The Naughty One: A Doctor’s Christmas Romance (Season of Desire Book 2)

by Michelle Love

  “I like the looks of those rockers on the porch,” Phoenix said. “I think it looks cozy.”

  “I’ll book it for a couple of nights,” Griffin said, then tapped away to set it up. “For the next couple of nights, O’Toole’s Bed and Breakfast will be our home away from home.”

  “Why not make an Irish time of it?” Phoenix asked as he showed the others a picture of a pub he’d found. “Flannigan’s Pub and Grill sounds like an excellent place to catch women. There’ll be some food to keep us from getting wasted while we’re trolling for babes.”

  Ethan clapped him on the back. “Irish! I love it! Let’s make a pact to try our best to pick an Irish lass for each one of us. I can tell you boys, they’re not so easy to get into the sack.”

  “Sounds like you’ve had a few,” Griffin said with a chuckle.

  “A couple,” Ethan admitted. “Our tempers never combined well, to be honest. But we’re not talking about finding wives now, are we?”

  The three laughed and found the waiter bringing them mugs of cold beer. With a tap to each glass, they sealed their bet. The details were done; all that was left to do was get to Ashby and begin their adventure in sexual deviance.

  “Wait a minute,” Phoenix said as another thing came to his mind. “We should set spending limits. As we all know, money can be a significant catalyst in drawing a woman to your bed. There should be a daily spending limit.”

  “Daily?” Griffin asked. “Just how long do you expect this to go on? I’m quite adept at closing bedroom deals within the space of one night, Phoenix.”

  “But we’re going to be choosing hard-to-get women,” Phoenix reminded him. “It could very well take a while. Even a few days. I don’t want one of us to go buy our woman a fancy car and get her that way. I think time and energy should be used, rather than tons of money.”

  “Right ya are,” Ethan agreed. “I say none of us can spend more than 50,000 dollars a day.”

  Griffin nodded, as if that wasn’t an extravagant amount of money. But Phoenix shook his head. “You two have always been rich. I haven’t. That’s an amount that’s much too high. A more realistic price is 500. It shows we have money, but we’re using our wits to make our woman feel special enough to let her guard down and give us what we want.”

  “500 it is, then,” Ethan said, and Griffin nodded in agreement.

  Griffin pulled a pen out of his pocket and grabbed a napkin off the table. “Now to get to know what each man likes in a woman. It wouldn’t be fair to saddle any one of us with a lady who’s not to our taste.”

  “Right ya are,” Ethan said with a flourish of his hand. “I like the dainty type. Blonde, top of her head near my chest area. I like to be the beast to her beauty. It gives me the upper hand right from the start. Oh! And big boobs and an ass that won’t quit! Those are important too.”

  “I like big boobs and asses too,” Phoenix agreed.

  “Big assets all across the board. I like blondes too. But I like them tall, lithe, gazelle-like,” Griffin added as he wrote it all down.

  “I like curvy women. Hair color isn’t an issue at all. I like them all. But curves are a must,” Phoenix said. “And I like them to be cute rather than gorgeous. Don’t ask me why. Perhaps it’s because I wasn’t born rich, but I don’t like women who demand upkeep.”

  “I need to remind you,” Griffin said. “We’re not searching out wives. Just a quick piece of ass, then we’re out of there.”

  The others nodded and took a drink to let that bit sink into their heads. This was not to be a love connection; this was a quick tryst and then on to other things.

  Just how Julia had taught them to do.

  Chapter 3

  Salty air filled the car as Griffin rolled down his window. “I love this smell. In Montana, the air is crisp and clean. Here, it’s damp and full of aromas.”

  The driver pulled up to O’Toole’s Bed and Breakfast. “A quick check in, then we can get going to the pub,” Ethan said as they all got out and took the bags they’d picked up from their Boston hotel rooms before they’d left the city.

  A sweet looking, short, older woman with white hair pulled into a loose bun on top of her head greeted them at the front door as they walked up the steps. “You must be our guests for the next couple of nights. I’m Stella O’Toole. Welcome to our home.”

  “I’m Ethan Southern, Mrs. O’Toole. A pleasure it is to make your acquaintance.” He took her hand and kissed the top of it, making her giggle like a young girl.

  “Oh, my! A Scott, I dare say. A pleasure to meet you, Ethan,” she said as she blushed. “What a bunch of handsome devils you three are. Tell me what has you in our little township.”

  Griffin put his bag on the floor by the desk and filled out the paperwork that was on top of it. “Just visiting. The place looked like something out of a romance novel on your website. We’re in Massachusetts for reasons that aren’t exactly happy. We wanted to make something positive out of it.”

  The woman looked over the names on the registry. “Griffin Houser, you must be.” She turned to Phoenix and looked him up and down. “And you must be Phoenix Nelson. Now you have got to tell me what bloodlines you’re from; you look like a movie star.”

  “I’m nearly full-blooded Karankawa. I resemble my mother. Only I’m a couple of feet taller,” he said, then took her hand and left a kiss on top of it. “And thanks for not calling me an Indian, Mrs. O’Toole.”

  With a curt nod, she turned to lead the men up the stairs to their bedrooms. “On the right is where your rooms are. The one restroom you will share is at the end of the hallway. There’re fresh towels in the linen closet. When you’re done, please deposit them in the laundry bins that’re in your rooms. I’ll pick them up when I clean your rooms each morning after breakfast.”

  “When’s breakfast?” Griffin asked as they stopped at the first bedroom.

  She pushed the door open as she asked them, “Are you all early risers or not so early?”

  Being as none of the men really knew each other, they all looked at one another with quizzical expressions. “I get up around nine every morning,” Ethan said.

  “I can do nine,” Phoenix replied.

  Griffin walked into the first bedroom, claiming the room decorated in deep greens, his favorite color. “I can do nine as well.”

  “Then I’ll have breakfast served at ten. Will that be okay with you all?” she asked them.

  All nodded, and she led the others to the next room, done in tans and browns. “I’ll take this one,” Phoenix said as he walked into the room.

  Mrs. O’Toole gestured to the last door and Ethan opened it, finding a room done in lilac colors. “How charming,” he said with a smile.

  “Glad you’re firm in your masculinity, Ethan. I thought you’d be,” she said with a laugh. “The front door remains unlocked until ten each night. If you come in after that, you’ll need the code to the keypad to get in. I’ve left a card with that information on the nightstand in each room. Don’t forget to take it with you if you know you won’t be back before we go to bed. Mr. O’Toole can be a real bear if he’s woken up.”

  “I’ll be sure to take the code,” Ethan said as he made his way into the room that smelled like the flowers that bloomed beneath the open window. “We’ll be out late. But we’ll be sure to come in quietly, so we don’t wake you two.”

  “Thank you. That would be greatly appreciated,” Mrs. O’Toole said, then left him alone.

  A short time later, the three congregated in the hallway after putting their things away. “It’s half past nine,” Griff said. “Time to be on our way to Flannigan’s.”

  Having let the driving service go, they called a cab and waited on the front porch as they rocked in three of the massive white rockers that were strategically placed on the large porch.

  “It’s nice out here,” Phoenix remarked as he looked up at the sky. “You can’t see as many stars as you can where I live on the third coast in Texas, but it’s nice
just the same.”

  “It appears you two are a couple of country gents,” Ethan said. “I’ve lived all my life in cities. Edinburgh, Scotland, is where I grew up. A country night, I’ve never had.”

  “Then you’ll have to make a visit to our Montana ranch sometime if you want to see all the stars,” Griffin offered. “You too, Phoenix. Montana is closer to heaven than Texas is.”

  “Don’t go knocking Texas, friend,” Phoenix said as he chuckled. “But thanks for the invite. I’d like to come see your ranch.”

  The cab pulled up, and the three went to it. “This is where we start our bet, men,” Ethan told the other two.

  “Flannigan’s Pub, please,” Griffin called out to the driver.

  “Flannigan’s it is,” the driver said, then pulled away from the curb.

  Though seasoned in the ways of love, each man felt a bit nervous as he rode to the pub where he’d try his hand at beating the other two men to the bedroom with the woman chosen for him.

  Though only a Thursday night, they found the pub’s parking lot packed. “Glad we took a taxi,” Phoenix said as they got out of the cab.

  Ethan walked ahead of the other two and opened the heavy wooden door. “Authentic,” he muttered as he let the other two walk in before him.

  Dim light lit the pub. The smell of fried foods and alcohol filled the air, combining with the many perfumes and colognes the people in the crowded place were wearing.

  A young woman wearing a T-shirt with the pub’s name on the right pocket, blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a black apron came to them. Her smile was bright, and her doe-like brown eyes were sparkly as she greeted them.

  “Hi, welcome to Flannigan’s. Are we drinking, or eating and drinking this fine evening, gentlemen?”

  “Both,” Ethan answered for them.

  “Fancy a table or a booth?” she asked as she turned around to grab some menus.

  “Table,” Griffin called out, so he could be heard over the noisy crowd.

  With a nod, she led them away, seating them at a table for four.

  With the menus placed in front of them, she asked, “What can I get you fellas to drink?”

  “Pints,” Ethan said. “For all of us. Run a tab. It’s on me tonight.”

  “Generous,” she said, then left the men to go get their drinks.

  They scanned the room, searching for the women they’d like for themselves while also keeping in mind who they were to pick for.

  There were short, tall, skinny, and chubby women of all kinds and hair colors. A buffet of beauties to choose from. It wouldn’t be easy to narrow it down to one each.

  “Wow, we have some fine choices here tonight. You picked the right place, Phoenix,” Griffin said, then high-fived him.

  “I sure did. I can’t pick any one of them out as the best,” Phoenix agreed.

  “But you must,” Ethan reminded him. “Don’t forget our personal preferences either.”

  Phoenix nodded as the tall mugs full of dark beer arrived. “Guinness, huh?” Griffin asked the waitress, who was a different young woman than the one who had seated them.

  “That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “It is, darlin’, and can we have some hot wings to go with them?” Ethan asked her.

  “Sure. Really hot or kind of hot?” the waitress asked them as she placed the frothy mugs in front of each one of them.

  “Kind of,” Griffin said. “We don’t want dragon breath now, do we?”

  She nodded. “I’ll make sure there’s some celery to cleanse your palates, gentlemen. And blue cheese with them?”

  Phoenix nodded, then added, “And how about some shots of Fireball too?”

  “Will do,” she told him, then went away to turn in their order.

  The atmosphere was electric. Energy filled the space around them.

  “It’s like Julia’s here,” Griffin said.

  The others nodded in agreement. Their sexual mentor seemed to be leading them, and with her help, one would win the bet. Of that they were all positive.

  Chapter 4

  Tendrils of steam came off the piping hot platter of hot wings the waitress brought to the table for the three men who were actively ogling the pub’s female patrons.

  “Can I get you gentlemen anything else?” the waitress asked.

  “Do you happen to know if that young lady over there is unattached?” Ethan asked about a young curvy redhead who was laughing as she talked to a couple of other women. With her hand on her hip and her lips pursed to one side, she gave off an air of no-nonsense while still being incredibly sexy.

  The waitress followed his gaze, finding a woman she did know. She knew her very well and wondered if she should divulge any information about her or not. When she looked at Ethan, she saw him cutting his eyes to look back at her. Taking a chance that the man wasn’t a complete jerk, she said, “She’s available. Her name’s Caitlyn. She goes by Cait, though.”

  “Cool. Can you send her a Rob Roy from this gent here?” Ethan asked as he gestured to Phoenix. “He’s the interested party.”

  The waitress changed her attention to the tall, handsome man with dark hair that was long and hanging free in a silky sheet that went to the middle of his back. A smile crept over her face, as she was sure Cait would like the man. “I’ll get that to her. And can I tell her your name, sir?”

  “Tell her Phoenix Nelson sent her the drink,” Phoenix said.

  A nod had her leaving to fulfill the drink order as Griffin leaned in to whisper, “And I’ve found your woman, Ethan.”

  “Which one is she?” Ethan asked with excitement.

  “Not yet. You have to wait until the waitress comes back for me to give her the drink order.” Griffin chuckled and sat back.

  Phoenix was still looking for just the right woman for Griffin, and when his eyes roamed past the bar, he found the one he thought would be perfect. She was a young-looking woman, lithe, dark blonde, long hair, tall, the way Griffin had described his type of female.

  “And I’ve chosen yours, Griffin.”

  “Great!” Griffin remarked as he looked around to try to find who Phoenix might’ve chosen.

  The men watched as their waitress took the drink to the redhead for Phoenix. His eyes were trained on the woman. She was gorgeous. Wearing a tight white V-necked shirt that the tops of her ample breasts spilled out of and a pair of tight black jeans that showed off her rounded ass, she was a vision of sexiness and Phoenix had a good feeling about her.

  When the woman looked his way and waved at him as she smiled and mouthed, “Thank you,” he smiled back and lifted his mug of beer in a toast from across the room. She raised her glass too, and they each took a sip. Then her eyes moved on from his as she went back to talking to her girlfriends.

  “I like her, Ethan,” Phoenix said as he kept his eyes on the woman. “You picked a great one for me.”

  The waitress came back to the table holding a short, fat glass. “Cait said to give you this, Phoenix.” She placed the glass in front of him.

  “What is it?” he asked before taking a sip.

  “It’s called a Superman. It’s a fruity drink.” She waited for him to take a sip and watched a smile form on his lips.

  “Yum,” Phoenix said. “Tell her I said thank you and that if she were any sweeter, I’d have to make jam out of her.” It was one of the dreadful lines Julia used to use, a thing the men had made a rule about using to reel in their catch.

  With a short burst of laughter, the waitress said, “K, anything else?”

  Phoenix gave her a nod. “That woman by the bar. Is she free?”

  “Jess?” she asked as she trained her eyes to see where his were set. “Yeah, she’s free.”

  “Send her a Rob Roy and tell her it’s from Griffin Houser,” Phoenix told the waitress as he pointed to Griffin.

  Griffin smiled at the waitress, who looked him over. “Tell her that if she was any prettier, they’d have to lock her up.”

&nbs
p; “Sure,” the waitress said as she rolled her eyes.

  Griffin added, “And that woman over there. The one who’s talking to the older woman. Is she unattached?”

  “That’s Kellie. They call her Kel,” the waitress informed him. “She’s been broken up with a man she almost married for about a year. She’s free as a bird, but also not looking for anything or anyone at the moment. You sure you wanna go there?”

  Being that the woman was for Ethan, he leaned forward and said, “Oh, yes. I want to go there. Send her a Rob Roy and tell her that her knight in shining armor, Ethan Southern, has come to rescue his damsel in distress.”

  “Oh my God. You guys have got to be kidding, right?” the waitress asked as she shook her head. “These lines are terrible. Let me tell her something that might actually work in your favor.”

  Ethan placed a hundred-dollar bill in her hand. “Tell the girls exactly what we asked you too and your tips won’t stop coming.”

  “Sure thing,” she said, then sashayed away to get the drinks and toss out the stupid pickup lines the men had come up with. “Fools,” she mumbled to herself. The men had no idea who they’d all chosen to hit on. In her opinion, none of them would be seeing any action that night, if that’s what they were thinking.

  Making her way to Jess, she placed the drink in front of her, making Jess look at her with confusion. “You know I only drink beer, Bonnie.”

  “I know that,” the waitress said, then pointed out the tall, handsome man who’d sent the drink. “Do you see that guy there?”

  Jess looked in the direction Bonnie’s finger was pointing and smiled. “Damn! He’s hot as hell, Bonnie. You sure he meant that to come to me?”

  “He did, and it comes with a message. He said to let you know that if you were any prettier, they’d have to lock you up. Oh, yeah! And his name’s Griff.”