Page 32 of Carry Me Through Christmas

“I wasn’t quite ready to come home to work on the festival when the council called. Of course, planning my hometown festival was the dream, but I wanted to be sure that when I got the job, it wasn’t going to be because of who my dad was to the town, but because of my record with event planning and small-town festivals. And then the council called, getting me into this situation, because they knew if they sold it just right, about the Greene legacy of coming through for Holly Ridge, I wouldn’t be able to turn it down.”

I winced, remembering the shot I took at her about her dad the first day we met. I frowned further, remembering that had sparked her to make a comment about my dad in return. Neither of us knew how deep those comments would cut the other at the time, but we certainly took aim and hit each other’s weak spots on the first try.

We sat in an easy silence now, passing the bottle of wine back and forth, food containers discarded to the side. Our shoulders rested so they were just touching, and I could smell Blaire’s shampoo from this angle. It took effort to keep my eyes trained on the winter scene outside, and to not turn to gaze at the gorgeous scene taking place in our room—this intelligent, kind, and lovely woman sitting next to me, flushed from the red wine and wearing my clothes.

“I think it’s probably time we went to bed,” I finally said, needing to burst the bubble of comfortable intimacy we had accidentally created. “Maybe there are some extra blankets in the armoire I can make a bed here on the ground with—”

“No way,” Blaire started. “You got us through that storm safely, and tomorrow probably isn’t going to be super easy, either. You need a good night’s sleep. I should offer to sleep on the floor too, but I’m not that gracious when I set my sights on a cushy king-sized bed like this one. It’s a huge bed. You’ll stay on your side, and I’ll stay on mine.”

“Okay. It should be fine.”

I wasn’t sure if I was agreeing with her or trying to convince myself this was the truth.

I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth, chug a few glasses of water to counteract the wine’s effects tomorrow morning, and have a private conversation with my cock that it needed to not get any ideas about funny business.

I came out of the bathroom to Blaire bent over the bed, ass in the air, making a dividing line in the middle of the bed with the bolster pillow. It would only come down to my stomach when I laid down, but if it made her feel more comfortable, I wasn’t going to argue with her.

“Seemed to be a better idea than just throwing it on the floor?” Blaire said, phrasing it more like a question than a sure statement.

“Smart thinking.”

“Okay, I’m just going to go brush my teeth and wash my face now.”

When Blaire exited the bathroom a few minutes later, she did a sort of stutter step as she took me in, lying in the same bed she was about to crawl into. Taking a deep breath, she tucked her hair behind her ears, and wearing a face I was more familiar with when she had to face a reporter or the public, Blaire pulled back her side of the covers and slipped into bed.

“Goodnight, Cole,” she said quietly as she turned off the last light in the room, plunging the room into darkness, save for the glow of the lights reflecting off the snow outside.

“Goodnight, Blaire,” I responded, aware of every movement and breath she took as she settled in for the night. We laid in silence for a long while, both trying to stay still and control our breathing, until I finally heard her breathing even out, signaling to me she had fallen asleep. Then, and only then, did I let myself close my eyes and join her in the oblivion of sleep.

Chapter 17

Blaire

I was so warm and cozy in front of this fireplace, the warmth from the flames flickering and licking my skin with a heat that was close to being too warm. This was a much more relaxing scene than the festival anxiety dreams I had been having. My back was up against something firm, perhaps the bottom of a couch? A comforting white noise whirred in the background as I snuggled deeper into my blankets, inhaling a comforting and clean scent that was so familiar. Mmm, Cole; I could be wrapped up in his scent for hours. I smiled and sighed, pushing back against the couch, when suddenly the couch grumbled and I felt the blankets tighten around my hips.

Shit!

My eyes popped open, and my entire body stiffened. I was snuggled up to Cole’s firm chest, hearing his steady breaths in my ear where his face was nestled in my neck. Our legs were tangled together, and I realized I needed to be very careful about extricating myself to deal with the full bladder that was suddenly making itself present.

As my feet hit the floor, I squeaked at the cold on my feet and then slapped my hands over my mouth, looking over my shoulder at Cole, still sleeping, illuminated by nothing more than the reflection off the snow. I realized the twinkle lights out on the grounds were off, and I noticed as I tiptoed toward the bathroom that the room seemed much colder now than it had been when we fell asleep a few hours ago.

Did the power go out? I wondered and tested the light switch once I was inside the bathroom with the door closed. Nothing happened when I flicked the switch.

Well shit, there goes that hot breakfast I was hoping for in the morning, I grumbled to myself silently, finishing up with my late-night business and washing my hands with cold water before heading back into the bedroom. I knew with the power out, the best thing to do was get back into bed, but our bolster divider was long gone, and as I gazed at Cole lying there on his back and looking younger and less stressed than I had ever seen him, it felt like I was entering a very dangerous swimming hole. A swimming hole that looked so inviting, yet also threatened to overtake me if I dipped my toe in.

At that point, Cole stirred and noticed me standing there next to the bed.

“Hey,” he said, his voice thick and low with sleep, “is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just needed to use the bathroom. The power’s out though.”

“Oof, that’s rough in this cold, but I’m not surprised with the amount of snow we got. I guess you better get back under the covers quickly, get warmed up.”

Cole probably meant this for my general well-being, but it felt like an invitation straight to the center of me, causing my nipples to tighten and my core to clench as I gazed at him. He looked so fucking handsome, lying in a bed in the most charmingly Christmassy bed and breakfast from my romance-fueled dreams.

I nodded and gingerly got back into the bed, drawing the blankets up to my chin to hide those traitorous nipples, turning so my back was to Cole. Maybe this way the rest of me wouldn’t get any ideas to follow the path certain parts of my body were very interested in pursuing.

Cole reached out from his side of the bed to rub my arm over the top of the covers. “It’s that cold out there?” he asked as he tried to warm me up by shoulder friction alone.

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