Let It Snow (24 page)

Wendy sagged against the sink and covered her face with her hand. She couldn’t help grinning. “Sorry. I’m trying something new.”

“Seeing how swear words sound in that sultry accent of yours?” Van stepped up beside her and bumped hips. “I like it. Pu-u-u-sy. All those extra syllables give it more emphasis. So who’s a pussy?”

“No one. I’m just shy, and I’m tired of it.” Wendy glowered at the spotless mirror. The bathroom was always sparkling clean, as if invisible elves snuck in every night with brooms and mops. “I didn’t think I was. But I am.”

“So you’re yelling about pussies first thing Monday morning? Better to get over your shyness with some guy’s mouth on yours.” Van’s eyes gleamed as Wendy bit her lip. “So someone got some action this weekend, huh? Tell me.”

God, no. “It was nothing.”

Van looked genuinely disappointed. “Dud in the sack?”

“Of course not.” Wendy’s mind whirled. What would make this conversation end the fastest? “I think he’s gay. Maybe.” Actually she didn’t think Des or Cole was gay, since they’d both been into her. Clearly they were bisexual. But it seemed as good an excuse as any.

“Damn. Bet he was hot too.” Van patted her arm and leaned toward the mirror to touch up her flawless lipstick.

This she could answer without lying. “Oh yeah.”

“Sucks. Sorry, chica.”

“Me too.” Wendy picked up her purse and smiled at her friend. “Guess we’d better get out there.”

“Yeah, there’s tinsel fucking everywhere. I’m surprised I didn’t pick any out of my ass.” Van shook her head and led the way back to their desks.

So much for catching Des in the office alone.

For most of the day, Wendy didn’t have a chance to think. Between the seriously sinful architects who marched through for an urgent meeting with Des and Cole and a mix-up with their standard housewarming flower delivery to new homeowners, it was a Monday to end all Mondays. But at least there was hardly any time for awkwardness between her and her bosses.

Then she heard Van giggling with Cole.

Stomach sinking to her ankles, Wendy rolled her chair closer to her cubicle partition in time to hear Van mention Wen’s craptastic weekend with a guy who played for the other team. Shit.

She rolled back to her desk and pounded her forehead on her blotter. Hard.

God, she needed to leave. It was five, right? She shot up in her seat and glanced at the time. Three-flipping-thirteen.

But she hadn’t taken a lunch yet. She could sneak out for a sandwich and creep back in when—

Her phone rang and she picked it up, shutting her eyes. She didn’t bother to say hello. “Ms. Stanton, my office please. Now.” Des sounded completely cool and composed. Totally fuckable.

“Yes, sir.” She hung up and stabbed her thumbnail into her palm. Her time of reckoning had come. She’d blown and screwed her way around a firing Friday night, but now she was going to get it.

Was it wrong that she wanted to ask if she could get the other
it
again before they booted her out the door? Preferably by Des this time? Not that she hadn’t enjoyed having sex with Cole, but he wasn’t her boss. Err, he was, but he wasn’t Des.

Dammit all to hell, she wanted Des. Even more so now.

So maybe she needed to show him that she didn’t mind handling a few extra tasks around the office? Blowing, and filing, and typing, and fucking…

She adjusted her suit. She’d worn power red today, hoping it would give her a boost. That it looked good with her coloring and the snug skirt revealed lots of leg? Absolutely irrelevant.

While she stood there fiddling with her clothes, the phone rang again. She answered, her belly fluttering in anticipation of hearing his deep, sexy voice. “Now, Wendy.”

“On my way.” She hung up and strode down the hall, determined to project an outward air of confidence. She was a valuable employee. There was no reason at all to think she’d be fired for such small transgressions.

Then she saw Des standing in his doorway and she stumbled.

Instead of moving to help her, he crossed his arms. Ankles too. He made her think of a king, waiting to be served. That he wore a pair of black jeans, crisp white shirt, and formal pinstriped vest—and a smirk, can’t forget the smirk—didn’t diminish his kingly air.

She slipped past him into the room. The slam of the door made her jump, and quick as a snake, he shoved her face-first against the wall. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep quiet. At least she hadn’t pleaded. Yet.

His minty breath warmed her cheek as he pressed to her back. “So I’m gay.”

Yep, there was no stopping the squeak then. Classy. “Uh, I didn’t say you were gay. That the…individual might be gay. The fictional man I slept with, I mean.” She shook her head. “I’m just going to stop talking now.”

“No, it’s fascinating. Tell me more.” While he spoke, he gathered her wrists and—bound them. What the hell?

She whirled to face him then wished she hadn’t. He was too close to her, and his eyes were barely slits. If this was Des set on mad, she’d happily return the dial to affable Des. Or Des, sex maniac who demanded she pleasure him. Another good option.

“I didn’t tell her it was you. Either of you. But come on, do you really think the idea you could be gay is out of left field?”

“Did you think that when your mouth was on my cock?” His question blew over her lips. “Or when I was watching you get fucked by my partner and wishing like hell it was me?”

“It could’ve been you. It should’ve been.”

He wrapped his hand around her hair, tugging her back until she had no choice but to meet his simmering gaze. “It’s not going to be. So just get that thought out of your pretty head.”

Disappointment sliced through her, fast and sharp. She clenched her hands. “What’s this about then? Just a way for you to show me who’s boss?”

That smile, slow and lethal, should’ve come with a warning label. “You already know who’s boss. This is just to make sure you never forget it.”

While she stood there caught between shivering and screaming, he went to his desk and pressed the intercom button. Van’s perky voice rang over the line. “Yes, Des?”

“Take the rest of the afternoon off. Boss’s orders.” He flashed his teeth at Wendy and she flexed her fingers, hating that she was at his mercy. Unless she decided to walk out the door, once she figured out how to open it with her mouth. “Send Cole in here on your way out, please.”

Oh hell no.

Oh hell
yes
.

“Are you sure?” She’d never heard Van use that particular soft, entreating tone before. “I can stay as long as you need. Or help if there’s something you and Cole have to take care of—”

Des pushed a button with one long finger. “What do you say? Do we need Vanessa’s assistance?” Sensuously, he licked his lower lip. “Your call, Ms. Stanton.”

She couldn’t shake her head rapidly enough. He chuckled and pushed the button again. “I think we’ll be fine. Thank you, Van.”

He stayed on the line for another moment, making small talk. Van obviously didn’t want to go. Was there a reason why? Like, oh, had she been the first test subject for Des and Cole’s unconventional disciplinary procedures? And maybe she wasn’t ready to be pushed aside.

Almost as soon as he ended the call, the door opened. She shifted her back to the wall, oddly embarrassed to be caught with her hands trapped behind her. It made her feel even more powerless, though really, who was she kidding? They weren’t playing pattycake. In comparison to her vanilla existence, these men were hardcore.

Even if Cole entered Des’s office with a miniature candy cane in his mouth and another longer, thicker one under his arm.

“Wondered when we’d get back on the job,” he said cheerfully, flipping the lock in the doorknob. “So you’ve labeled us gay, hmm?”

She swallowed and twisted her wrists against her binding. Jeez, was that garland? She peeked over her shoulder. Yep, her favorite multi-colored strand. Figured.

Cole’s finger along her jaw had her eyes snapping back to his. He cocked his head, studying her while he sucked on his candy. The gesture made him look boyish, especially with that lock of light brown hair that kept dipping into his eyes. Dark blue eyes that saw too deep and exposed all the lies she told the world on a daily basis.

That she was okay. That she didn’t hurt. That she didn’t need.

“We’re open-minded about who we sleep with, sweetheart.” Cole crunched into his candy. “Sometimes that includes guys. Usually only each other, and usually only when we’re sharing a woman. You don’t have to worry that you’ll come in here someday and find me with my head in jerkwad’s lap.”

She flushed and hated herself for it. “I didn’t mean—”

“Shh. I’m sure you were confused.” Cole’s finger found the corner of her mouth and pressed inward until her lips gave way. He eased the tip inside, smiling when her tongue curled around him. “No confusion now, is there?”

When she shook her head, he smiled and held out the oversized candy cane to Des. Someone had brought it to the party the other night. “Hungry? I brought you a present.”

Des came around the desk and accepted the candy, eyeing it with an appreciation that caused her panties to dampen even more. None of this should be turning her on, but apparently her body didn’t realize that.

“Hmm. I’m not usually a fan of sweets.” She thought of his newly developed sugar habit and then clamped her lips together when he looked her way. “What about you, Wendy?”

“I’m not hungry.”

Des and Cole glanced at each other, matching predatory smiles crossing their ridiculously sexy faces. Cole had dimples and Des’s spiky hair could’ve hidden devil horns, but for that instant she could tell they were of one very dirty mind.

Des stepped forward and stroked the wrapped cane down her throat. She held his gaze, unwilling to slip into the same submissive role she had last time. There was no alcohol in her bloodstream right now. Lust, yes, but she could control that.

Maybe.

He ran his tongue under her jaw in a long, patient sweep. “Do you want to be here, Wendy?”

She should say no. What she’d wanted with Des—or what she’d believed she wanted anyway—was a chance at a normal relationship. This was not that.

But she wasn’t moving away. She was nodding yes and arching as he unbuttoned her jacket and bared the lacy white teddy beneath. The top of it played peekaboo nicely with her suit, and the rest was a series of swirling cutouts and mesh. Her skirt hid what covered her groin—or didn’t.

“So businesslike outside.” Des’s finger skated down the rise of her breasts, detouring over each taut nipple showcased in thin netting. “So not beneath. What’s under here?” he asked, tracing her waistband.

She pulled off a shrug though she could feel herself growing wet to the point of embarrassment. “See for yourself.”

“I think I will.” He passed off the candy cane to Cole then tugged on her skirt with both hands, his expression glazing at the sight of her pussy framed in white lace. Garters and sheer stockings completed the outfit. “You test me, Wendy.”

“Do I?” She licked her lips with the tip of her tongue, pleased to see the flex of his cock against his trousers. “It’s so hard to tell.”

He drew his fingers over her slit, scarcely touching her, and she jerked back. His smile was like the sun emerging from behind a cloud, bright and disarming. “I bet you taste like candy. Do you like having a man between your legs?”

Answering seemed like another way to give in. She tried to make her face expressionless, determined to make him work for her reactions if nothing else.

Cole crunched into the mini candy cane, swallowing the last of it as he peeled the plastic off the larger cane. Then he stepped forward and placing the rounded tip of the candy against her mouth. “You know you want some.”

Caught in the intensity of his eyes, she licked, involuntarily drawing one heel up the wall. Spreading herself open for them.

Des took her silent invitation and dropped to his knees, finding her clit so fast that she swayed. With her balance altered from her bound wrists and her stance, she might’ve toppled over had he not locked an arm around the back of her thighs. He wasn’t letting her go anywhere, that was for damn sure.

“That’s it,” Cole said when she drew the candy deeper into her mouth in response to Des’s insistent licking. “Get it wet.”

Her eyes shot to Cole’s. All at once, she knew they weren’t simply plying her with treats.

Of course they weren’t.
Moron
.

Des prodded her swollen bundle of nerves with his tongue, flattening it while she sucked harder on the peppermint stick. Her thighs trembled and she rocked forward, unintentionally swallowing more of the candy. Nearly choking on it.

God, who knew Des had such powerful suction?

Maybe Van knew.

She shoved that thought away as Cole palmed the back of her head, finally drawing the cane away to kiss her. He snaked his tongue between her lips, flicking upward against the roof of her mouth, somehow mirroring the way Des was devouring her pussy. “You’re delicious. I want this mouth on me. So cool and minty.”

Cole stepped back to tug off his belt before following suit with his pants and boxers. His already fully erect cock curved out, even more enticing than the candy he still gripped in one fist.

Inexplicably, she dropped her gaze to Des’s dark head between her legs. She wished she could touch him, run all that soft hair through her fingers. Wished they were alone, which made her feel instantly guilty.

She liked Cole, she really did. He definitely cranked her gears. But he wasn’t Des, and she was stupidly traditional. One woman, one man.

And that was a fantasy. This was her reality.

Des slid back, his chin damp and his gorgeous sea-colored eyes unreadable. He rose and undid his jeans. He wore no boxers, and just a glimpse of his golden skin, so hard and thick, elicited her muffled cry. Muffled because Cole’s mouth was back on hers, his tongue thrusting deep while he pressed his hand between her legs, fingering her with a speed that made her dizzy.

“Ah, darling, you’re soaked for us. Come. Just come, baby.”

She was so close already from Des that it didn’t take long at all. As soon as two of Cole’s long fingers pumped into her, she exploded. She buried her face between his shoulder and neck while she rode out the climax, both relieved and tense all over again.