Page 11 of Her Christmas Beast

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I’m wide awake now and lounging around in bed has lost its appeal. And my stomach is gurgling with hunger. It doesn’t take me long to dress in thick leggings and an over-sized sweater. It’s my favorite, a lovely deep forest green, but the hem has gotten alittle raggedy so I only wear it at home because I’m terrified of being one ofthoseprofessors. The ones that students speculate actually live in their offices and never shower.

When I finally make it into the kitchen, Billy pours me a cup of coffee and I take it without a word. I eye him over the rim of the mug, trying to fit all the pieces together.

“So what do you want to do today?” he asks, while stirring scrambled eggs on the stove.

“Err, what are my choices? Before yesterday I’d planned to lie on the couch and binge watch old Christmas movies.”

“We can do that. I thought we might take a walk up to the pond in the woods a bit later. And feel free to explore the house, you haven’t seen everything yet. Might not have gotten it right.” He gives me a cheesy wink and my old Billy is back. The sexy alpha male is lurking just beneath the surface, though. My nose is twitching like a rabbit that can smell the wolf but can’t see quite where he is.

The eggs are perfect, as are the thick slabs of bacon. He warmed up some of the holiday baked goods too, so there’s more than enough to feed six people.

“So how long am I staying?” I ask cautiously.

Billy’s gaze sharpens. “Thought I made that clear, Angel. I’m keeping you. I can build you another house, maybe closer to the university, but you’re not going back to that neighborhood. It’s not safe for starters.”

“Well, I’ll need more of my clothes then,” I say dryly. “How do you know you won’t be tired of having me around in a week?”

He stares at me and then grunts, “I know.”

Okay then. I settle back with more coffee and simply watch him. I’m a free agent until February so I guess I can let my anxious need to have a perfect plan go for a week or two. Odds are he’ll be driving back to my place and politely dumping me on the porch rather than proposing. Despite his romantic wordsfrom last night, I don’t really believe he wants me in his hair for the next fifty years.

He clears the dishes before I can even stand to help and then pulls me up out of the chair. “Come on. Let’s go get some fresh air.”

We bundle up and what I thought was going to be a gentle stroll down a path turns into more of a hike, complete with snow shoes. Luckily he had some extras on hand, that weren’t quite my size but close enough. I’m quickly breathless from the amount of exertion it takes to keep lifting my legs clear to take a step. Billy, of course, moves over the landscape like it’s his natural habitat. Two hours later, there’s a break in the trees that reveals itself to be a gorgeous mountain lake completely frozen over. The snow has drifted into artistic swirls and there’s crusty ice on the edges, complete with icicles that catch the light. I take my phone out of my pocket to snap some pictures and even catch one of Billy in profile. He looks at home here.

I’m startled and almost drop my phone in the snow when it buzzes with an alarm. I silence it and stare at the screen. It’s eleven thirty, but there’s no incoming call or notice about why it went off and I don’t seem to have any signal up here anyway.

“You going to ignore that?” Billy asks dryly.

“Uh… what is it?”

He sighs with exasperation. “Your next session, baby.”

“Out here?” I gasp at him. “I’m not getting naked in the snow. Not even for you.”

He smiles outright at that. “You don’t have to. But I won’t force you, either, ever. If you’re intending to follow the rules, go stand over against that tree.” He points to a big evergreen with large overhanging branches near the shore. It’s close enough to the water not to have developed a tree well of snow, so the ground around the trunk is relatively clear. I eye him. I eye the tree. Curiosity gets the better of me and I maneuver over to thebroad trunk. Billy takes one thick mitten off with his teeth and then sticks that hand in his pocket. He stalks toward me.

“Hands on my shoulders, Angel,” he orders. I lift my arms, but I’m still not comprehending his plan. Until his warm bare hand is suddenly under my coat and sweater and down my pants with no fuss or effort whatsoever. He holds the still vibrator against my inner thigh. It’s still a little cold. “You’re going to have to provide the lube this time, love,” he murmurs against my cheek, then nips my jaw lightly with his teeth. Instantly I’m curling towards him, but he holds me firmly back against the tree. He starts rubbing the toy against my pussy back and forth, teasing at my entrance until I shift and feel the wetness gathering. Somehow he turns it on with the same hand holding it inside my pants. At the same time he enters me with the vibrator, his tongue pushes into my mouth. I lose all track of time as I simply relish the contrast of sensations, heat and cold, rough and smooth.

The snowshoes make it impossible to lift my legs around his hips and my frustration with that grows because I need to get closer to him, to clench my thighs down on his warm hand pressed so sweetly against my pussy.

He pulls back from my mouth just long enough to say, “Stay still, baby. It’s okay to feel. Stop fighting it.” His words mean nothing to me as I try to shift my body, but it’s trapped between his hand and the tree. My legs are mostly anchored to the ground by the snowshoes as the waves of sensation grow into an avalanche that threatens to overwhelm me.

The broad pad of his thumb presses down on my swollen clit and I explode, screaming into his mouth. He responds by pressing me harder into the tree, his tongue tangling with mine. It’s a good thing he’s holding me so tightly because suddenly my legs can’t hold me up. When I can finally breathe again, his lips slide away from mine. His gaze is full of heat and caring. Itmakes me breathless all over again but finally I get out, “I can’t believe you went hiking with a vibrator in your pocket.”

That quirky little smile curls the corner of his mouth. “Only for today, Angel. Starting tomorrow, you’re responsible for showing up on time, ready for your lesson. Or deal with the consequences,” he adds almost as an afterthought.

“What exactly are you teaching me, again?”

He squints his eyes at me like I’m teasing him. “You know. You simply don’t want to admit it.”

I roll my eyes, confused and intrigued by this baffling man.

“Come on, you’ve had more than enough time to bask in your orgasm. We’re late for lunch and that one’s on me.”

I gasp in outrage. I was not basking or lounging. But then I examine his face more closely and see he’s teasing. That makes me smile because it’s a bit like watching a toddler take their first few brave steps. Maybe I can teach Billy a thing or two myself.

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