Page 59 of Catching the Mistletoe

“For sex or bacon and eggs?” The way his soft laugh reverberated through me made me smile.

“For bacon and eggs. Let’s dry off and get some breakfast.” He cupped my face and brushed a light kiss across my lips before reaching past me and turning the shower off. Then he stepped out, handing me a towel. I watched as he used the other towel to mop up some of the water from his clothes before stepping out of the bathroom, leaving me to get dressed on my own. Okay, what the fuck was that about? Who showers with a naked woman, makes her come so hard her eyes roll back in her head, but keeps his clothes on the entire time?

A few minutes later, sitting at the little dining table seemed like a good time to find out. “Tell me something.”

“Mmm?”

“Why don’t you ever undress? We’ve done all this, and I’ve never seen you naked. You’re not…deformed or something, are you?”

“No.”

“Heavily scarred?”

“No.”

“Got a third nipple?”

“No.” I loved the way his eyes lit up like that when he was amused.

“I mean, I just want you to know that I don’t care about any of that. I’m the last person to fuss over someone’s body not being perfect. As long as your cock still works.”

“Jesus, Arabella.”

“That’s not the problem, is it? Your cock works, right?”

“Yes, my cock works. Thanks for your concern, though.”

“Don’t thank me. The question is entirely self-interested. Are you going to tell me why you don’t take your clothes off?”

He studied me for a long moment. “Because I know the moment we’re naked together, I won’t be able to stop myself.”

“Oh. Okay.” He’d given me an explosive orgasm not five minutes ago, but Mack saying stuff like that to me, with just that look in his eyes, could easily make me go off again. “Well, that’s hot.”

CHAPTER23

Mack

After putting Omaha in the rear-view mirror, we rolled into Minneapolis, where Arabella was like a kid on a sugar high. I’d figured out by now that this was almost her favorite part of the show; when we pulled up in the brightly painted RV and the kids went wild. We parked the RV near a sprawling playground, where a bunch of local volunteers from a Minneapolis charity had already set up sledding hills, hot cocoa stations, and what looked like a snowman army ready for deployment.

We met up with Sarah, the charity coordinator, a bundle of energy wrapped in a red peacoat and a Santa hat. “Mack, Arabella, we are beyond excited to have you here. The kids are going to have a blast today!”

“We’re thrilled to be here.” Arabella smiled warmly, her eyes lighting up at the sight of all the kids, who looked like they were practically bursting with excitement. “Can we get right into it and say hello to the kids?”

“Of course! Dive right in!”

“Hey kiddos! How are you all?”

The kids cheered so loudly in reply; I swear they could have shaken the snow from the trees. As soon as she got close enough, they swamped her like puppies, wrapping their arms around her, hugging her and talking a mile a minute. Arabella was the absolute master of this, hugging them back, crouching down to their level, listening to their stories and asking questions.

Sarah sidled up to me. “She’s incredible.”

“She’s definitely the star of the show.”

Sarah grinned. “You two make a great team. She’s got the kids eating out of her hand and you’re the strong, silent type, watching her back.”

“Something like that.” I watched Arabella for a long moment, rubbing my chest as my heart squeezed. She was like a ray of sunshine, warming everyone in her orbit. Including me. “What would you like us to do first, activity wise?”

“I think the kids are most excited about the sledding, if that sounds good to you.”

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