Page 26 of Gifted

“Okay.” I couldn’t lie; I was leaping inside at the thought of presents from Noah. It was possible I may have bounced just a little. I hadn’t celebrated Christmas in so long, and having this Christmas with him was everything.

Reaching beside him, he brought around a length of folded green, tartan fabric.

“It’s a wrap, like a shawl,” he said as I unfolded it.

“It’s so soft,” I said, rubbing it through my fingers. “Thank you.”

He nodded and leaned forward, brushing his lips over mine. “You’re welcome.”

Reaching into my bag, I pulled out a white paper sack. “I got this for you in Ireland. I was going to secretly leave it on your desk when we got back.”

I bit the corner of my lip while I watched him unfold the top. Reaching inside, he brought out one of the heavy silver tankards with a raised Celtic knot design circling it.

“I was looking at these in Dublin.”

“I know. It looked like you really wanted them.”

“I did. I do. Thank you, baby.”

Reaching behind him, he got my next gift. When I saw what was in his hand, I laughed and reached into my bag. I took the leather bound journal he’d gotten for me and gave him the one I’d picked out for him.

My fingers ran over the cover. A thistle, a Scottish symbol, had been pressed into the cover, along with the words: Always remember you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think and loved more than you know.

I watched as he read the words pressed into his. It said: May yer blessings outnumber the thistle that grow and may trouble avoid ye wherever ye go.

I couldn’t stop smiling. We’d gotten each other practically the same thing.

He shook his head and reached for the next thing. Holding it up, I gasped at the amethyst bracelet with a little thistle charm dangling from it.

“Noah… It’s beautiful.” I held out the bracelet for him to put it on me. My nerves seemed to prickle from where his fingers brushed my skin. Turning my wrist, he pressed his lips to the inside. The tip of his tongue flicked ever so slowly about the tendon there. I shivered, watching him as heat built inside me.

“You’re beautiful. I want to shower you with jewelry.”

I nibbled on my lip, wanting to forget about gifts and just indulge in him. The sooner we were done with presents…

After he let go, I handed him the little white box holding his cufflinks. My fingers shook from the arousal sparking through my body.

He opened the box and peered down at them.

“I know guys don’t wear cufflinks a lot, but…I thought…when you have to wear something formal…”

Noah lifted one and looked at the knot design on the flat disk. “These are great. I’ll love wearing them. Thank you.”

I bit my lip while he twirled the post between his thumb and forefinger, looking as if he were thinking hard. Finally, he closed the lid and placed it with his other gifts.

He nodded. “I know exactly when I’ll wear them.”

His eyes filled with heat when his attention returned to me. Reaching out, he pressed his thumb below my mouth and pressed, pulling down to free my lip from my teeth. “You’re going to hurt yourself, lamb. Then it’ll hurt when I kiss you.”

“Sorry.”

His thumb brushed over my chin, and he gave a small shake of his head before we continued this ritual.

He handed me a small white box similar to the cufflink box. Opening it, I found a silver brooch.

“It’s a Luckenbooth brooch,” he told me. “It’s kind of to go with the wrap. But you can wear it on a lot of things.”

“It’s beautiful. I love it. One more,” I said and handed him the fisherman knit sweater I’d been drawn to because I loved it and he often wore sweaters.

“I’m going to wear it today. I have something for you to wear today, too.” He palmed the item and brought it in front of me. “I told my father I’m bringing my fiancée with me to Colorado.” He opened his hand to show me the diamond ring. “I wasn’t lying to him.”

“Noah, I… What…?”

“I want you to be mine.”

“Yes,” I breathed. This time, I didn’t hesitate. I climbed onto his lap, buried my fingers in his thick hair and kissed him, just as I’d wanted to kiss him all morning. He freed one of my hands, and I felt the cool band circling my finger while our lips never parted. Not even as Noah tipped me back to the floor and moved over me, nestling between my thighs, with all our gifts surrounding us.

This was the best Christmas I’d ever had.

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