Club Endless Fantasy

“How would you feel about going to bed early tonight.” I moved my lips to Elly’s neck and started kissing my way up to her earlobes.

“That sounds like the best idea you’ve ever had…” She exhaled sharply into my ear.

“I can spend all night teasing you if I want.” I moved my hand to her inner thigh and squeezed.

“Not all night.” She squirmed against my touch. “I’m going to tease you just as much as you tease me—maybe more.”

“I’ll be worth it.” I stood up from the couch and scooped Elly into my arms.

We may not get a wink of sleep tonight.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Elly

Ian and I teased each other for almost an hour before our clothes came off. His tongue took me to heaven multiple times before he let me do the same thing for him. I would have let him go further, but he didn’t push for it. After our desires had been satisfied, I fell asleep in his arms. Despite going to bed early, we didn’t get as much sleep as the hours could have given us. We both woke up the next morning with passion and desire on our breath, which led to a lot more teasing. By the time we finally made it out of bed, there was no time for breakfast or coffee. I had to quickly get dressed and say goodbye—which turned into a really long goodbye kiss at the bedroom door—then the front door of his house.

“I really have to go…” I tried to pull away.

“I know.” He smiled and kissed me again.

Ian’s kiss certainly made me want to forget all about Thornton Advertising and everything I needed to get done at the office. If I could have scraped an extra second out of my morning, I would have, but I didn’t want to be late for work. I finally pulled away for the last time, and my head was spinning as I walked to my car. Ian’s lips always had a way of lighting a fire and making my knees weak—and I had a smile on my face the entire way back to my apartment.

I barely had enough time to shower, and I had to skip coffee for the second time that morning—I was running so late that I had to put on my makeup while I drove. For the first time since I started working at Thornton Advertising, I wasn’t the second person in the office after Mr. Thornton. I actually walked in with a group of people and barely made it to my desk before it was time to officially start my day. I felt a little discombobulated since I had normally put in an hour or two of work before everyone else even got started.

It feels weird to be normal…

Despite it being a regular workday, it was Friday, and we had the Christmas party after work, so it didn’t seem like anyone was actually doing their job. I would have normally just ignored what they were doing and focused on my own work but I the excitement got the best of me—or maybe I just finally had enough holiday spirit to pay attention to something besides my computer. I wasn’t ready to burst into song like the Christmas Mafia planned to do at the party, but I found myself looking forward to their performance. Mary was certainly excited. She barely sat down at her desk the entire day. Shortly after lunch, I ran into her in the break room when I went to refill my coffee cup.

“I know this isn’t actually Christmas, but it feels like it.” Mary looked up at me and smiled. “I don’t want to let Mr. Thornton down…”

“I’m sure he’s going to be fine.” I raised an eyebrow and started pouring my coffee. “He probably cares more about the work we’re not doing today than the party.”

“Maybe…” Mary sighed. “But he put me in charge of this, so I have to make sure it’s perfect.”

“And here I thought you just liked baking cookies.” I hid my smile behind my coffee cup.

“Oh, I like that too.” She nodded. “My kids are all grown up now, and they don’t come around often. The holidays aren’t what they used to be. I kind of feel like all of you are my family in a way—I certainly spend enough time at this place!”

“We all do.” I walked over and picked up a cookie. “But at least there are a few benefits that aren’t in our contracts.”

I might have misjudged Mary. I thought she was letting her excitement over the holidays interfere with her job, but from her perspective, it was her job. Mr. Thornton put her in charge of the annual Christmas party, and she took it seriously. I would have done the same, even if I was planning the party begrudgingly. I don’t know if I would have gone all Christmas Mafia with it, but I would have done my best to bring some holiday cheer to the office. She was a lot more equipped for the job than I was. If I tried to make cookies for everyone on a daily basis, they wouldn’t have been very good. I was okay making dinner for myself, but baking was a skill I never bothered with—it wasn’t like I would have eaten it anyway.

I may be addicted to these cookies before the holiday season is over though…

The rest of the day was spent at my desk, and while I wasn’t angry that everyone was excited about the party, I decided to wait until the day was over to join in the festivities. I still did have some work to catch up on, and for the first time in a while, I had no intention of coming in over the weekend. My weekend was going to be spent with Ian, and I wasn’t going to be thinking about work at all. We were going to decorate my apartment, and possibly even finish Uncle Nick. If we didn’t make it to the end, I was perfectly fine with that scenario too—I certainly wasn’t going to complain if we ended up in the bedroom.

Who knows what will happen when we get there.

The workday ended, and I didn’t sit around to wait for everyone to leave the office like I normally did. I needed to go home, change, and get ready for the party so that I wasn’t fashionably late. I doubted that anyone believed it was an accident considering how I had been acting towards the holidays. The drive home was a little more hectic than normal. I was caught in the rush hour traffic, and the snow that had been lightly falling for several days appeared to be coming down with more fury—the forecast didn’t call for anything serious, so there was no reason to be concerned. I made it to my apartment, and as soon as I stepped through the door, my phone lit up with a message from Ian.

Ian: Are you getting ready for your party?

Elly: Yes. I just made it home. How did your party go?

Ian: It was great. Everyone liked their gifts. :)

Elly: I can’t believe you give everyone gifts fr