Page 19 of The Twelve Knots of Christmas
I waved to Lyla and shut the door to fall in step with Mariska. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds and made her pretty amber eyes sparkle. I drank in every detail about her. Everything in me felt so alive. I wanted to remember this moment forever. Our first date.
“You really are gorgeous.”
She blinked rapidly as if she couldn’t believe I just said that. Her cheeks reddened further and her scent thickened in the most delicious of ways. Hell, yeah.
“Thank you.” Mariska’s voice trembled slightly, and she hurried the last few steps to get to the truck.
As she reached for the handle, I leaned around her and opened the door first. Offering a hand, I resisted the urge to bend forward to thoroughly inhale her scent. “Hop on in. I’ve had the seats warming and there’s hot cocoa in the thermos if you want some.”
Mariska murmured her thanks again and lightly put her gloved hand in mine. She climbed up and settled into the seat, and I closed the door behind her. I strode around to the driver’s side, wondering how fast I could get rid of our escorts so I could have Mariska all to myself. We were going to be in a market surrounded by people, but having my mom follow us around did put a damper on my game.
Before I did up my seat belt, I twisted around and smiled. “Mariska, this is my mom, Liz. Mom, this is Mariska Belmont. She’s almost as big of a dog lover as you are.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Mariska reached back to shake hands with my mom. “You have dogs too?”
“So lovely to finally meet you as well, Mariska.” Mom squeezed her hand. “I do. I have two Saint Bernards, Sugarplum and Twinkle. Great big sweet ladies. I needed some female energy on the farm once my daughter married and moved away, and Balthazar’s pack moved in. You have the right idea running an Omega boarding house, Eloise. Much calmer energy than a house full of Alphas.”
Eloise laughed, and I could see Mariska’s shoulders relax a bit. I had no doubt Mom would adopt Mariska as one of her own before the day was out. Buckling up, I pulled onto the road and headed south. It wasn’t a long drive, and I was content to letthe women talk. Mom asked Mariska a bunch of questions and had her laughing too.
This was family. Warmth surrounded me as we drove to Elkhart Lake. It was a mild day with a few clouds in the sky. The truck purred along the road as the women chatted.
Mom warned me about saying Mariska was the one, but no Omega had ever so easily gotten along with her. It was meant to be like this all along.
We managed to squeeze into a parking spot someone just left, and the rich smells of Christmas goods twirled around us as we got out. People walked toward the resort and the massive tent they had set up for the vendors. A section of field to one side had been cleared off and made into an ice rink. Near that, a pen with reindeer was surrounded by children wanting to pet them and get their photos taken.
“You two lead the way, and we’ll follow.” Mom was smiling, but when she caught my eye, I could feel another mental finger waggle.
“Just don’t go too fast. We like to look at everything.” Eloise chuckled. The woman meant business. She carried two massive green and red tote bags for whatever she wanted to buy.
Mariska walked quietly beside me. Somewhere near the tent a brass band started playing a holiday tune and her shoulders sagged. We couldn’t have that.
“So what did you want to do first? If you’re hungry, we can grab something to eat or go skating or shop. Whatever you want.” I’d show her I could be the perfect attentive Alpha and do whatever my Omega wanted. Just as long as I got to spend time with her.
“Can we do something outside? I want to avoid…” Mariska looked toward the tent with the constant stream of people coming in and out. “The big crowd. I’m not hungry yet either.”
“Of course. There’s the ice sculpture gallery near the beach, the rink, and sleigh rides through downtown.”
She pursed her lips and cutely furrowed her brow as she considered the options. “Maybe we can go look at the sculptures. I’m not great on skates—”
“Really?” I snagged her hand and tugged her toward the rink. “Everyone in Wisconsin knows how to skate.”
She didn’t resist but stared at the ice warily. “Not everyone. I can ski and snowboard—”
“And ride a sled behind a snow machine like an expert,” I added with a wink. I raised my chin with victory seeing a little smile she tried to hide behind her scarf.
“That too. I haven’t been skating since… I was maybe nine years old.” Her smile faded and a faraway look stole into her eyes. “We should go to the beach.”
There was no way I was missing out on being the one to get her back up and onto the ice. She didn’t pull her hand away, so I kept heading to the booth where we could rent skates. “I’ll help you out. I’ve been skating for as long as I’ve been walking. We have a pond out behind the farm house which freezes about Christmastime. I still skate on it every year, and I play hockey with the guys in a local league during the winter. You have an expert here.”
“A mighty modest expert.” Mariska snorted.
There was the fire I remembered. Shy and hesitant was cute, but I suspected she was an Omega who knew what she wanted, and that was incredibly sexy. While she wasn’t falling all over me, her scent told me I was something she wanted, and it was only a matter of time before I was buried between her legs and claiming her as my own.
“So let me guess…” I narrowed my eyes as I pretended to study her boots as we approached the booth’s counter. “Size four, right?”
“Four? I’m not a child.” Mariska stepped and turned to the attendant. “Ladies size six, please.” Then she looked up at me with a ‘take that’ stare.
I chuckled. “Do you have men's fourteen?” I gave Mariska a smirk that said, yeah, that’s right, baby. I’m big everywhere. Her eye roll had me laughing louder. I told the snickering attendant thank you when he handed me both pairs, and I led Mariska to a bench.
