Jingle Balls: A Holiday Romantic Comedy Anthology

by Dylann Crush

  He lowered his mouth to mine—his touch like the wings of a butterfly brushing against a petal. My body shivered slightly, but it had nothing to do with the cold temperature. As far as I was concerned, we were standing on a Hawaiian beach at sunset.

  The next moment our lips touched again, the lingering uncertainty vanished like a puff of smoke. This time our mouths moved together in unison. And with each brush, flames licked my body with a burning desire.

  My lips parted, begging him to deepen the kiss, to relieve the need smoldering in me, to stoke it, to reduce me to ashes.

  His tongue stroked mine, and I released a soft moan.

  The sound was met with his answering one. He threaded his fingers through my hair, cradling my head. His other hand slipped to the curve of my lower back, and he pulled my body against him. Even with the fabric of my dress and his tux between us, I could feel his length harden.

  My heart rate picked up, excited by the wicked possibilities.

  I pulled away slightly, my breath coming out in rapid white pants. “God, this is going to sound crazy. I don’t normally do one-night stands, but—”

  I got no further than that. Grayson’s mouth was on mine again, answering the question I hadn’t yet asked.

  4

  Logan

  What was my first thought when Kiera insinuated she wanted to have sex with me?

  That Christmas had come early. I couldn’t begin to count the number of times I’d fantasized back in college how it would feel to be buried deep inside her.

  But as my mouth moved against hers, I was reminded of one crucial question: How would she feel if she found out I was the one kissing her?

  I’d kept my identity a secret from the moment she entered the ballroom. I had kissed her and still hadn’t told her the truth.

  Okay, I know what you’re thinking. She had no idea that I knew who she was, so she couldn’t possibly get mad at me.

  Or maybe that’s not what you’re thinking. Maybe you’re thinking I’m an idiot for holding my tongue on the whole identification thing.

  You’re probably right about that.

  Kiera pulled away as if she’d bounced off an electrified force field that had sprung up between us. Christ, I hoped she hadn’t suddenly developed the ability to read minds. “There’s something you should know first,” she said.

  “What’s that?” I asked, voice huskier than before.

  “It’s been a long time since I was last with a man that way.” She swallowed. “I used to be married. I don’t want to talk about it, but my husband died last year.”

  I nodded in understanding even though I had no idea where this was going. “So, you decided your first time would be with a stranger?”

  “More than that. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I want us to keep the masks on.”

  O-kay.

  I wasn’t sure what I thought of that. It could’ve been taken so many different ways. So I asked the one question echoing in my head like a gong struck by a puck. “So, you can pretend I’m him while I’m fucking you?”

  I hadn’t meant for the words to be so crass. But now that they were out there, there was no taking it back.

  Besides, who was I to talk? What kind of man slept with his best friend’s wife?

  A crappy one.

  Sure, Stephen was dead, but did it really make a difference?

  Of course, it makes a difference, either the voice of reason or the devil on my shoulder—it could have gone either way—said. It would only be immoral if her husband was still alive.

  But what about the part where I was keeping the truth about my identity a secret from her?

  Both the voice of reason and the devil pointed out that it was Kiera’s choice to keep the masks on because it would be easier for her.

  And who was I to argue with that?

  Kiera adamantly shook her head. Her eyes were as wide as an owl’s that had sat on a downed power line. “No…no, not at all. It’s just this isn’t something I normally do. It’s completely out of character for me. Being adventurous. And well, having sex with a stranger while we’re both masked seems sexy and forbidden.” She clasped her lip between her teeth for a heartbeat before releasing it. “I know this sounds strange, I mean, I don’t even know you. But my sister knows your grandmother, so in a way, we’re not complete strangers.”

  I had to smother a laugh at that logic.

  But she’d also handed me a solution to my dilemma. If we kept the masks on, she’d never have to find out I was less of a stranger than she imagined. “Okay, the masks stay on.”

  I could only hope I wasn’t making a mistake in going along with her wishes.

  Kiera shivered and pulled the shawl tighter around her arms. “I should probably find the woman who loaned me this, so I can return it to her first.”

  “Good idea. But it might also be a good idea if we didn’t disappear quite yet. Otherwise, my grandmother will send the army to drag me back to the charity event.” Which wouldn’t be a problem if we were having sex in Kiera’s room.

  Plus going to Kiera’s room would solve several issues, one being the picture of Olivia, Stacy, and myself on my bedside table. I always brought it with me on the road. Tony took the photo of the three of us last summer.

  Kiera and I strode to the doors leading inside. I twisted the handle of the one I’d come through. It didn’t budge. We tried the other four doors. They, too, remained locked.

  Fuck.

  I peered through the glass. Everyone was turned away from us, listening to the woman on the stage. No one seemed to notice we were out here.

  “I think she’s telling everyone about the silent auction prizes,” Kiera whispered, even though no one inside could hear us.

  I surveyed the balcony for another way inside. Spotting a potential route, I lightly grabbed Kiera’s arm. “This way.”

  I guided her to the stairs leading to the ground level and helped her down the steps until we reached the path.

  Or at least where the path should’ve been.

  “Oh!” she said, staring at the snow-covered ground.

  Whoever had been responsible for clearing the path had been sadly negligent in their duty.

  “I guess you aren’t wearing winter boots under your dress?” I asked with a smirk.

  Kiera pulled up the hem of her skirt, revealing shapely calves, kissable ankles, and stilettos that looked like they’d been covered with silver glitter.

  And just like that, the image of Kiera wearing the mask—and only the mask—pushed aside the argument of whether it was morally acceptable to have sex with her.

  I wasn’t sure I could last five more minutes, let alone another hour or two, before giving her a night we would both remember for a long time.

  In the near distance, cabin lights glowed warmly in the dark. In addition to the regular rooms, the hotel also boasted secluded cabins. I’d never been inside one, but I’d overheard a guest gush about the elegant rustic interior, the fireplace, and the faux bearskin rug.

  Like a honeymoon suite—only better.

  In the opposite direction and around the corner was the main hotel entrance.

  “Looks like I’ll be carrying you. Climb on,” I said, turning away from her.

  “I can’t do that!”

  I chuckled at her scandalized tone and peered over my shoulder at her. “Why not?”

  “Because I’m not a little girl. I’m a grown woman.”

  “So I’ve noticed. What’s that got to do with anything?”

  Her breath came out as a huffed sigh. “It means I’m heavier than a little girl.”

  “Yeah, so?”

  She didn’t reply. She just gaped at me. I’d bet my seven-figure annual salary she was wearing an Isn’t-it-obvious? expression under her mask.

  “I guarantee I can carry you without straining a muscle.” She wouldn’t have doubted that for a second if she’d ever witnessed my pre-season training.

  An icy wind swept down fr
om the mountains, reminding us that it wasn’t getting any warmer outside.

  “All right,” Kiera said on another sigh. She hiked her skirt up and climbed awkwardly onto my back.

  Once I had her securely in position, her arms wrapped loosely around my neck, I plodded through the ankle-deep snow. My feet were getting cold from snow sneaking into my dress shoes—there was no way Kiera would have survived walking in those shoes.

  Her warm breath brushed against my ear, and my skin hummed, my cock stirred, and the pounding of my heart thundered through the valley, shaking the snow from the trees. Never in a million years in college had I imagined a moment like this. With Kiera. And I was positive I’d never have a moment like this again.

  I didn’t mean that because Kiera lived in San Francisco and I lived in Chicago. I’d made the mistake once before of marrying a woman when I was already married to my career. I had no intention of doing that again.

  Not that I would ever call Stacy or Olivia a mistake.

  But my career and my daughter were more important to me than anything else. As long as I was playing hockey, I had no room in my life for another relationship. Lesson learned.

  We arrived at the hotel entrance a few minutes later, and I lowered Kiera to the sidewalk. The doorman and the valet managed to keep what they were thinking off their faces, but you couldn’t mistake the lewd thoughts glinting in their eyes.

  Fortunately, Kiera was too busy straightening her skirt to notice.

  I leveled a get-your-mind-out-of-the-gutter glare at them.

  Both men got the message, despite my mask, shifting uncomfortably on their feet. My size had the benefit of intimidating more than just my on-ice rivals.

  The doorman gave us a welcoming nod. “Good evening, sir. Madam.”

  “Hi,” Kiera said brightly, as though she had stepped out of a golden carriage made from a pumpkin, instead of riding on my back while wearing a ball gown.

  She moved forward. The automatic glass door slid open, and we entered the building.

  Warm air instantly hugged us like Aunt Sonia’s bear hugs.

  “Oh, God,” Kiera said on an erotic moan, rubbing her bare arms under the shawl. “I forgot how amazing heat feels.”

  “Why don’t we get a drink? That’ll warm us up.” Although after that moan, a dunk in the icy river might be in order for me.

  “I’ll catch up with you in a minute. I need to return the shawl to its owner before she wonders what happened to it.” Without waiting for my reply, Kiera strolled toward the ballroom.

  I started to follow her but changed my mind, veering toward the front desk.

  5

  Kiera

  It took me all but a few minutes to locate Helena. She was talking to two good-looking men. Like the other men in the ballroom, they were wearing tuxes, but as with Helena, they had forgone the masks.

  “Kiera, let me introduce you to Elias Lawson and Kai Korhonen from the San Francisco Rock hockey team.” She grinned at the two men. “Gentlemen, this is my dear friend, Kiera, who I’ve only known for a few minutes, but I can already tell is a wonderful person.”

  Her smile faded, and her expression turned puzzled. “Have you been outside this entire time?”

  I nodded. “Turns out the doors are only unlocked from the inside.” Except, she hadn’t had trouble re-entering the ballroom through them.

  Her mouth formed a perfect O. “How did you ever get back inside?”

  “The stairs leading from the balcony to the ground level.”

  “You were alone out there?”

  “No, I had a friend with me.” I swiveled to see where Grayson had disappeared to. He was nowhere to be found.

  I returned my attention to Helena and the two hockey players.

  “Do you like hockey?” she asked me.

  “I haven’t watched it in a while. Not since…” I left the rest of the sentence dangling, having already met my sad-story quota for the day when I informed Grayson of my widow status.

  The three of them looked at me expectantly while I fumbled for an alternative answer.

  When one failed to materialize, I went with, “What positions do you play?”

  “Goalie,” Kai said.

  “Forward,” was Elias’s reply.

  “I heard the team’s doing really well this season.” Even though the sport was no longer part of my life, I wasn’t deaf to the comments from some of my students. They were huge hockey fans.

  The two men nodded. “We are.” Elias smiled smugly. “The Blackhawks didn’t know what hit them when they lost to us yesterday.”

  “Now, now,” Helena said, her English accent coming in a little stronger. “I thought Logan Mathews was on fire. If it hadn’t been for your goal during the power play in the last two minutes of the game, things might’ve turned out differently.”

  A warmth filled me at the mention of Logan, a name I hadn’t heard in a while.

  Elias’s and Kai’s gazes darted to something over my shoulder. A hand rested on my lower back, and the sensation of two dozen fluttering fairy wings settled in my belly. I didn’t have to turn around to know the hand belonged to Grayson.

  I grinned at him, but his gaze wasn’t on me. It was locked on the two hockey players. Maybe he was a hockey fan and recognized them. He did live in Chicago, after all. For all I knew, he’d watched the Blackhawks’ game against the Rock last night.

  But if he did recognize the two men, he didn’t say anything. He just nodded at them.

  Elias and Kai were eyeing him as if they were trying to place him. I guess he had one of those faces that seemed familiar when it wasn’t, especially when you couldn’t see it in its entirety because of the mask.

  “Would you care to dance?” Grayson asked me, not giving the two men and Helena a second glance.

  Before I could reply, he was guiding me away from the trio.

  “Have fun, you two,” Helena called after us.

  For a second, I considered asking him if he liked hockey, but decided I didn’t care if he did or not. We only had this one night together, and damned if I’d spend it talking about the sport.

  The less I knew about him, the better.

  The night wasn’t about getting to know him because I wanted a happily ever after with him. It was about enjoying unforgettable sex. Unforgettable sex that I could relive while I was pleasing myself during my next Sahara of a sex dry-spell.

  “That’s a gorgeous necklace,” Helena said a while later, after Grayson and I had returned from the dance floor. The two hockey players had since left her side. Her gaze was directed at the gold charm resting above my cleavage: the elegant script spelling the word “Believe.”

  She smiled softly at me, the pale blue of her eyes sparkling like an icicle in the sunlight. “Magic exists if you believe. Do you believe?”

  Does that quote sound familiar to you, too?

  I was certain I’d heard or seen it somewhere. “I’m not sure the guy who gave it to me was thinking about magic when he bought it.”

  “A fellow? Is he special?”

  A man dressed in a gray suit stepped up to Grayson. Grayson moved away from my side to talk to him.

  “He was a friend back in college. He gave it to me as a graduation present.”

  She seemed to contemplate that for a second. “Whatever happened to him?”

  “I have no idea.” If it had been someone other than Logan Mathews, the hockey player she’d been referring to earlier, I would’ve told her he played in the NHL, was married, and had a child. But who he was didn’t matter. He’d been part of a life that no longer existed.

  Grayson stiffened briefly, having since returned to my side after the brief exchange with the man.

  Helena cocked her head to the side, the sparkle still in her eyes. “You never said if you believe in magic?”

  I laughed. “If I say no, does that mean another fairy falls from the sky, or whatever it is that happened to them in Peter Pan?”

  She giggled. “Som
ething tells me that’s not how it works.” Her purse buzzed. She removed her phone and checked the screen. “Looks like my assistant needs me to call her. It was nice meeting you two. Good luck with everything.” She bopped her head in a brisk good-bye and hurried toward the doorway.

  “What do you say we make our escape now?” Grayson asked. His grandmother was talking to a group of people on the other side of the ballroom. My sister was dancing with her husband.

  “Deal.”

  In the lobby, I turned to the elevators. Grayson reached for my hand and pulled me in the opposite direction.

  “Aren’t we going upstairs?” I assumed we were heading to his room. We hadn’t actually discussed whose room we would end up in.

  “No. I’ve got something else planned.”

  O-kay.

  We stepped outside as a white SUV pulled to the curb. Grayson reached for the front passenger door and opened it. “Your chariot, Madam.”

  “Will it turn into a pumpkin at midnight?” I asked on a giggle.

  “I’m pretty sure that only applies to golden carriages. SUVs are exempt from the rule.”

  I climbed into the vehicle. Grayson shut the door, retrieved his keys from the valet, and walked to the driver’s side.

  Part of me was expecting a long drive to wherever our final destination awaited us. So I was surprised when the trip lasted less than two minutes, and he parked in front of what looked like an adorable log cabin behind the hotel. A soft glow came from between the closed curtains, and smoke curled up from the chimney.

  It wasn’t the only cabin here. From what I could tell, there were about a dozen of them, randomly located away from the road.

  Grayson opened the passenger door and helped me down.

  “What is this place?” I asked as we strolled up the short path.

  “The cabins are like hotel suites but more secluded. Plus, they have something the rooms in the hotel don’t have.” He unlocked the door with a key card and pushed it open.

  And I instantly understood what he’d meant.

  A roaring fire greeted us from the fireplace on the opposite side of the large room. In front of it was a white fur rug that fortunately looked more fake than real.