Page 16 of Joy for the Scrooge

In all of my adulthood, I have never spent more than half an hour on sex. I always considered the event to be a waste of time and only approached it in a very nonchalant way. I engaged in the act less and less until I stopped altogether, and now, to think that I have spent an entire morning making love to one woman . . .

It blows my mind.

It’s amazing how I can’t keep my hands off her. Not in bed and not in the shower, and even as she slips into a spare shirt I grabbed from my bag, I still want her.

I want to bend her over the side of the bed and fuck her into oblivion, but I hold back. I need to at least get some food in her before making love to her again.

“How do you feel about steak?” I ask as I watch her button the shirt and realize I’m not doing it just out of lust.

I just generally enjoy watching her. Her long dark hair is beautiful, and those tiny freckles under her eyes just make me want to kiss her. I’ve never had the urge to kiss someone’s freckles before, but with Joy, I want all of her.

“I love steak,” she says, fixing those pretty brown eyes on me, her lips parting in a sweet smile. “I am sure I’ll love anything you make.”

Joy starts for the door, and I follow behind, making a mental note to take her to the finest steakhouse in the city when we get out of here.

We make lunch together and eat it in the kitchen. Another first for me. I’ve always had my dishes prepared and served in the dining room, one dish after another before going back to work, but there is something relaxing about being in the kitchen in just my trousers with the woman I have fallen for.

With the dishes done, we walk to the living room where I start working on the fireplace. Luckily, the log holder is stocked, and I don’t have to go out and search for it in the snow.

Joy settles on a couch as I start the fire, and soon, the room fills up with warmth, the crackling embers creating an atmosphere of comfort.

“I didn’t get a chance to see the Christmas tree at the city center this year,” she comments from her spot on the couch.

I turn around, my brows furrowing in confusion at her words. “You mean the one with the ornaments made by the kids at the children’s hospital?”

“You’ve seen it?” she asks excitedly.

“Hard not to, it’s so close to my office, and the lights are so distracting when I am trying to work in the evening.”

She giggles, lying back down on the couch. “Only you would find the most beautiful thing in the world annoying.”

“I wouldn’t say that tree is the most beautiful thing. Not even close.”

“Yeah?” she challenges. “Name something else that’s prettier. Although, come to think of it, you’ve probably been all around the world and seen better.”

“You are right,” I say, throwing a piece of wood onto the fire. “I have been all over the world and seen all sorts of impressive things, but I maintain that the most beautiful thing I have ever seen is in this city, and it’s not the lights on the Christmas tree.”

Her brows draw in confusion, and I can see her search her mind for what I could be talking about, and she must come back empty because her eyes shoot back to mine in bewilderment. “Then what else is there?”

“You.”

“No, really,” she says with a laugh. “What is it?”

“You,” I say seriously. “I have seen the pyramids, visited the most luxurious places in the world, been to all the places my money can take me, only to find the most beautiful thing right here at home.”

Her cheeks flare with heat as her eyes search my face to detect the falsehood, but she has to know I don’t lie. It’s a waste of time when you don’t really care about the consequences the truth brings.

“I . . . I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything,” I tell her, ending the conversation.

I join her on the couch, drawing her into my arms as we watch the fire. Her fingers draw circles over my chest, arousing me and relaxing me in equal measure. I don’t remember falling asleep, but my eyes open, and I realize with a start that it’s dark outside.

Fuck! How long have I been asleep?

Judging from the fact the fire is completely out without even a glowing ember to show there was one in the first place, I figure I must’ve slept the afternoon away. Joy seems to have fallen asleep as well, and I make an effort not to wake her as I get up from the couch.

I walk to the window and see that it’s not snowing as heavily anymore. I notice a plow heading back down the lane and realize that must’ve been the thing to wake me. It’s clear enough that I could drive back home now, but I find that I don’t want to leave. The thought of willingly being away from work should shock me, but it doesn’t.

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