Ashleigh’s expression glowed with love, so much that Petra felt a sharp pang of envy. “You and Liam are so great. So amazing. I’m glad we became friends.”
The two women hugged and then Ashleigh drew back, fanning herself. “It doesn’t feel like the week before Christmas, does it? It’s warm out here.”
Petra laughed and hugged her coat closer. “It’s not warm. I think that’s your pregnancy talking.”
“Hey, are you and Ruby going to stick around for the holidays?”
“If you’ll have us. I don’t have anywhere else to go, and he can’t leave because he’s performing.”
“We don’t do a huge Christmas, but it will be fun to spend it together. And we don’t fuss with presents or anything. Mem and Liam have always kept things very zen.”
Petra’s eyes went wide. “You guys don’t do presents? But you could buy anything you want.”
“We already have everything we want,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “That’s the problem. Although...” Her voice trailed off as she glanced shyly at Petra. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to get Liam for a present. But you’d have to help me. I think Rubio might like it too.”
“What is it?”
Ash put her hands over her mouth like she couldn’t believe what she was about to say, which piqued Petra’s curiosity even more.
“Tell me! What?”
“Promise me you won’t go along with it only because you feel you owe me or Liam something.”
She shook her head impatiently. “I won’t. Just spill it.”
Ashleigh started whispering in her ear. Oh. Wow. It wasn’t anything she would have considered before she met Rubio…but now... The more Ashleigh whispered to her, the hotter and more curious she felt. A kinky, one-time foursome: her, Ashleigh, Liam, and Rubio. She was right about one thing—Rubio would love it. And if Ashleigh was willing to share her husband, Petra couldn’t mind sharing a guy she wasn’t even in a relationship with.
“Okay, I’ll give it a whirl,” Petra agreed with a burst of nervous laughter. “I can’t say I won’t chicken out between now and Christmas, but I’ll try it. Yes.” She laughed again. “For the moment, I’m in.”
Chapter Fifteen: Present
Rubio always liked spending Christmas at Liam’s. It was low-key, laid back, and usually involved good food and wine. There wasn’t any pressure to come up with presents or a bunch of holiday cheer, although Ashleigh and Petra had promised them a present after dinner.
Ashleigh used to get him lots of presents when they danced together, silly stuffed animals and chocolate bars she knew he wouldn’t eat. Petra never gave him anything, but then she was so concerned with preserving a distance between them. No, not a distance...just a caution. She was a very cautious girl.
He looked at her over the rim of his wine glass. Since this was Liam’s wine, he was sure it was some spectacular vintage that cost hundreds of dollars a bottle, but it all tasted the same to him. At Christmas he felt uneasy as much as he felt happy. He knew his family was cared for back in Brazil, but he couldn’t forget bleak Christmas mornings as a child. There were always fights about money and presents—or lack of them. There were always fights about him. Dancing is for girls, his father used to scream in his drunken rages. You’re turning my son into a fucking girl.
Ruby felt a hand on his arm. Petra had come around the table to him and he hadn’t even noticed. She crawled into his lap, stroking his face. “You look tired. Don’t forget, you still have a present coming.”
“I’m not tired,” he said, staring down the bodice of her low-cut black dress. “You look pretty today. I like your necklace. Is silly, but...”
“It’s not silly. I love it.” She touched the sleek silver chain at her neck, with its gleaming engraved tag. Rubio’s Pet, it said. Return if lost.
It was more of a collar than a necklace. As much as he enjoyed the BDSM lifestyle, he’d never wanted to put a collar on a girl, not until now. He wasn’t sure what Petra thought of it. She said she loved it but there had been some gravity in her eyes when she lifted it from the fancy bag. Maybe a pet tag seemed like too much “commitment.” It was only a joke, a play on her name.
Well, mostly.
“It looks good on you,” he said. “And you can take off the tag if you want to wear it, you know, without everyone knowing how kinky you are.” With those words, he cupped her tight, round ass and squeezed it. That was the other nice thing about Christmas dinner with the Wilders—groping wasn’t frowned on at the table. He glanced over at Liam and Ashleigh to find them giving one another amorous looks.
“I think it’s time to go set up that present,” said Ashleigh, turning to Petra. “Ready to head downstairs?”
“It’s in the play room?” Liam’s brows arched up.
“Yes, it’s in the play room,” said his wife. “But we’ll need five minutes or so to get it ready, so don’t come down before then.”
Petra grinned as she followed her friend from the room. Rubio turned to Liam with a speculative look. “Do you know what it is?”
“Haven’t the slightest idea. Ash and Petra have been sneaky and giggly about it all week. Even Mem doesn’t know.”
“Where is Mem anyway?”
“With a lady friend,” Liam said. “Mem has ladies, you know. A whole harem.”
“Like you, back in the day.” Ruby drained the last of his wine, feeling the liquid relax and warm him. He glanced sideways at his friend. “Is nice for you, isn’t it? Having a family life? Good friends, good food? Pretty wife with a big pregnant belly?”
Liam smiled. “Yeah. I’d say it’s okay.”
“Is not so fun to live alone. I was thinking about asking Petra to move in with me. You know, when things calm down. What do you think?”
For a moment, Liam looked shocked, but then he changed his expression to something more neutral. “Have you two talked about it? Do you think she’d want to move in with you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably not. Maybe is a bad idea.”
Liam looked at him a long time. “You’re dying, huh? You’re so in love with her.”
He thought about trying to protest, to play it off as a joke, but Liam knew. Liam always knew stuff like that. “I don’t know what love is all about,” Ruby said, and that was the truth. “I just want her closer to me. Not because of Paulsen and all that. I mean, that’s part of it, but...” He shifted in his chair, scratching a hand down the side of his face. “Mostly I want to sleep with her at night, and wake up with her in the morning, and eat breakfast with her at my table.”
Liam nodded slowly. “Yeah. That’s love, all right. Then comes interior decorating and babies. It’s okay,” he said, when Ruby frowned. “It’s natural.”
“No, not natural. Not for me and Petra. We have career responsibilities. People take pictures of us and make up silly stories, and it upsets her. The more I want her, the more she pushes me away. She thinks I’ll destroy her.” He thought a moment, with a sinking feeling in his stomach. “Maybe I will.”
Liam grimaced. “You know what I think? I think both of you are stressing way too hard over this relationship-versus-career thing. It’s Christmas Eve, my friend, and life is short. Ask her to move in if you want. Maybe she’ll say yes. Maybe she’ll move out again in a week or maybe she’ll stay for life. Maybe she’ll say no. But you should be happier, both of you. Love shouldn’t be so hard.”
“I know that,” he said. “That’s why I think maybe we’re not in love.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Ready to head downstairs? I gotta find out what this super secret gift is. I’m guessing some awesome new equipment she ordered on the sly.”
“If it is, I get to use it first.”
“It’s my play room.”
“My partner isn’t pregnant.”
“Ha. That hasn’t slowed her down. I get to use whatever it is first.”