Jingle Bell Rock Read online

  Jingle Bell Rock

  Ella Frank

  Brooke Blaine

  Copyright © 2020 by Ella Frank & Brooke Blaine

  www.ellafrank.com

  www.brookeblaine.com

  Edited by Arran McNicol

  Cover Design: By Hang Le

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Synopsis

  Also by Ella Frank

  Also by Brooke Blaine

  Author’s Note

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Thank You

  About Ella Frank

  About Brooke Blaine

  Synopsis

  The crossover event to end all crossovers!

  One night. Seven couples. A Christmas they’ll never forget.

  Jingle Bell Rock features seven couples from across the Ella and Brooke universe, all coming together in one story to bring you joy, happiness, and a little Christmas cheer.

  Featuring:

  Logan & Tate (Temptation Series)

  Ace & Dylan (Preslocke Series)

  Viper & Halo (Fallen Angel Series)

  Robbie, Julien, & Priest (Confessions Series)

  Panther & Solo (Elite Series)

  Shaw & Trent (South Haven Series)

  Paige & Dawson w/Ryleigh (LA Liaisons Series)

  Also by Ella Frank

  The Exquisite Series

  Exquisite

  Entice

  Edible

  The Temptation Series

  Try

  Take

  Trust

  Tease

  Tate

  True

  Confessions Series

  Confessions: Robbie

  Confessions: Julien

  Confessions: Priest

  Confessions: The Princess, The Prick & The Priest

  Confessions: Henri

  Confessions: Bailey

  Prime Time Series

  Inside Affair

  Breaking News

  Headlines

  Sunset Cove Series

  Finley

  Devil’s Kiss

  Masters Among Monsters Series

  Alasdair

  Isadora

  Thanos

  Standalones

  Blind Obsession

  Veiled Innocence

  PresLocke Series

  Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine

  Aced

  Locked

  Wedlocked

  Fallen Angel Series

  Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine

  Halo

  Viper

  Angel

  An Affair In Paris

  Lust. Hate. Love

  Elite Series

  Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine

  Danger Zone

  Need For Speed

  Classified

  Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine

  Sex Addict

  Shiver

  Wrapped Up in You

  All I Want for Christmas…Is My Sister’s Boyfriend

  Also by Brooke Blaine

  South Haven Series

  A Little Bit Like Love

  A Little Bit Like Desire

  The Unforgettable Duet

  Forget Me Not

  Remember Me When

  L.A. Liaisons Series

  Licked

  Hooker

  P.I.T.A.

  Romantic Suspense

  Flash Point

  PresLocke Series

  Co-Authored with Ella Frank

  Aced

  Locked

  Wedlocked

  Fallen Angel Series

  Co-Authored with Ella Frank

  Halo

  Viper

  Angel

  An Affair In Paris

  Lust. Hate. Love

  Elite Series

  Co-Authored with Ella Frank

  Danger Zone

  Need For Speed

  Classified

  Standalone Novels

  Co-Authored with Ella Frank

  Sex Addict

  Shiver

  Wrapped Up in You

  All I Want for Christmas…Is My Sister’s Boyfriend

  Author’s Note

  Dear Reader,

  2020. What a shitfest, right?

  When we were trying to come up with a Christmas story for this year, nothing felt right. New characters seemed out of reach, and the idea of creating a new world during this difficult time seemed daunting.

  What we really wanted was to snuggle up under a cozy blanket with a mug of hot chocolate in hand and some of our favorite friends on our Kindles.

  What better way to do that than to create a night that could bring some of our most beloved characters from across the Ella and Brooke universe together?

  So this story is for all of our readers, and we hope it makes you feel as happy, nostalgic, and joyful as it does us.

  Just think of it like all of our characters giving you a big, warm bear hug.

  Merry Christmas and happy holidays from us to you.

  Love,

  Ella and Brooke

  P.S. This story takes place B.C.—“before children.” Which means the status of all the couples is wherever they stand when their book or series ends, not counting the epilogues.

  One

  Panther

  THE SOUND OF “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” playing somewhere in the apartment greeted me as I stepped out of the shower, and I chuckled. For someone who claimed he didn’t care for holiday music, Solo sure had been listening to Christmas songs on the radio nonstop for two days.

  I wrapped a towel around my waist and headed into the living room, and the sight that met my eyes made me grin. Solo sat on the couch with his phone in hand and was listening intently to the radio propped up beside him.

  “Starting to feel the holiday spirit, are we? Where did—”

  “Shh.” Solo held up a finger, never taking his eyes off his phone. As the song faded, an announcer came on, and I could’ve sworn Solo’s ears perked up.

  “You’re listening to WZLA’s holiday channel, and coming up, we’ve got a special surprise guest in the studio. The one and only Ace Locke is here to give away a pair of VIP tickets to the sold-out Christmas Jingle Ball charity event, and trust me, you’re not going to want to miss this. Stay tuned.”

  As a commercial took over the airwaves, Solo bumped the volume down a notch and finally looked up at me, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “Did you hear that? Ace fucking Locke is giving away the tickets.”

  “Is this why you’ve become a man obsessed lately?”

  “I’m going to win these tickets. It’ll be the perfect way for us to get out of spending the holidays with your folks—no offense.” He motioned for me to join him on the couch, and before my ass hit the leather, he kept going. “We can drive up to L.A., stay in a nice hotel, relax, and then—get this—go see Ace Locke, Trent Knox, and…Fallen Angel.”

  My eyes went wide. “What?”

  “Yep. They’ll all be there. That’s why I have to win these tickets.”

  I opened my mouth
to speak, but couldn’t get anything out, because oh my God… Fallen Angel?

  Like he could read my thoughts, Solo smirked and nodded. “And not only would we watch the show, these are VIP tickets, meaning—”

  “We’d meet them? Holy shit, would we get to meet them?” My heart began to race at the possibility, and I reached across Solo to turn the volume on the radio back up. “You better win those damn tickets.”

  Solo laughed. “What do you think I’ve been trying to do?”

  “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”

  “I haven’t won yet.”

  “Just the fact that you’re trying to get tickets to see my favorite bands…” I shook my head. “You’re a romantic under all that hotshot bravado, but don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

  Solo shot me his secret heartbreaker smile, the one that simultaneously made me weak in the knees and had me shifting on the couch. Before I could even think about making a move, the deejay was back and Solo sat up, his focus intense once again.

  “It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, and I can’t believe it myself, but we’ve got Hollywood’s hottest action star Ace Locke live in the studio with us. Ace, thank you for being here.”

  “Great to be here,” came a deep voice, instantly recognizable to the millions of people who’d watched him on the big screen for years.

  “First off, if I don’t tell you my wife, Cassie, is your biggest fan then she may not let me come home tonight.”

  Ace chuckled, low and seductive. “Well, we can’t have you sleeping in the street. Is she here?”

  “Oh, I made sure she stayed behind that glass over there. For everyone listening, yes, I made my wife stay in another room, because if you saw the way she’s looking at him right now, you’d be worried too that she’d jump him given the chance.” A few seconds later, the deejay groaned. “And now Ace has gone over to give her a hug… Oh, great. I’m pretty sure she just died happy. I’m now a widower, guys. Awesome.”

  “Can I just say, your wife smells amazing,” Ace said when he got back on.

  “Ace Locke, I’d hate to have to kill you.”

  “Nah, no need. I’m still a happily married man.”

  “And how is Dylan these days? I swear I pass him on ten different billboards on my way to work.”

  “Lucky you,” Ace said, a smile in his voice. “He’s great, busy as ever. As a matter of fact, he’s at the Lyons arena now doing a shoot while they finish setting up.”

  “Which is a great lead into why you’re here. Tell us about this big event happening tomorrow.”

  “Well, I think we can all agree it’s been one hell of a year, am I right?”

  I found myself nodding along with Solo, who still had that intense look of concentration on his face that made me bite back a smile. He wanted this bad, and now that I knew what was up for grabs, so did I. With me so often traveling with the Blue Angels, and Solo working on base here at NAFTA, a few days together in L.A. sounded like heaven.

  “Many of the nonprofit organizations around the country are struggling to raise funds right now, which means there are more people out there going hungry. There are more LGBT youth on the streets, unable to get the help they need. It means funding for the arts has been slashed. So many out there need our help, so we’ve put together a fundraiser at the Lyons arena tomorrow night, and we’ve invited some of the biggest names in entertainment to help us out.”

  “I’ve seen the list, and can I just say, the fact that you’ve got Trent Knox and his old band Fallen Angel co-headlining seems like a massive feat.”

  Ace chuckled. “It’ll definitely be worth the price of admission to see them share the stage, that’s for sure.”

  My eyes grew wide, and Solo jerked his head in my direction.

  “Did he say—”

  “Sharing the stage…?” I said. “Oh shit. Get those damn tickets.”

  “It sounds like the Christmas Jingle Ball is going to be the can’t-miss event of the year,” the deejay said. “And you’re here to give a lucky fan the chance to be there.”

  “That’s the plan. We’ve got a couple of VIP tickets up for grabs, which includes meet-and-greets with all the entertainers.”

  “Yourself included?”

  “You know it.”

  “Well, let’s get this thing rolling. Callers, get ready.”

  I stopped breathing as Solo’s finger hovered over the call button, the number to the radio line already typed out on the screen of his cell.

  “Ace, what’s the lucky number tonight?”

  “Let’s go with…twenty-four.”

  “All right, you heard the man. We’ll take caller twenty-four starting…now.”

  Solo hit the call button and cursed. “Busy.” I watched as he dialed again and again, until the deejay said, “All right, we’ve hit the magic number. Caller twenty-four, what’s your name and where are you from?”

  With a look in his eyes that broke my heart, Solo glanced up at me and shook his head. As he lowered the phone, I reached over to rub his back.

  “You tried. It’s the thought that counts.” I pressed a kiss to his temple and could feel a deep sigh emanating out of him. “Thank you.”

  Solo opened his mouth to respond, and then frowned, looking over at the radio.

  “Caller? Did we lose you?” the deejay said. “Yep, we lost them. Let’s try this again. Caller twenty-four, these VIP tickets are yours.”

  Without hesitation, Solo dialed the number again, and this time—

  “Caller twenty-four, what’s your name and where are you from?”

  Solo’s mouth fell open as he faced me and pointed at the phone. “Mateo Morgan, Mesamir, California. Holy sh—” The rest of his words were bleeped out, and Solo shook his head. “Oh, right. My bad. Holy, uh…crap.” I shot him a look, and he shrugged. “What? I can say crap.”

  Laughter filtered through the speakers, and then the deejay said, “Congratulations, Mateo, you’ve picked up a pair of VIP tickets courtesy of the man sitting across from me. Say hello to Ace Locke.”

  For a moment, I wasn’t sure Solo was going to say anything at all, which might’ve been a first in the time I’d known him. The guy had a response for everything, even when you wished he didn’t.

  I hit his leg. “Say something.”

  That seemed to knock some sense into him, because then he gave a lazy smile and said, “Ace Locke, how the hell are ya?”

  “Doin’ well, thanks. Congrats on scoring the tickets. It’s gonna be a good time.”

  “Any idea who you’ll be bringing with you?” the deejay asked.

  “I guess I’ll have to prowl the bars for someone— Ow.” Solo rubbed the spot on his arm where I’d punched him. “On second thought, I should probably bring my boyfriend or I’ll come home to all my stuff out on the lawn.”

  “Wise man,” the deejay said as Solo stood up and then straddled my lap, a wicked smirk on his face.

  “Well, I’m looking forward to having a drink with you guys,” Ace said.

  Solo ground his hips over mine and nodded. “Oh, we’re definitely looking forward to coming.” He winked. “Thanks again, Ace.”

  I couldn’t tell if the blood rushing through my veins was because of the fact that we’d be meeting some of the hottest—and biggest—entertainers in the world tomorrow, or if it was courtesy of the man stroking my dick to full mast.

  “Mateo, stay on the line and we’ll grab your information.”

  “Sure thing.” He leaned in, brushing his lips against mine, and then whispered, “Merry Christmas, Panther.”

  Two

  Logan

  “REMIND ME AGAIN why I agreed to this?” I reached for the gin and tonic the bartender had just slid across the counter, then turned to follow Tate to an empty table that overlooked the busy tarmac outside.

  It was Friday afternoon, and we were heading out of town for the weekend to some Christmas charity event Ace and Dylan were hosting. He’d called up w
ith two tickets reserved just for us, and unfortunately, the lure of sun over snow had been just the right carrot to dangle in front of my husband. Hence, I was now seated in a bar overlooking a busy runway.

  “I hate flying,” I said, then took a sip of my drink. “I especially hate flying at Christmas. All these people, the rushing around, the Christmas music. It’s like they’ve all forgotten that they have to strap themselves into a four-hundred-ton plane and hope to God it gets off the ground before they can have a very merry anything. It’s insanity.”

  Tate’s lips quirked as he picked up the menu on the table between us. “You know, if you ever want to switch careers, I think you’d have a real shot in advertising. You really know how to bring home the Christmas spirit.”

  “The only spirit I’m interested in right now is the kind that will make me forget what I’m about to do.”

  “Oh, come on, it won’t be that bad. The flight isn’t even that long.”

  “Anything beyond me strapping in and the plane taking off is too long.”

  “I don’t remember you complaining this much the last time we flew.”

  “That’s because we were flying to St. Lucia for our honeymoon, and I knew you’d be naked for a full week straight. That plane could’ve gone down over the Atlantic and I would’ve swum the rest of the way to that island.”