Jingle Ball (More The Merrier) Read online

  Good thing her boyfriend of almost nine months—nine months!—was so patient about her need to plaster everything with frou-frou plastic embellishments or else she’d likely be single and out of a job.

  “Define ambush.”

  “Well, see, here’s the thing. You and Des are so committed to each other that basically nothing can break you two up. And Cole’s up for anything and so am I. Put all those ingredients together and you have a recipe for—”

  “Wait a frigging second.” Wendy’s eyes went wide to match her surely gaping mouth. “You’re not suggesting we have a foursome, are you?” Who suggested that kind of thing? At work no less, in the middle of a Friday afternoon?

  This was what she got for working in an office with non-traditional, incredibly sexy bosses. Apparently the rarefied air in the place had even infected Van.

  Van shrugged, her innocent act not fooling Wendy one bit. “C’mon, don’t act like such a prude. You told me what you did with the two of them. What’s adding one more person?”

  Wendy cast a quick glance left then right. “We did that before Des and I hooked up for good.” Why had she confessed that dirty secret anyway? Other than wanting to brag a little, because, seriously, Des and Cole were too hot to believe, especially as a duo. “We haven’t gone near Cole since before Christmas.”

  “But don’t you miss it?” Van waggled her perfectly groomed blonde brows. “It’s hard to tuck the freaky back down once you’ve let it out. Trust me, sista, I know.”

  Wendy fanned her face and not because she was considering this absolutely insane idea. She wasn’t a freak. Hadn’t she made that bargain with herself to enjoy her few wild weeks with Cole and Des and then move on? That she’d ended up with Des permanently had just been gooey, delicious frosting on the cake.

  “Des wouldn’t be into that,” she said quickly, happy to use her boyfriend as an out.

  The man in question breezed down the hall, a stack of mail gripped in his broad hand. “Des wouldn’t be into what?” he asked, leaning down to kiss Wendy full on the mouth.

  Van groaned. “More PDAs? Jesus.”

  “With what you just suggested, you’re mad that he kissed me? Whoa, hello hypocrite,” Wendy muttered as Des shifted back and dumped the mail in her outbox tray. “I’ll drop that off on the way out tonight, honey,” she added to him.

  “PDAs and endearments.” Van shook her head, her eyes gleaming. “I may gag.”

  “Deal with it,” Des advised, sitting on the other corner of Wendy’s desk and breaking off one of her plastic leaves in the process. He picked it up off the floor with an apologetic wince. “Sorry.”

  “No problem.” Wendy tugged out her top drawer and nodded toward the contents with a grin. Another strand of leaves were coiled up inside. She was saving those for Des’s office. “I always have extra leaves to go around.”

  “What about penises?”

  When Des and Wendy turned equally shocked expressions toward Van, she merely shrugged. “Des, your girlfriend is turning into a prude. You may want to do something about that before the condition becomes irreversible.”

  Des grinned and reached out to stroke Wendy’s hair. She tried not to arch into the touch but it was damned hard. “I assure you that’s not true.”

  “Whatever.” Van shook her head and stood. “You guys have a nice weekend. I need to go bolster myself for another ladies’ night at the bar since my supposed friend isn’t willing to share the wealth.” With a flounce of her blonde curls, Van sashayed over to her cubicle.

  Wendy’s shoulders sank with relief. Bullet dodged.

  Des rubbed the back of Wendy’s hand and caught her attention. “What is she talking about? Dare I even ask?”

  “No.” Wendy closed her eyes. “Really, it’s better if you don’t.”

  “It’s about Cole, isn’t it? Those two have been circling each other so long I’m surprised they haven’t done it in the bathroom yet.”

  “That may come.”

  “I sure hope not.” He tipped up her chin and she opened her eyes, smiling as he lowered his mouth to hers. “The bathroom holds fond memories for you and me.”

  They kissed for a couple minutes in that light, playful, non-sexual way that Wendy had discovered she absolutely adored. Some parts of being a couple were downright amazing.

  Others, such as complete honesty, sometimes sucked.

  “It does.” Sighing, she slid back and decided to just get it over with. “Van wants us to have a foursome to, I think, break the ice with her and Cole. Crazy, huh?”

  He gazed at her for so long that her previously steady heartbeat edged up into the cardiac zone. Then he rubbed the corner of her mouth with his thumb. “That depends on you.”

  “You’re not serious?”

  “Have you forgotten how we got together, baby?”

  “No. But that’s us. That’s not Van, Cole and us. Plus she’s…female.”

  His mouth quirked. “So if she was another he, you’d consider it?”

  Heat blasted up her neck and into her cheeks. “No,” she said primly. “I am in a committed relationship. Therefore, I have no need for threesomes, foursomes or moresomes. You are all I want.”

  “Glad to hear it and ditto.” He pushed back her hair and she smiled, rubbing her cheek over his palm. Thank God this conversation was over.

  “But, you know, that doesn’t mean we can’t ever experiment. Just as an one-off thing.” His nonchalant tone didn’t fool her for a minute.

  She looked up at him, unable to hide her shock. “You really want to do this? You want to see me and Cole…again? And you want to…with Van? Maybe even me and Van—” She couldn’t even speak around the embarrassment clenching her throat. As far as they’d come in the past year, she still had her shy moments. This qualified. “I’m not a lesbian.”

  “No one said you were,” he soothed. “You can do what you want, honey. I’m just saying, if you wanted to try something new, I’m game.”

  “Of course you are,” she muttered. Damn, men were all the same. Complete horndogs.

  She, on the other hand, was not getting the least bit wet at the idea of getting to be with Cole again. With Des watching. Even with Van watching.

  Maybe she was a freak.

  “It wouldn’t change anything with us. One night, then it would be back to business as usual.” He tucked one of her curls behind her ear. “Maybe then Cole and Van would finally stop filling this place up with so much frigging sexual tension. It’s really distracting.”

  “Only if you’re a pervert at heart. And y’all are, every one of you.”

  Des brushed a kiss over the top of her head. “You aren’t? What the hell are you doing with me?”

  She couldn’t help laughing. “I love you.” She swallowed and lowered her gaze to the small heart promise ring she wore on her left hand. They were engaged to be engaged, as he’d said. She looked at that ring so much it was a miracle the diamond hadn’t popped out yet from the force of her stare. “I want to make you happy.”

  “Hey, hey. Look at me.” He cupped her face in his palms, his sea-colored eyes steady on hers. “You do. Every day. Every minute. You’re more than enough for me. Forever.”

  Hearing that, believing it, made it so much easier to pursue the things she was curious about, even if she couldn’t quite admit them to him—or herself. “It’s the same for me.”

  “I know, baby. That’s why there isn’t anything we can’t try together. Nothing will harm what we have. It’s not possible.”

  Wendy lowered her lashes. “Maybe Cole won’t want to.”

  They both laughed at the ridiculousness of that statement. Yeah freaking right. Cole was up—literally—for everything.

  “Okay,” she whispered, meeting Des’s gaze. Every emotion she needed to see resided in those warm blue-green depths. Affection. Trust. Love. “Talk to Cole.”

  Coming late 2013:

  Stripped, the story of Cole and Vanessa,

  with special naug
hty guest appearances by Wendy and Des.

  For more information, visit http://www.cariquinn.com

  About Cari Quinn

  USA Today bestselling author Cari Quinn saves the world one Photoshop file at a time in her job as a graphic designer. At night, she writes sexy romance, drinks a lot of coffee and plays her music way too loud. When she’s not scribbling furiously, she’s watching men’s college basketball, reading excellent books and causing trouble. Sometimes simultaneously.

  Visit Cari at www.cariquinn.com to sign up for her brand new newsletter!

  Titles by Cari Quinn

  Seduced

  Dirty Distractions

  Love Bites

  Melt

  A Very Naughty XMas

  Need Me

  Test Shot

  No Flowers Required

  Cowboy Lust

  Virgin Territory

  Heart Signs

  No Dress Required

  Unwrapped

  Hot Text

  Bad Kitty

  Provoke Me

  Insatiable

  Reveal Me

  Personal Research

  Ex Appeal

  Full Disclosure

  Table of Contents

  Jingle Ball

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Epilogue

  About Cari Quinn

  Chapter One