluctance to move further into the room to meet the guests. “How about we get a drink first, hmm?” Grabbing Maddy’s arm, she led her over to the side where a bartender was busily mixing cocktails. On closer inspection, Maddy realised that the bartender, dressed in a smart tuxedo with his greying hair slicked back was in fact the head of sales and marketing at Cupid, Daniel Scott.

“Crap, it’s Dan,” she whispered to Sara.

Maddy had been avoiding him for the better part of six months after he’d had too much to drink at the Bookseller’s Choice Awards and unsuccessfully tried to get her to come back to his hotel room. He’d mistakenly thought that because she wrote spicy novels she’d be open to his sleazy advances.

“How about you come back to my room and show me the practical application of that scene in chapter eight of A Woman Sconed ,” he’d drunkenly slurred at her. This had been the chapter in which Tabby and Markus had found themselves in the staff kitchen whilst the rest of the household were out and decided to release some mid-case tension. Markus had persuaded Tabby to lay back on the marble countertop, naked whilst he slathered her breasts and pussy with strawberry jam and clotted cream. He’d then eaten her out like the finest cream tea with freshly baked scones.

Sara had come to her rescue that time, rushing over and making up some excuse for Maddy to leave. But not before Dan had stroked her arm, muttering something about catching her next time, “Eww!” The thought of re-enacting one of her literary fantasies with Dan made her feel sick, not to mention she’d briefly met his wife Susie at last year’s summer picnic, she’d seemed genuinely nice if a bit boring.

Dan looked up from the drink he was mixing and saluted them with a glass. “Ladies”, he smirked, focusing his intense gaze on Maddy. “Don’t you look wonderful luv, trying to bag us some hefty orders with your feminine wiles, eh?” He licked his lips and stared at Maddy’s cleavage, “Yes, substantial feminine wiles.”

“I’ll be your handsome barkeep for the pre-dinner drinks at tonight’s soirée. I’m a dab hand with cocktails, did those mixology classes with the old ball and chain last year. Pretty sure I have a recipe book here somewhere if you have any requests and I make a mean Gin Ricky or a Gimlet. But for our favourite little romance author we have a special cocktail on the menu this evening, ‘The Mistletoe’s Kiss’. Straight from the pages of your novel Maddy, ginger, honey syrup, vodka, Campari, pomegranate juice and a dash of lime… poison not included, eh! So far that’s all I’ve made, everyone just wants a chance to try the infamous drink.”

“Sounds great Dan,” Sara grimaced, noticing the cloud of anxiety surrounding Maddy, “two Mistletoe’s Kisses, please. Then we’d better get on with all that ‘mingling’ you want Maddy to do, right?”

Dan nodded and handed over the drinks he’d been mixing. “Enjoy! Oh and Madeleine, save some time for me later. I’d love to go over ways we can work closely together to promote the new book and maybe discuss where you see this series going from here,” he said with a wink.

“I think I just threw up a little in my mouth, retreat, retreat!” Sara hissed once they were away from her slimy boss and heading towards the bright sounds of laughter and conversation.

They approached the small group clustered around the fireplace. Once again Maddy was impressed with the attention to detail as she eyed the huge festive garland draped along the top of the mantle, lush with holly leaves, red berries, cinnamon and dried oranges. It smelled divine but didn’t seem to be helping the guests get into the Christmas spirit. Priesh Mukta from Bakers Books looked like he was already locked in a conversational battle with Moira Walsh from SM Jones. Those two liked to put each other and their respective book chains down whenever they met at events, but secretly Maddy thought she could sense a simmering tension between them and liked to imagine they snuck off together for a quick hate fuck when the chance arose. Sometimes she felt that constantly seeing the potential for steam in boring, everyday interactions was a curse rather than a gift, one that all romance authors had to learn to live with. She often hoped the ‘gift’ would strike when she was ogling firemen or a hot doctor and not Moira and Priesh at industry events. Still, they were never dull to watch.

The guests had all been given their character cards for the murder mystery in advance and had dressed accordingly. Moira was looking very glamorous, wearing a blue satin shift dress, a tonne of sparkling costume jewellery and a shitload of makeup. Her carrot red hair stood out beautifully against the blue of her dress, it was just a shame about the almost neon pink lipstick she had on, pink really wasn’t a good colour for redheads.

Priesh was dressed in an old red velvet smoking jacket and cravat with a gigantic moustache stuck above his lips, he didn’t look particularly comfortable and Maddy could see the froth from his ‘Mistletoe’s Kiss’ dripping from the ugly monstrosity. She had to admit that apart from the mishap with his cocktail he did look rather distinguished, usually he turned up to parties in jeans and t-shirts no matter the dress code so she appreciated the effort he’d gone to for her launch.

“How exciting!” Sara said, clapping her hands together and looking at the other guests in the group, “What cards did you get?” Fluffing her dark curled hair she simpered, “I’m the seductive Cabaret singer and Maddy is of course the famous author.” Sara certainly looked the part, she always made dressing sexy look effortless and tonight she’d squeezed herself into a silky silver number with tassels on the hem that shimmied whenever she moved.

“I’m playing the role of the rich widow,” Moira replied, taking a large gulp of her cocktail and waving her character card about in the air.

“I’m the retired general,” Priesh grumbled, jerking away from Moira’s flapping hand.

The book influencer, Helen or “@romance4lif” as she was better known to her followers piped up, “Are we talking characters? I’m the pretty young heiress, I spent most of the weekend watching Poirot reruns and working on my costume. I got my followers to vote on which dress to wear and I’m going to do a Christmas Day giveaway of this necklace,” she said, indicating the string of black pearls she was twirling in her fingers “…along with a signed copy of your book Maddy. This party was a genius idea, so clever. The house is amazing and I just adore all the festive touches. I’ve already done a live stream of Dan mixing cocktails. I’ll film some more as the clues are revealed and a big finale announcing the murderer. My followers are waiting at home, dying to know who the villain is, they do love a black-hearted villain, especially at Christmas!” Helen was an attractive woman with big soulful brown eyes, big hair and Maddy had noticed that she liked to make the most of her other big ‘attributes’. She had a slightly raspy voice, deep and smooth, there was no doubt it helped her overall sensual image. She styled herself as the Queen of all things Dark Romance and liked to look and sound the part.

Helen raised an eyebrow, “I have to say, Maddy, I was surprised when I read the arc, not your usual style is it? I’ve always thought of the Merryweather series as cosy with a pinch of spice. Warm, comforting reads for those of us who dwell on the darker side of romance, whilst the new series is a whole lot grittier,” she said, clicking her long dark red nails against her glass. “The steam is right up there at 5 chillies! Ugh… that bathtub scene!”

When Maddy had written that particular scene she’d been keyed up and frustrated after yet another email from ‘[email protected]’. To unwind, she’d filled her tub with hot water and jasmine-scented bubbles, then climbed in and let her imagination run wild. Her fantasies had become increasingly detailed and frantic since she started receiving the anonymous emails about a year ago. She had no idea who was behind them and while most people would have reported a fan sending such obsessive and explicit thoughts to the police, Maddy had been drawn in, continuing to read them, again and again. Was there something wrong with her? More than likely, but she got such a delicious little thrill when a new mail notification popped up. She was addicted to that little ping and it almost felt as if her pussy was conditioned to grow wet whenever she heard it.

Her ‘number one fan’ as he liked to call himself, had read all her books and was unapologetically honest about his obsession. He detailed exactly what he craved to do to her, his messages filled with an abundance of frenzied descriptions. The fantasies he shared were dark, kinky, and a little unhinged, stirring something restless within Maddy. The only way to release the vivid images awakened in her was to capture them on paper, breathing life into her new characters, Hettie and her dark, possessive lover, Felix.

She often found herself wondering what her ‘number one fan’ looked like, what his hands would feel like on her skin, and she channelled all of those yearnings into her writing.

At first, she didn’t reply to the emails because she was scared, some of the comments he made suggested he was cyber-stalking her and she didn’t want to encourage him, but after a while, he became her filthy little secret and she didn’t want to ruin the thrill. Maddy had found that real relationships were hard. Her last boyfriend was a complete dick, jealous of her fame and insecure about the intimate scenes in her books, accusing her of cheating on him with her characters. Major eye roll.

Maddy’s mystery fan obviously liked her writing, and aside from the explicit nature of his emails, he occasionally mentioned movies he liked to watch, other authors he read and even talked about his rescue pup Milton. She felt a connection to him, a little less lonely on the days he wrote to her and in some ways that was the most dangerous thing of all. He was tempting… very tempting.

“Hmm,” coming back to herself Maddy replied to Helen “Well, romance can’t be all kittens and roses. It was fun to write something different, I really enjoy the dynamic between Hettie and Felix. He’s just so dominant, he wants to own her and he’ll do anything to have her all to himself, even if it’s not always socially acceptable or within the constraints of the law. And Hettie can’t help but forgive his behaviour, in fact, his darkness calls to something within her, something forbidden. Together they’re explosive and all that passion makes for a great mystery-solving duo.” Maddy shivered, she couldn’t help but compare her ‘relationship’ with her stalker to the couple she’d written into existence.

“You don’t need to convince me, Maddy, I loved ‘Mistletoe’, the steam is chef’s kiss and that twist literally hurt my brain. It was so inspired!” Helen gushed. “What did you think Moira?”

“Well, personally I enjoyed it but the Merryweather series was easier to market for us, it’s a better fit for our image. However, you have such a wealth of dedicated fans Maddy, they’ll read anything you write and I’m sure they’ll love the new direction, as long as you don’t completely abandon the cosier romances altogether.”

At Moira’s statement, Priesh huffed out “What a load of crap Moira, dark romance, especially mystery dark romance is hugely on trend at the moment! It doesn’t exactly vibe with our image either but you have to get with the times. We’re in the ‘Booktok made me read it’ era! Last week one of our booksellers put together a display of ‘Monster’ romance at the front of her store. There were monster cocks everywhere! And you know what, customers lapped it up… if you’ll pardon the pun.”

Maddy laughed, she’d read her fair share of monster, vampire and shifter romance, and she even had some interestingly shaped toys at home. There was no getting around the fact that people didn’t always want a comfort read, sometimes they wanted to live on the wild side, to lose themselves in a romance about a seven-foot green orc with a dick like a pendulum.

Sara, having had a second cocktail at this point, giggled “Give me a monster cock any day of the week, and please, please throw in a shifter with a knot, an angel or a demon and turn it into a ‘Why Choose’, now that’s a five chilli read!”

Just as Maddy was about to give Sara a high five, Michaels announced the arrival of Jude Walters, the manager of one of London’s leading independent bookshops, ‘The New Moon’. It was a lovely little shop with wooden shelves stuffed to the brim with books, and Maddy could happily spend hours there just breathing in the heady scent of sandalwood polish. The books themselves were chosen with real care and Jude had knocked through to the building next door, turning it into a cosy cafe called ‘The Nook’. Maddy liked to spend her free time there, sinking into the comfy sofas with a book, a coffee and a slice of their delicious carrot cake, watching to see what the other customers picked up to read.

Jude was a good twenty years older than Maddy but was lovely whenever they bumped into each other and always had time to have a chat about the latest books she’d ordered or a new cake recipe her wife Sheila was thinking of adding to the menu. Maddy hoped they could sit together at dinner.

“What character did you get Jude?” Maddy asked. Jude had gone for a bohemian look with a flowing navy blue dress embroidered with silver and a bejewelled silk turban on her head. She was also wearing a large pair of Christmas earrings, a gaudy twinkling snowman in one ear and a glittering angel in the other. Her fashion choices were always a little on the eccentric side but Maddy hoped that when she reached Jude’s age she’d develop a whole lot of “don’t give a fuck” when it came to personal style too.

Jude reached into a little beaded bag on her arm and pulled out a small cloth-wrapped package. “I’m supposed to be a tarot card reader, the after-dinner entertainment. I found these cards gathering dust at the back of the shop, didn’t even realise we had them, so I googled how to do a reading. I think I’ll need a few of those fancy-looking cocktails beforehand though,” she said, eyeing the mostly empty glass in Sara’s hand.

Maddy felt a brush against her lower back and flinched as Dan appeared lurking over her shoulder. “I think that’s all of us this evening chaps, The Author, The Cabaret Singer, The Heiress, The General, The Tarot Reader and of course myself, the dashing Millionaire Playboy.”

“Has Mr. Kolski arrived?” Sara asked, scanning the room with a hint of confusion. “He’s an American movie producer interested in adapting Maddy’s book into a Hollywood film,” she explained to the group “It’s very exciting!” A chorus of oohs and ahhs erupted from the guests, movie adaptations were fantastic for boosting book sales, along with tie-in editions and merchandise. The idea of a big-budget film version of Blood Under the Mistletoe had everyone practically salivating.

Dan shot Sara a glare, clearly annoyed by her explanation. With gritted teeth, he replied, “No, he hasn’t arrived yet, and there’s been no word either. He might have been delayed by the snow, but it’s still early in the evening. However, Michaels just informed me that dinner is ready to be served, and we can’t wait around for our absent movie producer. Time to grab a quick drink, Jude, then we’ll head in.”

He started to walk away, but before he could get far, Jude grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. They seemed to be exchanging heated words, which was very unlike the typically calm Jude. Her face was flushed, and her hands trembled as Dan finally broke free from her grasp and stormed out of the room.

While Maddy tried to watch discreetly, Sara leaned over and whispered, “Well, that’s a twist! The movie guy going AWOL. The office gossip is that this whole party, and the money Dan spent on renting the house for the evening, was all to impress him. Dan came up with the idea himself and pitched it to the higher-ups, so he has a lot riding on this. If Kolski likes you and your novels, it could really put Cupid on the map across the pond.”

“Oh dear, it’s no wonder he looks furious, the guest of honour hasn’t even bothered to show up. That’s a real blow to his ego!” Maddy snickered. For once, she felt pleased to see someone putting Dan in his place, even if it was unintentional.