Hey y’all hey! Got a new holiday short coming to ya! On the 3rd I asked myself, “I wonder if I can get a short out by Valentine’s Day."

Everyone I mentioned it to said I could.

And I did!

So enjoy this sample and get ready to one-click on Valentine’s Day!




Venus

“How’s this one look?”

I turned to look at the lipstick my friend, Sabrina, was holding up and shook my head.

Sabrina looked at again and put it back on the display case. “Yeah, that ain’t the one.”

“Here,” I said, passing her a lipstick that I’d picked up. “This one is better.”

“It is!” Sabrina exclaimed. “And that’s why I love going shopping with you. You never steer me wrong. Thanks again, for coming with me, Venus.”

“No, thanks needed,” I said. “You know I’m always done for a trip to the mall. That means I get a pretzel.”

“And a chance to play that piano,” she added, with a grin.

“What?” I laughed. “You know I’m obsessed with it.”

“Obsessed with the piano, or the cutie that you saw playing it?” she teased.

“Both,” I shamelessly admitted.

I’d gone shopping on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, with my sister and that was when I discovered the gorgeous baby grand piano at the mall. Unable to resist, I sat down and began to play. 

It was also the first time I saw him. He was coming out of the coffee shop not too far away from where the piano was set up. I was playing a classical piece when he’d stopped to watch. My pulse had raced at the sight of him and the way he’d been looking at me.

And he was quite the sight himself, with his chocolate brown skin, chiseled jaw, wide nose and full lips that sent shivers down my spine when he licked them.

He stayed until I finished playing and then joined in with the small audience that had gathered. A few people came up to me to compliment me on my playing and when I looked around to see if the handsome stranger was still there, I was disappointed to discover that he was gone.

In December, I saw him again at the mall, while I was doing some Christmas shopping for my family and friends. But this time, it was him on the piano.

And he was…spectacular.

I’d found myself amazed and aroused as I watched his talented fingers fly across the keys, playing a lively holiday classic. As if sensing my presence, he’d looked up and locked eyes with me. His lips tilted up in a sexy grin, and I swear my panties singed right the fuck off.

When he’d finished playing, he stood, grabbed his shopping bags and made his way through the crowd of people surrounding the piano.

“Happy Holidays, Gorgeous,” he’d said to me as he walked by.

The sound of the piano playing brought me back to the present.

Sabrina and I paid for our purchases and left the cosmetic store, and I made a beeline for the piano.

“Is that him?” Sabrina asked.

My lips curled into a grin and I nodded. “I love this song.”

“You should go and play with him.”

“What?” I said, looking at Sabrina in disbelief. I shook my head. “No.”

“Come on,” she goaded. “I dare ya!”

“What are we…eight?” I giggled.

“I can see it in your eyes,” Sabrina said. “You know you wanna go and play. Just do it!”

She gave me a little shove and I stumbled forward. At that moment, the man looked up at me.

And that’s when the conversation with our eyes began.

He gave me a nod and a wink and I nodded back.

And then he raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, silently inviting me to join him.

I bashfully shook my head, and he tilted his again coaxingly.

I blew out a breath, before relenting and took a step forward. I stopped when I felt a tug on my shopping bag and realized it was Sabrina taking it from me. I turned and made my way over to the piano where I stood next to the man who was still playing. I listened for a moment as my fingers hovered over the keys, waiting for the right moment to join him. And then I began to play along with him, first with one hand, and then both. In no time, I was lost in the music, playing the notes that complemented the ones he was playing.

He scooted over on the piano bench, silently offering up the space to sit beside him and I did.

As soon as the sides of our bodies touched, heat skittered through every nerve in my body. My gaze went to his forearms, the corded muscles covered in tattoo sleeves that flexed deliciously every time he passionately struck chord after chord.

I glanced over at him as we continued playing together and found him engrossed in the music, eyes shut as his head swayed from side to side. But then his eyes opened and he caught me staring. Our eyes stayed connected as we reached the climax of the song.

We finished the song, still staring at each other, but the thunderous applause reminded me of where I was. I blinked and looked around, shocked by the number of people around, with their phones out recording our little encounter.

I turned back to him and grinned sheepishly.

“I was so caught up in playing that I didn’t realize how big the crowd had gotten.”

“Yeah,” he said, looking around before his gaze settled back on to me. He took my hand in his and kissed the back of it. “It was quite the honor to play alongside you, Gorgeous.”

And then he stood, grabbed a to-go cup from one of the coffee shops in the mall that had been sitting on top of the piano and sauntered off.

I sat there, watching him until he hopped on the glass elevator. He turned in the car and once again, our gazes connected for his entire ride up to the second story.

I finally managed to find my breath after that, but it was definitely off-kilter.

“That was…hot as fuck.”

I turned to find Sabrina standing over the piano, grinning at me widely.

“Yeah,” I said, looking up to the second story, wondering where the mystery man had headed off to. “That definitely was.”


In the Key of Love: A Sexy Holiday Short by Té Russ...coming Valentine’s Day