Page 10 of All I Want For Christmas

He grinned and she was fascinated for the moment by the beard. She’d definitely seen him with scruff, a three-day-or-so beard a few times, but he’d never had a full beard. And now shewas curious about how he’d gotten it so white. Dye, she assumed. She reached up and ran her hand over it.

“I feel like we’re not talking about Easy Bake Ovens and Legos,” he said. His voice was gruffer now and he was definitely in her personal space.

This was not where she’d expected to be with Santa tonight. Or ever.

But a little thrill went through her. She’d been thinking about having him wear a Santa hat and having Skype-sex anyway. This could be fun. They didn’t really role-play. She had, on occasion, jumped him when he was in uniform and said things like, “Yes, First Sergeant.” But it hadn’t been true role-playing. After all, bossing people around while he was in uniform was as natural to Matt as breathing.

“We are definitely not talking about Legos,” she said, not even having to try to make her voice sound breathless. “Too many pointy edges and corners.”

“And kind ofhard.”

Yep, Matt knew that she knew who he was. But he was still playing along. Lindsey fought to not grin too widely. They’d started their relationship dressed up as Santas—kind of—and this would be a great memory to add to their Christmas collection.

“Oh, but I like hard,” she said. “And hot. But I’m not talking about ovens either.”

“Why don’t you tell me your Christmas list, in detail, and I’ll see what I’ve got for you.” He put his forearm against the door over her head and leaned in.

She wet her lips. This was her husband. Her very hot, dirty-talking, amazingly-good-even-with-sexting husband. Oh, she had a list for him.

“Okay, well, there’s just one thing on it, really,” she said.

“Do tell.” He lifted a hand and removed his sunglasses.

Her heart turned over in her chest and a ribbon of heat swirled through her belly. Looking into those familiar, beloved eyes nearly undid her. But she pulled it together. Because she really wanted to have a naughty-Santa moment. And she knew that he hadn’t been expecting this. If he was going to throw surprises at her, turn-about was fair play.

“I would love to feel this beard against my inner thighs,” she said, running her hands over the surprisingly soft facial hair.

His gaze went hot and he started to lean in.

“And,” she said, putting her hand on his chest, “I’d love to pretend you’re the biggest candy cane I’ve ever seen and lick you until you’re seeing flying reindeer.”

He chuckled even as he pressed closer. “As long as you let me stuff your stocking in the end, I’m up for anything.”

She grinned up at him, loving that he was not only going along with her game, but that he was even getting into the spirit of it all. “Oh, Santa, you can come down my chimney anytime.”

He snorted at that and Lindsey was filled with such a mix of emotions she could barely breathe. Matt was here. They were going to have Christmas together. And they were playing and bantering as if he’d never been gone.

The next thing she knew, he’d swept her up into his arms and was carrying her over to the conference table in the middle of the room. He’d kicked the door shut behind them and it slammed shut. No doubt everyone in the main hall heard it, but Lindsey only giggled.

“What if they come to check on us?” she asked. “We could go to my place, you know.”

“No one in that room is coming in here,” he assured her. “After all, who’s more trustworthy than Santa Claus?”

He set her on the edge of the table and cupped her face in his hands.

“They know who you are?” she asked.

“Logan and Dana do.”

She felt those damned tears pricking her eyes again. She sniffed. “That was nice of them to help you with this.”

He nodded. “But”—he ran his thumbs over her cheekbones—“there’s no crying when you’re with Santa.”

Lindsey realized that a few tears had escaped after all. He wiped them away and she smiled up at him. “You’re absolutely right.”

“How about you give me something hot to remember on those cold nights up at the North Pole?” He leaned in and put his mouth against hers. “Something even better than cookies and hot cocoa.”

She felt like she’d just taken a big drink of that hot cocoa as Matt cupped the back of her head and kissed her. It was deep and hot and sweet and seemed to seep through her body, heating her from the inside out. She wrapped her arms around his neck, arching closer.

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