Seasons Greetings by Chrissy Munder Read Free Book Online Page B

believed that anything below seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit qualified as scarf-wearing weather) and stared at the two men and the water-soaked carpet through her unfashionable plastic-rimmed glasses. “Eww, Russ, how much did Mike pay you and did you enjoy yourself?”
    “I’m sensing a distinct lack of sympathy here.” Russ struggled to his feet and refused to give the coffee back to Mike. “This is the thanks I get for coming in early and saving this office from floating away?”
    “You may qualify for the title of savior of the office, but for your fine work, not for any other reason.”
    All three of them snapped to attention at the sound of the fourth voice. Sandy McAllister, the owner of Left-Brain Cards, strode through the front door with her usual smooth grace, but she wasn’t alone. Trailing behind, hands jammed deep into his pants pockets and wearing a polite and uncertain smile could only be their new co-worker.
    Russ blinked. This was the newbie he wanted to hate? First he told himself his lack of focus was perfectly natural after the events of the morning. Then Russ gave up and just enjoyed the view. Tall, blond, and long-legged, the new guy should have looked gawky and uncoordinated, but the muscle covering his rangy frame smoothed that all away. Despite his chilled state, Russ’s body temperature increased until he expected steam to rise from his clothing.
    “Oh my God, what happened here?” Sandy gasped when she saw the water-stained walls and carpet. “Someone please tell me the computers are okay!”
    Mike and Lacey turned to Russ, but instead of speaking up. he stared at the newcomer. The man gazed intently back at Russ, his hazel eyes lingering over the transparent fabric of Russ’s ruined shirt and the hard bud of nipple visible through the thin, wet material.
    The new guy grinned. A wide parting of his lips that made deep dimples appear in the lean flesh of his cheeks. Before Russ could censor his response a welcoming smile broke over his own face. Doomed, he held out his hand.
    “Hi, I’m Russ. Welcome to Left-Brain Cards.”
     
     
     
     
    2
     
    “ Hey , Russ.” The privacy panels of the desk muffled Ian’s low rumble, but the sound of it was enough to bring Russ back to the present.
    “Hey, Ian.” Russ managed to choke out through his dry mouth as Ian raised his head and winked at him from his position on the floor. “Whatcha doing?” Russ shivered every single Ian spoke to him. He couldn’t help it. Ian had one of those voices that it didn’t make any difference what he said, everything sounded hot and dirty to Russ’s ears in that really good, bend-over-and-call-me-daddy kind of way Russ preferred.
    “Dropped my damn pen and now I can’t find it.” 
    Russ watched, hypnotized by the flex of toned muscle beneath him. “You need any help?” He took pride in his ability to make conversation given his brain’s sudden deprivation of blood flow and his irrational desire to hump the partition in front of him.
    “Nah. Damn thing’s down here somewhere.” Ian rose to his knees with a mouth-watering (for Russ) stretch and a groan before he smiled up at Russ with those killer dimples. “It’s part of a set my sister gave me as a graduation present, and I’ll be in big trouble if I lose it.”
    No wonder everyone including Russ liked him. Ian actually got along with his family as well as being kind to children and small animals. He might be single, but everything about him screamed relationship material. That sucked, because Russ didn’t do relationships. Not of the tender and loving type. One of the reasons he excelled in his career, he supposed. Russ pushed all his romantic yearnings into the cards he created.
    He and Ian could be friends. Co-workers. But no way would Russ risk screwing up their budding association with his usual inept brand of hit-and-run. So not going there, he firmly reminded himself again and again. Especially once he spent time around Ian and