Christmas under a Cranberry Sky

by Holly Martin

  Still holding her hand, he pulled her back inside the house while Wren and Chester carried on chasing each other around in the snow.

  Gabe pulled her upstairs to the bathroom and then yanked off his jumper and T-shirt so he was topless. Her eyes cast down his perfect body, hungrily. He was toned all over, strong arms, large capable hands. He had that sexy V-shape that disappeared under his jeans, but what caught her attention were the tattoos on his chest and over his left shoulder. Four distinct deep red claw marks slashed through his skin as if he had been attacked by a big animal. It looked so real for a moment that she had to look twice before she convinced herself that it wasn’t. Instinctively she put out her hand to touch them, running her fingers over the tattooed scars across his chest.

  He caught her chin and tilted her face up to look at him. ‘They’re very old.’

  ‘Did they have some meaning to you?’

  He shook his head. ‘Just seemed like a good idea when I was young. Make me look hard and sexy for the ladies.’

  She smiled, though she knew he was lying.

  She ran her fingers down them and stopped when she reached the middle of his chest. There was a single teardrop exactly where his heart was.

  She frowned.

  ‘That’s very old too.’

  ‘Is it a tear?’

  He didn’t answer, so she looked up at him in confusion. He moved his hands round her waist and studied her face, taking her all in. He bent down to kiss her briefly. ‘It’s not a tear, it’s a pip.’

  She felt the gasp escape her mouth before he kissed her again, pulling her tight against him as if he never wanted to let her go.

  He pulled back slightly. ‘You’re soaking wet, we need to get you out of these clothes.’

  Pip giggled as she swiped him. ‘You’re such a pervert.’

  He chuckled. ‘I reckon we have about five minutes before Wren comes looking for us. Have a shower with me.’

  She arched an eyebrow at him. So much for going slow.

  He laughed. ‘Believe me, honey, when we make love for the first time in twelve years, I’m going to do a lot better than a quick five-minute shag in the shower. Look, we can even keep our underwear on so no bits accidentally end up in wrong places.’

  She burst out laughing. ‘You have such a way with words, no wonder the women are all queuing up to be with you.’

  He stepped back into the bathroom and undressed until he was wearing only his tight black boxers. Then he stepped into the shower, switched it on and turned round to face her as the water sprayed over his body. He smirked, challenging her to join him.

  She stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She slid her pyjama bottoms down, but thankfully her pyjama top was long enough to cover everything. Then she stepped into the shower with him, soaking herself to the skin in seconds.

  ‘I’m not wearing any underwear, so this will have to suffice.’

  His eyes darkened as he pulled her against him. ‘There’s nothing under this shirt?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘So if this shirt accidentally came off, you’d be stark naked.’

  She smiled. She loved the way he was with her, tender, kind and protective; she loved the banter they had, the funny comments he would make and the chemistry that continually sizzled between them. She knew she was falling in love with him again and she wasn’t scared any more.

  ‘I don’t think my shirt is going to accidentally fall off. That doesn’t normally happen. I don’t walk down the street and suddenly find my shirt has come off.’

  ‘No, admittedly that would be a bit of a problem. But maybe the water might make these buttons slippery and one might pop out of its hole, accidentally of course.’

  She watched as he ran his fingers up the front opening and with very little effort the top button came undone in his hands.

  ‘Wow, that’s never happened before.’

  He moved his fingers to the next button, and slid that one from its hole too.

  ‘Maybe the shirt is faulty, if these buttons keep coming undone like this,’ he said.

  ‘It’s possible. Check the next one, see if that button is faulty too.’

  He smirked and kissed her as she felt each button pop out of its hole. He ran his hands back up to her neck and slowly slid the shirt off her shoulders until she felt it splat against the floor. His kisses were sweet and soft, but he didn’t take his hands from her face.

  Gabe stepped back slightly to look at her and she could see nothing but desire and hunger in his eyes. His mouth came down on hers again, hard, his kisses suddenly urgent and needful as his hands caressed her body.

  He felt so good, his touch driving her wild.

  He pulled back slightly, his breathing erratic as he looked at her. ‘I need to be with you, Pip. Let me make love to you. Not now, we haven’t got time now, but soon.’

  Nerves slammed through her. How many women had he been with since they’d last been together? What if she wasn’t any good?

  ‘Gabe, it’s been a while for me. It might be a bit rubbish for you.’

  ‘I want you so much, it’s not possible for it to be rubbish for me.’

  ‘Well you know, you might have to show me where everything goes.’

  He laughed as he looked down affectionately at her. ‘It can’t have been that long. You’re so beautiful, Pip, I’m sure you’ve had your pick of the men over the years.’

  ‘None of them were you.’

  He stared at her for the longest moment. ‘When was the last time you slept with anyone?’

  She swallowed. ‘It was you, twelve years ago.’

  His eyes softened. ‘Christ, Pip. You’ve never been with anyone else? When you said you’d never had a boyfriend I thought you meant you’d never been with anyone serious. I didn’t realise you meant you’d never slept with anyone.’

  ‘I couldn’t. I didn’t trust anyone enough to make love to them. I was too scared to get involved with anyone in case I was rejected again.’

  ‘Do you trust me? I know it’s been twelve years, but do you trust me enough to know that I would never hurt you?’

  She nodded. She did.

  ‘Let me make love to you tonight.’

  She pushed aside her nerves. ‘OK.’

  He kissed her softly before they heard a door slamming downstairs. ‘Daddy, are we going for breakfast, my tummy is rumbling.’

  Gabe stepped back, smiling. ‘And I promise, tonight, there will be no interruptions.’

  He grabbed a towel, quickly patted himself down and then wrapped it round his waist, clearly to hide the significant bulge in his pants.

  He walked out, leaving Pip in the shower, filled with a need that was not going to be quelled for several hours. She ran a shaky hand through her hair. How was she going to concentrate on doing any work today when she knew what the evening had in store?

  Chapter 15

  ‘Are you sure you don’t mind looking after Wren for a little while?’ Gabe asked as they stepped outside after breakfast.

  ‘Of course not. I love spending time with her,’ Pip said, as she watched Wren try to repair bits of Buzzpip that had fallen off. She was looking forward to spending some time with Wren and getting to know her a little better. If things were going to work out with her and Gabe then Wren would have to get used to having Pip around and she wanted to make sure Wren was OK with that.

  ‘And it’s only for an hour. Joy and Finn should be back from the doctor’s in Unst by then and they’re going to have her until after lunch, then Boris is coming to collect her and Rebecca this afternoon for Chester’s birthday party and sleepover,’ Gabe reassured.

  ‘I don’t mind, honestly,’ Pip said.

  ‘I feel bad, you’re here on holiday and I have you feeding the reindeer, decorating the houses and now babysitting my daughter.’

  ‘And I volunteered to do all those things. I wouldn’t be offering to do them if I didn’t want to. I want to help you, I want this place
to be a success for you and for the people in the town and if I can help with that I will.’

  ‘I know you must think I’m a terrible dad. Shifting her from person to person. I had a nanny for her, so at least she had some stability and would be with the same person every day. It worked fine. I’d get up in the morning, have breakfast with Wren and I’d always make sure I was back to have dinner with her, bath her and put her to bed in the evenings. Wren adored her and then last week the nanny just quit. I was going to get another one, but Wren starts school in January and, after the official opening of Stardust Lake Hotel, it will hopefully get easier and less busy.’

  ‘I don’t think you’re a terrible dad at all. You’re raising her on your own and trying to co-ordinate the opening of a brand new hotel – of course it’s going to be stressful.’

  He stepped closer and kissed her on the forehead. ‘I’m not looking for a new mum for her, or a new nanny, that’s not why I want to be with you.’

  She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. ‘I know. That thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. Stop worrying. We’ll go and feed the reindeer and then make our way down to the village. Go and help with the repairs, I’ll see you down there shortly.’

  Gabe bent his head to kiss her, just as Wren careened into them both, wrapping her tiny arms round both their legs and hugging them both.

  ‘If you get married, can I have a baby brother? Rebecca is having a brother and I think I’d like one of those too.’

  Gabe smirked and bent down and scooped Wren up. ‘Will you look after Pip for me this morning? Show her how to feed the reindeer?’

  Wren nodded.

  ‘And after you’ve seen the reindeer, Pip will take you to play with Rebecca for a bit.’

  ‘OK, Daddy.’

  Gabe peppered her face with hundreds of kisses, resulting in Wren giggling loudly before he plonked her down on the ground.

  ‘Now kiss Pip like that.’

  Gabe smirked and gave Pip a brief kiss on the cheek, whispering in her ear, ‘I intend to kiss you all over tonight.’

  Pip blushed and with a little wave he walked off down the track towards the village.

  Wren took Pip’s hand.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll look after you,’ Wren said, seriously.

  ‘Thank you, I was worried about being on my own but now I don’t need to be. Shall we go and see the reindeer?’

  ‘Yes, and after, Daddy said we can go and see the ice palace,’ Wren said, following Pip down the track towards where the reindeer were kept.

  Pip laughed. ‘He did not. Daddy did not say that because he wants to take you to see it himself on Christmas Eve.’

  ‘But that’s ages away.’

  ‘It isn’t that long; it’s only five days until Christmas, so four days until Christmas Eve. I’m sure you can wait four days.’

  ‘I’ll try.’

  Pip smiled as they pushed open the gate to walk into the reindeer enclosure. The reindeer clearly knew they were about to get fed as they all ambled over towards them. Wren handed over baby carrots that Uri, the chef, had given her. She wasn’t fazed at all when some of them started nudging her to get a second one. In fact she even started to tell them off, though that didn’t stop them. When the bag was empty, apart from the one Wren shoved in her pocket for Rudolph, the reindeer left her alone and went back to nibbling on the hay.

  Wren joined Pip and they went into the barn.

  ‘They need four buckets of food,’ Wren said knowledgeably, although Pip already remembered the instructions from the day before.

  ‘That’s right, will you help me to fill the buckets up?’

  Wren nodded and they worked together to fill up two buckets of food.

  ‘Are you going to be my step-mummy?’ Wren asked, suddenly plucking the question from the air.

  ‘I don’t know, honey. Remember what I said on the first night I met you, that the person your daddy marries has to be perfect in every way. It may take a while for your daddy to know whether I’m perfect for him or not.’

  ‘I think you’re perfect,’ Wren said, trying and failing to lift one of the buckets. Pip tipped a tiny bit out into another bucket so Wren could carry that one.

  ‘Thank you. So if I was your step-mum, you wouldn’t mind?’

  It was a bit optimistic to think that far ahead, but she knew she was falling in love with him all over again and, with the way he looked at her, she wondered if he was starting to feel the same.

  ‘Daddy needs someone to look after him,’ Wren said, lifting the mostly empty bucket. ‘And so do you.’

  Pip smiled at the wisdom of someone ten times Wren’s age as she walked out of the barn. They poured the food into the troughs and went back to get some more. Once they had finished giving food to the girls, Pip poured half a bucket for Rudolph.

  The man himself was watching them and the other reindeer astutely, obviously wondering when it was going to be his turn for food.

  Pip opened the adjoining gate and Wren was following her through, when suddenly Rudolph charged towards them. Pip dropped the bucket and scooped Wren up out of the way, stumbling backwards and landing in a pile of hay with Wren on her chest. Rudolph thundered past, not even giving the food a second glance.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Pip quickly turned her attention to Wren.

  Wren nodded. ‘I think Rudolph wants the other reindeer’s food.’

  Pip glanced over at Rudolph and swore softly.

  Rudolph had mounted Blitzen and was pounding away at her as if he was in a race. Blitzen didn’t even look up from the food. Clearly not impressed by her lack of reaction, Rudolph dismounted her and mounted Dasher instead. Dasher let out a bellow, obviously not expecting to be snuck up on from behind, but Rudolph didn’t let go, his little furry bum going up and down like a pneumatic drill.

  Pip quickly stood up.

  ‘What are they doing?’ Wren asked.

  ‘Rudolph is just really pleased to be with the girls again,’ Pip explained, lamely. ‘Let’s get him back in his own pen, shall we?’

  Pip raced over, but Rudolph wasn’t wearing a harness like the girls were so there was nothing to grab to try to stop him. She clapped her hands, she shouted at him, but he was undeterred, his eyes taking on a glaze as he focussed on the job in hand. Dasher had resumed eating again, obviously as equally unimpressed with his sexual prowess as Blitzen had been. And no wonder: a second or two later his body rippled to show he was clearly finished and he grunted and then dismounted.

  ‘Brilliant,’ said a voice from behind her, dryly. She turned round to see Luke walking towards the fence. ‘We’ve managed to keep Rudolph away from the girls for the last three weeks. You look after them for five minutes and he’s probably got at least one of them pregnant if not two.’

  ‘Pregnant?’ Wren said, her eyes wide. ‘They’re going to have reindeer babies. Daddy will be so excited.’

  ‘I hardly think so,’ Luke muttered.

  ‘I didn’t think he would charge at me,’ Pip said defensively, as she rubbed her hip where she had landed hard on the ground.

  Luke came through the gate, towering over her like an angry bear. ‘Are you hurt?’

  ‘No, I’m fine.’ Though that wasn’t to say her pride wasn’t hurt.

  To her great surprise, Luke unbuckled his belt and dragged it off his jeans. In the next moment he looped it round Rudolph’s neck and with some gentle words of encouragement walked him back into his pen.

  ‘Can you get some more food for him?’ Luke said. ‘The boy is going to be hungry after all that.’

  Pip scowled at Luke for taking over and because it looked as though she couldn’t even feed the reindeer without needing help. Though she had to admit that she’d never have managed to get Rudolph back in his enclosure by herself.

  She quickly grabbed the bucket and went back into the barn and filled it up about halfway, then returned and poured it into Rudolph’s trough. Luke was busy stroking Rudolph and whispering soft endearments
to him and the stag stood there, listening to him patiently. She walked back out of the gate, returning all the buckets to the barn. When she came out Rudolph was already munching away on his food and Luke was closing the adjoining gate firmly behind him.

  He scowled at her and she scowled straight back. ‘I thought you were down in the village helping Gabe with the houses. Or did you come down here to check on me?’

  ‘I would have been but Blaze escaped again and I had to find him. Looks like today is the day for escapees. Good job I was here really.’

  ‘Yes, I’m beyond grateful,’ Pip said sarcastically, and his eyes narrowed as his scowl deepened.

  He strode out of the enclosure, grabbing Wren’s hands and swinging her onto his back in one swift movement. Wren laughed.

  Pip reluctantly followed him, making sure she closed the gate firmly behind her.

  ‘If you’re going to the village, I can give you a lift,’ Luke said, climbing back on his snowmobile and transferring Wren in front of him by dragging her over his shoulder so she was upside down. Giggling helplessly, Wren righted herself and sat astride the snowmobile too.

  ‘I’d rather walk, thanks.’

  ‘Don’t be stubborn. If you really want to help Gabe, then saving yourself the half-hour walk and using that time down in the village would be the best thing right now.’

  Pip conceded this. She reluctantly climbed on behind Luke. He passed a giggling Wren over his shoulder and Pip sat Wren in front of her, wrapping her hands round her tiny stomach. However, Luke grabbed her hands and wrapped them round his stomach, which made more sense as Wren was now trapped between them.

  ‘Hold on, I’ll go slow.’

  Luke fired the engine and took off and she was grateful that he kept to his word. Though they reached the village in five minutes she knew he could have gone a lot faster.

  He pulled over by the six houses. ‘I’ll take Wren to Joy and Finn’s. You can go and see Gabe and find out what needs to be done.’

  She didn’t want to argue with him, but she didn’t like the way he was taking over and bossing her around. Knowing when to pick her battles, she slid off and as she walked away he roared off in the direction of the village.