Page 11 of A Merry Misfit Christmas

“Shit,” Kodiak curses.

I flick on the flashlight. I know I’ve got a few three-wick candles in the living room from my favorite store. It’s not Christmas without the scents of sugar cookies, pine trees, and candy canes. I rise off my seat and head that way, noting that Kodiak silently follows me. Once they’re lit, I pull one of the blankets I keep hidden under the coffee table out and wrap it around me, snuggling on the cushion of the couch.

Kodiak settles beside me, tucking the blanket tighter around me as he frowns. “It’s gonna get cold in here soon.”

He’s right. “I’ve got more blankets in the hall closet.”

“I’ll grab them.”

I feel the loss of his body heat as he heads to the closet and realize that despite the warmth coming from the fire, it’s still going to be colder than anything I’ve previously experienced. When he comes back, his arms laden, I watch him set up a pallet of sorts near the fire. “Do you have any pillows or a warm comforter?” he asks.

“In the spare room and also my bedroom,” I reply, loathe to move from the toasty enclosure I’m now snuggled into. When I start getting up, he motions me back and heads down the hallway again.

I’m so screwed. A fluttering begins low in my belly, and a wave of arousal follows. There’s an ache to push beyond all my barriers and let Kodiak in. He’s the first man who’s ever elicited this kind of response from me. Even my ex didn’t do so, which is one reason he’s an ex.

Not that he was happy withthatdecision, but I still think it’s because I ‘got away’ before he could get in my pants. I still remember the cruel twist of his lips when I refused him. Shivering as I remember the malevolence in his gaze the last time I saw him, I determinedly push those thoughts to the back of my mind and resolve to enjoy the time I have with the grumpy biker.

After all, it appears we’re snowed in, and it’s an opportunity to learn more about Kodiak.

Chapter Five

Kodiak

“I’m so fucked,” I mumble as I make my way to her room. The more I’m around her, the deeper her scent envelops me. Hell, we haven’t even kissed yet, and I already have visions of her belly rounded with our cub. “Fuck me.”

It doesn’t enter my mind that there’s no possibility she’ll conceive. My bear knows it. That’s enough for me.

Her room sucks me in even deeper; the layered essences that epitomize her surround me as I quickly grab her pillows and toss them on top of the comforter before I roll it up and sling it over my shoulder. She’ll be comfortable with these when combined with my body heat. That’s the good part about the fact that we’ll have to snuggle and hunker down in her house. I’m like a personal heater, thanks to my shifter genes. Not that much different than Spike. The bad part? Well, from where my bear and I are standing, there’s not really a bad part to any of this.

Me + Callie = Hell yeah.

Unless… what if she’snotattracted to me? I haven’t exactly made the best impression on her. First, I ruined her pretty sweater. Then I ripped her driver’s door off its hinges. Damn. I sorta ate up all her soup, too.

Then we make her like us, my bear says as we return to the living room.She has to think we’re strong and attractive. We protect her. We brought her safely home.

I snort at how easy he’s making it sound. I have two big strikes against me and a questionable third, and now I’m worried I’ll be out of the game before I’ve made my first move.

“What are you doing?” I ask, seeing her moving around the living room.

“Lighting a few more candles,” she replies, her brow raised, likely at my tone. “I also dug out my battery charger pack for our phones. It should be enough as long as you use the same cord as I do. We can at least have working cell phones, right?”

Our mate is smart, my bear says, pride filling his tone.But too neat. We need to mess her up a little bit. Cubs will help with that.

Since I wholly agree with his assessment, I don’t respond. He won’t let the idea of mating and filling her go, so I don’t argue. Instead, while she moves around the room, I take the pillows and set them on the pallet, then cover the whole thing up withthe heavy down comforter that was on her bed. “Too bad you don’t have an air mattress,” I state once I’m done.

“I do, but it’s only a twin-size,” she says. “I bought it in case I’d ever want to go camping.”

I decide to tease her a little bit and say, “I can’t see someone as organized as you roughing it like that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Camping can be messy, Callie,” I tease. “Bugs, dirt, weather… all of it is out there. You seem to appreciate cleanliness and organization.”

“I do, but if you knew why, you’d understand,” she quietly replies.

I sense I’ve hurt her feelings, which wasn’t my intent at all, so I move to her side and pull her close, which soothes the ache now residing in my heart. “Then explain it to me,” I say, gently leading her to the pallet. I lower onto it and bring her with me.

Once I have my mate snuggled against me, which has my bear chuffing in ecstasy inside me, she starts talking. “So, you’ve probably guessed I didn’t grow up in Yukon Bluff, right? Well, my origins are awful, Kodiak.” Her voice is barely above a whisper, the sound of the crackling fire nearly drowning her out, but I hear the lingering sadness in her tone. “I never knew my dad and lived with my mom until I was five.”

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