Page 48 of The Naughty or Nice Deal

The sleigh is more cramped than I expected, and I try to make myself as small as possible, acutely aware that I’m squeezed between two very large, very masculine men. Lydia is petite and only sharing space with one person, while Hayden and Gabriel are both built like they could wrestle bears for fun. Add in the fact that I’m definitely not what anyone would call tiny, and we’re basically engaged in an intimate game of human Tetris.

“What are you doing?” Gabriel murmurs as I try to contort myself into a smaller shape.

“Sorry, just trying to give you both enough room,” I whisper back, my face heating with embarrassment.

“For fuck’s sake,” Gabriel mutters, and before I can process what’s happening, his hands are on my waist and he’s lifting me effortlessly onto his lap, one strong arm settling around my waist to keep me secure. “There. Problem solved.”

My entire nervous system short-circuits. My face burns so hot I’m surprised I don’t spontaneously combust right here in front of everyone. I stare resolutely ahead, trying to act like sitting on Gabriel’s lap is a perfectly normal, professional thing that happens all the time.

The driver makes a clicking sound to the reindeer, and we glide forward into motion. Despite my acute awareness of the man beneath me, I can’t help but smile as we begin our ride through the snow-covered town. This is genuinely magical—being pulled by actual reindeer through a winter wonderland while people wave from the sidewalks and Christmas lights twinkle all around us.

Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to lose myself in the fairy tale atmosphere when I’m acutely conscious of every point of contact between Gabriel’s body and mine. This close, I can smell his cologne—something sophisticated and masculine that reminds me of expensive spices and fine leather. I can feel the solid wall of his chest against my back, the strength in his thighs beneath me, the way his arm around my waist feels like a band of steel wrapped in cashmere.

It’s been way too long since I’ve been this close to any man, and I’ve definitely never been this close to someone as devastatingly attractive as Gabriel. Liam is conventionally handsome, I can’t deny that, but it’s nothing compared to Gabriel’s magnetism—or Hayden’s intense power or Ford’s commanding presence, for that matter.

I try to sit perfectly still and keep my thoughts appropriately PG-rated. There’s no reason for my mind to dive straight into the gutter just because I’m sitting on a gorgeous man’s lap during what should be an innocent sleigh ride. I can be mature about this situation.

Then the sleigh hits a small bump, jostling us all together, and I shift slightly on Gabriel’s lap to maintain my balance—and feel something that makes my breath catch in my throat.

Something distinctly hard is pressing against my ass.

I freeze, convinced I must be imagining things. Surely I’m just being ridiculous and reading way too much into an innocent situation.

But when the sleigh jostles us again a moment later, I can’t resist shifting purposefully, just to see if I was imagining⁠—

I inhale sharply. Nope, not my imagination. There’s definitely something hard pressing against me, something that suggests Gabriel might actually be…

His hands suddenly grip my hips with enough force to leave fingerprints, and he leans in until his lips are practically touching my ear. “You’d better stop that right now,” he murmurs gruffly, “or I’ll have to do things to you that will get us both arrested for public indecency.”

Holy. Fucking. God.

22

MAEVE

Gabriel’s words send my pulse into overdrive, my heart hammering against my ribs like it’s trying to escape my chest entirely.

I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that Gabriel—sophisticated, worldly, devastatingly attractive Gabriel who could have literally any woman he wanted—is actually turned on by me. Me, with my student debt and discount store wardrobe and tendency to stress-eat cookie dough straight from the tube. The evidence pressing insistently against my backside suggests otherwise, though, and my body responds with an enthusiasm that should probably be illegal in public.

Heat pools between my thighs, and I have to bite my lip to keep from making a sound that would definitely get us arrested. He feels incredible—thick and hard and substantial in a way that makes my mouth water and my imagination run wild. It’s been so long since I’ve been touched by anyone, let alone someone who clearly knows what he’s doing, and I can’t stop myself from wondering what it would feel like to have him inside me. He’d stretch me perfectly, I just know it, hitting that spot deep inside that would make me scream his name until my voice gave out.

Get a grip, I order myself sternly. You’re literally in a sleigh with other people, including your other boss and Ford’s family, both of whom think you’re engaged to their brother.

If they suspected I was having impure thoughts about Gabriel while supposedly committed to Ford, I’d die of mortification on the spot. I’d never put anyone through the humiliation of public cheating, not after what Liam did to me.

As if she can sense the tension radiating from our corner of the sleigh, Lydia glances back at us with a curious smile. I force my expression into what I hope passes for innocent Christmas cheer rather than very inappropriate arousal, praying she can’t see the flush that’s burning across my cheeks.

She beams back at me, clearly delighted that I’m enjoying the ride, then turns to face forward again.

It takes every ounce of self-control I possess not to squirm against Gabriel’s cock like some kind of horny teenager. All I want is to rock my hips back against him, to see exactly how far I can push him before his control finally snaps. I want his hands off my hips and between my legs, want to feel those long fingers sliding inside me while he whispers filthy things in my ear in that sinful French accent.

God, imagine if he actually did slip a hand beneath my coat and sweater. He could probably hide it pretty well under all these winter layers. I’d have to bite my tongue bloody to stay quiet, but I can so easily picture him finding his way past my jeans, discovering just how wet I am for him, the two of us getting each other off right here while everyone else enjoys the innocent Christmas magic around us…

I force myself to take several deep breaths, trying to regain some semblance of composure. The sleigh ride has to be almost over—we’re nearly back to where we started, and I just need to maintain this facade for a few more minutes. This is just biology, I tell myself. A natural physical response that doesn’t mean anything beyond the fact that we’re both functioning adults with working nerve endings. I can be mature about this.

The sleigh glides to a smooth stop, and we thank the elderly driver who looks like he stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Liam and Lydia climb out first, chattering excitedly about the ride, and Gabriel’s hands span my waist as he lifts me effortlessly from his lap. His touch burns through my winter coat like it’s made of tissue paper.

Hayden shoots us both a sharp, assessing look as he tips the driver, and I wonder exactly how much of our little moment he witnessed. Gabriel discretely adjusts himself as he exits the sleigh, using my body as a shield so Liam and Lydia can’t see his current state of arousal.