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During the holidays, sometimes the nicest things are the naughtiest.

    Dedicated to the faithful readers of Samhain Publishing. Here’s hoping each and every
    one of you has a wonderful holiday and the happiest of New Years!

    Naughty Is Nice
    Copyright 2008, Mari Carr
    Cover Art: Scott Carpenter

    This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the
    writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are no construed to be real. Any
    resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely
    incidental.

    All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
    whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief excerpts or quotations
    embodied in critical articles and reviews.

    Chapter One

    “Thanks for dinner, Kylie. It was delicious.” Joy leaned back and tried to suck in a deep
    breath. “Dammit, I think I’m about to burst.”
    “Amen to that. Why do turkey dinners with all the fixings leave you feeling like a balloon
    ready to pop?” Kylie unbuttoned her jeans.
    Joy laughed. “You know, these pants were loose when I got here. I think I’m gonna have to
    cut them off tonight when I get home.”
    “Well at least we didn’t have to do the clean up. We can just sit here and bask in our
    gluttony.”
    Joy shook her head. “I still can’t believe the fellas hopped up to do the dishes like that.”
    “In this house, the cook doesn’t clean. You and I just spent the better part of our day
    cooking up a feast that those three ravenous beasts consumed in less than twenty minutes,”
    Kylie joked.
    “Isn’t that always the way? Five hours of fixin’ for five minutes of feastin’. I really want to
    thank you for inviting me, Ky. Tonight was fun.”
    “You know you can spend the night and do Christmas morning with us.”
    Joy grinned at Kylie’s tenacity. Her best friend seemed appalled at the fact she’d decided
    against making the long trip to visit her folks this year. Fact was, she couldn’t afford the plane
    fare and a week with her parents wasn’t exactly her idea of celebrating the holidays. She was
    fairly certain her folks were the model for George Costanza’s parents on Seinfeld . “I’ll be fine at
    home.”
    “People aren’t supposed to spend Christmas alone,” Kylie argued.
    “Maybe not in your world, but I have to tell you, I can’t think of anything nicer than lying in
    bed all day watching a Harry Potter movie marathon and eating junk food. Of course after
    tonight’s dinner, I’ll probably need to fast all damn day just to fit in the bed.”
    “Well, if you get bored, come over,” Kylie added one last plea.
    “If I get bored, I’ll just work on my holiday wish list some more.”
    “Isn’t Christmas day a bit late to be writing a wish list?” Kylie asked.
    “This list is different. Here,” Joy reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of folded
    paper. “I’ve been working on it for a few days. What do you think?”
    Kylie took the paper and perused it for a moment. Joy struggled not to giggle at her friend’s
    face.
    “This is a sex checklist,” Kylie said, confusion in her voice.
    “Well yeah, sort of. I’ve decided to grant myself a few wishes this year.”
    “With who?”
    Joy frowned. “I haven’t exactly figured out that point yet, but there’s still time. I’m completely
    serious about doing every single one of the things on that list before next Christmas.”
    “This is a helluva list, Joy. Can I make a copy of it?”
    Joy grinned. “Yeah, like you aren’t living in a sex fantasy world everyday! You’re my
    inspiration. I’m telling you Ky, I’ve had it with boring love affairs. I’m dating duds, in and out of
    the bedroom. Crap, all I have to show for this year is Ron, the science teacher and Matt, the
    accountant.”
    Kylie scrunched up her nose. “That is a pretty sad statement for your year.”

    “Tell me about it.