Secret Santa

By J.M. Snyder

The only Jewish person at Patterson and Associates, Micah Adler grudgingly participates in the office's "secret Santa" gift exchange at Christmas. But the gift that waits for him is a little surprising -- a brand-new box of condoms, with a suggestive, unsigned note attached.

In trying to figure out who might have sent the gift, he narrows it down to two coworkers: Brady or Jonathan. Both men are young, attractive, and single, like Micah himself, though if Micah had his choice, he'd pick Jonathan. He's harbored a not-so-secret crush on the guy ever since they met when Micah began working at the firm. But Micah knows it's a hopeless cause -- Jonathan is straight, and said as much when Micah first hit on him months ago.

Since Brady is gay, Micah suspects the condoms and other sexually-themed presents he receives are either a gag gift from one queer to another or a blatant offer to spend the holiday with someone else. When the trio decide to go out after work on Christmas Eve, Micah thinks he'll get a chance to flirt with Brady and see where the evening might end.

But is Brady really Micah's secret Santa? Or does Jonathan have something he wants to confess?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Dec 26, 2010
• ISBN: 9781611520651

J.M. Snyder

An author of gay erotic romance, J.M. Snyder began self-publishing gay erotic fiction in 2002. Since then, Snyder has worked with several e-publishers, most notably Amber Allure Press and eXcessica Publishing.Snyder’s short fiction has appeared online at Ruthie’s Club, Tit-Elation, Eros Monthly, and Amazon Shorts, as well as in anthologies released by Alyson Books, Cleis Press, and others.For more book excerpts, free fiction, and purchasing information, please visit http://jmsnyder.net.

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Secret Santa

By J.M. Snyder

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2010 J.M. Snyder

ISBN 978-1-61152-065-1

Cover Photo Credit: curaphotography

Used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

Cover Design: J.M. Snyder

All Rights Reserved

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It contains substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which may be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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Secret Santa

By J.M. Snyder

The gift sat in the middle of his desk, wrapped in glittery blue paper adorned with snowflakes. A piece of printer paper folded in quarters sat atop the gift, his name printed on the outside in all caps in Comic Sans font. Micah Adler stared at the gift warily as he skirted his desk. His gaze didn’t waver as he set his briefcase in his desk chair, then shrugged out of his winter coat. As he picked off his gloves finger by finger, he studied the gift as if trying to decide what might be inside.

One thought ran through his mind. What the hell?

It was Monday, and Christmas was at the end of the week. The office would be closed a half day Thursday and all day Friday for the holiday, but being Jewish, Micah only saw it as a free day off from work. His plans for Christmas were simple—sleep in late and treat himself to a nice Chinese restaurant for dinner. At his age, there were no presents any more, not for Hanukkah, and sure as hell not for Christmas. Where this one had come from, he had no clue.

Slowly he reached out, as if the innocuous box contained a ticking bomb that would explode at his touch. When it didn’t react to his closeness, he smoothed a finger over the bumpy glitter glued to the wrapping paper. Maybe the office manager had left it as a little present, though to be honest, if he was going to get a gift, Micah would have liked something practical—cookies, perhaps, or a nice box of chocolates. From the gift’s small size, he knew it contained neither. Maybe a candy bar or a couple packs of gum, if he were lucky.

Raising his voice, he called out, Shelley?

No response.

Deciding the box was safe, Micah picked it up and turned it over in his hands. It was light, maybe six inches on its longest side, and made an odd shuffling noise when shaken. Crossing his office, he peeked out the door at the reception desk just a short distance down the hall. Shelley? he called again.

Her desk was empty, but before Micah ducked back into his office, he caught sight of her through the glass door that led into the hallway of their floor. The moment she entered