by T. A. Foster
“Of course, son. I think you just made Eden’s Christmas a little brighter.” My father smiled at me.
My mother entered the room with two glasses of wine. “Here you go, honey.”
I took the goblet from her. My mother always switched out the china and crystal for the holidays. My wineglass was covered in painted candy canes.
“When you called me this morning, Grey, I just couldn’t believe it. It was the hardest secret I had to keep all day.”
“Yeah, you were acting weird, Mom. I knew something was up, but not this. I didn’t expect to see you tonight.” I turned toward him. “How did you manage to plan the trip on such short notice anyway?”
Grey chugged the bourbon. “I had been thinking about it before you left. I wanted to make sure I could wrap some things up for Mason before I left town.”
I stared at him. “You’ve been planning this all along?”
Grey might have blushed. “I didn’t want to spend Christmas away from you either.”
My mother smiled. She was obviously enjoying getting to see Grey in person. He was no longer the mysterious Texas boy who swept me off my feet and out of the state.
“What about Taylor and your uncle, Grey? Have you spoken to him about the trip?” My mother was full of questions.
“Mom, we don’t really refer to Mason as an uncle.” I had filled her in on the family backstory, but that didn’t mean she really grasped how sensitive Grey was about the topic. They acted like business partners, not family members.
“Oh, sorry.” She focused on her wine.
“That’s ok.” Grey shifted on his feet. “I told Mason I would be up here. He mentioned he was spending Christmas Eve with Taylor. It’s not like we match up our schedules or anything.”
Later, when we were alone, I would ask Grey about seeing him. Taylor only lived an hour away, so it wasn’t out of the question. She and I wanted to get together one night for dinner.
My wineglass was empty. I had fulfilled my one-drink obligation. I followed my mother into the kitchen. There was something I had to talk to her about.
“Mom, I-I don’t want to make things uncomfortable…” I wasn’t sure how to approach the topic of shacking up with my boyfriend. It was one thing for me to be out of sight doing it, but in their backyard was a different story.
“Ahh, you want to know about staying in the guesthouse.”
I nodded. “Is it going to freak Dad out?” I helped her rinse out the candy cane wineglasses.
She laughed. “Of course it’s going to freak him out, but we talked about it. We’d rather have you in the guesthouse for Christmas, happy with Grey, than in here with us and miserable. Besides, we already had to cross that mental hurdle when you moved in together.” She patted my back. “I think he’s great, Eden. I really do.”
“You do?” I didn’t realize I had been waiting for some kind of affirmation from her. I guess that was the bonus part of not knowing Grey was on his way. Otherwise, I would have been a nervous wreck all day.
“Yes. And I can tell Dad thinks so too. Now, go grab your bag and we’ll see you for breakfast.”
I looked at the clock. “It is late, and I’m tired after the caroling.”
“I’m sure.” She gave me one of those maternal looks that said she read right through my words.
“Goodnight, Mom.” I gave her a quick hug and raced to my room. My clothes were scattered. I could gather everything tomorrow. All I needed tonight was my toothbrush and a change of clothes for the morning. I wasn’t planning on sleeping in anything.
The guesthouse smelled like cinnamon and looked like something out of a movie scene. I couldn’t have set a more romantic setting. Grey closed the door behind us, shaking the snow from his coat, and then turned to secure the deadbolt.
“I like your parents. They’re nice, but I knew they would be.” He carried my bag to the bedroom. I was right behind him, not wanting to create a foot of space between us.
I threw my coat on the floor and pulled the sweater over my head.
“Well, hey.” He turned to see me shedding my clothes. He closed the distance as his lips crashed into mine.
“Hey.” My hands traced the zipper on his coat and tugged until it was off his arms.
I quickly worked the buttons on his shirt until I could feel the hard planes of his chest. He shivered as I worked my hands over his shoulders.
“It’s cold up here,” he whispered in my ear.
“Let me help with that.” I reached for the zipper on his jeans and wrestled with the snap. Grey stepped out of the jeans and kicked them to the side.
I felt the warmth spread through my body as his lips moved from my ear down my neck and along my throat. His breath was hot as he traced the line between my breasts. He slipped my bra off and tossed it on the floor.
I couldn’t believe this morning I woke up alone, and now here we were, together like this.
His mouth descended over my breast, and he began to suck and nip lightly until I was moaning his name. “Grey, take me over there.” I pointed to the bed. It was steps away but it seemed like a mile with the heat burning in my core.
He ignored my pleas and began the sweet assault on the other side until I was barely able to stand. My knees were like jelly, trying to support me. I moaned again, knowing I was completely at his mercy.
He stepped back and looked at me like I was a present he was about to unwrap. My chest heaved with anticipation. God, he was gorgeous and sexy. I couldn’t ask for a better Christmas surprise.
He led me to the bed and nudged my shoulders back on the mattress while he worked the button and zipper on my jeans. He alternated kisses along my stomach with short tugs on the jeans. It felt like they were moving down my legs a centimeter at a time. Each time his lips would move back to my stomach, he would press a kiss between my legs then give another little tug. I fought the urge to wriggle out of the jeans and just be done with them, but I could tell he was enjoying every second he made me wait for him.
My eyes flew to the blinds, realizing we hadn’t paused long enough to see if we were visible from the windows.
“Grey,” I groaned.
“Yeah, baby?” He crawled on top of me, planting a kiss on my neck.
“Blinds.” I pointed to the window. I didn’t think they could see in here, but it wasn’t worth taking a chance.
“Oh, damn.” He hopped from the bed and twisted the wand until the yard and my parents’ house was out of sight. “Better?” He returned to the end of the bed.
“Mmmhmm.” I resisted the need I had to grasp at him.
He tucked his fingers under the edge of jeans and started pushing them down again, working them against my hips. I lifted from the bed so he could strip them off my legs.
His hot lips pressed kisses into the soft skin above my hip and drew an imaginary line to the other side, crossing over my navel. I inhaled deeply with each contact his mouth made. He had started a fire in me that was already blazing at epic proportions.
I don’t know how he was showing so much restraint. Being this close to him was torture.
“You ok?” He raised his head and brandished a devilish expression, as he pushed the lace between my legs to the side and began a rhythmic motion with his fingers that had me bowing off the bed.
I wasn’t sure how to answer. Yes, I was over-the-top happy that he was here and we were going to spend the night together, but my body was aching from within to be with him.
I reached for his neck and brought his lips to mine. Our tongues lashed against each other with furious abandon. The kiss was fueled with passion and lust like I had never known.
“Eden,” he breathed into my neck. “I missed you.”
I didn’t know what he said after that. My hands worked his boxer briefs off while he peeled the red lace panties I was wearing off my ankles. I nipped at his bottom lip while our bodies aligned skin against skin. He took my palms under his and clasped my hands over my head. I felt him glide against
my leg and I gasped at the contact. He still wasn’t giving me what I wanted, but I had an answer for that.
“What in the hell?” Grey muttered as I rolled hard to the right and landed on top of him. “There something you want?” He laughed.
“This.” I couldn’t stand it anymore. I guided him inside me and rocked my hips forward, taking all of him in one swift move. My head rocked back, not ready for the intensity, no matter how much I wanted it. “Oh my God,” I screamed as Grey grabbed my waist and brought me down harder than before. I followed his lead, leaning forward then rocking back with more force.
I must have flipped a switch in him, because he sat forward, taking my mouth with hungry kisses. His slow, patient foreplay was gone; Grey was about to devour me in the guesthouse. His eyes fired with desire.
He lifted me off him and rolled me on my stomach. I felt his chest slide against my back as his fingers threaded through mine. I had never felt anything so intense in my life as I lifted my hips upward enough for him to push inside. His breath blowing against my ear, our limbs pressed against each other, kisses on my neck. The intensity swirling inside me began to escalate. Grey’s hips rocked into mine, his grip tightened on my hands.
“You feel it?” he whispered.
I nodded with a sigh, knowing we had never been this close. It was incredible. I felt complete and consuming love, surrendering love as we gave each other ourselves. It didn’t matter I couldn’t see into his eyes. I could feel every inch of his body, every ripple, every breath. The edges became fuzzier as the energy buzzed between my legs, and I gave into the fever that fired from within, consuming me, burning me. Grey pulled me to his chest as his body tightened, and I felt the shudders rip through me, each one stronger than the last. Without him steadying me, I would have flown off the bed, unleashing uncontrollable want and need. He held me while the sensations washed over me, filling me until I was breathless.
Grey’s teeth grazed my shoulder, and then he relaxed against me, pressing the weight of his body against my back. We both let out a long relaxed breath. I wasn’t sure why we hadn’t done that before, I didn’t even know what that position was called, but it would be my number one request from now on.
Grey rolled onto his back, and I tucked my head against his shoulder. “I’m glad I flew up here.” He ran his fingers through my hair.
“Me too. I couldn’t imagine not doing that with you on Christmas.” I giggled. “That, and I was miserable without you here.” I leaned forward and kissed him.
“I don’t want you to be miserable. Ever.” His hand slipped to the curve of my waist. I closed my eyes, knowing all I wanted for Christmas was lying here with me.
I woke up naked and alone. The covers beside me were flat.
“Grey?” For a second, I was worried I had dreamed the entire reunion and he was still in South Padre.
“Hey, darlin’.” He appeared in the doorway, his hair wet from the shower. “I think you should get dressed before we go to your parents’ for coffee.” He walked toward the bed and sat next to me.
I cocked my head to the side. “I was hoping you’d still be naked when I woke up.” I chewed my bottom lip and eyed his flannel shirt.
“Oh no, I’m not starting off on the wrong foot with your dad.” He tried to stand from the bed, but I wrapped myself in his lap. “Eden, what are you doing?”
I kissed his neck and started with the top button on his shirt. “We can walk over in a few minutes, can’t we?” I slid my hands in his shirt, and smiled when I felt him take a sharp inhale.
“No, no.” He took my wrists in his hands. “Coffee, Christmas itinerary, pageant, and then you can have your way with me tonight.”
I pouted. “You’re serious?” I watched as he took a few steps back from the bed.
“Dead.” He smiled.
I stretched my arms overhead and pointed one foot on the floor followed by the other. “Not even shower sex?” I strutted past him toward the bathroom.
“Don’t tempt me.”
“That’s all I’m trying to do.” I turned the hot water on, waiting for him to walk in and say he had changed his mind, but once the steam filled the bathroom, I knew I had lost the morning’s battle.
“I’ll just wait for you in the living room,” Grey called through the shower curtain.
I showered and was ready to make the short trek to the main house in twenty minutes. Without Grey, there wasn’t much point in dragging out the shower.
“Good morning, honey.” My mom placed a stack of pancakes on the table.
“Good morning.” I marched over to the coffee pot and retrieved two mugs for Grey and me.
“How did you sleep, Grey?” Mom asked.
Grey cleared his throat. “Great. Thanks for letting me, eh—us stay in the guesthouse.”
“Of course. We thought you’d be the most comfortable there instead of Eden’s old room.” She circled back with butter and syrup.
My dad walked in the room. “Good morning, everyone.”
“Good morning, sir.” Grey’s posture seemed to straighten as soon as my father entered the kitchen.
I stifled a giggle. I handed Grey a cup of coffee. He smiled as he took it from me.
“Mom, what else do you have planned today before the church pageant?”
She settled into her seat. “Nothing, but baking and wrapping. Was there something you wanted to do?”
I looked outside. Snow covered the ground. We had to have gotten at least eight inches. “I don’t think I want to drive around in this if we don’t have to.” I turned to Grey. “Unless there’s something you wanted to do.”
“This is all you, darlin’. I’m just along for the ride.”
I thought about our options in my small town. If we were going to be snowed in for the day, there were a hundred things I thought we could do together, but adding my parents to the mix complicated the options.
“Actually, I could use some help getting more wood loaded in the garage.” My dad rustled the newspaper.
“I could help with that, sir. No problem.”
“Thank you. Between the two of us, it shouldn’t take more than an hour.”
“Have you ever been in snow before?” I asked. Clearly, it never snowed in South Padre.
“I took a few ski trips in college, but that’s all. Driving in it last night from the airport was a first.” Grey cut into his pancakes.
There were still a lot of gaps in Grey’s past I didn’t know about, such as his college years. We never talked about his time at Texas State.
“We could go for a hike later after you’re done with the firewood.”
“All right. Sounds fun.” He smiled over his coffee.
After my father and Grey stacked two rows of firewood in the garage, my father set him on the task of moving boxes over the garage door. It hadn’t occurred to me that maybe Dad was having more trouble doing things now than when I was younger. He was in good shape. He and Mom walked a few nights a week, and he wasn’t a heavy man, but he was almost sixty. Maybe climbing to the top of the ladder with a load of boxes wasn’t the piece of cake it used to be.
I had pulled out all of my snow cold-weather gear from the back of my closet. I had snow pants, boots, and insulated gloves for our hike. Mom had gathered a few of Dads extras out of the utility room for Grey to borrow. Other than a deep collection of flannel shirts and a coat, he didn’t have clothes for snow weather.
“Where are you going on your walk?” Mom asked while she stirred potato soup on the stove.
“I thought we could head out on the trail at the end of the cul-de-sac. The one that leads to the park.” I hadn’t planned a full route. I just wanted to get out of the house and show Grey where I grew up.
“Leave a trail of breadcrumbs so I can find you.” Mom giggled.
“Funny, Mom.”
“Grey is very helpful. Your father never would have been able to get all of that stuffed moved.”
“Yeah, he’s pretty incredible.”
I knew I sounded like a girl head over heels in love, but I was done trying to hide my feelings. My parents knew I had moved for love.
“I’m glad he decided to fly up. It’s nice having him here.” She added another shake of salt to the pot. “Wait until your grandparents meet him.”
“Oh, God, I hadn’t thought about that.” Parents were one thing. Adding family members was something else. What if they freaked him out? What if my grandmothers peppered him with questions? What if my grandfathers lectured us on the immorality of living together before marriage? He only had Pops growing up. He wasn’t used to big family gatherings.
Mom smiled. “I think he’ll be fine. I was only commenting on how much they will enjoy meeting the man who stole your heart.”
“Right, of course.” I took a heavy breath. Having Grey here was the most amazing gift I could have wished for, but I didn’t realize all of the other parts to that would come with his visit: parents, grandparents, neighbors, and Taylor and Mason. I still needed to call her.
“Mom, I’m going to call Taylor and find out what her plans are this week. I’ll be right back if Grey asks.”
“All right, honey.”
I walked out of the kitchen, and left her crumbling bacon into the soup. Lunch was going to be delicious.
I pulled up Taylor’s number on my phone.
“Hey, Eden. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas. How’s it going at your dad’s house?” Taylor was with her dad for a few days then switching over to her mom’s house for the second half of the holidays.
“Fine. My stepmother has made me watch every Lifetime Christmas movie ever made, but other than that, everyone’s getting along.”
“What about Mason?”
“He’s going to be at my mom’s on Thursday. I can’t wait to see him.”
“I kind of have a surprise.”
“Really? What is it?”
“Grey showed up on my doorstep last night.”
“What?” Taylor squealed into the phone. “Are you kidding? That is the single most romantic thing I have ever heard of. Oh my God, he couldn’t stand being away from you.”
