Stocking Stuffers: A Five Story Christmas Anthology

by E. J. Darling

  Beds were overrated.

  “Fuck,” Ty muttered, once again taking my hand to lead me to his room.

  He slipped the card in the slot to unlock it and held the door open, allowing me to enter before him. As I stepped into the room, he flicked on the light switch, casting the large suite in a warm glow. My mind vaguely took in the overstuffed couch that faced a gas fireplace across the room. Just past the sofa, a snowy balcony was visible through glass doors, illuminated by the streetlights below. Through a wide double-doorway on the other side of the fireplace, I could see the corner of a bed.

  I turned back to Ty. He stood near the entrance, his spruce-green eyes now dark with hungry desire. Biting my lip gently, I slipped my coat from my shoulders and tossed it to the couch as I took a step back toward the bedroom. I started next on my flannel, still inching my way back, but in a heartbeat, he was right there stripping it from me. The back of my knees hit the mattress, throwing me off balance as he slammed me down to the soft white coverlet. He straightened, his eyes hot on my body splayed out before him.

  I lifted one leg. “Get my boot?”

  “Not yet,” he growled, his fingertips trailing up and down my calf. “You seriously don’t get it. This is my most vivid high school fantasy come to life. I want to fuck you just like you are right now.”

  Every single mind-boggling admission fanned the flames of my libido until I thought I was going to self-combust. My hips rolled with desperate anticipation. My entire body was tightly wound and aching for him to wreck me.

  He tugged open the fly of his jeans and reached inside, letting out a low groan as he pulled his cock out and stroked it. Holy hell, it was beautiful. Absolutely stunning. Long and thick and perfectly curved. The color of creamy caramel. My mouth watered as I reached for it.

  But Ty caught my wrist and held it firmly down on the mattress above my head. “Later. I want this pussy. Now.”

  And just like he’d said in the park, his fingers tangled in the fishnet over my desperately aching sex, and he ripped them down the middle. Pushing my silky black panties off to the side, his chilled fingers swept deep inside my heated center. The sensation was intoxicating, all fire and ice. My body arched, and a visceral cry tore from my lungs.

  “Christ, you’re soaked. So hot and tight. How bad do you want me to fuck you, Virginia?”

  “Please, Ty.” Everything around me disappeared aside from his two thick fingers filling me, stroking me deep. My beating heart echoed through my mind, and every nerve in my body felt electric. I thought I’d die if he stopped. “Please fuck me. Use me. Wreck me. Pretty, pretty please.”

  Sounds of pleasure rumbled in his throat. “Mmm, such a good girl.” Grasping my thighs, he yanked me to the edge of the bed, pausing for a breathless moment. “Fuck. Condom.”

  He began to pull away, but I seized his hand, guiding it to my bare stomach where my camisole had ridden up. Goosebumps covered my skin with his still icy touch.

  “It’s ok,” I panted. “I’m on the pill. I haven’t been laid in forever, and I’m clean as a fucking whistle.”

  He froze momentarily, eyeing me carefully in the shadows. A tremor coursed through his body. “I’m clean, too. Haven’t touched anyone in over a year and have had regular physicals.”

  “Okay.” I lifted my hips, grazing his cock with my needy wetness. “Then please fuck me bare.”

  “Fuck yes.”

  One hand gripped my hip and the other still lay low on my stomach, a steadying force in this mind-numbing moment. I bit my lip hard with that first touch, then cried out as he slowly slid home, filling me exquisitely with his thickness.

  “Holy fuck, Gin.” His rough groan sounded like it came from deep in his gut. Raw and fevered.

  At first we didn’t even move aside from tremors and shivers. Clenching muscles. Shaky breaths. It was all too overpowering. His strokes started slow, as though he was savoring every fractional slide of his cock against my slick walls. His firm hands angling my hips just so, and he drove into me deeper. Then harder. Faster. Precise and fierce thrusts grazing just the right spot.

  I gasped.

  I moaned.

  I whimpered.

  As he leaned over me, I worked the buttons of his flannel shirt, dying to get my hands on his bare chest. It was as cut as I’d imagined. Simply beautiful. A fucking Greek sculpture come to life. I scraped my nails down from his shoulder over his abs, and his whole body shuddered.

  He picked up the pace and slammed into me harder, violently. Every stroke pushed me up the mattress, and he followed. Fucking me senseless until all I could do was hold on, digging my fingers beneath the backside of his jeans to claw at his perfectly muscled ass. Every forceful thrust drove me higher, pushing me toward bliss.

  I was almost there.

  But with a quick turn, he rolled us, laying back with me settled firmly on his throbbing cock. It filled me almost to the point of pain, but such a divine pain. I kissed and licked and nipped my way across his collarbones, down his pecs. A flick of my tongue and a faint bite on his nipple shot him up straight, the grip of his rough hands bruising my hips.

  His lips caught mine as he began to tug at me fiercely, roughly urging me to move faster. In seconds, blinding ecstasy showered over me in waves. His fists clenched at my hips painfully, and he let out a hoarse moan. His body went rigid. The thick warmth of his release flooded me as I collapsed against him in breathless wonder.

  I clung to him, my body still trembling from the intensity of my orgasm. Weak and shaky. Grateful for his arms which still held me tight. Our labored breathing echoed in the silence as the world slowly came back into focus.

  His voice was thick and raspy when he finally spoke. “I think I owe you some new fishnets.”

  Dazed, I could only manage a breathless giggle.

  “Although,” he murmured against my forehead, “I think I prefer them the way they are now. I love the thought of your pussy bare underneath your short little skirt. Such easy access.”

  “Might be a bit cold out for that.”

  Ty rolled us again to lay over me, and I gasped as his thickness slipped out of my tender sex.

  “I’ll keep you warm,” he whispered, touching his lips to mine. “I’ll just keep you right here, naked beneath me.”

  “Sounds delightful, but I’m not naked.”

  “Yeah, gotta do something about that.”

  So he did. He slowly stripped the clothes from my body, kissing and tasting his way over my skin, reigniting the fire that had been so all-consuming. In turn, I did the same, tasting my own essence on his fabulous cock before I worked my way up his abs and chest to share the flavor with him. He savored my lips, his kiss becoming fierce as he lay me back on the bed to bury himself inside me again. And again, until the winter sky began to faintly glow with the dawn and exhaustion overcame us.

  I didn’t sleep long. The sun was barely above the mountaintops when my eyes fluttered open. The night before seemed like a dream, one I didn’t want to wake up from.

  Beside me, Ty gave a quiet snore. I watched him sleep for a moment, remembering how delicious his scratchy scruff had felt along my inner thigh. How his thick cock pounded into me so forcefully. How he held me tightly as we drifted back to earth over and over.

  But the harsh reality of morning began to settle in. It had been a drunken fling. He felt betrayed by his brother and heartbroken over his fiancée. Classy chick that I was, I’d gotten him drunk and taken advantage of his desolation.

  I crept from the bed, gathered my clothes, and quietly tiptoed in the main room to dress. Mostly. My tights and camisole went in my coat pocket, and my panties had completely disappeared, so I gave up after a cursory search. I didn’t want to take too long and run the risk of him waking up before I could jet.

  The same desk clerk from a few hours before shot me a knowing glance as I did my walk of shame through the lobby. I flashed her a guilty smile, and she replied with a raised brow, wishing me a Merry Christmas.


  Merry fuckin’ Christmas, indeed.

  It sure as hell started out nicely. Memories of the night before played on repeat in my head. Now I just needed to get my ass home where I could relive it time and time again. It was sure to be prime vibrator fodder. Just what I needed for a nice quiet Christmas home alone.

  Little did I know, fate had something else in store for me.

  Chapter Four

  I sprinkled the last of the shredded cheese on my pan of enchiladas. The remainder of my Christmas morning had gone quickly with standard chores. Chopping wood. Shoveling snow. Tidying up my little cabin. It felt good to get all that out of the way. Now, fresh out of the tub in flannel pants and a Henley, I had a warm fire burning and a smutty book downloaded and ready to go.

  Maybe not everyone’s ideal Christmas, but I was good with it.

  What I got, though, was something else entirely.

  My mind immediately whirled with worst-case scenarios when my cell rang. One of the old guys from the bar must have broken a hip. Or had a heart attack. Or got eaten by a bear.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

  “Virginia Bennett?” The voice on the other end sounded stern, and my panic escalated straight to DEFCON one. “This is Officer Peters with the Aspen police department.”

  “Is he hurt? How badly?” I blurted out and squeezed my eyes shut, and I didn’t even know what had happened yet. My heart pounded, and time froze fucking solid. It felt like an eternity before he responded.

  “Well, um, I’ve just got the witness here. He’s fine, I suppose. I talked to your boss, but he’s apparently out of town for the holidays and was hoping you could handle the situation.”

  “Talked to my boss? What situation? What witness?” I swallowed hard and took a deep, calming breath, although my pulse still raced.

  “Someone smashed a window at Breck’s.”

  I exhaled and my body relaxed. Nobody was hurt. Thank fuck. I never thought I’d be so thankful for a broken window. “It’ll take me a little while to get there, but I’ll change clothes and leave right away.”

  All the way down the rocky mountain road to town, anxious bewilderment coursed through me. I kept reminding myself to breathe as I clutched the steering wheel with a white-knuckle grip.

  Who the hell would break into Breck’s…on Christmas Day?

  When I parked in front of the bar, I noted the shattered window just beside the entrance. Officer Peters sat in his SUV, talking to someone just out of view, so I jumped from my truck and hurried over.

  And my jaw hit the ground.

  “Ty?” I gasped, my voice a high squeak. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  The officer stepped out into the frosty air, backing me away from Ty as he climbed from the passenger side. “Miss Bennett, I presume? Let’s not get too excited here. Mr. Sievers is the witness. He chased off the perp before anything else got damaged.”

  I stared at Ty and narrowed my eyes, mentally calling bullshit. “Oh, did he?”

  Ty just innocently blinked those beautiful blue-green eyes of his.

  “Yeah,” the lawman nodded. “Apparently it was a little squirrely guy, shaggy brown hair.”

  “Hmm, how conveniently nondescript,” I muttered, glancing up to catch the officer’s frown with the realization that I should probably keep my suspicions to myself so Ty didn’t end up spending Christmas in jail. “I meant inconveniently. That’s not much to go on. Hopefully you can find him.”

  My quick catch seemed to do the trick because the officer shrugged. “Yeah, at least he didn’t do too much damage. Would you like me to help you get something to cover the window?”

  “There’s some plywood in the back room.” I shook my head, then pinched the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger before giving Ty another pointed look. “I think Mr. Sievers and I can take care of this.”

  Officer Peters looked back and forth between the two of us and scratched his head. But then he looked down at his watch, back at us, and nodded. “Well, okay. If you’re sure. Here’s my card, Miss Bennett. Mr. Sievers, you’ve got my number, too. Give me a call if you think of anything else.”

  As the officer drove away, I rounded on Ty. “You liar-liar-pants-on-fire.”

  “I didn’t know how else to find you,” he implored, raising his palms.

  “So you broke into the bar?”

  Truthfully, my heart leapt a bit at his stalkery ways, cutting right through my frustration. I was insanely thrilled at the lengths he’d gone through to contact me. That said, I wasn’t sure I wanted him to know that.

  “I tried tracking you down on social media, but I couldn’t find you. I thought your last name was Roche. When did you become Virginia Bennet?”

  “When I got married,” I snapped, momentarily enjoying his troubled frown before I continued. “Don’t worry, I’m divorced.”

  He exhaled, long and low. “Glad to hear it. I mean, I’m sorry. That sucks. I’m just glad you’re single, especially after last night.”

  I perused the broken window, then turned back to Ty, letting out a long, calming breath. “Just bring your muscles and help me get this covered up.”

  Just as I’d remembered, there was a large sheet of plywood in the back room, and Ty lifted it while I grabbed a hammer and some nails. We quickly set to work covering his handiwork. As I swept up the broken glass, I noted a small roll of twenties on the floor.

  “What the hell?” I frowned.

  “Uh, yeah, about that—” Ty began.

  I wondered how much confusion a brain could handle before it just exploded. Mine totally felt on the verge. “You broke the window and threw money through it?”

  “It’s to pay for the damage. I didn’t know what kind of insurance your boss has, and I didn’t want this to blow back on you somehow.”

  Okay, that was kinda nice. Nuts, but nice.

  “Why did you do all this?” This seemed like some warped version of A Christmas Carol, and I’d wake up to find it was all some bizarre dream.

  “Well, I knew you were going to be alone today, and I’m alone today. I thought maybe we could be alone together for Christmas.”

  The guy was borderline certifiable.

  Last night, his all I want for Christmas is you reminded me of Mariah Carey, but today it felt more like the My Chemical Romance cover since everything about this seemed batshit crazy.

  Unable to find words at first, I blinked at him. Then I just stared. Then I blinked again. My fingers splayed out over my chest as blood rushed in my ears, drowning out the world around us. Finally, after looking away for a moment to compose myself, I lifted my gaze to meet his.

  “Do you like enchiladas?”

  Chapter Five

  As we bumped our way back up the rocky road, I kept glancing over at Ty. My stomach rumbled with hunger, but churned with apprehension.

  I never in a million years thought Ty Sievers would be anywhere near my little cabin.

  I’d spruced it up a ton over the years, but, while it wasn’t a total dump anymore, it was still a bit more shabby than chic. It was small, though. Not exactly tiny-house small, but it was damn close. However, I was just one person and rarely had visitors, so its itty bitty size worked fine for me.

  But, while Ty hadn’t grown up in a fancy-schmancy mansion on Red Mountain Road, his childhood home was probably five times the size of mine.

  I suddenly felt completely out of my league. Every bounce of my truck on the rough old Forest Service road made me more nervous. It was grated from time to time in the summer for campers and hikers, but got rather sketchy in the winter. When the slushy snow began to fall in autumn, it became a veritable minefield of mud puddles, rocks, and teeth-rattling washboard.

  Lost in my thoughts of inadequacy, I hit some of that very washboard going slightly faster than I should have and skidded right into a sharp little chunk of granite on the side of the road.

  Boof!

  A deep, low explosion of air echoed through the
cab of the truck. Ty and I looked at each other, wide-eyed, and I turned off my truck.

  “Fuck,” I muttered, thumping my head on the steering wheel. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” I glanced back over at Ty, attempting to read his expression. He actually seemed to be a bit entertained, and my cheeks flushed hot. I took a few long calming breaths with my eyes closed, and then focused straight ahead.

  “Gin, you, um…you doing okay?”

  His voice was definitely laced with amusement. Beyond mortified, I couldn’t even look at him.

  “Yeah. Awesome. No worries.” I held up my hands, palms out, as though I was warding off my own impending meltdown. Another long, deep breath. “Okay, this isn’t my first rodeo. I’m totally prepared. I’ve got a spare in the back.”

  I climbed from my truck, dropped the tailgate, and hoisted myself up into the bed. The snow-covered surface felt like black ice under my boots. It took every bit of balance I possessed to gingerly shuffle my way to an especially large drift towards the cab to uncover the spare. Ty heaved himself up as well, and we brushed the snow off the tire.

  “Just so you know,” I offered in a small voice, “I’m not a bad driver.”

  No clue why I felt the need to say that, but there it was. I guess I just didn’t want him thinking I was a total failure. After all, my job didn’t exactly scream success. And we were headed to my little bitty cabin in the woods. Yeah, I owned it, but only because my dad had left it to me. God knows I could never afford to buy or rent something, even something that small and remote, with Aspen’s sky-high property values.

  But it unnerved me to think I might be coming off like a ditzy loser to the guy I’d secretly adored for half my life.

  Thankfully, Ty just smiled wide as he lifted the tire upright and began carefully wheeling it over the slippery surface to the open tailgate. “I believe it. This road is a nightmare. I’m impressed you can make it up at all.”

  “It’s not always this bad. The Forest Service just doesn’t maintain roads as well as they used to, especially ones like this where there’s hardly any houses.”