All I Want for Christmas: A Contemporary Romance Holiday Collection

by S. L. Sterling

  I set my things on the floor just inside the door and stepped into the front room, removing my coat and placing my keys on the table. I glanced into the living room, and there, sprawled out on a blanket in the middle of the floor, was Kristy. No wonder she hadn't asked who was here. Two empty bottles of wine lay over on their sides on the carpet, half of a glass of wine sat on the table. She rolled over and the blanket fell away, exposing her. She lay there in a short T-shirt, her tiny ass framed by purple cotton panties. I chuckled to myself at the sight.

  I took my shoes off, wiped the sweat from my brow, and shut the fireplace off before walking over to where she slept on the floor. She couldn't stay on the floor all night.

  I went into the bedroom that was just off the living room and pulled down the covers on the king-sized bed. Then I went back and scooped her up off the floor and into my arms. Her head fell against my chest, and she murmured something in her sleep that I couldn't understand. I looked down at her, her cheek resting against my chest as I carried her into the bedroom. I lay her down gently and pulled the covers over her. She softly mumbled something else that was completely incoherent and fell back into a deep sleep.

  I shut the bedroom door and then cracked open a window and removed my shirt before unpacking the cooler that Addie had sent with me. Then I picked up the blankets off the floor and looked around. I had forgotten that the cabin only had one bedroom. If I was going to stay here, I would need a place to sleep. I checked the couch and realized that it was a futon and laid it out flat. I flicked the button open on my jeans and let them drop to the floor. Now I stood in my boxers trying to figure out how the hell I was going to fit on this futon.

  First, I lay down on my back, hanging my legs over the railings, thinking it might not be that bad. After a few minutes, I could feel the circulation in my legs dulling. Several more minutes later, I had shifted and tried lying diagonally across it, only to be annoyed that half my legs lay off the mattress. Finally, in a huff, I threw the blanket off me and got up.

  Fuck it, I thought and headed for the bedroom. "We are friends and two grown adults," I whispered to myself. "Surely, she won't mind sharing the bed with me for one night." I grabbed my duffel bag and pulled my grey sweatpants out for the morning.

  I opened the door slowly and approached the bed, laying my sweatpants on the chair that sat in the corner on my way past. I pulled the covers down and eased myself onto the mattress, careful not to disturb her. My body instantly sank into the soft mattress. I lay there staring up at the ceiling, Kristy sound asleep beside me, and started laughing to myself. This was so not the way I'd ever imagined myself sharing a bed with her. Of course, out of all the years I had known her, I never ever should have thought about sharing a bed with Kristy to begin with. Not only was she Addie's best friend, but I should have thought of her more as a sister than anything else, but my body and surging hormones had other ideas.

  I closed my eyes, my mind wandering to the purple panties she was wearing, and I looked over to the side of her bed. The moonlight coming through the window was enough to outline the soft curve of her hip. I felt my cock start to stir, and I covered it with my palm to try to stop the raging hard-on that was forming. It had been years, and I was sure I was over thinking of her this way. My body, however, let me know that I was not.

  5

  Kristy

  I opened my eyes, blinking more than once, trying to clear my blurry vision. My mouth was dry and my head was pounding. That’s what I get for drinking two bottles of wine, I thought to myself. I didn't recognize the wall I was looking at, and I had to think hard about where I was. I rubbed my arm. I was freezing, and I reached for the blankets to cover myself up. I had just closed my eyes when I remembered I was up at the cottage. The last thing I remembered was lying on the floor, watching TV while drinking wine. Why couldn't I remember crawling into bed?

  I rolled over onto my side and saw someone lying beside me, his hand over his face as he gently snored. I thought nothing of it and laid my head on my pillow and closed my eyes, but then the realization hit. Who the hell was in bed with me? I pulled the covers over my head quickly and then ever so slowly poked my head out to look and see if I could tell who it was that was lying beside me.

  I blinked a couple of times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. The blankets lay resting on his hips, those deeply carved V lines prominent against the blanket. My eyes traveled up to his solid eight-pack, then to his large, bulky chest and strong shoulders. I didn't need to see his face to know who it was. I had been dreaming of licking those lines and running my hands over his chest since my teen years. I tore my eyes away just in time for his arm to move. I bit my bottom lip as I looked up to see Austin, his eyes closed, his face relaxed.

  "Are you okay? You're not going to be sick are you? If you are, there is a bowl on your side of the bed. I'd prefer you get sick in that than on me." His deep, sexy, sleepy voice filled the room.

  I jumped. Oh God, he was awake. What if he'd seen me checking him out? I could feel the panic rising, but then I realized it was impossible as his arm had been covering his eyes the entire time.

  "Kristy?" he questioned.

  "I'm okay. What the...what are you doing here?" I asked, my voice shaking.

  "I should be the one asking you that. Addie sent me away so she could get wild and dirty with Phil this weekend." He shivered at the thought.

  I let out a tiny giggle at his reaction. "Addie told me I could stay here this weekend." As I spoke the words, I realized that she must have planned this in some way.

  I glanced around the room, noticing his sweatpants on the chair in the corner. I lifted the blanket to see I still had my T-shirt and panties on, and I silently thanked God. I wouldn't want to have done something with him and not remembered. "How did we end up in bed together?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

  Austin chuckled. "How about you come with me and I will demonstrate," he said, kicking the covers off him and getting out of bed.

  As he stood, I couldn't help my eyes running over his body. They wandered from his broad shoulders down his muscular back and landed on his tight ass. I wondered what it would be like to dig my fingers into his back, then I thought that there was no way I should be having thoughts of my best friend’s brother.

  "Are you coming?" he asked as he got to the bedroom doorway and turned around looking back at me.

  I went to kick the covers off and get up out of bed when I realized I was in the shortest T-shirt I owned. I quickly threw the covers back over me and sat there. I had no idea why I was suddenly embarrassed. Austin had seen me many times in a bathing suit, which was far less than I had on now.

  "Don't be embarrassed. I already saw it all." He laughed.

  I wanted to die. Who the hell knows how he found me last night, I thought to myself. I sat there for a few more minutes, while he wandered into the living room, then I kicked the blankets off and stood up, pulling on the hem of my T-shirt to try and cover everything as I followed after him.

  "See, I came in last night, you were sprawled out on the floor, completely passed out. I picked you up and put you to bed, then I unpacked my stuff. I was going to sleep out here, but this piece of garbage is...well, just that." He chuckled and laid down on the futon.

  I let out a laugh as he tried lying down, his legs hanging over the end of the futon. I watched as he then moved to lie across it diagonally, and I let out another laugh at the fact that both his head and feet were off the mattress.

  "Not exactly what I'd call comfort," he bit out, getting frustrated as he tried bending his large frame in a position that wouldn't be comfortable even for me.

  I giggled again. I couldn't help it. He had always been cute when he got frustrated. "I guess not."

  "You guess not? Did you know there is a lump right in the center? How about you lay down on this thing. See for yourself."

  I shook my head, trying hard not to laugh at him, but I couldn't help it.

  "You really think thi
s is funny?" he asked, sitting up. I noticed his eyes ran the length of my body and back to my face.

  A shiver ran through me. "It's freezing," I said, finally letting go of the hem of T-shirt and crossing my arms across my chest. I glanced up and noticed the window above the couch was still open a crack.

  Austin looked in the same direction. "Well, in all fairness, it was almost a hundred degrees when I got here. You fell asleep with the fireplace on. If I hadn't of shown up, you probably would have dehydrated. So, I saved your life." He stood and reached to slide the window shut. "Why don't you go crawl back into bed? I'll get dressed and go and see if that hotel has an available room, or I'll rent another cabin."

  I watched as he reached to grab his jeans. A funny feeling in my stomach told me to tell him to stay, but getting the words out seemed to be a little difficult. He had slid one leg into his jeans when I finally managed to speak. "Austin, just stay here."

  He stopped and turned to look in my direction, his eyes once again sweeping my body. "Are you sure?"

  "Yes. I wouldn't have offered if I weren't. Plus, you and Addie are the ones who pay for the time-share slot. It would only be fair if I were the one who left, not you."

  "What about sleeping arrangements?" he questioned, his eyes once again falling the length the of my body.

  "It's okay. It's supposed to be cold this weekend. You can keep me warm," I said, winking. What on earth had gotten into me? Ten minutes ago I had been mortified that he was going to get a full view of me in a T-shirt and panties, and now I stood here practically hitting on the guy. No, I was hitting on the guy.

  I smiled and turned and went and crawled back in the soft bed and covered myself up. Once in bed, I lay there and listened hard to see if I heard Austin rummaging around, packing up his stuff, but the place was silent.

  A few minutes later, Austin appeared in the bedroom doorway. "I put the fireplace on," he murmured and approached the bed, pulling the covers down and slipping under them.

  Our eyes locked, and the next thing I knew, he raised his arm, inviting me in for a cuddle. I scooted over and pressed myself up against his warm body, a feeling of nervousness running through me as he brought his arm down around me and rested his hand on my hip. Perhaps this wasn't going to be a shitty weekend after all.

  6

  Austin

  * * *

  I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. The sunlight was pouring through the slats of the blinds, and I glanced at my watch. I was shocked to find that it was already ten. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept that long.

  I moved slightly to roll onto my side when I felt resistance and heard Kristy murmur. I looked down to see her head resting on my abdomen, her arm around my waist. I smiled to myself and put my hand on the back of her head, ruffling her hair.

  * * *

  "Good morning," I said, doing my best not to startle her.

  * * *

  "Morning," she mumbled sleepily.

  * * *

  "Would you like a coffee?"

  * * *

  "Yes please," she said as she pushed herself up into a sitting position and looked at me. She glanced down at what she had been using for her pillow, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink when she realized that it was me. "Sorry for using you as a pillow."

  * * *

  I couldn't help but chuckle. She was too cute. "It's okay. I didn't mind. You stay here. I will get us coffee."

  * * *

  I kicked the covers off and reached for my grey sweatpants in the chair and slid them on. I looked over my shoulder before I left the room. Kristy lay on her side facing me, and that was when I realized that she had been watching me dress.

  * * *

  With that thought in mind, I went into the kitchenette and filled the kettle and set it to boil. I rooted through the box of food Addie had sent with me and finally found the coffee buried in the bottom of the box. I would have thought she would have set it at the top.

  I busied myself making coffee and then opened the fridge and pulled out the eggs and bacon I had put in there last night and began heating a pan I'd found in the cupboard.

  * * *

  While the bacon sizzled away in the pan, I flipped the eggs in the other pan before pouring two mugs of hot coffee and carrying them into the bedroom. Kristy was now relaxed against the pillows she had propped up behind her back and was watching TV.

  "Here you go, just the way you like it." I smiled, handing her the mug. "Careful, it's hot."

  * * *

  "What took you so long? I feared maybe you didn't know how to make coffee." She gave a cute giggle.

  * * *

  "Please." I let out a laugh and returned to the kitchen where I plated the food onto two plates and carried them into the bedroom. The second I rounded the corner carrying the plates, her eyes lit up at the sight of food.

  * * *

  "Breakfast in bed? How did you know?"

  * * *

  "I knew. Besides, I was hungry, so I figured you might be as well," I said, handing her her plate and sitting down on the edge of the bed with mine so I could face her.

  * * *

  "You've got to be the best…" She paused for a second and looked at me and smiled. "The best not-my-boyfriend boyfriend ever."

  * * *

  I couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks I think," I said, biting into a piece of the crisp bacon. "Speaking of boyfriends. How’s Tom?"

  * * *

  Immediately, she looked down at her plate and a look came across her face I wasn't sure I'd seen before. She took a sip of her coffee, set the mug down, and looked at me. "Things ended with Tom when I caught him with his face between the legs of his assistant… in his office," she said matter of fact.

  * * *

  I almost choked on my eggs as the words fell from her lips. "Hell, Kristy, I didn't know. I'm sorry." I didn't want her to think I was being an insensitive prick.

  * * *

  "No, it’s okay. I know you didn't know. I'd told Addie, but I asked her not to say anything to anyone. It was embarrassing enough to have my entire office know before I did."

  * * *

  "Oh, trust me, I get it."

  * * *

  "It's just now he thinks because he is the boss he can hold all kinds of things over my head. I guess I should have reported him when I had the chance."

  * * *

  "Honestly, I never liked the guy. He always struck me as being a power-hungry little ass," I bit out.

  * * *

  Kristy laughed. "Yes, that he is. I'd forgotten you'd met him."

  * * *

  "Well, between you and I, I always thought you could do better," I said absentmindedly while dipping my toast into my egg yolk.

  * * *

  Kristy was bringing her toast to her mouth when she stopped and looked at me. "You did?"

  * * *

  "Yep, to be honest, I've never liked any of the guys you've dated. I'll tell you I only tolerated Tom because Addie had begged me to. There were plenty of times I should have taken him out back and taught him a lesson."

  * * *

  "Oh," she said, biting into her toast.

  * * *

  We both grew quiet. I wasn't sure if I wanted to divulge why or not, because it would only bring up memories I didn't want to revisit this weekend. However, she sat there looking at me, and I knew she was wondering why, so once I had swallowed what was in my mouth, I decided not to hold back.

  * * *

  "Do you remember when you brought him to Addie's Fourth of July party?"

  * * *

  "Yeah."

  * * *

  "Did you know that he hit on Laura when she was coming back from the bathroom?" I asked.

  * * *

  "Addie never told me that!"

  * * *

  "She wouldn't have because she didn't know. I never told her, but you can be rest assured I knew about it, and the only thing keeping me from dragging his ass outside was the fact
that Laura begged me not to make a scene."

  * * *

  "Was that right before dinner?"

  * * *

  "Yep."

  * * *

  "What did you say? I remember he came to me just as Addie and I were pulling stuff from the kitchen and demanded to go home."

  * * *

  Kristy sat there wide-eyed waiting for me to say something. I finished chewing what was in my mouth, took a sip of coffee, and smiled to myself. "Let's put it this way, what I said to him was not meant for a lady’s ears."

  * * *

  Kristy met my eyes. I could tell she didn't know what to say. Then she smiled. "I'm sorry about him."

  * * *

  "Don't be, it’s in the past. Truth be known, she probably instigated the entire thing herself, and I tore a strip off an innocent guy who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."