Page 85 of Naughty & Nice

“It’s Christmas. What’s the worst that can happen?” Hendrix asks, using my own words against me.

“Do you really want to go there?” I ask, dropping into the middle of the couch without thinking.

Hendrix takes one spot beside me, and only a few seconds later, Wilder takes the other after placing three beers on the coffee table.

“Well, this is cozy,” he muses, reaching for a cracker and loading it with a soft cheese.

“There is another chair,” Rix grumbles, copying his twin and throwing a loaded cracker into his mouth.

“You’re funny,” Wilder mocks.

They both fall quiet as they devour the food before us, but I quickly find that any appetite I did have has vanished, and it only gets worse every time one of them brushes against me.

“What’s that?” I ask when Wilder returns from the kitchen a while later with a bag of something in his hand.

He holds it up with a grin playing on his face.

“Who wants s’mores?”

“Nah, I’m good,” Hendrix says, falling back onto the couch.

“You’re gonna miss out, man,” Wilder teases.

I narrow my eyes at him, trying to figure out what he’s planning.

“Elle?” he asks, knowing just as well as Hendrix that I can’t refuse a s’more.

I scoot to the edge of the couch, ready to stand as Wilder holds his hand out for me.

I stare at it frozen. It would be so easy to slip my hand into his and allow him to pull me toward him, but…

I glance back at Rix.

“Go,” he encourages with a soft smile playing on his lips.

With a single nod, I lift my hand and allow Wilder my pull me from the couch.

The heat of the fire licks up my body as we approach.

This is it. This is the kind of cozy Christmas I dreamed of.

S’mores in front of the fire is my kind of heaven.

Wilder passes me a couple of sticks while he rips into the bag and pulls out a giant marshmallow. Holding out a stick, he places it on the end, and I move it toward the flames.

I watch enthralled as the marshmallow begins to melt and toast.

“Did you bring the—” My question is cut off when he pulls a packet of Graham crackers from… somewhere.

He opens them for me before spearing his marshmallow and holding it out next to mine in the fire.

Once I’m happy, I sandwich my marshmallow between the crackers and lift it to my mouth.

“Ow,” I complain as it burns my tongue, but it’s not enough to stop me. “So good,” I mumble.

Wilder’s eyes turn on me as I battle with my s’more. The gooey marshmallow drips down my chin.

My body burns hotter with his attention, and it only increases when Rix’s voice floats through the air.

---