Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Pierce

I ’m not big on rodents, but I’m also not willing to look like a wimp in front of Brynn.

“I’ll be back,” I say, opening the door a second time, determined to catch this critter so I can finally have Brynn under me again.

“I’ll go with you,” she says, her hands clinging to the back of my pajamas.

“You don’t have to.”

“I don’t want to be out here by myself. I’m sure the little guy has friends.”

We tiptoe into the villa, and she slams the door.

“You’re going to scare him.”

The critter runs from under the couch to under the bed.

Brynn screeches and jumps around me onto the couch cushions. “I can’t.”

“Which is why I told you to wait outside,” I say, heading toward the bed.

“And I told you he has friends out there. It could be an entire plan. He’s the decoy.”

I chuckle and look at her for a second. “New thing I learned about you—you have an active imagination.”

“You have no idea if what I’m saying is false.”

I pick up a shoe by Brynn’s suitcase and toss it under the bed to hopefully get the rodent out.

“Use your own shoe!” she shouts.

“Our bigger problem is that there’s nothing in this villa for me to trap him with, so we’re going to have to resort to scaring him enough that he runs out the door.” I raise my eyebrows in question because this means she has to help.

“You want me to open the door, don’t you?” She bites her lip.

“Would you prefer to be the one who scares it?”

“I’d rather not do either.”

“Sorry, that’s not an option.” I’m standing next to the bed when the little thing runs out from under the bed at full speed toward the bathroom.

I jump up on the bed. “Bloody hell, he’s fast.”

“Pierce.” Her body squirms, and she wretches as if she’s going to throw up.

“Okay. Okay.” I step down from the bed, peeking into the bathroom. “I was wrong, it’s not a rat.”

“What is it then?” Her eyes are wide and filled with fear.

“A mouse.”

She groans. “Not much better.”

“I find it a little more comforting.” I shake out my body and look back at her. “Okay, get ready. Full disclosure, I have no idea what I’m doing here.”

“What?” she practically screeches.

I jump in front of the door to scare the mouse. It runs out of the bathroom. Brynn screams and scares it back my way, but I try to block its path.

“Open the door,” I shout.

She screams, hopping off the couch and running on her tiptoes to the door. “Please no friends. Please no friends.” She closes her eyes in blind faith.

I chase the critter, and I don’t react when he circles around Brynn. Good thing her eyes are closed because she doesn’t want to see this. Having nowhere to go and giving up his new home, he scurries out of the villa. I take the door from Brynn, slamming it.

“Is he gone?” she says, her eyes still closed tightly.

“He is.”

Her head falls back, and I expect her to feel relieved, but she runs by me and back onto the couch. “We should do a full sweep.”

“He left,” I say, walking over to her.

“Maybe he came in here with a friend?” Her voice is pleading.

I groan. I don’t want to go on a search for another mouse. I want to sit on this couch and make out with her. “You said his friends were outside.”

She shrugs. “We don’t know how mice think.”

“Clearly they’re geniuses according to you.” I take out my phone and put on my flashlight.

“Look under the furniture too,” she says.

So I do, because I’ll do about anything to get this over with and get back to her being my sole attention.

“The bed!” she shouts. “Don’t forget the bed!”

I turn back around, and she shrugs.

“Sorry, just want to make sure. You’re doing great.” She raises her fist in the air like “go team.”

I check the rest of the villa, thankful it’s small. When I come back to the couch, Brynn finally sits, bringing her knees up to her chest.

“No friends.” I sit next to her.

“Good. Thank you.”

I slide my hand under her bent knees and pull them to rest over my lap.

The mood from under the mistletoe has been destroyed by a small rodent.

Thanks a lot, mouse.

I place my hands on her foot and massage it.

Her head rocks back, and she stretches. “That feels good.”

“I’m glad.”

We sit in silence except for her moans that make my dick stir. I’d love to take her to bed tonight. My hands slide up her legs, massaging her calf, and I start to think I can turn this night back around.

Until something crashes in the bathroom.

She bolts up, her head almost hitting mine. “What was that?”

It turns out to be the shampoo in the shower, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not happening tonight.