Mad Hatter's Alice Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Biography

  Mad Hatter’s Alice

  Kelliea Ashley

  Breathless Press

  Calgary, Alberta

  www.breathlesspress.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Breathless Press and this author, acknowledge that Lewis Carroll holds all the rights to the Wonderland Characters and their respective original stories.

  Mad Hatter’s Alice

  Copyright © 2014 Kelliea Ashley

  ISBN: 978-1-77101-366-6

  Cover Artist: Justyn Perry

  Editor: Amanda Siemen

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  Breathless Press

  www.breathlesspress.com

  Dedication

  I’d like to dedicate this Flirt to my wonderful publisher at Breathless Press. My writing experience has been absolutely a dream. I want to wish Breathless Press a wonderful fifth birthday with many, many more to come. Hugs and chocolate cake to an amazing publishing house and all who work there!!!

  Alice Grace tripped as she hurried across the hot July asphalt of the parking lot. Swearing beneath her breath, she tried to adjust her backpack without falling flat on her face thanks to her brand new hiking boots. The climber’s dreamscapes, her ass! The boots were heavy, ugly, and promised her all sorts of disastrous adventures in the near future. She grunted as she looked up to find the tour bus already filled with people from work. A white-haired man dressed in khaki shorts, a white shirt, and cream colored windbreaker looked up at her over a clipboard as she approached. Pointedly glancing at the glinting watch on his wrist, he frowned darkly at her.

  “If you’re here for the Adventurer’s Team Building Weekend, then you are late, late, late! Tardiness is a key factor in the failure of any team’s success. It will not be tolerated and by the end of this weekend, you will have learned to be on time.” He once more glanced at his watch. “Oh, dear. We’re already ten minutes late for departure. This will come out of our planned bathroom breaks. I hope you pee fast.”

  “No worries, I’ll just squat in the woods. Birds do it, bees do it...” Alice tilted her head with one of her sweetest smiles. “Or should I say bears do it?” He didn’t laugh, but his glower darkened noticeably.

  “Definitely bears.” A deep male voice behind her laughed. She turned and the tall man easily dodged a potential impact with her heavy backpack. At first glance, she had the impression of a tall behemoth with a scruffy five o’clock shadow beneath dark brown eyes rimmed with a small circle of gold that twinkled as he grinned down at her. She couldn’t see the color of his hair for the floppy camo army hat covering his head.

  “Funny, but we don’t have time for guffaws this morning. Names?” The guide turned his attention back to the clipboard.

  “Alice Grace.”

  “Wayne Quinton.”

  “Very good. My name is Robert Hopps. I am placing a note next to both of your names. Tardy and Jokesters. Two traits I hope to drill out of you before this weekend is over.” Hopps quickly wrote on the clipboard, making Alice sigh.

  This trip was certainly off to a great start. Why did she agree to come in the first place?

  “Mad Hatter! You made it!” Oh, right. That’s the reason. Andrew Blake leaned down out of the bus’s door. His big blue eyes and wide grin could curl her toes and have her girlie parts melting in a pool of molten lust.

  “Hey, man!” Tall, dark, and handsome moved to clasp hands with her black-haired god of a boss. “I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t use my nickname if I came to work for you?” He stood blocking her view and making her wait to get on the bus. Behind her, she could hear Hopps impatiently tapping his foot on the pavement.

  “Sorry, bud. It’s the hat. It takes me back to our days at boot camp.” Andrew laughed. She loved the sound of his laughter. Sexy, rich, with a calorie-filled goodness, it made her thoughts go directly to French silk pie and satin sheets.

  “Can we hurry this along, gentlemen? We’re already running behind.” Hopps’ voice squeaked as it rose to a panicky complaint.

  “Sorry, sir.” Mad Hatter, or Wayne, turned to motion her to go ahead of him. “After you, Alice.”

  “Thanks.” She nervously stepped up on the first step, but her backpack caught on the railing, stopping her with a hard tug.

  “What did you do, bring your closet with you, Alice?” Andrew shook his head as he flashed a set of pearly white teeth. She felt embarrassed heat rise to her cheeks beneath his stare.

  “Hold on. Let me help you with that.” Wayne’s hands easily took the straps of her backpack and lifted it off her shoulders. “I’ve got it.” She looked over her shoulder and their gazes met and caught. Within the dark depths of his eyes, that circle of gold seemed to hold a magical pull that she couldn’t seem to look away from. His head dropped an inch toward her.

  “Today, people!” They jerked apart and Alice scurried up the stairs only to have her boot catch on the top step. She would have barreled head first into Andrew’s solid chest if a strong hand hadn’t caught her belt.

  “Wow, Alice, Grace should not be your last name.” Susan Ells, Andrew’s skinny secretary, commented with a slightly malicious smirk on her pretty face. Sue was gifted with a perfect size four body and luxurious auburn hair that she’d pulled into an elegant side braid. Alice barely refrained from running a hand over her sloppily fashioned bun. She knew her bangs were in disarray from rushing to catch the bus. Sue’s natural beauty, fashionable shorts, and white peasant top put Alice’s jean shorts and black tank top to shame. Her comment received a few laughs and Andrew grinned before he stepped in front of her to amble down the aisle to the back of the bus. Alice tore her gaze from his excellent back muscles beneath the light blue polo shirt to find Kitty Raines, her friend and co-worker waving to her. Relieved that Kitty saved her a seat, she lumbered quickly toward her.

  “You’re late girl.” Kitty smiled.

  “No kidding. Oh, my pack.” Alice turned to find Wayne waiting for her with the cumbersome pack in his big hand. Slung over his shoulder, a well-used rucksack rested against his back as if it weighed no more than a pound.

  “I’ll wait until you’re settled,” he said politely. She hurried to slump into the bus’s seat and he carefully handed her the pack.

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem, Alice.” His smile had her stomach jerking with nerves before he sauntered past her to join Andrew in the back seat.

  “He’s a hot one,” Kitty commented softly.

  “Will I ever get past the high school stage where I make a clumsy fool of myself in front of the hot jocks?”

  “Probably not.” Kitty’s pert nose crinkled up as she scowled before the sunny smile returned to her face. “The popular girls claimed the front seat and the jocks the back. We’re right in the middle, where nerds like us belong.”

  “You’re right. The popular secretaries up front, bosses in the back, and us accounting and marketing managers are the nerds in the middle. All that’s missing are my zits.”

  “Listen up. I have some things to go over before this bus pulls out. Thanks to our late arrivals, we don’t have much time to dally.” Hopps’ gaze zeroed right in on Alice. She slid down in her seat beneath the censure in his voice. Yup, she sure should have called in sick this morning.

  ♦♦♦ />
  “I can’t believe we had to walk half-way up the mountain holding hands in this heat.” Kitty groused as she once more wiped her hand on her jean shorts. “You could have switched with me, ya know.”

  “There was no chance of me wanting to hold Harrison’s hand. I detest the man.” His greasy hair and weasel eyes freaked her out. Still, she did feel a little bit guilty since she rushed to take Priscilla’s hand, leaving poor Kitty to take Harrison’s at the end of the weird congo line. “I’m sorry,” Alice said as she bent to pick up another metal tent pole.

  “Sorry, my ass!” Her words were harsh, but her small smile eased some of the tension. Kitty couldn’t stay mad for long, though she had a knack for blowing up like a small volcano.

  “Better watch it, or I’ll make you sleep in his tent too.” They both looked over to where Harrison was staking his fully raised tent.

  “If only the man knew how to shower as well as survive in the wilderness. Did you know he stopped me from sitting in a patch of poison ivy? Chivalry is not dead.” Kitty declared.

  “Speaking of chivalry, you ladies look like you could use some help with your tent. Everyone else has theirs up.”

  Alice jumped and dropped her pole as she spun around to come eye-level with sculpted pecs, lovingly hugged by a white T-shirt. Looking up with a dry throat, she met his amused smile beneath the floppy hat. Up close, she could smell a tempting blend of Axe body spray and sweat. He bent down to retrieve the pole in a fluid motion just as Alice reached for it. Crack!

  “Yikes! That had to hurt.” Kitty commented behind her.

  “Holy cow, are you all right?” He held his forehead as he reached out to steady her.

  “I think I’m seeing stars. How about you?” She rubbed at the sore on her own forehead, blinking rapidly to fight the tears that stung her eyes.

  “For a minute there.” He chuckled. “I’m going down after my hat and the pole. Don’t move,” he warned her as he bent down once more. Through blurry eyes, she noticed that his hair appeared dark brown and curled up where it brushed the back of his collar. Thick, shiny, and clean, his hair beckoned for a woman to thrust her fingers through it. She curled the fingers of her free hand tightly to keep from doing so. “Got them!” He squashed the hat back on the top of his head and handed her the pole.

  “Thank you. I’m really sorry. I’m not usually such a klutz.”

  “Yeah, right.” Kitty laughed. Alice turned to shoot her an ‘I’ll get you’ look, over her shoulder.

  “It’s all right. I have a younger sister who gets nervous and breaks things. Usually her own body parts, but I still love her.”

  Sincere and hot, he’s not real.

  “Hey, Hatter. What’re you doing? The girls want to go check out the lake. Mr. Hopps said we could go swimming.” Andrew waved at them as he stopped beside Wayne. “Wow, Grace you don’t even have the poles put together. What have you been doing?”

  “Oh, you know, we didn’t want to say anything, but we’re studying for the tent assembling Olympics. This is the...tenth time we’ve put it together.” She turned to Kitty, who grinned back at her. “This is the tenth time, isn’t it, Kitty?”

  “I thought it was the eleventh, Alice.” Kitty blinked innocently at her.

  “You’re right. Twenty more seconds shaved off and we’re ready for the bronze.” Alice placed her hands on her hips and watched the confusion cross Andrew’s face. Sexy, studly, but not all that bright. Too bad.

  Beside him, Wayne covered his mouth with a hand to hide his grin. She couldn’t help enjoy the way those eyes danced merrily in the fading sunlight. Andrew opened his mouth, but whatever he planned to say got lost in the noise from Priscilla and Sue as they came over. “What’s the hold-up, boys? I thought you wanted to skinny dip.” Emerald green eyes narrowed as they slowly slid over toward Alice. She actually felt the antagonism emoting from the redhead’s glare.

  “I’m just grabbing Hatter.” Andrew turned to give Sue a wide smile. His eyes did a slow perusal of her body in the barely there bikini. Alice looked at Kitty and they immediately set about putting poles together. Not that they had any clue which ones went where.

  “Actually, I’m going to help these ladies get their tent up. I’ll be along in a bit.” Wayne shrugged and bent to grab a pole from the ground as the two girls made noises of protest.

  “Hatter has declared his intentions and when he decides to do something, there is no reasoning with him. I’ve learned this from experience. Let’s go, girls.” Andrew cast a still puzzled look at Alice. “Good luck in your Olympic endeavors, Grace. Why don’t you come along with Hatter when you’re done? You look like you could use a good swim.”

  Alice stood up to watch the trio leave the clearing where tents surrounded a make-shift fire pit. “Did he just infer that I needed the exercise or the bath?” Kitty shrugged in answer as she knelt down to lay out the poles.

  “Who cares? I know you like him, but he’s kind of an ass.” Kitty commented. Alice saw Wayne look over at her and cringed.

  “Of course I like him. He’s my boss.” She widened her eyes at her friend who gave her a clueless look. Rolling her eyes, she turned toward Wayne. “You don’t have to help us, Mr. Quinton. I’m sure you’d rather be swimming.”

  “Yeah, what man wouldn’t want to go swimming with the bloody big head?” Kitty muttered as she dropped the poles and stood up. “She reminds me of the Red Queen. Do you know what we have here? Alice, Mad Hatter...”

  “A mess.” Alice shrugged wryly.

  “No. We have an Alice, a Mad Hatter, and a bloody big headed Red Queen. You know, all Alice in Wonderland characters.” Kitty’s cheeky grin caught on as Wayne laughed.

  “I’m sorry. Kitty has a habit of looking for correlations, the mark of the consummate numbers junky.”

  “That’s remarkable, Kitty.” He shook his head as he too dropped down to study the poles. “I think I’m seeing why the two of you still haven’t figured out this tent.”

  “Yes, we like to talk too much.” Alice sighed as one pole refused to connect with another. He shot her a charming smile from where he knelt down beside their pile of tent poles.

  “No, I meant these poles are from two different tents. Stay here. I’ll go see what I can do about getting you the correct poles.” He strode away with a purpose to his stride. Alice watched the way his jean shorts hugged his firm backside, and admitted she was a bit jealous of them. His legs were tanned and hairy enough to be masculine. She hadn’t thought herself as a butt woman until then, but couldn’t bring herself to look away.

  “Wow. Would you look at you?” Kitty’s voice right in her ear made her jump guiltily.

  “What? Is there a bug on me?”

  “No. I just haven’t seen you watch a guy that closely since the Christmas party when Andrew finished dancing with you.”

  “Yeah, that’s the night I pretty much propositioned him. Andrew said I was attractive, but my dress size was five sizes too big.” Alice shook her head. “I never seem to learn.”

  “You just get your sights set on the wrong kind of guys. Now, that one”—Kitty nodded her head toward where Wayne stood talking with Hopps—”he’s a catch. I think he likes you too.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. He’s just being nice.” She watched Wayne and Hopps move over to intercept Harrison on the way to his tent. There seemed to be a lot of head nodding and then Wayne slapped a hand on Harrison’s back. The man gaped at him and then grinned brightly. Alice quickly looked away as Wayne turned back to stride toward them.

  “Well, there isn’t a spare tent, but don’t worry. We worked it all out. You ladies will be taking Harrison’s tent and he’s agreed to bunk with Andrew and me.”

  “Harrison is giving up his tent?” Kitty gaped at him with her mouth open.

  “You’re sharing a tent with Harrison?” Did he know what he was in for? The man belched loud enough to wake the dead. The dead newly created by the vicious odor from his farts.

  �
�Sure. It’s no problem. I’ll help you pick up this mess, which should give him time to remove his belongings, and then you can get settled into your tent.” He immediately set words to action and began cleaning up.

  “What are you? Some miracle worker hired to work your magic at Blake Inc.?” She sent him a suspicious look.

  “Actually, yes. I’m sort-of a trouble shooter.” He winked at her and she nearly tripped over the tent’s bag as she picked it up. Heat burned all the way up to the roots of her hair as she offered him the bag. Wordlessly he slid the canvas into it.

  “Now this is the example of the day for teamwork. Great job, Mr. Quinton.” Hopps came over with his clipboard still in hand. “Dinner will be in one hour. If you ladies would gather some firewood, it would be greatly appreciated.” He bestowed a dazzling smile on Wayne, but then glared at her. “Miss Grace, I do hope tardiness doesn’t become a habit with you. Weakest link and all...” Hopps turned sharply and left.

  “Man, that guy has it out for you.” Wayne shot her a teasing grin. Something unexpected happened in that moment. Her toes curled within her heavy boots and she could feel her girlie parts sitting up to take notice. Then he reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. The sensation of his roughened finger gently touching her cheek as he pulled back made her breath clog in her throat and her mouth completely dry out. He cleared his throat as he got up and lifted the tent up. “I’ll give this back to Mr. Hopps and then help you get the wood.”

  “We’ll be fine on our own. Besides, you have a date with a lake.” She bent to retrieve her backpack so he wouldn’t see her reddened cheeks.

  “I’d rather gather wood, Alice.”

  “Okay. Thank you, Hatter.”

  “I like the way you say my name, so Wayne works.” He placed the tent on one shoulder as if it weighed nothing. She watched him strut back toward the white-haired guide.

  “Yup. He likes you.” Kitty smiled as she picked up her own bags.