Christmas in the Zone (Sugarplums 6)

Sugarplum: Christmas in the Zone
Isabella Jordan
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2010 Isabella Jordan

"Ladies, open your eyes," Rick announced when the four of them came to a stop.

Julia already had an idea what the surprise was since she and Madeline had only been hinting about having a Christmas celebration for weeks. Still, she couldn't keep the smile from her face when she saw the magnificent decorations that transformed Rick's normally sedate mansion into an abode the legendary St. Nicholas himself would be proud to call home.

Behind her Madeline squealed. "It's beautiful!"

And it was. From the enormous Christmas tree adorned in shining silver ornaments and pure white ribbon to the fragrant poinsettias and holly that framed the fireplace with its cheery fire, the parlor was better than anything Julia could have dreamed up.

"Do you like it?" Mischief sparkled in Rick's onyx eyes, making her suspect there was more to the surprise than the scenery.

"Like it? I love it."

"If you like this, you're really going to love the rawhide bone I got for you," Maddox taunted her with a teasing smile.

"Maddox, you ass, not even you can spoil this for me," Julia assured him. Since Madeline's arrival into their lives, she took his dog jokes -- he enjoyed taunting her for being werewolf -- in stride. But as much as Julia adored Madeline, and she was begrudgingly starting to like Maddox because of her, she'd never ever let him think he'd bested her. It was a pride thing. A werewolf thing. And in the company of so many vampires, Maddox and her lover Rick included, maintaining her identity was important.

Rick shot his friend an admonishing look before turning on that smile that always stopped her cold. Now his dark eyes were smoldering.

"I think for a gift we can do much better than that." Rick's tone held promise.

"Well, it's Christmas Eve so I get to open it now, right?" Julia teased.

Rick cut his eyes to Maddox, which irritated her because she knew then that Rick's friend was in on whatever the secret was. Why was she always the last to know things? Or did it just irk her because her lover was always in the know? Rick could read minds.

"Perhaps a private time later," Rick suggested. "I can give it to you when we're alone."

Julia cocked an eyebrow at him, curious as hell now.

"We're all big people here, dead and alive," she pointed out. "Let's see it."

Rick sighed. He even seemed a little flustered. Okay, now she was sure it had something to do with sex. Julia smiled. Her Rick could be so old-fashioned at times. Her kind, the werewolves, were so open about sex and would often mate in groups. She'd always found watching someone else fuck while she was being fucked only pushed her own desire higher.

That wasn't to say Rick wasn't a fantastic lover because he knew how to keep her very happy. But the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to shake him out of his comfort zone. Julia found herself wanting to challenge him sexually.

"Well?" Julia prompted him.

Maddox's expression was hard to read but Madeline was definitely curious. Her gaze was riveted on Rick as he went to the foot of the enormous Christmas tree and fished out a small box wrapped in golden paper, tied with a blood red bow. Julia thought Madeline might go with her on this experiment she'd come up with on the fly. Madeline had once been a prostitute and it wasn't like she had any illusions about sex.

Rick approached her with the package in hand and she could tell he was trying so hard to keep his expression blank. He was doing a terrible job of it. A myriad of emotions flashed across his handsome face. Embarrassment, curiosity, desire... His black eyes were gleaming. It had heat pooling low in her middle.

Julia snatched the box away from him before he could change his mind and proceeded to rip through the wrappings and flimsy cardboard box in very short order. Inside the box was a beautiful bottle, fashioned in blue glass with a shape very similar to an hourglass. The liquid-filled container was sealed by a simple piece of cork at the top.

"What do we have here?" Julia teased him, letting all the wrapping fall to the floor while she held onto the bottle and worked the cork out of the top. Once she'd freed it, a delicate fragrance filled the air before her. The scent reminded her of flowers at first. But it lingered, somehow becoming a heavier scent. More heat, more wetness gathered between her thighs.

"Your present," Rick answered simply.

Julia cocked a brow at him. It smelled good, but weird. Very weird. "It's not perfume, right?"

Maddox snorted. Madeline shook her head.

Rick's smile widened. "It's an... aphrodisiac," he admitted.

Julia laughed, wondering what shade of red he'd turn right now if he could. Lifting it just under her nose, she took another whiff. The scent was strange but... good. Her nipples tightened into diamond hard points and the walls of her pussy clenched now.

She'd heard of aphrodisiacs. She didn't have a lot of background information but she knew their basic purpose. "So I...?"

"You drink it," Madeline answered, smiling. There was a touch of concern in her expression though. "I wouldn't drink much. Some of those can be quite... potent."

Julia nodded, sure that her friend knew what she was talking about. Still, breathing in the scent again, Julia's mouth began to water and she turned her attention to Rick. She wanted to taste the potion. Then she wanted to taste Rick. Every single inch of him...