Page 8 of Courting the Krampus
“Why delay the inevitable?” I ask, ready to feel her skin against mine.
Natalie sticks out her hand but doesn’t quite touch me. “You sure?”
“Very.”
“Just don’t go catching any feelings, okay?” Natalie says dryly.
I know she’s most likely joking, but forme, it sure as shit is too late.
Chapter five
Cole
My foot taps against the wooden floorboards of my home office as I wait for Jasper and his… companion to arrive. He was vague on the details ofwhyhe’s bringing a human here, but I trust him enough to know there is a reason, and a good one.
Despite his ever-present exuberant disposition and constant jokes, Jasper wouldn’t do anything to willingly hurt someone. Nevertheless, I don’t know what to expect and that in itself is making me uncomfortable.
I go through the names on my screen and compare them to last year’s data, making projections for this coming Christmas. The fact that there even is a Naughty List, and that my father put me in charge of it, still boggles my mind.
Nick, my older half brother, is Santa and gets to make kids happy. My job is to make sure there’s enough coal to be stuffed in the stockings of the kids that didn’t make the cut. I hate this fucking job, but someone has to do it. Apparently, that someone is me.
The sound of voices outside my house has me looking up from my screen, not like I was actually getting anything done anyway with curiosity bubbling under my skin. I elect not to look out the large window behind me, marching directly for the front door.
Before anyone can knock, I throw the door open, the sleigh bells on my simple teardrop wreath clanking with the movement. My heartbeat quickens as I look for Jasper, for his kind eyes, his curling horns, his bright smile. I've missed him, and my body instinctively leans forward, craving his embrace. But impossibly, all thoughts of my krampus dissolve as I lay eyes on the most stunning creature I've ever seen.
Framed by the tall pines covered in a fresh layer of snow, stands a woman with raven hair and eyes the color of a frozen lake. In them, I can already see us ice skating, not knowing if I’d be able to concentrate on the movement of my feet or getting lost in her eyes that hold more secrets than my own.
I keep my face passive, flicking my eyes to Jasper and the shit-eating grin he’s sporting before settling on the woman who spells trouble with a capital T. She assesses me just as blatantly as I do her, her eyes roaming appreciatively over the ink visible beyond the sleeves of my black T-shirt and the holly design on my neck peeking out above my collar. Her full red lips tip up in one corner and there’s so much she’s saying with that single expression that my cock grows hard instantly.
Out of nowhere, images flood my mind. Images of her on her knees, wrapping those pretty red lips around my cock, infiltrate my mind. Her, begging me to come all over her tits. Her, next to Jasper, both of them bent over the foot of the bed, begging me to fuck them. Them, together as they follow my instructions on what and where to touch. All three of us together and in a hundred different positions.
I blink myself back into the moment, and step forward, thrusting out my hand for her to shake, “Hey. I’m Cole.” I’m surprised how steady my voice comes out and that none of my thoughts have verbalized.
“I’ve heard so much about you, Cole. I’m Natalie.” Her husky voice travels straight through my eardrums and embeds itself somewhere in my brain, ensuring I’ll never forget it. Only one other person has ever had such an instantaneous effect on me, and I glance at him as he gives a tiny one-shouldered shrug.
Natalie is drowning in a familiar sweater that can only be Jasper’s, the sleeves so long they cover her fingers. She shucks them back—revealing nails painted as black as the T-shirt I’m wearing—and lifts her dainty hand to shake mine.
When her soft skin touches mine, it’s like a jolt of heat sears itself from my gut right through every single vessel in my body, leaving a tingling sensation rippling across my skin.
“Did you feel that?” I ask Natalie, not quite ready to let go of her hand yet. A rather odd feeling of wanting to embrace her comes over me, to dip down and smell her hair, to taste her skin. I keep my expression neutral, though, choosing to only raise my brows a fraction as I wait for her answer.
Natalie nods slowly, also making no move to withdraw her hand from mine.
I look to Jasper where he’s practically vibrating with excitement.
“Yup,” he replies, popping thep.
Natalie narrows her eyes at me, then glances over at Jasper. “Um, can we have this conversation inside? It’s a little cold out here.”
I survey the tiny skirt she’s wearing, the tattoos peeking out under its hem, and the bare skin of her thick thighs dotted in goose bumps. Oh fuck, how pretty she would look with my fingers digging into those thighs as she straddles my lap.
“Fuck. Of course. Sorry.” I kick the door wider behind me and step back, pulling her in by the hand I’m still gripping. Realizing I might be too intense for her, I let go and gesture to the living room. “Take a seat. Anywhere. There are blankets on the couches. Use those to warm up until I can organize something for you to wear.”
Jasper watches Natalie as she makes herself at home and burrows under a fluffy white blanket before he steps up, giving me a sheepish grin. “Hey, Cole.”
“You’ve got some explaining to do.” I close the door behind him, ensconcing us in the warmth of the house.
Jasper swallows and I note the traces of stress in the dark circles under his eyes. Underneath the cheery front he puts up for the rest of the world, Jasper feels deeply. It’s one of the qualities I admire in him. That, his magnetic smile, and his perky ass.
