ChristmasisComing
Authors: Shelley Munro
Christmas is Coming
Christmas is
coming. Give your lover the gift of pleasure…
Gaby Montgomery
works for Fancy Free as a condom designer. Recently she’s been designing sex
toys and testing her inventions with fellow designer Marc, but they’ve parted
ways. The timing couldn’t be worse because she’s stuck without a willing test
subject for her sexy products.
Gaby’s roommates
Liam Richardson and Fletch Darcy both want a serious relationship with her, and
now that she’s free, it’s time to make a move. But how do they decide which one
will date her? Fletch finally suggests they share. Liam is skeptical but agrees
the scheme might work, which allows Fletch to move on to step two of his
romance plan. Fletch doesn’t just want Gaby, he wants Liam as well.
The loving is hot,
their days full of fun product testing, exquisite pleasure and laughter.
Everything is perfect until the outside world intrudes, putting their budding
relationship under stress. This time their love and friendship might not stand
the pressure.
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Christmas is Coming
ISBN 9781419932717
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Christmas is Coming Copyright © 2011 Shelley Munro
Edited by Mary Moran
Cover design by Syneca
Electronic book publication December 2011
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are
registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, thisbook may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by
any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave
Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or
distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be
scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means,
electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright
infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by
the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of
$250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized
electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic
piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is
appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons,
living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The
characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.
The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the
trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and
word marks mentioned in this book.
The publisher does not have any control over, and
does not assume any responsibility for, author or third-party Web sites or
their content.
Christmas is Coming
Shelley Munro
Chapter One
Country town Sloan, New Zealand
“Quiet!” James Bates hollered the order and
waited for the bedlam to subside. All pretty normal for a Fancy Free board
meeting. Alice, his wife, winked at him and set down the fiberglass penis she’d
been fondling in her hands. Just as well too. He had a devil of a time
concentrating when she caressed the demos, and the saucy wench knew it pressed
his buttons.
“I don’t see why we needed this special
meeting.” Richard Morgan placed his coffee mug on the table with a thump.
Sam Glengarry, another of the elderly board
members smirked, his face lighting with glee. “You’re pissy because you’d
rather canoodle with Hinekiri.”
“Damn straight,” Richard snapped. “Shut up
like the man said or we’ll be here until Christmas.”
“We might as well listen.” Joseph Craig
indicated the crumb-laden plates in the middle of the table. “The cake’s
finished.”
“I’m ready.” Harriet Te Whare’s knitting
needles flashed like silver swords, yarn twisting this way and that while she
completed another row. “Hello, Gabrielle.” Her knitting needles ceased their
clicking. “Were you looking for me? Can it wait until after my meeting?”
“Hi, Gran.” Gaby stepped inside the
boardroom and hovered uncertainly.
“Gaby is here for the meeting.” James
indicated the seat beside him, waving her over. “Come and sit beside me.”
She still hesitated. “Should I bring in my
bag of stuff?”
James nodded with enthusiasm. “Bring it
on.”
Gaby disappeared, returning a few minutes
later lugging a bulging green fabric bag.
“Do we have a new condom design?” Katarina
Wilson straightened, her pale blue eyes sparkling with eagerness. “When do we
get to test it?”
The second Katarina mentioned condoms the
smart-ass comments and gossip subsided to quiet anticipation. James bit back
his amusement. Condoms and the Good Vibration in particular had made them and
the company rich. He couldn’t wait to learn what the board made of the product
today.
“Gaby approached Alice with this idea last
year. We thought her concept held merit and sent her away to develop it into a
product.”
“What is it?” Ben Kumar leaned forward, a
frown creasing his brow. “Surely they can’t come up with another condom design?
Haven’t we done everything? There’s ones with spots and stripes, different
flavors. They vibrate. Hell, they practically stand up and beg.”
Joseph barked out a laugh. “They’re no use
if something isn’t standing.”
James ignored the interruption and
resulting chortles to continue. “Gaby has developed several sex toys. We intend
to choose one and do a Christmas promotion. We’ll target the toy as a special
gift for the one you love.”
“Sex toys are for women,” Joseph scoffed.
“Stick to condoms. At least both men and women buy them.”
James grinned. “Not this one.”
“James, perhaps I should explain,” Gaby
said.
“Someone needs to explain,” Sam muttered.
“I want to know why we need another new product.”
“Hush! That’s my granddaughter,” Harriet
said, the knitting needles halting for an instant while she beamed at everyone.
“She’s very clever.”
“Go ahead,” James said drily, yielding the
floor to her. “Maybe you can control them better than me.”
Gaby winked at her grandmother and lifted
the bag onto the table. She made a show of opening the zipper fastening. Each
of the oldies craned their necks, leaning forward for a better look at the
contents. Just like that her nerves subsided and excitement fizzled inside her.
James and Alice had already seen her invention and taken one of the prototypes
home to test.
“I’ve worked in the research and
development department since I joined the company. I started thinking about sex
toys and, in my spare time, I tinkered and developed my own.” Gaby pulled out
her first toy. “This is a butt plug. It’s fairly standard in design. I’ve made
the plug from a material that will hold both heat and cold. Once inserted, the
toy will gradually acclimate to body temperature.”
Richard winced. “That’s all I need. A
red-hot poker up my ass.”
“Look at Joseph.” Katarina chortled
gleefully. “He’s crossing his legs.”
The insults started to fly and, like James,
Gaby ignored the interruption to continue with her product description. “Notice
the flared base. That’s for safety reasons because we don’t want anyone having
to go to hospital to have an item surgically removed from their rectum.”
“I should think not,” Richard said in a
weak voice.
“We didn’t have any problems when we tested
it.” Alice smirked at James. She let out a sudden
eep
of shock and fell
silent, color spreading across her face.
Silence fell and speculative glances winged
their way around the boardroom.
“James, hands on the tabletop,” Richard
said sternly. “This is a meeting, not foreplay.”
“Doesn’t that depend on your mindset?”
Alice asked, cocking her head to the side like a curious cat. “How can talking
about sex and condoms all the time not rate as foreplay?”
“Ew,” Katarina said. “I don’t wanna imagine
sex with anyone but my husband.”
“As it should be,” James said, smirking at
Alice.
“James said you’d want to test my
inventions,” Gaby said loudly. Inwardly she marveled at her lack of
embarrassment. Not even blunt talk about sex threw her these days. Not even if
it was in front of her grandmother. Maybe her mother was right and she was a
lost cause. No man wanted a woman who always talked about sex or constantly
thought about the act. Gaby pushed aside the last hurtful conversation with her
mother and older sister because they weren’t right. Sex was a normal bodily function,
dammit. Nothing to get embarrassed about. “The secret to any sex toy is to make
sure your partner is excited and to use lubrication. Lube is our friend,” Gaby
said in a firm voice.
“Gaby has designed several new lubes for us
to test,” James added.
“I’m a fan,” Alice said. “We need to market
Gaby’s lubes. We could give away sachets of gels with the condoms to get people
used to using them. You’ll see when you test them. The lubes make things nice
and tingly. They’re excellent.”
Gaby couldn’t help smiling at Alice’s
enthusiasm. God, she loved her job. Working for Alice and James was the best
job ever.
“What else do you have in your bag of
tricks?” her grandmother asked.
“Could you pass these around please?” Gaby
handed James several bottles of lube and butt plugs. “I’ve included detailed
instructions with each product plus a questionnaire. If you have any questions
you can ring me—not in the middle of the night,” she added, knowing her
grandmother and her friends too well.
Her mother blamed her grandmother for
sending Gaby off the rails in the first place. Gaby didn’t want to follow the
traditional route of her mother and sister with a secretarial job. She liked
making things and she liked sex. Nothing odd about either of those factors.
“This is my second invention and, I think,
the best choice for Fancy Free to market. It’s a vibrator but different from
the norm. I’ve managed to design a long-life battery that lasts significantly
longer than most. I’ve also made several speed settings because everyone requires
different levels of pressure and our bodies are diverse in the way we behave to
stimulus. There are five different attachments.” Gaby reached into her bag and
pulled out a vibrator plus her favorite attachment. “Most of you will have
noticed the massage chairs they have at the mall. I’ve designed this attachment
to massage either side of the clit. It gives the most delicious Os.” She handed
the boxes containing the vibrators to James to pass around. “Make sure you read
the instructions. I’ve tried to keep them brief and concise, but I want to know
if you have any problems, either in understanding my instructions or working
the toys. I can’t correct problems or confusion if you don’t tell me.”
“Does your mother know about this?” her
grandmother asked.
“Nope,” Gaby said, forcing a smile and
ignoring the tight sensation in her chest. “And you’re not gonna tell her.”
Ben cast her a sly smile. “Do you still
bake those cupcakes? The ones with the pink icing.”
“Ah! Good point,” Sam said. “How many
cupcakes will you give us not to tell her?”
Gaby gasped. “That’s blackmail.”
“You’d better get used to it.” Alice
glowered at each of the elderly board members. “They’re good at blackmail. It
was their misspent youth.”
“Where did you get the ideas for your
designs?” Richard asked.
Gaby relaxed a little under his kind smile.
“I belong to an online group called Romance Divas. We were chatting about sex
toys—”
“As you do,” Alice chirped.
Gaby laughed. “You have no idea of the
discussions that go on in the Diva forum. Anyhow, I asked about the features
they thought a good sex toy should possess and went from there.”
“I need a sex toy to do what I want when I
want,” Katarina said drily. “Instead of one that says, I’m coming, dammit. I
can’t stop.”
Sam swept a hand through his grizzled hair.
“Huh! You women are all alike. You need one of those genies to keep you
satisfied.”
Alice’s brows shot upward. “Do you have one
of those in your bag?”
“Alice!” James said.
Alice gave a throaty chuckle and the couple
shared a private glance that made Gaby hot all over. She wished Marc felt the
same about her. An ache sprang to life, her regret like a stab to the heart.
Her fuck buddy. The man who’d helped her test countless condoms and new sex
toys. They worked together and loved together, except it wasn’t love. It was
sex. Friends with benefits and nothing more. The day fast approached when she’d
have to tell Marc they couldn’t sleep together anymore. Her stupid heart had
done a number on her and she’d fallen for him, against their rules. She
swallowed the knot of anguish in her throat. Tonight. She’d tell him tonight,
but first she’d have a few glasses of wine to dull the pain.
If she asked them, Liam and Fletch, her
roomies, would probably go to The Thirsty Cricket with her for a few drinks
after work. Then she’d drop by Marc’s flat and tell him.
“Okay, that’s everything. Does anyone have
any questions?”
“No, I have to go,” Richard said. “Hinekiri
is expecting me.” He grabbed his sample boxes and hightailed out of the
boardroom.
Joseph stared at the empty doorway. “Well,
I can guess what’s on his mind.”
Gaby smiled with the others while inside
she cried. At least someone was in for a good night with some hot lovin’.
* * * * *
When they passed the three-quarter mark of
their usual run along the riverbank, Liam Richardson tossed a grin at Fletcher
Darcy and subtly eased up on the pace, slowing to a jog. “I wanted to talk.”
“We talk at home,” Fletch said.
“I don’t want to take a chance on Gaby
hearing.”
Fletch came to an abrupt halt, wiping the
sweat from his forehead and dragging his hand through his damp brown hair. “Am
I gonna like this?”
Liam stopped too and turned back to face
his best friend. He lifted his thin T-shirt to wipe off his brow. “I wanted to
talk about Gaby.”
“Sounds serious.”
“Yeah.” Liam dropped onto a fallen log and
stretched his legs out in front of him.
Fletch propped one foot on the log and did
a hamstring stretch. “So talk.”
Liam hesitated and stared at the river,
wondering if this was a good idea. “It’s feelings stuff.”
“No shit, mate. You’d better spit it out or
I’m gonna think the worst and you’re in love with me or something.”
Liam snorted, Fletch soothing his inner
turmoil as he always did. “I’m going to ask Gaby out.”
“For a date?”
“No to wash the dishes. Of course a bloody
date.”
Fletch scowled, emotion flickering too
quickly through his brown eyes for Liam to read him. Fletch dropped onto the
log beside him. “I was thinking along the same lines.”
Liam dragged a hand through his disheveled
hair. “Fuck. I thought you two were just friends.”
“I thought the same about you and Gaby.”
“Fuck,” Liam said again.
“I’ve been waiting for her to sort out her
shit with Marc.” Fletch stood and started to pace back and forth in front of
the log.
“The friends-with-benefits thing?”
“Yeah.” Fletch stopped pacing and plonked
down beside him again. “What are we gonna do? I’m serious about Gaby. I want
something permanent.”
“Yep. Me too. Gaby is everything I want in
a woman, plus she’s always bringing home stuff from work. I’d like to try out
her inventions with her. So what are we gonna do?”
“We can’t exactly toss a coin. You sure
about this? You’re really serious about her?”
Liam stared at his friend and slowly
nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“I’m telling you now.”
Fletch sighed. “One of us will have to back
off.”
They both fell silent. Liam stared at the
river, watched a stick float past. The last thing he wanted to do was fall out
with Fletch. They’d never fought over a woman before and he didn’t want to make
Gaby the first. At his side, Fletch closed his eyes. Despite their dilemma,
Liam grinned at Fletch’s fierce expression. His buddy always appeared intense
when deep in contemplation, his dark hair and olive skin lending him a brooding
façade. Gave people entirely the wrong impression of him. Fletch was
happy-go-lucky and full of humor. Not much bothered him—he just shrugged it off
with his broad grin.
Fletch’s eyes popped open without warning.
“We both want Gaby, a serious relationship rather than casual, right?”
“That’s the way I’m heading.”
“We could always share.”
