Page 62 of Vixen's Guide to Christmas
“Just for clarification, when I said outside-y things, I meant being pulled in a sleigh drinking hot chocolate.”
“I’ll remember that for next time. Three…two…one…push!”
Despite her objections, Kat reaches her gloved hands into the snow and we start inching our way to the drop of the hill. Luckily, the hill is pretty steep, so we only need a little bit of momentum before we catch the incline.
“Here we go!”
The word isn’t out of my mouth before we start shrieking in excitement. My hands are back around Kat, making sure she’s secure as our speed kicks up.
“My God!” she yells, laughter and happiness radiating from her voice. She even gives a good “Woohoo!”, which I never thought I would hear out of her smart and sometimes sarcastic mouth. But in this moment, it’s the most beautiful noise in the world.
The bottom of the hill is coming sooner rather than later, but I didn’t realize that it’s coming abruptly. I do my best to tryto shift our body weight to help with the braking, but it doesn't work, and before I know it, we're hitting the flat and tumbling from the sled.
We’re both laughing as we roll in the snow, the sled slipping out from underneath us once we hit the ground. Every part of me is covered in snow except my face. I’m still holding onto Kat, who’s now on her back, and she’s covered in the fresh, white powder.
“Are you okay?” I ask, even though the smile on her face and the red in her cheeks tells me everything is fine.
“I’m surprisingly good.” She tilts her head down, finding my lips in a kiss that’s innocent enough, but if we were alone, and not in the cold, could turn very inappropriate, very quick. “Maybe outdoorsy things aren’t so bad.”
“Really?” I can’t contain my excitement, and I’m already brainstorming five different trips we could take. “Maybe a ski trip in the future?”
“Maybe. The wardrobe’s really cute.”
I smile as I push a tendril of her hair back behind her ear and inside the wool beanie. “It also has fireplaces and warm lounges and some of the best drinks you'll ever have.”
“Now you're talking. Make me one promise though.”
“Anything.”
“Can we please go inside? I’m fucking freezing.”
I laugh and kiss her one more time. “Gladly.”
You’d think I’d be buried inside Kat the way I just moaned. Except I’m not. No, the only other thing in this hotel room that could make me let out a sound like that is the hot water coming out of this shower head.
It’s perfect, and the perfect end to a perfect afternoon.
After we grabbed lunch—which consisted of a whole lot of soup—the only thing either of us wanted to do was take a nap before getting ready for the Christmas Eve dinner the Timberline is hosting tonight. I slept for about forty-five minutes, and when I woke up, all I heard were Kat’s adorable snores as she was curled up under the blankets and into me. Not wanting to disturb her, I decided to jump in the shower and let her sleep a little longer.
I crack my neck, twisting it back and forth, as the hot water runs down my face and body. Normally when I do this, I’m working out the kinks from the stress of work—or I just talked to my family. But right now, I’m more relaxed than I’ve been in a very long time.
Yes, a lot of that has to do with the woman sleeping in the next room. But a lot of it has to do with the fact that for the first time in my life, I’m spending Christmas Eve the way I want to. I'm not arguing with my father. I'm not trying to appease my mother. I'm not trying to act interested in cases my siblings are talking about or wondering when, if ever, they're going to ask me about anything that has to do with my life or my career.
Instead, I had an amazing day with a beautiful woman. It was nothing but smiles and laughter and conversation that never seemed to end. Tonight is going to be a nice dinner followed by an even better night in our room. It’s not going to be me counting down the hours until my flight home to Connecticut. The opposite. If I could freeze time right now, I would. Because this is, without a doubt, the best Christmas I’ve ever had.
I close my eyes as I start to wash my face when I feel a burst of cold air hit my back.
“Want some company?”
I turn around to the best sight I have ever, and likely, will ever see. A naked Kat, walking toward me, her hair down and resting on her shoulders, her cheeks pink from slight windburn.
Sheer and utter perfection.
“Always. Come here, Vixen.”
I pull her into me, letting the water from the shower head rain down on us. “Did I wake you?
“No. But when I heard the water, I couldn't resist.”
