Free Miss Frost Ices The Imp: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 2) by Kristen Painter Page A

They were perfect for the summer heat, cute and made me feel pretty, so I was willing to overlook how much they’d cost. Also, I liked to think I was helping to support the local economy.
    I climbed into bed, grabbed my tablet and pulled up the book I was reading. I was a few pages in when Spider hopped up to join me. Of course, he had to sit on my stomach.
    I put my tablet down. “Can I help you?”
    “Vampire.”
    I sat up, causing Spider to tumble off. “Greyson?” But what other vampire would it be? “Where?”
    Spider walked around me to settle on the pillow my head had just vacated. “Window.”
    I pointed at him. “Is Greyson really at the window, or did you just do that to get my pillow?”
    Spider didn’t answer, but the soft rapping on the window in the living room told me all I needed to know.
    These cute pajamas were turning out to be an even better investment than I’d imagined. I padded out to the living room.
    Yep, Greyson was out there. I raised the window. “You could have called.”
    He gave my outfit a once-over and smiled. “And miss seeing you in your smalls? I think not.” He squinted at the fabric. “Is that…candy?”
    I crossed my arms. “Yes, gumdrops and lollipops. What’s up?”
    “You’re not inviting me in?”
    “I was in bed.”
    A dark gleam shone in his eyes. “If you’d rather talk there—”
    “You’re very cute, but I have an early day tomorrow, and I’m not much closer to figuring out what I let out of that box, so while I’d love to stand here and chat as my AC disappears out the window, maybe you could just kiss me good night and we can talk in the morning.”
    “I was under the impression you could provide your own magical AC.”
    “That’s beside the point. So can we just chat in the A.M.?”
    He slipped in through the window to stand next to me. Some people think cats are super graceful. Those people have never seen Greyson move. “Can’t wait until morning.”
    “No? Why? What’s going on?”
    He sighed. “There’s a bridal shop in town. Ever After. This evening, an hour before closing, all the wedding dresses turned black.”
    I dropped my arms. “Oh, that’s awful.”
    He nodded. “Corette, the woman who owns the shop, isn’t happy. She’s a witch, and nothing she’s tried has made the dresses right again. Also, she’s engaged to Stanhill, the middle Ellingham brother’s rook, so this situation just got escalated.”
    I shrugged. I had no idea what a rook was, but that was beside the point. “I’m still not sure why you’re here.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Because Hugh Ellingham would like to see you.”
    I pushed my hair off my face. “Fine. Tell him to call my office in the morning, and I’ll—”
    “No, he’d like to see you now .”
    Realization struck me. “He sent you to bring me back.”
    Greyson nodded. “Yes.”
    “How does he know that I might have something to do with the black dresses?”
    Greyson pursed his mouth and glanced at the ceiling.
    “You told him about me, didn’t you?” I put my hands on my hips. “I was in bed.”
    “I’m sorry.” Greyson slipped his hands into my hair, took a step toward me and kissed me. I tried to protest, but just for a second. His mouth was weapons-grade hot.
    When I started kissing him back, I felt his mouth curve into a smile and he broke the kiss. “Get some clothes on, lass.”
    “Kissing me doesn’t make this summons any better.”
    He raised a brow. “Not even a little bit?”
    It did. But I wasn’t telling him that. I swept away toward the bedroom. “You owe me big-time.”
    “Duly noted,” he called back.
    I threw on jeans, a tank top and flip-flops. I wasn’t interested in impressing anyone at this hour, and like Cooper had reminded me earlier, I was royalty. The Ellinghams might own this town, but my uncle controlled Christmas and my father could arrange for snow to bury the whole town, so these vampires had better remember who they were dealing with. Not