Page 8 of A Beginner's Guide to Christmas Miracles
He knew he’d have some explaining to do to Alan, but he just couldn’t leave the guy at a police station to figure out his stolen stuff this late at night. He knew Alan would agree with him. He felt a bit guilty that he so badly wanted to jump on Nach’s lap and tell him all his Christmas wishes (most of which wereverydirty), but he wouldn’t take advantage of his guest after the obviously rough day he’d had. He’d be the perfect gentleman. Or at least he’d try to be.
But, oh, that kiss.
He was in so much trouble. Beck sighed as he drove, glancing over to see Nach staring at him. Fuck. If the guy kept staring at him like that, his good intentions weren’t gonna last until they got in the house.
CHAPTER5
Nachielus
Nach knewhe was staring at the beautiful young man, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He had never seen someone who radiated so much joy and Christmas spirit. It was like Beck was a shining light glowing in the darkness of winter.
Watching him with the people in line had been captivating. Sure, Nach might have sent a little joy out to the crowd (just a bit, really, surely not enough to qualify as a miracle), but it was Beck who made sure everyone was comfortable. He knew many of the people by name and chatted with them all. He made people laugh, and at one point he’d even started a sing-a-long with the entire crowd.
Then Nach had found himself being tugged along, because of course a gentle soul like Beck wouldn’t let him walk home in the cold. He’d realized when Beck had asked where he lived that he had a bit of a problem on his hands. He should have come up with an address or directed Beck to a house at the very least, but he’d just sort of frozen.
Then he’d sensed Beck’s distress, and when he realized Beck assumed Nach didn’t want to give him an address, that Nach thought he wasn’t trustworthy, it had made his heart ache. He couldn’t have a beautiful soul like Beck thinking he’d done something wrong.
So Nach had kissed him. He still wasn’t sure what had possessed him to do such a thing (and he had checked—there were no lust demons nearby, so it hadn’t been an actual possession); Nach just couldn’t resist.
The kiss had been divine. There was no other word for it. Nach was an angel of joy and fulfillment, so of course he’d experienced, and encouraged, carnal pleasure over his eons of existence, but the past few centuries had been a bit of a dry spell for him.
But Beck—he was so beautiful. Nach had experienced a definite physical reaction to his adorable elf. In fact his, ah, physical reaction wasstilloccurring. He was thinking decidedly naughty thoughts.
Well, maybe they were actually nice thoughts. He supposed that was a matter of perspective, wasn’t it? Beck was single, and obviously interested, and although technically relationships between mortals and afterlifers was frowned on by management, it’s not like Yah themself had ever issued an edict against such things. And he was sure that what he was thinking about would make both he and Beck very happy, so they surely qualified as thoughts of joy and fulfillment.
Beck pulled into a driveway in front of an adorable house, parked the car, and looked over. Nach barely registered all the decorations in the yard and on the house, because he was captivated all over again by Beck. The twinkling white lights made him glow, and his curly brown hair and soft, pink lips just begged to be touched and kissed. Nach had to clench his hands to keep from reaching out. He hadn’t wanted anyone, or anything, so much in all his long memory.
“If you keep looking at me like that, we won’t even make it in the front door,” Beck joked. “Come on sexy Santa, let’s head inside.”
Nach tried to shake off his need as he got out of the car and followed Beck up to the front door. The yard was a literal Christmas wonderland, but it wasn’t garish or overdone, and Nach was again enraptured by how perfectly Christmas Beck was.
Beck opened the door and led the way inside. The first thing that hit Nach was the smell. He smelled cookies, vanilla, pine, and the spices of a mulled wine or cider. As they walked into the main part of the house, Nach noticed the decorations, because the inside was as spirited as the outside. Beck had a real tree with a burlap sack at the bottom so it could be replanted; of course his elf wouldn’t waste a tree for decoration.
Lights were twinkling throughout the room, there were cards and bows hung on the wall, and little signs with silly and cute Christmas sayings were scattered throughout the room they walked into. The house had an open floor plan, with the kitchen and the living room separated by a kitchen island with bar stools. A kitchen table sat off to the side in the kitchen, and Nach saw it had Christmas place mats already set.
“So, this is our place,” Beck said, fidgeting a bit. Nach realized he hadn’t said anything at all; he had just been soaking in all the joy and festivity.
“It’s amazing,” Nach murmured. He felt like he was being filled up with all things Beck, and it was a wonderful feeling. He hadn’t realized how empty he’d felt at work lately, but that was a problem for another time, because his beautiful elf was meandering toward the kitchen area, and Nach was powerless to do anything but follow.
“Would you like some hot cocoa and cookies? Or are you hungry for more dinner, since I know the sandwiches at the center weren’t much?” Beck asked, already opening the fridge and grabbing the milk, like he knew that of course Nach would want hot cocoa either way.
“Hot cocoa and cookies would be lovely,” Nach answered. “Can I help?”
“Nope! Just grab a seat and keep me company while I make our cocoa,” Beck answered. Then he confused Nach quite a bit by saying, “Santa, play holiday cheer, volume three.”
Nach was wondering if he ought to be performing some sort of holiday music miracle (just a tiny one, to have holiday music playing; surely not noticeable by management), but apparently Beck was talking to an electronic device, because music began softly playing.
“Alan is probably already sleeping, so we’ll keep it down,” Beck said, grabbing a pan from underneath the stove. Oh, his elf was going to make hot cocoa the old fashioned way. How very perfect.
Beck was shorter than Nach by quite a bit, and he was smaller than Nach despite the obvious love for sweet things he had. He was almost like a dancer as he glided around the kitchen, humming along with the Christmas carols, getting out plates and cookies and stirring the cocoa.
Nach would have been content to simply watch Beck work all night, but before long an assortment of cookies had been plated and two mugs with steaming hot cocoa appeared. Beck had even pulled out some homemade whipped cream and added a dollop to each mug.
“Shall we head to the couch to enjoy our treats?” Beck asked, and all Nach could do was nod.
They both grabbed their cups and Beck grabbed the cookies and led the way to the couch. It was a large, comfy, worn couch that had snowflake and snowman throws across the top, and it faced a gas fireplace that Beck turned on after he placed the treats on the coffee table. There were large double doors leading to a deck off to one side, and Nach could see a lovely backyard with a deck and trees.
“The only thing missing is a bit of snow,” he heard Beck murmur contentedly as he sat on the other side of the couch, picking up his cocoa and sipping it.
