Ice, Snow, & Mistletoe: Ice & Snow Christmas, #2

By Jocelynn Drake

John Sullivan needs to escape.

Even with a massive snowstorm bearing down, he plans to hide away in his cabin in the mountains and ignore Christmas. Just him and a bottle of whiskey.

At least, that's the plan until he runs into Oz at the airport.

The man who should have been just a fling.

The man who was fun and laughs but quickly turned into so much more before he kicked John out of his life.

The man who now desperately needs his help…

John is ready to leave Oz stranded at the airport, but as he stares down at the reason Oz pushed him away, John can't say no.

Second chances don't come around often. John will fight for this one.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jocelynn Drake
• Release date: Dec 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223432401

Book preview

Prologue

December 2011

A cold wind rushed down the street, sending dead leaves scraping and skittering down the sidewalk. Oz lifted his shoulder, turning his face into the collar of his leather jacket. The temperature wasn’t that bad for Cincinnati, but the damn wind had him wishing he’d at least grabbed a knit hat.

Stepping to the side, out of the main foot traffic, he lifted his arm so that he could see the face of his watch in the light from the restaurant front. Twenty minutes till eight. He was early. Really early. Sad, considering he didn’t want to be there in the first place.

Stacey was nice and pretty. They’d met only the one time but hadn’t actually talked since they’d had half a table between them at Josh’s birthday dinner. Oz had agreed to meet Stacey for drinks simply to get Josh off his back about needing a night off from the shop.

A group of people came down the sidewalk, laughing and talking all at once, and Oz stepped back even farther, pressing his shoulders into the old brick of the restaurant behind him. None of them seemed to notice him.

The women were balanced on high heels and looked half-frozen in their little dresses while the men appeared as if they’d come from work in their collared shirts and slacks.

Oz fought the urge to look down at his jeans to check for a grease stain or tear. There wasn’t one of either. He’d taken more than an hour after closing the shop to wash and groom so that he felt less like a dirty, hulking behemoth.

He’d trimmed his beard back so that it tightly hugged his jawline and his hair was mostly tamed, falling to his shoulders.

But this wasn’t his part of town and he should have said as much to Stacey when she selected Mount Adams. Trendy and overflowing with young professionals fresh from their office jobs. He preferred a little blue-collar hole in the wall that specialized in beer and maybe a little whiskey. This area…ugh. He was out of his element.

Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket, Oz forced himself not to walk back to his car and leave. A loud, deep laugh echoed down the street and Oz jerked his head up to see a tall blond man walking next to a dark-haired man.

The blond smiled at his companion and gave his shoulder a small shove, rocking the other man over a step. He laughed again while his friend shook his head, and Oz’s heart skipped a fucking beat.

The blond was…stunning. Broad shoulders and narrow waist, all wrapped in a nice suit. Despite being early winter, he had a tan like he was just in from some sunny spot on the West Coast or maybe a vacation on a tiny island in the Caribbean. His perfect smile spread full lips on a sharply chiseled face. His friend wasn’t bad either, but the blond was like golden sunlight cutting through the gray night.

He’d noticed attractive men in the past. He’d even wondered a few times—okay, several times…a fucking lot—over the past couple of years what it might be like to kiss, to touch, to taste a man. But it had always been a faceless wondering. Now he had a face. A body.

The stranger looked over at Oz and for a breath, their eyes locked. His steps slowed and his grin grew wicked until Oz could feel his cheeks heating. Holy fuck, this guy was sexy as sin. And then he walked right into his friend, breaking their eye contact.

Even from across the street, Oz could hear the other man demanding to know what the hell was going on. The blond looked up at Oz and broke out into laughter. Oz chuckled, enjoying the boost to his ego as well as the fact that the guy could laugh at himself.

As soon as he stopped laughing, the stranger winked at Oz and then disappeared inside the bar. The gay bar.

Oz stared at the door, fighting the pull to follow the man inside. If this had been a woman, he wouldn’t have even fucking hesitated. Definitely not after that wink.

Why was he hesitating? It was all the same, right? Attraction was attraction. Man or woman shouldn’t matter, right?

He was an adult. Single. Had his own business. An apartment. Bills. He could talk to whomever he wanted. Fuck whomever he wanted.

And that was where it got complicated.

He’d never kissed a guy before, let alone fucked one. He didn’t know—Oz scrubbed a hand over his bearded jaw, shaking himself from that swirl of worries. He was panicking over nothing. He wasn’t going to fuck Blondie. He was waiting for Stacey.

Dropping his hand from his face, he glanced at his watch. He still had eighteen minutes until she was supposed to show up.

Maybe he could stop into the other bar for a drink. Get out of the cold wind while he waited. If he happened to see Blondie, maybe he could say hi. Nothing wrong or different about any of that. He’d done that before.

Oz found himself halfway across the street before he even finished convincing himself it was a good idea. He ignored the tremor in his hand as he grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. His steps were fast as he crossed the threshold—no backing out. It was just a bar.

A bar full of men…and it felt like all of them turned at once to look at him as he entered. His stomach twisted and churned uncomfortably. There was a growing pressure against his chest. It was panic. He knew it was panic—even though it felt like he was having a heart attack—and he didn’t have a damn thing to panic about.

Just that he was in a gay bar…looking for a guy…for the first time in his life. Yeah, that was a good sign he was bi, but this really wasn’t a good time to start worrying about those deeper questions regarding his sexuality and society. It was a good time to grab a drink and just go with the flow.

He sidled inside, trying not to think about the assessing looks and headed straight for the bar. The place was packed, even for a Friday night. The music wasn’t overwhelmingly loud, but he didn’t recognize it.

Grabbing the edge of the bar, he ordered a beer the second the bartender looked at him. His plan was to suck down that beer to take the edge off his nerves and then maybe he could gather the courage to look around for Blondie while he nursed a second.

Glancing over, he found a man with blue and green spiked hair smiling broadly at him as if he could clearly see how nervous Oz was.

You look like you could be all kinds of fun, the man drawled in a heavy southern accent before heaving a dramatic sigh.

Matt! a loud voice called before a heavy hand clapped on his shoulder.

There was no stopping his entire body from tensing up, but at least he didn’t take a swing at the person. Oz turned to find Blondie standing behind him, a wide grin on his face.

Before Oz could say anything, he continued, Spense and I have a table already. Come on over. The man then looked at the bartender, ordering a round of shots before leading Oz through the crowd.

As they stepped away from the bar, Oz could have sworn he heard some grumbling but he ignored it and picked up his pace to keep up with Blondie.

You know I’m not Matt, Oz said, leaning close to the stranger as they walked toward the high-top table in the far corner of the bar.

Yeah, but even from across the room I could tell you’re inches from either puking or walking right back out. And I’d rather not let either of those happen, he replied, winking at Oz.

The answering flutter in Oz’s stomach had him once again feeling grateful that he’d come into the bar.

At the table, the dark-haired man introduced himself as Spenser Roland, while Blondie was John Sullivan. Oz settled on a stool at the table with his back in the corner, giving him a good view of the rest of the bar and his two companions while he sipped his beer.

For a second he wondered if John and Spenser were a couple, but he only had to watch them to see they were good friends. Even for someone just figuring things out, he could see that there was nothing sexual between them.

The two men seemed content to keep up a steady stream of commentary, joking about their day and other random bits of nonsense. Oz added a little here and there, but neither man pressured him to talk, as if they were content to let him drink his beer and get settled again.

Nearly fifteen minutes passed before John turned his bright blue eyes back on Oz. So…tell me that this is your first time in a gay bar, John said, a wide grin set in place.

Not quite, Oz hedged. He’d been inside a gay bar once before, but it was with a group of friends, some of whom were gay while others were just there for some fun. He’d thought he’d fallen into the latter category. I’ve been to one other.

Spenser tipped his glass toward John and smirked. This really is the Fisher-Price ‘My First Gay Bar’ of gay bars in Cincy. Very low key.

Not a single set of assless chaps in sight, Oz added.

John snorted. If that’s what you’re looking for, I can take you to a few choice spots around the city.…

I’m good. Oz chuckled as he drained the last of his beer, catching a glimpse of his watch. It was eight. He had to meet Stacey. Actually, I’ve got to get going.

What? No, you just got here, John countered.

Yeah, you’re finally relaxing and acting like a human being, Spenser added.

Well, I’m supposed to be meeting someone across the street at Park Tavern. She should be there by now.

Stop! John grabbed Oz’s shoulder and leaned close.

The man was a couple of inches taller than Oz, and it would have been so easy to just lean in and find out exactly how soft his lips were. God knows, he’d spent the better part of the past fifteen minutes wondering just that.

Not only did you follow a man into a gay bar for the first time…but you were also meeting a woman for a date too?

He didn’t even wait for Oz to confirm it. He jumped off his stool and threw his arms up in the air, making the sound of a crowd’s applause as if he were the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Fuck, Spenser muttered before downing the last of his drink. He’s going to be insufferable for the rest of the night.

Oz chuckled but pushed to his feet as well. Once he’d relaxed, he’d enjoyed shooting the breeze with Spenser and John.

The two men seemed as different as night and day. Spenser was quiet and prone to sarcasm when he did speak, though Oz had seen sparks of a bright sense of humor that he kept under tight wraps, almost as if he did it to annoy John.

And then John was full of easy laughter and teasing—a stark contrast to the idea that this man was a serious corporate lawyer. The truth was that he’d rather hang out and drink with John and Spenser.…

I really need to go.

John dropped back onto his stool, blocking Oz’s easy exit from behind the table. Is she your girlfriend?

No, she’s a friend of a friend. He set me up. Oz groaned, rubbing the back of his hand across his chin. He’s complaining that I’m not getting out enough. Says I need a break from work. I just agreed to get him off my back.

Then stay. She’s probably not there yet.

You can’t use that old excuse, ‘women are always running late.’ 

My sister is constantly late, John said, putting his hand up as if he were swearing in court. Spenser’s too. Spenser rolled his eyes.

I’ll stick around for one more beer, Oz conceded as he sat back down.

At the same time, a server came over with three shots that Oz couldn’t identify and placed them on the table while John ordered another round of drinks for them.

He tossed back one of the shots, enjoying the burn down his throat and into his chest. The edge of his anxiety was starting to unravel and the shot would go a long way to getting rid of the last of his nerves.

He leaned back on his stool, resting his shoulders against the wall. People laughed and talked, oblivious to their table in their corner of the world. There was a tiny dance floor and a few men were moving to the thumping bass. But for the most part, people were simply drinking and talking and having a good time.

John slipped off his stool, putting his hand just above Oz’s shoulder as he leaned in. "Look, you can go across the street and flirt your way to a sure thing. With that face and that body, I know you’ve had plenty