Authors: Amber Kell
She handed over her card. “I don’t know much about marketing and I’ve only got a small company but I desperately need help. If you want to come in and talk to me about a possible marketing approach, I’d love to hear your ideas. I can’t pay tons but I can promise it’ll be steady work.”
Damn, this day just got better and better. Gregory took her card. “Thanks. I’ll give you a call.”
Tre nuzzled his neck. “See, we all get along.”
“Um yeah.” Why Tre cared if the guy he’d known for all of one day got along with his brother’s girlfriend, Gregory didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to complain. Nothing about this day really made sense but so far it had been the best day Gregory had had in a long while.
“I’m going to see if I can find someone to take to the party later,” Deuce exclaimed, flashing annoyed looks at both of his brothers. He gave Gregory a wink before vanishing in the crowd.
“Do you think we should’ve told him he has a red mark in his forehead and blood on his nose?” Tre asked his brother.
Jack shrugged. “Where’s the fun in that?”
The brothers laughed together, causing Gregory and Charlotte to shake their heads.
“Come on, honey, let’s go mingle,” Tre said. “We’ll see you two later.”
Not giving Gregory a chance to object or say goodbye, Tre pulled him into the crowd. Tre nodded to people as they passed but ignored overtures for conversation. With a wide grin, he pulled Gregory into his arms and began dancing to the slow music that started playing.
It was so sappily romantic, Gregory felt his heart flip in his chest. Closing his eyes, he rested his head on Tre’s shoulder letting the other man lead him around the dance floor in a slow circumference. He decided he didn’t mind being Cinderfella to Tre’s Prince Charming. He just hoped at midnight he lost all of his clothes in Tre’s big bed instead of just his shoes.
Gregory didn’t realize someone tapped on Tre’s shoulder until the model turned his head.
“Yes.” Tre turned so they were both facing a tall, handsome blond man that Gregory didn’t recognize.
“Can I cut in?” the stranger asked.
“No,” Tre said, spinning Gregory around.
Gregory laughed.
“What if I wanted to dance with him?” Gregory asked just to poke at his dance partner.
“Too bad. I brought you and I’m keeping you.”
Gregory knew Tre didn’t mean forever but he almost wished he had.
After two dances in a row, Tre smoothly wrapped an arm around Gregory’s waist and herded him toward the table of food.
“Hello, Tre,” a pretty, thin man said as they approached.
From the stiffness of his date’s posture Gregory decided he didn’t like the newcomer. Especially when the stranger gave him a hate-filled look.
“Who’s this?”
Unable to resist, Gregory gave the other man a sweet smile. “I’m his partner, who are you?”
The blond choked on the pretzel he popped into his mouth. Gasping, he snatched up a bottle of water and swallowed a big portion of it down. “You’re his what?”
“My partner,” Tre said the words slowly like the other man wasn’t too bright.
Gregory lifted an eyebrow at the stranger as if he couldn’t understand the issue.
“Honey, this is Dwayne Samms. Dwayne, this is my man, Gregory Brown.”
Dwayne gave Gregory a sour smile as if he’d sucked down a lemon after drinking grapefruit juice.
“Nice to meet you,” Gregory said.
“Same here,” Dwayne responded.
Neither of them particularly sounded sincere as they exchanged the shortest handshake in history.
Tre scooted Gregory closer. “If you’ll excuse us, Dwayne. Gregory hasn’t eaten much today. Got to keep his energy up.”
Tre made a choking noise as he pulled Gregory away from Dwayne and walked him down the table. Tre started laughing out loud.
“Did you see his face? Can you believe I used to date that guy?”
“Nope.” Gregory wasn’t the least bit surprised to learn the two had dated. He could’ve surmised it by the death glares Dwayne gave him. “Why did you break up?”
Tre shrugged. “There wasn’t really even anything to break up. We dated a few times. Dwayne wanted to take it further but I didn’t feel the connection I was looking for. Let’s just say Dwayne didn’t take it so well.”
“Huh.” That explained a lot more about that encounter since Tre appeared more uncomfortable than concerned about Dwayne’s antagonism. “Is there anyone else I should be worried about? A real ex-boyfriend?” An unpleasant thought went through him. “Or a current boyfriend?”
Tre jerked his arm from around Gregory. “You think I would do something like that?”
Gregory shrugged. “I’d like to think not. But I mean we’ve known each other for only one day and I’m not the best judge of character.” His track record was embarrassingly poor. More than one ex-boyfriend had turned out to be married or so deep in the closet they’d need a spotlight to find the exit.
“Trust me, sweetheart. I’m a fabulous judge of character and we’re perfect for each other,” Tre announced.
A knot in Gregory’s chest loosened at the warmth in Tre’s eyes.
“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.” Every instinct he had told him to trust Tre but only time would tell if that was a good idea or not.
Deuce ran to them through the crowd. “Tre, I’ve gotta borrow your guy.”
Before either of them could object, Deuce grabbed Gregory and dragged him away through the crowd.
Glancing back, Gregory was relieved to see Tre on their heels. Deuce came to a stop so suddenly, Gregory almost ran into his back. The moisture dried in his mouth as he looked at the Santa village someone had set up. Gregory would bet his last dollar that this was the exact same Santa.
He turned his gaze to Deuce who gave him a wide smile. “I heard the elves whispering that you were one of their matches.”
Gregory shook free of Deuce and walked up to Santa. The man had two pretty socialites in short dresses and diamonds sitting on his lap for a picture. He noticed the elf didn’t give them candy canes.
With a weird sense of meeting his fate, Gregory approached the man in the red suit. The girls saw him approaching and ran off giggling.
“Hello, Santa.”
The man gave him a big smile. “Good evening, Gregory.”
He stopped in his tracks. “You know my name?”
“Of course, I know the name of all the good people. You’ve been having a rough year this year, haven’t you, boy?”
Gregory nodded. When Santa patted his knee, an odd compulsion had him walking over and sitting on the old man’s lap. This close he could see the man’s beard was natural and the wrinkles beside his eyes told him it wasn’t a young guy beneath that suit.
“Did you get your Christmas wish this year?”
Swallowing back the lump in this throat, he forced himself to speak. “Yes. If I get to keep him.”
“Well, that’s probably up to you. Some gifts you can only set in motion. What you do with them afterward is all up to you.”
“Okay.” As if in a dream, Gregory stood up, stepped away from Santa and reflexively took the candy cane held out to him. Opening the wrapper. He sucked on the peppermint stick.
“Honey, you have to wake up!”
Gregory sat bolt upright in bed. “Fuck!”
Warm arms surrounded him. Closing his eyes, he inhaled the scent of the person holding him close.
“Are you all right?”
Blinking, he turned around to find Tre looking down at him. “I had the weirdest dream that you were my Christmas wish.”
Tre laughed. “Darling, you’ve got that backward. You’re my wish. I found you in the bar. I brought you home. I get to keep you.”
Each word was punctuated with soft nibbling kisses. As Gregory lay there enjoying the sensation, the hot mouth descended lower and lower. Gasping, Gregory’s cock rose to greet the lips heading downward.
He moaned when Tre reached his destination and sucked on Gregory like it was Christmas morning and Tre had discovered his favorite candy cane.
“Tre, oh yes.” He stopped making words and settled for moans, grunts and in the end a scream as he came down his lover’s throat. It took him a moment to focus enough to unclench his fingers and release Tre’s silky hair from his tight grip.
His lover’s beautiful face appeared from beneath the blankets. “You completely don’t remember drinking too much wine last night, do you?”
Gregory shook his head. “I think it’s those candy canes.”
“What candy canes?”
“The ones that damn elf keeps giving me. I think they’re drugged.”
Tre tilted his head as if trying to examine a particularly strange creature he found in his bed.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s drugging elf candy. I’m sticking with my story.”
Tre laughed and kissed Gregory on the nose. “Okay, love, whatever you say. As long as you remember you have a job interview with Charlotte in an hour and you said you wanted to look extra pretty.”
Gregory snorted. “I’ve never said I wanted to look extra pretty in my life.”
The smile he received was luminous. “Maybe I added that part. I’ll go make you some coffee.”
“Thanks.”
Gregory looked around Tre’s bedroom. Nothing had changed. It was the same as yesterday when he'd woken up. How did he keep ending up here with no clue of what happened? His gaze fell upon the nightstand. Propped against the lamp was a cellophane wrapped candy cane. Sliding out of bed, Gregory snatched the thing up, took it to the bathroom, and dumped it into the trash.
He shook his head to clear out the strange sound of bells ringing.
Just as he thought he’d woken up, a voice whispered in his head.
Merry Christmas, Gregory. Enjoy your present.
Other Books by Amber Kell
Back To Hell
Banded Brothers: To Have A Human
Cob Brothers: Ash Swan
Cob Brothers: The Swimming Swan
Cob Brothers: The Helpful Swan
Considering Carlyle
Cowboy Lovin’: Robert’s Rancher
Cowboy Lovin’: Tyler’s Cowboy
Dangerous Lovers: Accounting For Luke
Dangerous Lovers: Catching Mr Right
Dragon Men: Mate Hunt
Dragon Men: Mate Test
Dragon Men: Mate Dance
Dragon Men: Mate Healer
Hellbourne
Imperfect Porn: Patrick’s Plight
Larson Legacy: Trials of Tam
Larson Legacy: Lessons for Lewis
Magical Men: Keeping Dallas
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Moon Pack: Attracting Anthony
Moon Pack: Baiting Ben
Moon Pack: Courting Calvin
Moon Pack: Denying Dare
Moon Pack: Enticing Elliott
Moon Pack: Finding Farro
Moon Pack: Getting Gabe
Moon Pack: Hunting Henry
Moon Pack: Inflaming Inno
Moon Pack: Judging Jager
My Subby Valentine
Planetary Submissives: Orlin’s Fall
Planetary Submissives: Chalice
Protecting His Soul
Supernatural Mates: More Than Pride
Supernatural Mates: Talan’s Treasure
Supernatural Mates: Nothing To Do With Pride
Supernatural Mates: From Pack to Pride
Supernatural Mates: A Prideful Mate
Supernatural Mates: A Prideless Man
Underwolves: A Gamma’s Choice
Wooing Master Jones
Yearning Love: Protecting Francis
Yearning Love: Taking Care of Charlie