Mr. Right Now Read online

  Published by

  Dreamspinner Press

  4760 Preston Road

  Suite 244-149

  Frisco, TX 75034

  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Snowbound, Lovebound? Copyright © 2008 Fae Sutherland & Marguerite Labbe Deacon Decides Copyright © 2008 Eric Arvin

  Odds Are Copyright © 2008 Chrissy Munder

  A Screw and a Stud Copyright © 2008 Sonja Spencer

  A Thorough Workout Copyright © 2008 Alix Bekins

  Know When to Spread ’em Copyright © 2008 Catt Ford

  The Proposition Copyright © 2008 Rhianne Aile & Madeleine Urban Wanna Ride? Copyright © 2008 Sonja Spencer

  Power Struggle Copyright © 2008 Anais Morten

  Special Offer Copyright © 2008 Clare London

  Cover Design by Mara McKennen All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press at: 4760 Preston Road, Suite 244-149, Frisco, TX 75034 http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

  ISBN:

  978-0-9815084-2-9 Printed in the United States of America First Edition

  January, 2008

  eBook edition available

  eBook ISBN: 978-0-9815084-3-6

  Table of Contents

  Snowbound, Lovebound? by Sutherland & Labbe 5

  Deacon Decides by Eric Arvin 31

  A Screw and a Stud by Sonja Spencer 39

  Odds Are by Chrissy Munder 65

  A Thorough Workout by Alix Bekins 113 Know When to Spread ’em by Catt Ford 121

  The Proposition by Aile & Urban 137

  Wanna Ride? by Sonja Spencer 193

  Power Struggle by Anais Morten 199 Special Offer by Clare London 219

  Snowbound, Lovebound?

  Fae Sutherland & Marguerite Labbe

  “FUCK you, Tam. I ain’t listenin’ to goddamn ‘choppin’

  anymore!” Jimmy reached down to fiddle with the radio, ignoring Bryan Tam’s huffing. Tam snorted and smacked Jimmy’s hand away from the radio. “It’s pronounced ‘sho-pan’, hillbilly. And you’re going to listen to it, because I’m driving. Who knows, maybe it’ll rub some class off onto you, though I doubt it.”

  Jimmy glared at his partner then slouched down in the seat. “Yeah, well, you have twenty more minutes until I take over driving and I don’t wanna hear a fuckin’ word about my music, got it?” Fucking overbearing, pain in the ass, condescending bastard. Jimmy swore the man must have a fear of drowning every time it rained; his nose was so far in the air.

  Tam arched a slim brow imperiously. “Music? Is that what you call it? I brought earplugs for just that occasion, hotshot, not to worry.” His tone was smug, and Jimmy wanted to punch him right in his smirking mouth. Fucker.

  Jimmy looked around for lack of anything entertaining to do since the batteries on his Game Boy had died two hours earlier and Mr. Prima Donna couldn’t be bothered to stop and let Jimmy buy some more. He scowled and sat up, gesturing to the road sign they’d just passed. “Tam, you wanna tell me why the fuck we’re 25 miles from Hartford when we’re supposed to be in fucking Albany? Connecticut, New York… kinda not the same fuckin’ state, ya know.”

  Tam frowned and glanced around, then huffed and shook his head. “You must have read the sign wrong, Jimmy, although that doesn’t surprise me, reading and writing isn’t exactly high on the hill folk list of important things to do, is it? In fact, it’s right below ‘Marry someone I’m not related to’ if I recall correctly.”

  Jimmy growled. Oh that was just it! He did what he’d wanted to do all day and planted his fist firmly on that elegant jaw. Of course, he didn’t take into account the fact that Tam was the one driving and knocking out the driver might not be a good idea. The car lurched to the side and skidded on the icy, slippery road as Tam swore, fighting with the steering wheel. He lost control of the car and they went careening in a spin off the blacktop, down a low incline. Jimmy grabbed the oh shit handle, his heart pounding until they settled firmly with a hiss of deflating tires and a crunch of a fender about twenty feet down from the road itself.

  Tam glared at Jimmy and smacked the back of his head hard, though Jimmy figured he wanted to do way more than that. “Are you crazy?! Wait, don’t answer that, you clearly are because you just attacked me while I was driving, for God’s sake! Christ, you really are simple, Jimmy.”

  Jimmy was tempted to hit him again just on general principle, but before he could, Tam jerked the driver’s door open and got out to check the damage to the car. Jimmy shivered as the icy cold air, along with some snow, came blowing in. He took the opportunity to reach down and shut the radio off with a little childish smirk before he climbed out to join Tam.

  “Well?” Tam’s expression was incredulous as he laid his hands on his lean hips. “Well? Well what, jackass? It’s dead, no thanks to you, and we’re now stuck in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a snowstorm and worse, I’m stuck here with you!”

  Jimmy glared, chin tilting. “Well, you’re no picnic either, ya know.” He deflated and bit the corner of his lip, peering at the crumpled front end of the car. Guilt swept him, though he blustered to hide it. “Well, ya shoulda not said what ya did. It’s your fault.”

  Tam’s head snapped up, eyes wide. “Excuse me? My fault? You, Jimmy Murphy, are the most self-absorbed, selfimportant, egotistical, entitlement happy bastard I have ever met. And I could care less how good you are in the ring, out of it you make me fucking sick!” He stormed back to the car and slammed the door shut, leaving Jimmy staring.

  He was annoyed to find that Tam’s accusations actually hurt. He was not self-absorbed. Okay, maybe a little, but he was definitely not egotistical. Um…well, a smidge perhaps. But entitlement happy? He was pretty sure he wasn’t that. Only because he wasn’t sure what it meant.

  Jimmy waded his way through the ankle-deep snow back to the passenger door and tugged it open. He shivered as he climbed in and shut it again. He didn’t say a word, just glared and slumped in the seat.

  After about ten minutes, Tam sighed. “Oh, stop pouting for God’s sake. We need to figure out a plan.” “And you want my input? Oh, but Ah’m jus’ a redneck hillbilly from the sticks, what would Ah know ‘bout anythin’ but screwin’ mah cousins?” Jimmy exaggerated his accent with a narrow-eyed glare.

  Tam rolled his eyes, which amused Jimmy because it seemed like something the proper Bryan Tam would never do. “Listen, Jimmy, we don’t have time for your childish behavior. It’s three below out there and still dropping, so unless you want to die with me in a little metal coffin buried in the snow, I suggest you help.”

  That was enough to jolt Jimmy out of his petulant pout and he sat up straighter. “Gotcha. But don’t go thinkin’ anything stupid like we’re friends now or somethin’ just cuz we gotta work together. I still hate yer guts.”

  Tam sighed and shook his head. “I’m well aware, Jimmy, believe me.” So what if maybe Jimmy heard a bit of sadness in his tone; it was gone before he could really notice and the acerbic, prickly Tam he knew and hated was back full force.

  God, of all the jackasses to get stuck with. They’d better get out of this and quick or somebody was gonna end up dead, and it damn sure wasn’t gonna be Jimmy.

  Tam bit the inside of his cheek a
nd pursed his lips, studying the snow swirling down. It wasn’t too bad yet, but it was only going to get worse. He took out his cell phone, ignoring the little sting his pride got from having to call for help. Jimmy snickered and he shot the brat a fierce glance. Of all the people to be stuck with, he was with the most spoiled rotten man he’d ever had the privilege to meet.

  “Put a cork in it, hotshot,” Tam snapped. Christ, Jimmy could provoke him like nobody else. He had perfected the habit of getting under his skin and knowing just how to irritate him. Jimmy probably sensed that Tam liked to keep his emotions on an even keel and went out of his way to turn them inside out.

  The cell phone signal was gone and Tam cursed under his breath. There went that idea. It was either the storm or because they were a little off the track from where they were supposed to be. Though he fucking refused to acknowledge that Jimmy may be correct and they might be nowhere near Albany.

  “We’re just going to have to stay put,” Tam announced, putting all the authority he could muster into his voice in the vain hope Jimmy would listen. “The storm will end eventually and someone will be by to clean the roads. We’ll keep an eye out for them.”

  “That’s your grand plan?” Jimmy shouted, turning to glare at him. “Just sit back and wait for them to find our bodies?” Tam glared right back. “Cease your melodrama, Jimmy. This is not the Midwest. The storm can’t last for more than a day or two, and we have snacks and water. I’ll run the car every once in a while for a few minutes and we’ll be fine if we keep our heads straight. Can you manage that?”

  Jimmy’s cheeks reddened even further and his icy blue eyes flashed pure outrage. Tam was surprised they didn’t scorch him into a little pile of ash in his seat. Good God, that boy had a temper. “Fuck you, Tam. I ain’t sittin’ in here with ya for two days and doing nothing.”

  Tam watched, incredulous, as Jimmy opened the door and swung his legs out. “What do you think you’re doing?” He demanded, grabbing a hold of Jimmy’s arm through his jacket.

  Jimmy scowled down at his hand and then met his eyes. “Get your hand off my Pats. That exit we passed wasn’t too far away. Ah’ll go and get help since you’re too much of a pansy ass to do anythin’ but sit and wait. Ah’ll let ya thank me later.”

  Pats? What the hell was Jimmy talking about now? “Just stop it, hotshot. I’m not letting you walk out there and get yourself killed.” Tam had to say something to cover up the note of concern in his voice. “I don’t want to have to explain your mistake to the boss.”

  “My mistake!” Jimmy growled, jerking his arm free from Tam’s grip. “Jesus, you do love to pin everything on me, don’t you? I guess the great Bryan fucking Tam isn’t capable of making mistakes unlike the rest of us?”

  For half a second Tam thought Jimmy was going to deck him again and really wished he wouldn’t. His jaw was already aching and as much as a good fight would heat up his blood right now, it was counterproductive to their situation. He resisted the impulse to remind Jimmy that he had accosted him while Tam had been driving; there was no need to dig it in, especially when he’d been baiting Jimmy, knowing how his temper worked.

  The sound of a slamming car door stunned Tam out of his thoughts. He stared at the empty seat next to him, his heart suddenly hammering. Oh Jesus fucking Christ, Jimmy wasn’t. Tam looked in the rearview mirror at Jimmy who was stalking away, his head down against the wind and his hands deep in his pockets. Oh fuck. He was going to get himself killed, leaving Tam stuck with the guilt for the rest of his life.

  Tam grabbed the grocery bag of water and snacks and the first aid kit in the back seat before heading out in pursuit. “Jimmy!” he shouted, the wind taking the sound of his voice and carrying it away. Okay, yes, Jimmy drove him fucking nuts, but he didn’t want anything to happen to him. On days when Tam hadn’t spent too much time in his company, he could even admit, privately to himself, that Jimmy wasn’t all bad. He had a good heart even if he was arrogant and cocky and had a temper that would make an Irishman proud.

  After several minutes of floundering in the snow, Tam caught up to Jimmy who was now walking along the road. Maybe an emergency vehicle would come along. He had to admit the exercise had warmed him up. Jimmy glanced at him sideways, still fuming, but didn’t say a word.

  Several things ran through Tam’s mind, all of which he wanted to say, but he finally settled on the one he should. “I’m sorry, Jimmy.” Jimmy looked over again, surprise replacing fury. “I shouldn’t have called you a hillbilly,” Tam continued, his face perfectly straight. “Or implied you couldn’t read. The hill folk comment was definitely over the top.”

  Jimmy stopped dead in his tracks and turned towards him. The wind tugged his scarf and the snow settled on his eyelashes in a way that made Tam think things he shouldn’t, which was what always irritated him about Jimmy. “However, the jackass and simple remarks were right on the money,” Tam finished.

  Jimmy couldn’t help the snort of laughter. He fucking hated it when Tam would do that. Make him laugh when he wanted to be pissed. Fucker was really good at it, mostly because he’d look at you with that straight face, every inch the serious, proper guy, and Jimmy just knew underneath he was snickering like a junior high schooler.

  He started walking again. “Yeah, well, just be glad I didn’t say some of the stuff I was thinkin’, otherwise I’d maybe be apologizing too. Maybe.”

  Tam scrambled to catch up to him and laid his hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. “Jimmy, we really shouldn’t leave the car. I know the exit isn’t that far, but it’s one of the rules of winter storms, never abandon the vehicle.”

  Jimmy smirked. “Rules were made ta be broken, Tam. Now you wanna stay and follow your little guide to being a goody two shoes, go right ahead. I plan to be laid up in a nice comfy warm hotel room within the hour ordering delivery and watching some porn.”

  Tam wrinkled his nose. “Thank you for the visual I didn’t need, Jimmy.” Tam huffed and glanced back at the car, then at Jimmy, who had started walking again, before seeming to come to a decision. He stomped after Jimmy. Jimmy arched his brows and got a snapped, “Shut the hell up. Not a word,” for his trouble.

  Jimmy shrugged and buried his hands further into his jacket, shivering as the wind and cold cut right through his heavy New England Patriots jacket and the hoodie underneath. Fuck, it was colder than he’d thought when they were back at the car. He glanced over at Tam and his brow furrowed at how red his nose was and his fancy mid-length leather jacket didn’t look nearly as warm as Jimmy’s.

  “Hey…you okay? Shouldn’t be too far.” Tam gave him a pursed lip glance. “I’m fine, and you had better hope it’s not too far. It’s coming down harder in case you haven’t noticed.”

  Jimmy tilted his head back, noticing Tam was right. The snow was falling harder and damn, the road was fucking deserted. Where was all the traffic when you needed it? He frowned. He could have sworn the exit was closer than this. How long had it been after he’d seen the sign to when they’d gone off the road? No more than five, ten minutes, right? The way Tam drove that had to mean they weren’t but five to ten miles away…ouch. Five to ten miles. In a snowstorm. Christ, maybe Tam was right and he was simple.

  He stopped in his tracks and looked back towards the car almost lost in the haze of snow, then at Tam. He hated the knowing expression on the other man’s face, like he was just standing there going “I was right you were wrong,” except gloating would probably be deemed below Tam.

  “Maybe…” Tam cleared his throat and nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to have to put my foot down, Jimmy. We’re going back to the car and waiting for help, and don’t you dare argue with me.”

  Jimmy laughed out loud, shoving Tam’ shoulder. “Save your salve to my ego, Tam, you were right. Come on, let’s get the fuck back there, I’m freezing my nuts off.”

  They were both silent as they made their way back to the car, and Jimmy had to admit he was grateful to see it, even more grateful when they climbed in and Tam t
urned it on to get some heat going. The blast of hot air made his icy extremities prick and tingle, but damned if he minded. He held his palms up in front of one of the vents and was just about to moan in pleasure when the car shut off.

  He scowled. “Dammit Tam, that wasn’t enough to warm up a gnat, turn it back on!” Tam glared. “I didn’t shut it off, brat, it died. Hang on…” Jimmy watched intently as Tam tried again. The engine turned over sluggishly, struggling to catch before finally there was nothing but some clicking. Dammit!

  Jimmy shoved his cold hands back in his pockets, refusing to admit that there was a little ball of fear starting to form in his stomach. “Now what do we do?” In all honesty he truly hoped Tam had an answer.

  Tam looked over at Jimmy. The worry in the hotshot’s eyes was clear and he knew if he tried to reassure him he’d either get a snippy comment or a slap in the back of his head for his effort. He turned towards the backseat, an idea beginning to form in his mind, but in all honesty he’d almost rather freeze than voice it. He could only imagine Jimmy’s reaction. He sighed; it was time for the both of them to cease bickering like children and act like adults. “Come on, hotshot,” he said, clambering into the back seat. “We’ve got a blanket back here. If we stay close we’ll keep warm.”

  Jimmy’s blue eyes were wide and incredulous, and then he started snickering. “Oh, now I’ve heard everything. You wanna fucking cuddle? Ya could really use some work on your pick up lines, Tam.”

  Tam shot him a baleful look, settling down in the back seat and stretching out his long legs. He could feel his ears redden and scowled harder. “Judas Priest, Jimmy, you’re an ass. I know you think you’re God’s gift to wrestling and everybody wants a piece of you, but honestly, I’m not impressed. The wrapping is pretty, but the inside leaves much to be desired.” He sighed, already regretting his rude comment, but Jimmy didn’t seem to notice it. He was too busy still snickering.

  “Sure, whatever ya say, Tam.” The brat sounded almost gleeful. “I’d believe you more if you didn’t spend so much time pawing at me in the ring.”