One who made her feel open and soft, which was an indication that sleeping with Perry was a huge mistake.
She didn’t do vulnerable.
“I’m sorry I’m stranded. I hope you’re not going to too much trouble for me.”
“Nah. It’ll be fun. Some of my fondest memories as a kid are getting snowed in here with quirky guests and my mom and grandparents and Perry. As teenagers, we got stuck here on New Year’s Eve once. You’d have thought the world was ending, I was so devastated. I didn’t get to kiss my secret girlfriend at midnight. Perry made me spiked hot chocolate and watched chick flicks with me.” She laughed. “God, he was such a sweet kid.”
Imagining Perry and Valerie as teenagers running around this place—it couldn’t have been further from her childhood. Raised by an overworked and underpaid grandma. Parents out of the picture. A home full of hardships.
But love too. Her grandma had filled Sasha’s life with so much love, and she missed her every day, especially this time of year.
“Perry seems like a sweet adult as well. He gave me wine and chocolate cake.” And the best kisses she’d had in ages. And a pretty rocking orgasm.
“Yeah. He’s the romantic in the family,” Valerie said with a mischievous smile.
Uh-oh. That was not what Sasha wanted to hear.
A slightly awkward silence followed at that. Sasha cleared her throat and stared at the floor.
“Well, I’ll let you get to sleep.” Valerie snapped back into her role as host. “My chef won’t be able to come in with the weather so bad, so breakfast is all on me tomorrow. I’ll serve at nine, but if you’re early or late, no problem. We’ll get you fixed up, I promise. Any food allergies or sensitivities?”
Sasha shook her head.
“Okay. Goodnight, Sasha. If you need anything, my number is on the pad of paper on your bedside table. And Perry is next door. He can help you too.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”
“Of course.” Valerie gave her another one of those quick hugs, and like the first time, it choked Sasha up with emotion.
Once she was alone, she changed into a pair of velour sweats and a T-shirt, then fell back onto her bed. There was a small water spot on the ceiling, and it filled her with relief. She wasn’t sure she could handle this cozy-ass place if there weren’t some underlying imperfections to cut the flawlessness.
Christmas lights wrapped around the posts of the bed and flickered through the filmy canopy curtains. She was too exhausted and satisfied to get up and turn the twinkle lights off.
She should go retrieve her Double Trouble from the bathroom counter, but she didn’t want to run into Perry. Plus, if she left it there, it would give him something to think about. She liked that idea a lot.
Thinking about Perry made her simultaneously nervous and excited. Mid-orgasm Perry was her new favorite Perry. He’d been delightfully tousled, his hair a mess of sweat-damp curls and his clothes all askew.
She suddenly wished that they’d done something that was a little more naked, more horizontal. She wanted to see his whole, long body on display.
Wanted that exposed feeling of being naked together, of skin on bare skin.
Talk about a red flag.
At least Valerie had presented an easy escape, a way to disengage. If Valerie hadn’t knocked, Sasha would probably have taken an extra second to stare, then an extra second to kiss him.
Perry’s enticing sweetness was a disaster waiting to happen, so thank God they were on the same, no-strings page.
With that last thought in her head, she snuggled down into the softest, most comfortable bed ever. Then she fell asleep.
Sasha woke up to a blaring, God-awful noise coming from her cell phone.
She groggily stared at her screen. It was a weather alert.
An extended Blizzard Warning.
She tossed the phone toward her bedside table, but there was no bedside table there. Her phone hit a wall. She sat up straight in bed.
Where the fuck was she?
“Oh, no.”
Falling back onto the bed, she buried her head under a pillow. The Winterberry Inn.
That was why her room smelled like cinnamon and spruce trees. As the sound of the shower in the connected en suite shut off, warmth hit her cheeks and spread heat down her body. Perry must be in there.
Naked.
Seeing a naked Perry wouldn’t be a bad way to start the morning. But the bed was so comfortable, so snug.
Instead of propositioning Perry again, she grabbed her phone from the floor, slid deeper under the plaid flannel covers, and texted her brother, Benji.
Sasha: I need advice.
Benji: Oh, girl talk?
Sasha rolled her eyes. Benji texted her again before she could respond.
Benji: I recommend the Rimmy. Whoever your partner is will love it.
She laughed. The Rimmy was a Lady Robin’s butt plug. It had beads that moved around the neck, which was supposed to mimic the feel of being rimmed. Her brother was a menace.
Sasha: I’m stuck in a Hallmark movie. There’s a Christmas tree in my room, and I bet I get bullied into singing carols by the end of the day. What the hell should I do?
She fully expected Benji, her cynical little brother, to tell her to slick on black nail polish and embrace her hatred of the season. Her siblings knew how much Christmas got to her. They’d been there during the fallout of her broken engagement, had helped pick her up when she was sure she’d never get out of bed, and had trashed thousands of dollars of Christmas wedding decorations for her so she’d never have to see them again.
Benji: Fa la la la la, bitch.
Well, he was a dead end.
Sasha: I should have asked the divorcée.
Benji: Only if you wanted to listen to Rosie fuss over you.
Sasha groaned. A meddling, worried sister was the last thing she needed.
Sasha: You suck.
Benji: Like a pro.
She wrinkled her nose.
Sasha: That’s enough of that. Are you at your apartment? Do you have all the bread and milk you’ll need?
As Sasha checked up on her brother—he had two older sisters who loved to fuss over him—ensuring he wasn’t going to starve during the snow-pocalypse, thin light started to filter through her window. She crawled out of bed and peeked outside. It was a solid white hellscape.
Another day in holiday paradise.
Once the shower shut off and she heard Perry’s door to the bathroom close, she snuck into the en suite. Her Double Trouble was still on the counter, which filled her with ridiculous giddiness.
She grabbed the toy and brought it into the shower with her. It was waterproof after all. As the water rushed over her head, she let her mind wander and rubbed the vibrator over her clit. Images flashed through her mind, some fragmented and disjointed. She conjured up the lips, the eyes, the smile of a woman she’d slept with last month.
She pushed the Double Trouble inside her pussy, upping the vibration.
Good, so good.
A different smile hit her unexpectedly. Perry’s.
The huskiness of his voice. The uninhibited ring of his laugh. His open, expressive face.
Oh fuck.
Heat ripped through her as more images of him burst through her brain.
The corded muscles in his neck standing in stark relief. The bones of his hand as it worked the Fancy Fleshstroker. His eyes rolling back. His fingertips slipping through the slickness of her arousal.
She had to bite her wrist to muffle her cries as she came.
Once the ripples of pleasure began to ebb, she slumped against the wall of the shower in shock. She was officially giving the Double Trouble her stamp of approval.
But where Perry Winters was concerned, she was so fucked.
She finished showering, using shampoo and soap that smelled like peppermint, because of course even the toiletries in this place were Christmas-themed. Out of
the clothes Valerie had lent her, she chose a pair of loose sweatpants and a sweatshirt that said Matriarchy Knows Best.
When she finally made it downstairs, Valerie and Perry were in the kitchen cooking cherry-stuffed French toast together. From the doorway of the kitchen, Sasha watched as Valerie hip-bumped Perry out of the way. They laughed and teased each other, until Valerie started singing a Christmas carol.
Hell no. Sasha was out. She wasn’t sure she could deal with either Valerie’s Christmas cheer or Perry’s morning sexiness.
She turned and ran smack-dab into Louise, who was fresh faced and had snow in her hair.
“Oh!” Sasha said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”
“It’s okay. I just braved the trek from the carriage house. I’ve never seen snow this bad. It’s up to my knees out there. I’m all wind-whipped.”
“I’m guessing it’s too bad to drive, then,” Sasha said glumly. She’d been hoping she could make it home today, but their snowed-in status was only worsening.
“Definitely, even if our cars could make it up the driveway. The newscasters this morning were saying the interstate is shut down between here and the city because they can’t get crews out there to rescue people who get stranded.”
“Good morning, ladies,” Valerie called from the kitchen, evidently spotting them. “Oh, Louise, you’re a snow angel!”
Louise blushed prettily and glanced down with a grin.
That was interesting.
“Good morning,” Sasha said. “How’d you guys sleep?”
Perry shot her a tiny, ironic smile. “Like a baby.”
“Great.” Sasha glanced at Valerie. “And you?”
“Awesome. That early Christmas present I bought myself was a great investment.”
Sasha snorted, easily catching Valerie’s meaning. Perry wasn’t so quick.
“What’d you buy yourself?” He was concentrating on stirring some kind of cream and cherry mixture.
“A vibrator.”
Perry’s head snapped up and he dropped his spoon into the bowl. His gaze traveled between Sasha and Valerie. “Oh.” A deep blush spread over his cheeks and down his neck. “I did not need to know that.”
“Nope, but you asked, ding dong,” Valerie said.
Sasha, Louise, and Valerie all laughed at his obvious discomfort. Sasha felt almost honored that everyone had had such a nice sex-toy-filled evening.
“Perry, why don’t you get Sasha and Louise coffee or tea?” Valerie said.
He nodded, seemingly grateful to escape the teasing. He got Sasha and Louise set up in the breakfast room with the fanciest, tastiest coffee Sasha had ever had. Within thirty minutes, the room was full of the other guests.
It was mostly couples. Only one family had kids, and they had a brood of four. They ranged in age from a toddler to a teenager who reminded Sasha of Benji at that age. Black clothing, dyed black hair, eyeliner. She wanted to ask the kid if he liked My Chemical Romance.
At least there was one other person who seemed as disgusted by the Christmas cheer as she was.
Valerie floated into the breakfast room on a wave of sweet-smelling baked goods. “Okay folks, we have cherry-stuffed French toast, applewood-smoked bacon and facon, for the vegetarians in the group, buttermilk biscuits, apricot preserves, and eggs made to order.” Valerie and Perry laid out platters of food on the tables family-style.
It all looked too good to eat, but she’d manage. Somehow. Sasha loaded up a plate with French toast, bacon, and a hard-fried egg. As everyone else was serving themselves, Perry sat down next to her.
Sasha tried to focus on the food in front of her, so she wouldn’t ogle the man beside her. The French toast was buttery, the cherry stuffing tart enough to cut the sweetness of the syrup. It was probably the best meal she’d had in ages, which wasn’t a surprise considering she more or less lived on popcorn, chips and salsa, and grilled cheese sandwiches. And Indian takeout. Lots and lots of takeout.
On her second bite, she failed at stifling a moan, which made Perry jerk beside her.
Oops.
She licked her fork and shot him a wink. He practically growled and squeezed her knee under the table. Heat spread up her leg and settled in her stomach.
He leaned in and whispered, “You’re being naughty.”
She smiled, oddly pleased, then glanced up to catch Karen and Andie watching them, assessing them. Sasha didn’t like that at all. The newlyweds were plotting.
“Alrighty, guests!” Valerie said from the front of the room. Both Perry and Sasha jerked, and Perry yanked his hand away. “As you can see, a few people weren’t able to make it home due to the weather after last night’s private party, and we’re stranded until at least tomorrow. The interstate is closed down from here all the way into the city, so we’re stuck. Luckily, I’ve been planning Christmassy snowed-in activities in my head for years!”
The teenager groaned so Sasha didn’t have to. Ah, a kindred spirit.
Valerie didn’t slow down for one second. “I have a bunch of made-for-TV Christmas movies cued up in the den. I’ll be baking gingersnaps and sugar cookies later today, and anyone can join me. We’ll also have an ornament-making station here in the breakfast room after lunch. Lastly, if you want to brave the blizzard to sled in the backyard, the hill down to the carriage house is fantastic. Of course, you’re welcome to get up to your own brand of fun. There are board games, books, magazines, and DVDs in the den that are yours for the taking. You have free reign of the entire house, except for other people’s rooms, so make yourself at home.”
Everyone broke apart after that. Perry stood and stretched, giving Sasha an eye-level view of his treasure trail, which she managed not to lick. Barely.
Maybe they could fuck all day.
No one was watching so she lightly traced his hipbone with a fingertip. He jumped a mile, then grinned at her.
“I think I’m going to head back to my room,” she said, giving him a pointed look. “Maybe braid my hair or take a nap.” Never mind that her hair was way too short for braids and she’d just woken up from an awesome night’s sleep.
He nodded. “Yeah, braids. I’m good with that.”
“Great.”
She stood from her seat at the table, ready to escape for some playtime. Maybe she’d show Perry the Rimmy after all. She was pretty sure she had one that hadn’t sold the night before. She could expense it.
Valerie appeared beside her and looped her arms through Sasha’s and Perry’s elbows.
“Perry, guess which movie I have ready to go first this morning. It’s your favorite.”
“My Amnesiac Christmas?”
“Yep!”
Sasha stared at Perry in horror and admiration. He was kind of a weirdo, and she kind of liked that.
He smiled shyly. “What? I love tropes.”
Valerie laughed and pushed them toward the den. “You better get in there to watch it before Karen puts on ESPN. I promised Louise Christmas movies, but she’ll be too shy to speak up if someone changes the channel.”
Perry shot Valerie a mock glare. “You need to promise Louise something else. Like a date.”
So it was like that. Sasha had wondered.
“Shhh. I’m working on it,” Valerie said, matching his semi-seriousness. “These things take finesse. She’s skittish. Now get out of here. I need to clean up.”
“I could help you,” Sasha said. She’d rather do the dishes than watch Christmas movies. And she hated dishes. In fact, maybe being snowed-in here in the Christmas-verse was worth it to escape the mountain of dishes at her own place.
“Nah, you go on. I prefer to clean on my own. Gives me time to think.” Valerie playfully pushed them from the room.
“I hope this isn’t a trend,” Sasha said glumly as they trudged into the den.
“What?” Perry asked.
“Getting cock blocked.”
Unfortunately, it was a trend.
Every time Sasha and Perry tried to sneak awa
y in the coming hours, they were pulled into a different Winter Wonderland activity. Sasha gritted her teeth through two Christmas movies—My Amnesiac Christmas and Toyland’s Secret Baby. They got talked into icing sugar cookies next, then Karen and Andie dragged them into the sitting room with the piano to sing carols with Valerie and Louise.
After an off-key, and off-color, rendition of “Santa Baby,” Sasha tried to edge toward the exit. She was not a singer, and she certainly wasn’t enjoying this.
As if sensing her escape, Andie turned around from the keyboard and said to Sasha, “You trade places with Karen.”
Karen, who had a rocking singing voice, grinned and shuffled Sasha into her spot.
Now she was farther from the door and freedom.
Next they sang “Silver Bells.” Sasha’s teeth hurt it was so sweet. Everyone seemed so happy, and she was miserable.
“Sasha, why don’t you take another step back. You’re blocking my light a little,” Andie said, which was frankly untrue, but Sasha would do anything to get away from the singing. “Perry, you’re a baritone, aren’t you? You should go stand by Sasha.”
What did him being a baritone have to do with her?
Perry flicked his gaze up at the ceiling and Sasha followed his eyes.
Mistletoe.
Andie had been maneuvering her underneath the mistletoe.
Sasha scowled. She was perfectly happy fucking around with Perry, but she was not falling prey to any holiday matchmaking.
Relationships weren’t her thing. She wanted nothing to do with the sugar plum hearts dancing in Andie’s eyes. The women in the room were watching the drama play out with glee.
“Stop it,” Sasha said, and everyone laughed. “I think I’m done singing. If you’ll excuse me.”
She escaped the nightmare caroling. Perry caught up with her before she reached the Blue Spruce Room.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said, touching her shoulder lightly. “I didn’t have anything to do with it.” He sighed. “Well, maybe they can see that I’m kind of lost over how much I like you, but I didn’t put them up to it.”
Stocking Stuffers Page 5