Page 62 of Yule Know It When You See It
I close my eyes, imagining it all. “Sounds amazing. I want to do that. Just that.” Peeking with one eye, I half-smile. “At your apartment. You’re the one with the fireplace.”
“Deal.”
And I have myowngrand gesture hidden up my sleeve for just such an occasion.
After we left the office last night, we came home to my apartment, and I started a roaring fire. We sat on the couch and stared at it, talking about ourselves for hours. We shared a bottle of wine, roasted more chestnuts, and fell asleep on the couch. When I groggily awoke at two in the morning, I doused the fire and carried her to bed so we could get a good night’s sleep for once.
Theo wakes me by pressing her soft lips against mine. She’s peeling back the covers and crawling over me, her thighs straddling my hips. I smile up at her. The room is still dark save for the sliver of pale light creeping through the curtains. Her fingernails trail along my chest, and when she lowers herself onto me, the back of my head presses into the pillows from the sheer tightness of her, the slick, warm heat as she writhes on top of me.
We come undone together moments later, and she’s nestled in the crook of my arm, tracing patterns over my abs. If this was to be my nextJulgift, I can honestly say I’ve never had anything like it on the fifth day. And being it was her that gave it to me, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
She jolts to her elbows and excitedly pats my shoulder. “Come on, you. Now it’syourturn to get dressed and be ready for your next gift.”
“This—” I widen my arms, signaling to our entwined naked bodies. “—wasn’t it?”
She nibbles my arm, her gaze still playing on mine, and devilishly shakes her head. “No. I plan to give you this as often as possible. Wouldn’t call that a gift.”
“Trust me—” I cup her cheek, grazing my knuckles against her soft skin. “—it is.”
Laughing, she pats my chest several times. “You can be so cheesy but don’t ever, ever stop. Now get up. It’s my turn to woo you.”
I don’t move at first, amused at her attempts to shove a body that weighs over a hundred pounds more than hers from the bed. Interlacing my hands behind my head, I watch her use only her hands at first, then resort to pushing my hips with her frigidly cold feet. The sudden contact makes me yelp, and I fan my palms in defeat.
“Okay, okay, so long as you keep those ice cubes away from my back.” I chuckle and slide from under the covers, turning to spy her wiggling her toes at me and biting her lip.
She flips to her stomach to watch me walk down the hall, and I secretly hope she never stops looking at me that way. She’s wearing the kind of expression that screams she wants to touch, devour, and consume me—a ravenous appetite that can never be truly satisfied, and she can’t ever seem to get enough.
Keeping my promise, I grab my phone and dial Mom. She answers on the third ring and loud music blares in the background.
“God Jul, Axie,” Mom yells, a slight slur in her voice suggesting she’s on her third or fourth glass ofgløgg.
Chuckling, I lean against the counter. “God Jul, Mor. Having a good time over there?”
“Oh, the best. Your brothers are wrestling and your sister is singing. Wish you were here.”
“Me too,Mor. I’ll let you get back to it. Have a good time.Jeg elsker deg.”
Mom makes kissing sounds before hanging up and I smile, resting my phone on the kitchen island. But no sooner is it out of my hand, the phone chimes with an incoming text—a picture of Spencer with his mustache still intact, smiling, and holding a newspaper with today’s date.
Faen.
Spencer
Time to pay up, buddy!
Sighing, I turn off the phone screen. “Hey Theo,” I yell down the hall. “Hope you don’t mind if I wear a Santa hat while we’re out today.”
After we’re ready and properly caffeinated, we step into the hall of my apartment complex. I scratch my head through the red Santa hat snug against my skull. The cheap fabric itches my shaved sides. Theo is excitedly bouncing on her heels as I lock the door, and we’re heading for the elevators. When one chimes open, Theo leaps in, pressing the button toholdit for me. Our gazes align as if we both have the same thought:
What would it have been like if she’dheldthe door for me that day?
Clearing my throat, I give her a curt nod but do a double take as if I’m seeing her for the first time. “Thanks for holding it for me, Miss—” I extend my hand to her, flashing a charming grin.
Theo eyes me sidelong, pretending not to ogle me, and shakes my hand. “Hackett. Theodora Hackett, but everyone calls me Theo.”
I hold her hand longer than necessary, and the way I get lost in her eyes all over again isn’t an act. “I’m Axel. You work in the building?”
Theo nibbles her bottom lip while still holding my hand. “I do. Celestial Magazine. Have you heard of it?”
