Two steps into the
bedroom, Dante stumbled over something and almost fell flat on his face.
Glancing down, he wasn’t surprised to find a stray shoe. “Jaime!” From her spot
on the floor amidst rolls of wrapping paper, tags, ribbons, and a pile of
gift-wrapped boxes, she lifted her head and presented him with a bright smile
that always hit him straight in the gut. Ignoring the sensation, he glowered.
“Do you want me to fall and break my neck, is that it?”
Cocking her head at her
mate – and inwardly laughing her ass off – Jaime replied, “I’ve thought about
it.” When he picked up her shoe and pointed it at her, she sensed a lecture coming.
“Lay off, Popeye. I’ve been using the shoe rack.”
“Yeah, to put CDs on.”
He gestured at the sporadically placed shoes. In honesty, the mess bothered him
more than repeatedly tripping over. “Why do you have to scatter them
everywhere?”
“Think of it as a test
of your coordination and balance.”
“Jaime!”
“Stop obsessing over
it.” Smiling again, she jumped to her feet. “That’s everything wrapped. You’re
just in time to help me move it all.”
Fully intending to spank
her ass later, Dante helped her carry the gifts through the network of tunnels.
In the living area, most of the pack was seated on the large sectional sofa,
watching The Grinch. Taryn was playing on the floor with baby Kye while Trey was stood frowning
at the tree, telling Ryan, “I just don’t understand the purpose of it.” He had
been whining about the decorations for weeks.
Having positioned the
gifts under the tree, Jaime stood upright to find that Dominic had come to her
side, wearing a flirtatious grin and holding mistletoe over her head. “Oh for
God’s sake.”
Dominic just laughed
when Dante snatched it. “All I want for Christmas is you, Jaime.”
Dante sighed. “Dom,
don’t make me hurt you. Again.”
Dominic ignored him.
“Come on, Jaime, would you really deprive me – your favorite person ever – of
the thing I want most?”
“Yes, yes, I would.”
“How could you be so
selfish and¾? Ow!” Rubbing the back of his head, he scowled
at Dante. “Now that was uncalled for.”
Rolling her eyes, Jaime
turned away from them and noticed that Kye had crawled to Ryan and was tugging
on the leg of his jeans. The little guy had taken an extreme liking to the
enforcer. Looking awkward, Ryan reached down, gripped the back of Kye’s
sweater, and lifted him. Blowing bubbles, Kye grabbed Ryan’s nose. Wincing,
Ryan tried handing the baby to Trey, but Kye wasn’t prepared to release his new
toy.
Taryn laughed. “He has a
soft spot for you, Ryan.”
Greta huffed at Taryn
and gestured at the fairy lights decorating the room. “Is all this really
necessary? I’m starting to get a migraine from all the twinkling.”
Taryn smiled sweetly. “I
suppose if you’ve lived to see over three hundred Christmas days come and go,
it’s hard to get excited anymore. On another note, did you remember to put
wrinkle cream on your list?”
“Why does it have to be
me?” Tao’s whine had everyone’s head swiveling. Dressed as Santa, he was shoved
into the room by Trick and Marcus.
Trick looked at him
impatiently. “Stop moaning! It’s for Kye. It’s his first Christmas.”
Marcus nodded, chewing
on a cookie. “Yeah, now go and do…whatever Santas do.”
With a long suffering
sigh, Tao made his way to Kye. But no matter how much Tao fussed over him, the
kid just frowned a very Alpha-like frown at him, totally unimpressed. Then he
grabbed Tao’s nose and pinched hard.
Tao jerked backwards.
“Ow! I’ll swear he just grunted.”
Dante turned to Jaime,
only to find that she was bending over and adjusting the position of a bauble.
And that was when he noticed it. His whole body tightened. The second she was
upright, he cupped her elbow and whispered into her ear, “We need to be alone now.”
Confused and curious,
Jaime allowed him to lead her out of the living area. It was quickly apparent
that he was leading her to their bedroom. Once they were inside, he slammed the
door closed, pushed her up against it, and swerved her around. “What the¾”
Lifting up her t-shirt
and jerking her jeans down slightly, Dante released a low groan and ran his
finger along the white fur that lined his mate’s panties. Ignoring her
indignant huffs and slapping hands, he stripped her down to her underwear in
seconds and then twisted her to face him. He raked his gaze over her, feeling
his mouth dry up at the sight of her in the red lacy, fur-lined underwear.
“Damn.”
“It was supposed to be a
surprise for later,” she grumbled.
“I think you should
reward me for being a good boy this year and let me unwrap you early.” He
pulled her against him and nipped her neck.
She snorted. “A good
boy? Considering the things you do to me in that bed, you must be constantly on
the naughty list. But don’t worry – ‘nice’ bores me.”
“Glad to hear it, since
you’re stuck with me. Even though I suspect you’re trying to break my neck, I’m
keeping you.”
Jaime locked her arms
around his neck. “And even though you’re a total neat freak who likes to
control everything around him, I’m keeping you.”
He smiled against her
mouth. “That’s good, because I intend to love you and irritate you for the rest
of our lives.” He kissed her. “I say we don’t leave this room again until
morning. After all, it’s important to celebrate our first Christmas as a mated
couple in style.”
“In style, huh. I can go
with that.”
“But first…” His
expression turned pained. “Do you think you could put all your shoes on the
rack?”
“Oh for the love of all
that’s¾! Therapy, you need therapy!”
© Suzanne Wright
Have a great Christmas everyone and best wishes for 2014!
Take care,
Suzanne