Page 47 of Courting the Krampus
Jasper jumps up and grabs his cup. “Oh yes. I got a glimpse of one of the drawings and I already have a story drafted for it.” Not waiting for a response from me, he chugs his mulled wine and plops back down in front of the couch, resting his back between Cole’s spread thighs.
Like every other night since our first visit to the workshop, Jasper pulls me into his lap. Cole runs his hands through Jasper’s hair, making the male under me practically purr with contentment. I hand over my sketchbook to Jasper, and he flips through it, finding the right place.
He pages past the wreath door handles of the workshop’s front door, past the snowflakes decorating the exterior of the building, past the one I did of Tinker and Coco yesterday. He pauses when he gets to my latest one of the two nutcrackers standing guard next to the fireplace.
“I loved drawing them,” I explain, tracing a finger over the one on the left’s hat. Those two specific nutcrackers see so much in that workshop, it just felt right to give their eyes a certain alertness.
Clearly inspired by how I portrayed them, Jasper starts his story, Cole and I eagerly hanging on to every word out of his mouth.
Choosing between this being my favorite part of the day, or the sex that will doubtlessly follow after, is almost impossible. It’s like trying to choose between Cole and Jasper. They’re both perfect in their own way, each providing me with a nourishment my soul really craves. The three of us together is how it’s meant to be.
When Jasper finishes his story about the nutcrackers and how they came alive to help save Christmas, I smile up at him. “I think this is your best one yet. I have nothing to add to it.”
Cole clears his throat, almost sounding emotional. “That was really touching. It was like I was part of the story. Those nutcrackers are real heroes.”
Jasper preens under the compliments. “Thank you. But it’s Natalie’s drawings that really moved me. I know they’re wooden dolls, but there’s something magical about the way she captured them.”
“Talking about capturing things…” Cole gets up from the couch and returns a moment later. He kneels down in front of me where I’m still in Jasper’s lap on the floor. “I noticed your book is almost full.”
I page through the five remaining blank pages and swallow hard. “I’ve been so inspired since I got here. I’ve never drawn so much so quickly. There are just so many details I don’t want to miss.”
“You’re so talented, and I want you to draw to your heart’s content.” Cole takes out a wrapped box that looks to be about the size of my current sketchbook, but I rein myself in from jumping to conclusions. He continues, “I hope this isn’t too presumptuous of me, but I ordered you a new one from Kirja—the book village we’ll get to eventually, but I didn’t want you to wait.”
He hands over the box, looking adorably nervous. “Thank you, Cole.”
“Open it,” Jasper encourages and tickles my sides.
“It’s not fully done,” Cole starts to explain when I reveal the hunter-green sketchbook inside. “I ordered the binding to be in the same color as the books I bound on my shelf, but your name still needs to be foiled. When we get back home I’ll finish it there, but I wanted you to have it now.”
With tears welling in my eyes, I whisper, “Home.”
In that single word, I know this is it.
I try to blink the tears away for a couple of seconds before I let them fall freely. “Jasper, Cole, you are my home. I’m staying. With you. If it’s in the Arctic, in the Alps, or in the Sahara—it doesn’t matter.Youare my adventure. My destination.”
“You’re in? You’re fully accepting the bond?” Jasper asks, his grip on my waist tightening with his excitement.
Certainty strengthens my voice. “There was never really a question about it. I just needed time to confirm what I knew to be true. You’re my mates and I’m yours.”
Cole’s eyes mist and he cups my face. “My human mate.” He cups Jasper’s face with his other hand. “My krampus mate.” Drawing our foreheads together, he whispers, “How did I get so lucky?”
Jasper’s voice is thick and wet with emotion. “I didn’t even think I was on the fates’ radar, and then they go and give me two of you.”
I draw back and wipe the mascara from under my eyes. “Before we become blubbering messes, how do we make it official?”
“There’s not one specific way, but I can show what I have in mind,” Jasper says, his emotion quickly morphing into seduction, the innuendo clear in his suggestion.
“Tell me more,” I murmur before slanting my mouth against his.
While we may not have found anything for the Naughty List in Puutyöt, we did learn a lot about toys, as well as each other. There are still plenty of villages to visit, plenty of time to figure out what will be the perfect replacement for coal this Christmas, and I’m doing it with my soul mates.
Chat Log
Natalie: How’s life with three males?
Diana: How’s life with two males?
Natalie: Guess you’re glad we had that anal conversation on the island?
