The Trouble with Christmas (12 page)

“Hello, beautiful,” Cole said and kissed her on the cheek as he helped her take off her coat. His cottage was warm and inviting. Cinnamon candles burned on the table in front of the roaring fireplace. The Christmas tree was lit, waiting its ornaments. The lights throughout the cottage were dimmed, adding to the sense of comfort. “Make yourself at home, Lily.”

She walked into the family room and sat on the big white couch in front of the fire. She felt warm, and safe, and as Cole joined her on the sofa, she smelled his clean scent, and stared into his amazing baby blue eyes. She relaxed close to him and Cole raised his hand and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“I missed you,” Cole said softly. “We were only apart four hours and twenty minutes, and all I could think about was you and your eyes, and your smile,” Cole said.

Lily swallowed. Her turtleneck felt too tight. She pulled at it and wished she’d worn something not quite so prim. Her stomach clenched at the thought.

“We’re going to decorate the tree, right?” she said, smiling.

“Later,” Cole said, his blue eyes darkening as he ran his hand through his thick blonde hair.

“You wanted to talk about the shopping list for the Christmas meal?” Lily asked, in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Definitely later,” Cole said. “I’d really like to talk about us.”

Lily was certain her turtleneck would strangle her.

“Us?” she whispered and he nodded, gently tipping her face towards his.

Slowly he lowered his lips to hers. Lily sighed into his mouth and relaxed into him, loving the strength of his body. She walked her fingers up his forearms and pulled him closer to her as he deepened the kiss.
And this, this is perfect, this is Cole.
Lily was dizzy with desire but he broke the kiss.

“You are so beautiful, Lily. So perfect,” he said and played with the bottom of her turtleneck. She smiled, stretched both arms into the air, and he pulled off her sweater. The cooler air of the room hit her warm skin, and goose bumps sprung up across her upper body. Cole pushed her gently back onto the sofa, knelt next to her, and softly kissed her stomach. Lily shuddered. His kisses moved up between her breasts to her neck and her forehead, and then finally, to her waiting lips. She moaned as she pulled him against her breasts, and ran her hands around his broad shoulders and down his back.

“Cole, should we slow down?” Lily said, “I don’t want to ruin anything, not before Christmas.”

“We’ve only just begun, Lily. You could never ruin anything. I’ve never wanted anything, anyone more than you,” Cole murmured, his blue stare pierced her heart. She felt a fire burning inside, a fire he’d flamed. His lips were on hers again, hungry, his tongue slid inside her mouth as his hand gently brushed her nipple through her bra. Lily moaned and arched so her breasts pushed into his hands. His fingers slid around her back and unhooked her bra.

“Oh, Cole,” she said as he pulled her bra off and buried his face between her breasts, moving to suck a nipple until it was firm, and then he kissed his way slowly to the other breast. Lily plunged her hands into his hair. His fingers stroked her nipples and his lips sent shivers throughout her entire body until Lily felt an explosion deep inside. She reached for him, ran her fingers under his shirt and relished his hard stomach. She slid her hand lower, traced the waistband of his jeans before she pressed her palm to the front of the denim, cupping his erection.

Suddenly, he took both of her hands and pulled them to his lips, kissing the top of each before he stood up. He looked down at her, lying half-naked and pulsing with desire.

“What?” she asked. She frowned, and he rubbed her pouting bottom lip with a finger before he sat beside her.

“I want to take it slowly. To make our first time special,” he said and hugged her against his strong chest.

She was confused, a little hurt. “You changed your mind?” she asked and burrowed her face in his chest, breathing him in deeply. He was right. It made her want him more.

“No, not at all. I thought I could control myself better, I’m sorry,” he said. “I mean it. But I want to make sure you’re ready. Because I’m all in.”

Lily’s insides were still clenching with need, but her heart listened. “That’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me,” she said, finally lifting her head away from his chest to look Cole in the eyes. She felt so many emotions, but one of them, she recognized, was close to love. As she looked at his strong chin, his caring face, she smiled. He pulled her up off the couch and wrapped her in a tight embrace. The Christmas lights, the Nat King Cole songs, the smells, this man—everything was perfect.

Finally, she’d calmed enough to have some fun. “Well, take off your shirt then,” she said, thinking it’s only fair she should get to see him topless. He pulled the t-shirt off over his head and she admired every toned muscle he revealed.

“Even?” he said with a laugh.

“No. Not even close. Hand me your shirt,” she said. When he tossed it to her, she pulled it on, savoring the smell of him on her body. She tucked his shirt into her jeans, blousing it to hide her still-erect nipples.

“That looks good,” he said and brushed her breast with his fingers.

“Hey, no fair,” she said, arms folded across her chest.

“Let’s get a drink and start decorating the tree, shall we?” He asked.

He laced his fingers through hers and led her into his warmly lit kitchen. The candy cane centerpiece candle glowed and the lights were dimmed.

“Champagne?”

“Please,” she said. “You know, it’s funny. I know the importance of taking it slow. I do. I was a virgin when I met Bob, can you believe that?”

Cole turned toward her and handed her a flute. “Yes, I can,” he said and pulled her close, his strong arm around her waist. “You’re special, Lily. You deserve everything you’ve dreamed of in life. Including a man who will treasure you, and help you make your dreams come true. Cheers!”

“Cheers,” she clinked her glass on his, still standing pressed against him in his beautiful kitchen. Lily felt like she should pinch herself. Could he be real? She worried.
Maybe he just didn’t want me that way
.

“And you’re sure you weren’t, um, turned off by me?”

“Honestly, Lily? You’re exasperating,” he said and kissed her softly on the lips. “You felt my response. Come on. We have some ornament hanging to do.”

*

COLE

Cole was proud
he controlled himself. It was the right thing to do, of course, but man was it hard—pun intended.

He stood on the stepladder and hung red and white ornaments on his Christmas tree at his house, which overlooked the ocean on a remote Sea Island, laughing and singing with the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. He was the happiest he’d been in his life and was determined not to ruin it. He wanted to get to know her, talk to her about the little things, and the big things, the important stuff, and the small stuff. He wanted to hold her close, make her feel special.

Of course, he wanted to have sex. He couldn’t believe her body, her perfect breasts, her sweet curves. He could hardly keep his eyes off her, much less his hands. Cole dropped an ornament, and it shattered on the hardwood floor.

“Sorry,” he said, because that was the second time he’d done that. Somehow the hooks seemed to slip right out of his fingers.

“No problem. Goodness knows the Putnams have more ornaments than they know what to do with,” Lily said, from somewhere under the tree. “I’m just about finished down here. How’s the top of the tree?”

“Just about finished,” he said, wondering if he could trust himself to keep his hands off of her for the rest of the evening. He wanted to ask her to spend the night. He wanted that, more than anything.

“Great. We need to get the shopping list together. I’d love to go with you to Savannah. I can’t believe I’ve never been there,” she said.

“That would be great. I love it over there and you will, too,” he said and wondered how this, them, even happened. It was a miracle, he decided, though he stopped believing in those many years ago. Cole felt like he should call his mom and tell her he had finally fallen in love.

“Hey, what’s your favorite Christmas movie?” he asked, climbing down the ladder.

“
Love Actually
,” she said and kissed him on the cheek. Her fingers played with his abs and Cole groaned. She hadn’t let him put on another shirt. He could handle it if she could, but it was getting harder.
Focus.

“That’s my favorite, too,” he said. “It’s amazing how random love can be.” Cole stacked the empty boxes together and folded the ladder. Lily joined him and they admire his tree.

“It is random, and wonderful, when it happens. The tree looks beautiful,” Lily said. “We did a great job.”

“We did,” he agreed. “Let’s get the shopping list finished so we can have a little more fun.”

“Hmmm,” Lily said, and she followed him into the dining room.

Cole had been busy. One whiteboard was covered with the delivery schedule: Name of customer, time of promised delivery and address, grouped in clusters to make it easier. He had created four different clusters, and hoped he’d be able to round up a couple extra drivers.

The next board was filled with ingredients, and he hoped he’d captured everything they would need, but knew Lily could double-check it. He’d made it through the entire call list, and only six out of twenty four orders had cancelled and asked for refunds.

Lily took her time, processing everything he’d written on each board. “Have you been over everything with Sally Ann?” she asked, still staring at the ingredients board, her back to him, hands on her hips, gorgeous shiny hair cascading down her back. Cole couldn’t help it; he had to touch her. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him.

“I thought this was work time,” she said over her shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head.

“It is, I’m just helping you concentrate,” he said and turned her around to face him. He wanted her.

Now.

She touched his cheek with her hand and he felt electricity throughout his body. “You know, I was upset at first, when we stopped. But now, I think it was an amazing decision.” She rose up on tiptoes and kissed his lips, a slow, seductive movement.

He bent his head, pressed his lips into hers and heard her sigh.

“Okay, we waited. Done with that,” he said, swooping her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed, her head tipped back. Cole nuzzled her neck.

“Put me down,” she said, her joy rang in his ears as he ran upstairs.

“Lily, I can’t wait,” Cole said, his voice husky and needy. “Can you?”

He thought he could be a gentleman, thought he could control himself. He couldn’t. He hadn’t prepared upstairs for company. His bed wasn’t made; the lighting wasn’t set on dimmers. He didn’t care. Lily was quiet in his arms, curled into him. Her unique scent filled him, her hair tickled his nose, and her dark eyes seemed to burn through him to his soul.

He reached his bedroom but didn’t turn on the lights. He glanced out the windows and the ocean was dark black. The night was a blank canvas, one he intended to fill with memories. He placed Lily on the bed and climbed in beside her. In the darkness, her eyes shimmered.

“Cole, what are we doing?” she said quietly.

“Would it be okay if I made love to you?” he asked, brushing the hair from her face.

“I thought you’d never ask,” she said, hooking her hand behind his neck and pulling him to her for a kiss. He moaned as he quickly pulled his shirt off of her. Finally, they were skin to skin. But it wasn’t enough. He reached down to unbutton her pants and she helped him, squirming out of them as he pulled them down. He ran his finger down her thigh. Quickly, he peeled off his jeans and underwear. He straddled her, leaned forward, found her lips, and kissed her deeply. Her arms wrapped around his neck.

“Lily, you’re beautiful,” he said, moving his lips to her soft neck, to her breast, sucking until her nipple was hard, and then he nipped the taut peak.

“Ahh,” Lily said, her hips rising up, which shot lightning straight to Cole’s groin, his erection firm.

Cole wanted to taste all of her, and moved down her body, his mouth and tongue lapped her stomach as she moaned and moved beneath him. His hands eased her thighs apart as he lapped at her sex, licking and sucking until his tongue found the tight bud and her hips shot up. His hands caught her hips and pressed her more tightly to him, his tongue stroked her clit over and over before delving into her body. She gasped when he plunged a finger inside her and caressed her silken walls.

“Cole,” she cried and sat up, grabbing his hair, as she came in his mouth, shuddering as she dropped back down on the bed.

He rolled her on top of him, holding her until she calmed, kissing her forehead and tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Are you okay?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“That’s never happened to me. Ever,” she said, another convulsion racking her small body.

“And you liked it?” he asked, smiling as he held her head between his hands, causing her to look at him.