Page 20 of Christmas With The Kings
To give her something unmistakable. Unapologetically hers. To remind her that even though we were slow to the game, we hadn’t forgotten her.
Her eyes finally found me, and when they did, her whole face lit up. Lips curving, eyes shining. That megawatt smile hit me like a punch straight to the stomach.
“For me?” she asked, voice small and shaking with disbelief.
I nodded, slow and deliberate. My throat thick, words caught somewhere behind my pride.
“Don’t move a muscle,” I growled, pushing off the doorframe, my bare feet silent on the polished floor as I closed the distance. The air between us pulsed, electric. She didn’t back away, didn’t flinch. She simply stood there, glowing like the star on the damn tree.
When I reached her, I curled my arms around her waist and hauled her against my chest, burying my face in her neck.
“Look up,” I whispered against her skin, lips grazing the shell of her ear.
She tilted her head, blinking at the ceiling. Then she gasped. “Mistletoe?”
I smirked. “It’s tradition, I hear. What do you think?”
She turned her head to look at me, eyes dancing with heat and something softer. “I love it.”
“I’m glad to hear. Now, if you don’t mind, you can look around all you want, but I have need of this.”
I nuzzled her neck, breathing her in. My lips traced a lazy line from her shoulder to her jaw, lingering behind her ear. She shivered in my arms, her knees threatening to buckle.
I bit her earlobe, then sucked it deep into my mouth, not letting up until she whimpered—low and needy. That sound. That sound would undo me every damn time. I pulled back enough to look into her eyes.
“Is it too late for the Reaper to worship you properly?”
Her voice came out on a hitch. “You want to worship—”
“Yes. Because I’ve been—we’ve been fucking idiots. My brothers helped. And each of them has something planned for you too.” I tightened my gripon her hips. “You’re everything to me. And it’s my goal to make it up to you. To remind you who you belong to.”
I grabbed her hair and tugged, getting better access to the neck that would forever be my personal playground. I kissed it delicately before sucking the flesh into my mouth and marking her. She cried out as I increased the pressure. My name slipped out.
“The kiss that became a hickey. I have a plan to give you tons of them before my night is over.”
“Alek,” she moaned once again as I went back for more.
When her hand shot out and wrapped around my cock, I had to tear myself away.
“Not yet, kitten. I’ve got the day planned out for us.”
I snaked her hand in mine and took her on a tour of the cottage. I didn’t let it go either as I led her through the space, taking my time. We didn’t get many moments like this. Where it was quiet and slow. So I was going to savor every damn second of it.
The place wasn’t massive. It was cozier. It had three bedrooms, recently redone with modern touches.
“Is that a massage table?” she asked with a crooked grin.
“Why yes, it is, but it’s for later. First things first. There is a plan here.”
“I’m not surprised, my King.” She rose up on her tiptoes and grabbed my shirt to bring my face down so she could kiss it.
“Come on, you.” I said, pulling away and tugging her down the hall. “This one’s ours,” I said, nudging open the bedroom door.
She stepped inside, her gasp soft but delighted.
The bed was king-size with a red and green tartan duvet cover. A fire crackled in the small hearth on the far wall. A gift waited on the nightstand, but what caught her attention—what stopped her—was the outfit laid across the bed.
A short velvet Christmas dress in emerald-green, trimmed in white fluff. A pair of white-laced, thigh-high socks with green ribbons at the top lay next to it. There was even a ridiculously frilly white apron with tinycandy canes all over it. And nestled on top was the cutest elf hat with her nickname embroidered on it.
