by J. K Harper
She shoved the thought away as she brought the thermos to her lips in a cautious sip. Whoa, that was good. "What did you put in there?" She took a few more gulps before handing it off to Haley.
"Marshmallow vodka.” Beckett sounded nonchalant about it.
Pix almost choked on her next sip. Not that it wasn't good, it was delicious. But she gave Beckett the hairy eyeball. “A big strapping guy like you puts something weenie like marshmallow vodka in his hot cocoa?”
“Hey, now.” He nudged her with his arm. “It's for you girls. You in particular. It's about twenty-two degrees out here and only supposed to get colder." Dropping his voice, he moved his mouth close to her ear. "I wanted it tasty enough you'd drink it up, and zinged up enough it would warm you up. Figured I should start warming you up now."
Pix's entire body definitely flushed with heat. Inside, outside, all around, heat enveloped her. Her dragon made little noises inside her. Noises of approval. Oh, it was going to be good, this night with Beckett. She knew it, Beckett knew it. She had a feeling Haley and Cortez knew it, too. Then again, she thought as she cast her happy, totally-absorbed-in-Cortez friend a sidelong look, she also suspected they didn't much care. She’d bet they had similar plans for the evening.
“It's working,” she murmured to Beckett. His leg pressed against hers.
Suddenly there was a commotion up front by the tree. A ripple of new excitement rumbled through the crowd. A high-pitched whine came from the speakers, immediately followed by answering cries of pain from the audience as people clapped their hands over their ears. An amplified voice boomed out, "Sorry about that. Okay, everyone, we're about ready for that star to get up on that tree. You ready up there, Clara?"
In response, the woman on the ladder leaned toward the tree, pulled the object she'd drawn out of her messenger bag, and securely nestled it onto the very top of the huge spruce. Exclamations from the crowd, including a, "Yeah, that's my girl!" accompanied her actions.
Beckett murmured to Pix, “That's Clara. She's the postmistress as well as the mayor. Some kind of bird shifter. So heights don't bother her.”
Pix sighed happily as Haley passed back the spiked hot cocoa and Beckett leaned into her from the other side. This all was small town charm at its best. Things like this never happened back in Boston. Glancing at the huge mountain man to her left, a guy she'd just met yet already felt like she knew better than some people she'd known for years, she let the feeling of familiarity and belonging suffuse her in a relaxed glow. It felt pretty darned awesome.
The voice on the loudspeaker crackled out again. "And a one. And a two. And a three… Light 'er up!"
Abruptly, thousands of sparkling white lights lit up the huge spruce, showcasing its beautiful glory. An admiring gasp swept over the crowd, erupting into cheers as Clara the bird shifter pumped her fist in the air at the lit tree, then agilely climbed back down the ladder.
"This year's tree is a beaut, folks,” whoever had the mic told the crowd. Pix couldn't quite find the source. “We have Beckett North and Cortez Walker to thank for bringing it down from the mountain for us all to enjoy. Beckett, Cortez, where are you two lumbering oafs?"
Another giggle rippled through the crowd. An older woman with a pretty smile standing on the other side of Beckett, her arm tightly threaded through the arm of the handsome gentleman beside her, helpfully called out, "Here! They're right here." She pointed to Beckett and Cortez.
Hundreds of eyes turned their way as people craned their necks looking. The announcer cheerfully said, "There you boys are. And you each have a girl on your arm who's prettier than any of the decorations we have on this tree. How about you, the young lady right next to Beckett? Would you care to come up and do the honors of starting the present scramble this year?"
Pix realized everyone was suddenly looking at her, smiling huge and urging her on. “Uh, what?”
Haley laughed next to her, gently shoving her forward. Beckett smiled down at her and said, "All you have to do is get up there and say ready, set, go, and all the kids are gonna come racing up for those presents. They pull a random person from the crowd every year to do it."
"Oh, cool. Sure, I can do that." Pix grinned. She loved little kids. The evening was getting better and better. She pushed her way up to the front of the crowd, everyone there smiling and laughing and enjoying the event just as much as she was. When Pix made it up to the front, a guy standing at the bottom of the ladder gestured for her to step up the little wooden stairs onto a small platform to the side of the tree. Atop a little box up there was a folded piece of silvery-white cloth with a shimmer of blue stars on it.
"That's the present-running flag," the guy explained. "Just go on up there and hold it in your hand above your head. Then just shout out ready set go and drop your hand down with the flag in it. Like starting a car race. But instead of cars, there’ll be a zillion kids running like mad to grab the presents under the tree."
Pix laughed, completely thrilled with the whole thing. Eagerly, she ran up the stairs, grabbed the flag, and turned around to face the crowd. Tons of breathless little kids' faces looked up at her from where they'd gathered close to the tree. Half of them looked shaggy and wild, like the bear shifters they probably were. Uncontained and unrestrained, just allowed to be little kids having goofy fun in a way she’d never been allowed to as a child growing up in her dragon culture.
Darn it, she was loving this little town more and more.
Briefly glancing out over the crowd, her gaze unerringly shot straight to Beckett. The look on his face was so relaxed, so happy, and so bizarrely proud as he looked right back at her that her chest squeezed for a minute. This all felt like she was caught up in some sort of awesome winter fairytale. A sexy, really interesting guy looking at her like she hung the moon, a cute little town that had just cheerfully invited her, a complete stranger, to participate in one of their beloved traditions, and just the whole sense of community and belonging as the lights on the giant midwinter tree brightly sparkled beside her, made her eyes almost prickle for second. Well, that was crazy.
Before she could do anything ridiculous like shed a tear, she grabbed the flag and waved it in her hand above her head. Before the kids could even gasp with excitement, she hollered as loudly as she could, "Ready, set, go!"
On the word go she dropped her flag hand back down to her side, letting the long cloth flutter and whip through the crisp night air. Screaming with joy, the wave of children launched toward the tree, grabbing at the hundreds of little presents that were scattered around down there. Several adults were interspersed among the kids, watching to make sure that each kid only grabbed one present as they'd been instructed to do.
A little boy with the fattest, reddest cheeks Pix had ever seen, a shock of black hair pushing out from beneath his bright blue fleece hat, plunked himself down practically right under the little platform she stood on, starting to unwrap his present before his butt even hit the ground. Pix watched him, entranced by the fun of seeing an eager child open a gift. As he hastily unwrapped the packaging and ripped open the box, scrabbling through the tissue paper in it, Pix took a deep inhale of the pine scent in the cold night air, the snow coming off the mountain, the hundreds of happy, chattering people gathered together. Everything all mixed together smelled so good it squeezed at her chest again. She closed her eyes for a second, just breathing it all in and feeling something that felt like...home.
Then the little boy shouted, "A Beckett Bear! Wow!" making Pix snap her eyes open again to look down at him.
She watched as the little boy's eyes lit up and turned big as saucers. Almost reverently, he pulled a fairly large wooden figurine out of the box. Pix echoed after the boy, "Oh, those are really cool." It was a beautifully carved black bear, sitting on its big butt with its paws wrapped around a bucket of overflowing honey, a dopey smile on its face. The detail was incredible from what she could see in the light of the midwinter tree. The boy then pulled out two other carved bears, one cli
mbing a tree and the other plopped in the midst of berry-covered bush, happily stuffing its face with little carved red berries. He gasped. “Three Beckett Bears! Whoa!” Clutching the carved wooden animals to him like they were the world’s greatest treasures, he swiveled his head around. "Mom! Where are you? Come see what I got!"
From directly behind Pix, a deep voice rumbled almost into her ear, making her jump. "You got a nice view from up there? Pretty nice view from behind, too. Your ass is sexy in those tight little jeans."
Feeling heat flush through her from head to toe, Pix spun around to see Beckett standing right there. "Why, thank you," she said, batting her lashes at him. She reached for the hand he extended to help her down, not like she needed it. But she definitely enjoyed feeling little tingles thrum through her at his touch. Feeling another surge of wildly overheated hormones at his gaze and the lazy grin playing on his lips, she curved her lips up. "Ah, thank you. And yes, the view from up there was great. So much fun. This whole little town, it's so—it's so homey. So cute. And fun."
“It’s not too bad here.” One of those smiles crinkled up his face again.
Another voice from behind them suddenly said, “Beckett! Orson, hon, Mr. Beckett is right there. Go say thank you.”
Pix and Beckett turned around. A woman, her black hair and a flash of something wild in her eyes telling Pix she was a bear shifter, gently nudged the boy with the wooden carvings in Beckett's direction. As the boy saw who stood there, his eyes lit up even more.
“I got your Beckett Bears, Mr. Beckett!” he said in a whisper-shout of joy. “I've wanted them for forever! Thank you for bringing them as midwinter gifts,” he added a little more shyly, suddenly realizing Pix stood there as well. His little face looked down to the prizes he tightly clutched in his arms as bashfulness apparently seized him.
To Pix's surprise, Beckett stepped forward, then knelt down beside the boy. The boy’s black hair escaped the cute winter beanie he wore as he looked up at the huge bear shifter. Beckett had to outweigh the kid by a couple hundred pounds, but his entire body expressed such careful gentleness that Pix caught her breath. He was a big guy with what seemed to be a dangerous inner bear, but clearly he was a really nice guy, too. And—what on earth was a Beckett Bear, anyway?
Reaching out to gently touch the carved wooden toys the little boy held, Beckett said very softly, “You enjoy these, Orson. I’m glad they went to you.” Leaning closer and whispering, though the general crowd around them was so active and noisy no non-local human could have heard him, he added, “Every little black bear boy should have some black bear toys to remind him of how cool his inner animal is.”
Winking at the kid, who now gazed up at Beckett with a worshipful expression, Beckett stood, nodded at the exuberantly pleased mother, and turned back to Pix. He took her hand to lead her away through the crowd. As they walked, she asked, “Beckett Bears, huh? You carved those? They’re amazing.”
Pix knew her expression had to be mimicking the worship the little boy’d had on his face when Beckett abruptly looked—bashful. Bashful Beckett? Huh. She wouldn’t have guessed that.
After another moment as they pushed through the milling crowd of happily shrieking kids and laughing, chattering adults, Beckett gave a half shrug. “Yeah. I’ve been carving things since I was a kid. It’s how I make my main living now. They sell in stores here in town, and other places too.”
“Other places?”
He nodded. “Yeah, stores in other towns. Telluride, Durango, Park City, Aspen, Denver, Santa Fe—”
“Whoa, hold on there a minute.” Pix tugged him to a stop and turned to face him. She held up her hand, pressing it against his chest. Mm, big, strong chest. “Those are some fancy towns you just named.” She suddenly narrowed her eyes at him. “How much do those sell for?”
“Uh.” He looked at the ground, then at the sky above. Hmm. Bashful Beckett again. Fascinating.
Pix folded her arms and gave him what she internally called her dragon stare, which basically meant a stern look. “You’d better tell me right now, backwoods mountain ski man.”
Beckett looked back at her, his bear faintly glowing in his eyes. “Oh, I’d better, huh?” But his tone had become light. Bantering with her again. She liked bantering with him.
She nodded, letting one corner of her mouth curve up.
He shrugged again, not taking his gaze from her. “Every single piece is unique. I hand-carve them all, and they each take time. A lot of time. Each one is different. They got really popular, and people started to collect them. Then some high-end stores started to hit me up to carry them after someone began posting them on whatever social media site a couple years back. The demand was crazy, there was no way I could make enough. I’m back-ordered for about three years right now.”
Pix felt her jaw drop. “Three years!”
He nodded slowly, then gently reached out his hand to tuck some of her hair off her cheek. She felt a deep, thrilling tingle skitter up and down her body, though she made herself stay still. “I sell each one for about three grand.”
Now she thought her jaw might break as it fell open even more. “Three thousand dollars each!”
He grunted softly, shaking his head. “Yeah, and then the stores sell them for even more.”
She stared hard at this bear, this huge man with a darkness inside that tore him up, and thought about how gentle he’d been with the little boy who’d gotten his Beckett Bears. “And you just gave them away here, three of them, so some little kid could have them, and love them like crazy, and probably keep them for the rest of his life. You’re a good man, Beckett North,” she whispered.
Without even thinking, she leaned up on her tiptoes to drift a kiss on his check, just barely grazing the side of his mouth. When she pulled back, Beckett’s eyes devoured her with an intense softness that had her dragon fluttering with a whirl of excitement inside her.
His voice low and tempting and only for her to hear, he said, “Come on, Pix Camden. Let’s get out of here.”
7
Beckett wrapped a big arm around Pix’s waist, pulling her close to him as he navigated their way back through the people everywhere towards the outer edge of the crowd, kids still giggling and exclaiming with joy as they opened their presents. She caught another smile on his face as he watched the scene. “Even though you keep to yourself, you do like it here, don’t you?”
He squeezed her waist. "Shh, don’t go telling everyone my secret. But yeah, it's a cool little town. I like it."
“Then why do you live in your man-cave cabin in the woods instead of down here in town?"
She felt Beckett's assenting "Hmm" rumble through her as he guided them out of the crowd and towards the quaint Main Street. Even though they were free of the crush of people now, he kept her pulled in close to his side. She really liked that. "Just because I prefer to live like a hermit doesn't mean I don't like this town. There are a lot of good folk living here.” He shrugged, the movement of his shoulder scraping along her body and sending a tingle through it. “But I like my space. Bears like the room to roam. Mine in particular."
Although they were out on the street now, only a few people trickling past them as they made their way back out to where Beckett had parked his truck, Pix reflexively glanced around her. "You said that out loud so casually," she murmured. "Everyone who lives here knows about the shifters, but what about all the tourists?"
They strolled past the cluster of little stores here on the main drag, the streetlamps casting a cozy light. “It's not like we shout about it around them. We’re usually careful. But if people don't believe in something, they won't hear it, even if it's being spoken about right front of them."
That was a good point. Big cities all across the country had dragon shifters living in them, but no human not deeply involved in their world would ever believe they were real. Not even if they could see them fly, which thankfully they couldn’t. Pix listened to the snow crunching beneath her feet, feeling warm de
spite the cold snap of the still air on her face. "So," she abruptly switched the conversation. "Is this the part where we’re about to do what we've been flirting about all day?"
Beckett turned his head to look down at her. Moonlight glinted off his teeth as he flashed her that grin. The one that changed his features from craggy and cold to breathtakingly hot and inviting. The one she could feel shiver its way through her entire body. "Huh. What exactly is it that we've been flirting about all day?" A knowing caress smoothed itself through his words even as his arm tightened around her.
Pix was usually really confident around guys, but Beckett already had a way of making her thoughts tangle and her tongue stutter. Almost breathlessly, she answered, "You know. The part where we act like adults and do very adult-like things with one another?"
They had reached Beckett's truck, a huge but unassuming work vehicle with dings and scratches visible even in the dim light. Beckett led her to the passenger side of it that was illuminated by the nearby street lamp, and leaned her up against the cab. Pix's breath momentarily halted in her throat as he placed his arms on either side of her, bracing himself against the truck with his hands. He splayed his feet out so that she was comfortably enclosed in his massive embrace, although he wasn't touching her. Yet. Lightning bolts seemed to spark through her entire body, rising to a combustible pitch. She felt her dragon rumble inside her.
In a low voice, the serious look back on his face, he said, "Oh, hell yeah, you sexy badass woman. Maybe I'll start right here," he gently curved his hand to the back of her neck, his fingers threading up through her hair under her fleece hat, exploding the tingles in her body into about hundred more tingles, "with a kiss."
Pix felt boneless with the fire sizzling through her. Beckett brought his lips down onto hers, feather gentle at first. Questing, exploring, tasting. She murmured a pleased sound into his mouth as his tongue traced her lips, then pushed inside her mouth.