ChristmasisComing (11 page)

Her men?

Gaby faltered momentarily before picking up
the beat again. Go with the flow and worry about the other stuff later. Her
hips rocked. She shimmied and did a creditable pop diva strut before smoothly
sliding down the side zipper of her dress. A wink and a sexy pout accompanied
the subtle shoulder shrug that slid one side of her bodice down and bared the
curve of a breast.

“I didn’t notice she wasn’t wearing a bra,”
Fletch said.

“I did.” No mistaking Liam’s sexy drawl for
anything except suggestive.

“Keep singing,” Fletch ordered. “Otherwise
I’ll have to start and that will really kill the mood.”

Gaby shuddered and it had nothing to do
with her partial undressed state. Fletch’s singing sounded like a bullfrog on a
bad day. She turned an imploring gaze on Liam. “He means it. Please don’t
subject us to that torture.”

Liam hurriedly started singing again,
laughter threading the husky lyrics of his chosen song.

She swayed, released her grip on her dress
and, with a swivel of her hips, the fabric slid down, hitting the floor with a
whoosh. Still rocking to the beat of Liam’s song, she stepped out of the
fabric.

“That’s it,” Fletch said. “I can’t wait.”
He leaped off the bed, scooped her up and tossed her onto the bed.

“Fletch! I haven’t even had a chance to
take off my shoes.”

“No problem. We’ll do it,” Fletch said,
sitting at the foot of the bed. He cradled one of her feet in his hand, his
eyes gleaming with mischief. “Liam?”

“You’re all on your own,” Liam said. “I’m
not the impatient one.” He winked at her seconds before lowering his head to
kiss her. And what a kiss. There were no preliminaries. It was the kiss of a
man intent on sex, an experienced man who knew exactly what moves to make. A
confident man. Gaby clung to him, enjoying the ride.

When Liam lifted his head and stared at
her, the atmosphere thickened. A sharp tug on one foot made her glance at the
foot of the bed.

“Hello? I’m here.” Fletch’s disgruntlement
came through clearly.

A spurt of uncertainty grabbed her. How did
they make this work without one of them feeling left out? She shot a quick look
at Liam. His smile was reassuring, and he followed it up with a wink.

“Feeling left out?” he asked.

“Yes.” Fletch unbuckled and removed both of
her shoes as he spoke. He tossed them to the floor.

“Come up here.” Liam bent to whisper in her
ear, his sultry suggestion warming her inside and out. “Lose the clothes
first,” he added. “We have plans for you.”

For once, Fletch seemed at a loss, his
normal confidence absent. “What about you guys?”

“Our plans don’t require us to lose our
clothes,” Gaby said sweetly. “Hurry up. Time’s a-wastin’.”

Fletch stood and slowly removed his shirt,
black trousers and underwear. “Should I be worried?”

Liam snorted. “Only if too much pleasure
throws you. Stop being such a wimp.”

Fletch crawled up the bed, and as soon as
he was in range, they both jumped him. Liam pushed him flat against the mattress
while she went down to the business end. When she glanced up, she saw Liam
kissing Fletch in the same way he’d kissed her.

The tension seeped out of Fletch, his taut
muscles relaxing. Gaby couldn’t tear her eyes off the two men. Their kiss was
aggressive for the most part, but then Liam gentled the contact, seducing and
cajoling a response. Fletch moaned and his arms wound around Liam, pulling him
closer so their chests brushed.

A sigh whispered from Gaby and she fought
the urge to finger herself. Need hummed through her, but she wanted to draw it
out. Smiling, she trailed her hand over Fletch’s hipbone. His partial erection
had filled out, his cock bobbing in the air.

Bending her head, she placed teasing kisses
on his hip, gradually moving closer to his groin. She heard a moan, felt the
shift in his breathing when she kissed his shaft and made a tiny, teasing foray
with her tongue. His scent drifted over her as she teased him. As much as her
body clamored for action, this was right where she wanted to be—tormenting
Fletch with Liam as her partner in crime.

She upped her tempo, swirling her warm, wet
tongue over the head of his cock. His hips jerked, driving his shaft deeper
into her mouth. Gaby went with the offer, tasting his pre-come and pulling out
all stops to drive him crazy.

“Shift over.”

Gaby’s head lifted in surprise.

“You asked for some attention,” Liam said.

Fletch’s succinct curse would have made her
mother tut. Gaby just grinned and shifted over to allow Liam access to Fletch.
She cast a saucy grin at Fletch, noticed the faint color in his cheeks, his
swollen lips and the heat in his brown eyes. They glowed with open need and
desire, causing a spike of return heat in her.

“I need another kiss from you before we
torture Fletch some more.”

She sank into their kiss and gave in to the
need to touch. Her hand snaked under the band of her panties and between her
legs, gliding across slick flesh. The zing of sensation made her gasp against
Liam’s lips. He drew back, his blue eyes sparkling with an echo of the desire
she’d witnessed in Fletch.

“Just a little longer, Gaby. The wait will
be worth it. Okay?”

“Yes.” She didn’t question Liam’s right to
order them around. He wasn’t being obnoxious, and since the three of them had
the same goal, Liam’s taking control worked for her.

“Ready to put Fletch on edge?”

“Oh yes.” Laughter filled her, silently
bubbling like an effervescent drink. She felt giddy and excited as a world of
possibilities opened to them. She bent her head, snatched another kiss from
Liam then turned her attention to Fletch. As before she licked the head of
Fletch’s cock, but this time Liam joined her, his tongue flickering out to take
a taste. Sometimes their tongues touched while at other times Fletch was their
only connection. Their gazes caught and held, a link binding them together.

Fletch’s groans and soft curses filled the
air, his large frame quivering, his hips jerking upward as he attempted to find
a mouth. Liam backed off, giving her a faint nod. She took Fletch into her
mouth while Liam tongued his balls and sac, his fingers roving over Fletch.

“Stop,” Fletch said without warning. “I
can’t take much more.”

Liam smirked at her, lifting his brows in a
smug expression. “But you wanted attention.”

“Smart-ass.”

“You want to suck me off while you and
Fletch do the regular thing?” Liam asked in an undertone.

“What are you two whispering about?”

“Nothing to concern you,” Liam retorted,
yanking at his remaining clothes.

Gaby gave a slight nod and stripped off her
panties as well.

“Fletch, Gaby wants you to fuck her.”

“Hallelujah!” Fletch rolled away from the
middle of the mattress and patted the space he’d vacated. “Come on up,
sweetheart. What are you going to do?”

Liam couldn’t prevent a smirk at the
suspicious note in Fletch’s voice. “I’m going to watch and critique your
performance.” Although he aimed for impassive, his lips quivered.

“Fuck that.” Fletch brushed an absent kiss
on Gaby’s shoulder while glaring at him.

“Isn’t it me you’re gonna fuck, Fletch?” A
mischievous note entered Gaby’s voice and Liam wanted to laugh. Sex with Fletch
and Gaby was a constant surprise and full of fun along with pleasure that
rocked him soul-deep.

With a grumble, Fletch positioned himself
and pushed inside Gaby. One thing Liam hadn’t considered was how hot it would
be watching instead of participating. It was easy to see Gaby got off on
watching, and he could see why she liked seeing the sexual action.

“Wait!” Gaby shouted.

Fletch froze, a contrite expression hitting
his face. “Aw, hell. Gaby, I didn’t think to grab a condom.”

“That’s not the problem. I brought home a
new condom to test. Do you mind?”

“Where are they?” Liam asked. “I’ll get
them.”

“In the brown bag on the floor over there.
Bring the lube as well. I’m trying a new flavor and want to see what you
think.”

Liam grabbed the bag she’d indicated and
returned to the bed. “You want both of us to try the condom?”

“Please.”

Fletch pulled out and went to grab a
condom. Liam batted his hands away. “I’ll put it on for you.”

“You just want to fondle my cock,” Fletch
grumbled.

“Damn straight.” Liam smiled, his heart
lurching against his ribs as he unwrapped the condom and rolled it onto
Fletch’s cock. While this wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he’d told Fletch he
wanted to date Gaby, he couldn’t be sorry at this turn of events. In fact, he
didn’t know why he’d never considered it before. No, not quite right. If it
hadn’t been for Fletch’s forward thinking they’d still be fighting for Gaby’s
attention. Unable to help himself, he leaned close to kiss Fletch and gave
Fletch’s cock a furtive stroke at the same time.

Fletch didn’t tense or back away. Instead,
he moaned into Liam’s mouth, a shudder racking his body. Gradually, Liam drew
away to roll a condom onto his own cock. Fletch returned to Gaby, surging
inside her with a seamless stroke.

Gaby’s eyes slid to half-mast and a soft
sigh emerged from her. Fletch started to move with steady strokes. Liam kneeled
on the mattress at Gaby’s side. He tapped his cock against her lips in a silent
demand for her to open her mouth. When she did, heat surrounded him, the condom
little barrier to his enjoyment. Oh yeah.

“That’s real good, Gaby. Your mouth feels
good. Take more of me. Yeah, that’s the way.” He broke off on a groan when she
applied suction—hot, intense suction that was like a bolt of lightning to his
nuts.

Wanting to return the favor and heighten
her pleasure, he leaned closer to flick his tongue over her nipple. Her moan
was a vibration around his cock head. His belly muscles tensed when she lifted
a hand to caress him, her fingers grasping his hip, biting into his flesh.

“That feel good, Liam? Gaby sure feels good
on this end.” Fletch continued his measured strokes and Liam started to do
shallow thrusts in time with his friend. In. Out. In. Incredible warmth surrounding
his dick. Good. So good.

Fletch started to move faster, ramping up
the pace. Liam’s balls drew up, the assault of Gaby’s mouth too much for him to
hold back an instant longer. The heat exploded from him in the form of a climax
that stole rational thought. He shuddered, drawing back when the lap of Gaby’s
tongue became too much for him.

His body hummed with residual satisfaction
while he watched Fletch’s face, contorted with pleasure. Liam removed the
condom and tossed it aside. He kissed Gaby and, unable to resist, he leaned
over to kiss Fletch too, messing with his rhythm.

“You close, Gaby?” Liam asked, grinning at
Fletch.

“What about me?” he demanded.

“Gaby?” Liam’s grin widened. No doubt there
would be payback in his future.

“Yes…I need.” She met Fletch’s inward
stroke with an upward one of her own.

Liam smirked at Fletch and slid his hand
between their bodies, stroking a finger over her clit. She made a soft,
yielding sound.

Fletch pulled back and started to hammer
wildly into her. Liam moved his hand and watched Fletch’s face. He sensed
exactly what he was feeling, the boil of semen in his balls and every nerve
ending snapping to attention as he savored the clinging fit of Gaby’s pussy.
Liam knew the moment Fletch climaxed and was mesmerized by the expression on
his face. He rolled closer to Gaby and placed a hand on Fletch’s back, reveling
in the connection with the two people he loved most in the entire world.

“Aw hell,” Fletch said after withdrawing.
“The condom broke.”

“Bother. Where’s the clipboard?”

Liam leaned over to grab the clipboard and
handed it to Gaby. She pulled the attached pen free and scribbled some notes.

“What happened to the wrapper?”

Fletch retrieved it from the floor and read
out the code for her.

Liam shrugged. “The one I used was okay.”

“I obviously have super sperm,” Fletch
drawled.

“No problem. That’s the reason I’m on the
Pill. How were the sensations?”

“Good for me,” Liam said.

“Me too. No complaints.”

“I might have to go up a fraction thicker
with the latex.” Gaby jotted another note before dropping the clipboard on the
floor. “We didn’t test the lube. You guys up for another go-round.”

Liam exchanged a grin with Fletch. “Hell
yeah.”

“Bring it on,” Fletch agreed.

Chapter Eleven

Gaby’s lab phone rang a fraction after eleven
the next morning. It was Alice requesting a meeting. “You want me to come now?”

“If you can spare the time. We’ve done the
advertising mock-ups and we’d like your input.”

Most of the board was present when Gaby
walked into the boardroom. Loud shouts streamed through an open window and the
oldies were doing their best to talk over the commotion.

Curiosity propelled Gaby to ask the
question. “What’s the racket about?”

James scowled at each of the board members
in turn. “Somehow, the Children of Nature cult has learned about our new
product.”

Gaby stiffened. “They didn’t find out about
it from me.”

Richard Morgan came stomping into the
boardroom, newspapers clamped under his arm. “The
Sloan Gazette
has
reinstated Ms. Knowall’s gossip column.”

“What?” James stretched out his hand. “Let
me see.”

Richard slapped the papers on top of the
board table. “Hinekiri told me to bring a few papers.” His grim voice and
darting look at her made Gaby’s insides twist. She remembered when Ms. Knowall
ran her last column. For some reason she’d stopped her column as suddenly as
she’d started writing it.

“I can’t find my glasses.” Katarina rifled
through her bag with one hand and grabbed the last remaining paper with the
other.

For a few frantic seconds the rustling of
newsprint was the only sound in the room.

“Which page,” Ben demanded finally.

“Page eleven,” Katarina answered, peering
closely at the page number.

“Gaby!” Gran said. “You’re in the gossip
column.”

“But I haven’t…” Oh, god. Surely there
wasn’t something about Liam and Rachel.

“Give me a paper,” Alice said with a touch
of impatience. “I’ll read the item out loud.” She folded the paper and scanned
the first few lines before lifting her head to search out Gaby. “Oh dear.” She
made a
tsking
sound at the back of her throat. “‘Sources close to me
have informed us of Miss M and her untraditional living arrangement. Miss M,
who works for Fancy Free, lives with two men and they don’t have their own
bedrooms, if you know what I mean. Another source has confirmed Miss M is the inventor
of a new condom for Fancy Free. I wonder who she asks to help with testing.

“‘And sticking to the Miss M theme, another
source informs me one of her roommates is the father of a baby. Imagine this,
readers—the man is denying everything. The mother, Miss S, is having a
difficult time getting Mr. R to accept responsibility. He’s had his fun and now
he’s denying everything. A case of like father, like son, me thinks.’”

Gaby listened to Alice with increasing
horror. Someone knew. Someone had discovered she, Liam and Fletch were more
than good friends. She drew a sharp breath when Alice read about Rachel’s
pregnancy. That wasn’t fair. Now everyone would expect Liam to marry her and
they weren’t even positive he was the father. She scowled, aware of the clear
speculation in the boardroom.

“Do you have anything you want to say,
missy?” Joseph Craig asked in his gruff voice.

Katarina peered over the top of her reading
glasses. “Is it true? That’s what I want to know.”

“I always liked Fletch and Liam, but both
of them, Gaby?” Sam asked.

Gaby swallowed and remained silent.
Deny
everything
, a voice screamed in her head. No one knew the truth. This was
supposition.

Ben’s shrill whistle cut through the
silence, making Gaby flinch. “Your mother is going to have a cow.”

“You don’t have to sound so pleased about
it,” Alice said in a chiding manner.

Gran snorted. “Ben’s right. She’ll be
gunning for you, Gaby.”

“If she doesn’t disown me first,” Gaby said
in a glum voice. Even though Ms. Knowall had used initials, the connection with
Fancy Free would help everyone guess the identities of the supposedly guilty
parties. Oh heck. No doubt most of Sloan’s residents had read the scurrilous
gossip already.

One thing was certain—Fletch and Liam could
kiss any chance of getting the contract on the new subdivision.

Katarina reached for her coffee cup and
frowned at the lack of contents. She set it back down with a clatter. “Do you
have any comment?”

Deny everything. “I don’t know anything
about this.” Gaby was proud she managed to meet the gaze of each of the oldies
without a blush.

“I’ll be back in a sec.” James left the
boardroom, his expression grim.

The chants of the cult members carried
through the window. “Down with condoms. Condoms are bad. Population growth for
Sloan. Down with condoms.”

“That’s a new one,” James said, appearing
back in the boardroom. “I didn’t realize we were directly responsible for
inhibiting population growth. I thought I might have an idea of the person who
wrote this, but they’re not responsible. They’re in Australia.”

A burst of babble and speculation rang out,
pandemonium filling the boardroom.

“Maybe we could study the design boards?”
Gaby wanted to run and hide. She wanted to ring Fletch and Liam to warn them
about the gossip column. She did neither. “I’m working on a new design and I
would like to get on with my experiments,” she said, trying not to act
defensive at the number of smirks leveled in her direction.

“Gaby’s right,” James said. “Besides, if
she has more excellent designs up her sleeve, we want to encourage them.”

“Hear, hear.” Alice nodded emphatically.
She switched on the projector screen and tapped several buttons on her laptop.
“What do you think about this?”

It was perfect, a more polished print ad
than the rough one Alice had shown Gaby earlier. The title was the same—
Christmas
is Coming
. A picture of a Christmas tree and a couple exchanging a gift.
The parcel bore Fancy Free’s distinctive motif of the joined Fs. At the bottom
of the ad, the words—
Give your lover the gift of pleasure
—were
emblazoned.

“That’s perfect.” Gaby didn’t have to
pretend enthusiasm. “The vibrators are going to fly off the shelves.”

“Along with the other gift packages Alice
and I decided to market at the same time. We have condom and lube combos plus
the main one of the vibrator. All of the packages will be wrapped in gold with
red-and-green ribbon and we’ve decided to do a seasonal Good Vibrations condom
in Christmas colors too.”

“I like it,” Gran said, and the other
oldies agreed.

“That was easy,” Alice said to James. “I
think we’re done.”

Before any of the oldies had a chance to
ask more noisy questions, Gaby stood and casually left the boardroom. She kept
her steps slow and measured, despite every urge inside telling her to run.

“Gaby?” Alice followed her from the room.

“Yes?” The last thing she wanted to do was
chat. She had to ring Fletch and Liam, warm them of possible fallout. Then
she’d screen her phone calls. She winced, imagining the blast she’d receive
from her mother. How long could she dodge her mother’s calls before her mother
decided to visit in person?

Alice strode down the passage to stand
beside her. Sympathy shone in her eyes and she gave Gaby a swift hug.

“Don’t worry about the gossip. Ignore
everything. James and I understand what you’re going through. If you need to
talk or want someone to rant to you know where to find me.”

“Will the gossip hurt sales?”

Alice grinned. “Hell no. The pre-gossip
about Good Vibrations built expectation and buyers pounced the moment stock hit
the shelves. James and I were trying to think of a way of dragging the Children
of Nature cult out to protest and organize petitions because their
demonstrations worked well last time.” Alice patted her arm. “You keep feeding
the gossip mill and we’ll all reap the rewards.”

“You don’t know my mother,” Gaby said
dryly.

“Don’t worry. Everything will work out.”

Gaby nodded but didn’t believe it for an
instant. Her mother and sister would probably disown her while Liam and Fletch
would get some flack too. How could everything be all right?

Back at the lab, Marc lifted his head from
his microscope to scrutinize her. “What have you been up to? The phone has rung
nonstop with people wanting to talk to you. I couldn’t concentrate and took the
bloody thing off the hook.”

“My mother?”

“And your sister among others.”

“Okay.” A lie. Nothing was okay about this
situation.

“Anything you want to tell me?”

“No.” Marc would find out soon enough. “I
have to make a phone call.” Gaby plucked her cell phone from her pocket and
left the lab, seeking somewhere private to make her call. Outside in the small
rear garden the workers used for lunch and smoke breaks, she dialed Liam. His
phone was busy. She tried Fletch next.

“Hi, sweetheart. What’s up?” He listened
while she told him everything.

“Fuck. Liam is with Rachel’s father,
delivering our bid.”

“He wouldn’t do anything stupid, would he?”

“Liam?”

“No, Robert Saunders.”

Fletch paused. “He’s not a hothead.”

“This must be hitting close to home for
Liam with his mother.” Liam didn’t like to talk about his mother, but she
remembered the teasing he’d received at school. She might have been a few years
younger, but even she’d been aware of the ridicule he’d faced at the hands of
the other children.

“Don’t worry. We’ll circle the wagons. If
anyone asks questions, deny everything. The gossip column is mere speculation.
No one knows the truth apart from us.”

“But what about your business? Won’t this
hurt you both?”

“It’s true some of our clients are
traditional and might believe the gossip, but we should be okay. We’ve built a
solid reputation.” Fletch chuckled. “Besides, you’re gonna make lots of money
at Fancy Free. I fancy being a kept man.”

Gaby laughed as he’d meant her too. “A
couple of male slaves would work well for me.”

Fletch sobered. “Just as long as you don’t
let gossip scare you away, Gaby.”

“No.” A reply straight from the heart. She
didn’t know how or when this shift in her thoughts occurred but their
relationship felt right. The three of them together didn’t seem wrong or
unnatural.

“Good. I’ll get hold of Liam. Hang tight,
sweetheart. Ignore the comments.”

With a sigh, Gaby returned to the lab and
put the phone back on the hook. The ringing started immediately.

“Fancy Free lab,” Gaby said.

“You told me you had separate rooms,” her
mother shrieked down the line.

“What are you talking about?” Gaby played
dumb. Much safer that way.

“The paper says you sleep in the same
room.”

“What paper? I have no idea what you’re
talking about. Look, Mum. I’m flat out. I’ll talk to you later.” Gaby ignored
the squawk coming down the line and hung up on her mother.

By the time Gaby arrived home that night,
exhaustion dogged her and her throat ached from denying the rumors floating
around Sloan. Everyone she met during the course of the day expressed an
opinion. The wink-wink nudge-nudge got to her after a while and it was a relief
to enter the haven of their house and shed her work persona for a pair of
jeans, a comfortable shirt and bare feet.

The light on the answer phone blinked
insistently. Gaby grabbed a pen and pad and jabbed the message replay button.
Her mother. Her sister. Her father. Gran. Rachel. Rachel’s father.

Gaby’s pen stilled at the harsh tone of his
voice—so different from the affable man of the previous evening. The newspaper
owner wanting an interview with her about the new Fancy Free products. Several
hang-ups. The leader of the Children of Nature cult.

Color her complimented by the attention. In
between the identified callers, several anonymous insults came from people
calling them depraved, among other things. Fletch’s mother had also called,
along with his two brothers. Liam was probably glad of his lack of family at
this stage, although Fletch’s mother had included Liam in her terse message.

The tape was full. Gaby hit delete and
turned off the answer phone. When the phone started to ring, she disconnected
the plug at the wall.

What was wrong with everyone? It was her
life and she’d live how she chose. No one should dictate behavior to her.

Gaby grabbed a bottle of wine from the
fridge and poured herself a glass. It was her turn to cook dinner and she
grabbed a chicken from the fridge, stuffing the cavity with herbs and a cut
lemon before popping it in an oven bag. Once the oven heated, she placed the
chicken inside and put on the timer. Glad of the mindless task of cooking, she
peeled potatoes and prepared a salad.

Her cell phone chirped, indicating the
arrival of a text.
Late home. Don’t wait dinner for us.

Gaby considered plonking herself in front
of the telly. She tried to sit down but immediately shot to her feet again,
unable to concentrate. She checked the time on the microwave clock and came to
a decision. Once the chicken was cooked, she’d go out.

In her bedroom, she exchanged her
comfortable shirt for a formfitting one. The shirt hem stopped two inches short
of the band of her low-slung jeans. Gaby pulled the band from her hair and
dragged her fingers through the long locks, letting it swing around her
shoulders in wild curls. A pair of strappy sandals with a spike heels and a
quick makeup refresh, topped with a bold red lippy, finished her preparations.
Under no illusions, she knew this trip to the Cricket would be difficult. The
messages on the answer phone told the story, but she refused to hide in shame.
No, she wanted to enter the Cricket with head held high, her shoulders back in
a show of pride. She cared for both Liam and Fletch and she liked the person
she was when she spent time with them.

Their relationship was so new and untried.
It wasn’t fair for a gossip columnist to take something precious and judge them
dirty and unnatural. If people—friends and neighbors and family—couldn’t deal
they had a problem, not her.